Tag Archives: Financial Peace University

November 21, 2011

Why You Need To Celebrate Progress

By Chris LoCurto
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“People are afraid to celebrate winning the battle, because the war hasn’t been won yet.” – Kent Singletary

I was having a conversation with Kent, our Momentum Coach, and we were talking about completing the Financial Peace University (FPU) Baby Steps. That’s when he shared with me the above quote. (Yes, I could have written it into this paragraph, but it’s much better as a stand-alone quote.) He said people (especially men) are hesitant to celebrate accomplishing Baby Step 1 of FPU, which is getting $1,000 in an emergency fund, because something might happen and they would have to use that money.

He pointed out that people don’t celebrate what can be taken away. Think about the kinds of cards you can buy at Hallmark – birthday, anniversary, etc. But you don’t see a “Great job losing 10 pounds!” card. The same thing is true for emergency funds. Something might happen, and they will be forced to pull money out of their emergency fund for…wait for it…an emergency!

But that’s what it’s there for. The sad thing is, people feel like they’ve failed if they have an emergency and they have to use the emergency fund. How is that possible? Well, to be honest, it’s because of the financial roller coaster we’ve all been on with our money since we started our lives as adults. We started using debt. We didn’t watch where we spent our money. We’re a culture that celebrates permanence; therefore, we don’t place as much value on the things that might last only a short time.

According to The Wall Street Journal, 70% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. That means that all the money coming in is going right back out again. With life being this tight, any unexpected event is going to be a financial crisis. And what do we do when we have a financial crisis? Well, considering we don’t have cash to handle it, we go into debt. Thus, the pensive feelings when we finally have an emergency fund. These crises leave such deep mental scars that we’re still just waiting for the next bad thing to happen.

We get confused thinking that unless the fund stays at $1,000, we weren’t successful. The truth is, most people have never had that much money in their account on purpose! We also worry that if we have to use the money, and someone finds out, they will look at us as failures. It’s just not true! And if someone does, get that dork out of your life. Look for people who enjoy celebrating milestones.

So what do we do? Here are some suggestions:

  • Celebrate – Make it a point to get excited that you have that money! (Especially you men!) Get up and dance a jig. Or the Hokie Pokie. Or the Macarena. I don’t care, just get happy!
  • Celebrate with others – Again, as humans we are naturally concerned with what others think of us. If you see somebody doing something right, go crazy telling them how well they’ve done. They’ll soon begin to feel it as well. Then it will be okay for them to experience the fun! And don’t be afraid to celebrate the same win again if you have to go backward temporarily.
  • Plan for emergencies – Planning for an emergency doesn’t mean one will happen. It just means you are prepared. What if there is an emergency? What then? Well, since you’ve been working like crazy to protect yourself against emergencies, then it’s okay if you need to use that protection. By the way, stop calling this failure!

Always remember that we don’t get into financial trouble overnight. Therefore, it will take some time to get out. Celebrating the Baby Steps is just a way of saying along the way that you have no intentions of going backward for good. If we do for a time, it’s only for a time.

Question: Have you ever felt this way before, or noticed someone who has? Is there someone you need to celebrate with today?

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28 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Financial

July 22, 2011

Leadership Spotlight: Mark Daniels

By Chris LoCurto
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The Leadership Spotlight continues this week with Mark Daniels. Mark is the Business Technology Project Leader for Financial Peace University.

Mark has a diverse work history with 20 years of experience across a variety of industries including a non-profit research organization, a law firm, an IT consulting firm and a large multi-national corporation.  Mark has led developers, architects, business analysts and project managers on hundreds of projects.  Prior to joining Dave’s team, Mark worked for nine years at H&R Block’s world headquarters in Kansas City, MO, where he held various leadership positions.

This included leading the development team responsible for the tax software platform used in all H&R Block retail offices. When not at work, Mark enjoys spending time with his family and occasionally chasing a little white ball around nicely mowed grass. He and his wife, Jackie, have one daughter and live near Nashville, TN.

CLo: What is your role in leadership?

MD: My current role is really oriented around leadership in two different ways. First, I lead a team of software developers directly. Secondly, I lead a number of initiatives and projects for various departments, which means I lead others who do not directly report to me.

CLo: What is the best advice you’ve ever received about leadership?

MD: I have been blessed to work with some outstanding leaders and I have always tried to learn something from each one. While it is difficult to land on a “best,” here are a few things that stand out:

  • Be yourself. Don’t try to lead like someone you are not.
  • Empowerment can only truly come after alignment — get aligned with your leader and look to ensure your team is aligned with you.
  • Strive to be a servant leader and build relationships with those you lead.
  • People follow what is modeled — what you do speaks volumes.

