Dumping Debt and Building Wealth with Dave Ramsey- July - Page 5

[mamimapster]

Originally Posted by Mommy&Will

That is so awesome to be prepared. Have you heard Dave Ramsey talk about the "Love Drawer?" Its making sure you have set up a file in your home where your loved ones can find everything they need if you were to die tomorrow. So any wills, insurance policies, financial or health papers, keepsakes, perhaps letters that you've written to loved ones, etc.
.

that is a fabulous idea! We used to have a vile filing cabinet in the sunporch, but now that we've decluttered it, I'm not sure where half of our paperwork is.

On that note, one of the things we still need to do is term life insurance for me. Does anyone have a suggestion for reputable companies that do term life? I'm thinking about 30,000 worth or a little more.

[Jilian]

Originally Posted by mamimapster

that is a fabulous idea! We used to have a vile filing cabinet in the sunporch, but now that we've decluttered it, I'm not sure where half of our paperwork is.

We have a fireproof safe that we keep all our important documents in. Both DH and my family members know where the keys are. We keep it hidden so it would likely not get stolen if someone broke in.

[Mommy&Will]

Originally Posted by mamimapster

On that note, one of the things we still need to do is term life insurance for me. Does anyone have a suggestion for reputable companies that do term life? I'm thinking about 30,000 worth or a little more.

Once again, I just used who Dave Ramsey endorses - Zander Insurance (I was previously in a whole life peace of crap thru Northwestern Mutual). I got quotes from their web site from lots of different companies and went with American General.

Dave suggests that should get 8-10 times your income.

http://www.zanderins.com/term/termlife.aspx

[cheerma]

Originally Posted by Mommy&Will

Cheerma - we used US Legal Forms - the web site Dave Ramsey recommends. It was very quick, and cheap (I think it was $30 for both dh and I to have a state-specific will). It at least gets the basics in place for us - and I ordered the forms faster than driving thru the Starbucks drive-thru. lol. : )

http://www.uslegalforms.com/dave/?auslf=daveramsey

Its a GREAT boost to the ego to accomplish this while you continue to hack away at your debt snowball. Its easy to do and soooo important at the same time.

Thanks so much for this link. I thought it would be more expensive which is one reason we never got around to it. But this is great!

[Jilian]

Originally Posted by Mommy&Will

You will both need a will. I just checked the site again and they cost $15 each, or you can get the package of a Last Wil, Living Will and Power of Attorney for $30 each. There is mp3 audio of Dave explaining the packages on the site.

One more question: is it easy to fill out? Do we just fill it out and have it notorized? I've never done a will, living will, or POA and want to make sure I do it right.

[phathui5]

Originally Posted by Mommy&Will

QOTW: Do you have your WILL in place? Are your loved ones taken care of should something happen to you tomorrow?

No, but dh and I are taking steps to get all this stuff done. We met with a financial advisor yesterday and will be making our will appointment next week.

[phathui5]

Originally Posted by mamimapster

that is a fabulous idea! We used to have a vile filing cabinet in the sunporch, but now that we've decluttered it, I'm not sure where half of our paperwork is.

On that note, one of the things we still need to do is term life insurance for me. Does anyone have a suggestion for reputable companies that do term life? I'm thinking about 30,000 worth or a little more.

I have $250k on me through State Farm. I figure that's enough to cover the funeral expenses, pay off the rest of our mortgage and either allow dh time to stay home with the kids or hire a nanny/au pair to replace my childcare duties. Remember, if you have kids and you die, your dh will have to pay someone to care for them.

[Mommy&Will]

Originally Posted by Jilian

One more question: is it easy to fill out? Do we just fill it out and have it notorized? I've never done a will, living will, or POA and want to make sure I do it right.

Its super easy, "fill-in-the-blank" style. We had it notorized at our local bank, with 2 witnesses. I plan to give one copy to my dad, our estate Executor, my sister, the Trustee (of the boys' money until they are 21), and my BIL and SIL, who would have guardianship of the boys.

