Dave Ramsey is half right

[RickyBobby]

Dave Ramsey is half right and half full of beans.

Dave says that the only way to have financial peace is to walk with Jesus Christ. I suppose that means that the other 90% of the world who do not walk with Jesus Christ have no money.

Dave also says that you should live on less than you make and invest the difference over many years and then you would have some real money.

All you have to do is avoid having children, income loss, or medical bills and that second part would work perfectly. Or divorce, or accidents, or the government changing the rules on you. Or your local economy going into a dip.

Dave says that you have to be a millionaire in net worth before you can buy a new car. That would pretty much send Ford, GM, and whatever Chrysler calls itself now into bankruptcy withing about six months.

Dave says that you should go down to your local credit union and call a personal meeting with the President of the joint and negotiate him into your beneficial way of thinking. You would be better off buying a lotto ticket for a dollar and the chances of you winning the lotto are greater than going down to the local credit union and....

Dave says that you have a greater chance of being hit by lightning multiple times and winning than hitting a big prize in the lotto. Funny, hundred of people hit big prizes in the lotto every week and I have never heard of anyone being hit by lightning multiple times and surviving. Maybe Dave should check his facts one more time.

Stop buying consumer stuff on credit? Good advice. Make a written budget and live on less than you make and save the rest for long term goals? Good advice.

Cut your feel-good subscriptions and memberships that nickel and dime you to death? Good advice.

Read non fiction books written by successful people? That is really excellent advice.

Turn of the teevee? Great advice.

What living person or persons do you admire? How much teevee do you think they watch each day? Be like them more and less like you and you may get somewhere in the foreseeable future.

[layman75]

Wow, you know we lived on less than what we made, we had an EF in place and it helped us survive my layoff and my DHs joke of a job over the winter until he could start a better job this week. So if we hadn't lived off less than we made and had that fund to get through an emergency, where would we be now?? You do the best you can with what you have, you lose your job then you get rid of the toys, the tv, the other things that aren't required for survival. We haven't had a microwave in years and boy does that make me happy. Couldn't stand the thing and I got some money for it. We don't have smart phones, we don't have toys except a camper we got for free and we aren't looking to file bankruptcy so for us the plan worked. If you don't like it, don't do it.

Since a majority of the world likes to lease their new cars, the car companies are safe for now. Or until their side of the financial bubble breaks which is coming soon. I have bought a new car and it did me as much good as a hole in my head, didn't get 10 years out of it even babying it, only 8.

Now I know that the local CU won't help with a personal loan, they are run like a huge bank and have horrible rates, I wouldn't even have an account there if they didn't require it for the car loan that we do have (for a used car).

As for the religion part, I am not christian, raised that way and didn't believe the same rules they did. Can you live well financially without being Christian yes. I won't debate religion but I understand that we are based on Christian beliefs, that was who the forefathers were and we can't change it. BTW, most religions in the world have something in their bible that debt is evil and is to be avoided so the plan can work with whatever religion you follow.

[MissSeetonFan]

Dave Ramsey doesn't say you have to be a millionaire before buying a new car. He says you should be out of debt and able to pay in cash. He advocates paying in cash for everything, new or used (mortgages being the only grudging exception to him). That way you own it and not the other way around.

The difficult part of all that is making the transition from credit to cash. If you carry debt, paying it all off and then saving up for things instead of just going to get another loan or putting it on the credit card takes a lot of discipline (giving up on big vacations or long trips, eating out tons or new clothes, budgeting, etc) and, depending on the debt load to pay off, a lot of time. But once you get started and see what a difference it makes, you get addicted to owning outright.

That's what this site is for too. This is where people come to get ideas on how to live more simply or live extravagent-looking but still keep to your budget. Many people here also believe in not carrying credit card debt, paying down/getting out of debt, making do and having fun doing it. This isn't a Dave Ramsey site but many of his principles are applied by people here.

[Luckybustert]

RickyBobby, my suggestion for you would be to take what works for you and leave the rest. It doesn't matter how you get to financial peace, just that you do get there, kwim? Dave Ramsey has helped many people improve their financial situation and that is GREAT! And some people have found other ways that work for them. Take the path that works for YOU!

[craftypam]

Agree with you LB. Anyway to get out of debt is good. This has always been my goal LONG before DR.

[Daisygirl]

Just curious - why is your first post here so negative?

[Greebo]

I was tempted to respond to you seriously - but I think you're just trolling. I'll wait and see.

