Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide To Money

I just finished reading this book for the second time. I had heard of Dave Ramsey and had heard good things about his material so I picked this up a while back when looking for books on finances to recommend to my daughter and her fiance. I thought it was one of the best "basics" books out there, so I purchased it for them as a starting point for educating themselves as they begin their married lives. Recently, a good friend of mine lost her husband and he had handled the money. She is incredibly bright but hasn't had a lot of experience in managing finances, so I sat down and read this through a second time to see if I thought this applied to her as well - and it did. I bought another copy as a gift to her. I actually put together a 3-book set for her, with this being the second book I recommended she read. The first one is The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money by Carl Richards which I like since it starts at the beginning with deciding how you want to live and the financial goals necessary to support that decision. This Dave Ramsey book dovetails nicely onto that one with more of the nuts and bolts of how to manage money. The third book I purchased is 20 Retirement Decisions You Need to Make Right Now by Ray LeVitre which I think excellent but is best utilized after you have already acquired some financial knowledge. For young adults just starting out, there is great wisdom contained in these pages which will allow the reader to avoid the pitfalls so many folks make. For people needing an overall correction after finding themselves in a place they don't want to be financially, this is also an excellent resource. From emphasizing the need for a cash emergency fund, to dumping debt, to learning how to determine where your money goes each month, he then moves onward to how to invest your savings as well as planning for the future - college funding, home purchase, etc. He also debunks some of the "conventional wisdom" myths that exist and talks plainly about things that can trip you up and send you down the wrong financial path. Mr. Ramsey states the cold, hard truth about facing facts regarding your financial life but does it in such a way as to be encouraging and supportive. He shares his own mistakes which allows the reader to understand that everyone has decisions in the past that weren't the best, but we can all do better moving forward - assuming we are willing to do what is necessary. Bottom line: An excellent book that I highly recommend for anyone interested in better understanding and taking positive action regarding their financial situation. For people who are already in decent shape, it still is very reinforcing since doing things this way can feel "out of step" and a bit odd when compared to what everyone else is doing. He validates the decision to not keep up the the Joneses and to make decisions that are good for you, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

Bought this for my friend that knows absolutely nothing about finances so I figured she could use any help she could get. So far she has actually read a couple of sections and it has helped her understand some basic financial knowledge

This book is great advice for people looking to improve bad spending habits, and get out of debt. Some of his advice can be polarizing for people (example - 100% cash for a house), as it is not always realistic, but the core advice is great, and especially something people need in today's world of instant gratification and credit cards rewards. My husband and I did Dave Ramsey's financial peace university as part of our pre-marital counseling and it was so great to get us on the same page with spending. It also gives me a lot of security knowing that we have insurance and savings set aside to help us in any situation. We've probably quadrupled our salaries since we originally took the class, but the core components of this book we still follow in everyday life. Budgeting, tracking expenses, consulting each other for large purchases, no debt (other than our house). It's a great read, and can be life-changing if you're really struggling financially.

You have to want to change for this to work. If you're comfortable with excuses--don't waste your time. Your desire to change your financial future has to be your goal. You have to be ready to face family, friends and others who say "You're crazy." You have to be confident to say "No, we're not going to dinner with the family. No, we're not sending 7 year old Kyle to batting camp, or World Cheerleading finals...in Orlando, of course. You have to be confident enough to stop the things that got you in debt. There are a thousand reasons not to follow it--but the ONE reason to follow it is because YOU and your family are worth it.

