The first of the year brings many hopeful promises. Every year, without fail, someone asks me if I have a New Year’s Resolution. In the past, I have chosen things like working out, getting organized, getting good grades, etc. Although these are great goals to have, they can get a little lofty when there is no purpose or specification. Someone once told me (or perhaps I actually retained something from college) that goals need to be SMART. This stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. I think this is the first time in my 25 years where I have actually applied this theory for a goal of mine! Let me explain…
Way back in March of 2010, Tony and I were about halfway through our Marriage Prep class. By this point, we were realizing the true value of this class (not just the discount on our marriage license). Some of the topics were easy for us, and others were big eye openers. Our class leaders were a little quirky and almost too “lovey” but in the end, they ended up being a great fit to lead this class. While they were teaching our class, they were also students themselves… in Financial Peace University (FPU). During the marriage prep class, we briefly covered the importance of joint finances and being on the same page with your spouse, but our instructors were raving about the even more valuable and in depth lessons they were learning each week in FPU. Tony and I knew that FPU would probably be a good idea for us. Although we had good intentions, neither of us were great at managing money and we had a lot to learn about debt, investing, and retirement.
Our marriage class ended in April and the rest of the summer was swamped with wedding planning, vacations, and the big weekend of fun! Needless to say, managing our finances was not really on the top of the list. But for some reason, one of my first days back at work, I wondered over the Dave Ramsey’s website. Next thing you know, we were signed up for an FPU course just blocks from our home starting the very next Monday night!
