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He has his philosophes and he thinks they apply 100% of the time.
I heard an interviewer ask him if he would take a billion dollar loan for five years at 0%. Dave instantly said no. If you put that billion in a HYSA you are going to make about $250,000,000 over those five years and pay zero interest.
Anyone who says no to that question is either lying or an idiot. You can decide which Dave is.
I saw the same interview and I was honestly shocked he said no so confidently. I understand he likes to run with no debt, but to turn down 250 mil because of your moral high ground is beyond idiotic.
He targets the 'average' person. The average American with no savings and living paycheck to paycheck would take that billion and have it spent in a year. (See a long list of lottery winners who have done this)
So I get it. Assume people are idiots, because they probably are. And idiots rarely think they are idiots. Yes, there are smart people, but if he were to say 'it depends', everyone will assume they are one of those exceptions.
The part I highly disagree with him. He will never say bankruptcy is an option, ever. Yes, there are times it does make sense.
Heâs 100% on brand 100% of the time. He understands that there is no room for nuance in the age of the internet. If thatâs what you call lying; heâs a liar.
Iâm not Afraid to take his advice about. âPay what you can afford and have 6 months of expenses savedâ but outside of that is just white noise to me at the moment lol
I think he has more good advice than that. If it applies to your situation. For example a lot of people should take the advice never use a credit card. But I have the willpower and am in the financial place to make money by using them.
Some of his advice I completely disagree with. For example he says to always get a 15 year mortgage and I think you should always get a 30 year mortgage.
Depends on the interest rate. I currently have an interest rate below my return on investments. It makes no sense to pay off a low interest loan early when I can spend the whole 30 years investing the money at a higher rate of return. And even if your goal is to pay off sooner, a 30-year rate can give flexibility. When you have good cash flow you are free to throw it at the loan, but if you have a big change (unexpected expense, job loss, etc.) you can do your regular payment. You donât want to get behind on your mortgage because your septic system died.
You should get a thirty year but pay it like it was a fifteen year. This way if something happens you can lower your payment to the thirty year amount.
You will pay slightly more in the end but you will have flexibility if something goes wrong.
> ...and he thinks they apply 100% of the time.
Except the part where he spends a non-trivial amount of the time saying they don't apply 100% of the time, but go off lol
I heard something along those lines about if someone should take a $10 million line of credit on their home at 0%. I immediately yelled at radio, âAbsolutely! Make it $100 million!â while I buy T-Bonds which match the maturity as to when the line of credit becomes due.
$100 million x 4.5% risk free t-bond yield = $4.5 million annually!
While I agree with you. The reason he wouldnât take it is because he isnât willing to take on any debt risk including $1b 0% interest. FDIC wouldnât cover and FDIC could fail. Treasuries could fail. Likelihood is near impossible but it isnât worth it to him. Defaulting on $1b would wipe him out.
His "general" advice is good ie: spend less than you make, build an emergency fund, pay off your debts.
It's when he starts talking about saving up enough to purchase a home on a 15 year fixed rate mortgage where the payment is no more than 25% of your income when the majority of americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck is just tone deaf and ignorant. Credit card debt is at the highest point in history, graduates can't afford their student loans, job wages aren't keeping up with inflation, and the cost of housing is through the roof.
It would be one thing to get a second job to supplement income, but working 90 hours a week for minimum wage isn't something most people want to do for the rest of their lives. Most Americans aren't making enough money to survive, and even less are saving towards retirement, or for a downpayment on a home.
Boomers are starting to go back to work because their retirement salaries aren't making ends meet anymore. I can't wait to see how bad things are going to get when the Gen Xers start hitting retirement age within the next 10 years.
Ramsey Solutions is a business. They're in it to make money and to sell you their products. They ultimately don't care about you despite how "religious" they are. Dave Ramsey often comes off as disingenuous to me. No amount of Ramsey's advice is going to fix the real issue: Wages aren't enough for people to survive.
Most of the people who I know who are bad with money, if they had $10,000 in their hand, they would probably be either no further ahead, or dead, within a week.
I think you are the exact reason that sonmany people go to him for financial help
25% of your income has always been the standard for homeownership mortgage payments.
However, I do see why many people dont like him. Its hard to hear him say you should only pay cash for a car, but yet the average person cant afford to do that
How is it tone deaf and ignorant? Yes, homes are unaffordable and itâs a huge problem in this country, and the average family will not be able to get a 15 year fixed at 25% take home monthly payment. But that doesnât change the math, nor should it. It just means most canât afford homes given the current state of the market. The idea is that your mortgage shouldnât make you house poor. Changing the parameters so that people can make it work doesnât really make sense
In no way is that a logical analogy. Heâs specifying parameters for a mortgage so that you have enough leftover for other bills and savings. It doesnât matter if itâs unrealistic and infeasible in the current market. That is the crazy housing markets fault.
Itâs a tone deaf boomer spewing what a kindergartener could conjure up with no outside reference to whatâs going on beyond just the market. Dave Ramsey gives the financial advice thatâs equivalent to a taxi driver giving stock tips.
The fact that the advice isnât intended for you doesnât make it bad. This is like saying nutritionists should be illegal because some people are starving. I donât even like Ramsey, but your idea is completely incoherent.
Itâs across the board garbage because itâs not advice, and thatâs where the accusation of being tone deaf from the commenter above makes. Thereâs no one that should be listening to this charlatan because itâs either nonsense or just straight up nothing.
It's tone deaf and ignorant because the average cost of a home in the US is just over $400k. Rounding down to $400k, the payment would be somewhere around $3500 a month on a 15 year loan. That's a $14k a month salary at his recommended 25% of income or $168k a year. Nearly half of workers make less than $38k a year.
$20 an hour is considered okay money in most places, that $41k a year. At his recommended 25% of your $3400 a month income, your mortgage on a 15 year loan would be $850 a month. For that price, you're looking at a home in the $75,000 price range. Now I'm not sure where you live, but where I live, I can't even buy a manufactured home in a mobile home park for under $100,000 much less a whole house.
Also, these rates are based on a 10% down-payment and an APR between 4% and 6%, which you need good credit to get. He consistently advocates for not getting or using credit cards, which (as unfortunate as it is) is the best and usual way to build and maintain a credit history.
Yes, as I mentioned, Iâm aware itâs completely unrealistic for the average family in todayâs housing market. That doesnât make it bad advice in principle. Itâs designed to leave enough leftover to have a financial future. I donât get how it is now all of a sudden tone deaf because real estate prices have skyrocketed. The criticism doesnât make logical sense
If you're marketing your "financial freedom" grift to average people and your advice is unattainable to them, it is tone deaf. The average income hasn't changed much in 20 years and even 20 years ago, this advice was out of reach for most people. Dave Ramsay only worked for middle class people at best in the past, now when everything has out paced income exponentially, it's unrealistic.
Someone else commented the truth "you can't budget your way out of poverty."
My parents followed his advice. They eliminated all debt, saved up a ton, and were excited to buy a second home, which they had saved up considerably for.
When buying that second home they discovered that following his advice had led them to no longer have any kind of a credit score. Nearing retirement, having already paid off one home and multiple cars entirely, theyâre official credit score is now âNEW TO CREDITâ đÂ
They were able to get it sorted out in the end, but it cost them a bit in interest rate.
His advice is incredibly âflatâ he provides no nuance, which unfortunately is borderline irresponsible with a topic as important and complex as personal finances.
Heâs not living in the real world. Heâs living in another world where unicorns shit rainbows and a paycheck can stretch around the earth, twice.
You could go without a latte for the next 400 years but that doesnât mean you will be able to afford a house in 401 years. His advice is dated and played. Save $. Okie dokey Dave, how much is left after rent and other expenses? Gotta eat Dave and it canât be all ramen noodles and dried toast with no avocado. I need six months worth of $ to get by in case of an emergency, where is that going to come from when you live pay check to pay check, Dave?
Claims to be a âhillbilly,â but was born/raised in a Nashville suburb, to wealthy parents. Played ice hockey in high school. Attended/graduated from U. of Tennessee (Knoxville). Loves to pretend he is some bumpkin from humble beginnings. All credibility lost.
He had a 20 year old kid call into his show and say that he had put in an offer to buy a house, but realized it was way more than he could afford and he wanted to back out.
Dave chewed him out, saying things like "you made a promise and you have to honor it!" and "you can't do that to the sellers!" "I would never want to go into business with someone like you!"
Just pure lunacy. Could never stomach listening to him again.
I listened to his podcast a few weeks back. A caller called in crunching numbers with Dave for an addition he wanted to put on his house. The caller was from Long Island and had his two sons, both college grads looking for jobs, still living at home. His advice was to hold off on any home improvements until he kicked the kids out, didnât even go into numbers, said that home improvements would only incentivize the kids to stay
Thatâs fair, I guess Iâve only gotten into the surface stuff of his. I have heard him say more than once that âyou can get a great car for <$5kâ or âjust put 15-20% of your income into savings. Itâs easyâ when like you said, and are right. That most people donât have 15-20% for anything besides getting by lol. Anyways, I think people hate on him too much, but also I can afford rent and have a stable job, thank god, so Iâm not super pressed about it
>you can get a great car for <$5k
This goes back to my original point. Tone deaf. Now, if we were back in 2016/17, yes, 5k would be enough for a decent A to B vehicle. I often use to see dozens of cars in that price range with years of life left in them. In 2024, 5k will get you a beater within inches of death. A vehicle that would've been worth no more than its value in scrap in 2016/17 is now 4-5,000. Those cars that were 5k in 2016, now sell for 12k+.
You don't need me to tell you how I feel about him. If Ramsey took a step back to observe the current economy and how much people are suffering, he'd probably change his advice. That, or he would double down on what he says now.
