Anyone a fan of Financial Peace with Dave Ramsey?

Dave Ramsey

Did it 10 years ago.

Life changing!

Live beneath your means and the money saved adds up quickly.

I only deviate from Dave Ramsey's ideology in having all of my investment money in one stock = Apple. Even he likely wouldn't complain about that when it's returning 70%+ this year!

I've been a Dave fan for quite some time. I was born and raised in Nashville and my older sister went to school with him so there's a point of personal connection.

His principles are grounded in simple truth, you should control your finances instead of letting them control you. Live on less than you make and know where every dollar goes. Sadly, many people just kind of meander through their financial life allowing circumstances and ignorance to take the lead.

I would highly recommend Dave Ramsey, Larry Burkett, and/or Crown Financial Ministries to anyone who wants to better understand stewardship.

Default Name said:

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I only deviate from Dave Ramsey's ideology in having all of my investment money in one stock = Apple. Even he likely wouldn't complain about that when it's returning 70%+ this year!

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Orange Furball said:

We spend a whole week going over that single stock thing. Diversification is key, but I think you're safe with Apple

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Don't know David Ramsey, but that diversification thing.... no, he wouldn't approve. The higher the returns, the more risk is one rule of thumb. There are so many ways that Apple stock could tank, in a day. What happens if Jony Ive wraps his new Aston (with Sir Jony in it) around a telephone pole? What happens if Tim Cook's plane disappears while crossing the Pacific?

What happens if China and Japan start a shooting war over those stupid islands? The USA has signed a treaty to support Japan, but that then gives China the legal right to embargo Apple products from leaving China. It doesn't even have to go that far... what if China and Japan simply start a shouting war that gets Wall Street's attention, and they suddenly realize that Apple is vulnerable should the shouting escalate.

The whole point of diversification is that you accept lower returns in interests of protecting those returns in the event of a setback. Otherwise you are putting all of your eggs in one basket. One drop and - 'poooft' - the whole nest egg is omeletted.

I went to the seminar and read his book as well. Ramsey's whole theme is learning to live within your means and getting out of debt. He has this system that one follows to take control of one's finances. Take the steps in order and learn the other stuff as you have time.

Dave Ramsey is indeed wealthy but he admits he made some stupid mistakes along the way which helps me personally to relate to him and his message.

Orange Furball said:

I guess that's right. But Apple stock is quite the basket.
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Yep... quite the basket. But that could change, literally, overnight. They are so dependent in a few individuals that their exposure to risk is fairly high.

Dave Ramsey turned my life around. 5 years ago, I got laid off. I was in a panic, because I had little savings, a car payment, credit card debt, student loans, and more. I ended up taking a crappy job with a big pay cut, because it was the first offer I got. I hated that job, but I was stuck there for a year. I decided that would NEVER happen to me again. I had half-heartedly tried the plan before, but didn't seriously follow through. After that, I went all in.

It just happened again. I was laid off this week. This time, I'm not sweating it. I have 6+ months expenses in my emergency fund. Stuff like what happened this week is exactly why I did it.

Orange Furball said:

I'm sorry to hear you got laid off, but I'm glad you're prepared! Good luck!

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Thanks! Now I truly get the peace side of Financial Peace. If I still had credit card balances, car payments, and crap like that, I would probably be freaking out again. I may have a different tune if I got 4 months or so without a job, but for now, I'm not too worried. I think I will find something fairly soon.

I always chuckle when I hear Dave say, "We give you the same financial advice your grandmother would, only we keep our teeth in."

As I grew up, my parents modeled the Financial Peace plan. Okay, they weren't quite that intense, but the foundations were there. I was starting to stress out a bit about money last month when my wife reminded me, "Hey, we planned for this."

I enjoy listening to his radio program. Yah, I'm a fan!

ejb190 said:

I always chuckle when I hear Dave say, "We give you the same financial advice your grandmother would, only we keep our teeth in."

As I grew up, my parents modeled the Financial Peace plan. Okay, they weren't quite that intense, but the foundations were there. I was starting to stress out a bit about money last month when my wife reminded me, "Hey, we planned for this."

I enjoy listening to his radio program. Yah, I'm a fan!

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He had this big 20th anniversary show on Friday. All kinds of guests and they had a party at his office building with food and prizes. I watched the live stream, and it was pretty cool. I almost drove there to see it in person, since I have a lot of free time now, but I decided against it.

Thinkingo f taking this course with my dad, and fiancé. Is it better to do it in person, or online ?

Orange Furball said:

If its in person and near you, do it. If not then just do it online. I'm officially done with my course. I learned a lot. We have an exam for it tomorrow

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Thanks. I was just thinking online may be better since its self paced and I could get through it quicker.

HE15MAN said:

Thinkingo f taking this course with my dad, and fiancé. Is it better to do it in person, or online ?

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One of the advantages of taking the class with other people is accountability. Just like going to the gym or losing weight, when you do it as a group you are more likely to stay with it. There's a built in motivation when you hear successes from other families.

