Dave Ramsey

[Philociraptor]

Sound like a really good system. Are there any resources that are similar but don't have stories or bible in them?

[Loren Wade]

Sound like a really good system. Are there any resources that are similar but don't have stories or bible in them?

Does it really have Bible quotes in it? I don't remember that. Huh. Either way, I don't have any suggestions. I didn't realize they were that much of a turnoff to people.

[Philociraptor]

Does it really have Bible quotes in it? I don't remember that. Huh. Either way, I don't have any suggestions. I didn't realize they were that much of a turnoff to people.

I really don't know, just going off what folks have said here. I just don't want to wade through a bunch of fluff to get good financial advice.

[Loren Wade]

I really don't know, just going off what folks have said here. I just don't want to wade through a bunch of fluff to get good financial advice.

You won't be. If there is bible quotes in it, then I don't remember that... but it's an extremely good book on financial advice. Literally any person in any situation can read it and start right away. It's the best advice I've ever received.

[Kishi]

Honestly, there's only like two or three bible quotes in the four or five chapters he spends trying to convince you that the current financial system sucks before the sixth chapter, which is when the Money Makeover starts. After that, the quotes kind of stop until the last chapter, when he talks about charity and such like that.

Also, just about every quote he calls out is from Proverbs. Don't worry kids, you won't be getting any altar calls from this man. He wants to make money, after all.

[Philociraptor]

So would I miss anything if I just cut to the chase and skip chapters 1-5 and the final one? Seriously considering getting it right now, thanks all.

[Loren Wade]

So would I miss anything if I just cut to the chase and skip chapters 1-5 and the final one? Seriously considering getting it right now, thanks all.

You would miss a lot. It's not all that much to hang up on. Seriously. Even if you don't believe in the Bible, proverbs are no different that a chinese proverb. It's basic principles of life.

That said... the first few chapters go on about how bad credit is, destroys debt, etc.

[Shaun1105]

So would I miss anything if I just cut to the chase and skip chapters 1-5 and the final one? Seriously considering getting it right now, thanks all.

First, spend less than you earn. Then:

1. Save $1000 in an emergency fund.

2. Get out of debt as fast as you can.

3. Complete emergency fund to 3-6 months living expenses

4. Save 15% of your income for retirement

5. Save for your children's education

6. Pay off your mortgage as fast as you can

7. Continue building wealth and Give (to charities, people in need, etc.)

Now that's cutting to the chase. I just saved you reading the entire book

Seriously though, the stories are in there for a reason. One of them will remind you of your own situation. Getting people information isn't going to help them if they aren't motivated to make use of that information. The book is great, and I second Loren Wade in calling it the best financial advice I've ever received. Literally life-changing.

[Philociraptor]

So for you folks who are financially stable, what do yall think about this: I have about $125,000 in debt between my school loans and car loan. That's before the interest. However, I plan on getting married and maybe getting a house in the next year or two. Is it still advisable for me to only have $1,000 in savings?

[Loren Wade]

That's exactly why you need to read the book. The first $1000 is your buffer for emergencies only.

[Philociraptor]

That's exactly why you need to read the book. The first $1000 is your buffer for emergencies only.

Meaning I should save for those expenses separately?

[smurray]

Meaning I should save for those expenses separately?

yes. the $1000 is keep you from be dependant on credit to take care of emergencies that happen like car issues, broken air units, or anything that happens that you didn't budget for.

[Loren Wade]

Yep. After you have $1000, you start the debt snowball and beat down your debt with a stick.

[lathomas64]

Be careful with that, any security breach can wipe out your account and they are not protected like credit cards are. If a charge is made on a debit card you cannot claim it as fraud.

We've been a victim of credit card theft twice, once to the tune of over $30K in charges. Had we had a debit card that was linked to our account we'd have been out all that money but with a credit card we could prove it was fraud and didn't have to pay it. The second time it was only several hundred dollars but still....

And yes, we can have a year's worth of cash in our checking account at a time so depending on the time of year someone could really get a bunch of money using a compromised debit card before we could catch it.