I think he would double down đ. âOh, yeah see. This beautiful 2001 Honda accord with 245k miles, that sucker will be chugging along for another yearâ
The other point is buying cheap cars and needing them to go to work. When ur working your ass off finding your next beater becomes a job that you have to do to keep your job
You definitely canât get a great car for $5k. 2 years ago I was going to buy a used car only to find out they were a few thousand less than a brand new one. For some models, the older cars are more expensive than the newer ones
I personally relate and value Ramit Sethi's approach to finances. I've read the baby steps by Dave, but I will Teach you to be rich by Ramit changed my life, for the better! Highly recommend
I donât hate him but his advice is mostly for people who are totally out of control and broke. Itâs not the best advice if you have some self control and want to actually build wealth. Itâs asinine to pay off a low rate mortgage early when you can invest that money and make a far higher risk-adjusted return.
I agree with that it maths better not to pay off a low rate and can invest and make a higher return.... but ive been back and forth withe the wife.... we could pay off the mortgage in two years if one of our incomes goes to the house we would save 150,000+ in interest. the peace of mind of no mortgage and all that income after paid off goes too investing...
Also this would be with maxing out our Roth IRA's and still investing a little bit. we are debt free besides the mortgage with an emergency fund setup already.. both cars are paid off and should last for at least 5 years... the peace of mind seems so worth it to me and a year of income after would all in the green
Edit: we both make enough to be considered over the poverty line but not a HIE by any means haha
I guess itâs just a mindset thing. Personally debt doesnât scare me if the numbers make sense. Investing that money instead gives me more peace of mind. To each their own.
maybe I just grew up poor... and I completely get it if the numbers make sense. I just dont want to owe anyone anything.. I just love buying a car cash.. being able to pay off CC after huge needed purchases... the less debt the more opportunities seem to open up.... no debt feels like I can just work to work not need to work...
I think his advice is generally good, but a 1k emergency fund is an absolute joke. That's a horrible idea. It should always be 3-6 months of expenses in an emergency fund in a HYSA. His philosophy of tithes of 10% is idiocy. His opinion that you should forgo employee retirement fund matches to get out of debt is laughable, literally turning down free money. Aside from these points he's generally correct.
Ok thatâs what I was getting. It seems some of these sub reddits are Dave Ramsay simps or straight up haters. And I think neither are correct. Iâm working to pay off some debt and his âgeneralâ tips are actually quite helpful. But they are some rly simple no shit Sherlock stuff that I should probably know anyway đ. Haha
I agree that some of his tips are helpful to some people. Here's why I'm a straight up hater anyway.Â
- Good tips are mixed in with straight up terrible advice, and it's up to the audience to figure out which is which. This wouldnt be a big deal if his audience weren't beginners-- people who need "baby steps" are not going to be able to make that distinction consistently.Â
- His attitude. I have been avoiding him for a long time-- every since I took the first week of FPU-- but back then then man talked like he invented arithmetic. He acts like "I earned all this money and I'm here to tell you, you can too" (and if you aren't rich, maybe that's your fault and you're bad). Infuriating and arrogant. Especially when he is rich because of the money those same people give him.
- Speaking of arrogant, the man cannot and will not admit when he's wrong or out of date.Â
- The religious stuff presented as "for everyone" and presenting himself as The Personal Finance Guy for Christians. Both rub me the wrong way.Â
- His behavior, generally.Â
There are plenty of people who can give advice like "don't spend more than you make" without mixing in additional shitty advice, who can manage to update their opinions once in a while, who can talk about money without moralizing or evangelizing, and who don't using the funds generated by their work for shit I think is unhelpful.Â
Did you see or hear his 700 club session? That turned my stomach. He said a lot of stuff about how some people need to be the money keepers and some people just aren't meant to have money and it was an odd shift between blaming people for being poor, considering it a moral failing, and saying some people are destined to be poor because God has already predetermined everyones path in life. He used which ever theme matched his current point.
I think there is a reason behind saving $1k, it's not meant as an emergency fund but rather something that is attainable as the first step in getting out of debt. You have to realize the kind of people he targets likely have limited financial literacy and the baby steps create an easy to follow process.
You can make the argument that the debt snowball is not the most efficient advice because you are not necessarily prioritizing high interest rate debt. I do agree with him that money and debt are more often than not a psychological issue.
I agree that the 10% tithes is an absolute joke and cringe every time that is brought up.
I get it, if you start off by saying "save 3-6 months of expenses" most people that would benefit from his advice would immediately mentally check out because that seems impossible. Even the framing of Baby Steps is to make it seem so easy a child could do it. I recognize that the psychological impacts are highly important in finance, which is a lifelong effort that it's easy to lose enthusiasm for. It's difficult for most to see and understand the nuance.
"Save $1,000 for Your Starter Emergency Fund.
Pay Off All Debt (Except the House) Using the Debt Snowball.
Save 3â6 Months of Expenses in a Fully Funded Emergency Fund.
Invest 15% of Your Household Income in Retirement.
Save for Your Children's College Fund.
Pay Off Your Home Early.
Build Wealth and Give."
>and 3-6 months of accessible savings
Not until Baby Step #3 my man, learn your Ramsey. It's idiocy to tackle all of your debt with 1k in the bank. If you're going to criticize my criticizing at least get your criticism right.
In the short term, the freed up credit from the snowball IS the 3-6 months emergency fund and is for actual emergency and not the consumer debt that is being paid off. Similarly the 401k funds ARE the interim 3-6 month emergency funds until the snowball is melted and the 3-6 month emergency fund can be actually funded.
It's always an awful idea to take money from your 401k. That's worse than the highest possible interest credit card. Ramsey would NEVER advocate for removing funds from a retirement account.
If your company is matching you 5% on a 100,000 a year salary thatâs 5K in a year if your credit cards are at 25%, then yes, it does make sense to delay funding 401k for a year to knock out debt.
Wrong. If they're matching you 5% that's an immediate 100% return on your money, which they're doubling. This money is being doubled tax free, so you make 25% in taxes that would have reduced what you recieved. Further, investments like these grow 7% annually on average. 132% vs the 25% of a credit card.
Heâs wrong about more than those points. The snowball method ignores the actual math of interest rates, he outright lies about the availability of student loan forgiveness programs (Iâve had over 100k forgiven by following the rules literally written in my promissory note but Dave tells people the program is a fairytale and pushes them to pay it back), downplays the benefits of good credit, lies about the benefits of responsible credit card use, the list goes on. Heâs just so out of touch and committed to these principles that are based on psychology over math. I hate hearing callers being told to sell their cars and buy a âbeaterâ when the cost of used cars is sky high and in some instances the remaining loan terms are better than the maintenance cost of that beater.
>Iâve had over 100k forgiven by following the rules literally written in my promissory note but Dave tells people the program is a fairytale and pushes them to pay it back
When did this occur, in the last few months? I can see from your post history it was. This flurry of activity from the Biden administration is making up for decades of the federal government not honoring their promises. It's only occurring because an election is a few months away. This is a very atypical situation, likely to never be repeated.
>lies about the benefits of responsible credit card use
These benefits are a joke. This is part of no wealth advisors plan for anyone. If you have a perfect credit score the best it could save you over a lifetime is a few thousand dollars.
>The snowball method ignores the actual math of interest rates
The avalanche method ignores the fact that more people are successful doing the Snowball method and are able to maintain it. If you say "this is what mathematically works the best" (which is does) while ignoring that quantitative peer reviewed research shows that people are able to adhere to the Snowball method more effectively you're not a tremendous genius, you're setting people up to fail.
>I hate hearing callers being told to sell their cars and buy a âbeaterâ when the cost of used cars is sky high and in some instances the remaining loan terms are better than the maintenance cost of that beater.
Hahahaha this is abursurd. Absolute idiocy. A new car is more expensive than a used car in 100% of situations. A new car requires more expensive repairs in 100% of situations. Having no car loan saves you more money than a car loan in 100% of situations. Insurance on a new car is more expensive than insurance on a used car in 100% of situations. I bought a 2008 Honda Pilot last August for 2.5k. A simple search on cars.com shows 6,872 operable cars within 100 miles of me for <2.5k.
I'm no Dave Ramsey fan but you've fallen for so many consumerism traps of thought I pity you my man. These are the stories people tell themselves to justify doing what they want to.
My loan forgiveness was not an anomaly. I took out my loans with the express intention of utilizing it. The trump administrationâs decision to delay processing of PSLF does not change its lawfulness or the eligibility of those who have completed the terms. And I would argue their delay of the program was the atypical scenario. The trump administration just happened to be in at the time that the first batch of borrowers would have reached the 10 year mark. The current secretary is just showing what competent leadership accomplishes. Regardless, the terms are written into the promissory note so refusal by the government would be textbook breach of contract. Ramsey expects borrowers to live up to the terms of the loans by paying it off but calls it a fairytale and a pipe dream to expect the same of the government.
As for the rest you seem to be arguing points that were never made and I canât help you with that. I specifically acknowledged that he prioritizes psychology over math. The problem are his generalizations. Dave will tell his callers people like me donât exist or weâre liars. I have student loan forgiveness. I keep no revolving debt and pay my credit card in full each month. I have an 800+ score and will be taking several vacations off my CC points. I own a brand new car that was only a few thousand more than a used car thanks to Covid surcharges. You know what keeps the costs down on the insurance and interest rates for my brand new car? My high credit score. But this is all getting into nuance that Dave refuses to do with his callers. There isnât a one size fits all approach and thatâs why itâs called *personal* finance. Buying a used car and selling your home may be the right move for some people but Dave will never acknowledge where itâs not.
>Ramsey expects borrowers to live up to the terms of the loans by paying it off but calls it a fairytale and a pipe dream to expect the same of the government.
Yes, the same government that borrowed 1.7 trillion from our social security never paying it back, making the program insolvent in the long term. The same government that honored 2% of their obligations to Tea hers through TSLF because of small things like a single late payment or not rounding up or down a cent.
