| Update From Dave On The Economy |
 I’m tired of hearing all the gloom and doom coming from the media about the economy and unemployment—I bet you are, too! Let’s take a minute to look at the true reality of the situation and what we can do about it.
Yes, many people have lost their jobs and houses. You may be one of them. But guess what? People have lost their jobs and houses even in a bull market. About 93% of people are still employed. That is pretty good! I was alive in the 1970s when unemployment hit double digits, and we’re nowhere near that right now! I’m not making light of the fact that some people are struggling; I’m just putting the situation in the proper perspective.
Even though you may be currently unemployed, that doesn’t mean you have to participate in the recession. People like me who have chosen to not participate acknowledge the reality of a slow economy and suffering people. However, we have decided that we’re not going to form our lives around the negativity coming out of the media and government. We’re intensifying our efforts and going to have the best year of our lives in spite of things slowing down.
Some people who find themselves unemployed will go into new careers or start their own businesses where they have the best year of their lives—professionally, financially and emotionally. Their current job losses are actually blessings in disguise. They believe this and are formulating game plans based on it. I guarantee there are men in their garages right now starting their own mechanic shops. The next Mary Kay Ash is writing up a business plan for new products she’s just created. College students are developing “the next best thing” in their dorm rooms as you are reading this. This is reality!
So think about your skills and interests. How can you leverage those passions into something you enjoy doing every day while earning money for it? If you haven’t lost your job but dread going to work, maybe it’s time to fire your employer and go in a new direction. When you have a game plan for your money and career, you will have a sense of empowerment because you aren’t a slave to the lender (or employer).
When employers start hiring because they believe their businesses will grow, recessions end. Many who have stopped hiring a healthy amount have been paralyzed by fear. They’ve lost hope. People who continue going about their lives in normal ways (without being irresponsible and buying stuff they can't afford) believe in the future. It’s called hope.
You can have fear or hope. It's your choice.
I choose hope.
Seven action steps if you’ve lost your job (or think you might)
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| Urgent Report: The Wisdom Of Great Investors |
 Be fearful when others are greedy.
Be greedy when others are fearful.
—Warren Buffett, Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway
Do you want to keep from critically wounding your retirement account and investments?
If so, you must read the free report, The Wisdom of Great Investors. It shows how some of the most successful investors in history—including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham and Peter Lynch—not only survived, but actually thrived, during tough economies.
The report is filled with information that can keep you from making huge mistakes. Some of the highlights include:
- You make the most of your money in a slow market, but you just don't realize it at the time.
- Fear and greed have caused investors to lose more than 7% of their investment returns.
- Investors who stick to their investment plans often see the highest returns and can overcome market crises.
- Long-term wealth is built by buying at times of maximum pessimism.
- Overall, the investment media's forecasts were wrong 67% of the time.
If you have investments of any kind, watch this video from Dave and download the free report!
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We Are Free, Free, Free!
By Trish in AK
 My husband, 15-year-old daughter, and I went through Financial Peace University last January through April. When we started, we had about $350,000 in debt, including our home, second mortgage, retirement property and credit cards (about $40k worth).
By June 1, we sold our house and paid off every penny we owed. We are left with our retirement property (95 acres of land) and our small, paid-for rental. We moved into our tiny, one-bedroom rental and are now working on expanding it slowly with cash.
We are free, free, free! It is amazing how we can watch the news about the economy with a new perspective since we are debt free. We are blessed with good jobs and a determination to stay debt free.
We went to a Mercedes dealership yesterday and poked around the cheetahs. We went purely for the satisfaction of knowing if we wanted to buy, we could. I happily went home to my paid-for 2002 Buick!
Read other We Did It! stories
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My Monthly Car Payment Is Over $1,000
By Malika in CA
 In 2007, I traded in a brand-new 2007 Envoy Denali for a used 2006 Cadillac Escalade valued at $42,000. The dealer added the value of the Denali of $17,000, which made the loan for the Escalade $59,000.
The interest rate is 10%. My payments are $1,109.08 a month for 72 months. The Escalade now is worth $25,000, but I owe $48,000.
