Yes – finances can be fun. They’re really fun when you’re making wise decisions instead of boneheaded mistakes.
Trust me on this.
Several years ago, The Boy and I read Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. We didn’t really need a money makeover – we’re financially conservative folks. However, we loved Dave’s simple, easy to follow approach to making financial decisions.
A plan. It’s a wonderful thing.
We’ve been fans ever since. In the ensuing years, we’ve taught Financial Peace University several times at area churches. It’s great fun to see other people make wise decisions and build personal financial plans. Really.
So it was a bit of a surprise – and a bit not, since the Dave Ramsey organization is built on masterful marketing – to get an emailed invitation a few months ago to a FPU (Financial Peace University) Coordinator Rally.
We RSVP’d yes (of course) and looked forward to whatever the event would feature.
It turns out that it was, as I suspected, a masterful market strategy (judged by this professional marketer, anyway!). A limited group of FPU coordinators, I’d guess around 200, were invited to a nice evening preview of changes to the FPU curriculum.
And the preview was given by Dave Ramsey himself.
Very, very smart. For the cost of a small ballroom rental, snacks and tea, as well as staff time and travel, a group of 200 people felt very very special. That’s incredible ROI (Return On Investment)!
Do I feel used/taken advantage of? Heck, no. The evening was a great experience. We ran into our two favorite realtors (The Kochers…if you live in Dallas, you must use them), we learned more about the great changes to a program we enjoy teaching, and…
…WE MET DAVE RAMSEY.
Our friends asked if we had a chance to talk to Dave. I told them that I had a chance to talk to Dave, and because he’s married to me, The Boy didn’t.