We do not have a living will or POA. I should have looked into that.

[rosegirl]

can I post an update???

I wrote a check for 3K (my quarterly bonus) toward the CC!!!!! (we won't be able to do that big of a chunk until next quarter- but it felt GREAT!)

so now we will have about 7k in CC and I checked and I have 7800 in student loans. We are making PROGRESS!!!!!

::

[Mommy&Will]

Originally Posted by rosegirl

can I post an update???

I wrote a check for 3K (my quarterly bonus) toward the CC!!!!! (we won't be able to do that big of a chunk until next quarter- but it felt GREAT!)

so now we will have about 7k in CC and I checked and I have 7800 in student loans. We are making PROGRESS!!!!!

::

[Jilian]

Congrats Rosegirl! We had to write a big check like that with our tax money a few mos ago and it was painful handing over that much money. At the same time it made us mad that we had debt and couldn't use the money for a fun family vacation.

[cheerma]

Originally Posted by rosegirl

can I post an update???

I wrote a check for 3K (my quarterly bonus) toward the CC!!!!! (we won't be able to do that big of a chunk until next quarter- but it felt GREAT!)

so now we will have about 7k in CC and I checked and I have 7800 in student loans. We are making PROGRESS!!!!!

::

: : : : : : : :

[lalaland42]

Yay Rosegirl!

I have a small update. The student loan company sent me a letter saying they dropped my interest rate 3% points. Woo hoo. The difference is around $50 a month that can go toward principle.

[cheerma]

I got a bonus! Now we can have BS1 done on 08/18! I'll be so excited to finally get started on this program. The first few weeks were just planning and budgeting but now it's gonna happen! It feels good.

[rosegirl]

yeah lalaland and cheerma!!!!!! :

I love how we are cheering each other on!!

[Jilian]

Originally Posted by rosegirl

yeah lalaland and cheerma!!!!!! :

WTG mamas!

[AllieFaye]

Whoa - what a June/July we've had! I don't quite know how, but we paid off $1100 in June and have paid off two credit cards! Done, gone! We just started, and I was giving it three months of living with a budget to even see any real progress. I had no idea that we'd even pay off the first one before Christmas, and now we're so far ahead of our May plan. Wow, wow, wow - this thing really works! We tried other plans before and just spun our wheels for years. The baby steps really are the key.

Now, we're just bulking up the emergency fund until after the new baby, and then off we go...

[cheerma]

Originally Posted by lalaland42

Yay Rosegirl!

I have a small update. The student loan company sent me a letter saying they dropped my interest rate 3% points. Woo hoo. The difference is around $50 a month that can go toward principle.

THAT'S AWESOME!

[cheerma]

Originally Posted by AllieFaye

Whoa - what a June/July we've had! I don't quite know how, but we paid off $1100 in June and have paid off two credit cards! Done, gone! We just started, and I was giving it three months of living with a budget to even see any real progress. I had no idea that we'd even pay off the first one before Christmas, and now we're so far ahead of our May plan. Wow, wow, wow - this thing really works! We tried other plans before and just spun our wheels for years. The baby steps really are the key.

Now, we're just bulking up the emergency fund until after the new baby, and then off we go...

Good for you!

I think it works 'cause it's simple. Anything else would have been intimidating. Now I don't mean it's easy. This budgeting is hard work. But I can easily follow the plan and remember what I need to do. I'm sure if I were a more disciplined person I could follow another plan and get results. The trick is to do something and stick with it. But I'm not disciplined, that's why I'm in dept! So this works for me.

[Jilian]

I ordered the DIY kit from Dave's site. It includes most of his books with workbooks and DVDs. I was happy to see that he did not accept credit cards! I was thinking he'd be a major hippocrite if he talked so poorly of credit but then accepted it on his site. I'm so happy to have found this thread, I've learned so much about DR and have only listened to one dumping debt CD so far in addition to chatting here. I'm excited to get started!