Joyfullyblessed Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Hello, I was wondering if any one has used Dave Ramseys method of getting out of financial debt and staying financially secure? We have not taken the class, but have bought the book called Total Money Makeover. Is it worth reading? We REALLY need to figure out our finances and get out of this mess we created with debt. Let me know what your experience with Dave Ramsey has been. Thanks! : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I love Dave. We don't follow his plan exactly - but the baby steps were exactly what we needed when drowning in debt and sick of dealing with money. The $1000 emergency fund has saved our bacon so many times I can't even begin to tell you. We're down to our last debt and confident that we'll be able to get that knocked out quickly. It is a fabulous feeling to know that I don't have to dread the bills coming in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 We took the Financial Peace University class last fall. It was the smartest financial decision my dh and I ever made. I agree with the PP that the $1000 emergency fund is great. It gives such a sense of security. We began last September using his methods and to date we have our $1000 emergency fund, we paid all cash for Christmas without skimping from other bills or priorities, we paid off our car last month, and we refinanced our house. We have one small c.c. to pay off (used almost exclusively when dh travels for work) and one other debt that is going to come down quickly since we have a car payment to throw at it.! At first I was skeptical of the monthly budget. But after the first two months I came to realize that it was helping us build up money for all those unexpected life things that pop up. Just knowing that I have money in a clothing budget is cool. Same for our school fund. We would have never been in this financial position if we hadn't of taken the Dave Ramsey class. Sure we were getting better at this finance thing but we would not have been where we are now for at least a couple more years. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutmeg Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 You've already bought the book? What harm could it do to read it?! You might just find some useful bits, or it might change your life forever.:) Ramsey isn't the only game out there, but his plan worked for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I'm too cheap to buy the book, but I'm using his methods. I've asked around here and checked the website for the basics. We should be debt free in two years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I'm a huge Dave Ramsey fan. You already have the book, so go ahead and give it a read! He also posts about 2 weeks worth of his radio show on his website for free. There are commercials, but you can skip through them. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Yep. It was tedious and downright painful. However, the only debt we have left is the house. And even that's less than once it was. Do it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyfullyblessed Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Thank you! Yes, I do have the book (got it for $10.00 right before Christmas!). The bad thing with me is that even though I might have a really awesome book, I rarely find the time to read it. Soooo, that is why I was asking if it was worth reading or not. I am going to try VERY hard to make time for this one! :001_smile: Thanks so much for each of your replies. It really helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane in CO Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 It worked for us....we managed to pay off $30,000 in debt, cashflow 2 semesters of college for my DH (approx $8,000) and now we are working on getting our savings beefed up (got about $5,000 in savings working up to about $16,000). We will also be saving up for a trip to Disneyland this Christmas with the kids. It is difficult and a pain sometimes (much like going on a diet)....but it is really worth it! Diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-FL Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 It is difficult and a pain sometimes (much like going on a diet)....but it is really worth it! Diane :iagree: It's EXACTLY like dieting! Much easier to go "the wrong way" than correct the problem. We're not 100% DR's, but I frequent the livinglikenooneelse.com site & daveramsey.com to glean any encouragement I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyfullyblessed Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Diane... how long did it take for you to pay off the 30,000 in debt? Was it just credit card debt or other loans, etc... included? Even though we haven't used Dave Ramsey, we did stop using our credit cards two years ago. However, we managed to create a 25,000 debt at that time. We have it down to about 18,000 now in the two years since we have stopped. It sure seems like we are going nowhere fast, but I guess at least it is going down and not up, right??? : ) Anyway, just curious. All the other stuff that you are accomplishing sounds awesome too! Congrats! I just want to get our debt paid off right now... that is our biggest goal. We are sick of it controlling our lives! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I am debt free (yippee!!!!!) but am using his envelope system for the first time this month. It has been my best month (financially) in years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niffercoo Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Yes, I borrowed Total Money Makeover from the library. 