| 0.1 | Commit to NEVER borrow $$$ EVER for ANYTHING other than possibly a house. |
| 0.2 | Talk with spouse and get him/her on the same page as you concerning finances. |
| 0.3 | Do a written budget |
| 0.4 | Temporarily stop all retirement contributions |
| 0.5 | Get current on all the basics (You MUST have Shelter, Food, Utilities, Basic clothing) |
| 0.6 | Amputate "toys" (bikes, boats, ATV's etc) if they will keep you from completing the snowball within 12 months |
| 0.7 | Cut lifestyle (Cut CATV, Cellphone, Regular phone "extra's", Internet, Eating out, etc) and/or take second job if $1000 EF will take more than 30-90 days. (depending on income) |
| 0.8 | Get current on ALL bills |
| 1.0 | Save $1000 as your "baby" Emergency Fund |
| 1.1 | Chop up CC's (You have an EF now, no NEED to keep those CC's !!) |
| 1.2 | Get Health insurance NOW (chances of getting sick w/ major medical bills are larger than that of death), especially if you have children. |
| 1.3 | Get Life insurance NOW if you have considerable debt/your family couldn't make it financially if you died. Especially important if you have children !! Social Insecurity provides only a small amount of coverage if you have dependents. |
| 1.4 | Amputate cars that you can't pay off within 24 months (You have an EF to fix the "bondo buggy" if something should happen) |
| 1.5 | Consider raising insurance deductables to $500 or $1000 and dropping full coverage on paid for "bondo buggy" (You have an EF ya know) |
| 2.0 | Do the debt snowball, paying all your debts from lowest BALANCE to highest. |
| 2.1 | You can take your first vacation since finding Dave if you can pay cash for it (no using the EF !!!) |
| 3.0 | Save 3-6 months of EXPENSES for your fully-funded Emergency Fund |
| 3.1 | Start car replacement fund |
| 3.2 | Save up 20% for home purchase OR pay down existing mortgage to the point you can drop PMI. |
| 3.3 | Start furniture or other non-essential stuff replacement fund |
| 3.4 | Move up in car if you still feel the need to (must pay cash for it) |
| 4.0 | Start contributing 15% of your paycheck to retirement. |
| 5.0 | Save for kids college fund |
| 6.0 | Pay off house early |
| 7.0 | Live like no one else since you have lived like no one else (investment ideas at this stage greatly appreciated, Dave doesn't go into too much detail on this stage) |
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