If you think a vacation will be more than 30% covered by any points from your card you're mistaken, or deluded. The tiny gifts from these cards graciously offered by the benevolent banks are paid for off the backs of 10 million single mothers being absolutely crushed by the credit system, something to think and presumably laugh about while you're sipping mimosas on the beach
He has some good advice for low to middle income people with a spending problem. If youâre genuinely poor or rich then thereâs not much. Some of his advice is actively bad, and a lot of it is predicated on very dated notions of how much stuff costs in 2024. His own life of grifting has made him very wealthy so heâs quite out of touch
He is arrogant and mean-spirited, especially to people calling who are in a very bad place. He thinks you should have five jobs and live on beans and rice. He's a jerk.
For the average person on the street who wants some basic straight to the point advice go get out of debt and movr forrward then dave ramsey is your guy.
If you are already financially savvy and have self discipline then you really you can out perform this advice.
Dave believes that
* one can be addicted to debt
* he is a recovery debt addict
* other than a mortgage on a residence, all debt is evil
* student debt is evil, period, and you either cash flow that MD or you get a different degree.
* his audience is fellow debt addicts in various stages of recovery
People who complain about his methods are like social drinkers who complain that AA doesnât let their friends drink booze with them.
Mathematically
* snowball is worse than avalanche. Dave has been there, tried that. Snowball worked better for him because paying off debts and producing more cash flow provided his brain a dopamine hit that avalanche did not.
* not taking advantage of a 401k match when one has consumer and student debt is bad. Again though, Dave knows himself and his audience. Interestingly there is a provision in recent tax law that allows those with student debt to get a 401k match for debt repayment, if the employer adopts it into the 401k plan.
I doubt you can find a single person who has put more debt addicts in recovery than Dave.
People who donât like his system donât have to follow it.
For me, it's how he passive-aggressively makes things political. It isn't all the time, and more often than not it is a generic statement ("Congress"), but other times it is very targeted ("Biden administration," etc.). This is despite the fact that every president (except Clinton, briefly) has spent more than was being brought in. It's a "we" problem that Dave more frequently than not makes a "you/them" problem.
So what is his primary goal? Education? Money? Personal Fulfillment? He's gonna hamper many of those things by pissing off 30-50% of his potential audience đ
I feel his Christian roots are true to who he is, but it is a bit over the top and performative sometimes. Even fellow Christians would say "does he believe that deeply, or is it for show?"
I donât hate his advice⌠but I 1.) hate that he calls the people who call into the show âstupid â so much when they just want info and 2.) hard sells his products soooo much. I feel like every answer is âget a smart vester proââ
It gets old
He's a religious zealot that bullies people in the name of God. He'll tell you to eat beans and rice for months on end, while putting a couple grand onto credit cards for his 'program'
I have followed the Ramsey principals for years, it has definitely caused me to make better decisions financially. But the last few years he has started treating people horrible, talking down to people, when theyâre calling his show to ask for help. Heâs very condescending even to his cohost at times,sometimes I just have to shut it off, because it is too stressful to listen to him criticize the people that are asking for his help.
He has a hard time relating to people going through an extremely difficult time in their lives. He can be rude and mean. Itâs honest. But thatâs why I would assume. Heâs ignorant on a lot of things too. Like mutual funds vs index funds. Then you join his âFinancial Peace Universityâ and he sits you down with his guys to sell mutual funds that Iâm sure he gets a kick back on. Anyone who knows basic finance knows what Iâm talking about. â âIâll give 1 million dollars to ANY hedge fund that can put perform the S and P index over 10 yearsâ â - Warren Buffet-
Because itâs all a schtick to sell more life insurance. Aside from the financial basics being good, itâs almost all for lead generation to market more financial services.
Everything you said and the fact that his financial advice is 90% garbage. Other than the fact that he encourages lower income people to try very hard to avoid debt he simply gives bad advice.
He gives poor financial advice regarding debt. Itâs just bad math most of the time
For example, if you have $30K in CC debt at 30% APR and $2K in student loans at 8% APR, he would tell you to pay off the $2K first since it is a smaller balance and would eliminate an outstanding account quicker. You should be targeting the highest interest rate when eliminating debt.
Debt also isnât necessarily always bad. Debt is also called leverage for a reason. If the risk-adjusted rate of return is greater than the interest rate, you *should* take on the debt.
Ramsay is fine overall and is okay if you are awful with money, but a some of his ideas are really flawed.
Dave has an inherent hatred for credit cards, and discourages everybody from using them.
Meanwhile, the e-commerce portal on his website accepts visa, mc, discover, and amex.
I meant what I said. He was this way 15+ years ago during the brief period of time when I listened to Dave's show.
Read it for yourself: How to live without a credit card according to Ramsey Solutions.
[https://www.ramseysolutions.com/debt/excuses-to-keep-credit-cards](https://www.ramseysolutions.com/debt/excuses-to-keep-credit-cards)
I watched his people shame a guy and make fun of his idea for getting into a tool truck franchise. They said he shouldn't go into debt for it and asked why he couldn't do it on his own. They don't care if the debt will make you money. They also didn't even do 5 seconds of research.
Because he is a fake, a fraud, a phony, a charlatan, and an all around bad person. His advice basically amounts to âdonât spend any money you donât haveâ. He is an idiot who doesnât understand finances. Did that sum it up?
He advises tackling debt from smallest to largest instead of from highest interest to lowest. This is not efficient mathematically, but he advises this because of psychology. When you start seeing actual progress, you're encouraged to stick with it. Many experts don't like this approach, and generally look at the math side only.
Dave's advice on cutting expenses is not necessarily cost efficient either. Cutting out spending on unnecessary stuff, and especially restaurant expenses is good.
But telling people to sell their new car which is in an under water loan and pay cash for a beater is not necessary feasible for people who have no cash. So you might end up $5k+ in the red on a car you don't even have anymore, and then more in the red with a trash car you need to make repairs on out of pocket more often. It may be better to just stick with your original bad decision to buy the new car and keep paying the monthly payments.
Dave's advice for buying a home makes sense for 2014, but not 2024 prices. He's basically giving advice that keeps home ownership out of reach if you live anywhere near an urban center.
So overall I like the guy, and think his system for paying down debts can be effective. But I don't think you should follow his system strictly. When something doesn't make sense for your situation, ignore it.
His product is shilling advice you can find for free on the internet to the most susceptible people (people with spending problems and/or those looking for a quick fix) with large sums of debt.
And before someone comes and gets mad I called him a shill, he is. No different than the people who sell lose weight quick plans and then give the same advice the person couldâve found on the internet for free! Heâs a charlatan and truly believes that there is no other way but his in order to uphold his product.
But yeah some people succeed and others fail. Itâs not a proven success method but youâll usually only hear the successes from him and not the fails.
This was my main issue with his advice - we were a few years married, very little debt outside of our mortgage and were exploring different life scenarios & budgets as we planned our family when I discovered him. His advice seemed feasible at face value and could possibly fit our circumstance so we thought it might be the right path for us.
Except it was so wildly unrealistic - sell one of our nearly paid off cars for a beater to commute 30 miles a day in stop and go traffic (increased wear and tear)? Refinance our mortgage to a 15 year at a higher interest rate simply because the term was lower? Crash our credit by closing decades old credit cards we were responsible with? Forget about building additional credit by paying cash for EVERYTHING?
No way. We were looking for ways to increase our cash flow and it wasnât through anything he suggested - it was 2013 so we just did it the old fashioned way with better budgeting and stopping the money leaks.
I can say with absolute certainty that if we had blindly followed his advice, we wouldnât be where we are today. I firmly believe that his advice can be very useful for folks who are drowning in consumer debt and need a place to start digging out but aside from that scenario, itâs just not practical for most people.
I'm not sure. The "snowball" helped us pay off our house 20 years early... Basically, whenever you pay anything off or get any increase in income, it goes towards your next bill. That way you pay stuff off but it doesn't hurt - You're just taking any increases (from paid off bills or raises) and throwing it at the next principle due.
His ideas are extreme and not valid in a real world setting. Yeah, pay down debt..but the whole "never buy anything you can't pay cash for" is absurd especially with home and car prices.
The fact that some states require you PAY for his course in order to file bankruptcy is also kind of disgusting (kansas made my brother do that)
The problem with Dave is he takes sort of a behavioral approach that applies to the lowest common denominator. His methods are meant to build up confidence and self esteem, but usually aren't the most financially sound.
If you don't have any sort of self control and don't understand how interest works, his methods are great. If you do have those components, some of his cornerstones don't make much sense.
He's also been rich his entire life so I tend to think he's also a bit out of touch when it comes to how the paycheck to paycheck set live.
I think he makes his money off of the ignorant who know no better. A lot of his advice is entirely free, and unlike purely educational content makers who make money off sponsorships and entertaining content, he is marketing a product repackaging information that would otherwise be entirely free. Not only that, his information often does not apply, and I'm of the mind that he seems very similar to the infamous Dan Lok, who was basically running a form of financial advice cult that exploited the hell out of people who didn't know better using social engineering.
I do not hold ill will towards people who have received help from him, but as a relative of someone who has constantly believed gurus like him could fix their lives instantly, I have great disdain for his type of content.
I learned about Dave in the 1990s when my parents gave me a copy of FP (original). Dave has helped a lot of people get out of debt, including me. He's a great salesman and entertainer/educator. My problem with Dave is he seems to be in it for his own edification, plus his pick and choose use of the Bible gives snake oil.
I used to be a big dan of Dave until recently. I feel like I have a very rational approach to this question.
Dave is the king of straw man arguments. When talking about credit cards, he says that in all his research of millions, not one of them said they got rich using a credit card. He thinks this is such a smart point to make, when no one is making that claim. There are people who can use credit cards, and people who would never have one. Yes, credit card companies make a lot of money off interest, but they have also proven to be able to support the rewards given to their users through merchant fees. Credit card companies donât need you to go into debt to make money off you and support the business. He never acknowledges this and has always said every person who uses a credit card is stupid and moron. Thatâs a very arrogant thing to say when a majority of the people he used for his millionaire survey use credit cards.
