I love mary too!!

I haven't Followed a plan but When I read her Book , I felt like she was Realistic.

I Have " How to Survive as a Cheapskate"

There are Pages in there Dedicated to Saving Money by Being Frugal and " cheap"

I basically Just Thought Almost Everyone hear was Really Into Dave Ramsey
I didn't Know why I wasen't Feeling it.
I am glad to Know alot of you aren't 100% into his Plan either.

Okay I love Dave Ramsey...he is blunt, to the point has been there and knows what it feels like to really hit rock bottom. His advice is realistic, for most people, and as Kim pointed out, and as I have defended many times, his way of the snowball is more gratifying b/c you pay off the smaller balance and get a sense of accomplishment sooner and therefore are more apt to stick with it....THAT BEING SAID...

I don't follow his plan to a "T". DH and i have modified it to our own needs. I don't believe having a mortgage is a bad thing. I won't make Dh get a 2nd job or take one on myself and deny my family our time.
DH also has a different view on the emergency fund, yes it's back wards but we're paying our debt first while putting away a small amount in savings every month. Why? Because we're not going to get very far with a 4% interest rate on savings if we still have debt on a 14% credit card,To a point I agree with him. It is the only thing he asks in our plan, that we pay these off first then contribute more to our savings, and that's the way we're doing it. I know the point is to have the money so that you don't rely on a credit card in those "emergencies" , but my measly little $300 in savings isn't going to get us very far either
Sorry, got off track...my point is...I do love Dave and he has some great advice, but I think the best advice is to take what really works from each "expert" and combine it to what makes sense for your personal situation.

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I don't follow DR's plan but I have looked at his web site and have a basic understanding of his plan. I think the idea of paying off the smallest debt first is great for our instant gratification society. However, I don't agree with his idea of paying off the mortgage. Like Kim, we have a good rate (5.5%) and get a huge tax write off on the interest every year. DH owns his own business so every little bit helps when we go to pay taxes every year.

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Megan

I had never heard of him before someone posted here about his books, I bought one on amazon and am waiting to get it.

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http://mommysavers.com/boards/journa...wjournal&j=110


If you tell your secrets to the wind... Don't be mad if it tell's the trees.

I didn't even know who Dave R was till I joined here, and dh and I paid our mortgage off in 2005, and both of our cars are paid for (i drive a 2005 and dh drives a 2002). The only thing we owe is regular monthly bills + his child support, which will be finished next year.

My dad was the one who taught me how to take care of your money without going so deep in debt that you will never get out of it.

He always taught us kids to invest in real estate because they aren't going to make any more land, and it will always be in demand.

He then taught us to always pay ourselves, even if we had to work 3 jobs to do it.

Dh and I always try to save for what we need to buy, if not we double up on our payments till we get it paid for.

The biggest leson that he taught us, was to always be happy with what you can afford and don't worry if it is not the biggest or the best.

I read his book recently after seeing so much about it here. I think it is great for people that have never been taught about money, but it is a bit "out there" for those of us that have always managed our money well. I took some things from it, just like everything, but it is not really for us. BUT, we don't need it either, thankfully! We have never had credit card debt and we live well below our means.

Well, our only debt is our car and home but I've heard so much about Dave Ramsey that I have two of his books on reserve at the library because I want to see what advice he has for situations like ours. I would love to get out of debt but not if it means sacrificing family time. Personally, I'm going into reading his books with the mindset that he has nothing new to offer that we don't already know, but you never know.

I never heard of this guy before this site. Not sure what his whole concept is, but we don't have a lot of debt. Our only payment is our house and the usual utility bills. Our house will be paid off in 9 more years and we pay cash for our vehicles. We have one credit card and we pay it off as soon as we use it.

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~Missy~

You don't get to choose how you're going to die, or when. You can only decide how you're going to live !!!

I haven't read DR, but our lifestyle is very intense on debt pay off. My husband and I both have a desire for me to be a SAHM, but to do that, our mortgage needs to be drastically reduced if not even gone. We live a very minimal lifestyle, because that is what we are used to. When we first got married, I was student teaching (no income--paying for school) and then recieved a paycheck in September (nine months later). Our goal to pay off our debt (which was done within those 1st nine months) was to be able to do what we want to do. We live without our heat or AC because we rather go out to eat, we take vacations, because we would like to before kids. Our goals while different than most 20 somethings is in large part becuase we have goals for the future.

I think the plan that works best, is the one that suits you and your goals. Figure out your goals and then go for that. For us, if we get pregnant sooner, then we will cut back on something else, but our desire is for me to be a SAHM and for me to teach for a few more years, I love what I do and am wanting to do this for a little longer. When you don't have a desire for kids at the moment, it is fine to do a DR style as long as your marriage isn't in jeopardy.

I've read Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, Mary Hunt and the Tightwad Gazette books. They all had good points, but growing up, I learned a lot more by watching others handle or mishandle money. I was fortunate enough to have parents who could manage their money; one of my friends had parents who did not. But both of us have learned through those examples.
I'm with Taylyn about the new car issue. Some people do better buying used; I've had better luck buying new and wearing them out myself. Also, some have mentioned the time factor (working extra on the gazelle intensity). If I had followed Dave to a T (we still have credit card debt, etc), I wouldn't have followed my heart to become a SAHM to our three girls. We're working on improving our financial situation, but it won't happen overnight!