Proud Mama

Can I just report on how proud I am of my class?

I am so proud of the people who participated in the winter session of my personal finance class!

Twelve families enrolled and in the end, they collectively paid off over $108,000 in debt in 3 months! None of them made huge incomes, they only made big commitments. Good things come to those who commit, focus, and start walking toward a great goal.

♦ Two families sold a family car. At least one other put theirs up for sale.
♦ One person decided to go back to school as an adult.
♦ Five decided to take a personality or careers test to become more acquainted with their strengths and passions.
♦ One person got a job offer promising almost double their current income, working much nearer to home, and juggling less responsibilities. 
♦ Several commented that their marriages felt stronger due to getting on the same page.
♦ Three cut up a credit card in class.
♦ One found she would be out of debt sooner than she had planned.
♦ Several got their $1,000 Safety Net in place.
♦ Of those, some had an emergency happen soon after to necessitate using it and avoided using credit cards to save them!
♦ Of those, most were able to finish rebuilding their Safety Net before class ended.
♦ Ten set up auto-deposits to keep their Safety Net in place.
♦ So many sold belongings, worked extra, and cut down costs to keep moving toward their goals.
♦ We were all challenged in at least one belief we held about ourselves or our relationships or our stuff or our money.
♦ One grew in confidence by bargaining on a large family purchase on her own.
♦ A lot saved BIG money in day-to-day expenses or in needed repairs and purchases (including me!) by practicing bargaining and by sharing deals with each other.

Was this easy? NO! It sounds easy to the onlooker who sees only the end results; there was a lot of work, sacrifice, and commitment involved from these families to get from Point A to Point B. On, they will travel to Point C with perhaps few noticing the sweat they will break on their long journey before the finish line.

I again learned much about myself and about human behavior from some very interesting personalities! I thoroughly enjoyed the company of wise people.

I am very proud of these students and wish them continued learning and success!