2010 is my 2009 in that this year SUCKS!. However in 2008/2009 I became debt free via Dave Ramsey. Thanks! Then thanks to Richard Kiyosaki I increased my means in 2009 enough to pay off my house. Now in 2010 I face the very real threat of a layoff and have several dogs with expensive medical issues. Thanks however i’m paying cash for the vet and can live comforatably on $2k a month if I had to. Heck I can deliver pizza’s and earn that so that makes the sucky corporate situation so much better.
One of the basis of the teaching that Dave Ramsey does in the book The Total Money Makeover is called the Baby Steps. The Dave Ramsey Baby Steps are 7 steps to the completetion of your own Total Money Makeover. The phrase Dave uses is that you live like no one else now so that later you can live like no one else. His 7 Baby Steps involve using discipline and budgeting now to get debt free so you can invest and later be so financially well off that you can be wealthy later in life and do as you wish. The 7 Dave Ramsey Baby Steps while not exactly worded go like this.
Save $1000 Quick (Covers emergencies to keep you from charging.)
Work your Debt Snowball to pay off all debt except your mortgage.
Fully fund your emergency savings of 3 – 6 month of expenses.
Invest 15% of your income in retirement savings, 401K, Roth IRA (Preferred) or IRA
Save college funding for your children.
Pay off your mortgage
Continue investing in growth stock mutual funds or real estate and give wealth away.
Ok so this is my opening post of this new blog. I called the blog Dave Ramsey Vs because I found myself comparing the thoughts and teachings of Dave Ramsey from his Total Money Makeover book to other financial planners and authors. Some of these authors like Richard Kiyosaki of the Rich Dad Poor Dad series are often compared with Dave Ramsey and even sometimes put up as having competing teachings. In this I disagree so I thought i’d build this blog as a forum for making observations about Dave Ramsey and The Total Money Makeover and how it relates to other financial authors. Aside from my interest in good financial health I also needed to create an asset that would pay for my hobby of reading financial books, investing and working my own Total Money Makeover. You see this is not an anti Dave Ramsey blog. Dave Ramsey has changed my life after reading The Total Money Makeover and listening to his podcast. Six months ago I began my own Total Money Makeover, I make good money but felt broke all the time and could not explain where the money all went. By working my own Total Money Makeover i’ve managed to get to where in about six months I should be debt free except for my mortgage (on a 15 year fixed), and a rental property which cashflows a couple hundred each month. But as i’ve read other authors besided Dave Ramsey i’m beginning to make some observations in regards to the teachings , methods and opinions of other financial authors. So in future posts i’ll be comparing these teachings and providing my own commentary and opinon. Hopefully any visitors to this blog will find it as interesting as I will be in writing it.