CLo: What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

MD: I think it the biggest challenge remains how to communicate effectively. Everything we do involves people so communication and relationship is so key.

CLo: How do you continue to improve yourself as a leader?

MD: Find other leaders I can learn from and then try to build relationships with them.

CLo: How do you invest in others?

MD: I believe people want to know their leader cares about what they do and how they do it. I invest in others by showing them I care about the details of their work and make sure to recognize them for their efforts and contributions.

CLo: What was the last book you read?

MD: I have four going right now:

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July 1, 2011

Leadership Spotlight: Thom Carlin

By Chris LoCurto
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The Leadership Spotlight continues this week with Thom Carlin. Thom’s position on Dave’s team, as our Shipping Leader, was gained from experiences that have included receiving and maintaining inventory for a local Nashville grocery chain; being responsible for everything relating to the mail room for a health care company; right up to finding himself in a marketing support position for a software company, located in Tennessee.

Since joining Dave’s Team in September of 2000, Thom has seen our team grow from 38 people to over 300.  When Thom started, his team consisted of just himself.  Today, his team has 2 additional people, and depending on the time of year, can also include 1 to 6 temporary helpers.  He also coordinates with our fulfillment center that we are fortunate to have partnered with since 2005.

In Thom’s free time he enjoys traveling to Malibu, California.  It is one of his favorite places to go because; as Thom says “The people who live there, treat you like you belong, until you take out a camera.” Thom also enjoys going to television tapings and Game shows.  He was even fortunate enough to be a contestant on The Price is Right during Bob Barker’s last year as host, in 2006.  Yep, if you need to find Thom, you can find him either in the shipping room, or hanging out in Malibu.

CLo: What is your role in leadership?

TC: Vice President, Director, Team Leader, Manager of Shipping – take your pick.  I just like to stand by the motto, Shipping Happens.  As long as it does, any title is fine.

CLo: What is the best advice you’ve ever received about leadership?

TC: That the solution is service.  Serve your team, serve your customer and always create a win/win solution for all in doing so.

CLo: What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

TC: Hmmm?  I would say taking time for my team and department.  In my area, we get so busy serving and doing that it becomes difficult to step back and check to see that we are doing everything in the best way possible.  Sometimes too, in being so busy, I can miss the signs that someone may be dealing with personal issues in their life, good or bad.  So I strive each week to listen while at work and watch what is going on with my team.  In doing so, it allows us to recognize and celebrate wins and offer encouragement when team members seem stressed.  An added benefit: I’ve been able to identify problems and improve our processes to better serve our company.

CLo: How do you continue to improve yourself as a leader?

TC: Reading.  I’m a big believer in reading, listening and making time to think each day.

CLo: How do you invest in others?

TC: By listening to what they are saying and seeing how the smallest of changes will allow them to take ownership of their work..

CLo: What was the last book you read?

TC: Currently reading Decision Points. Prior to that was a re-read of Wild at Heart.

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June 17, 2011

Leadership Spotlight: Brent Spicer

By Chris LoCurto
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The Leadership Spotlight continues this week with Brent Spicer. Brent is a native of Nashville and a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University. Brent was a financial planner and bi-vocational minister before joining Dave’s team. He is passionate about changing people’s lives through Financial Peace University.  In his spare time he enjoys fishing, mountain biking and swimming with his kids. Brent and his wife, Tonya, have two children, Madalyn age 8, and Daniel age 5. They are active members with Liberty Hill church of Christ in Fairview, TN.

CLo: What is your role in leadership?

BS: Business Development and Strategy with the Financial Peace University Church Team.  My role is to find and test new ideas to improve our classes and grow our business.  I am an innovator at heart.

CLo: What is the best advice you’ve ever received about leadership?

BS: You are the lid for your team and business.  They will rise to your level of leadership, regardless of how high or low that level is. I’m amazed by how few leaders truly understand this. If you’re a servant leader, your team will be too.  You attract people like you, so be intentional about who you are.

CLo: What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

BS: Communicating effectively with their teams.  It is critical that teams understand the organization’s mission, vision and goals.  They need to know what winning is for them. In other words, what metrics accomplish the vision?  When you think you’ve beaten the horse to death, others are just starting to get it.

CLo: How do you continue to improve yourself as a leader?

