Louis Falzetti heads the church division at Lampo Group. Most people know Lampo by the name of its founder and charismatic leader, Dave Ramsey. Louis has been with Dave for many years and is a vital part of that organization. More importantly to us, Alice and I count him and Jill as great friends. We have never met people with more generous hearts or more focused goals to do more for the kingdom of God.
If you know anything about Dave Ramsey — for example, if you’ve had your TV on in the last six months because he’s been on just about everything — you know that he and his organization help people learn to get out of debt and live financially secure.
Though we’ve know Louis and Jill for some time, and met Dave the first time in 2001, Alice and I are just now seeking a Financial Peace University class. I knew it was time when our washing machine broke the other day. Water poured through the laundry room into the hall and all the way into a bedroom. Wooden floors swelled and buckled.
I did what any self-respecting white-collar American man would do. The Internet. I scanned site after site to find the best washer for the best price to replace our Flintstonian washer and dryer set. We drove over to the Sears “scratch and dent” warehouse. Dropped in on a few of the stores that claim their prices cannot be beaten. Through all of that there was one major problem. I could see Louis shaking his head in disappointment that I would spend money in this economy rather than doing everything I can to pay down debt.
Finally I couldn’t stand it anymore. I told Alice that unlike my previous patterns I wouldn’t solve this problem by buying something. She breathed a sigh of relief. Working together we repaired it in half a day. Figuring the price of a new washer and dryer (to match, you understand) with all the latest bells and whistles (I looove bells and whistles), we figured we saved somewhere in the low six figures. Well, yes, that is an exaggeration, but the pair that I found most appealing would have cost nearly $3,000. We figure that trading a half-day for $3 grand is more than fair, even with the speaking fees I command. Okay, dream about…
Financial stress is a major cause of marital distress. If you are in that kind of distress, call you church leaders and get them to bring Financial Peace University (http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/home/) to your church and community. Get your family and your friends out of debt.
By the way, Dave has invited me to be on his show on Fox Business TV on February 10 to talk about money and relationships. Tune in that evening if you get a chance.