Do you keep books you’ve read? I usually pass my books along to someone else or donate them. I only keep the books that are special to me. Life-changing, if you will. I love books, but I hate clutter. Today, I decided to search my stack of treasured books to see if I could find this jewel. I was afraid that I had donated it years ago. I would have been heartbroken if I couldn’t find it! I found it! Covered in dust, but I found it!
This is one of the books that’s had a huge impact on my life and my family. Truthfully, I’m the only one in my family that read it. I read it around 1998. I remember the day I bought it. I remember how I felt before I went into the bookstore. I also remember how I felt as I sat in my car in the mall parking lot and read it. You see, before I walked into the mall and bought that book with a credit card, I felt hopeless and desperate. I knew we needed help. We were able to make all of our minimum payments, but we were not in the position to pay more than the minimums. My husband worked in the ever-changing car business which meant that his pay plan was always subject to change. I was just beginning my career as a paralegal (read: I didn’t make much money). I needed stability in our finances. I needed to be debt-free. I was losing sleep over our finances. I was stressed to the max. Can you relate to how I felt? Did I mention I was 21 and my husband was 26? Yeah, way too young to be that stressed over money. Things had to change. So I sat in the parking lot of West Town Mall and began reading this book. What I felt next was HOPE. Hope that we could change our finances. I had a really hard time putting this book down. Next, we took Financial Peace University. We began implementing what we learned. We then paid down our debt using the principles taught in Financial Peace University.
A couple of years into this financial journey I kept thinking I wanted to help people using the principles I had learned. At that time, I couldn’t quite figure out how to help people with their money issues. Fast forward 20 years and now I’m a financial coach. I talk to people daily about improving their finances. THIS is what I love to do. THIS is my passion. I coach people using the principles I learned all those years ago. I’m so thankful that I get to help people in this way. This book is so much more than just a book to me, it’s the book that changed so much in my life – my finances, the way my husband and I communicate about money, and the life my children get to live because of the money decisions we’ve made since discovering this book.
If you are interested in changing your relationship with money, let me know. I would love to show you how changing the way you handle your money affects so many areas of your life
Have you gone through Financial Peace University, but still need help? You could benefit from one-on-one financial coaching. Working with a financial coach could save you time and money. Send me an email at crystal (at) smartmoneyfinancialcoaching.com or click HERE to visit my website to schedule a time for us to talk.