BS: Leaders are readers, and lifelong learning has to be a top priority.  Things are changing so fast today that learning and growing are more important than ever to maintain a competitive advantage.  I also track my daily scorecard of things I did well and things I need to improve.  Last, I have lunch with other leaders and thought leaders in different industries to accelerate my growth.

CLo: How do you invest in others?

BS: I maintain margin in my schedule so I have time for others, and I consciously slow down in the hall to talk to others.  Last, I look for opportunities to give an “atta boy” for great work or to be generous to a team member in need.

CLo: What was the last book you read?

BS: Strategic Leadership: The General’s Art – “In line with the curriculum followed by senior officers, this book teaches leaders how to think and lead strategically in uncertain environments. With contributions from military leaders and experts in the fields of transformational leadership, systems, critical and historical thinking, and corporate culture, this work teaches mid-level managers how to become high-level executives.”

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June 10, 2011

Leadership Spotlight: Neal Webb

By Chris LoCurto
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The Leadership Spotlight continues this week with Neal Webb. Neal is the Vice President of Dave Ramsey’s Publishing Department. Before coming on at Dave’s, Neal spent 16 years as the Director of Marketing for the world’s largest book distributor, Ingram Book Company.

Neal earned a master’s degree in corporate communication from Western Kentucky University, and he also worked three years in the radio industry. He and his wife are proud of their two kids who are currently in college.

CLo: What is your role in leadership?

NW: To lead the Publishing Department Team, whose responsibilities are researching, planning, producing, managing inventory, marketing, promoting and selling of all Dave Ramsey products other than Financial Peace University classes and Foundations School Curriculum.   The products include books, DVDs, CDs, software, games, teen products and children’s products.

CLo: What is the best advice you’ve ever received about leadership?

NW: Though I’ve heard the advice stated in many different forms…..to “constantly increase my learning and to always listen well” are the two best pieces of advice I have received when it comes to being an effective leader.  Solomon probably stated both as well as they can be in Proverbs 1:5 – A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.

CLo: What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

NW: Probably pushing for change, encouraging your team to do the same and making them aware that change can be a good thing.  It’s good to shake things up once in a while to find opportunity — but very easy for some leaders to be satisfied feeling success in the status quo.

CLo: How do you continue to improve yourself as a leader?

NW: Read a lot, listen a lot, ask a lot of questions and emulate those I perceive as successful leaders….with “successful leaders” defined as those who listen well, lead by example and have loyal followers.

CLo: How do you invest in others?

NW: Again, I strive to listen well to my team.  By listening and reacting wisely to what I hear from my team or individuals, I can usually gain much more productivity and respect than if I  try to dominate conversations with what I think is wisdom.

CLo: What was the last book you read?

NW: I usually have a couple of books going at once.  The last two were The Summer Of 1787 (about the writing of the United States Constitution) and Hug Your Customers.

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June 3, 2011

Leadership Spotlight: Andres Gutierrez

By Chris LoCurto
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The Leadership Spotlight continues this week with Andres Gutierrez. A successful entrepreneur and small-business owner, Andres Gutierrez knows what it’s like to start with nothing and build lasting wealth.

After hosting a popular San Antonio financial radio program and appearing regularly as a financial expert on the Telemundo television network, Andres has joined Dave Ramsey’s team to bring the message of Financial Peace to Spanish-speaking Americans.

Known for his passionate, entertaining and high-energy presentations, Andres is on a mission to transform the American Hispanic community – one family at a time! Andres lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife and three children.

CLo: What is your role in leadership?

AG: A leader should guide and keep the team focused on the target.  As a leader I have to keep that mission, the vision, the dream vibrant to the team where they are choosing to be part of this crusade vs just working here. It’s much easier and fun to use your energy to paint a picture of the future than having to carry and push your team. I also believe that the leader should provide clarity on the priority of items to accomplish.

CLo: What is the best advice you’ve ever received about leadership?

AG: Treat people as you would like to be treated.  We put thought to everything of how people were treated when they came to our business.  Of course we checked how the phone was answered, the tone of the emails, we even walked through the office to see how it felt.

CLo: What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

AG: Finding the right players is the biggest challenge. You can hear this over and over but until you hire somebody that has that same fire that you have, your business is running at 50% efficiency. No matter how busy you are, keep interviewing and until you find that next special person. I promise that as challenging as it sounds to find the needle in the haystack, it becomes easier because your team will protect their environment and recommend other high quality people.

CLo: How do you continue to improve yourself as a leader?

