Who is Dave Ramsey and Books written

Dave Ramsey is America's most trusted voice on money and business. He has authored four New York Times best-selling books: "Financial Peace," "More Than Enough," "The Total Money Makeover" and "EntreLeadership." The "Dave Ramsey Show" is heard by more than 5 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations.

RULE #8: Forget Dave Ramsey - 80% of Financial Advisors Dismiss the Debt ... - NerdWallet (blog)

Well-known personal-finance guru Dave Ramsey advocates the “Snowball Method,” when you pay just the minimum payments on all your obligations, while focusing on eliminating your smallest debts first. His thinking is, paying off your smallest debts gives you the momentum to tackle the larger debts in your life. So who’s right?

Dave Ramsey: Stop investing when debt piles up

Dear Dave: What would you recommend for 401(k) contributions while getting out of debt? — Chaz

Dear Chaz: I recommend putting a temporary stop to investing while you’re getting out of debt. Lots of people are shocked by this advice, because they’re afraid of missing out on the wonders of compound interest or their employer’s match. But the key word here is “temporary.”

Millions of people have followed and been successful with the program found in The Total Money Makeover. The first step, Baby step one, is to save $1,000 as a starter emergency fund. Baby step two is pay off all of your debts, except for your house, from smallest to largest with the debt snowball plan. During this time you’re attacking your debt with incredible intensity and putting every penny you can scrape together toward knocking out debt.

The average person working my plan can pay off all their debt, excluding their home, in 18 to 24 months. Some folks can do it faster, and for some it takes a little bit longer. But during this time I want your financial focus to be squarely on getting out of debt. Once that’s done, you’ll find that you have a lot more control over your biggest wealth-building tool — your income.

Many times in life we try to accomplish too many things at once. One problem with this is often it diminishes our ability to focus. When you spend all your time nickel-and-diming everything, the result is that nothing gets done very well. You need to really move the needle and see results because personal finance is 80 percent behavior and only 20 percent head knowledge. It’s not really a math issue because if you’d been doing the math all along, you wouldn’t have a bunch of debt.

That’s why, for a short period of time, I want you to concentrate with laser intensity on knocking out debt. Once that’s out of the way, you can pour even more money into saving, investing and achieving financial peace. — Dave

 

Dear Dave: My wife and I make about $100,000 a year. We have $63,000 in the bank, and we owe $47,000 on our home. The house is worth about $250,000, and it’s our only debt. We’d like to go ahead and pay off the house, but we’re worried about depleting our savings to that extent. What would you do? —Matt

Dear Matt: If I were in your situation, I’d cut a check and pay off the house. Keep in mind that by doing this we’re not saying you’ll keep your savings at that lower point. Once that mortgage payment is off your backs, you’ll be able to save more and save faster than ever.

That’s my advice. Pay off the house and become completely debt-free today. You’ll still have $16,000 dollars in the bank and a six-figure income. It won’t take you long to rebuild your savings all the way back to what you had before, if that’s what you both want. You could do it in just a few months.

I’m looking at this as an opportunity to achieve the kind of financial independence everyone wants but few actually have. Go for it, Matt! — Dave

Dave Ramsey: Close down First National Bank of Mom and Dad

Q: We’ve been supporting our son while he’s in college. He just finished his sophomore year, but he told us the other day he has dropped out of school and isn’t going back. He’s been playing in a band on weekends, and he has this vague idea of becoming a musician. We don’t think this is a good idea, but we still want to be supportive just not too supportive. We want him to be financially independent, as well. How should we handle this?

A: This kid is about to have some problems. Not only has he made a bad decision, but he should have consulted with you guys before he quit school. He owed you that much if you were supporting him this whole time.
In my opinion, you and your husband have one job right now. That job is to stand back and let life happen to this kid. If he thinks he’s a man, let him go out and prove it. Wish him the best and tell him you hope he becomes the rich and famous rock star he wants to be. But make sure he understands you’re not going to support him financially when he’s doing something you both feel is a bad idea. The First National Bank of Mom and Dad is closed!

Understand that I’m not suggesting you turn your backs on him. Let him know how much you love him and that you’ll be praying for him. Invite him over for dinner once in a while, stay in touch, and make sure he knows that family deals like Thanksgiving and Christmas are still business as usual. However, as far as paying for his rent, utilities, gas, food and cell phone bill? That stuff’s not happening. This may sound tough, but it was his decision. In the end, let him know you’ll be there to help just like before if he wises up and decides to finish school.

 

Q: Should I lower my 401(k) contributions in order to pay off my car and home?

A: If you’re following my plan, the first thing you should do is set aside an emergency fund of $1,000. That’s Baby Step 1. Next comes Baby Step 2, which means paying off all of your debt except for your house. This would include your car. During this time you should temporarily stop any kind of investing and retirement contributions.