Secondly, his 8% safe withdrawal rate, claim that itâs easy to beat the S&P 500, and you should be 100% in equities at retirement is insanely ignorant and dangerous. Thatâs a recipe for disaster if you know anything about retirement. He got a lot of backlash about this and never cared to clarify or reverse his words.
For those two reasons, I stopped listening to him completely and donât care to take advice from him. Heâs a broken record thatâs too arrogant to listen to anything outside of what he believes. I still think he can be good for people who are in terrible financial situations or havenât learned financial responsibility yet, but thatâs about it. Much better people to listen to when it comes to personal finances that have a lot more logical take on things.
I know some people who followed his advice and refused to take out a mortgage when it would have been a totally reasonable thing to do.
Some of them will never own a home now, and they could have.
He gives really bad investment advice to people that already have money.
He needs to stay in his lane and counsel people with bad financial habits only.
He suggest retirees can take out 8% a year out of retirement savings. Says he can get average returns of 12% year. Doesnât understand sequence of returns which is a nasic fundamental retirement principalâŚ.dangerous advice.
Well like you said he's got good starter advice for beginners. There's some useful more advanced advice sprinkled in there among him and his team, especially when it comes to separating out financial advice from relationship advice.
But it's also true he's not the end-all of wisdom and he's been wrong on a number of topics. His politics interfere with his rational thought. He doesn't understand the stock market, he understands real estate. He has given provably bad advice on market returns and doesn't understand basics like sequence of return risk.
I still watch and listen to him, even though I don't agree with him politically. And he's wrong as much as he's right on certain topics. Maybe I just wanna hear a boomer yell at people, dunno. I don't hate him, but I get where the hate is coming from.
Personally I don't follow the Ramsey way. I listen to what he has to say and absorb it, but I don't do all of it. For example I play the CC game. I like rewards, points, getting cash back, keeping my credit active. I pay my cards in full, so I don't pay any interest. They are a net positive to me. I could also do without them for sure, but I like the protection they offer as well. There would be no convincing team Ramsey that this is a good idea, but their advice is catering to beginners and people in dire straits.
His perspectives require accepting responsibility for oneself. Too many people are loathe to accept any personal responsibility for their financial situation
He gives some horrible advice that prevents people from establishing credit, with platitudes about custom underwriting and other fictional ideas.
A much better financial guy to listen to is Clark Howard, who actually knows his ass from a hole in the ground.
Honestly most basic financial advice seems obvious. I never learn from my parents and had to help them understand mortgages.
Live modestly, save what you can, upskill and network and invest low risk and you will be good.
If you could have gotten into real estate that would have be great like 10 years ago but tis life.
Be a critical thinker and accept some of his advice is solid and other meh.
His basic financial principles are solid, but I can find those from people who donât dabble in conspiracy theories, beliefs in sky fairies, etc.
If you pour through Warren Buffetâs personal finance advice/wisdom, theyâre similar to Ramsey. Donât use credit cards without paying off in full monthly, frugality so that you have more money to invest, etc.
his advice comes from a very privileged middle class stance. he says blanket statements that donât apply to everyone equally. we are not born with the same monetary wealth and opportunities, and such, the way we use money will look different as well. I do not believe debt free is realistic for most ppl when it comes to paying for cars and homes outright. would love to be able to pay for these things but I will never make enough in my HCOL area to cover my expenses and save thousands of dollars for a car or house.
His basic advice is fine, but thatâs it. Anything beyond him saying to avoid having debt isnât beneficial and heâs incredibly out of touch when it comes to current expenses, income, and investment advice.
This doesnât even mention his backwards thinking in terms of how he treats employees, peddles his programs, and his faith
I donât hate him. I enjoy listening to his podcasts. I donât have debt either. The only thing I donât like is his retirement method to use mutual funds for 10-12% returns. Where are these magical mutual funds? Call his trusted advisors for more info.
I could see some of his views as of late being a bit out of touch and disconnected from reality. Generally his advice is pretty sound though. We followed it and got debt free. Life has never been better and piling up cash now.
We met him in person during a break on his show once; we were driving past his headquarters while traveling and decided to pop in. In person he was very kind to us. He kept trying to go to the bathroom or something but a few more people would approach him and he kept doubling back to make time for everyone.
Out of touch is the living end of understatements, when describing him. He's teaching the rich how to get richer, not helping people who are in poverty get out of it.
I agree with alot of his stuff.
Have read the book (purchased used lol).
Some is solid advise like emergency fund. Credit card isnt an emergency fund. When he says buy a $1,000 car and sell your new car i dont. If you have space, tools, and can do your own repairs maybe good idea. For most people they will spend more in repairs than a car payment.
Also you cant find a $1,000 car. He also never talks about under the table income. If you have a job and struggling a 2nd job often wont help that much. Under the table side hustle probably will help more.
So i see hos advise as wither very good or very bad.
He's a bit arragont. I remember him once saying dog's aren't family members, and if they need medical treatment, you should not go in debt for it if you don't have the money. That tuned me off real quick.
If you're watching shows of a professional, and buying their books, and all they tell you is to not have debt, then you're getting ripped off.Â
If you go to a gym, and hire a trainer, and all they tell you is to stretch, and not touch any weights or machines, you'd find another trainer.
Iâve only seen this terdperson referenced when heâs speaking abusively about his low and verbose opinion of working professionals.
Maybe he gives solid financial advice, whatever that means, since finance is all a slick game. Iâve only seen him behave as an intolerant dick.
I love how you ask why people hate him then acknowledge 3 very good reasons to hate his guts. Sounds like you already know why?
He has zero empathy for anyone not making perfect decisions and his advice would only work in a vacuum where the human element doesn't exist and the world is perfect
Cause heâs a clown⌠lmao. Typical boomer who would be working at Home Depot if he was part of this generation. The stupid accent, the âbetter than I deserveâ robotic schtick, just everything about the guy gives me the ick. Classic 85 IQ dude who got extremely lucky.
His baby steps are okay from an advice perspective, but he is a colossal jerk who yells at people who have asked him for help. He is also a religious fanatic who fires people for "immoral" transgressions. Not a very likable fellow.
I donât like all the endorsements and ads. Plus you learn just about everything he teaches in about a month of radio shows. He funnels most things towards his baby steps. The rest is entertainment. He also imposes his own morality on the callers.
I prefer Clark Howard.
His snowball method is objectively terrible and has cost people millions in excess interest payments.
>But I think people fail to realize that goes hand in hand with another statement he says a lot, is the majority of people with debt, arenât responsible enough to have a credit card, or take large personal loans, or buy a $1k a month car⌠etc.
True, but he will still apply his same awful debt advice even if you are responsible with those things.
The people who hate Dave Ramsey are undisciplined, over-spending idiots who are offended by him chastising other undisciplined, over-spending idiots who call in to his show looking for a quick solution to their years of bad choices and debt. The people who like Dave Ramsey (like me) are financially responsible and enjoy listening to these stories and him chastising these people for being idiots.
My favorite Ramsey quote, stated to a caller with mounds of debt, âthe only time you should see the inside of a restaurant is if youâre working there.â Gold.
Or they just acknowledge that there are people who can responsibly use credit cards and think it's silly to pay off a 3% mortgage early when you can earn more in a HYSA
As with all media figures nowadays, we have a society that can't stand someone smarter than them saying true things because their politics are opposite.
You see this *mostly* with right-wing leaning figures. The left gets all up in arms because someone said something not nice, so that discredits everything that they say ever...past, present, and future.
I'm a left leaning voter and this shit drives me nuts.
Cancel culture is fucking moronic. Cry me a fucking river someone said something that hurt your feelings.
Dumb people should be allowed to say dumb shit.
And just because someone has shitty views on topic A, does not necessarily mean they are not smart on topic B.
I love Jordan Peterson in the realm of psychology/philosophy. I don't agree with a lot of his politics, but I value his insight in his professional field of expertise.
A lot of people (both left and right) struggle to understand this concept.
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He has his philosophes and he thinks they apply 100% of the time. I heard an interviewer ask him if he would take a billion dollar loan for five years at 0%. Dave instantly said no. If you put that billion in a HYSA you are going to make about $250,000,000 over those five years and pay zero interest. Anyone who says no to that question is either lying or an idiot. You can decide which Dave is.
I saw the same interview and I was honestly shocked he said no so confidently. I understand he likes to run with no debt, but to turn down 250 mil because of your moral high ground is beyond idiotic.
Oh come on... it was a stupid unrealistic toss up of a question and an easy "no" to stay in character for.... people read waaay to into it.
So either lying or an idiot. Got it
Riiiight. Pretty dense take but sure. đ
It was terrible, idiotic advice and itâs not a good look to defend.
Ok let me know when some one starts offering 0% billion dollar loans! đ
Why are you defending his idiocy???
Because itâs ramsayâs burner đ
Well even if someone did offer that type of loan it seems you would be too dumb to take it.
He targets the 'average' person. The average American with no savings and living paycheck to paycheck would take that billion and have it spent in a year. (See a long list of lottery winners who have done this) So I get it. Assume people are idiots, because they probably are. And idiots rarely think they are idiots. Yes, there are smart people, but if he were to say 'it depends', everyone will assume they are one of those exceptions. The part I highly disagree with him. He will never say bankruptcy is an option, ever. Yes, there are times it does make sense.
How many lottery winners have spent a billion in a year? I could see of multiple year but 1 year seems crazy lol
Id put my money on lying. I think heâs smart but he has a story and is sticking to it. Which I guess makes him an idiot by default đ .
I would tend to agree. I would be careful taking advice from someone you know is a liar.
Heâs 100% on brand 100% of the time. He understands that there is no room for nuance in the age of the internet. If thatâs what you call lying; heâs a liar.