I now know the difference between an IRA and a 401k. A regular 401k and a Roth 401k.. The best way to save for my daughter's college. I also understand that financial security is having the discipline in MY BEHAVIOR to create and stick to a budget. The stories he tells, the testimony from people who've learned and the chunks of financial knowledge he packs in every page makes this a fun and exciting read. With every chapter you feel more empowered to take control of your money. It will literally challenge just about everything you've been taught about money. The just: Don't use credit, budget down to the last cent with a plan to reduce and eliminate debt, if you use credit as often as the people around you.. If you neglect to create a budget, you'll be broke. Start by understanding where your money's going, Dave says do an audit of yourself, DON'T GUESS. Where I started was I went online and pulled up the statements on all my bank and credit cards and literally went line by line, writing down every transaction, trying to remember exactly how and why I spent the money (most of the time they'll have the vendor on there so you'll know, but trips to the ATM are harder to figure out). I then categorized everything, you know: money spent on eating out, money spent on transportation, miscellaneous, etc. I then wrote down my bills. That gave me an accurate picture of how I had spent my money the last 30 days. Then I compared that to how I would have spent the money had I budgeted to give myself as much money as possible at the end of the month while still doing the things I liked to do. Try to be as realistic as possible. Dave says it'll probably take you 3 months/tries to get good. After this you do what's called the envelope method which is you place money in specific categories based off your budget and your audit. You cash out the money, simply because physical cash is less likely to be spent than "virtual cash". Each envelope represents and has written on it, a specific category such as "Food for the house", "going out", "books", "starbucks".. Whatever. Place physical money in each envelope and take from it daily as needed. When the money's gone that's it. You either stop spending or you continue spending but now with the realization that you have broken your budget, when and where it was broken, and the audit you do next month will show you just how much money was wasted as a result. With this simple strategy along and in depth yet quick and easy analysis of various investment principles and options complete with dollar amount figures of what you should expect if particular dollar amounts are invested now, Dave essentially gives you the map to financial independence. Ps. When you do your audit whether it's the last 30 days or you do it in real time which Dave suggests, disciplining yourself to record every transaction as it occurs, you should prepare to be APPALLED as I was and as Ramsay says just about everyone is. What most chronically broke people realize as I did is that you're not ACTUALLY broke, you're simply pissing away hundreds of dollars a month on various vices and musings. Simply unaware, not caring enough about how you're spending your money. You already know this but the audit and budget will help you care more. You know when you pull into Mcdonalds and you're thinking "it's only six dollars" or ten dollars but that other voice is in your head like "6 dollars adds up".. After your audit you'll see you ACTUALLY spend about 175 dollars a month on fast food. Now when you're tempted to hit a fast food spot, you're thinking 175 a month, a grand plus over a six month period. You will care more, I found out I was spending around 350-400 on carry out and coffee a month. So yea, these are effective strategies.. I gave it 4 out if 5 cuz im a cynic. !! : ]>

You get the same Dave from the radio show here in this book. It is written for anyone to understand and full of tough love. There is hope to becoming debt free and a proven set path.

My husband and I have been reading this book together. We are not all the way through it but I'm very excited about the information I'm learning already. We are on baby step 2 and not far at all from being done with that. I wanted a book that would explain investments and retirement to me as I don't know a lot about that stuff. My husband and I were pleasantly surprised to find good easy to understand information that doesn't make us feel dumb. We are in our early thirties and looking forward to being debt free and able to look into our retirement and investments early. This is a fun educational book that is very honest about human nature with great stories/lessons and a witty writer. This book did exactly what I wanted and I don't feel like I'm falling asleep while reading it.

I would recommend starting with The Total Money Makeover to get the initial concepts down, but once you have bought into Dave Ramsey's system, this companion piece lays out a much more detailed blueprint for how to achieve true financial peace. I found the sections on insurance coverage, wills, and the different types of investment accounts very illuminating. These are topics that don't get a lot of attention in other works, yet they completely changed my perspective on how to best protect my family from risk and grow our wealth in a smarter fashion. My wife is a teacher, and learning about some of the pitfalls associated with 403b accounts helped us to ask the right questions and make better choices in our retirement planning. Dollar for dollar, this book is one of the best investments I have made in planning for my family's future. If you are a fan of Dave Ramsey's philosophies and system, this is an essential work that bridges the gap between "why" to stick to the baby steps to "how" to execute them at a more detailed level.