Dave Ramsey and Your Thoughts

[mom-from-missouri]

No, I am done with college, although sometimes I do take a class every now and then. I checked into the University of Phoenix, and their rates are too high. Most colleges are now offering classes on line as well, for 1/3 of the rate. My former employeer (a major utility company) used to pay for tution for its employees, but it dropped them off their list of approved schools because of their rates, and also because numerous employees had trouble getting their final grades and diploma from them. The school kept coming up with more charges that had to be paid that were on on the orginal statements. So HR, said no more with them. Some of the state colleges now offer complete degrees on line and you take your final at any high school or library.

[Raisecapital01]

I may check into that because the rates are killing me. For now, I will take few more classes, and then transfer. Great advice.

[trillium]

If you're intrested in the forms that his "Total Money Makeover"book goes into with the baby steps, the forms are in the back of the book. Instead of photo copying them, I spent an afternoon transferring them into excel. I built tabs for each month and am going from there as fas as zero-budget and the debt snowball. This upcoming paycheck will be the first one that I'm going to try and solidly stick to everything about my budget. I'm counting down the days and am hoping I dont fail myself!!!

[starving_student]

Originally Posted by Raisecapital01

I guess I never knew he was charging these rates. You are better off buying his book. Why not a subscription, so that people can can get a feel for it? I have to agree with you.

I would get the book from the library... That would be frugal!

[starving_student]

Originally Posted by mom-from-missouri

You can get books at the library, but the worksheets are in the CD. Yet, if a person really studied the book, you could make your own worksheets. However, since the money also puts you into a course, the "peer 'pressure" or "peer support" tends to help you stick with it better. Our church is doing it for 13 weeks. I guess we could all get together for 13 days and do it, but our home is 13 weeks, or 3 months will make it habit, that will stick with us a lifetime. And, since we also have the CD, we can do a shorter refresher course 1-3 weeks together when we feel we need it--like before the holidays next year.

Does it make sense to pay for something that is supposed to be frugal and saved you money? Like buying coupons from these internet sites or program like that one..... They are so many "send me your money I will make you rich" scams around...

[smooper]

No need to buy anything, its all here and then some. From real people.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by starving_student

Does it make sense to pay for something that is supposed to be frugal and saved you money?

Certainly, there are times when spending money can save you money. We buy the Sunday paper to get the coupons. We subscribed to The Tightwad Gazette back when it was a newsletter (and later bought the book). Many people hire financial planners to help better manage their investments. We pay for Internet access at least partly so we can access resources like this board, travel discounts, online shopping, etc. So just because something costs money doesn't automatically mean it can't result in saving you money.

Of course, as others have said, if you want to read DR's book, go to your local library. If you later decide that you'd like to own a copy, I'm sure you can find one used online for less than cover price.

[Aleta]

I agree with Steve. My Sunday paper and the daily paper really pay for themselves with the coupons and sales that I would not have known about. Plus, one of our main grocery stores puts their sales paper in there not the mail. Otherwise I would have to pick one up. I receive a sales paper from another grocer in the mail. When it doesn't arrive and I need to see what the sales are, I do online and see the sales. So the internet saves you gas, time, stamps, and the list goes on.

I normally go to the library myself. If I find that I like the book and want it around for a reference, I'll buy it. There have been ideas in there that have changed the way I do things and saved more than the book cost.

[Raisecapital01]

I like the feature about Krogers. You can pick out the items you want or importance to you, and move on. My wife, on the other hand, wants me to get the original paper because its large, and easier thumb through.

[txex86]

I listen to Dave Ramsey on the radio occasionally while waiting to pick up my daughter from school. While I agree with those who tout his baby steps approach to handling debt, I do find his attitude a bit condescending to some callers. Additionally, I find it in poor taste that he sells bumper stickers and window decals on his website. Good grief, Dave's target audience are those who are in debt but, "Hey, add a bumper sticker to your shopping cart, along with your $89.95 fee, before you check out. What's a few more dollars when you're already in a heap of debt?"

[Pupart]

[. Good grief, Dave's target audience are those who are in debt but, "Hey, add a bumper sticker to your shopping cart, along with your $89.95 fee, before you check out. What's a few more dollars when you're already in a heap of debt?" [/quote]

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One could go a real shopping spree with DR's list of products all to promote his website.
I'll be spending my hard earned money elsewhere!

[thebetterlifenow]

If I had to do it all over again, I would have gone to his conference and not bought the book. The conference got me motivated and told me all I needed to know about the baby steps.

My wife and I unloaded about $32,000 in consumer debt in about a year following the Dave Ramsey plan.

It works. Say what you want about credit cards, but they are a real rip off. They are not your friend and they make LOADS of money and its not because credit cards are a good financial tool for the average person.

[poundwise]

It has been my experience that many, many people would greatly benefit by paying $25, $50, or even $100 or more on things that would help them learn how to handle their money, how to get out of debt, and keep them motivated to do so.

You certainly don't have to buy anything to learn these things and be successful on your own (especially when you consider the ability to obtain these resources at the library, etc.) but I don't begrudge Ramsey or any other of the get-out-of-debt and/or 'become financially secure' gurus for selling their books, DVDs, newsletters, or web site subscriptions.

No one makes anyone buy anything. And, most people, especially those who need help the most, routinely spend much more per month on things they clearly don't need than they would spend in a year's time pursuing these types of self-help, money resources.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by poundwise

It has been my experience that many, many people would greatly benefit by paying $25, $50, or even $100 or more on things that would help them learn how to handle their money, how to get out of debt, and keep them motivated to do so.

I think for many people, what they get out of an experience depends on what they put in. So taking out a book from the library for free doesn't give people the same experience as spending $25 to purchase the same book. When they buy the book, they feel they've got more invested in it and therefore are more driven to get their money's worth. Otherwise, they say, "No big deal. If I don't bother to read the book or don't get anything out of it, no loss since it didn't cost me anything."