(This is part of an ongoing series about how YOU, a resident of Charlotte North Carolina or any other place in the country, can become debt free and experience FINANCIAL FREEDOM using a simple plan and process known as the Total Money Makeover. You can review the previous posts to catch up on everything you have missed. There are seven simple baby steps.)

Probably my favorite (and most effective for me personally) resource from Dave Ramsey is his most recent book “The Total Money Makeover”. It was the first book I read by Dave Ramsey and it was the catalyst that got my wife and I on a great track to financial freedom.

I wrote extensively about the first several chapters of the book back in early 2009. You can catch up on those articles in the archive. This upcoming series about financial freedom will focus on the heart of the book = the seven baby steps!

Below is an outline of those baby steps that we will discuss more fully and in more detail over the next several posts:

1 – SAVE $1,000 FAST = do whatever it takes to get $1,000 in the bank this month! (If you don’t already have it there.)

2 – THE DEBT SNOWBALL = pay off all debts, one at a time (except for your home).

3 – FINISH THE EMERGENCY FUND (Kick Murphy Out) = Put three to six months of your living expenses in savings.

4 – MAXIMIZE RETIREMENT INVESTING (Financially healthy for life) = each month put 15% of your income in retirement accounts.

5 – COLLEGE FUNDING = fully fund college savings accounts for all of your children.

6 – PAY OFF THE HOME MORTGAGE = Just like it sounds. Pay the whole thing off… in FULL!

7 – BUILD WEALTH LIKE CRAZY!

Tomorrow we will begin to look at baby step one!

Charlotte Real Estate. Financial Freedom. Dave Ramsey. The Total Money Makeover.

In tomorrow’s post we will begin gleaning more of the wisdom from Dave Ramsey’s expertise. But before we do that here are a few more things you may not know about him!

Dave Ramsey started his radio show, currently known as “The Dave Ramsey Show”, in 1992 then called “The Money Game”. Originally a locally based show, it is now syndicated across the country. In 2007, the Fox Business Network launched a television show under the same title of “The Dave Ramsey Show”. Both shows are on air Monday through Friday.

*I personally record and watch the Dave Ramsey show on TV in HD each week night at 8pm! (Channel 241 if you have Time Warner Cable HD in Charlotte, North Carolina.)

Ramsey founded his company, the Lampo Group in 1991, initially helping people one-on-one who were struggling with financial issues. In 1994 he hired Russ Carroll, who is now his lead financial counselor, and together they began teaching the first Financial Peace University classes on overhead projectors. Between 1999 and 2004, The Lampo Group grew from 18 to 105 team members. There are currently over 200 employees.

Ramsey runs his business completely debt-free, an accomplishment he states was critical to the success of his company. And obviously that is very remarkable! Do you know of anyone else who does this?

Ramsey is also the creator of Financial Peace University, a Biblically based 13-week video training series for adults, and a companion series targeted at teenagers that has been offered in schools across the nation. Some topics covered in the series are cash flow planning, investing, saving, credit, retirement, and giving.

“Share It!” is a foundation created by Dave and Sharon Ramsey for the purpose of working with other non-profit organizations such as housing initiatives, work to success projects, domestic violence shelters, drug and alcohol recovery programs, crisis pregnancy centers, youth outreaches, and high schools to help others become financially literate.

Pretty awesome. Tomorrow we’ll start learning about how, even in this real estate and economic climate, we can live like no one else, so later we can live like no one else!

The last few posts we have been talking about learning from the real estate experts and financial experts! Learning wisdom from the experience of others is always better than learning from our own mistakes!

This is just a little peek at the biography of Dave Ramsey.

Dave was born and raised in Antioch, Tennessee. He was a graduate of the College of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee in 1982. At the age of 26, through his brokerage firm, Ramsey Investments, Inc., he built a rental real estate portfolio worth more than $4 million and became one of Tennessee’s youngest brokers to be admitted to the Graduate Realtors Institute. He was an extremely young millionaire!