I am stuck. I have learned my lesson. Find out how you can drive free cars for life
Read
other Stupid Tax stories
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| Three Steps To Avoid Late Taxes |
While you might think you have until April 15 to finish your taxes, that’s not really the case. Your tax specialist’s schedule is quickly filling up. If you wait to schedule an appointment midway through March, chances are good you’ll have to file an extension. So avoid the headache and get started now by following three steps:
1. Gather all your tax forms.
Your tax specialist will need all your tax forms to file your taxes. This includes W-2, 1099 and any giving statements you received from church or charities. You’ll get your W-2 from your employer. You might also get a 1099 for each of your savings, investment and retirement accounts. Your employer and financial institutions should have mailed your forms by now. If you haven’t received your forms, call to request another copy.
2. Call a tax specialist.
If you feel comfortable using software to file your taxes, have at it. However, Dave doesn’t recommend using software to file taxes. If something goes wrong or you get confused, who can you turn to for help? A paid-by-the-hour customer service agent who attended a one-day training session? No, thanks!
Always get the advice and help of a tax professional. There are many benefits to hiring one, including the confidence that your taxes are done right the first time.
3. Show up prepared.
You can practice all day, but if you don’t show for the game, you’re going to lose. Show up to your meeting on time. Bring all your forms. Also be sure to bring your direct deposit information in case you receive a tax refund. You’ll get your refund much faster with a direct deposit than waiting for a check.
By doing these three things, you’re sure to get your taxes done right. But again, you need to get started now if you haven’t already!
Need A Tax Specialist?
Our tax Endorsed Local Providers (ELPs) are professional CPAs and enrolled agents who can get you every deduction for which you qualify. Remember, it’s your money. Make sure you get everything you deserve! Click here to find your tax ELP.
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|
How to Budget an Irregular Income |
 If you’re among the many Americans who are self-employed or working on commission, your somewhat unpredictable income makes it tough to create a budget. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need one! No matter how you get paid, you’ve still got to stick to a plan so your irregular income doesn’t get out of control. Even if you don’t know how to budget, we’ll show you how. You can’t use that excuse anymore!
First, start with the Monthly Cash Flow Plan budget form. This step helps you figure out precisely how much money you need each month in order to cover your four walls (food, clothing, shelter and transportation). Once you understand that budget form, you can move on to the next one, the Irregular Income Planning form.
In order to fill out the Irregular Income Planning budget form, take a look at your first budget. List each item according to its importance. The most important item on that plan should be your first item on your Irregular Income Planning form. Pay that item. The second most important item should be listed second on the form. Continue the list in this way, ordering from most important to least important.
When filling out the form, remember that how much you need for the item goes into the “amount” column, and the running total (starting from top to bottom) goes into the “cumulative amount” column. For example, let’s say that food is on the first line, and you need $250 a month to feed your family. The amount you need to pay, $250, would go in both the “amount” and “cumulative amount” columns. The second line has gas with $150 per month, which means that $150 would be listed in the “amount” column. The total of those two columns, $400 ($250 + $150), would be listed in the “cumulative amount” column.
Continue to create your Irregular Income Planning form in this way until every spending category is listed on your budget. From this point on, when you receive a paycheck, take the amount and spread it out to the items on your budget, starting at the top and working down. Your check may not cover everything that is listed. That’s okay. Use it to pay as much as you can. Then, when your next check comes in, pick up where the last check left off.
Sure it may be a little bit tedious and unpredictable at first, but implementing a budget into your everyday life will help you control your spending, live with a plan, and build wealth so you’re not worrying about having enough money to cover your four walls. Take Jamie’s word for it:
We composed a new Dave Ramsey-approved budget and started using cash more often instead of the debit card. We quickly learned how to tighten the spending strings! Even though we are only on Baby Step 2, we are just thrilled that we have one less bill to worry about. Now that we have a precise budget, we feel a new sense of empowerment in knowing how much money we have, what we are going to do with it, and what we need to save. It's nice having a little extra left over each month to apply to our debt.
—Jamie in AR
Learn all the ins and outs of budgeting with Dave’s life-changing program, Financial Peace University. Get started now!
Related:
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We all need something to lighten the mood of tax season. What better way to do so than with Stupid Tax stories?
People survive bad money decisions all the time, and most of them end up laughing about it later. Here are just a few examples of stupid taxes that have been paid from the members of My Total Money Makeover.