AG: I was exposed to a leadership way of thinking by reading, but what helped me to change was giving authority to people I loved and respect, to tell me the good and the bad.  I am always looking for the constructive criticism, I ask for it. I don’t just ask other leaders or people of influence that I respect, I asked the person answering the phone and making the copies.  I stop guessing what I thought the business needed or the team and I started asking. When you have a team you trust they will tell you how to improve.

CLo: How do you invest in others?

AG: I invest in others by giving them a sincere friendship which has to include what I believe is the only meaningful investment, time.  It was standard practice in our business to go out as a team and have lunch once a month. We celebrated every birthday with cake and inviting their family to the office. If their kids were having a birthday party, we were there.

CLo: What was the last book you read?

AG: “10 leyes Irrefutables para tu economia” which in english it means “10 Irrefutable laws for your economy” by Dr. Andrés Panasiuk. I don’t read any fiction. I read what I enjoy and I am always attracted to business, leadership and books that teach about dealing with people.

I would love to hear…or read your comments. Please click the link below.

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May 27, 2011

Leadership Spotlight: Colonel Norman Potter

By Chris LoCurto
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The Leadership Spotlight continues this week with Colonel Norman Potter. Colonel Norman “Stormin” Potter is a retired United States Air Force Colonel and Master Air Battle Manager with more than 4,200 hours in various aircraft and more than 1,800 combat and combat support hours. He served in numerous military operations, including Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Provide Comfort, Deny Flight, Deliberate Force, Joint Endeavor and Iraqi Freedom. He also played roles in counter-drug operations in Central and South America and air surveillance operations on the Korean Peninsula.

Born in Ogden, Utah, Colonel Potter grew up in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and East Point, Georgia. He earned a B.S. in engineering technology from the University of Alabama (1984), an M.S. in international relations at Troy State University (1988) and an M.A. in strategic studies at Air War College (2007).

Other achievements include being twice awarded Military Distinguished Graduate. In addition, he was awarded the Department of State Superior Achievement Citation, United States Air Force Europe’s 1997 Air Force Association’s Hoyt S. Vandenberg Training Award, 1999 and 2000 Pacific Air Forces Air Battle Management Crew of the Year. He was also the recipient of the 355th Wing’s Lance P. Sijan Senior Leadership Award.

Following his military retirement, Colonel Potter joined the Dave Ramsey team as Vice President of the Financial Peace Military Edition. His mission is to use Dave’s principles to help all military members and their families achieve financial peace while greatly contributing to military readiness and combat effectiveness.

CLo: What is your role in leadership?

NP: To build the rapid expansion of FPME and to sell the “Big Picture” idea not only to leaders, but also to the Military Advisors

CLo: What is the best advice you’ve ever received about leadership?

NP:

  1. Absorb leadership traits from the good and bad leaders alike.  Once you become a leader, you will know which ideas to discard and which to implement.
  2. If you can’t get your work done in eight hours, you are doing something wrong (You aren’t delegating, you’re micro managing. Or you have ineffective processes).
  3. Build a team of experts you trust, give them your strategic guidance and let them go.  They won’t fail you.

CLo: What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

NP: To lead people and manage things.  Some leaders should wear a sign that says, “Great With Machinery. Keep Away From People.”

CLo: How do you continue to improve yourself as a leader?

NP: By applying observation with lifelong experiences and leadership education.

CLo: How do you invest in others?

NP: Treat the mission or task as a high performance jet.  The people are the parts of that jet.  If you don’t maintain them (through pay, benefits, understanding, respect, etc) the parts will falter and have to be discarded, thus making the machine much less efficient and effective.

CLo: What was the last book you read?

NP: Ronald Reagan, The Great Communicator.

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May 20, 2011

Leadership Spotlight: Barry Hardy

By Chris LoCurto
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The Leadership Spotlight continues this week with Barry Hardy. Barry is the team leader of the Customer Care Center for the Dave Ramsey organization. He has worked with Dave for more than eight years and in addition to his customer care duties, Barry has also been active in bringing to life “Junior,” the title character of Dave Ramsey’s six children’s books.

Prior to working for The Lampo Group, Barry taught elementary school and high school for 14 years. He is very active at church and has been on six mission trips to Novosibirsk, Siberia…during the winter! Ask him about what a Russian winter is like — he should be used to it!