Ramsey’s success soon came to an end as the Tax Reform Act of 1986 began to have a negative impact on the real estate business. One of Ramsey’s largest creditors was sold to a larger bank, who began to take a harder look at Ramsey’s borrowing habits. The bank demanded he pay $1.2 million worth of short-term notes within 90 days, forcing him to file for bankruptcy!

Dave and his wife completely and radically changed his lifestyle! They decided that they would no longer be in debt.
Ramsey began counseling couples at his local church. Soon after offering these services privately, Ramsey began attending every workshop and seminar on consumer financial problems that he could find. He developed a simple set of lessons and materials based partially on his own experience and on works and teachings by Larry Burkett and Ron Blue.

After many requests from his clients, in 1992 wrote his first book = “Financial Peace”. The rest is history.

Dave has been married to his wife, Sharon, for 25 years; they have three children: Denise; Rachel; and Daniel. The family resides in Brentwood, Tennessee where Dave’s business is based.

Charlotte Real Estate. Dave Ramsey. Real Estate Market.

“Live like no one else so later you can live like no one else.” This is the motto and mantra of Real Estate expert and current financial guru, Dave Ramsey.

You can read a little bit about learning from experts in the last couple posts.

Dave’s syndicated radio program The Dave Ramsey Show is promoted with a tag line that says “It’s about your life and your money,” and it is heard on over 450 radio stations throughout the United States and Canada. Dave’s show is also on XM and Sirius satellite radio.

He has written several books. My personal favorites are “The Total Money Makeover” and “Financial Peace Revisited”.

His books and broadcasts are built on a Christian perspective that reflects Ramsey’s own biblical beliefs as a follower of Jesus. Ramsey was named the 2009 Marconi Award winner for Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year.

I have heard many times from many sources that “The Dave Ramsey Show” on the radio is the second most popular and listened to show in the country! (Second only to The Rush Limbaugh Show.)

Ramsey’s current company, The Lampo Group, is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, and oversees three divisions geared toward financial counseling.

I was first introduced to Dave Ramsey at the Catalyst Conference in 2007. He spoke there in front of over 10,000 leaders and he absolutely blew my wife and I away! He convinced us that there is a better way to live than the way the average person lives in our culture. We decided to “live like no one else, so later we could live like no one else.”

*In tomorrow’s post I will share some of Dave’s personal background and bio.

Dave Ramsey. Real Estate Market. Selling Your home. Charlotte. North Carolina.

In yesterday’s post I mentioned how important it is to learn from the experts. I said that in the next several posts I will be writing some helpful wisdom for all of you from Real Estate experts like Dave Ramsey, and some of the authors of the “Real Estate for Dummies” books. Like one that may be VERY important today = “How to sell your home for Dummies” I am guessing many of you may want to read those posts?

Today we start with one of my favorite financial experts - Dave Ramsey. I also call him a real estate expert because he made his fortune in buying and selling real estate!

Today (and maybe tomorrow I would just like to give a little background on Dave himself. I think that will help you receive wisdom from him in the posts after that.

In short, Dave Ramsey is one of my favorite authors (and my #1 favorite financial author!) and he hosts is own radio show and television show on the Fox Business Network. He also travels across the country and speaks!

Dave will be 50 years old this year, but you would think he is only 30!

He has been featured on many big time shows including The Oprah Winfrey Show, 60 Minutes, and The Early Show on CBS.

Let me assure you that Dave has A LOT of wisdom and advice to offer you here in Charlotte North Carolina! You can check out his show at 8pm on the Fox Business Network!

Dave Ramsey. Real Estate Market. Selling Your home. Charlotte. North Carolina.

I personally believe that in every field, it is important that we learn from the experts!

Even when it comes to Real Estate and the beautiful city of Charlotte North Carolina. If you are thinking about living in Charlotte or already do, but are planning to sell or home and/ or buy a new one… you should listen to the experts!