24 months later, we have paid off over $43K in debt, and are working on getting our fully-funded emergency fund! It's amazing! I give all the credit to God, and to Dave Ramsey's system. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 We bought the DVD set so that we could watch it as many times as we needed to. I did find that the DVDs were very helpful in fully explaining how to do the budgeting system. Since my dh is in sales and our income goes up and down we have two budgets--one for good times and one for not so good times. We've been doing the method for about 14 months and paid off almost $25,000 in debt once we get our tax check and pay off our van at the end of this month. That leaves us with a school loan and the house. It works but you really need to be focused to make it work well.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Our only regret is not learning about Dave sooner. :iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma2Many66 Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 If you don't have time to read, get the Cd version from the library like I did and listen to it throughout the day while cooking and cleaning. Dave Ramsey really set us on fire and helped us get motivated to really make and stick to a budget. We are now debt free except for a small mortgage left on our home, which we are paying off in double payments quickly. We have a 6 month fully funded emergency fund in place and lots of sinking funds for little things that crop up, such as car repairs, replacement vehicle, home maintenence, home schooling exspenses, ectera.... We have a grocery budget, clothing budget and all types of other budgets in place that we stick to each month, so that we can snowball the rest right into savings. Dave also helped us to really think about our future and to put money away for retirement at 15% each and every month. And he taught us the importance of paying off the mortgage early and the sense of freedom it gives you long term. We are much better for having read the book, I can't recommend it enough ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMary2 Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I got Total Money Makeover from the library and couldn't put it down. Thankfully, we do not have credit card debt because we believe in paying cash for smaller items and house upkeep/remodels, but we do have 2 car payments and a mortgage. I DETEST the car payments, but it is necessary for us to be a two car family because of DH's work. So far we have our $1000 emergency fund. We have sold some stuff, but will be selling more stuff in a few weeks. We are in the process of going through the garage and attic. Once one car is paid off the other one will pay off quick with the almost $500 a month we can slap on it! Then we can start dwindling our mortgage. We plan on taking vacations and doing more projects on the house when the cars are paid off. We LOVE Dave Ramsey. Oh, I love the envelope system too and it makes balancing the checking account easier when we don't have hundreds of card swipes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 :iagree: It's EXACTLY like dieting! Much easier to go "the wrong way" than correct the problem. We're not 100% DR's, but I frequent the livinglikenooneelse.com site & daveramsey.com to glean any encouragement I can. I've heard Dave say on multiple occasions that a lot of people actually end up losing weight while knocking out their debt. The discipline needed to do both are very similar, plus the staying out of restaurants doesn't hurt. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Yes we have. We started almost 14 years ago when we heard DR on his radio show and our 1st child was only 6mo. It was hard and took a lot of "behavior modification" - especially since dh and I were so opposite in our ways of handling finances. But we kept at it. That snowball thing really works. After 6 months I couldn't wait for our bills to come in so I could knock off another chunk. It took us 2 1/2 years to get out of debt ($22K), build up our emergency fund ($10K) and save up a downpayment for a house ($10K). Our income ranged from 36K/year to 39K/year. Fast forward a few more years - we now have 6 children, a larger home that we LOVE and more than meets our needs, and still no debt besides a mortgage. We are not rich, relatively speaking, and don't have new cars and don't eat out much, and don't go to Disney every year. We buy used clothing whenever possible. But we always have more than we need, and are able to take care of major expenses and emergencies (like the furnace we had to replace in Dec., and the new oven we may need to buy soon, as it appears ours just bit the dust.) We travel every year to see family, pay for ds's many scouting trips and dance lessons for the girls, and can usually manage a family vacation (off season to the Gulf Coast is our favorite.) Because of the size of our family, we also have a very large emergency fund. Some things that encouraged us during the process - ~Where did we want to be in 5 years? Stable or shakey? ~Did we want our kids to learn indulgence or responsibility? Did WE want to learn indulgence or responsibility? :D ~Should we learn satisfaction and peace with where God has placed us financially or constantly struggle to grasp at things that were beyond us? It's well worth the struggle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I agree. Do it. We've paid off over $7K in debt in several months, after 2 years of severe underemployment. We are on track to eliminate quite a bit more asap. For the first time in a long time we are managing our money instead of feeling like we are financial victims ( we are hit continually wiht the "life happens" thing -lol) It's a good feeling .:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Yes!! :D We made it through 8 months of unemployment because we are Gazelles. We did not lose our house, foreclose, have a repo, etc. We've been beaten down, but we are in one piece. Thanks, Dave! :auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 (edited) Diane... how long did it take for you to pay off the 30,000 in debt? Was it just credit card debt or other loans, etc... included? Even though we haven't used Dave Ramsey, we did stop using our credit cards two years ago. However, we managed to create a 25,000 debt at that time. We have it down to about 18,000 now in the two years since we have stopped. It sure seems like we are going nowhere fast, but I guess at least it is going down and not up, right??? : ) Anyway, just curious. All the other stuff that you are accomplishing sounds awesome too! Congrats! I just want to get our debt paid off right now... that is our biggest goal. We are sick of it controlling our lives! Not Diane here, but we have had good success with DR's methods and I agree with others that it is like dieting. Especially when you've spent years at the buffet! In the midst of things - not unlike childrearing, methinks! - it seems like you're going really slow. But then before you know it, you reach a point where you can look at your improved financial status and say, "Wow!" You've gotta look for those moments! One thing I do recommend doing, from his forms, is your personal balance sheet (he may call it your net worth?). We did ours at the end of last year. We looked at it and realized 2 things. First, after a year of using no credit cards (not even school or Christmas, woo-hoo!), we made a ton of progress, even though we felt strapped at times. We realized that we have a great amount of equity in our home, and that our only remaining debt besides the mortgage at year's end was the obligation to our one leased vehicle. Second, we could really imagine what next year's balance sheet will look like: debt free except for the house! Six hundred a month extra cash flow *because* we are debt free! You just have to keep looking at where you are going and not dwell on how tough it seems while you are getting there. To the OP, questions about Dave Ramsey's methods spring up often in this forum. Have you done a search here? You may find a lot more personal experience stories and even ways folks tweak his methods to suit their personal priorities. Edited February 16, 2010 by AuntieM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 We started DR in the late 90's. We have modified it to our personal needs and have always been way ahead financially because of it. We took a year and paid off our debts and except for a few short car loans and a mortgage, we have not had any debts since. We live more comfortable than several friends who are making $15-25,000 more per year (and have fewer or no kids) than us. We definitely have more in savings/investments than almost all of our friends. I think one of the biggest things about getting yourself out of debt is seeing how much money you really have per month to spend. When you have bills, you are always paying off old purchases; wanting to move forward, but always paying backwards. When you get rid of the debt and want something, you simply save for it, and then get it. You are always thinking ahead....not behind. You start actually thinking about what you want to afford and appreciating things more. It trickles down to the kids too. Both of my older kids now have commented on how their friends have more money than they do, but that their friends don't appreciate what they buy. They have both commented that they would rather have less and appreciate it more, than live a life of waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane in CO Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 (edited) Diane... how long did it take for you to pay off the 30,000 in debt? Was it just credit card debt or other loans, etc... included? Even though we haven't used Dave Ramsey, we did stop using our credit cards two years ago. However, we managed to create a 25,000 debt at that time. We have it down to about 18,000 now in the two years since we have stopped. It sure seems like we are going nowhere fast, but I guess at least it is going down and not up, right??? : ) Anyway, just curious. All the other stuff that you are accomplishing sounds awesome too! Congrats! I just want to get our debt paid off right now... that is our biggest goal. We are sick of it controlling our lives! All of our debt was credit card :confused: DH & I had already paid off our small student loans before we got serious about debt. What was ironic about paying off our debt was that we waited until we had two kids and a house and not a ton of extra money. I could kick myself for only paying a little more than minimums on the cards back when DH and I were just married and bringing in good incomes. Instead we bought the latest dvd's went out to eat 3-4 times week minimum etc. :tongue_smilie: It took us about 2 1/2 years to pay everything off....a little longer than Dave Ramsey suggests, however we did have other expenses in that time (2 semesters of college for DH, car repairs, car replacement....Life :D) The fact that you are going down in debt instead of up is WONDERFUL! Doing it Dave Ramsey style just amps up the process a bit ( or at least it should). If you and your DH make it a priority and sit down to budget together, you can pay your debt off faster than you would have thought possible! Wishing you the best in your debt-free journey! Diane Edited February 16, 2010 by Diane in CO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekarl2 Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Add me