If you pay for your holiday festivities with credit, you're bringing a stalker home for Christmas. The holidays will follow you around all year long.

The process usually goes something like this:

You buy costumes and decorations for Halloween, a feast for Thanksgiving, and Christmas gifts for your family, more than likely waiting until the last minute for each occasion and missing the good deals. If you're not on Dave's plan (and, if not, what's stopping you?), you throw everything on the credit card.

In January, the bills start coming in the mail. One by one, the bills remind you of the temporary holiday thrill-rides. Unable to pay everything off at once, you pay the minimums.

By June, you've hardly made a dent in the holiday debt—which has simply been added to all your other miscellaneous debt like student loans, mortgages and the always-dreaded car payment.

By fall, you should be planning ahead for next Christmas. But, instead, you're still dealing with last year's debt—plus all the accumulated debt from the ghosts of Christmases past.

And the cycle continues. That is, until you finally say, "Enough!" No more debt. No more credit. It's time to make a plan early in the year, and then stick to it!

Thanksgiving is always on the fourth Thursday of November. Christmas is always on December 25. These dates never change. There's no excuse for getting caught off-guard and desperately piling up mounds of debt on credit cards.

So let's say you haven't started making a plan for the upcoming holidays yet, but now you are ready to get moving. You've still got time!

Consider some of these holiday shopping ideas:

Research. Before you head to the mall, look for deals online. Visit the websites of the stores you plan to visit, and check out their prices. Don't waste your time shopping at one store if you know the store down the street has a better deal.

Make a budget. This is common-sense stuff, but it's amazing how many people have no financial plan for their spending. They are like an energetic kid in a toy store, grabbing the first toy that looks pretty and tossing it into the shopping cart. In order to work your way out of debt, you must become disciplined during the holiday season. If you must buy for everyone, keep it simple and stay within your means—however meager they may be. Don't get caught up in "bigger is better," or else the bigger debt in January will remind you of how stupid that mindset is.

Use Cash. As Dave always says, you spend less when you use cash. Before you hit the stores, swing by the ATM and pick up a pre-planned amount of money. Then, stop shopping when it's gone! If you've planned ahead and followed the two steps listed above, then using cash should be easy. You'll know what you need to buy and how much it will cost—before you start.

Start now—no, really, right now!—planning for your Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. Or, wait until the last minute and celebrate them for months to come by wading through all those bills.

The choice is up to you!

Create a budget online in less than 60 seconds.

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If you're waiting on the government to provide you with more affordable health insurance, you'll be waiting a long time. We might have a new president, but it's still the same government that takes years to cut through the red tape.

There is good news. You can find more affordable health insurance on your own.

Step 1 - Don't assume your current insurance is the best you can get.
This is especially true if your insurance is provided through your work. Many people become lazy and assume they can't find cheaper health insurance premiums. Not only are there cheaper options available, you can also find better coverage. So don't settle for what you have.

Step 2 - Talk with a professional.
Don't just look for insurance options on the internet; call a professional health insurance agent. Talking with an actual human can be more helpful than trying to figure out all those confusing online forms. Plus, a professional can actually help you decide which type of insurance will best meet your needs. Just be sure the agent you talk to can show you competitive rates. The more options you have, the more you can save.

Best of all, a health insurance agent does most of the work for you. All you do is tell the agent your needs, and he or she will start searching for health insurance that meets your requirements. All it takes is a simple phone call to get this process started.

Judy, one of Dave's listeners, contacted her health insurance Endorsed Local Provider and told us about her recent experience:

"My husband's health insurance rate had gotten out of hand. Your health insurance ELP will save me $190 a month! And I still have the same coverage. Thanks for all the help!"

There's no need to wait around on Uncle Sam—he can't help you anyway. Only you know what's best for you and your family.

To talk with an honest health insurance agent that Dave recommends, contact one of our health insurance Endorsed Local Providers.

Related:

• Is a Health Savings Account right for you?
• Health insurance: The consequences of cutting corners
• Why you don't need cancer insurance

By Nicole in TX

If someone had told me 10 months ago that my husband and I would be debt-free today, I would have laughed in their face.

We had two school loans, one car note and our furniture on credit. Together we were only making $56,000, and we owed nearly $23,000. We were introduced to your book, The Total Money Makeover, by our pastor during our premarital counseling, but we didn't read it at the time. We got married, my husband's Jeep died, and we bought a new (used) car which added another payment to our already tight budget. We were now $30,000 in debt—it was time to get serious.

I borrowed your book from some friends and started reading it. A few chapters into it, I realized I couldn't do it on my own, so my new husband agreed to read it, too. We borrowed a second copy, and he read along with me. We finished it within three days. We created our budget, took the $5,000 we had sitting in our savings (at .02% APY-stupid, stupid, stupid) and paid off the furniture and part of a school loan. After many hours of overtime, small side jobs to earn a little extra and a pair of raises, the debt began to disappear. It was exhilarating to watch the amount owed decrease.