That really depends on your bank. Me and the fiancee have ally and she had her debit card stolen recently(yesterday actually) and they are going to remove the charges .

[Philociraptor]

I removed my credit cards from my wallet, payed off the balances, and have $1000 squared away. Now its time to start saving for a cheap used car. Then I can rid myself of that payment and get going on my highest-interest school loan. Woot woot.

[Loren Wade]

I removed my credit cards from my wallet, payed off the balances, and have $1000 squared away. Now its time to start saving for a cheap used car. Then I can rid myself of that payment and get going on my highest-interest school loan. Woot woot.

Dude. That is HOW you do it. Big thumbs up dude.

[stolympiakos]

I've actually read through the book - though haven't really applied the strategies yet - but the guidance is sound. I'm starting my debt snowball this year, and I'm hoping to get it all done by mid year next year, if all turns out as planned. It probably won't, but I'm prepared!

[Philociraptor]

Finished the book yesterday, here's what's on the horizon:

Continue to pay the minimum on my car and all but my highest-interest loan. Since I made the mistake of getting a new car back in June, I've been looking for ways to get rid of it. According to everybody I've talked to, it's already lost about a quarter of the value. At 2.9% interest, the difference between when I get out of debt by sticking it out with my dream car or selling it and driving a beater is a paltry couple months. I've decided to keep the car.

This month I sent an extra $1k to my smallest school loan ($18k on it). I will continue to send $1k to 1.5k extra until at least May when my girlfriend gets decisions back on doctoral school. At that point I will have some financial decisions to make, such as how to fund a move (if she ends up out of the DFW area) and possibly a wedding (are these really $20k? That's what she says her brother-in-laws spent).

Whatever comes, I am ready.

[Loren Wade]

Dude!!!!! This is so great!!! I'm so happy for you.

[Shaun1105]

... and possibly a wedding (are these really $20k? That's what she says her brother-in-laws spent).

From the weddings I've been to or heard of lately, weddings can go for from less than $2k (daughter of some friends of mine) to $10,000,000+ (Kardashian/Humphries). Where you fall on the spectrum is a decision you and your fiancee will have to make when the time comes. Get her to read TMMO and hopefully you'll end up at the lower end

[Loren Wade]

From the weddings I've been to or heard of lately, weddings can go for from less than $2k (daughter of some friends of mine) to $10,000,000+ (Kardashian/Humphries). Where you fall on the spectrum is a decision you and your fiancee will have to make when the time comes. Get her to read TMMO and hopefully you'll end up at the lower end

Agreed.

[Philociraptor]

I worry because both of our families are Catholic (huge families, long ceremony, big reception expected after). Also, I'm Mexican (family expects live music and open bar) and she's Vietnamese (family expects a 7-course meal and nice bottles of liquor on each table). I'd rather just have a non-religious wedding and an appetizers-only reception, but that's frankly out of the question. Her parents will not give us their blessing unless we observe all their traditions, my family will be very uncomfortable at a Vietnamese wedding.

So basically I'm screwed. Maybe we just shouldn't get married. Sorry, no longer as much about finances as about another problem altogether.

[Kishi]

Alternately, that uber-expensive wedding is your motivation to get to a better financial place.

Or, you know, you could just common-law it. I'm sure that's on the books somewhere.

[AprilMay]

There's an easy way to do it, but it can really rub some family the wrong way.

What my husband and I did: elope to Niagara Falls, honeymoon there a few days, then come home and throw a huge party on a Saturday. The party cost more than the elopement. That's where all the money goes anyways, the reception/party afterwards.

His family wanted a wedding but after looking at the finances we decided that we weren't willing to put out that kind of cash to make his family happy about something that was really our decision. It came down to us telling them that if they expected a church wedding, they are footing the bill. Since we were already living together a church wedding didn't really suit us.

Turns out, all our friends really wanted was to celebrate with us, the party afterwards was far less stress on everyone

[macnip78]

To everyone who does not like the Christianity in the book, just think of it as a principle. A Bible verse can still be good advice even if you don't believe in the source material.