Dave Ramsey

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • ChristianPatriot

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    28   0   0
    Feb 11, 2013
    12,801
    113
    Clifford, IN

    hoosierdoc

    Freed prisoner
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Apr 27, 2011
    25,987
    149
    Galt's Gulch
    It’s a much debated topic. It works for everyone who follows it strictly because it controls our impulses. Many people don’t want to be controlled or try to outsmart math and human behavior.

    Plan the work then work the plan.
     

    Trigger Time

    Air guitar master
    Rating - 98.6%
    204   3   0
    Aug 26, 2011
    40,112
    113
    SOUTH of Zombie city
    What he said ^^^

    My wife and I (31 yrs old) have been debt free, other than a mortgage, since we were like 25. No credit cards. No car payments.
    I've never listened to Dave Ramsey (that I can remember) but if this is what he teaches is being debt free and the importance of it then i couldnt agree more. People have been conditioned to believe they cant live without debt. Or at least conditioned to believe just because they "qualify" for a loan or a credit card that it's ok to get it. Qualifying for a loan doesnt mean crap if you cannot afford the payments you will take on or if you maintain a high interest debt balance. They are eating you alive. Even if you are contributing to a 401k or a Roth like retirement plan the interest you are paying on your debt is negating the interest you are earning.
    Tske the money and pay off the debt. Dont take on anymore and once you realize how much less stress and financial freedom you are gonna have you will live longer and happier. The whole point being, do not live above your means. It's ok to dream big, just wait till you have cash to pay for your dreams.
    Or dont. We all are blessed with the freedom of choice.
    Of coarse some lenders and the banks and others benefited by loans and borrowing of money will totaly disagree, but that's what keeps them employed.
    We have one credit card that my wife will buy something with and pay off in order to have it for if we had to rent a car or something that required a credit card being put down and not a bank card. It is not a serious thing and is never used to buy anything because we dont have the money to pay cash for it. Like if I wanted a gun and didnt have the money in my "fun" budget, I wouldn't put it on that card. I dont even know where it is but even if I did I wouldn't use it..
    If I dont have the money in my budget for something, I dont buy it. It's really simple. A household budget WITH a dedicated savings regiment is a must.
    If you are dont plan out your budget with all of your expenses over the year and break them into weekly and biweekly and monthly budgets including what's coming in, then you WILL fail unless you are very good at math like Einstein level.
    Spread your expenses out so that you arent paying your huge home or vehicle payments if you have one, out of one check every month then not having enough for basic living expenses or if an emergency pops up.
    We also budget money for vehicle maintenance and repairs and doctors visors and fun stuff like trips and vacation and food, property taxes, insurance, utilities, gas, ect. Basicly anything you've spent money on over the coarse of a year, you include it.
     
    Last edited:

    HoughMade

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Oct 24, 2012
    35,614
    149
    Valparaiso
    Other than a mortgage, we don't have any debt. No car payments since 2000. We have and use credit cards regularly, but pay them off every month. There's never been a temptation to do otherwise. I have not followed Dave Ramsey's plan as I have never studied it, but debt-free is a good place to be.

    We are also committed to our kids starting off debt-free, so no loans for college.
     

    EvilElmo

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Feb 11, 2009
    1,235
    48
    Dearborn Co.
    My wife and I started really following it a few years ago and it was a definite help in getting better control of our finances. We've since gone back to having a single credit card purely as an alternate non-cash form of payment due to a number of problems with our debit card (banks locking it for suspicious activity, some of which was actually legitimate). Anyway, we decided we wanted something available other than the debit card particularly when we travel.

    But as a whole it's good way to handle your money. We're debt free now (except the mortgage).
     

    Trigger Time

    Air guitar master
    Rating - 98.6%
    204   3   0
    Aug 26, 2011
    40,112
    113
    SOUTH of Zombie city
    Oh yeah. And single income with three kids.
    Good for you man. That takes dedication and hard work.
    People assume you have to be wealthy to be debt free. It's not the case at all. Im deffinately not wealthy. Live within or below your means and you will see your debt start decreasing. You will see it in your budget if you plan it out and stick to it. And most times you will have money left over in a budget and not a shortage as long as you stay true to your plan and honest with yourself. Then you can either save it or a portion, or use it on vacation or a gun ;) or jewelry for your wife ect.
     

