First, keep in mind that goals are dreams; but don’t stop at just dreaming. Turn your dreams into bite-sized pieces that will gradually create a big event in your life. If you’re waiting on an outside variable to change your life, you have a long wait. You have to do something. It’s your responsibility to fix your life, not someone else’s. It’s time to sit down, make some goals, and take control.

Goal setting is how you win. Once you’ve made your resolutions, they will drive you forward. The goals will motivate you to seek activities that will help you succeed. It’s not always fun, but those exercises bring you closer to your goal and make you a winner.

If you want to actually achieve your goals this year, then consider the following:

1. Be specific.
   When setting goals, be specific in what you want to achieve. Vagueness will only cause you to feel overwhelmed, and you will just give up.
2. Make your goals measureable.
   In order to know if you achieved the goal, it must be measurable. For example, if you want to lose weight, don’t simply write down “lose weight” as a goal. How much weight do you want to lose? Or don’t just write “spend more time with family.” How much time do you want to spend with your family every night?
3. Are they your goals?
   Only you can set your own goals. If your spouse, co-worker or friend sets a goal for you, you’re not going to achieve it. Taking ownership will give you more incentive to meet your goal.
4. Set a time limit.
   Setting a time frame will help you set realistic goals. For example, if you want to save more money, list how much money a month you want to put into your savings account.
5. Put them in writing.
   Putting your goals in writing will make you much more likely to achieve them. Write down your goals and review them often. This will give you motivation to make them a reality.

This is the process to succeed. Successful people reassess their lives and then start living intentionally, in writing, on paper, on purpose. Make your resolutions a reality in 2010.
Back to Top

If you made a New Year’s resolution in 2009 and didn’t follow through, think about how you would feel if you had stuck to it. You wouldn’t still be feeling tired from those times you got up early this summer to run. You wouldn’t still be hungry from that time you didn’t order a pizza because you were sticking to a budget. Your health and money situation would be better, you would feel better, and you would have accomplished your goal.

What if we told you that accomplishing a goal wasn’t as hard as you thought? The secret to making a goal into a reality is getting started and taking small, consistent steps. Most people hear “losing 20 pounds” and think it has to happen this week. It doesn’t—it is something that will require a little sacrifice each day over a period of time, not a crash course in pain and discipline.

Getting started on something is always the hardest part. But once you’ve done it a few times, it becomes part of your daily routine. It doesn’t become an extra chore, it becomes something that is already in your schedule.

Making a budget is the same way. When you first make a money plan, it won’t work. It will barely work the second month, but that is because you are getting used to doing it. By the third month, you’ll have a much better feel for it, and your stress level will go way down. It just takes the determination to get through the rough patches that go with getting started.

We are on the cusp of 2010. You can either fall into the same trap as last year, or start making a little effort. The race is about to begin, and you’re at the starting line. Get started, and watch yourself grow!

We’ve got a new and awesome way to help you determine your goals for 2010 and stay motivated. Check out Dave’s new goal tracking software! You can set goals in seven different areas of life, from money, to family, to physical, to spiritual and more. Then you can track your progress in those areas throughout the days, weeks and months to come. It’s a sure way to stay fired up for what you’re going to do in 2010. Check it out here!
Back to Top

After a year of driving old beat up cars and never eating out he decided that married life wasn’t for him. He moved out and left me with 100% of the mortgage to pay on my own, not to mention thousands in credit card debt (both in my name only). Instead of letting the house go and allowing my credit score go into the gutter, I quickly posted internet ads and found two female roommates to help me cover the mortgage.

On Christmas I will send my last $250 Discover Card payment and be completely out of credit card debt ($8,000 in one year on my own). For 2010 I will begin baby step #3 to save 3-6 months of income while also increasing my 401K contributions and sending a little additional cash to my mortgage each month that will equal one extra payment per year.

I want you to know that your advice has really changed my life and I have shared my testimony to many of my friends who are now doing the debt snowball. I am now 25 and divorced but proud to be debt-free! This year I also found Christ and was baptized. It is true what you say that you will never find peace until you walk with the Prince of Peace.