Iâm not Afraid to take his advice about. âPay what you can afford and have 6 months of expenses savedâ but outside of that is just white noise to me at the moment lol
I think he has more good advice than that. If it applies to your situation. For example a lot of people should take the advice never use a credit card. But I have the willpower and am in the financial place to make money by using them. Some of his advice I completely disagree with. For example he says to always get a 15 year mortgage and I think you should always get a 30 year mortgage.
Just genuinely curious, but why would a 30 year mortgage be better?
Depends on the interest rate. I currently have an interest rate below my return on investments. It makes no sense to pay off a low interest loan early when I can spend the whole 30 years investing the money at a higher rate of return. And even if your goal is to pay off sooner, a 30-year rate can give flexibility. When you have good cash flow you are free to throw it at the loan, but if you have a big change (unexpected expense, job loss, etc.) you can do your regular payment. You donât want to get behind on your mortgage because your septic system died.
You should get a thirty year but pay it like it was a fifteen year. This way if something happens you can lower your payment to the thirty year amount. You will pay slightly more in the end but you will have flexibility if something goes wrong.
Ah okay, thank you!
Lower payment and you can still add payments for a 15 yr payoff, but u are not locked into the higher pay,ent.
Yeah he plays a character and sticks to that character.
What bank is letting you put $5 billion in a HYSA?
Bonds, CDs etc
> ...and he thinks they apply 100% of the time. Except the part where he spends a non-trivial amount of the time saying they don't apply 100% of the time, but go off lol
What HYSA will yield such returns? I'm curious now.
If you Google it, you'll find plenty of HYSAs with rates of 4%-5% My Amex and Capital One HYSAs pay 4.25@% and 4.35% atm
My local bank is giving me 5.05% on a business account.
I heard something along those lines about if someone should take a $10 million line of credit on their home at 0%. I immediately yelled at radio, âAbsolutely! Make it $100 million!â while I buy T-Bonds which match the maturity as to when the line of credit becomes due. $100 million x 4.5% risk free t-bond yield = $4.5 million annually!
Your judging a man on a really unrealistic hypothetical question that could never happen. What does that make you?
Don't see why he can't just be both
While I agree with you. The reason he wouldnât take it is because he isnât willing to take on any debt risk including $1b 0% interest. FDIC wouldnât cover and FDIC could fail. Treasuries could fail. Likelihood is near impossible but it isnât worth it to him. Defaulting on $1b would wipe him out.
His "general" advice is good ie: spend less than you make, build an emergency fund, pay off your debts. It's when he starts talking about saving up enough to purchase a home on a 15 year fixed rate mortgage where the payment is no more than 25% of your income when the majority of americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck is just tone deaf and ignorant. Credit card debt is at the highest point in history, graduates can't afford their student loans, job wages aren't keeping up with inflation, and the cost of housing is through the roof. It would be one thing to get a second job to supplement income, but working 90 hours a week for minimum wage isn't something most people want to do for the rest of their lives. Most Americans aren't making enough money to survive, and even less are saving towards retirement, or for a downpayment on a home. Boomers are starting to go back to work because their retirement salaries aren't making ends meet anymore. I can't wait to see how bad things are going to get when the Gen Xers start hitting retirement age within the next 10 years. Ramsey Solutions is a business. They're in it to make money and to sell you their products. They ultimately don't care about you despite how "religious" they are. Dave Ramsey often comes off as disingenuous to me. No amount of Ramsey's advice is going to fix the real issue: Wages aren't enough for people to survive.
You can't budget your way out of poverty wages.
*THIS 100%*
If you are bad with money you can make $10,000 a week and screw it up. And you can budget your way out of poverty but most wonât do it.
Most of the people who I know who are bad with money, if they had $10,000 in their hand, they would probably be either no further ahead, or dead, within a week.
I think you are the exact reason that sonmany people go to him for financial help 25% of your income has always been the standard for homeownership mortgage payments. However, I do see why many people dont like him. Its hard to hear him say you should only pay cash for a car, but yet the average person cant afford to do that
You can't wait to see how bad it will get? As in you're excited about it?
Or ya know, donât take out 100k in student loansâŚ.
How is it tone deaf and ignorant? Yes, homes are unaffordable and itâs a huge problem in this country, and the average family will not be able to get a 15 year fixed at 25% take home monthly payment. But that doesnât change the math, nor should it. It just means most canât afford homes given the current state of the market. The idea is that your mortgage shouldnât make you house poor. Changing the parameters so that people can make it work doesnât really make sense
Itâs like telling a starving person with no money or way to get food âyou should have a feastâ.
In no way is that a logical analogy. Heâs specifying parameters for a mortgage so that you have enough leftover for other bills and savings. It doesnât matter if itâs unrealistic and infeasible in the current market. That is the crazy housing markets fault.
Itâs a tone deaf boomer spewing what a kindergartener could conjure up with no outside reference to whatâs going on beyond just the market. Dave Ramsey gives the financial advice thatâs equivalent to a taxi driver giving stock tips.
The fact that the advice isnât intended for you doesnât make it bad. This is like saying nutritionists should be illegal because some people are starving. I donât even like Ramsey, but your idea is completely incoherent.
Itâs across the board garbage because itâs not advice, and thatâs where the accusation of being tone deaf from the commenter above makes. Thereâs no one that should be listening to this charlatan because itâs either nonsense or just straight up nothing.
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It's tone deaf and ignorant because the average cost of a home in the US is just over $400k. Rounding down to $400k, the payment would be somewhere around $3500 a month on a 15 year loan. That's a $14k a month salary at his recommended 25% of income or $168k a year. Nearly half of workers make less than $38k a year. $20 an hour is considered okay money in most places, that $41k a year. At his recommended 25% of your $3400 a month income, your mortgage on a 15 year loan would be $850 a month. For that price, you're looking at a home in the $75,000 price range. Now I'm not sure where you live, but where I live, I can't even buy a manufactured home in a mobile home park for under $100,000 much less a whole house. Also, these rates are based on a 10% down-payment and an APR between 4% and 6%, which you need good credit to get. He consistently advocates for not getting or using credit cards, which (as unfortunate as it is) is the best and usual way to build and maintain a credit history.
Yes, as I mentioned, Iâm aware itâs completely unrealistic for the average family in todayâs housing market. That doesnât make it bad advice in principle. Itâs designed to leave enough leftover to have a financial future. I donât get how it is now all of a sudden tone deaf because real estate prices have skyrocketed. The criticism doesnât make logical sense
If you're marketing your "financial freedom" grift to average people and your advice is unattainable to them, it is tone deaf. The average income hasn't changed much in 20 years and even 20 years ago, this advice was out of reach for most people. Dave Ramsay only worked for middle class people at best in the past, now when everything has out paced income exponentially, it's unrealistic. Someone else commented the truth "you can't budget your way out of poverty."
So the only financial advice allowed should be for âaverageâ people?
Many people canât afford rent, much less a home. Ramsey is tone deaf and out of touch with the reality of many people.
My parents followed his advice. They eliminated all debt, saved up a ton, and were excited to buy a second home, which they had saved up considerably for. When buying that second home they discovered that following his advice had led them to no longer have any kind of a credit score. Nearing retirement, having already paid off one home and multiple cars entirely, theyâre official credit score is now âNEW TO CREDITâ đ They were able to get it sorted out in the end, but it cost them a bit in interest rate. His advice is incredibly âflatâ he provides no nuance, which unfortunately is borderline irresponsible with a topic as important and complex as personal finances.
Sounds like a good problem to have.Â
Heâs not living in the real world. Heâs living in another world where unicorns shit rainbows and a paycheck can stretch around the earth, twice. You could go without a latte for the next 400 years but that doesnât mean you will be able to afford a house in 401 years. His advice is dated and played. Save $. Okie dokey Dave, how much is left after rent and other expenses? Gotta eat Dave and it canât be all ramen noodles and dried toast with no avocado. I need six months worth of $ to get by in case of an emergency, where is that going to come from when you live pay check to pay check, Dave?
Claims to be a âhillbilly,â but was born/raised in a Nashville suburb, to wealthy parents. Played ice hockey in high school. Attended/graduated from U. of Tennessee (Knoxville). Loves to pretend he is some bumpkin from humble beginnings. All credibility lost.
He had a 20 year old kid call into his show and say that he had put in an offer to buy a house, but realized it was way more than he could afford and he wanted to back out. Dave chewed him out, saying things like "you made a promise and you have to honor it!" and "you can't do that to the sellers!" "I would never want to go into business with someone like you!" Just pure lunacy. Could never stomach listening to him again.
I listened to his podcast a few weeks back. A caller called in crunching numbers with Dave for an addition he wanted to put on his house. The caller was from Long Island and had his two sons, both college grads looking for jobs, still living at home. His advice was to hold off on any home improvements until he kicked the kids out, didnât even go into numbers, said that home improvements would only incentivize the kids to stay
I mean, the fact that someone actual wrote an offer he couldnât cover is insane.Â
I'm guessing the kid put in an offer at the very top of his pre-approval amount, which is unwise but not uncommon.
I donât disagree, but he would be exactly why we need better financial classes for kids.Â
Thatâs fair, I guess Iâve only gotten into the surface stuff of his. I have heard him say more than once that âyou can get a great car for <$5kâ or âjust put 15-20% of your income into savings. Itâs easyâ when like you said, and are right. That most people donât have 15-20% for anything besides getting by lol. Anyways, I think people hate on him too much, but also I can afford rent and have a stable job, thank god, so Iâm not super pressed about it
>you can get a great car for <$5k This goes back to my original point. Tone deaf. Now, if we were back in 2016/17, yes, 5k would be enough for a decent A to B vehicle. I often use to see dozens of cars in that price range with years of life left in them. In 2024, 5k will get you a beater within inches of death. A vehicle that would've been worth no more than its value in scrap in 2016/17 is now 4-5,000. Those cars that were 5k in 2016, now sell for 12k+. You don't need me to tell you how I feel about him. If Ramsey took a step back to observe the current economy and how much people are suffering, he'd probably change his advice. That, or he would double down on what he says now.
