Professional Financial Coaching
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~ Free Phone Consultation to Answer Your Questions ~ Flexible Fee Options to Make Counseling Affordable ~
Local Financial Professionals who can REALLY HELP!
The Relationship Center is proud to offer Financial Coaching from local experts who can help you discover the path to financial success and freedom from debt.
Financial Coaching will help you...
• Get out of debt for good, plan for emergencies, establish winning money habits, and set goals for the future.
• Prepare for retirement, kids' college, starting a business, estate planning, and giving.
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Helpful Financial Books
• The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness The bedrock of his system is simple: work hard, pay what you owe and stay out of debt. Dave Ramsey understands the difficulty in putting these steps into action, and therefore packs his book with personal testimonials from everyday people who have used his system and have become debt free, with obvious struggles.
• The Total Money Makeover Workbook
The Total Money Makeover Workbook is an essential resource for anyone desiring total financial fitness. Dave's no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach translates into results for those who diligently follow this complete action plan. Tens of thousands of people have already transformed their financial situation with Dave's advice, rooted in God's and Grandma's common sense. With The Total Money Makeover Workbook, countless others will be on their way to financial fitness.
Budgeting Forms • Resource Links
• Quickie Budget ~ This form will help you get your feet wet in the area of budgeting. It is only one page and should not be intimidating as you get started. The purpose of this form is to show you exactly how much money you need every month in order to survive.
• Monthly Cash Flow Planning ~ Every single dollar of your income should be allocated to some category on this form. When
you’re done, your total income minus expenses should equal zero.
• Irregular Income Budget ~ Many people have an “irregular” income, which simply means that their compensation
fluctuates from month to month. On this form, simply look at the individual items from your “Monthly Cash Flow Plan” sheet and prioritize them by importance.
The difference is the level of detail. Financial coaching is the most detailed and comprehensive service available. A coach will help you develop a plan specific to your financial situation. FPU offers weekly accountability and encouragement, plus you will learn more about budgeting, debt elimination, investing, insurance and giving.
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Debt consolidation is dangerous because you only treat the symptom of the problem. The habits—and the debt—are still there. You just moved the debt! You will pay about the same amount, which doesn't really help you eliminate debt faster. Most people take on more debt after consolidating or end up in bankruptcy because they didn't change their behavior.
Bankruptcy is listed in the top five life-altering, negative events that one can go through. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, which is total bankruptcy, stays on your credit report for 10 years. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, more like a payment plan, stays on your credit report for seven years.
Bankruptcy, however, is for life. Loan applications and many job applications ask if you have ever filed for bankruptcy. Ever. Avoid it if at all possible.
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Financial coaching is the most hands-on service we offer. Our coaches will help you develop and implement a plan specific to your unique situation. You may be facing a crisis, such as bankruptcy, foreclosure or harassing creditors. Or maybe you need help building wealth or starting your small business. Even if you just have some general questions about money management, financial coaching could be right for you.
Our coaches are trained to handle a wide variety of situations. They will offer detailed advice and a specific plan to make your money work for you!
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Financial coaching gives you a high level of detail and individual attention. As you progress from reading one of Dave Ramsey's books to Financial Peace University to financial coaching, the increasing cost reflects the increasing scope of resources devoted to you. Although financial coaching can be expensive, it is a necessity for some. For others, however, it is a luxury. You will have to decide where to draw the line.
If coaching is a necessity, then you also have to compare it to: 1) the costs of bankruptcy, which can be $500–$2,000 in legal fees alone, or 2) the cost of credit counseling, which at $30–$50 per month for four years would cost around $2,000. Our fees are a bargain compared to these options, plus you'll have a plan to change your financial future! Many couples also find that addressing their financial situation reduces the stress on their marriage.
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Our policy requires both spouses to attend the coaching sessions. From experience, we've learned that coaching only one spouse does not work. This must be a team effort. If your spouse is not on board, sit down with him or her in a non-distracting environment and communicate how much you want him or her to participate in the finances. Do not let this be a time to nag, yell, scream, etc. Tell him or her that attending financial coaching, or even Financial Peace University, can be your Christmas, birthday or anniversary gift this year.
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Absolutely! Your financial information will NOT leave our coaching session.
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Dave Ramsey
"Live like no one else so that later you get to LIVE like no one else."Dave Ramsey has helped thousands turn their financial futures around. More than 4 million listeners participate in his life-changing radio each weekday. Financial Peace University has empowered millions with practical skills to beat debt and build wealth. Resources like -The Total Money Makeover and MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com help millions find financial freedom.
That's why we are proud to help you apply Dave Ramsey's Seven Baby Steps to Financial Freedom to your financial picture.
The Seven Baby Steps
An emergency fund is for those unexpected events in life that you can’t plan for: the loss of a job, an unexpected pregnancy, a faulty car transmission, and the list goes on and on. It’s not a matter of if these events will happen; it’s simply a matter of when they will happen.
