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EMS Tips

Tip to Achieve Financial Peace and Freedom

For several years I was an intermittent listener of the Dave Ramsey radio show. Then one Sunday afternoon I bought his best-seller the Total Money Makeover for a business trip that started the next day. With four plane rides and two nights in a hotel I read the book cover to cover and devised a plan to discuss and implement a family Total Money Makeover with my wife.

Over the next several weeks Amanda and I reviewed Dave’s seven Baby Steps. The biggest hurdles for us were to 1) devise a monthly budget and 2) stop using credit cards to earn rewards.

Now 18 months later we look forward to our monthly budget planning sessions and enjoy the financial freedom that comes with following a budget and living debt free (we are still working on our mortgage). Along the way we have increased our income, increased our saving for retirement, and increased saving for our kid’s college. We now save for the things we want and buy them with cash – usually at a better price than we could have gotten with a credit card.

Today’s Everyday EMS Tip is to achieve financial peace and freedom. There are lots of methods to reduce debt, control expenses, increase income, and save more. I like Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover because it is easy to implement (but challenging to stick with) and has worked for millions of people.

Buy a new or used copy of the The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness (Amazon.com link) or check out a copy from your library. Learn more about Dave Ramsey at DaveRamsey.com.

By Greg Friese

Greg Friese, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, is an author, educator, paramedic, and marathon runner.

Greg was the co-host of the award winning EMSEduCast podcast, the only podcast by and for EMS educators. Greg has written for EMS1.com, JEMS.com, Wilderness Medical Associates, JEMS Magazine, EMSWorld.com and EMS World Magazine, and the NAEMSE Educator Newsletter.