Total Money Makeover?

[knotquiteawake]

So they paid off $103,000 in debt in 3 years, eh? That means they lived 3 years on ($104,520 - $103,000) or
$1,520. It must be nice to have a place to live, cars in which to drive to work/school, utilities, and food,
all for the grand total of $9.74 a week!!! The $9.74 figure is $1,520 divided by 156 weeks (3 years).

I alsways wondered about those stories. Unless they're using bankrupcy to cheat people, it's hard to believe the math.

The usual explanation is that those people sold a bunch of stuff. Like selling the $45,000 pickup to retire a $40,000 debt. When this is factored in, the numbers start to make more sense.

So true. part of our $58k pay off was using about $8k my wife had left over from an accident settlement 5-6 years ago. That helped put a huge dent in the final couple payments. Without that it would have taken an extra 4-5 months to get it all paid off.

[Venus Pax]

Dave Ramsey has some good ideas, but it's not rocket science to get out of debt. We started working on getting out of debt long before Dave was around the airways, wasn't easy at the time but have been debt free for many years now. Even through my wifes cancer. Use common sense and that's all you really need to get debt free (well a job helps )

No, it isn't. However, you would be surprised at how many people do not understand the concept of doing without luxuries. A relative of mine has learned a lot listening to Dave Ramsey. Although he hasn't completely changed his behaviors, he no longer sees a credit card as an extension of his annual income.

Then again, Dave himself says that his program isn't anything new. He jokes that he's telling you what your grandmother woudl say, only he's keeping his teeth in his mouth while he says it.

[Venus Pax]

So they paid off $103,000 in debt in 3 years, eh? That means they lived 3 years on ($104,520 - $103,000) or
$1,520. It must be nice to have a place to live, cars in which to drive to work/school, utilities, and food,
all for the grand total of $9.74 a week!!! The $9.74 figure is $1,520 divided by 156 weeks (3 years).

I alsways wondered about those stories. Unless they're using bankrupcy to cheat people, it's hard to believe the math.

The usual explanation is that those people sold a bunch of stuff. Like selling the $45,000 pickup to retire a $40,000 debt. When this is factored in, the numbers start to make more sense.

This was the case with us. We had remodeled our first home and sold it before the housing market went under. We had enough sweat equity in the house to pay off about 90% of our debt, and we were able to pay off the remaining bit in a month or two after that since we were so used to large sums of money going out the window every month in debt payments.
Not long after that, a series of tragedies hit our family. We had quite a bit in savings at one point (but more than six months living expenses in the bank goes quickly when a layoff lasts 14 months). I'm glad we went through the program; we were spared additional misery since we did not have debts looming over us. It's nice when your cars are paid off and you have no debts. When your income falls drastically, you can focus on paying for food and medical care rather than being concerned with a car getting repossessed.

[UpTheIrons]

Like with so many other things these days, the Ramsey plan is great, but your mileage may vary.

We've been following it for about 3 years, and still have about $30K to go. Yep, we had a debt consolidation loan (that didn't work), student loan debt (the biggest chunk of what remains), and regular ol' credit card debt. We've fallen of the wagon a time or two in the process, but his simplification of the process is what made it click with us.

And no, we're not dumb - I've got a graduate degree and my wife has a bachelor's in education, but sometimes you've got to dumb it down, even for them smart fellers.

[knotquiteawake]

his simplification of the process is what made it click with us.

And no, we're not dumb - I've got a graduate degree and my wife has a bachelor's in education, but sometimes you've got to dumb it down, even for them smart fellers.

Same here. K.I.S.S.! My wife has a masters in Speech Pathology and I have a Bachelors in Business. Some of my business school buddies go on about how I could have "maximized" this or that by analyzing the interest here and putting money there, but in the end its the simple plan that has the highest likelihood of success for me.

Thanks to the simple plan I'll have the money for a down payment on a house this year. Several years before i thought I would. Of course, just like with debt pay offs, everyone and their brother has some kind of strong opinion on buying a house "in this market right now."

[pcgizzmo]

I've heard him talk to people like they are dirt. He has good information but he's not the inventor of it. I also think he uses his Christian beliefs as a marketing ploy. I bet Dave has a few credit cards. He's certainly a millionaire due to all the people that have purchased his programs even though they are pretty much free on the internet (not his actual books but just the common sense get out of debt plans)

I don't have any respect for him if for any other reason than I've heard him talk to people like they were trash just because they didn't agree with what he was saying.

[pcgizzmo]

It boils down to this. If you have a credit card and you can't afford to pay the balance off at the end of the month then your putting to much on it. If your balance continues to grow month after month then your living beyond your means. If you can't live w/out putting money on your credit card then you need to downsize as much as possible and or get a second job. Pay off your smallest bills first then roll the money you save into the larger ones and so on and so on until your out of debt.

Once that's done save up an emergency fund of hopefully at least 1x your yearly income. Start paying yourself first and maxing out any 401k plans. Put money in savings for unexpected expenses. Pay off your house early if possible.

There you have it. You can Pay Pal me the $29.95 when you get a chance.

The biggest problem and WE ALL have it is our want's are bigger than our pocket books some times and then also if you don't make a lot of money you get hit with unexpected expenses and have no way to pay because you don't have a savings etc. so it goes on the CC.