[grneyegrl]

you will find many on this site live on less than what they earn...i have for years and it has helped me and my family

[annymoll]

I take it you are not a DR fan? I am not. He appears to have helped many people get on a financial path.Take what is helpful, disregard what is not. You will glean helpful info here at the Village. By the way.... you are the only person I have ever known who calls the tube teevee.Reminds me of Mike TeeVee from Willy Wonka. I watched alot of TV as a kid!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!

[RickyBobby]

The Dave Ramsey I listen to says that until you have a million dollars in net worth you have no business buying a new car.

That is not an interpretation, that is exactly what he says in so many words.

Then he goes on to brag about his cars and his lake house and his boats as if only millionaires are supposed to enjoy anything nice.

Life is for the living and you are only young once so even if you have a balance with MasterCard you can still go out to eat or take your family on vacation.

There is an awful lot of ground to cover between homeless people and millionaires and just because you may be paying a few bucks per month in interest charges to some bank does not mean that you cannot live a little.

So if you have a credit card balance your kids never get to see the inside of a restaurant of go on a vacation? Screw that.

[RickyBobby]

Dave sort of cherry picks his facts and opinions. His basic tenet of not being in debt is logical simply because you do not get anything for the interest you pay. And if you train yourself or restrain yourself from buying consumer goods on credit you will not be wasting money on interest fees. His advice on not have a credit card is dead wrong. When you rent a car they may put a fifteen hundred dollar hold on your debit card, if they accept a debit card in the first place. Unless you account balance is large, your checks will start bouncing until you return the car to the rental agency and they charge your debit card the correct amount. If you travel at all, you are better off with a dreaded credit card than without one.

Being stingy may increase your net worth by a few hundred dollars per year but it will not change your life.

[RickyBobby]

Greebo,

Dave Ramsey is 100% correct on all things if you can follow all of his conditions.

1) You are a devout Christian

2) You make a hefty income

3) You are married with kids

4) You live on less than you make

5) You buy a house

6) You never have anything bad happen in your life

I totally agree with Dave Ramsey that a person is not doing themself any favors by going to the mall or the electronics store or the car dealer to buy something nice and shiny and new on easy credit terms. The interest that is paid is their profit and your loss of your hard earned income.

The four walls of food, utilities, shelter, and transportation come first and then the savings come second and then the mall or restaurant or vacation come last. Dave Ramsey helps a lot of people to understand that progression for their own good.

[Greebo]

The Dave Ramsey I listen to says that until you have a million dollars in net worth you have no business buying a new car.

That is not an interpretation, that is exactly what he says in so many words.

True

Then he goes on to brag about his cars and his lake house and his boats as if only millionaires are supposed to enjoy anything nice.

Really? I have been listening for well over two years now, and while he does occasionally mention them, it's not very often and by no means has it come across as bragging. I'm curious when you last heard such unseemly conduct.

Life is for the living and you are only young once so even if you have a balance with MasterCard you can still go out to eat or take your family on vacation.

I am in agreement with Mr. Ramsey that if one is carrying debt with a double digit interest rate, one should put clearing one's debts ahead of one's own personal gratification. If you cannot pay cash for it, you cannot afford it.

There is an awful lot of ground to cover between homeless people and millionaires and just because you may be paying a few bucks per month in interest charges to some bank does not mean that you cannot live a little.

You are, of course, free to sell your future to buy the present - and completely disregard the abject long term poverty and misery of those who have done likewise with so little regard for the future. As one who did so quite a lot myself, I certainly rationalized as you did - and paid for it in spades in later years.

So if you have a credit card balance your kids never get to see the inside of a restaurant of go on a vacation? Screw that.

What I wonder is your point of being here? This is the Dave Ramsey forum of the Frugal Village website. The purpose of this forum is to provide a place for people who wish to follow the DR plan to get advice and aid. If your only goal is to bash DR, one wonders... why? What ever did he do to you?

[Greebo]

Greebo,

Dave Ramsey is 100% correct on all things if you can follow all of his conditions.

1) You are a devout Christian

Not a requirement, just his beliefs.

2) You make a hefty income

3) You are married with kids

You're fabricating these conditions. Blatant dishonesty does you no credit.

4) You live on less than you make

True

5) You buy a house

6) You never have anything bad happen in your life

More blatant fabrications.

I again wonder - what on earth did DR ever do to you to inspire such malice that you would fabricate falsehoods about what he teaches.

[xtena]

Can you spell T-R-O-L-L?