This beginning emergency fund will keep life’s little Murphies from turning into new debt while you work off the old debt. If a real emergency happens, you can handle it with your emergency fund. No more borrowing. It’s time to break the cycle of debt!
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List your debts, excluding the house, in order. The smallest balance should be your number one priority. Don’t worry about interest rates unless two debts have similar payoffs. If that’s the case, then list the higher interest rate debt first.
The point of the debt snowball is simply this: You need some quick wins in order to stay pumped up about getting out of debt! Paying off debt is not always about math. It’s about motivation. Personal finance is 20% head knowledge and 80% behavior. When you start knocking off the easier debts, you will see results and you will stay motivated to dump your debt.
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Once you complete the first two baby steps, you will have built serious momentum. But don’t start throwing all your “extra” money into investments quite yet. It’s time to build your full emergency fund. Ask yourself, “What would it take for me to live for three to six months if I lost my income?” Your answer to that question is how much you should save.
Use this money for emergencies only: incidents that would have a major impact on you and your family. Keep these savings in a money market account. Remember, this stash of money is not an investment; it is insurance you’re paying to yourself, a buffer between you and life.
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When you reach this step, you’ll have no payments—except the house—and a fully funded emergency fund. Now it’s time to get serious about building wealth.
Dave suggests investing 15% of your household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement plans. Don’t invest more than that because the extra money will help you complete the next two steps: college savings and paying off your home early.
Why shouldn’t you invest less than 15%? Some people choose to invest a small amount, if anything, because they want to get a child through school or pay off the home in a hurry. But the kids’ degrees won’t feed you at retirement, and if you throw all your money into your mortgage at this point, you’ll end up having to sell the house and buy the book 72 Ways to Prepare Alpo and Love It. Bad plan.
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By this point, you should have already started Baby Step 4—investing 15% of your income—before saving for college. Whether you are saving for you or your child to go to college, you need to start now.
In order to have enough money saved for college, you need to have a goal. Determine how much per month you should be saving at 12% interest in order to have enough for college. If you save at 12% and inflation is at 4%, then you are moving ahead of inflation at a net of 8% per year! The best way to save for college is with Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and 529 plans. Remember, college is possible without loans!
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Now it’s time to begin chunking all of your extra money toward the mortgage. You are getting closer to realizing the dream of a life with no house payments.
As you attack this last debt, you will gain momentum much like you did back in the second step of the debt snowball. Remember, having absolutely no payments is totally within your reach!
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It’s time to build wealth and give like never before. Leave an inheritance for future generations, and bless others now with your excess. It's really the only way to live!
Golda Meir says, “You can’t shake hands with a clenched fist.” Vow to never hold your money so tightly that you never give any away. Hoarding money is not the way to wealth. Save for yourself, save for your family’s future, and be gracious enough to bless others. You can do all three at the same time.
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Financial Peace University
Financial Peace University (FPU) is Dave Ramsey's life-changing program that teaches you to achieve your financial goals by eliminating debt, saving for the future, and giving like never before. More than 1 million families have attended FPU with amazing results. You will be challenged and motivated to make a plan for your money and change your family tree forever!
The Relationship Center is proud to facilitate these 13 action-packed lessons, where you'll learn how to beat debt, build wealth, find bargains, invest for the future, give like never before, and much more!
Video Introduction to Financial Peace University
If you want to hear more from Dave Ramsey about Financial Peace University, follow this link to see parts 2 and 3 of his introduction.
Pre-Marital Financial Coaching
When you’re starry-eyed and in love, it’s easy to overlook some of the important questions to ask before you say, “I do.” But the truth is, if you really love this person, you’ll be willing to put in some hard work on the front end to create a game plan for life.
You’ve probably heard the sad stat that half of marriages don’t stand the test of time. But keep in mind that stat includes people who get married after knowing each other for three days, people who are deeply in debt, people whose parents won’t stay out of the equation, and people who can’t agree about kids. In other words, it includes people who have not prepared well to be married.
If you are engaged for six months or more before being married, go through in-depth pre-marital counseling (not just one visit with the preacher, high five, walk out, and get married), and take some pre-marriage classes, then you're off to a great start. With these factors in the equation, the success rate for marriage goes from 50% failing to almost none of them failing.
Money. One of the biggest contributors to divorce is money problems, so there needs to be discussion about money. That's where financial coaching comes in.
All of the debt needs to come on the table—all cards are face up. No secrets. It’s time to come completely clean and get in agreement about what’s going on here. When you do that, you’ll also learn a lot about that person’s habits, whether he or she is a spender or a saver and those kinds of things.
We’re not talking about, “Oh yeah, I know he has some credit card debt from college.” You need to know; “He’s got $42,321 in debt between student loans and credit card debt. He cut up the cards and started paying off debt before we ever met, and he’s got a plan to be debt-free in 22 months.” Those are the details you need.
Financial Peace University, is a great resource to get on the same page financially with your spouse. You’ll laugh and learn as Dave Ramsey teaches you valuable lessons each week and helps you create a solid foundation for your money. Your financial coach will help you start off on the right financial foot.