Current Events > Wife is reading a Dave Ramsey book

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm glad she's taking an interest in being financially responsible. Maybe she'll stop spending hundreds of dollars a week for shit we don't need.
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Like books by Dave Ramsey.
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I should try to slip some Dave passages into a new 50 shades book.
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Maybe she got it from the library?
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That's great. Dave Ramsey's awesome.
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meingott posted...

That's great. Dave Ramsey's awesome.

hes okay if you're broke and really in trouble.

but other than that, his advice is generally bad.

id say its a good starting place, but you need to evaluate your own situation and not just dogmatically following his advice.
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MixedRaceBaby posted...

meingott posted...

That's great. Dave Ramsey's awesome.

hes okay if you're broke and really in trouble.

but other than that, his advice is generally bad.

id say its a good starting place, but you need to evaluate your own situation and not just dogmatically following his advice.

What is some bad advice from Dave?
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My parents got my sisters and I each a copy of the Total Money Makeover book of his

Two years later we're all mostly debt free other than cars and mortgages
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Asherlee10 posted...

MixedRaceBaby posted...

meingott posted...

That's great. Dave Ramsey's awesome.

hes okay if you're broke and really in trouble.

but other than that, his advice is generally bad.

id say its a good starting place, but you need to evaluate your own situation and not just dogmatically following his advice.

This. He has some good take-aways, but it is not the right method for everyone.

Why not?

littlebro07 posted...

My parents got my sisters and I each a copy of the Total Money Makeover book of his

Two years later we're all mostly debt free other than cars and mortgages

Very good. Pay off those cars asap!
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meingott posted...

What is some bad advice from Dave?

his retirement advice is too simplistic. 15% is fine for younguns, but as you get older or state late, you need better goals.
he says paying houses off early is always best, when its not.you have to look at the market and the interest rates, etc.
he advocates for getting no debt, but imagine trying to get an apartment with no credit history.
he says pay off all student loan debt before saving for retirement... thats not a good idea if paying those loans is gonna take you 15-20 years...
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MixedRaceBaby posted...

meingott posted...

What is some bad advice from Dave?

his retirement advice is too simplistic. 15% is fine for younguns, but as you get older or state late, you need better goals.
he says paying houses off early is always best, when its not.you have to look at the market and the interest rates, etc.
he advocates for getting no debt, but imagine trying to get an apartment with no credit history.
he says pay off all student loan debt before saving for retirement... thats not a good idea if paying those loans is gonna take you 15-20 years...

1) 15% retirement savings when you're debt free and have a paid off house is actually really good. And he teaches that as a starting point.

2) Paying off a house early isn't the optimal mathematical decision, but it's arguably better than trying to time the market. Eliminating your housing cost is one of the best ways to build wealth and to retain wealth. Losing your job during an economic downturn can wipe out your equity just as quickly as some might benefit from not paying off their mortgage early.

3) You don't need a credit score in order to get an apartment.

4) When he says that you should pay off student loans before saving for retirement, he's saying to make big hits on those student loans so that it doesn't take you long to pay them off.
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Student loans usually have the lowest interest rates as well, so it won't hurt as bad to have that debt
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If being debt free isn't valuable to you, then that's your call. There's never a situation, imo, that warrants carrying debt...except for maybe a mortgage. Mathematically, it often makes sense (on paper) to carry debt and invest if the interest rate on the debt is lower than the rate of return on the investment.

But then again, that assumes that you don't get fired, sick, stressed out and depressed, etc. Being debt free = freedom. A rate of return that is slightly higher than the interest on your debt is not worth the price of admission to me, because I saw what these types of gymnastics did to people once 2007-2009 rolled around.
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