Once the only debt left is your mortgage, it’s time to move on to Baby Step 3. Now you concentrate on growing your emergency fund to the point where you have three to six months of expenses set aside. Once this is done, you can attack Baby Step 4, which is investing 15 percent of your pre-tax income for retirement. For you, it would mean re-starting the contributions to your 401(k). The rest of the plan goes like this. Baby Step 5 is putting money into your kids’ college funds, while Baby Step 6 is putting everything you can scrape together towards paying off the house early. After that comes the real fun. Baby Step 7 is the point where you simply build wealth and give.

Follow these steps, and I promise you’ll have lots of fun and lots of cash. You’ll have financial peace!

Dave Ramsey says: There are 3 things you can do with money—spend, save ... - Deseret News

Dear Dave,
Should I pay a nominal fee to be enrolled in a mortgage accelerator program?

Dear Jennifer,
No, you should not. Mortgage accelerator programs are similar to the biweekly mortgage deals floating around out there. Paying on your mortgage biweekly is fine. Paying for the privilege is not.

In the biweekly mortgage program, you make a half-payment every two weeks. By doing this you will pay off the typical 30-year note in about 22 years. It works because there are 26 two-week periods in a year, and 26 half-payments equals 13 whole payments. It pays off your mortgage early because you’re making an extra payment every year. That’s what’s doing it. There’s nothing magical about every two weeks; it’s the fact that you’re paying extra principal.

Instead of paying your mortgage company an unnecessary “nominal fee,” just make an extra payment each year. Or, pay one-twelfth of a payment as a principal reduction with a separate check, in a separate envelope, every month. By doing that, you’ll pay off the loan just as quickly as with a biweekly arrangement.

If you’re just now taking out a mortgage and your lender can do a biweekly setup at no cost, then that’s great. Take them up on the offer. But we’re not going to pay them an additional fee so you can make extra payments on the principal. That’s just stupid!

—Dave

 

Dear Dave,
My husband and I tithe, but right now we’re on Baby Step 2 of your plan and we’re expecting a child in a few months. Since we’re trying to pay off all our debt except for our home, what should we do about giving beyond our tithe in this situation?

Dear Carrie,
Evangelical Christians recognize two types of giving in the Bible—tithes and offerings. The tithe is off the top, before you do anything else. That’s why I recommend people put it on the top line of their budget forms.

After that, offerings are almost impossible to find in Scripture until you’ve first taken care of your family. The normative method found is that offerings are to be taken out of your surplus. In my mind, while your family is in debt and you’re busy taking care of your household, there is no surplus. Just because something tugs at your heartstrings or someone spews out a toxic sermon on giving doesn’t mean that you need to give offerings above your tithe.

But here’s the good news. Once you’ve paid off your debt and have a fully loaded emergency fund in place, you’ll have the rest of your lives to open up and give like never before. Getting out of debt means you will gain control of your most powerful wealth-building tool—your income. And when that happens, you can give with extraordinary levels of generosity.

There are three things you can do with money—spend, save and give. And when you reach a point where you can give well, it’s the most fun you’ll ever have with money!

—Dave

James Ramsey the bible loving Prophet

For a long time Tannie and Kenneth Ackley had more bills than they could keep track of. There was a debt to Sears and another to Home Depot. There were medical bills, including a couple thousand dollars’ worth from Kenneth’s surgery to fix a heart defect a couple of years back. And there were the boat and the camper, which the Ackleys sold off to pay other bills they can barely remember, only to see new ones crop up in their place. All told, excluding student loans and their home mortgage, the Ackleys owed somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000—$50,000 “if you count the truck,” Tannie told me one balmy Sunday afternoon this April in East Texas.

I met the Ackleys while sitting beside them in a cavernous megachurch just off I-45 outside Houston. Tannie is a brown-haired clerical worker with an easy smile; Kenneth is a construction-equipment operator with a handlebar mustache. Along with about 5,600 other souls, we had flocked to the church to spend four hours getting financial religion from the man Kenneth and Tannie credit with setting them on the straight and narrow path out of debt. His name is Dave Ramsey, and he is the most important personal finance guru in America.

Walking on stage, Ramsey received a standing ovation before saying a word. A balding, energetic man with close-cropped hair around his temples, wire-framed glasses, and a neatly trimmed gray goatee, he wore jeans with a bright blue shirt and a dark gray blazer. If there were such a style, Ramsey’s could be described as “meticulous casual.” Even his accent, with its radio-friendly Nashville burr, conveys a perfectly calibrated mix of folksiness and authority. “I’m not here to get your money,” he said to an audience of people who had paid $39 a ticket. “I am here to change your life.”

Dave Ramsey: How to Control your finances

Dear Dave, Do you have any tips for how a single person can stay on track with their finances? — Debbie

Dear Debbie,
It's really pretty simple. The first thing is the same advice I give to married couples, and that is to live on a monthly budget. Sit down at the end of each month and write down — on paper—all your expenses and income for the following month.

When you think about it, budgeting really isn't that difficult. Some of your expenses, such as your rent or mortgage payment, will be the same. If you have a car payment (which I really hope you don't), it will remain constant, as well. Things such as groceries and utilities may fluctuate based on the time of year, but you can make a pretty accurate estimate by looking at past months.