God Bless you and thank you,
Amber
Houston, Texas

Read other We Did It! stories

Back to Top

I had a 1995 Saturn that was a great car and it was paid off. I told myself that I would run it into the ground before I bought a new car. Well, that idea didn’t last long.

In 2003 I bought a used Toyota truck for approximately $20,000. I loved it! I could now go 4X4ing in the mountains and have a good reliable vehicle and I would be “cool”. Skip ahead three years and my truck is paid off but I started to think about fuel costs because gas prices were starting to rise. I decided that wanted to get a fuel efficient vehicle and started looking into used hybrid vehicles. I test drove a 2005 Honda Hybrid that got about 47mpg. Better yet, my recently paid-off truck was actually worth more than the Honda so I traded my truck in for the Honda Hybrid and the dealership paid me $2,000. I drove my new 47mpg hybrid car for 4 months until I got homesick for my truck.

Instead of silencing my homesick thoughts I looked at my budget to see if I could “afford” a car payment if I got a new truck. Well, of course I found that I could “afford” it. So what did I do? I went to the Toyota dealership and bought a used 2005 Toyota truck. I also traded my Honda in for $11,000 and got a brand new car loan worth about $15,000. What a deal right! Wrong.

Although I just paid off my truck I’ve wasted about $40,000 over the last 6 years by making poor decisions. I learned not to make a vehicle a symbol of your “status”. Who cares what you drive as long as it gets you where you need to go! Drive your vehicles into the ground and then only buy used cars with cash you have saved up. And every time you get a wild hair, stop, look and think before you end up paying the Stupid Tax.

On a brighter note, I am now 31, debt-free, and starting my Roth IRA in January 2010. My next step is to get a second job to have my house paid off by the time I am 35 or 36 years old. Now that is awesome!

Eric

Read other Stupid Tax stories

Back to Top

Here’s the Rule
Itemize when the total of your itemized deductions is greater than your standard deduction. In other words, itemize only if you’ll get a bigger refund as a result.

How to Find Out if Itemizing Is Better
A deduction reduces your tax bill by lowering the amount of income you’re taxed on. Nearly everyone who gets a paycheck is eligible for the standard deduction, but the amount of the deduction varies based on how you file. A married couple filing a joint return, for example, will receive a standard deduction of $11,400 this year. Single filers will receive $5,700.

Your other option is to itemize, which means you have to add up your individual deductions, such as:

• Medical and dental expenses
• Taxes (state and local income taxes, property taxes and state sales tax)
• Interest expenses, such as home mortgages
• Charitable contributions
• Casualty and theft losses

If your expenses in these categories add up to more than your standard deduction, then you should itemize.

Here’s an Example
Mortgage interest is 100% deductible. Let’s say your year-end statement from your mortgage company says you’ve paid $11,500 in mortgage interest this year. You’ve already beaten the standard deduction for a couple filing jointly. Any other deductions are icing on the cake. In this case, you should definitely itemize your tax return.

On the other hand, if you’ve added up your expenses and you’re short of the standard deduction, take the standard deduction. If you go that route, you can still deduct things like moving expenses, or you can take advantage of tax credits for childcare. A tax services Endorsed Local Provider (ELP) can show you all of the deductions you qualify for, help you crunch the numbers, and answer any questions you have.

Find a local, hardworking tax professional who can help you keep more of your hard-earned money, today.

Back to Top

The McPeek’s Story

I was first introduced to Dave Ramsey through Financial Peace University but I had never been to a live event. What a great weekend! Both EntreLeadership 1-Day and the Total Money Makeover LIVE! events were very inspirational and just what my wife and I needed to renew our gazelle-like intensity. Just looking around the arena at the 8,000 people in attendance was inspiration enough. We were lucky enough to sit in the second row, and it was evident that Dave Ramsey’s team and all the volunteers make sure the experience is great for everyone who attends. Sitting in that arena and watching Dave teach, it was hard for me to believe that less than two years before I was a financial disaster and had no idea who Dave Ramsey was.