    Hohn

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jul 5, 2012
    4,444
    63
    USA
    Similar here: single income, but two kids. We homeschool.

    We've been doing Dave's plan for awhile and have been "stuck" in steps 4,5,6 where you save for retirement and college while paying down your house. I have about 7 years left on it. Halfway to a paid-for house by age 50. Just in time for the kids to bleed us dry on college, lol.

    We finished the basement on our home a few years ago, which was the biggest expense (outside the house itself) of our marriage. So I guess we tripled down on the house. It did some unkind things to the savings.

    Our paid-for vehicles are long in the tooth (the nicer, newer one is 11 years old), and we don't have enough free savings to buy something appreciably nicer or newer, so I'm doing what I can to keep them on the road.
     

    jkaetz

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Jan 20, 2009
    1,953
    83
    Indianapolis
    Haven't read Dave's work. I simply don't buy things if the $$ isn't sitting in the bank. The only exceptions are the house and if we need to replace a vehicle though all the current ones are paid for. We have a half dozen cards all with five figure limits on them but we use one rewards card because it is easier to use than cash or checks and the amazon card (5% off amazon purchases). Cards always get paid off each month. Never have we looked at a purchase and thought "I don't have to pay for that now, I'll pay for it later." IMO that is the key thought process. Also making sure there is some $$ saved away for a new home air conditioner or a transmission rebuild.
     

    FWP9MM

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    9   0   0
    Aug 22, 2010
    437
    18
    Bluffton
    My wife and I started out with about $12,000 in savings and not debt outside of my mortgage on a house I had bought two years before we met. She had been through Dave Ramsey’s course and I had not so we took a refresher course together. I pretty much had the philosophy of what he teaches, but learned a few things. Fast forward 9 years and we are still happily married, she is a stay at home mom expecting baby #4 in August, we still have $0 debt outside of our mortgage, cars have always been paid for in cash, a decent amount in retirement accounts, etc.

    Funny that our household income is about $20,000 less now than when we were both working 4 years ago. She has had some medical issues throughout the past few years, but somehow we always pull through and have remained out of debt even after paying max out of pocket for a few years in a row. Sometimes I don’t know how it works out other than we are simply blessed. We try to stay humble knowing that we could lose everything.

    Dave Ramsey’s plan works if you follow it, but isn’t one size fits all.
     

    BigBoxaJunk

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Feb 9, 2013
    7,314
    113
    East-ish
    I was just listening to an old podcast with Jordan Peterson, and on it he said "Once you have enough money to stave off catastrophe, to keep the creditors from banging on your door, having more doesn't appreciably add to your well-being." He spoke about how, not too long ago, Americans lived on an income that would be seen as well below poverty level today, even adjusted for inflation.

    My wife and I perfected our frugal lifestyle the old fashioned way, by being poor for most of our adult lives. We raised two kids on mostly one income, and we sometimes made really bad financial decisions. But the good part about being poor is that even our bad mistakes didn't amount to huge sums of money. We're not debt free yet, but we could very nearly be if I used savings to pay off our remaining debt. I will get there in a year or so, and I plan to pay the house off a few years after that (if all goes well). A few years ago, after both kids were out on their own, I went out and spent almost a thousand dollars on a rifle I'd always wanted. I still remember how crazy and impulsive it seemed to do that.
     

    fullmetaljesus

    Probably smoking a cigar.
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Jan 12, 2012
    5,849
    149
    Indy
    An old co-worker swore by his program. He liked it soich he had a standing offer to buy the book for anyone interested. Then one day he gave us all access to a handful of Dave R. Audio books.

    I havent listened to them yet. But I do my best to love debt free. I have no credit cards, my Jeep was paid for on cash.

    Only thing I have overy head is mortgage and student loans but the hosue was an investment not a place to plant roots so ona few years when I sell the house I'll ah e enough to kill the mortgage and student loans with extra cash in hand to maybe pay cash for my next house.
     
    Top Bottom