Wednesday, May 28, 2008

I Love Dave Ramsey


I'm a Dave Ramsey addict. This drives my husband nuts, but I really could care less. :-)

I'm the "financial nerd" in the family; my husband is the "free spirit" when it comes to spending (and while we're on this subject, why is it ALWAYS the woman who gets the rap for being the one who is the Impulse Buyer....??? In every couple I know it's the wife who has to REIN IN her husband's spending mania....)

Anyway, if you don't know who Dave Ramsey is, he's a Personal Finance Guru (Hubster would say NERD) who has written a couple of books (the best being Total Money Makeover) and also has a radio program which teaches people how to get out of debt, live on what you make, and get off the charge and spend, over-consumption cycle that has trapped so many American families.

We have been following his plan for awhile now, and by the end of this year should be completely debt free (with the exception of our house). And, while a lot of our friends are "moving up" into larger more posh and expensive houses, I'm really excited about the (attainable) goal of having our house paid off within the next 5 years or so.

Just think how free your life would be if you didn't have any payments? Imagine for a second:
  • No car payments
  • No credit card payments
  • No student loan payments
  • No mortgage payment

I don't know about you, but I could live on next to nothing if it weren't for all those stupid payments. I'm really looking forward to having those creditors out of my life!

If you're interested in finding out about Dave, here's a link to his website. (I think his website is a bit "cluttered"... so if you'd rather take a look at his book, Total Money Makeover is wonderful... has a lot of case studies in there of people who were upside down in debt and who are now 100% debt free.... and his formula for getting out of debt and building wealth, step by step.)

5 comments:

Me said...

I think I may need to get this. Just hope we can stick to somewhat of a regimen. Good timing for a post like this, especially when it costs $4.40 a gallon to put gas in my car!

HWHL said...

I can't recommend the book strongly enough... it is truly life-changing.

We've paid off a lot of debt and it feels really good, plus it's nice to know that in the foreseeable future we won't have ANY debt (not even a mortgage).

Go get the book - I can promise you'll get a lot out of it! :-)

Suzanne said...

Hey-
You told me about him a while ago.
I have listened to him here and there. He is entertaining and smart.
I don't want to sound like a bragger/boaster, but we don't have any debt. We have lived below our means forever. Even though Coach has made a great living, we have never went crazy.
I will post about my days of going to the grocery store w/ a calculator and coupons one day....
We only have a house payment.
Like I say....my life is GOOD.
And I appreciate it.

HWHL said...

Suz,
This is GREAT - you should definitely POST about this, because most Americans are drowning in debt. To hear from someone who has avoided it would be a great inspiration to people - seriously! Write about your life story (personally, I think it's fascinating considering how different your life is now compared to what it was like when we were teenagers). You are truly a Success Story!!

Kellan said...

It would definitely be nice to get rid of all of those payments - for sure!

Have a good evening - Kellan