 A Kick in the Head
After I got my divorce and moved to a larger city, I was bored and decided to start taking karate. After my "free class," in which I had to buy a uniform for around $100, I signed up for two years of classes at $50 per month.
I went to three classes and never walked into the school again. I just didn't enjoy it. I tried time after time to get out of the contract but to no avail. Two years and $1,300 lighter, I was free.
—William from Charlotte, NC
Real Estate – For Real?
When my brother, cousin, and I were in our early 20s, we decided to get into real estate investing. We bought a real estate investing system that would supposedly make us rich quick. It cost $6,000, which we thought we would quickly recoup in our first deal. The others didn’t have any money so I put up $4,000 on my credit card.
After about 10 lessons with our adviser, we went for a deal on a “sure profit” property. We thought we could buy it for $70,000 (including fix-up costs) and then sell it for $90,000. Since we didn’t have steady jobs, we didn’t get the loan and so we all gave up. None of the others paid back their share. I was a full-time student who got stuck paying off those debts. The total cost after interest was $7,500.
Since then, our relationships with each other have suffered. The only way we were able to come back together was after I forgave the debts they owed.
—Brian from Tonawanda, NY
Out of Gas
We thought we'd save gas by buying my husband a scooter to ride to work. Since he was saving gas with it, we sold his 35-mpg Saturn for a 16-mpg truck, because it would be more "useful" around the house.
Well, two weeks after we bought the truck, he changed jobs and now had a 45-mile commute to work each way. We sold the scooter at a $300 loss, and he started driving the gas hog right at the peak of the $4-per-gallon season.
After talking to a buddy, we thought that a natural gas truck was the way to go since it was only 78 cents a gallon. So we traded in the truck we just bought at a $2,000 loss, and he started driving the natural gas vehicle. Then the gas prices fell, and we didn’t have those big savings anymore. We just have a payment now that is twice as high as the payment of our little Saturn was that we started with.
The best part of this little story is that my husband just lost his job and now we're really paying the stupid tax!
—Jennifer from Enoch, UT
Money Vacuum
While I was at work, my wife allowed a door-to-door salesman to enter the house and demonstrate a wonderful new vacuum that cleaned everything. By the time I came home an hour later, she was so in love with the thing. Between the two of them, they talked me into paying $2,500 for this machine.
About a year later, this "wonder vacuum" was having problems. The "customer service" wasn't helping one bit, so in frustration I went searching the stores for vacuums. I found one that did pretty much the same thing for $50.
—Michael from Colorado Springs, CO
Read more Stupid Tax stories from members of MyTotalMoneyMakeover and share your own!
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 There
are plenty of free resources available at daveramsey.com
to help you with everything from setting up a budget that
really works to getting a free annual credit report. Here
are a few highlights this month:
- GoodSearch.com
What if you learned everything Dave teaches...in high school? Search online like you normally do and help fund Dave's high school financial literacy curriculum at the same time! Learn more.
- Update Newsletter Preferences
Did you know that we offer multiple email newsletters in addition to this one? Sign up for others to get investing tips, deals on Dave's products, and more. You can unsubscribe at any time (but we don't think you'll want to). Update your newsletter preferences.
- Free,
High-Interest Checking on CheckingFinder.com
Dave says, "Start making your money work harder right
now on CheckingFinder.com. Enter your ZIP to find and
open a free, high-yield checking account with no minimum
balance. It's easy to do, and you're done in just
minutes. I've never found a better checking account."
Get
more useful tools here
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|
Dave Ramsey Updates |
|
Where's Dave? |
Magazines, websites, LIVE events, TV—Dave's everywhere!
Get
all the up-to-date info.
Upcoming 2009 Live Events
Here is a list of Dave's upcoming events in 2009:
| March 27 |
EntreLeadership
1 Day |
Dallas, TX |
| March 28 |
Total Money Makeover LIVE |
Dallas, TX |
| Apr. 18 |
Total
Money Makeover LIVE |
Colorado Springs, CO |
| May 1 |
EntreLeadership
1 Day |
Kansas City, MO |
| May 2 |
Total
Money Makeover LIVE |
Kansas City, MO |
| May 16 |
Total
Money Makeover LIVE |
Salt Lake City, UT |
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Check out our newest
stations!
There are over 400 affiliates nationwide.
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 Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.
—Louis Brandeis
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