Speaking of Dave Ramsey
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Speaking of Dave Ramsey
| Fri, 09-16-2005 - 4:53pm |
I'm heading out to buy his book this weekend. I think it will help get us out of our debt mess.
I know about his snowballing and the idea of a $1000.00 emergency fund, but I was wondering what other kinds of principles he promotes.
Any fans of his here? Any non fans?
Thanks.
Margaret

I am a Dave Ramsey fan. However, I've kinda floundered around with consumer debt for quite some time. We no longer have credit card debt, but vehicle loans & parent plus loans we took out for our sons college education. So for me, I'm finally counting down months to be debt free. It is working for me cuz each month is one month closer. We do also follow Daves plan, however, not so intensely as he advocates, but we are getting there. I have read a few of his books, they seem to help motivate which I think we all need from time to time as well as an actual plan of attack:
Baby Steps
1 1000 cash in emergency fund
2 list debts smallest to largest (except house) & pay the minimums on all except the smallest pay as much as you can, then when its paid off you put that payment along with the minimum you were paying on the 2nd smallest & attack that one etc...called the "Debt Snowball".
3 build up emergency fund to 3-6 months worth of living expenses
4 college fund for children
5 15% savings for retirement
6 pay off mortgage
Daves quote: Live like no one else so that later you can LIVE like no one else!!
Good Luck & let us know what you think of his book.
cindylee (32 months to be debt free)
Hi, whiz...I've read TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER & MORE THAN ENOUGH by Dave Ramsey. I also listen to his radio show sometimes on my xm radio at work. He has a website daveramsey.com & both his books are for sale there...$14.99 for Total Money Makeover. You also might want to check ebay books to see if you can get a gently used book on the cheap. Actually I sold mine when I was done with it & made more than what I paid for it...so you might want to check around.
More Than Enough is good, but if I had to choose I would read Total Money Makeover, it is quite good with lots of details & plans to put in place.
Dave really believes in spending plans (budgets) he says to spend every dollar that will come in before it comes in, every dollar has a name. If you are married you are both supposed to agree to the written spending plan & stick to it. He also encourages getting really tough on debt to eliminate it as quickly as possible so that you can start to live your life debt free.
Well, good luck & report back if & when you read it & let us know what you think. Oh, another book that helped me get the ball rolling was Jerrold Mundis "How to get out of debt, stay out of debt & live prosperously". I read that one several years ago & gave it away...but it is some pretty good reading (if you like personal finance).
cindylee
I'm a DR fan!
Basically, his philosophy is to get what he calls 'gazelle intense' about getting out of debt. He's got a whole bit about it, but the jist of it is that when a gazelle is being stalked by a cheetah, the fastest animal on earth, the gazelle can't outrun it going in a straight line. So, it zigs and zags, and wears the cheetah out. It's very intense because it doesn't want to be the top menu item du jour.
He's got his baby-step plan, which Cindy outlined, and if followed, will defintely help you get a handle on the finances. He bases his system on a Christian foundation, and one of the first things on the budget forms is a line for 'tithe.' It all still works if you're not one for a Christian philosophy though. He advocates giving each dollar a name BEFORE it comes in the door, by doing a budget. This is a great tool to help get things under control. I know we were very surprised to see all the things that we should have expected but didn't, and all the things that we were spending way too much money on!
I can't say enough great things about this, but I do know that it doesn't work for some people, and that's OK too. It's not easy, and there are times that I'm pretty sure that we're never going to make it out, but those times aren't as many as they used to be.
For some good inspiration, the book to read is "The Total Money Makeover." For the good nuts and bolts of the whole plan, "Financial Peace Revisited" is the one to read. Before buying, I'd defintely see if the library has a copy, or can interlibrary loan one in for you. That way, you'll be able to see which, if either is one you want to have handy at any hours of the day.
Lisa
I have never read once of his books, but I've heard a lot about him here.