After almost a year of following Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover plan I finally read the book. I'd been watching his show here: http://www.hulu.com/the-dave-ramsey-show but had never read the book. I checked it out of my local library, but this a book that I definitely recommend buying a copy to keep for your person use. I found some on Amazon for around $10, so well worth the price.
My favorite thing about the book has to be Dave's straight forward approach and his "tell it like it is" style. He's also extremely funny and uses great analogies.
The book is made up of 8 Baby Steps.
1. Get Current on all bills, and Save $1,000 as a Baby Emergency Fund.
2. Get out of debt, by using the Debt Snowball. (Excluding the mortgage.)
3. Finish the Emergency Fund with 3-6 months of expenses saved.
4. Maximize Retirement Investing.
5. Save for your Child's College.
6. Pay off the House.
7. Build Wealth
8. Live like no one else!
He goes into detail about how to accomplish each step and includes charts and formulas to help you plan. He also includes success stories of many other families that have had Total Money Makeovers. He debunks debt and money myths and provides shocking stats like these:
- 78% of Americans say they would borrow on a credit card if a rainy day came.
- 60% of people don't pay their credit card every month.
And the scariest stat of all: 49% of Americans could cover less then one months expenses if they lost their income! Do you see a pattern here?
Dave isn't all gloom and doom though, he stresses the fact that there is hope and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It's not easy but it IS worth it. He has other personal finance books that can be found here http://www.daveramsey.com/store/cBOOKS-p1.html, including books for children and teens.
I think this book is wonderful and much needed in our current economic climate. It has really changed they way David and I view money, and it's changed our future!
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