Dave Ramsey

[dawgball]

I'm also interestd, worm.

I feel that you are misconstruing his message (just a tad). I don't know what formulas you are speaking of. I think Ramsey's total message is very simple -- spend less than you make. The hard part fo most Americans is getting into the mindset of actually doing just that.

Now getting mroe complicated, you must also spend less than you make afte you take out for retirement/savings (he suggests a minimum of 15%). He also talks about paying off debt before contributing to retirment (this is the part that I know where he is coming from but it has holes -- the biggest hole being people's discipline to actually pay off debt instead of accruing more).

I am along the same lines as Clint when I always say that I believe about 80% of what he says. I like his theories up to the point of getting out of debt. I don't agree with his philosophies on investing the money that you do save because he recommends mutual funds.

But I do take into account that the majority of his listeners are not investing savvy, so mutual funds are a decent option for that crowd that does not want to fool with that end of money.

 

[worm44]

What I mean by basic formula is that every person has their own answer to financial freedom or at least extra income right in front of them-some of this might seem basic but for others it may not..

Example:

Lets just use this hypothetical couple for sake of discussion...a man and woman are married and are both 35 years old they have one child-2 years old- the man works as lets say a auto mechanic for a chain car repair place-he makes $35,000 a year and gets good health care benefits from work...the woman has a part time receptionist job makes- lets say $12,000--ok this is just a example so its pretty general--combined income $47k...heres where my 1st rule comes in...1-they should not have a mortgage of a principal of over 100k....,2-NO car loans....3-avoid cc debt....4-If they do steps 1and 2 and 3 they should take all the woman's income and A) invest half each year in securities/bonds/gold etc and the other half should be used to buy what I call" increased value items"-I.E. -art-real property-antiques-collectables etc> now if you say I dont know about that kind of thing(s) you learn or more specifically there are many people you can find to help you...you only buy things that have increased steadily for a period of 20 years or more..........now you do these 4 easy steps for 4-5 years, at 5 years you will be amazed at the amount of money you have accrued in that period of time...you liquidate the holdings and you invest in the type of business you want to own..yes I said start a business--Every person has always thought" i would love to have a business doing____?" What ever that business is do it!! If you run a business in what you know or love I guarantee it will be successful.....I did it....one of my neighbors did it almost exactly how I just typed this....some of the responses to this might be -"well I couldn't afford to give up my job to start a business"--you don't always have to..some businesses come from hobbies, others from ideas, some part time etc--If you are married I feel it is even easier---two working set of hands are easier and get more done than one......I could get really specific but I think you get the picture....i want you guys to look at the people in your towns or neighborhoods that are wealthy--subtract the Dr's, Lawyers etc-who are the real wealthy ones? The wealthy ones are people who worked for them selves and started their own business-I guarantee you know lots of people like that..you can be one too......

 

[dawgball]

1-they should not have a mortgage of a principal of over 100k....,2-NO car loans....3-avoid cc debt....

All of my comments are in full respect because I do respect your views here.

You basically reiterated what Ramsey teaches here. The big BUT in effect is that most people are already WAY behind in all three o these realms.

If you run a business in what you know or love I guarantee it will be successful.....

Coming from a small buisness owner of 6 years now, this statement could not be more dangerous. I believe you are also a business owner and coming from this statement, I will assume a successful one. But guaranteeing a busiess to be successful just because the owner is passionate is downright false. There are many difficult nuances to every type of business and business ownership, in general, that many people do not have the capability (personality type, risk characteristics, etc.) of wading through the ups and downs of buisness ownership.

I do agree that most of your extremely wealthy people are business owners, but running a successful business is anything but a simple process regardless ofyour passion.

As far as "increased value items", I have a sure winner for you: Franklin Mint Collectible Knife

 

[worm44]

dawg--you are right-not all people will be a success at business-but more will succeed than fail if they do what they love.....also the beggining part of my formula is probabluy universal for a lot of financial "gurus'....

 

[redsfann]

Does this guy have a take on student loans?
Many students, including my wife and I, had to borrow money to pay for undergrad/grad studies, and other than our mortgage, that is the only long-term debt we have. unless you earn a scholarship or have parents that will pony up for you to attend school, you will likely graduate these days with some significant debt. Which, to me, is 'good debt'; just as a mortgage is 'good debt.' They both have tax advantages to them, and generally, without the student loan debt, you will not hold a job that pays that well enough to own a home...

 

[dawgball]

redsfann--I think he says that school loans are good debt in the sense that they give you earnin power, but you should pay them off as quickly as possible. I would love to try and explain his take on the "tax advantages" of a home mortgage, but I would not be able to do it eloquently enough to be correct. I will try and find something online.

worm--the difference between what you are saying and what Ramsey is saying is that he gives you an action plan as to how to achieve those three items instead of just saying that you need those three things.

there are plenty of other "gurus" out there that probably have decent plans as well. And there are probably plenty out there that have good scams for you to buy into. I fully expected them to have a sales pitch going at the seminar... which they did. but what i was amazed about is that his total package of a 13 week course and several books and workbooks was $110. That price gave me more confidence that the guy really wanted to help people. My wife and I did not buy the package, btw.

blazer--good to see you back