David Ramsey Total money makeover. Anyone?

[87we410877]

Anyone read this book? Im half way through and it is amazing. I reccomend to everyone!

 

[TexasT]

I have read his work. Good stuff if you can stick to it. I used to listen to him on the Radio when I was in Houston. With a family, we just dont have the will power. I do try to pay cash for everything I can, but things do pop up and that is where the cash reserve comes in. I try not to buy any extraneous stuff until the cash reserve is built back.(Why my car is sitting in the driveway with a broken trans.)

If you like Dave, check out the work of Robert Kyosaki. RichDad, PoorDad is good stuff.
http://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Money-That-Middle/dp/0446677450
http://product.half.ebay.com/Rich-D...aron-L-Lechter-2000-Paperback/1694827&tg=info

 

[INEEDAGN]

We've started down that road financially and once you get started it's easier than most would think. You just need to stick it out long enough to see results. After that your willpower will kick in. Currently our only debt is our house and we have some cash reserve built up. Sucks to have to pass on stuff you want when you have the money in the bank though. When we sold our challenger we vowed to each other that we had made our last car payment EVER! Even if it means driving junk for eternity.

Kids are brutal on the monthly budget. If it werent for them I'd have a 4 car garage by now and it would be full of cool sh!t.

 

[chris]

If you ever get the chance, you should go through the financial peace university program. Its offered locally through alot of church organizations and will give you some motivation to get a budget working.

 

[Major Nutz]

I listen to him sometimes on the radio. It's amazing how much debt people try to carry. I think most of it is common sence & living within your means.

 

[Turbo RX-6]

His big thing is NO credit cards NO loans... If you cant buy something right now cash you cant afford it. If you don't have the cash... save it... untill you can afford it... Buy everything cash... There... I saved you guys the money and time buying his books... Which you will pay CASH for...

 

[John Larkin]

I have to say if someone offers me free financing and I could otherwise pay for it, that is hard to turndown. I stick to the terms though. There are zingers if you deviate.

 

[dr_frankenstein]

Kids are brutal on the monthly budget. If it werent for them I'd have a 4 car garage by now and it would be full of cool sh!t.

lord aint that the truth!

 

[Bobs rare 6]

We live very close to his plan, Wife listens to his show every day and even bought all her relatives ramsey books for christmas one year!

 

[87we410877]

Ok so i have been doing this for about 3 months now and i went from 20K in debt to 9K. Sold one of my 4 cars, my turbo 240 and have been paying the lowest cards off first. I should be debt free in 5 months!!!! And i still own two GN's Now the next part is investing. He talks about Mutual funds with 12% return????? Guess i have to read another book.

BTW, word of advice, The GN is what put me in the hole initially and now its sitting with blown motor and tranny. Not wise.

 

[Gmachine]

His big thing is NO credit cards NO loans... If you cant buy something right now cash you cant afford it. If you don't have the cash... save it... untill you can afford it... Buy everything cash... There... I saved you guys the money and time buying his books... Which you will pay CASH for...

His books are good. There's obviously more to it that these simple facts you've listed as he also quotes scripture showing how God has called us to live. I believe there is a lot of power in signing up for his FPU classes in that you realize other people are making the same tough commitments you are. It's also very lonely when you feel like you're the only family not going out to eat, not buying a new car, etc. when you can share in your struggles & support each other, getting through tough times is much easier.

 

[MaxVO2]

I've used the information in his books and listened to his radio program for years. I consider myself to be very fortunate in that I started doing much of what he espouses years ago before the economy went south. I pay for just about everything in cash now, and though Dave isn't big on it - I have gotten into investing more over the years into good quality dividend paying stocks and mutual funds, real estate, etc..

I've also read Ric Edelman's books and followed his advice for years as well with respect to investing. I am much more financially comfortable now due to longer term compound interest appreciation from decisions I made years back . I am debt free now and see many of my friends who make good salaries drowning in debt, and stressed about money all of the time.

I still own a credit card but rarely ever use it - when I do I pay it off at the end of the month so as to not pay interest, etc.. Dave Ramsey's books and radio program have helped me a lot.

Most everything I have now I buy used whenever possible, pay cash, and think twice before spending. Doing this is a big change for some as it is easy to spend money (especially on the GN...). Best advice I ever got from reading and listening to Dave all of these years is learning to deny yourself, and learning the differences between needs, wants, and desires.

Billy

 

[dragrazor]

You know, i have been being a little more cautious with my spending for a bit now. We go out to eat less , i dont buy unnecessary stuff like i used to. On the other hand, is it me or have i been seeing/reading about all kinds of tragedies where people are dying from one thing or another? Sometimes i am torn because i dont want to spend too much on a vacation/family outing but then think: "what if this is my last one". Does anyone else have this issue or think like this at times? I am 42 years old. Not too old but not too young either. I hear of people having heart attacks at 35 and makes me think that i should spend a little more and do more things with the family instead of saving for... what?

 

[TexasT]

You know, i have been being a little more cautious with my spending for a bit now. We go out to eat less , i dont buy unnecessary stuff like i used to. On the other hand, is it me or have i been seeing/reading about all kinds of tragedies where people are dying from one thing or another? Sometimes i am torn because i dont want to spend too much on a vacation/family outing but then think: "what if this is my last one". Does anyone else have this issue or think like this at times? I am 42 years old. Not too old but not too young either. I hear of people having heart attacks at 35 and makes me think that i should spend a little more and do more things with the family instead of saving for... what?

I am close to your age and always try to maximize my entertainment value. I know what I have had fun doing and what wasn't so enjoyable or just didn't come out as cost effective. I try to go do the real fun things with my kids with in a reasonable cost. I doubt I'll ever retire but I try to put some away. I try to go by a crazy friends statement, "If we all died tomorrow, I will have had more fun than the rest." so I try to have as much fun as I can. Worrying just brings you down. The movie Meet the Robinsons had a great message about moving forward. "Keep moving forward." I think Robert Kyosaki said it best with the statement, "Being frugal and attaining goals is one thing, but being cheap is just being cheap."

 

[mapmaker]

I read the book almost 10 years ago. My wife and I attended Financial Peace University several years ago and I HIGHLY recommend it. Dave is known primarily for his "no debt" mantra, but FPU actually covers 12 different weekly topics covering a wide variety of financially related "life" issues. We completely redid all of our insurance (term life, home, auto, disability, umbrella liability) after getting educated. My wife thought we was crazy for spending ANY money on a disability policy for her when she was 35 at the time. A few years later the unforeseen happened and she has been collecting monthly checks for 5 years. Without his guidance I would not be able to afford having three kids in college and still be able to find a couple bucks for Buick parts.

 

[novaderrik]

it's kind of sad that grown people need to have someone tell them not to spend more money than they have and to not take out loans for things that they can't afford to pay back.. but kudo's to this guy for figuring out how to make a fortune on it.