Reading Dave Ramsey
Find a Conversation
| Mon, 08-01-2005 - 8:16am |
Hi, I finally got Total money makeover from the library and was reading it this weekend. I like it alot, i like the emergency fund idea, I'm going to institute it, b/c that is always what gets us, we say we will charge no more but then "something" comes up and we need to charge it. I was a little dissapointed b/c i thought he was going to go a little more in depth about budgeting. I am really realizing that noone ever taught me these things and after reading his book and a few others i am really enlightened. I am an intelligient person but somehow money always gets me. I want to start saving for a car b/c mine is really old and hopefully in a year i can pay cash for a used one instead of getting out a loan as usual. I need to break the cycle of thinking debt is normal and acceptable, i so want to teach my kids differently. I always felt jusfified when people had these brand new cars and i could say to myself, well i don't have a car payment even if my car is old (welll in truth we rolled the remainder of it into a debt consolidation loan with my morgage, big mistake/ but see i can trick myself into thinking it is paid off. ) - but i could never back it up with a plan to buy a new one when the time is right, i just always figured the way to do it was to get out yet another loan, but now i want to have a plan for buying a new one. It's really been the last year that i've been "sick and tired of being sick and tired" (over debt) as dave said. I'm 31 and it scares me to think that the clock is ticking and I still don't have it together. Thanks for reading me ramble on and i'd love to here anyone elses insight on this book!
Shannon

Hi Shannon,
How funny, I also just got the Total Money Makeover at the library! I really like it too, I have read just about every book on the market about budgeting and debt. I like this one so much that I am making my dh read it also. As a matter of fact I am doing my new budget right now. I love his idea about spending every dollar on paper each month. I have a little bit of a problem of selling everything to get out of debt, sure I garage sale, but I draw the line at getting rid of everything! Sure we have 3 cars, but do we sell our truck now to get out of debt only to have to turn around a buy one this winter so we can plow our 600ft driveway?? So I will take what I like from the book and ignore what I don't. All in all I do really like it. I also like the envelope system and I can't wait to give it a try.
good luck to you too!
tracy
Shannon-
for the nuts and bolts of budgeting, try one of his other books, "Financial Peace Revisited." That's the one where he goes more indepth about budgeting, either the zero-based budget or the pro-rata plan.
Good to see you're on your way to Financial Peace!
Lisa
Tracy-
A zero-based budget will go far in helping you give every dollar a name. The reason he says to sell everything, "so much that the kids think they're next," is because it's just stuff. You could look at it as a tool to help you get out of debt faster. If you sell the stuff, you can use that money to pay down the debt you may have racked up buying said stuff. Then later, you can buy whatever you want-paying cash. You may find that what you thought you NEEDED doesn't matter anymore once you can.
No, I'd say hang onto your snowplow truck. Can you or your DH use it to make more money, though? Like plowing other people's driveways? I know I'd love it if someone could come do ours, lol!
His system really does work, and you will see results fairly quickly if you can follow it for awhile. The envelopes are great, and definitely have helped us make a dent in reducing our spending.
Good luck-
Lisa
Just wanted to pop in and suggest you look at Mary Hunt for budgeting. She has some really detailed sections on this, especially on budgeting for the "unexpected" bills that really shouldn't be unexpected--like car repair bills, tax bills, work clothes, Christmas, etc. Her book "Debt Proof Living" has a section on this.
Then check out "How to Debt Proof Your Kids" for a fabulous plan for ensuring that your kids won't grow up without the skills you wish you'd learned as a kid.
Both are available in most fair-sized libraries.
Blessings,
Heather
Thanks Heather!
I did just read mary hunts book "debt proof living" before reading dave ramsey- i took alot from it and i like the budget idea, but then found that it would be hard to implement right away, and i think why i like dave ramsey is that i like the idea of the emergency fund for just that, so that we don't have to use the cards when an emergency comes up, then i feel like i can go from there. It is sooo hard for me to do a budget b/c my dh is selfemployed and his compensation is so unpredictable to say the least. I;m wondering if maybe i should make a new budget every time he gets paid instaed of once a month like dave said. That's sortof what i have been trying to do. I have been trying to pay off this debt aimlessly without a plan for so long it is so refreshing to see a plan i can actually use! i will check out how to debt proof your kids!
Shannon
That makes a lot of sense. I love Dave Ramsey, too. I love them both because they've BTDT and they don't talk down, and they give real-life solutions that you can implement right away. We're using a hybrid technique between the two, including Ramsey's seven steps modified a bit by Hunt's freedom accounts et al.
Anyway, glad you're finding techniques that work. It feels good to be taking control, doesn't it?
Thank you, I'm going to get that book from the library! It is so empowering to read about money and see some plans of action I can actually use instead aimlessly trying to figure it out which wasn't working so well. Thanks for the input!
Shannon