My friend Josh has been a big fan of Dave Ramsey for a while now. I have heard Dave’s radio show a few times while hanging out with Josh, but only for a short period each time. This weekend, however, I hung out at Josh’s place and watched a couple of Dave’s television shows and now… I’m hooked!
Who is Dave Ramsey and What is He All About?
Dave is a financial expert that helps people get out of debt, plain and simple. Dave has “been there, done that”. By age 26, he was a self-made millionaire in the real estate industry. But, like most everyone these days, Dave had debt… so much, in fact, that within 2 1/2 years, he was flat broke.
After losing everything, Dave vowed to learn everything he could about money: how it “really” worked, how to control it and how to handle it. He read everything imaginable, interviewed “older rich people” that had made a ton of money and still had it. So, what did he discover?
It All Starts With You.
That’s right, you, the person you see in the mirror every day. You are the reason you are in debt and have money problems, easy as that. Dave realized that if he could learn to control himself financially, he would “win with money”.
Dave went back to what he knew, the real estate business. In 1988, he formed a company to counsel people who had financial issues. Dave then wrote a book, Financial Peace, which he sold out of his car. With the help of a friend, he started a local radio show called “The Money Game”, which is now nationally known as The Dave Ramsey Show.
My Total Money Makeover.
Josh let me borrow his copy of My Total Money Makeover audio book, which I listened to in full the first day I had it. I really enjoy listening to Dave because he is direct, to-the-point. He doesn’t beat around the bush about issues. He will tell you straight up if you are making a stupid financial decision and explain exactly why.
The My Total Money Makeover plan won’t be fun. It will be tough and you will make sacrifices - Dave puts this right out on the table from the beginning.
Remember, it all starts with you. It’s no different than someone trying to quit smoking or doing drugs: you have to want to change. If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, this is the program for you!
I have decided to take Dave up on the My Total Money Makeover program. Before listening to this book, I didn’t really consider myself “in debt”… but, that is a lie. I owe a small fortune in student loans (what a waste of time that was) and have a few credit cards with high balances… and a smaller debt that I owe the school directly. Let’s just say that I could buy a pretty nice, brand new car with all of the money that I currently owe.
7 Baby Steps.
My Total Money Makeover consists of 7 Baby Steps that you use to get out of debt and begin building wealth. I will be making many more blog posts on My Total Money Makeover, covering each of these steps in detail along with my story and progress thus far.
Are you In Debt?
A simple question… are you in debt? Besides a mortgage on a home (if you own one), do you have any debt? And I mean ANY? Any nagging credit card debt, car notes, anything? Do you consider your debt a big issue, or something that you can pay off quickly?
Let’s hear it!