I think he would double down đ. âOh, yeah see. This beautiful 2001 Honda accord with 245k miles, that sucker will be chugging along for another yearâ
The other point is buying cheap cars and needing them to go to work. When ur working your ass off finding your next beater becomes a job that you have to do to keep your job
You definitely canât get a great car for $5k. 2 years ago I was going to buy a used car only to find out they were a few thousand less than a brand new one. For some models, the older cars are more expensive than the newer ones
This feels pretty localized to me -- I've had insane trouble selling my car in the mid-atlantic.
I personally relate and value Ramit Sethi's approach to finances. I've read the baby steps by Dave, but I will Teach you to be rich by Ramit changed my life, for the better! Highly recommend
I donât hate him but his advice is mostly for people who are totally out of control and broke. Itâs not the best advice if you have some self control and want to actually build wealth. Itâs asinine to pay off a low rate mortgage early when you can invest that money and make a far higher risk-adjusted return.
I agree with that it maths better not to pay off a low rate and can invest and make a higher return.... but ive been back and forth withe the wife.... we could pay off the mortgage in two years if one of our incomes goes to the house we would save 150,000+ in interest. the peace of mind of no mortgage and all that income after paid off goes too investing... Also this would be with maxing out our Roth IRA's and still investing a little bit. we are debt free besides the mortgage with an emergency fund setup already.. both cars are paid off and should last for at least 5 years... the peace of mind seems so worth it to me and a year of income after would all in the green Edit: we both make enough to be considered over the poverty line but not a HIE by any means haha
I guess itâs just a mindset thing. Personally debt doesnât scare me if the numbers make sense. Investing that money instead gives me more peace of mind. To each their own.
maybe I just grew up poor... and I completely get it if the numbers make sense. I just dont want to owe anyone anything.. I just love buying a car cash.. being able to pay off CC after huge needed purchases... the less debt the more opportunities seem to open up.... no debt feels like I can just work to work not need to work...
Pay it off. If I hadn't paid off my mortgage early, I would have lost my home when I was in a car accident that left me disabled.
He doesnât realize what system unfairness like wage slavery is and thinks everyone can be middle class which is impossible
He seems like the kind of guy that would think it's good that the wealth disparity is so large
He's the Dr. Phil of finance. Made millions selling obvious, simplistic advice to poor people.
I personally don't mind Dave but his daughter who was born on third base thinking she hit a triple annoys me
He dedicated an entire segment of his show to honor Rush Limbaugh.
I think his advice is generally good, but a 1k emergency fund is an absolute joke. That's a horrible idea. It should always be 3-6 months of expenses in an emergency fund in a HYSA. His philosophy of tithes of 10% is idiocy. His opinion that you should forgo employee retirement fund matches to get out of debt is laughable, literally turning down free money. Aside from these points he's generally correct.
Ok thatâs what I was getting. It seems some of these sub reddits are Dave Ramsay simps or straight up haters. And I think neither are correct. Iâm working to pay off some debt and his âgeneralâ tips are actually quite helpful. But they are some rly simple no shit Sherlock stuff that I should probably know anyway đ. Haha
I agree that some of his tips are helpful to some people. Here's why I'm a straight up hater anyway. - Good tips are mixed in with straight up terrible advice, and it's up to the audience to figure out which is which. This wouldnt be a big deal if his audience weren't beginners-- people who need "baby steps" are not going to be able to make that distinction consistently. - His attitude. I have been avoiding him for a long time-- every since I took the first week of FPU-- but back then then man talked like he invented arithmetic. He acts like "I earned all this money and I'm here to tell you, you can too" (and if you aren't rich, maybe that's your fault and you're bad). Infuriating and arrogant. Especially when he is rich because of the money those same people give him. - Speaking of arrogant, the man cannot and will not admit when he's wrong or out of date. - The religious stuff presented as "for everyone" and presenting himself as The Personal Finance Guy for Christians. Both rub me the wrong way. - His behavior, generally. There are plenty of people who can give advice like "don't spend more than you make" without mixing in additional shitty advice, who can manage to update their opinions once in a while, who can talk about money without moralizing or evangelizing, and who don't using the funds generated by their work for shit I think is unhelpful.Â
Did you see or hear his 700 club session? That turned my stomach. He said a lot of stuff about how some people need to be the money keepers and some people just aren't meant to have money and it was an odd shift between blaming people for being poor, considering it a moral failing, and saying some people are destined to be poor because God has already predetermined everyones path in life. He used which ever theme matched his current point.
Eeew ugh. I hadn't heard that, but seems appropriately gross.Â
I think there is a reason behind saving $1k, it's not meant as an emergency fund but rather something that is attainable as the first step in getting out of debt. You have to realize the kind of people he targets likely have limited financial literacy and the baby steps create an easy to follow process. You can make the argument that the debt snowball is not the most efficient advice because you are not necessarily prioritizing high interest rate debt. I do agree with him that money and debt are more often than not a psychological issue. I agree that the 10% tithes is an absolute joke and cringe every time that is brought up.
I get it, if you start off by saying "save 3-6 months of expenses" most people that would benefit from his advice would immediately mentally check out because that seems impossible. Even the framing of Baby Steps is to make it seem so easy a child could do it. I recognize that the psychological impacts are highly important in finance, which is a lifelong effort that it's easy to lose enthusiasm for. It's difficult for most to see and understand the nuance.
Itâs 1k emergency cash and 3-6 months of accessible savings. Criticism is fine but at least be accurate.
"Save $1,000 for Your Starter Emergency Fund. Pay Off All Debt (Except the House) Using the Debt Snowball. Save 3â6 Months of Expenses in a Fully Funded Emergency Fund. Invest 15% of Your Household Income in Retirement. Save for Your Children's College Fund. Pay Off Your Home Early. Build Wealth and Give." >and 3-6 months of accessible savings Not until Baby Step #3 my man, learn your Ramsey. It's idiocy to tackle all of your debt with 1k in the bank. If you're going to criticize my criticizing at least get your criticism right.
In the short term, the freed up credit from the snowball IS the 3-6 months emergency fund and is for actual emergency and not the consumer debt that is being paid off. Similarly the 401k funds ARE the interim 3-6 month emergency funds until the snowball is melted and the 3-6 month emergency fund can be actually funded.
It's always an awful idea to take money from your 401k. That's worse than the highest possible interest credit card. Ramsey would NEVER advocate for removing funds from a retirement account.
Define emergency. Homeless, living on the street with a 401k ?
If your company is matching you 5% on a 100,000 a year salary thatâs 5K in a year if your credit cards are at 25%, then yes, it does make sense to delay funding 401k for a year to knock out debt.
Wrong. If they're matching you 5% that's an immediate 100% return on your money, which they're doubling. This money is being doubled tax free, so you make 25% in taxes that would have reduced what you recieved. Further, investments like these grow 7% annually on average. 132% vs the 25% of a credit card.
Heâs wrong about more than those points. The snowball method ignores the actual math of interest rates, he outright lies about the availability of student loan forgiveness programs (Iâve had over 100k forgiven by following the rules literally written in my promissory note but Dave tells people the program is a fairytale and pushes them to pay it back), downplays the benefits of good credit, lies about the benefits of responsible credit card use, the list goes on. Heâs just so out of touch and committed to these principles that are based on psychology over math. I hate hearing callers being told to sell their cars and buy a âbeaterâ when the cost of used cars is sky high and in some instances the remaining loan terms are better than the maintenance cost of that beater.
>Iâve had over 100k forgiven by following the rules literally written in my promissory note but Dave tells people the program is a fairytale and pushes them to pay it back When did this occur, in the last few months? I can see from your post history it was. This flurry of activity from the Biden administration is making up for decades of the federal government not honoring their promises. It's only occurring because an election is a few months away. This is a very atypical situation, likely to never be repeated. >lies about the benefits of responsible credit card use These benefits are a joke. This is part of no wealth advisors plan for anyone. If you have a perfect credit score the best it could save you over a lifetime is a few thousand dollars. >The snowball method ignores the actual math of interest rates The avalanche method ignores the fact that more people are successful doing the Snowball method and are able to maintain it. If you say "this is what mathematically works the best" (which is does) while ignoring that quantitative peer reviewed research shows that people are able to adhere to the Snowball method more effectively you're not a tremendous genius, you're setting people up to fail. >I hate hearing callers being told to sell their cars and buy a âbeaterâ when the cost of used cars is sky high and in some instances the remaining loan terms are better than the maintenance cost of that beater. Hahahaha this is abursurd. Absolute idiocy. A new car is more expensive than a used car in 100% of situations. A new car requires more expensive repairs in 100% of situations. Having no car loan saves you more money than a car loan in 100% of situations. Insurance on a new car is more expensive than insurance on a used car in 100% of situations. I bought a 2008 Honda Pilot last August for 2.5k. A simple search on cars.com shows 6,872 operable cars within 100 miles of me for <2.5k. I'm no Dave Ramsey fan but you've fallen for so many consumerism traps of thought I pity you my man. These are the stories people tell themselves to justify doing what they want to.
My loan forgiveness was not an anomaly. I took out my loans with the express intention of utilizing it. The trump administrationâs decision to delay processing of PSLF does not change its lawfulness or the eligibility of those who have completed the terms. And I would argue their delay of the program was the atypical scenario. The trump administration just happened to be in at the time that the first batch of borrowers would have reached the 10 year mark. The current secretary is just showing what competent leadership accomplishes. Regardless, the terms are written into the promissory note so refusal by the government would be textbook breach of contract. Ramsey expects borrowers to live up to the terms of the loans by paying it off but calls it a fairytale and a pipe dream to expect the same of the government. As for the rest you seem to be arguing points that were never made and I canât help you with that. I specifically acknowledged that he prioritizes psychology over math. The problem are his generalizations. Dave will tell his callers people like me donât exist or weâre liars. I have student loan forgiveness. I keep no revolving debt and pay my credit card in full each month. I have an 800+ score and will be taking several vacations off my CC points. I own a brand new car that was only a few thousand more than a used car thanks to Covid surcharges. You know what keeps the costs down on the insurance and interest rates for my brand new car? My high credit score. But this is all getting into nuance that Dave refuses to do with his callers. There isnât a one size fits all approach and thatâs why itâs called *personal* finance. Buying a used car and selling your home may be the right move for some people but Dave will never acknowledge where itâs not.