My experience with Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University began in February of 2008 when I took the class with my dad and step-mom. My wife Becky and I were engaged, and I was forced to take a hard look at how I handled money. Over the years I had managed to dig myself a pretty big hole. From irresponsibility with credit cards and checking accounts, to getting caught up in payday lending, getting upside down on a motorcycle loan, and taking out loans to go back to school, it seemed there was no bad financial mistake I hadn’t made. I had lost any semblance of financial hope, and I had absolutely no clue what to do about it. I was 26, and I knew it was time I started acting my age financially.

Going through FPU changed my life! During the course of the class I was able to pay off $7,000 in debt and save $3,000 toward our wedding and first apartment. It was the first time in my life that I truly felt independent, and I haven’t looked back since. I was so excited about the difference FPU was making in my life, I started FPU at our church. The results were unbelievable! We had just over 60 people in our first class, with a financial swing of over $220,000 during the course of the class. We are looking forward to starting another class this coming January.

Using the renewed focus we have as a result of the live events this weekend, Becky and I are looking forward to being 100% debt-free before March 2010, having our emergency fund 100% complete by summer, and going to Hawaii. We are also planning on paying cash for our first house! I am excited about our life together. I owe a lot of gratitude to Dave Ramsey for following God’s leading in his life and the rest of the Dave Ramsey team that makes Financial Peace possible for millions of people around the world!

Do you need to break up with FICO? Make 2010 the year to take control of your money!

Tickets to the Total Money Makeover LIVE! make a great gift! Dave and his team will bring the event to Houston, Grand Rapids, Dallas, Charleston and San Antonio this spring. Plus, the Dallas event will be simulcast live across the country! Don’t miss the Total Money Makeover LIVE! in your city! And if you’re a business leader, check out EntreLeadership 1-Day in Houston, Dallas and Charleston!
Back to Top

She believes that the practical information she learned at Counselor Training has helped her become a better and more effective counselor. “Counselor Training gave me a well-rounded education in how things work, what the rules are, and how consumers can use those rules to their advantage,” she said. Amie also became more confident in her abilities to counsel people with money problems.

After witnessing so many people change their lives because of the financial counseling they received, Amie decided to bring Financial Peace University to her church. Soon after, even more people were getting the help they needed and making dramatic transformations in their lives.

Each time the church offered an FPU class, they featured it on their website and bulletins and showed commercials on Sunday mornings. But Amie discovered that FPU graduates are the best advertisement. “Usually half of the class is friends and relatives of previous class members,” she said.

New Life Church has offered numerous FPU classes, and they intend to continue offering them as long as there are people who want to go through the class. Amie recommends FPU to families looking for a starting point in improving their finances. Then, she offers coaching to those who need extra help or are in a higher level of crisis. “I don’t see how you can have one without the other,” she said. “I always try to get people to go through FPU before they sit down with me for coaching, so that they have the educational foundation they need to succeed.”

Amie has seen firsthand the link between FPU and financial counseling. She facilitated four classes before becoming a counselor. The total result of those four classes was $2,390,095 in debt paid and $466,784 saved among 725 participants. Since becoming a counselor, Amie has seen a dramatic improvement in FPU class results. The overall count for the four classes she facilitated after going through Counselor Training was $3,340,497 in debt paid and $861,305 saved between 734 class members.

By watching hundreds of families and individuals fix their money problems thanks to FPU and counseling, Amie has also seen marriages saved, addictions kicked, and parents teaching their kids about money. “I strongly believe that if every church in America would implement FPU and have a counselor available, we could virtually eliminate divorce in Christian marriages, and we could raise up an entire generation of debt-free kids,” she said.

If you’re thinking of offering Financial Peace University at your church this year, why not send a staff or congregation member through Counselor Training first? Then you’ll have someone on hand to help FPU members as they work to gain control of their money and change their lives. The next Counselor Training is January 12–16, so sign up today!
Back to Top

• The Seven Baby Steps
  Get out of debt the same way you learned to walk—one step at a 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 miles 25 miles 50 miles 75 miles 100 miles

  miles
  

• Choose Your Newsletters
  Customize which helpful Dave Ramsey newsletters you want. Check out our special deals, investing tips, best of The Dave Ramsey Show and more! Subscribe now.

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

Back to Top

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

Back to Top