Also, I read the TMM book in two days. I got the basics, but it didn't really have time to sink in. Taking the class over a few weeks would give you time to really grasp how this stuff applies to you. (Or do what I have done and listen to the radio program for about two years now...)

HE15MAN said:

Thinking of taking this course with my dad, and fiancé. Is it better to do it in person, or online ?

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Definitely take it in person with a group if you can. You will make new friends, be encouraged by others, and pick up tips that you won't get by just watching the videos. For example, Dave talks about the power of cash and how to "bargain" for just about anything. In a class atmosphere people can share the places they find the best deals on items, how they have successfully bargained, etc.. Plus, you will grow and learn from not just hearing people's success, but hearing people's struggles. Another advantage is getting to know your group facilitator. He or she could prove to be a valuable resource for other information in the future.

mscriv said:

Definitely take it in person with a group if you can. You will make new friends, be encouraged by others, and pick up tips that you won't get by just watching the videos. For example, Dave talks about the power of cash and how to "bargain" for just about anything. In a class atmosphere people can share the places they find the best deals on items, how they have successfully bargained, etc.. Plus, you will grow and learn from not just hearing people's success, but hearing people's struggles. Another advantage is getting to know your group facilitator. He or she could prove to be a valuable resource for other information in the future.

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That makes sense. I guess the most appealing part to me about doing it online is the fact I could do 2-3 lessons a week and knock it out quicker than across 13-16 weeks.

I started the class with some people about 4 years ago. For several people it really helped them out. For others not as much because we already had a system set up for savings. I would like to get farther into his stuff but I am going to break one of his rules to take on a car payment in the future. Other wise I build up a savings (have about 4-5 months right now in savings).
It is a massive stress release having savings so when something does come up you can absorb it like for example my car is having major issues up really upping the time scale of me replacing it.

HE15MAN said:

That makes sense. I guess the most appealing part to me about doing it online is the fact I could do 2-3 lessons a week and knock it out quicker than across 13-16 weeks.

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I hear what you are saying, but changing major life patterns like spending habits, savings, working a budget, etc. takes time. Also, you mentioned doing this with your fiancee. As a therapist I can tell you that one of the most difficult things for any couple is managing their finances. Some of the reasons this is so hard is because couples don't know how to communicate about sensitive subjects like money, they have different experiences from their family of origin regarding finances, and they bring different expectations into the relationship about how to best budget, spend, and save. Doing this class with your fiancee in a group setting will allow you the chance to process this information and start the communication process for you. "Hey honey what did you think about tonight's class?" I was really encouraged to hear how that couple overcame their problem with excess spending and how it's brought them closer together. I want us to be able to start off right in that area..." These kinds of conversations are less likely to happen if you do it online.

Interesting, but I kind of do steps 1 and 3 right now and don't really have the funds to do step 2.

I think it's more important at my point in life - as a 2011 college graduate working full time - to have money in case my job tanks or I act on my desire to switch to a more meaningful (and probably equal to lower paying) job. I have student loans and a car payment, so I need my 3 month (and growing) emergency fund.

I would love to soon transition into a snowball debt payment plan, but prioritizing will be difficult. I have about $30k in student loan debt spread over multiple vendors (used to be one but then sold off) and 3 interest rates (Perkins, Subsidized Stafford, and Unsub). It's tempting to pay off the $3,000 in Perkins loans first as they are by far the smallest single loan amount, but they also have the lowest interest rate of the bunch.

I guess either way I can't complain. I'm up to 3 full months/4 bare bones months of savings, I have a job, and every week I set 3 automated withdrawals to different savings accounts (emergency, next 6 month car insurance payment, and new tire fund that auto ends upon reaching the set amount).

The beauty of Dave Ramsey's plan is it's simplicity. Most of the stuff in his book The Total Money Makeover isn't rocket science. Instead it is basic stuff that is explained in a way that sometimes not entirely obvious (especially in light of our very consumer driven society).

I read TMM a couple of years ago. At first I was really hesitant to give in to all phases of the program (I kept using a CC but thought it was alright because I paid the balance every month, didn't keep a comprehensive budget, etc). Not surprisingly the dent I was making in paying off my debt (car loan and student loans) was slow moving. I have since bought in much more, using the envelope system, ditched the CC, have a very detailed budget, and have bi-weekly budget meetings with my wife. We've made a lot of great progress since going "all in" and have a plan in place for managing our income and retiring our debt. There are a lot of sacrifices that have to be made and things we sometimes think we need that have to be done without, but both of those things have gotten easier to the further we get into this.

I think the Ramsey program is universally good for all. I always keep an extra copy of his book on hand for anyone that I feel compelled to give it to.

I read through his free PDF thing and didn't get anything new out of it. I already do all those things (minus the tithing) and found most of the things to be common sense.

It does amaze me though how many people are horrible with their money.

He gives invaluable financial advise. This should mandatory education for everyone. From middle school and over. I listen to him on KFWB weekdays at noon here in SoCal. I heard him today. He took over Dr. Laura's time slot a couple of years ago.
Although I haven't read his book, it's on my to-do list.