I think it comes down to personal priorities. If debt is stressing your family out, then it is worth it to follow the plan as much as you can, as the stress overrides everything. If your priority is to have a new car and not worry about a used one breaking down, or not knowing what was in it before, then that is your priority. Right or wrong is a judgement issue, and you should be the only judge of your life. If cable is important, so be it. Dave Ramsey's plan allows for those different sets of priorities. However, if you cut out all that, yes, you get to the goal much more quickly. I like Claire's analogy on the FTJ project, comparing it to weight loss goals. If you want to lose 30lbs, but really want your daily latte, you can have it, but it will take longer to meet your goal - which do you want more?

And I agree...take the elements that will work for you, but have the plan, to ensure you don't need to take another element.

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I have heard so many MS members who have benefited from his program, so I don't want to knock what works for so many. I agree with about 95% of what he says.

But (you knew that was coming, right?) it's no secret that I tend to disagree with him on certain things (namely, the mathematics of his snowball method). Also, I dont' think everyone's goal needs to be debt-free. I think there is a big difference between consumer debt and good debt (mortgage) and it doesn't seem like DR acknowledges this. If I have a low interest rate on my mortgage (5.75%) why would I pay that down when I could get 8-10% historically by investing elsewhere? Correct me if I'm wrong!

That said, I think the people who follow Dave Ramsey's method are gaining the psychological benefit of rapid success that simple mathematics can't account for. Emotional reactions to money are typically what got them into debt to begin with, so the psychological boost knocking off bills quickly (at the mercy of paying more interest overall) may be what gets them out.
I think DR works best for those that have trouble with delay of gratification - which really speaks to the state of our society.

OK, I'll get off my DR soapbox now!

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That sounds like a good spin off. It would be fun to find out what everyone's plan is and how it works for them. It might inspire someone to try something else if what they are doing isn't working for them.

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I think the core reasons for doing the Dave Ramsey program is what gets most people interested. His core reason is to 1) stop living your life on credit and 2) get yourself out of debt. These make perfect sense in a society where deficit is the norm. I think what he is trying to say is that deficits and charging til your hearts content is not a wise choice. With home debt, car debt and credit card debt we can become a slave to the lender. His program helps to form a different outlook on how to obtain the things we need and sometimes desire by using a cash system.

As far as going gazelle goes, this certainly isn't for everyone. You can certainly modify his program to fit your needs accordingly (which is what I do).

I do know, however, that following him in certain areas has changed my mindset and my life. You will never find me buying a brand new vehicle nor would I want to be a slave to a $300-$400 payment when that same brand new car loses 30% of it's value the minute you drive off the lot. For others, having a new car far outweighs it loss in value. Perhaps, they want to make sure they have a reliable car and one with an extensive warranty. For me, I don't have a job that I need to drive to. I just need a vehicle for errands and such. Hence, my choice for buying used.

It's with anything else...take what you need and leave the rest.

My dh and I love DR.

He encourages people to go "bare bones" only until they have the baby emergency fund and consumer debt gone. This may mean doing garage sales, selling on ebay, taking on freelance jobs here and there, or another part-time job. These are meant for short term. He believes that most people can be out of consumer debt in less than a couple of years by going to that extreme.
2 years ago we bought a 1 year old van with cash - drove it off the lot free and clear. It was still under warranty and is still great. DR says not to buy new because you lose so much value so quickly.

We canceled our Dish. We thought it would be really hard but it wasn't. We are not "gazelle intense" only because we have never had consumer debt. We are working on some home improvements - next in line are deck, roof, siding - most of which dh will do by himself. So instead of putting extra on that we are saving to pay cash on our home improvements.

DR was incredibly wealthy....then everything - his businesses and homes - were all foreclosed on. He got out of all that debt without going into bankruptcy. Now he teaches people to not do what he did in the first place.

Man, if I was facing so much CC debt that it made me ill - you better believe that I would be bare bones AND then some.

I thought he has said several times in his Books that - He did have to Go banckrupt once


I Know he was in pretty bad shape! Driving a Jag and Getting his electric cut Off??!!

Now. that is Extreme.
Maybe thats why He Points out everyone Else's "stupid" Ways.

I took FPU and then taught it a few years later. I honestly believe that his plan is wonderful. I agree that you have to really work hard and sacrifice, and working OT or PT really sucks, but for us, it was worth it. We are now debt free and working on baby step 3, which is 3-6 mos of expenses in the bank. It took us a while to get there, and we weren't even as gazelle intense as others. But it's been completely worth it. Especially since everything is going up (gas, electric, things like that) a huge percentage, yet we're only getting 3% raises. We're scared about the economy, but we're in good shape. We don't live paycheck to paycheck and we pay cash for everything we buy. This has really made us think before we buy. We both have paid for vehicles, and they're not the prettiest/fanciest out there, but they work for us! Meeting DR was absolutely the best thing that could've ever happened for us, and for my ds who will have a paid for college and a huge inheritance so he'll never have to worry about money like my family has!!

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Married to the best man in the world since 4/23/2005

First time mommy to Clayton Christopher born 8/18/07 and loving every minute of it!!

We're following Mary Hunt's "Debt Proof Living" to get out of debt. She encourages a slow and steady pace at knocking out your debt while building up your emergency fund and freedom account.

The freedom account is for all the unexpected costs that come up such as home maintenance/repairs, car maintenance/repairs, etc. It also includes any irregular bills you might have, such as car insurance, car tags, life insurance; pretty much any quarterly, semi-annual, or annual bills that you get. You have a separate account for the freedom account in which you set that money aside, so its there when you need it. For example, our car tags are due every January 6. The total is $300, so I'm putting $25 (300/12) a month aside for the next payment due in January 2009.

I really like her approach; much more suited to our life with DH and 2 small kids. We didn't get into debt overnight, and we surely won't get out of debt overnight either.

that's exactly what I am doing.
I cannot, as a single parent, have only $1000 in emergency fund and put my whole rest of
my paychecks into my bills, I have to put aside $$$ to build up my savings, while paying off as much as possible my debt (now only car and st. loan left). And that's the way that I modified DR plan. also, I live in South. California, there is
no way that you can really survive as a working person with a beat up car! im just going to pay mine off early, i only owe about $7000 more.
I think like everything, you take the advise, and change it to fit your needs. Not to take everything as "all or nothing" his plan is awesome, but I cannot live without internet, cable, those things...i try to lower the bills on those things and really, really be frugal on other things to make up for my WANTS.

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I've read Financial Peace twice and while I think it will work it just won't work for my family. I agree that we like to have new cars and I honestly don't mind having one car payment (we just paid off a vehicle). And I don't want to feel guilty about every little purchase thinking it should be money put on an already existing debt.
I did work out our debt "snowball" last week and it made me feel more frustrated so I have backed off of that plan as well. I'm still paying off things, but not to the point of having to pay off every little thing within a certain amount of time.