? for Dave Ramsey Fans

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-27-2005
? for Dave Ramsey Fans
6
Sat, 01-07-2006 - 11:30pm

I've heard of him but don't know much about his ideas. Are they different from Suzy Orman? I noticed that some people have mentioned his debt univeristy thing (sorry, I can't remember what it's called), anyway, does it give different information than his books? Is the information more common sense or have you found his books helpful and full of information?

Sorry for all the questions but I'd like to get more information before I take time to read his book(s).

Thanks,
Cristin

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2004
Sat, 01-07-2006 - 11:50pm

I'm really big on Suze Orman, but I did buy and read one of Dave Ramsey's book "The Total Money Makeover". I found some good information in it. He talks about saving $1000 for a starter emergency fund and then using the rest of your money to pay down debt until everything but your mortgage is paid. Then to fully fund your 3-6 months emergency fund. I thought that information was interesting. He also talks about paying off the smallest debt first versus Suze's plan of paying the highest interest rate debt first. I don't agree with some of what he says, but I don't always agree with Suze either.

I guess I lean more toward Suze because she ties in the emotional part of money more, I think. I also like her idea of an 8 month emergency fund better versus the 3-6 month that Dave Ramsey advocates for. Dave Ramsey talks about taking all but $1000 of your savings to pay off debt. I personally don't feel comfortable doing that because I personally have alot more debt than I have savings and I am a single mom and need that cushion. Plus most of my debt is student loan debt and I have a great interest rate with that. I also pay more than the minimum on my credit cards so they will be paid off that way this year. I think that your financial plan has to be personalized to fit you. That's what matters, otherwise you won't stick to a plan. Good luck.

P.S. His other book is called "Financial Peace University" which I haven't read. I thought the other book was enough for me to get what he is about.

Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 01-08-2006 - 1:23pm

Hi Cristin - you know what - for the most part, *all* of the debt authors are "selling" the same information.

All my best,
Danni

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Registered: 03-27-2003
Sun, 01-08-2006 - 1:36pm

I agree with Danni-I think reading a wide variety and then creating your own personalized plan is the best option. Here's my largest problem with all the authors-they make the assumption that both partners will be equally excited about jumping on board the debt reduction wagon. If you are in that situation then that is marvelous but if you aren't there can be a lot of guilt associated with reading the books. For example, I read Total Money Makeover and went through about 2 weeks of guilt thinking "Wow, I'm not gazelle focused. We still have satellite and DSL, I scrapbook, we do eat out occasionally, arghhh...." Then I came to the realization that on some things like satellite and DSL, it's not worth it to DH to get rid of it, he's not going to read the books and he won't agree with the heavy focus anyway so that works with where we are right now." Also, I want a balance-I don't want to just ignore my debt with the attitude of I could die tomorrow so who cares but on the other hand I don't want to be so focused on debt reduction that I ignore everything else. So, now I ask myself-if I were to die tonight (peacefully, in my sleep-too stressful to visualize anything else) would I regret not buying/doing this? In most cases the answer is no-I wouldn't regret skipping out on Mcdonald's, I wouldn't regret not buying that new sweater, but I would regret not camping with my parents in the summer, I would regret not creating scrapbook memories for my kids....the values will be different for everyone.

Here's some author suggestions for your local library--read a couple and you'll notice everyone is just a little different.

Larry Burkett
Dave Ramsey
Amy Dacyzyn (this isn't big picture just how to live more frugally)
Suze Orman
Jonni McCoy (same as Dacyzyn-focuses on cutting costs to SAH)

A fun website-
Dollar Stretcher

And my latest favorite is to look at personal finance blogs-
Kate Spills the Beans
Defying Debt....in 2 Years
Like Merchant Ships

Taleyna

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2004
Sun, 01-08-2006 - 3:08pm
Also Liz Pullian-Weston has a book out called "Deal with your Debt". It's worth checking out too.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-13-2003
Sun, 01-08-2006 - 4:13pm

<Kate Spills the Beans
Defying Debt....in 2 Years
Like Merchant Ships>>

These sound interesting ... can you give us the web addresses? :-)

Amy

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Sun, 01-08-2006 - 5:48pm

He's written a couple other books: "Financial Peace Revisited" (an updated version of "Financial Peace");"More Than Enough" & "Priceless." All are good, but "Financial Peace Revisited" is good for the nuts and bolts of it all.

Financial Peace University is the 13 week course he offers that helps put it all together. It's held all over the U.S., usually sponsored by churches, although you don't need to be a member of that particular church to go. We had ours in a Baptist church about an hour away.

I know that when I started all of this, I read most everything I could get ahold of, but Dave Ramsey was the one that resonated most with me. I don't always agree with what he says, but for the most part it makes sense.

~Lisa