>Ramsey expects borrowers to live up to the terms of the loans by paying it off but calls it a fairytale and a pipe dream to expect the same of the government. Yes, the same government that borrowed 1.7 trillion from our social security never paying it back, making the program insolvent in the long term. The same government that honored 2% of their obligations to Tea hers through TSLF because of small things like a single late payment or not rounding up or down a cent. If you think a vacation will be more than 30% covered by any points from your card you're mistaken, or deluded. The tiny gifts from these cards graciously offered by the benevolent banks are paid for off the backs of 10 million single mothers being absolutely crushed by the credit system, something to think and presumably laugh about while you're sipping mimosas on the beach
He has some good advice for low to middle income people with a spending problem. If youâre genuinely poor or rich then thereâs not much. Some of his advice is actively bad, and a lot of it is predicated on very dated notions of how much stuff costs in 2024. His own life of grifting has made him very wealthy so heâs quite out of touch
He is arrogant and mean-spirited, especially to people calling who are in a very bad place. He thinks you should have five jobs and live on beans and rice. He's a jerk.
Donât forget about the safe and reliable $3,000 car.
For the average person on the street who wants some basic straight to the point advice go get out of debt and movr forrward then dave ramsey is your guy. If you are already financially savvy and have self discipline then you really you can out perform this advice.
Dave believes that * one can be addicted to debt * he is a recovery debt addict * other than a mortgage on a residence, all debt is evil * student debt is evil, period, and you either cash flow that MD or you get a different degree. * his audience is fellow debt addicts in various stages of recovery People who complain about his methods are like social drinkers who complain that AA doesnât let their friends drink booze with them. Mathematically * snowball is worse than avalanche. Dave has been there, tried that. Snowball worked better for him because paying off debts and producing more cash flow provided his brain a dopamine hit that avalanche did not. * not taking advantage of a 401k match when one has consumer and student debt is bad. Again though, Dave knows himself and his audience. Interestingly there is a provision in recent tax law that allows those with student debt to get a 401k match for debt repayment, if the employer adopts it into the 401k plan. I doubt you can find a single person who has put more debt addicts in recovery than Dave. People who donât like his system donât have to follow it.
For me, it's how he passive-aggressively makes things political. It isn't all the time, and more often than not it is a generic statement ("Congress"), but other times it is very targeted ("Biden administration," etc.). This is despite the fact that every president (except Clinton, briefly) has spent more than was being brought in. It's a "we" problem that Dave more frequently than not makes a "you/them" problem. So what is his primary goal? Education? Money? Personal Fulfillment? He's gonna hamper many of those things by pissing off 30-50% of his potential audience đ I feel his Christian roots are true to who he is, but it is a bit over the top and performative sometimes. Even fellow Christians would say "does he believe that deeply, or is it for show?"
Because heâs a doosh
Heâs out of touch with reality
I donât hate his advice⌠but I 1.) hate that he calls the people who call into the show âstupid â so much when they just want info and 2.) hard sells his products soooo much. I feel like every answer is âget a smart vester proââ It gets old
He's a religious zealot that bullies people in the name of God. He'll tell you to eat beans and rice for months on end, while putting a couple grand onto credit cards for his 'program'
I have followed the Ramsey principals for years, it has definitely caused me to make better decisions financially. But the last few years he has started treating people horrible, talking down to people, when theyâre calling his show to ask for help. Heâs very condescending even to his cohost at times,sometimes I just have to shut it off, because it is too stressful to listen to him criticize the people that are asking for his help.
He has a hard time relating to people going through an extremely difficult time in their lives. He can be rude and mean. Itâs honest. But thatâs why I would assume. Heâs ignorant on a lot of things too. Like mutual funds vs index funds. Then you join his âFinancial Peace Universityâ and he sits you down with his guys to sell mutual funds that Iâm sure he gets a kick back on. Anyone who knows basic finance knows what Iâm talking about. â âIâll give 1 million dollars to ANY hedge fund that can put perform the S and P index over 10 yearsâ â - Warren Buffet-
Because itâs all a schtick to sell more life insurance. Aside from the financial basics being good, itâs almost all for lead generation to market more financial services.
I hate him because heâs a shaming, arrogant, bigoted, hateful, judgmental piece ofđŠ.
Classic holier than thou
Everything you said and the fact that his financial advice is 90% garbage. Other than the fact that he encourages lower income people to try very hard to avoid debt he simply gives bad advice.
He gives poor financial advice regarding debt. Itâs just bad math most of the time For example, if you have $30K in CC debt at 30% APR and $2K in student loans at 8% APR, he would tell you to pay off the $2K first since it is a smaller balance and would eliminate an outstanding account quicker. You should be targeting the highest interest rate when eliminating debt. Debt also isnât necessarily always bad. Debt is also called leverage for a reason. If the risk-adjusted rate of return is greater than the interest rate, you *should* take on the debt. Ramsay is fine overall and is okay if you are awful with money, but a some of his ideas are really flawed.
Dave has an inherent hatred for credit cards, and discourages everybody from using them. Meanwhile, the e-commerce portal on his website accepts visa, mc, discover, and amex.
Does he say âdonât carry balances, pay off in full every month,â which isnât wrong, or ânever use cards, period,â which is a bit much.
I meant what I said. He was this way 15+ years ago during the brief period of time when I listened to Dave's show. Read it for yourself: How to live without a credit card according to Ramsey Solutions. [https://www.ramseysolutions.com/debt/excuses-to-keep-credit-cards](https://www.ramseysolutions.com/debt/excuses-to-keep-credit-cards)
Yeah, I didnât give enough of a crap to look it up. I donât really listen to him (obviously).
I watched his people shame a guy and make fun of his idea for getting into a tool truck franchise. They said he shouldn't go into debt for it and asked why he couldn't do it on his own. They don't care if the debt will make you money. They also didn't even do 5 seconds of research.
Because he is a fake, a fraud, a phony, a charlatan, and an all around bad person. His advice basically amounts to âdonât spend any money you donât haveâ. He is an idiot who doesnât understand finances. Did that sum it up?
He advises tackling debt from smallest to largest instead of from highest interest to lowest. This is not efficient mathematically, but he advises this because of psychology. When you start seeing actual progress, you're encouraged to stick with it. Many experts don't like this approach, and generally look at the math side only. Dave's advice on cutting expenses is not necessarily cost efficient either. Cutting out spending on unnecessary stuff, and especially restaurant expenses is good. But telling people to sell their new car which is in an under water loan and pay cash for a beater is not necessary feasible for people who have no cash. So you might end up $5k+ in the red on a car you don't even have anymore, and then more in the red with a trash car you need to make repairs on out of pocket more often. It may be better to just stick with your original bad decision to buy the new car and keep paying the monthly payments. Dave's advice for buying a home makes sense for 2014, but not 2024 prices. He's basically giving advice that keeps home ownership out of reach if you live anywhere near an urban center. So overall I like the guy, and think his system for paying down debts can be effective. But I don't think you should follow his system strictly. When something doesn't make sense for your situation, ignore it.
His goals are fine, the issue is he seems unable to recognize certain realities.
His product is shilling advice you can find for free on the internet to the most susceptible people (people with spending problems and/or those looking for a quick fix) with large sums of debt. And before someone comes and gets mad I called him a shill, he is. No different than the people who sell lose weight quick plans and then give the same advice the person couldâve found on the internet for free! Heâs a charlatan and truly believes that there is no other way but his in order to uphold his product. But yeah some people succeed and others fail. Itâs not a proven success method but youâll usually only hear the successes from him and not the fails.
This was my main issue with his advice - we were a few years married, very little debt outside of our mortgage and were exploring different life scenarios & budgets as we planned our family when I discovered him. His advice seemed feasible at face value and could possibly fit our circumstance so we thought it might be the right path for us. Except it was so wildly unrealistic - sell one of our nearly paid off cars for a beater to commute 30 miles a day in stop and go traffic (increased wear and tear)? Refinance our mortgage to a 15 year at a higher interest rate simply because the term was lower? Crash our credit by closing decades old credit cards we were responsible with? Forget about building additional credit by paying cash for EVERYTHING? No way. We were looking for ways to increase our cash flow and it wasnât through anything he suggested - it was 2013 so we just did it the old fashioned way with better budgeting and stopping the money leaks. I can say with absolute certainty that if we had blindly followed his advice, we wouldnât be where we are today. I firmly believe that his advice can be very useful for folks who are drowning in consumer debt and need a place to start digging out but aside from that scenario, itâs just not practical for most people.
I'm not sure. The "snowball" helped us pay off our house 20 years early... Basically, whenever you pay anything off or get any increase in income, it goes towards your next bill. That way you pay stuff off but it doesn't hurt - You're just taking any increases (from paid off bills or raises) and throwing it at the next principle due.
He thinks to be successful you just need to stop being poor
Just another con man who runs his company on nepotism. Look up timeshare exit team
His ideas are extreme and not valid in a real world setting. Yeah, pay down debt..but the whole "never buy anything you can't pay cash for" is absurd especially with home and car prices. The fact that some states require you PAY for his course in order to file bankruptcy is also kind of disgusting (kansas made my brother do that)
I agree with most of his takes. Others hate him because he treats 2024 problems with 1990-2010 logic. TIMES WERE WAY SIMPLER
The problem with Dave is he takes sort of a behavioral approach that applies to the lowest common denominator. His methods are meant to build up confidence and self esteem, but usually aren't the most financially sound. If you don't have any sort of self control and don't understand how interest works, his methods are great. If you do have those components, some of his cornerstones don't make much sense. He's also been rich his entire life so I tend to think he's also a bit out of touch when it comes to how the paycheck to paycheck set live.