to the list of DR devotees! We make six figures, but started our Total Money Makeover in August 2009 with $155k in debt (car, credit cards, and a timeshare which we love.) In those six months we: -paid cash for Christmas -have $2k in an emergency fund -no more STUPID whole life and now have plenty of term life for dh and me -have paid off $28k in debt:001_smile::001_smile::001_smile::001_smile::001_smile: It's ABSOLUTELY worth it. I recommend parting with money for the following, though. They both help me a lot! -a DR DELUXE envelope system ($20) -a membership to totalmoneymakeover.com ($9.95) Blessings, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 The snag is when you already have very little, both in income and in expenditure. It is easy to cancel sky Tv and the gym membership, and put that money towards paying off credit cards, but what if you don't even have a TV because you have never been able to afford one.... This also means you have less to sell because you never had it in the first place, the credit cards have arrived with medical, school, and sadly, food bills. That said, it can still be done and it still works, just be realistic. you will not get the wonderful results people who have stuff to sell (Sell the 2nd car he says...what second car...what first car?) and reasonable incomes. It will be slow, and very painful, and sometimes not possible, and you slip again. This is when the wonderful success stories feel a little flat, but remember, an emergency fund of $50 is still an emergency fund of $50! That is food for the family for a week if necessary, and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane in CO Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 The snag is when you already have very little, both in income and in expenditure. It is easy to cancel sky Tv and the gym membership, and put that money towards paying off credit cards, but what if you don't even have a TV because you have never been able to afford one.... This also means you have less to sell because you never had it in the first place, the credit cards have arrived with medical, school, and sadly, food bills. That said, it can still be done and it still works, just be realistic. you will not get the wonderful results people who have stuff to sell (Sell the 2nd car he says...what second car...what first car?) and reasonable incomes. It will be slow, and very painful, and sometimes not possible, and you slip again. This is when the wonderful success stories feel a little flat, but remember, an emergency fund of $50 is still an emergency fund of $50! That is food for the family for a week if necessary, and so on. :grouphug: That is very true, even if you are the most frugal person on the planet it is difficult to pay off debt if you don't have any "extra" in the budget. Some of the suggestions that I have heard when it is an income issue is to take a second job....although this can be difficult for some families. If you are a single mother trying to raise kids and keep yourself afloat there often isn't the time available to take another job. ...or if you are married and DH has an irregular schedule, a second job can be difficult in this situation as well. Dave Ramsey DOES have good ideas but it does base a lot of its success around the fact that people do have an adequate income, but are just not spending it wisely. If there is no "latte factor" in your lifestyle, doing DR can take a lot longer and be extremely difficult. Diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Read the book as fast as possible! We started with Total Money Makeover too, and in just under 2 years, we paid off $22K, in spite of a 30% pay cut last year. We paid off the last credit card just as we learned about our next possible loss of income at work. We are so grateful we found the DR plan when we did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 We have been following DR for a while and are one bill away from being debt free. We hope to be able to call DR in March. I can't wait to yell "We're debt free!" Like so many other plans out there, it will work if you are disciplined and want it to work. I say "Go for it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 We love Dave! We did his method exactly and paid off the last of our debts last year. We have our emergency fund up to 3 months and are taking some time to fix up the house a bit. We neglected some fixes to pay off debt. We joined the Dave cult and drank the kool aid. Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 The snag is when you already have very little, both in income and in expenditure. It is easy to cancel sky Tv and the gym membership, and put that money towards paying off credit cards, but what if you don't even have a TV because you have never been able to afford one.... This also means you have less to sell because you never had it in the first place, the credit cards have arrived with medical, school, and sadly, food bills. That said, it can still be done and it still works, just be realistic. you will not get the wonderful results people who have stuff to sell (Sell the 2nd car he says...what second car...what first car?) and reasonable incomes. It will be slow, and very painful, and sometimes not possible, and you slip again. This is when the wonderful success stories feel a little flat, but remember, an emergency fund of $50 is still an emergency fund of $50! That is food for the family for a week if necessary, and so on. We didn't have all that stuff to cancel or sell either. I started a home daycare to bring in income and my dh took a 2nd job. We also both started donating plasma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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