We just had another FPU class graduate. For those of you who are not familiar with FPU it stands for Financial Peace University. Dave Ramsey created this course. Dave is a personal finance expert who in addition to creating this life changing course, has written several best selling books. He is on the radio every day at 11am on 980AM and appears nightly on Fox Business Channel.

My wife Stacie and I have taught this course since 2008. The graduating class of September 2011 was by far our largest. We started with 144 people who were looking to get out of debt as well as manage their money better.

After 13 weeks of hard work, and learning to understand how to properly budget and save, 36 Households, (about 85 people) graduated from the course. Together, they paid off $290,000 in debt and also saved $170,000 during the 13 weeks course. That is an amazing average of $13,000 per household, $1,000 per week. These numbers are AMAZING! The amazing part is that this is the average. That means that some households paid off more than that.

I know you are thinking that there is no way that this is possible. Some of you think that this is some type of multi-level marketing scheme or something. It’s not. It is amazing what common sense and having a plan will do for your finances. When you live on less than you make, you start winning financially. When you burn more calories than you take in, you start losing weight. It’s not rocket science.

The reality is that we understand the concept. It is very simple. It is however hard to change the behavior that got us into the mess that we are in. The same level of thinking, the same level of planning that got us into our financial mess, will NOT GET US OUT. We have to be willing to step outside of our comfort zone and make the necessary adjustments. If we don’t, then we can only expect the same result.

Starting in September I became a Dave Ramsey ELP. What the heck is that? Well, basically I am now an Endorsed Local Provider for Dave Ramsey for Financial Coaching. You will note that my logo has changed from Mortgage Man to Money Coach. I am now offering personal finance coaching to anyone who might be sick and tired of being sick and tired about their finances.

Will I continue to do mortgages? Sure, but just like before, they will have to make sense. Only fixed rate mortgages that truly HELP the homeowner.

My main focus is to help people get back on track financially.