The second thing I'd recommend is that you find someone to be your accountability partner. It should be someone who is wise and good with money and a person who loves you enough to call your bluff or hurt your feelings a little when necessary. They can be a close friend, parent or even your pastor. Just sit down together over a cup of coffee once per month and talk about your finances. You even could go over your budget together line by line.

Ideally, an accountability partner is someone who's ahead of you on a particular journey and can help direct you along the path to wisdom. It's their job to hold you accountable for what you're doing and the decisions you're making, for your own good. — Dave


A prodigal daughterDear Dave, My daughter used to live an irresponsible lifestyle and was bad with money, too. While she was in college, she also took on $20,000 in student loan debt. Since that time, she experienced a serious illness. She's recovering now, and it has really changed her behavior and her outlook on life, spiritual matters and money for the better. I could pay off the loans for her, but I'm wondering if there's a better way to help. — Eddie

Dear Eddie,
If I were in your shoes, and I had the means to pay off her student loan debt without putting myself at risk financially, that's exactly what I'd do.

Sometimes the best gift you can give a person is to let them wallow around for a while in the mess they made. Being forced to work your way out of bad decisions and irresponsible behaviors is a great remedy in lots of cases. But in this situation, with what you've told me about her previous health issue, and the fact that she's now being responsible with money, behaving and making better life choices, I'd want her to be as free as possible as she takes up this new walk.

My advice is to try to be a huge blessing to your daughter. Right now, she's a lot like the prodigal son. She's come around in her thinking and realizes what's right and what really matters. Give her the biggest hug she's ever had, Eddie. Then, throw a party and write a check to knock out that student loan debt. —Dave

Dave Ramsey is America's most trusted voice on money and business. He's authored four New York Times best-selling books: "Financial Peace," "More Than Enough," "The Total Money Makeover" and "EntreLeadership." The "Dave Ramsey Show" is heard by more than 5 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the Web at daveramsey.com.

Dave Ramsey: Question and answers with fans

Dear Dave, Do employer contributions count toward the 15 percent you recommend putting into retirement? -Brian
Dear Brian, Employer contributions do not count toward the 15 percent I recommend setting aside for retirement. It’s nice if you work for a company that offers perks like that, but I want you putting 15 percent of your money into retirement. Baby Step 4 of my plan says to put 15 percent of your income into retirement accounts. The first thing you should put money into is a matching retirement account. If you’ve got a 401(k), a Roth 401(k) or a 403(b) and your employer offers a match, you should do that up to the match before anything else. Let’s say your employer will match 3 percent. Since the goal is 15 percent, you’ve still got some work to do. You’ve got 3 percent of your own money already tied up for retirement, so then you could look at a Roth IRA. If the Roth plus what you invested previously to get the match doesn’t equal 15 percent, you could then look at a 403(b) or go back to your 401(k) to hit the 15 percent mark.

Whatever your company matches, whatever its pension may be or even military retirement does not enter into the equation. I want your money in your name. If your company goes broke and you have a company pension, you get nothing. But if you have a 401(k) and your company dies, it’s in your name and you don’t lose it. You put it there, you own it. And that includes the match.
Are you getting the picture, Brian? I want you to control your destiny!

— Dave



Teaching teenagers about giving
Dear Dave, What are some good ways to teach a 13-year-old kid about giving versus getting during the holiday season? - Phillip
Dear Phillip,
One of the best things you can do is simply talk about it — a lot. Kids are bombarded with messages about how important they are, and how they should always have what they want. It’s OK to have some stuff, but advertising and other marketing messages in today’s culture can make them think it’s all about them. It can lead kids to believe the axis of the world runs through the tops of their little heads.
Think about this. In 1971, the average person saw 564 advertising impressions a day. Now, that number is about 4,000. The purpose of advertising is to disturb and influence you to the point that you’ll buy something. Advertisers want you to believe that you’re not complete without their product, or that you’ll be a happier, cooler, better person with their product. And in most cases, advertising and marketing people are more aggressive in their teaching than parents are in theirs.

Dave Ramsey, 102.5 The Game split up moving to WLAC

Dave Ramsey, the Nashville-based syndicated radio show host, and 102.5 The Game have decided to pull the plug on their 1-year-old relationship.

As today's news release puts it, both the financial advice guru and the sports talk station "were taking a risk" when "The Dave Ramsey Show" joined the station's program lineup in January. The decision to part ways in early 2014 is a mutual once, according to the release.

"We have been friends for more than 20 years, and while we enjoyed this partnership from a personal standpoint, we both realize that from a business perspective our brands would be better served if we return to our respective formats," said Bayard Walters, president and owner of Cromwell Radio Group.

RAMSEY aired on CUMULUS Talk WWTN in the market until one year ago.  The split with CROMWELL is said to be amicable, and the show worked with CROMWELL President BAYARD WALTERS to close out the relationship and enable the show to move to WLAC. 

4 tips of Money Management

1. Purge yourself of debt
2. Live on cash
3. Pretend economic trends don't affect you
4. Blame yourself when they do.