[dihappy]

We went to the one weekend seminar. Thanks to Daves tips we paid off $58,000 in debt over the course of 16 months and are now totally debt free. We will be buying a house next year Lord willing and that will hopefully be our only debt.

Wow congrats!!

[dihappy]

My problem, and probably many other peoples problem is that i was never taught about managing my money and the dangers of debt.

Now im paying off my debt and saving for a home. I am thankful for finding Dave and reading his books, as mentioned, if it was only about logic and mathematics i would have never gotten in to debt to begin with.

[MadMonkey]

I've been a fan for a while. Hard to hate on someone who puts it so simply and manages to help a lot of people out... and I guarantee that the people who spend the money on his programs get a better return than the ones who send their money to a televangelist who promises them a blessing.

I don't have any of his material, but I do listen now and then and follow the majority of his common-sense teaching. Not much of it applies to me though since I've only had a credit card for a year

[chasfm11]

It boils down to this. If you have a credit card and you can't afford to pay the balance off at the end of the month then your putting to much on it. If your balance continues to grow month after month then your living beyond your means. If you can't live w/out putting money on your credit card then you need to downsize as much as possible and or get a second job. Pay off your smallest bills first then roll the money you save into the larger ones and so on and so on until your out of debt.

Once that's done save up an emergency fund of hopefully at least 1x your yearly income. Start paying yourself first and maxing out any 401k plans. Put money in savings for unexpected expenses. Pay off your house early if possible.

There you have it. You can Pay Pal me the $29.95 when you get a chance.

The biggest problem and WE ALL have it is our want's are bigger than our pocket books some times and then also if you don't make a lot of money you get hit with unexpected expenses and have no way to pay because you don't have a savings etc. so it goes on the CC.

The amazing part to me is that we have no equivalent of the information contained in your post in our public schools. There seems to be plenty of time to teach a bunch of other inane stuff and no time for a practical course on basic money management. I do understand that simply teaching the course is not going to affect 100% of the students. But making the basics of home economics available, along with a number of real life stories of what happens when you don't follow those basics might help a lot.

Then again, it people started to manage their own budgets better, the government couldn't get away with handling public finances in a way contrary to what Dave Ramsey is suggesting.

[Divided Attention]

When I was in high school I took " home and family living" light cooking, helpful household hints, basic sewing (buttons, darning socks, hem repair and the like). Was a mixed class, boys and girls, and one portion was you were paired up "married if you will" and had an income and had to budget. We also learned to write checks and manage an account. This is not an option for my kids, I was disappointed! As parents of teens we become inversely stupider as the teens get older, and our advice is not "all that", but let someone outside tell them the same thing and it is the advice of the gods!

We have tried to include our kids lightly in the day to day finances since they were very little, I don't want them to be surprised when they get their first place at all the "extra" stuff that comes besides just the rent.

[chasfm11]

As parents of teens we become inversely stupider as the teens get older, and our advice is not "all that", but let someone outside tell them the same thing and it is the advice of the gods!

We have tried to include our kids lightly in the day to day finances since they were very little, I don't want them to be surprised when they get their first place at all the "extra" stuff that comes besides just the rent.

You are doing a lot more than many parents. We, too, tried to work with our kids to help them to understand track home finances. Unfortunately, I carry that tracking to an abnormal level and their rejection of what I was trying to teach was due to my excesses. It has taken doses of Dave Ramsey to get them both back on a good financial track. There is something about the 3rd party influence, even though he is saying the same things that I did, that works. And I don't really care what does work as long as they can manage themselves on a sound financial basis.

[dihappy]

When I was in high school I took " home and family living" light cooking, helpful household hints, basic sewing (buttons, darning socks, hem repair and the like). Was a mixed class, boys and girls, and one portion was you were paired up "married if you will" and had an income and had to budget. We also learned to write checks and manage an account. This is not an option for my kids, I was disappointed! As parents of teens we become inversely stupider as the teens get older, and our advice is not "all that", but let someone outside tell them the same thing and it is the advice of the gods!

We have tried to include our kids lightly in the day to day finances since they were very little, I don't want them to be surprised when they get their first place at all the "extra" stuff that comes besides just the rent.

Very true David. I dont know what your beliefs are, but i wonder if our churches could extend these "common sense" rules to the teens/singles classes. I dont mean the Dave Ramsey classes that are available in local churches as an option, but using some of these techniques in Sunday Schools for kids/teens might actually help.

[tbrown]

So they paid off $103,000 in debt in 3 years, eh? That means they lived 3 years on ($104,520 - $103,000) or
$1,520. It must be nice to have a place to live, cars in which to drive to work/school, utilities, and food,
all for the grand total of $9.74 a week!!! The $9.74 figure is $1,520 divided by 156 weeks (3 years).

I alsways wondered about those stories. Unless they're using bankrupcy to cheat people, it's hard to believe the math.

The usual explanation is that those people sold a bunch of stuff. Like selling the $45,000 pickup to retire a $40,000 debt. When this is factored in, the numbers start to make more sense.

I get it now. If someone has a $50,000 mortgage on a house with a market value of $125,000 they're $50,000 in debt. If they sell the house for $60,000 to get rid of the mortgage, they're better off because they don't have any debt.