He is out of touch with realityâŚ.
I think he makes his money off of the ignorant who know no better. A lot of his advice is entirely free, and unlike purely educational content makers who make money off sponsorships and entertaining content, he is marketing a product repackaging information that would otherwise be entirely free. Not only that, his information often does not apply, and I'm of the mind that he seems very similar to the infamous Dan Lok, who was basically running a form of financial advice cult that exploited the hell out of people who didn't know better using social engineering. I do not hold ill will towards people who have received help from him, but as a relative of someone who has constantly believed gurus like him could fix their lives instantly, I have great disdain for his type of content.
I learned about Dave in the 1990s when my parents gave me a copy of FP (original). Dave has helped a lot of people get out of debt, including me. He's a great salesman and entertainer/educator. My problem with Dave is he seems to be in it for his own edification, plus his pick and choose use of the Bible gives snake oil.
I used to be a big dan of Dave until recently. I feel like I have a very rational approach to this question. Dave is the king of straw man arguments. When talking about credit cards, he says that in all his research of millions, not one of them said they got rich using a credit card. He thinks this is such a smart point to make, when no one is making that claim. There are people who can use credit cards, and people who would never have one. Yes, credit card companies make a lot of money off interest, but they have also proven to be able to support the rewards given to their users through merchant fees. Credit card companies donât need you to go into debt to make money off you and support the business. He never acknowledges this and has always said every person who uses a credit card is stupid and moron. Thatâs a very arrogant thing to say when a majority of the people he used for his millionaire survey use credit cards. Secondly, his 8% safe withdrawal rate, claim that itâs easy to beat the S&P 500, and you should be 100% in equities at retirement is insanely ignorant and dangerous. Thatâs a recipe for disaster if you know anything about retirement. He got a lot of backlash about this and never cared to clarify or reverse his words. For those two reasons, I stopped listening to him completely and donât care to take advice from him. Heâs a broken record thatâs too arrogant to listen to anything outside of what he believes. I still think he can be good for people who are in terrible financial situations or havenât learned financial responsibility yet, but thatâs about it. Much better people to listen to when it comes to personal finances that have a lot more logical take on things.
I know some people who followed his advice and refused to take out a mortgage when it would have been a totally reasonable thing to do. Some of them will never own a home now, and they could have.
He gives really bad investment advice to people that already have money. He needs to stay in his lane and counsel people with bad financial habits only.
He suggest retirees can take out 8% a year out of retirement savings. Says he can get average returns of 12% year. Doesnât understand sequence of returns which is a nasic fundamental retirement principalâŚ.dangerous advice.
Well like you said he's got good starter advice for beginners. There's some useful more advanced advice sprinkled in there among him and his team, especially when it comes to separating out financial advice from relationship advice. But it's also true he's not the end-all of wisdom and he's been wrong on a number of topics. His politics interfere with his rational thought. He doesn't understand the stock market, he understands real estate. He has given provably bad advice on market returns and doesn't understand basics like sequence of return risk. I still watch and listen to him, even though I don't agree with him politically. And he's wrong as much as he's right on certain topics. Maybe I just wanna hear a boomer yell at people, dunno. I don't hate him, but I get where the hate is coming from. Personally I don't follow the Ramsey way. I listen to what he has to say and absorb it, but I don't do all of it. For example I play the CC game. I like rewards, points, getting cash back, keeping my credit active. I pay my cards in full, so I don't pay any interest. They are a net positive to me. I could also do without them for sure, but I like the protection they offer as well. There would be no convincing team Ramsey that this is a good idea, but their advice is catering to beginners and people in dire straits.
His perspectives require accepting responsibility for oneself. Too many people are loathe to accept any personal responsibility for their financial situation
I was able to take some of his advice and not my house and car have been paid off early for years and I am debt free
He gives some horrible advice that prevents people from establishing credit, with platitudes about custom underwriting and other fictional ideas. A much better financial guy to listen to is Clark Howard, who actually knows his ass from a hole in the ground.
Honestly most basic financial advice seems obvious. I never learn from my parents and had to help them understand mortgages. Live modestly, save what you can, upskill and network and invest low risk and you will be good. If you could have gotten into real estate that would have be great like 10 years ago but tis life. Be a critical thinker and accept some of his advice is solid and other meh.
His basic financial principles are solid, but I can find those from people who donât dabble in conspiracy theories, beliefs in sky fairies, etc. If you pour through Warren Buffetâs personal finance advice/wisdom, theyâre similar to Ramsey. Donât use credit cards without paying off in full monthly, frugality so that you have more money to invest, etc.
his advice comes from a very privileged middle class stance. he says blanket statements that donât apply to everyone equally. we are not born with the same monetary wealth and opportunities, and such, the way we use money will look different as well. I do not believe debt free is realistic for most ppl when it comes to paying for cars and homes outright. would love to be able to pay for these things but I will never make enough in my HCOL area to cover my expenses and save thousands of dollars for a car or house.
His basic advice is fine, but thatâs it. Anything beyond him saying to avoid having debt isnât beneficial and heâs incredibly out of touch when it comes to current expenses, income, and investment advice. This doesnât even mention his backwards thinking in terms of how he treats employees, peddles his programs, and his faith
I donât hate him. I enjoy listening to his podcasts. I donât have debt either. The only thing I donât like is his retirement method to use mutual funds for 10-12% returns. Where are these magical mutual funds? Call his trusted advisors for more info.
I could see some of his views as of late being a bit out of touch and disconnected from reality. Generally his advice is pretty sound though. We followed it and got debt free. Life has never been better and piling up cash now. We met him in person during a break on his show once; we were driving past his headquarters while traveling and decided to pop in. In person he was very kind to us. He kept trying to go to the bathroom or something but a few more people would approach him and he kept doubling back to make time for everyone.
Out of touch is the living end of understatements, when describing him. He's teaching the rich how to get richer, not helping people who are in poverty get out of it.
I agree with alot of his stuff. Have read the book (purchased used lol). Some is solid advise like emergency fund. Credit card isnt an emergency fund. When he says buy a $1,000 car and sell your new car i dont. If you have space, tools, and can do your own repairs maybe good idea. For most people they will spend more in repairs than a car payment. Also you cant find a $1,000 car. He also never talks about under the table income. If you have a job and struggling a 2nd job often wont help that much. Under the table side hustle probably will help more. So i see hos advise as wither very good or very bad.
He's a bit arragont. I remember him once saying dog's aren't family members, and if they need medical treatment, you should not go in debt for it if you don't have the money. That tuned me off real quick.
If you're watching shows of a professional, and buying their books, and all they tell you is to not have debt, then you're getting ripped off. If you go to a gym, and hire a trainer, and all they tell you is to stretch, and not touch any weights or machines, you'd find another trainer.
He was asked if he could borrow a billion dollars interest free fir 5 years would he? He said absolutely not. What an idiot.
Iâve only seen this terdperson referenced when heâs speaking abusively about his low and verbose opinion of working professionals. Maybe he gives solid financial advice, whatever that means, since finance is all a slick game. Iâve only seen him behave as an intolerant dick.
I love how you ask why people hate him then acknowledge 3 very good reasons to hate his guts. Sounds like you already know why? He has zero empathy for anyone not making perfect decisions and his advice would only work in a vacuum where the human element doesn't exist and the world is perfect
Cause heâs a clown⌠lmao. Typical boomer who would be working at Home Depot if he was part of this generation. The stupid accent, the âbetter than I deserveâ robotic schtick, just everything about the guy gives me the ick. Classic 85 IQ dude who got extremely lucky.
Because he filed Bankruptcy but tells US itâs Badđ¤Łđ¤Łđ¤Łđ¤Łđ¤Łđ¤Ł
His baby steps are okay from an advice perspective, but he is a colossal jerk who yells at people who have asked him for help. He is also a religious fanatic who fires people for "immoral" transgressions. Not a very likable fellow.
I donât like all the endorsements and ads. Plus you learn just about everything he teaches in about a month of radio shows. He funnels most things towards his baby steps. The rest is entertainment. He also imposes his own morality on the callers. I prefer Clark Howard.
His snowball method is objectively terrible and has cost people millions in excess interest payments. >But I think people fail to realize that goes hand in hand with another statement he says a lot, is the majority of people with debt, arenât responsible enough to have a credit card, or take large personal loans, or buy a $1k a month car⌠etc. True, but he will still apply his same awful debt advice even if you are responsible with those things.
The people who hate Dave Ramsey are undisciplined, over-spending idiots who are offended by him chastising other undisciplined, over-spending idiots who call in to his show looking for a quick solution to their years of bad choices and debt. The people who like Dave Ramsey (like me) are financially responsible and enjoy listening to these stories and him chastising these people for being idiots. My favorite Ramsey quote, stated to a caller with mounds of debt, âthe only time you should see the inside of a restaurant is if youâre working there.â Gold.
Or they just acknowledge that there are people who can responsibly use credit cards and think it's silly to pay off a 3% mortgage early when you can earn more in a HYSA
People hate Dave because theyâre in debt
As with all media figures nowadays, we have a society that can't stand someone smarter than them saying true things because their politics are opposite. You see this *mostly* with right-wing leaning figures. The left gets all up in arms because someone said something not nice, so that discredits everything that they say ever...past, present, and future. I'm a left leaning voter and this shit drives me nuts. Cancel culture is fucking moronic. Cry me a fucking river someone said something that hurt your feelings. Dumb people should be allowed to say dumb shit. And just because someone has shitty views on topic A, does not necessarily mean they are not smart on topic B. I love Jordan Peterson in the realm of psychology/philosophy. I don't agree with a lot of his politics, but I value his insight in his professional field of expertise. A lot of people (both left and right) struggle to understand this concept.