I am, of course, in know way saying that I am an expert on Real Estate OR Charlotte North Carolina! Actually, I do not claim to be an expert on anything!
My father, on the other hand, here at the Charlotte Home Team is the closest thing I know to an expert on Charlotte North Carolina. He has lived here in our wonderful city for almost forty years! He knows this city like the back of his hand.

And while he may be the first to humbly say that he is no real estate expert, I will say that he is an expert at helping a person find there perfect home here in Charlotte and also at helping them sell their home! So, if you are looking for real estate expertise and need help specifically in one of those areas. Look no further than the Charlotte Home Team.

*But, there are many other experts out there when it comes to real estate and finances that I think many of you would be interested to learn from. So, over the next several posts I will be writing and helping you learn from their wisdom and expertise.

First, in tomorrow’s post we will start with former real estate expert and financial guru - Dave Ramsey!

Charlotte Home Team. Real Estate. Charlotte. Experts. Dave Ramsey.

It seems like everywhere I look and everywhere I turn today, EVERYONE is talking about the vote last night for the new health care reform bill! It is being talked about on every TV station and at every water cooler, coffee shop, and restaurant!

For those of us who live here in Charlotte, North Carolina and all over North Carolina, I thought you might be interested to see how our representatives that we put in office voted.

So, I searched around and found out some details from ABC in Raleigh, North Carolina.

North Carolina had more Democrats than any other state in the country cross the party line and vote against the new health care reform. Three conservative Democrats joined all five North Carolina Republicans in voting against the bill that passed the last night.

First-term lawmakers Larry Kissell and Heath Shuler joined Mike McIntyre in opposing the health care overhaul legislation. Nationwide, they were among 34 of the Democrats who voted with every Republican who was against the bill.

The Senate-passed bill cleared the House on a 219-212 vote. That was really really close!

Here is how your representatives voted for North Carolina’s House members:

Those who voted “Yes” to the bill:
* G.K. Butterfield, D-Wilson
* Bob Etheridge, D-Lillington
* Brad Miller, D-Raleigh
* David Price, D-Chapel Hill
* Mel Watt, D-Charlotte

Those who voted “No”:
* Howard Coble, R-Greensboro
* Virginia Foxx, R-Banner Elk
* Walter Jones, R-Farmville
* Larry Kissell, D-Biscoe
* Patrick McHenry, R-Cherryville
* Mike McIntyre, D-Lumberton
* Sue Myrick, R-Charlotte
* Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville

There you have it. If the vote was only for our state it would have been voted down 8-4.

I found some interesting things in Charlotte news lately.

One year ago, Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was less than two months removed from heart transplant surgery and couldn’t attend the NFL’s annual meetings.

Monday, he not only was back, but he gave a stirring message in the opening session of three days of meetings, which other team owners said set a bold, unifying tone for upcoming labor talks with the players association.

“He has a passion and an emotional way of expressing things sometimes,” said New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. “Those of us who love him have affection for him when he does it. It just shows how genuine he is. It came through today.

“I really hope people listened to him, because his message was right on, and we’ve missed it.”

Monday morning’s session began with a state of the league address by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, followed by a question-and-answer session.

It wasn’t an owners-only meeting, but included almost all of the league’s key personnel - owners, coaches, general managers, other league and team officials, and even wives and other family members.

During the Q&A session, sources said, Richardson rose to his feet, held a microphone and piggy-backed on Goodell’s call for unity among owners in the collective-bargaining negotiations with the players association.

For the three or four minutes Richardson spoke, multiple witnesses said he appeared to have the full attention of everyone in the room.

“He’s kind of an E.F. Hutton person,” said Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. “When he talks, everyone listens.”

“He’s a commanding presence,” said Kraft. “He’s got a forceful voice. His character comes through.”

Asked to summarize Richardson’s key points, Kraft said: “Stay together as a unit and as a group. Remember we’re a partnership and we can’t go it alone. We have to remember how lucky we are to be part of this league.”

