What do you think of Dave Ramsey?

[Pandora]

.... I've yet to handle a case where the debtors described it as one of the worst experiences in their life. It's terrible to meet an older couple that has spent their retirement savings and sold off everything they have in order to NOT file bankruptcy, when a bankruptcy years and years ago would have left them in a much better position and now they're being forced to file anyways.

Amen Amen AMEN!

[sunflower71]

Well.... we were trying to do the 'debt snowball' when we were hit with $8000 unexpected medical debt for our special-needs daughter. We couldn't continue to make minimum payments on my husband's cc's AND mine AND pay the medical bills, even listing them lowest to highest. I thought we could let my cc's go a bit, then go back and clean them up after medical bills were paid, but after only six months cc's turned my accounts over to law firms and one of them is suing me. Not sure what else I could have done other than talk to a lawyer a year ago instead of now.

[HHM]

Money advice is relatively solid, but many of his books do lack specifics. I think he helps many people, but as BKattMi points out, flat out advice to avoid BK at all costs is not productive and ultimately harmful.

[AngelinaCatHub]

I like Ramsey, and he is interesting. Remember he BKed. As a pastor that he is (my understanding) he does not preach the 7 year forgiveness. I admire those youngsters who have beat the system but I note, all of them are employed. I already shot my 401K attempting to get out of my stupid with my enemy causing me to lose our residual fortune. thank God we gifted our wealth with acres of valuable land to be protected as a Public Park. We gave it away with strings called a Wildlife easement and we have a life estate. Kinda call it our cake and ate it too. So we where monetarily broke but still have our land but it could not be counted as an asset at all. If we did not do that, the land would certainly have been attacked by my millionaire adversary.

Dave does not have good answers for down and outers except "get a job". Trust me when I see all our vacancies and in our county near 22% no jobs, BK is the only way. It is one of our Governments rare kindnesses. It does have a time limit so that people do not abuse the system. We even though well off, never lived a high life. Oh guess we were comfortable, but we are simple living people and never got toys we did not need. I owed and aircraft once and would have dearly loved to get another, but being practical we did not, even when we had money. It would have been lost in BK though. God led us in the right direction and we are going to not let God down by making stupid mistakes. Ramsey is a little bit impracticable, and, remember, he has a call screener, and he has a business. His radio show, and his teaching schools and his pubs. 'Hub

[moe]

I got his book, full of hope and was very disappointed. It is extremely misleading. He says that if you can't pay, you should just call up your creditors and tell them you will pay something every month and then just go on and do that.

Right. There is no mention of the legal ramifications for you of doing that.

I think it is very misleading. I honestly can say I've done most of the things in the book he says and I don't think he knows what most people are up against.

But I am still using the suggestions that work--like paying cash for everything, etc.

But I won't dismiss him because I am trying to learn finances, etc. I just think he is sort of ignoring certain basic facts that are very critical to many people in dire financial straights.

Some ideas are just laughable--like get a job, get more work, sell something, etc. I've done that. I've done it all and more.

When your credit card company decides to change the date your payment is due (that you've been paying electronically for years) and then charges you 26% interest because you paid late then let's see you pay that off on a normal salary.

We know how powerless we are against these entities. But we do have this one legal right--there is great resentment for it --but we do have the right to discharge our debt in certain types of circumstances. And we know how hard it is and how much scrutiny we face to do that. For some of us, it's our only recourse.

This type of individualist reasoning I think is a real mistake. There is this idea that people have total control over every aspect of their lives, everything is a matter of personal decision, and if you just have the right mindset, your life will work out the way it should. Sometimes it's really good to think this way because it does make people keep trying to find solutions but honestly, it's really an illusion in a lot of cases. If you are in an industry that fails and you are middle aged you are in trouble. Read 'The Secret' and think positive and see where that gets you.

Middle class people usually do have to take on debt at some point in their lives to maintain their economic position for their children. To say it is some personal failing I think it confuses people as to what's really going on for the whole society. You can't send your kids to the state university anymore and have them graduate without debt--someone's taking a loan. And good luck to you if you don't get a college education. Those are all social choices that are made, not just one person's individual problem. We chose as a society to cut taxes and not have such things as affordable public education anymore. So now those with children and those trying to get a college degree face those consequences.

People are in between a rock and a hard place.

Everyone says you have to take risks in life and certainly lots of people do take risks and it pays off. We have winners and losers and alas, there are a lot more losers than there used to be and a lot fewer winners.

[TBA]

My sister loves dave ramsey, and has said she is going to send me the books and tapes... I dont know much about him other than her rantings.

I do like the "self help" section of the book store though, but i will say this...

I treat these people like news stations. Watch all of them, take what principles work for you from each one and combine them together to make your own scenario/plan/roadmap... He may have some great ideas that will work for you, but he may also have some impossible suggestions (like not filing)... GL