The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

Homeschool Finances

By;Joy;Messimer

Recently;I;had;the;opportunity to;ask;Dave;Ramsey;some questions;that;have;been;on;my mind during recent months, questions;many;of;you;have;voiced;as well.;It’s;a;pleasure;to;share;with;you Dave’s;wise,;encouraging;responses.;Our own;family;has;faced;some;tough;times the;last;few;years,;and;we’re;glad;to;be on;the;path;out;of;debt—we’ve;paid;off nearly;two-thirds;of;our;debt;since;our own;personal;downturn.;Dave’s;words give;me;such;courage;to;keep;at;it;until the debt is all gone!

TOS: The;economy;has;hit;many;fam-ilies;quite;hard,;and;it;seems;as;if;few have;yet;recovered;from;the;downturn. What;hope;and;advice;would;you;bring to;those;who;have;been;devastated;by loss;of;income;as;they;are;slowly;be-ginning;to;recover?;What;Baby;Steps would;you;recommend;to;them?

Words
of Hope
—Baby;Steps
Toward;Recovery

Dave:;I;think;the;first;thing;they;need to;know;is;that;it;will;get;better.;Yes, people;have;lost;jobs;and;money;coming into;the;household;may;be;less,;but;that just;means;we;have;to;readjust;and;make changes;to;our;spending.;Our;country has gone through worse economic times before and made it through, and we can be;just;as;resilient;now.

This;is;a;great;time;to;mentally;re-set;when;it;comes;to;our;finances;and start;making;a;plan;for;it;each;month. Making;a;budget;is;the;easiest;way;to account for your income and outgo and;is;essential;if;you;want;to;make;it through the hard times.

You;also;need;to;start;an;emergency fund.;This;is;the;first;in;our;Baby;Steps that we recommend because it means no;surprises.;When;you;have;money;set aside;for;when;life;happens;to;you,;that emergency;doesn’t;sting;as;badly.