One source said Richardson’s speech was like listening to “an old Southern-style preacher.”

“I hope the wives took it well,” said New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. “He’s not afraid to let it out. He’s very passionate about the NFL.”

Because of stalled negotiations with the union, the league has entered its first year without a salary cap since 1993. Unless owners get concessions from the players association, they’re prepared to lock out players starting next March, which potentially could lead to a work stoppage of America’s most popular spectator sport.

Richardson is assigned one of the most prominent positions in the labor negotiations. As co-chairman with Denver’s Pat Bowlen of the prestigious management council executive committee, he’s on the front line of the CBA talks.

“He’s a great leader,” said Kraft. “What he’s doing in the labor area, nobody else is capable of doing.

“He played in the NFL. He’s tall. He’s a man of great character. He has strong beliefs and he’s genuine. He’s the anti-phony.”

Panthers officials said Richardson is working a full schedule at this week’s meetings, his most extensive work away from home since before his Feb.1, 2009, heart transplant.

One source said knowing all that Richardson has been through since that life-saving surgery made his speech Monday even more impactful.

Richardson wasn’t available for comment, but Goodell and other owners said they’re impressed with his health.

“Jerry is back,” said Goodell. “He’s very engaged. He’s very focused … and is providing the kind of leadership that ownership wants on this issue.”

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/03/22/1330980/richardsons-stirring-speech-sets.html#ixzz0j18LnzPT

The Charlotte Bobcats have been on a roll!

I do not know if this is directly related to Jordan taking over the Bobcats or not, but the Charlotte Bobcats have been ROLLING lately! They have been playing really really well! Before a couple nights ago we had won six games in a row!

And then before last night’s game we had won seven out of eight! That moved us up again to fifth in the Eastern Conference! And we were even closing in on fourth place Atlanta!

But last night was a big and tough game against our rivals the Atlanta Hawks!

We played so well throughout the game. Gerald Wallace was back and he was OBVIOUSLY ready to play again because he blocked SIXTEEN shots! All in one game! That has got to be some kind of new record!

The game went right down to the wire, but then the Atlanta Hawks super star shooting guard, Joe Johnson, hit a big shot at the buzzer to win the game and beat us by one point! 93-92.

Those are the games you hate to lose! A game against your rival. A game you were winning until the buzzer beating shot. And losing a game when you are in a tight playoff race! It would have been an even bigger since we were in Atlanta.

But I have no doubt that the Bobcats will rise again and get back on another winning streak to close out the regular season! Charlotte is excited!

Charlotte Bobcats. Charlotte NC. Charlotte. Larry Brown. Michael Jordan. Atlanta. Atlanta Hawks.

In yesterday’s post we wrote a little bit about St. Patrick’s Day and wished you all a HAPPY St. Patrick’s Day from the Charlotte Home Team.
We also wrote a little about St. Patrick himself, so if you are interested feel free to go back and read yesterday’s post to catch up.

Did you ever wonder why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by wearing green or with Shamrocks? I would love to tell you all about that!

Since Patrick was the first missionary to take the gospel to Ireland, he was the first one to explain Christian concepts to them about God. So, Irish legend tells us that he used the Shamrock (green clover) to teach the Irish people about the Trinity! (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.) What a cool idea and reason to celebrate with shamrocks these days in Charlotte!

Originally the color associated with Patrick was BLUE, but now we wear green to celebrate his holiday! And you even get pinched if you don’t wear green! Legend has it that the shift from blue to green came because of Patrick’s use of the shamrock to teach about the Trinity. Everyone started wearing and decorating with shamrocks which eventually shifted to green.

As far as the actual celebration, history shows that it was a feast day celebrated by the Irish as early as the 9th and 10th centuries!

So, I hope you enjoyed your celebration ten centuries later here in Charlotte North Carolina!

Ireland. Saint Patrick’s Day. Charlotte. Charlotte NC. St. Patrick.