We just mailed the final payment on the last of our loans: the car we purchased when my husband's Jeep died. All I can say is, if we can do it, anyone can! In hopes that others will share in our joy, we purchased 12 copies of The Total Money Makeover and will be giving them as Christmas gifts this year.

Thank you, Dave, for being an amazing blessing to us and showing us that it's not un-American to live without debt. We are looking forward to purchasing a home and being able to give what we've been blessed with away so much faster than we could have ever dreamed!

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By Rini in TX

I met my husband a year before I graduated college. He came with three kids from a previous marriage, who lived 1,300 miles away with their mother.

Since I was about to finish my degree and make "lots and lots of money" as a computer engineer (actual starting salary: $52,500), we spent our future selves' money on plane tickets, eating out, and activities with the kids. In all, we racked up $20,000 in credit card debt—in addition to our student loans and financing two cars (one of them at 18% interest).

At the time, I was convinced that this debt would be "no problem"—that we'd pay it off in six months to a year after I started my shiny high-paying job. (Obviously my math blinders were on—the debt we acquired was more than my entire annual salary!)

I did graduate, and I did get the job—just in time, as our credit cards were all maxed out and my credit score had plummeted. Two years later, we have paid off less than half the debt we acquired in that year.

Moral of the story? Your future self is not nearly as rich as she/he looks. At least, not if you spend like I did!

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Last week, Dave hosted The Total Money Makeover LIVE! event in Portland, Oregon for a crowd of almost 9,000 people! Event attendee Treana Kay Chartier was a correspondent who wanted to share her inside scoop and experience at the event.

Here's her story:

We've completed Baby Step 1, and we know that we'll be on Baby Step 2 for around two years—we have over $97,000 in debt, not counting the mortgage. Attending the live event in Portland was the next step in the process for me. I knew that attending the event and seeing Dave in person would help me find ways to stay engaged in the big picture. I am a very free-spirited person and need to feel that I can have fun with each challenge, otherwise my attention fades.

There were many things that inspired me at the event. As I walked into the coliseum, there were thousands of people there all for the exact same reason as I was: the search for freedom from the credit cards and the college loans. We all watched as people stood who have paid off their debts; we listened to Dave's personal story of hardship and heartache; and we discussed each other's ideas for winning. Yet as I was talking to others during the breaks, I realized that we were all getting different things out of the event. Each one of us was experiencing something completely unique.

For my 16-year-old daughter who attended with me (while my husband worked that second job), we received an unexpected blessing: She listened. Like many teenagers, she didn't consider Dave to be “teen-friendly, so I was happily surprised when she started doing calculations in the margins of her workbook and writing a list of items she needed to do to get a mutual fund set up this next week. She took the advice and built a task list for accomplishing the goal, and the Endorsed Local Provider has already been contacted.

For me, the live event was a wave of energy moving and turning as the day went on. I could feel myself becoming more at peace with the idea of living on less, giving up my stuff-addiction and creating something unbelievable for my family. We will do this! We will be out of debt, and if Dave can do it, then so can we.

By the end of October, we will have paid off $9,000 in debt, almost a tenth of the total amount we owe. The Total Money Makeover LIVE! was a pep rally for me, reminding me to keep that flame strong, pay off that debt, and focus on the goal: creating a new family tree that is debt-free!

Experience this event for yourself and tell us your unique story!

Washington recently announced that, for the first time since 1975, there will be no cost-of-living adjustment for more than 50 million Social Security recipients in 2010. This is just another sign that the system is mathematically doomed and shouldn't be counted on to fund you at retirement.

It's bad enough that there is no cost-of-living adjustment, but even if there were, we are only talking about a few dollars a month. If that changes your world, then you're broke. If you have money saved, then you don't have anything to worry about.

The average monthly payout that a Social Security recipient gets is $1,094. For someone who probably wants to spend their golden years traveling, playing with grandkids, and giving away money, that's a sad number. If you rely on Social Security for your retirement, you'll be living small. You'll be at the mercy of the government, which doesn't know how to handle money, and a program that is running out of money fast.

You don't want to be in that position. It's up to you, not the government, to make your retirement great. You need to live on less than you make, get out of debt, and keep some of your hard-earned money.

There is good news: When something this important is at stake, you'll do the best job you can to make sure it works for you. There is no limit to how well you can set yourself up financially. With discipline and self-control, you really can live like no one else when you retire.

It's time to create your own security. Right now, more than 50,000 Dave Ramsey fans are sharing tips and advice on how to avoid the Social Security mess at the new and improved MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com. As an introductory offer, you can sign up by October 31, 2009 and save nearly 50% off the regular price. Join Now!