Barry was born and raised in Maine, then moved to Tennessee where he attended Lipscomb University and received a bachelor’s degree in education, theater and psychology. He completed his master’s degree in education at Indiana University. He and his wife, Debbie, have coordinated Financial Peace University classes for more than nine years, and they live in LaVergne, TN, with two of their three sons. His speaking engagements include motivational and ministerial speaking throughout the United States at churches, schools and business organizations. He also speaks at conventions and workshops teaching families how  prepare themselves and their children to handle money matters.

When not at work, you can find Barry producing and directing shows as The Swan Performing Arts Center, a non-profit, 501c3 community theater.  Barry is the President of the Christian-based, family oriented organization in operation now for two years.

CLo: What is your role in leadership?

BH: To continue to challenge, mentor and encourage my team to the benefit of the entire company.
I want my advisors to not only be better at what we do, but also to better themselves personally.  While I want people on my team to enjoy what they do and desire to stay, I want them to prepare themselves for their next step, whatever that might be.  As I mentor and encourage them to be better customer advocates and sales people, I want to do what I can to help them reach their professional and personal goals. If they feel that everything they do benefits them for the future, they will be happier and more productive in the present.

CLo: What is the best advice you’ve ever received about leadership?

BH: Don’t ask of anyone anything that you are not willing to do yourself. I’m not on the phones much anymore, but if I needed to be I could and would.  I stay abreast of everything they have to know as an advisor.  This helps me as a leader to see things through the advisor’s eyes which helps me see what areas need refocusing, changing, updating, etc.  It also gives the advisors a comfort level if they encounter something different.  They know that I will either know the answer or be able to find it for them quickly.  There are also times when, for the good of the department, we have to other types of work, such as loading and unloading, cleaning, restocking, etc.  These things take up time and aren’t that much fun.  As a leader, I’m right there in the middle of it with them.  I do delegate, but they know that if I am not there with them, it is because I’m tied up with something that needs my attention and not that I just don’t want to get my hands dirty.

 CLo: What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

BH: Keeping your team focused on the goal when there are so many distractions affecting their lives. With the variety of calls we get in a day, it’s easy to get discouraged on slow days or be overwhelmed on busy days.  While many of our calls are upbeat and generate sales for the advisors, many more are serious and often depressing.  You have to work at staying on your game.  There are also many personal things that happen to all of us that can get in our way if we are not careful.  Spending individual time with the advisors helps me understand them and assist where I can to help them stay on track at work.

CLo: How do you continue to improve yourself as a leader?

BH: Reading and picking the brains of other leaders. I do a lot of listening and watching. You can learn a great deal if you just keep your mouth shut and tune in to what’s going on around you.  Watching other leaders and how they work with their teams helps me tremendously.  I have three leaders here who I will sit down with and just run things by them or ask how they would handle a situation. I don’t have all the answers, but I know I can depend on my fellow leaders to provide guidance.

CLo: How do you invest in others?

BH: Time.  I am always there when needed for any reason and for anything.  I stop what I’m doing to take care of their needs. My door is always open for any team member who needs to just talk.  However, I also have dedicated time each month with each advisor. That is their time to sit down and discuss whatever is on their mind.  This time is for non-emergency or time-sensitive discussions. If something like that comes up, they know they can come to me immediately. I also plan social events with the team.  Going to a play, or to dinner or simply taking a few at a time to lunch one day goes along way in team spirit and morale.  In the past, we have also taken retreats, and those have always been a big hit.

CLo: What was the last book you read?

BH: Surviving in an Angry World – Charles Stanley – second time through. Reading is crucial.  I don’t do as much as I would like, but I try.  I also watch for things on the internet as well as television that might impact what we do in Customer Care or individual growth. I also try to attend at least two seminars a year to help me grow as a leader.

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March 28, 2011

You In Or You Out?

By Chris LoCurto
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Josh Levitt left a comment on “How To Get An Interview” that lead me to write this post.


I do a lot of speaking to around the country on both our financial message and our business message. When speaking on the financial message, many times I will get someone who comes up to me to tell me that they can’t get their pastor involved.

They say that they’ve tried everything they could think of but the pastor just won’t budge. It’s not because they’re against it, they just don’t think they need to be a part of it. They have people running it and it’s not necessary for them to get involved. Or, they feel they’re just too busy.

When they ask what should they do, I always answer the same way. In Josh’s comment, he had the same great idea:

“…I used a similar approach to help get some leaders at our church “on board” with Financial Peace University. It’s been a little bit of a struggle to get leadership support. Even though we’ve had FPU for about two years now, there is little promotion allowed and never any mention from stage on Sunday. The church is somewhat typical in the fact that we don’t like to talk about money often.

