I was glad to find these posts (albeit 2 years after they were written). You may or may not be aware of last night’s kickoff of The Great Recovery (www.thegreatrecovery.com), but I’m hoping that this will open up the conversation of bringing a financial ministry to my growing church. I like that you arrived at the conclusion that both programs are good and eventually end up in the same place.

I don’t know if you’ve been through FPU (I think I saw in a comment that you and your wife were planning to take the course just to see what it’s about), but in case you haven’t or others stumble upon this blog, I just want to draw a quick line of clarification.

The Total Money Makeover book is not a part of FPU. Dave uses his book “Financial Peace Revisited.” FPU is not the same as Dave’s Baby Steps. It includes them, yes, but the class is 13 weeks long, and there’s only 7 Baby Steps, so what else is covered? Here are the lesson titles [with my clarification in brackets]:

Lesson 1: Super Saving [Baby Step overview, "What's an emergency?" and begin "Quickie Budget"]
Lesson 2: Relating with Money [getting on same page as spouse, nerd vs. free spirit, teach your children, monthly budget meetings]
Lesson 3: Cash Flow Planning [creating detailed zero-based budget, using envelope system, cash-only living]
Lesson 4: Dumping Debt [detailed info on Debt Snowball, views on credit cards]
Lesson 5: Credit Sharks in Suits [prioritizing the "four walls"--clothing, food, shelter, and transportation; dealing with creditors; checking credit report]
Lesson 6: Buyer Beware [communicate with spouse about large purchases, marketing techniques, gaining power over purchase]
Lesson 7: Clause and Effect [the insurance lesson]
Lesson 8: That’s Not Good Enough! [negotiation skills to get the best value, the power of cash]
Lesson 9: Of Mice and Mutual Funds [the investing lesson, includes some retirement]
Lesson 10: From Fruition to Tuition [retirement and college planning]
Lesson 11: Working in Your Strengths [career planning, finding success in work]
Lesson 12: Real Estate and Mortgages [what to know about buying and selling a house]
Lesson 13: The Great Misunderstanding [financial stewardship, tithing, giving]

I just wanted to put that out there for comparison. A quick note that Dave uses biblical principles and different verses in his instruction, though I feel like his program, while it is meant to appeal to Christians, is also set up so that he does not alienate non-believers. My husband and I went through FPU in 2008. We’ve since moved to a new town, new church. And now we’re looking to start The Great Recovery. And while I really like Dave’s approach, I’m also open to learning about Crown’s.

I still don’t quite understand how Crown is delivered? Are there classes? Or is it individual?

Thank you for taking the time to write out these comparisons. I am continuing my research.

Erin