Related:

• Three retirement tips for late starters
• Will your savings give you the retirement you want?

You know you should get a copy of your credit report every year and check it over for any inaccuracies.

But do you actually do it?

Most people don't because they're confused by all the numbers and terms. Once you've learned what all that information means, you'll have no trouble reading your credit report. And since 79% of all credit reports contain some kind of error, it's important that you not only get an annual copy of your credit report, but that you check it over to make sure everything is correct.

Obtain a copy of your credit report from the three major credit-reporting agencies: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. You are allowed one free copy every year from each of the agencies. The reports are not automatically mailed to you; you must ask for them.

There are four parts to any credit report:

1. Identifying Information
   This section lists your name, address, Social Security number, date of birth and other information used to identify you. Read through the information carefully. It isn't uncommon to find your name misspelled or the wrong address listed.
   
   
2. Credit History
   The bulk of the report is in this section. It's a list of your open and paid credit accounts. It also shows any late payments on your part. Things like total loan amount, high credit limit and how well you've paid the account are included as well. Read and re-read this section to make sure all information is correct. If you've closed a credit card account, double check to see if it's noted. Thirty percent of credit reports contain credit accounts that were closed by the consumer but are still listed as open on the report.
   
   
3. Public Records
   You want this part to be blank. Financial activity like bankruptcy, tax liens and judgments are listed here. Everything given is public record, and you want to keep this section as clean as possible. It's not about saving your credit score; it's about saving your financial life. The smarter you are with money decisions, the better financial life you will have.
   
   
4. Inquiries
   Everyone who has asked to see your credit report will be listed in this section. If anyone checks out your report, a detailed inquiry will be posted. This is extremely beneficial for you as the consumer. The inquiries are in two sections soft and hard. Soft inquiries are from companies who want to send you promotional materials or from current creditors who are checking your account. Hard inquiries are made when you fill out a credit card application.

Visit annualcreditreport.com or call 877.322.8228 to order your free annual credit report. Remember to obtain your report either through that website or phone number. If you order it directly from the agency or any "free" report scam sites, you will be charged a fee.

For more helpful information, check out Financial Peace University. Dave devotes an entire lesson to teaching you about credit bureaus and collection practices.

If you’ve listened to Dave Ramsey for a while, you’ve probably heard him say how horrible gold is as an investment. If you look at gold’s long-term track record, it’s hard to think any other way.

From 1833 to 2001, the compound annual growth rate of gold was only 1.54%. That’s pretty rotten. Since September 11, the value of gold has definitely increased. It’s looking better right now. But you can’t deny nearly two centuries of consistently poor performance.

Gold is the new Snuggie. Everyone is talking about it, and everyone wants to get involved. But think about it. If you were going to invest in gold at all, would you really want to buy it at its 176-year high? Absolutely not!

So what’s gold good for—other than wearing it around your neck or wrist? Well, if you’re in debt—or if you just need a little extra cash—sell it!

Selling jewelry is a great way to build traction on your starter emergency fund, knock out debt, and clean up clutter around your house. If you’ve become gazelle intense, but you’re not quite ready to sell the kids, then peek inside the jewelry box. Do you really need everything in there—the trinkets, bracelets, rings and old watches?

Now, Dave isn’t endorsing gold as an investment. He never has, and he never will. Companies like Gold Stash for Cash offer an outlet for you to make some money on your unwanted or unneeded jewelry. Dave will only endorse companies that he trusts, and Gold Stash for Cash is reputable, honest and absolutely trustworthy.

So if you’re interested, visit Gold Stash for Cash’s website, and contact them about selling your old jewelry. This is just another creative way you can gain momentum on the road to Financial Peace!

Related:

• Dave's Thoughts On Investing

There are plenty of free resources available at the new 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:

• The Seven Baby Steps
  Get out of debt the same way you learned to walk—one step at at time. Dave has taught these principles to millions via radio, books, Financial Peace University, live events and online.
  
  
• Follow The Dave Ramsey Show on Twitter
  Get the inside scoop from Dave and the team and interact with other Dave fans on our active Twitter page—with 26,000 followers and growing! Follow now.
  
  
• Find Dave's Class In Your Town
  Financial Peace University classes are beginning all over the country, so get involved with one in your area.
  
  
  Enter a US Zip Code: Within 10 25 50 75 100 miles

Magazines, websites, live events, TV—Dave's everywhere! Get all the up-to-date info.

Nov. 8–14

EntreLeadership Master Series

Cancun, Mexico

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Check out our newest stations!
There are over 450 affiliates nationwide.

City & State	Radio Station	Air Times
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The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore. —Dale Carnegie