Dave Ramsey

[Rosiesan]

We're on week 7 of FPU and so far we are on Baby Step 2 and have paid and closed all of our credit cards and one of our cars. Now just to get working on the other car and our student loans! It's also been amazing how much the budget works and being able to see that money in our account and not worried about going over like every other month! We've also finally gotten motivated to get our insurances in line and really understand how important they are and a Will.

[Bekah]

Great Job Rosie!!!!!

[Bekah]

I need to really get back on track here! I just got 100% control of the financial fitness of my family (to the point where I give J a weekly budget and he doesnt even have cards outside of that) so from here on out, if we fail...its on me...and this is a VERY VERY new and exciting place for me to be AND we finally picked our area we want to spend the rest of our life in (Charlottesville VA) and we have a relatively sure moving period (Summer 2016) so we have those concrete life goals, which, for me, the feeling of not really being a partner in our finances plus no real concrete life goals, made me not try very hard to stick to the DR plan as well as I could have, which made J lose hope and give up...so I have to set the example, and now I think I can be a good one, and that is AWESOME!

So babystep 1...I think we can save our Emergency Fund by February.

Part 1 of Babystep 1: Make a budget that allows us to save $335 for December, January and February!

[WorkedTooHard]

For those of you who don't have credit cards, how do you buy plane tickets, rent a car, order anything online, etc?

I have credit cards that get me 1-10% back on every purchase, so it's really easy to accumulate points which I use for gift cards. I just bought a new 46" TV from Sam's, for example, after saving up wal-mart gift cards.

 

Debit cards aren't credit cards! They're cash in electronic form -- you can choose not to have a CC attached and no overdraft. I have a CC myself, but I have many friends that choose to live without them. For good reason too, they are spenders and they know it! I've always been frugal without problems, but I think it's wise that if it's a struggle for someone to break bad financial habits, they should not have access to free spending.

 

It's like if you're a sugar addict -- don't keep sweets in the house!

[Rosiesan]

Great goals Bekah! Good luck!

[Kevin Mack]

I've been reading one finance/business book per month since about June and I think it is helpful to take in as many perspectives as possible. I'm reading Ramit Sethi's I Will Teach You to be Rich and I read Jeff Rose's Soldier of Finance before that. Where Dave Ramsey tends to eschew credit ratings and cards and anything remotely related to debt, these other books have some good insight into how to use it effectively. Dave Ramsey does talk about using debt to buy a house and while his plan is a good one, he overlooks the fact that optimizing your credit score will still save you money in the form of a better rate. Also, for those of us who can use credit cards responsibly, there is a lot of value to be found in rewards cards. Obviously a big part of a solid plan is to understand yourself and your spending habits and then create a workable plan to meet your goals, but if you only get your info from one source you may miss out on some good advice.

[Bekah]

I have a question about kids and finances...while I love Dave's approach and can omit the Christianity as needed and still get the job done, his program for teens seems to be MUCH more bible based and I want something similar to his approach but for kids minus the religious aspects...does anyone know of such a program? 

[Kevin Mack]

Are you talking about Financial Peace Junior? Because Smart Money, Smart Kids is no more preachy than the rest of his stuff and it's written for parents not kids, so you can use it how you see fit. Same principles as TMM though: make smart purchases, save for what's important, give to those less fortunate, stay out of debt.

[Bekah]

no I am talking about Generation Change. Its his only teen focused program, FPJ is too young for my kids, but they aren't able to grasp all the concepts in FPU in the way they are presented either...and the GC program is structured like a Bible Study with financial concepts...and I want the finances without the Bible Study. I knew that SMSK was for parents though, so I wasn't even considering that one. 

[Kevin Mack]

Hm, I don't know of anything that would fit the bill. You could certainly introduce the SMSK concepts but it would require more legwork on your part I guess and depending on your kids you may end up having to break bad habits, which is always harder than making good ones from scratch. 

[Bekah]

Hm, I don't know of anything that would fit the bill. You could certainly introduce the SMSK concepts but it would require more legwork on your part I guess and depending on your kids you may end up having to break bad habits, which is always harder than making good ones from scratch.

We have been half assing The babysteps for a long time (my emotional spending and his emotional eating have killed many many budgets) so the kids are familiar with it in general and we have one saver and one spender...so it may be a lost cause this late in the game, but I wanted to give it one more shot before we throw them out into the world...yanno?

[Schrodinger32]

Absolutely yes - I actually cried tears of happiness when I paid off my last credit card. I still listen to his program on the radio every night.

[Oramac]

no I am talking about Generation Change. Its his only teen focused program, FPJ is too young for my kids, but they aren't able to grasp all the concepts in FPU in the way they are presented either...and the GC program is structured like a Bible Study with financial concepts...and I want the finances without the Bible Study. I knew that SMSK was for parents though, so I wasn't even considering that one. 

 

You might take a look at Robert Kiyosaki's Cashflow 101 game.  I've never played it (obviously) so I don't know if it's got the Christian aspects or not, but it's worth taking a gander.  

[Kevin Mack]

I've only read the first Rich Dad book, but it was pretty secular. I'd imagine the rest of his stuff is the same way.

[Bekah]

You might take a look at Robert Kiyosaki's Cashflow 101 game.  I've never played it (obviously) so I don't know if it's got the Christian aspects or not, but it's worth taking a gander.  

 

I am going to look into it Thanks!!!

 

I've only read the first Rich Dad book, but it was pretty secular. I'd imagine the rest of his stuff is the same way.

Yeah I read it too, it is probably fine. 

[Bekah]

I found this today: Its close to what I want, maybe a little above them, but close enough

http://www.daveramsey.com/store/financial-peace-university/classes-foundations/foundations-in-personal-finance-12-chapter-college-edition-/prodCOLLEGEKIT12CH.html

[Robpocalypse]

I have a question about kids and finances...while I love Dave's approach and can omit the Christianity as needed and still get the job done, his program for teens seems to be MUCH more bible based and I want something similar to his approach but for kids minus the religious aspects...does anyone know of such a program?

Themint.org has a decent section for kids, teens and parents. I don't think it needs to be very complicated for kids, start off with simple allowances and savings accounts as kids and build up from there.

The most important thing they should understand is compounding interest and the effect of debt (revolving, fixed and student). Start drilling them @ 16 because it's info they'll need for the college decision process.

[Kevin Mack]

Just finished The Legacy Journey yesterday. It's about what to do with your money when you have finished the baby steps and want to build some generational wealth. Mostly its strategies for dividing your extra wealth between charity, lifestyle and investing for the purpose of building an inheritance. It is the most religious of his books, but don't let that dissuade you (if you tend to be put off by such things). The sociology of how Christians react to (other Christians') wealth is fascinating and he talks about it at length. Basically a lot of Christians act like wealth is bad and we get really judgmental (shocking!) when we see rich Christians. Dave talks about why that's not only bad, but doctrinally unsound.