Does Dave Ramsey debt solutions actually work?

Question

I have heard about this guy, but i wanted to know if anyone has had any actually experience using his expensive get out of debt products?

Also a secondary question. why do so many people come on here and offer bad advice on how to take peoples money with get rich quick schemes? whats wrong with world????

Answer 1

YES DAVE RAMSEY works.

Just like diet and exercise it only works if you do it. My wife and I have paid off 60K in two years and we will have the remaing 160K done in the next 4-6 years.

We dont go out to eat (much), we dont vacation, we drive 10-20 year old cars even though we make over 100K, we dont have cable TV, I pack my lunch almost every day to my controller job, we dont spend alot on clothes. but in 4-6 years we will have a paid for house and no debt!!!

If you want stuff don't go on the plan you will be unhappy. If you want money then do go on the plan. You have to get crazy on this stuff but it works.

PS how do you keep an Elephant from charging? Let him listen to Dave.

Answer 2

Yes, his solutions work because it's all about common sense...and if you listen to his radio show and develop some of his financial common sense, you don't have to pay his expensive fees to get his common sense information. It's all about living within your means (better job, second job), NOT living on credit, and only buying what you absolutely have to and getting rid of silly expenses, like the "Latte Factor" where that $5 latte you buy on your way to work each morning adds up and that $100 every month could go somewhere more important, or brown-bagging your lunch instead of going out for lunch, etc. By practicing Mr. Ramsey's advice, we only have 2 bills to pay off this year and we will be debt-free and a lot sooner than we thought we would! :) As far as your secondary question, a lot of people are too lazy to take Mr. Ramsey's advice and want to be rich and right now and without all the work...the world is becoming a very sick, greedy, self-centered place and that is sad.....

Answer 3

Yes his system works. His products aren't that expensive. Think of the last time you went to Walmart/Target/Lowes/Costco/Sam'S clum, etc the average person drops around $100 you can invest in your future by taking Financial Peace University for around $100 through a local church. I think $100-200 investing on my future is well worth the money.

My husband and I took FPU last year and have paid off around $15k in the first year and have stopped all money fights. We now know how to talk to each other on money topics and where we want to go in our future. We really don't have emergencies anymore since we have a plan with our money!

His system is common sense but he also gets into why men and women think different about money and how to work together. He also gives hope to people that think they will always have payments, he gives you hope and an easy plan to change. Doing the change is the hard part but well worth it! His insurance and investment information really breaks it down so it makes sense and he isn't selling you product so you can actually learn instead of be at the mercy of the insurance/investment sales person.

We can't wait to call in and say WE ARE DEBT FREE!!!

As for bad advice, many people think they will always have payments and think that $1 million dollars will never be in their retirement fund, basically they are "glass is 1/2 empty type" of people. Some people have lost hope, others don't think outside what they experienced with their parents.

Invest the money and start your path to financial peace!!

Answer 4

Dave Ramsey is sensational where he's qualified; debt reduction and spending philosophies in particular. Don't look to him for dependable answers on insurance or investing. Don't get me wrong; he'll give you standard answers that may be correct for 90% of the people 90% percent of the time, but those same ideas could be awful for someone else. See a local financial advisor or planner.



Addendum regarding TaxMaven's comments: No offense taken; this guy's just swallowed all the hype. I understand; Dave Ramsey is a very successful marketer.

I am not an insurance salesman, but like any responsible financial planner, I do hold insurance licenses and employ insurance products where they are appropriate and will achieve the best outcome for my clients. If I recommend them, it means that nothing else is likely to achieve better results.

As for the claim that one needs only term insurance because one will be too wealthy to warrant coverage, this is assuming that everything turns out as planned. Often it doesn't, and that's the primary purpose of insurance; to assure security when things turn out otherwise. Also, there are many ways to leverage insurance products that offer advantages offered nowhere else. In other words, when applied properly life insurance can be used in extremely creative ways to dramatically increase one's wealth.

I stated that Ramsey's answers were correct for most people most of the time. The rest need personalized solutions, and no one knows for sure until their situation has been thoroughly researched and analyzed. Ramsey's program is expensive; a basic consultation with a planner is usually free.

As for Ramsey's "truth" about life insurance; I've read it. Some of it is accurate, some of it is not, much of it is true in general but not when applied to sophisticated planning scenarios. Again, Dave has nothing more than a layman's understanding of life insurance, so why is his advice on the subject touted as some sort of evidence?

Answer 5

No offense to the guy who said Dave doesn't know insurance & investing, but I'm guessing he's an insurance salesman. My dad is, too, so we debate Dave's insurance advice ad nauseum. However, term life insurance is all that you need on Dave's plan b/c by the time the term expires, you have something much better: MONEY! DH & I aren't 100% only in mutual funds for investments. DH invests a very small portion of our financial world in single stocks just b/c he is good @ it & it's fun. It is basically a hobby, though. If he lost every single penny he has invested in single stocks, it wouldn't change our long-term plans a bit.

Answer 6

Just listen to the radio show. It's free. You don't need to buy anything. A lot of what Dave says is good advice. But a lot of the rest is his sales hype. I'm debt-free including the house but I don't follow any particular plan other than don't spend more than you make. I charge everything on credit cards and just pay them off each month. I think debit cards are a really bad idea.
Good luck with it.

Answer 7

Debt consolidation does not address the problem. If your in Debt, you first have to figure out why and how you got there. Once that is done and you change your behavior then, you will start to climb out of the hole that you put yourself in. It's called the debt snowball. attend his meetings and find out about it.