My wife and I decided to give our leadership team and their spouse tickets to the Live Event a few weeks ago (KC). It got their attention. They loved the event, and I anticipate that it will lead to more support of FPU.”

If a Live Event isn’t a possibility, I tell them to get into a FPU class. Either way, as you can see with Josh’s comment, they will be on fire for helping their people get the help they need. The problem is, you gotta get them there. Leadership MUST be involved! It’s the same with any initiative that you are trying to accomplish where  you are. If leadership isn’t behind it completely, it will fail.

Why? There’s a certain amount of energy that leaders bring that the team feeds off of. When it’s there, things just get done! People get involved! A pastor in Florida had 400 families signed up for FPU. He got up that Sunday and announced he and his wife would be taking the class, 1000 people signed up that day!

When a team is trying to complete a project, but there’s no energy from leadership, it falls to the wayside. Why? Because it appears that nobody really cares if it happens or not. And the worst stance a leader can take is the, “I’m delegating that, so I’m going to leave them alone to accomplish it.” Seriously?! That’s your plan? It will fail. You have to at least inspect what you expect. And if you’re not there to make sure that person is being successful, then you can’t be surprised when they’re not.

As a leader, realize that your team operates off of your energy. Get in there and make it happen! Ask what they need from you. Ask if they have all the information they need. And ask if there’s anything you can do to make them successful.

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March 1, 2011

Celebrating Progress

By Chris LoCurto
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“People are afraid to celebrate winning the battle, because the war hasn’t been won yet.” – Kent Singletary

A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with Kent, our Momentum Coach, and we were talking about completing the Financial Peace University (FPU) Baby Steps. That’s when he shared with me the above quote. (Yes, I could have written it into this paragraph, but it’s much better as a stand-alone quote.) He said people (especially men) are hesitant to celebrate accomplishing Baby Step 1 of FPU, which is getting $1,000 in an emergency fund, because something might happen and they would have to use that money.

He pointed out that people don’t celebrate what can be taken away. Think about the kinds of cards you can buy at Hallmark – birthday, anniversary, etc. But you don’t see a “Great job losing 10 pounds!” card. The same thing is true for emergency funds. Something might happen, and they will be forced to pull money out of their emergency fund for…wait for it…an emergency!

But that’s what it’s there for. The sad thing is, people feel like they’ve failed if they have an emergency and they have to use the emergency fund. How is that possible? Well, to be honest, it’s because of the financial roller coaster we’ve all been on with our money since we started our lives as adults. We started using debt. We didn’t watch where we spent our money. We’re a culture that celebrates permanence; therefore, we don’t place as much value on the things that might last only a short time.

According to The Wall Street Journal, 70% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. That means that all the money coming in is going right back out again. With life being this tight, any unexpected event is going to be a financial crisis. And what do we do when we have a financial crisis? Well, considering we don’t have cash to handle it, we go into debt. Thus, the pensive feelings when we finally have an emergency fund. These crises leave such deep mental scars that we’re still just waiting for the next bad thing to happen.

We get confused thinking that unless the fund stays at $1,000, we weren’t successful. The truth is, most people have never had that much money in their account on purpose! We also worry that if we have to use the money, and someone finds out, they will look at us as failures. It’s just not true! And if someone does, get that dork out of your life. Look for people who enjoy celebrating milestones.

So what do we do? Here are some suggestions:

  • Celebrate – Make it a point to get excited that you have that money! (Especially you men!) Get up and dance a jig. Or the Hokie Pokie. Or the Macarena. I don’t care, just get happy!
  • Celebrate with others – Again, as humans we are naturally concerned with what others think of us. If you see somebody doing something right, go crazy telling them how well they’ve done. They’ll soon begin to feel it as well. Then it will be okay for them to experience the fun! And don’t be afraid to celebrate the same win again if you have to go backward temporarily.
  • Plan for emergencies – Planning for an emergency doesn’t mean one will happen. It just means you are prepared. What if there is an emergency? What then? Well, since you’ve been working like crazy to protect yourself against emergencies, then it’s okay if you need to use that protection. By the way, stop calling this failure!

Always remember that we don’t get into financial trouble overnight. Therefore, it will take some time to get out. Celebrating the Baby Steps is just a way of saying along the way that you have no intentions of going backward for good. If we do for a time, it’s only for a time.

Have you ever felt this way before or noticed someone who has? Is there someone you need to celebrate with today?

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