TMMO Guidelines

1. Total Money Makeover (TMMO) Strategy

Below is on outline of the 7 Baby Steps as they apply to my life. I will work on each goal, one at a time until I have crossed them off.  To see the guidelines I have set to help me accomplish this goal, scroll to the bottom.

Baby Step 1: $1000 Emergency Fund

• $1000 in savings account

Baby Step 2: Pay down debt

• PFCU Line of Credit = $385.75
• Discover Card = $2630.35
• HSBC  = $3379.28
• Bank of America = $3924.92
• Mastercard = $9969.06
• Car Loan = $30161.16
• EdFinancial = $54166.22

Baby Step 3: 3-6 month emergency fund

• 1 Month = $2000
• 2 Month = $4000
• 3 Month = $6000
• 4  Month = $8000
• 5 Month = $10000
• 6 Month = $12000 (final total)

Baby Step 4: Maximize Retirement

• Turn on recurring 401K contributions
• Turn on recurring Roth IRA contributions

Baby Step 5: College Savings

• No kids, so I can skip to Baby Step 6

Baby Step 6: Pay of the mortgage

• No mortgage, so I will consider saving for a down payment. Skip to Baby Step 7.

Baby Step 7:  Live & Give Like Noone Else

• Build wealth like crazy!!!!!!!!

The Rules

Below are the rules that I will be following. Some will need to be modified or added throughout the years. We know it is gonna be a while.

1. Give 10% of my gross income.
2. Complete a zero-based budget every payday.
3. Execute budget within 3 days of check being deposited in account.
4. Do not use debit card unless it is to execute an action from the budget.
5. Envelope system: envelopes and cash didn’t work for me so I put my food and gas money on reloadable gift cards each payday.
6. Set up sinking funds for lump sum payments (car insurance, christmas, nutritionist, car repairs, cell replacement, life insurance, etc.)
7. Use bill pay to my benefit by setting up automatic payments.
8. As of October 2010, redirect any savings to debt payment. (ex. If i save $125.34 on rent, then I will sent up an automatic monthly payment to my debt for the exact same amount.)
9. As of October 2010, I will only run local road races and I will not fundraise with TNT until I am out of debt. With one exception, I have already committed to run with a friend on the east coast in October 2011.
10. As of January 2011, swipe debit card as credit card to get rebate from USAA. When rebate is applied, use it to pay debt.
11. As of March 2011, no more international trips, cruise or random adventures until the student loan is paid.
12. As of April 2011, I can not purchase anything from the vending machine, because it is overpriced and a waste of calories.
13. As of June 2011, only use alotted amount ($236 per month) for new or exhisting business ventures.