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To provide some background on why we decided to take the class... Prior to getting married in 2017, my husband and I were looking to get our finances under control as we know this is a huge factor in a marriage. Our financial histories were both very different, where I came into the relationship with zero debt and he had large student loan debt from undergrad and grad school. In 2017, we met with a financial advisor who'd been recommended to us by a pastor. Although he was nice, after several meetings, we left feeling extremely defeated and without a plan. We then tried online budgeting tools, but these did not provide much help or a plan either. At that point, we somewhat threw in the towel and kept with the same plan that we'd been doing. Mike paid the minimum payments on his debts and I put chunks of money into my savings.  

 

On Christmas Eve we were at CTS, and saw the announcement for the FPU classes in the bulletin. We thought that for $100 it couldn't hurt to give it a try, and at least we'd leave with some helpful tools. We never imagined how much it would change our financial future and help our marriage. This course ended up being exactly what we had been looking for all along; a realistic and workable plan for the average family to pay off debt, save, and give. Although we are still on baby step two (paying off debt), and will probably be for at least the next 8 years, we finally feel that there is a plan and an end to debt. Previously, we had the mentality that this debt would just be a chain that we'd be attached to forever. We began the course on February 4th, and at the end of June we will have paid off $17,200 in debt! (reminder: we are both on educator/coach salaries and this was possible!) We have also begun giving to various organizations that have meaning to us on a monthly basis, where we had previously never given except during the holidays. Without the help of our amazing FPU teacher Erin and the support of our classmates, we wouldn't have been nearly as motivated and successful. I would highly recommend this course to other families, especially those who are getting married or newly married. I would almost consider it as crucial as pre-marital counseling.  

 

I cannot speak highly enough of the course, and truly think that God brought it into our life for a reason. The 6 weeks we took away from the course will truly go on to build the future we want for our family. Thanks to CTS and Erin Blayney for offering this course!

 

- Anonymous