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My Mom and many of my friends have recently become very interested in David Ramsey's Financial University and I was wondering if anybody else has any experience with this program or the techniques it teaches. As far as I can tell one the main points of the program has to do with getting rid of all debt and/or credit and saving up with cash for everything you buy (including large purchases like cars and houses) Any other opinions, experiences, or thoughts on the program? |
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I have personal experience in the program and recently became debt free using Dave's debt snowball. There are 7 'baby steps' as a part of the Dave Ramsey program (taken from the website):
If you're curious about this way of living, I encourage you to check out his free daily podcast. The podcast is the first hour of his syndicated radio program, and there is a new episode every weekday. Generally speaking, his plan encourages you to get on a written budget, avoid risk by getting out of debt (and staying out of debt), building cash reserves for emergencies, and investing in things you understand with cash you already have. The one debt Dave "won't yell at you for" is a 15 year fixed rate mortgage where the mortgage payment is no more than a quarter of your monthly take-home pay. I love that he shares his life experiences in addition to his financial good sense -- and he's not afraid to call people out on their stupid behavior. In going through this program together, my wife and I have grown together. We each have an equal voice in our finances now -- we even involve the kids in some of our financial meetings now (and they have contributed some great ideas). One of the things that helped us the most (even though it was painful at first) was going 'full boar' with the envelope system. The envelope system, if you're not familiar with it, is a way of budgeting and paying for items with cash. We even decided to use this system for groceries -- which scared the hell out of me at first. I didn't know if we'd have enough money to last until the next refill of our envelopes. But a funny thing happens when you start to pay attention to money diligently in a budget -- it becomes a tool that you can wield. The more you use it, the more comfortable you get with it. For the first few weeks, I was worried that this system wouldn't work and we'd be up a creek. But after using this system a while now, I can assure you it works. I sleep like a baby now. Oh, and there's no feeling in the world like being debt free. |
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The main benefits of these programs is the coaching and positive reinforcement they provide and a classroom atmosphere complete with lectures and assignments. That said, this only appeals to certain type of people who need constant prodding to keep on top of their debt and budget. If that's you the courses are a godsend, if not, they're a bit pricey when much of the same information is available online for free. |
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