Oh, I agree, but he often urges people to give to their churches which are also one of his major sources of revenue. It just seems dirty.
Dave Ramsey-Financial Peace University
- Thread starter HardcoreClone
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Meh, maybe to some, but I don't carry that mentality. I go to make a purchase of needing something, I decide oh should I put this on my bank card, or get points for it. If people make purchases simply for getting points, then those may be the type that can't be helped for fixed.
I’d also bet this board has quite a few people that lie about this on here.
The amount of people that are financially literate is small.
I was all in on Ramsey about 10 years ago. Like many have said, his advice for people with terrible financial habits is very good. His program is fool-proof. If you follow it, you will be secure financially. You may not maximize every penny, but you will be ok.
However, he is selling a brand. He gets kickbacks from “endorsed local providers,” books, and his classes. He is a salesman, period. His stuff is helpful to many, but he’s also selling stuff while doing it. That’s not a bad thing, but people should at least be aware of it.
I really don’t think he actually believes that his way is the only way. I think he knows the best way to reach his target audience is with a zero tolerance approach. I would much rather have his zealots than people who don’t understand finances trying to make their own financial decisions.
While I don’t disagree I think the people that need the zero tolerance method is smaller than many think too. I can teach a lot of financially illiterate people to do what they need. People like my brother though need the Ramsey approach.
I think a lot people fall into this trap of “I’m going to game the system for my benefit”
Someone a while ago posted about buying a 30k vehicle and borrowing because the rates were so low and even a conservative investment would provide better returns. Then when someone asked if they had 30k to invest they said “I could never imagine being able to save 30k”.
I understand the temptation to leverage but I think most people use it as an excuse to take on debt and they don’t actually have liquid funds for the investing part of the logic.
On average each household with a credit card carries $8,400 in credit card debt but it seems like every person on CycloneFanatic uses a credit without ever rolling a balance forward.
A lot of people talk about gaming the system for their benefit but I think for the most part they’re the ones being gamed.
Yeah, good point. I was referencing a car loan vs paying cash. Unless a vehicle is a necessity for your daily job obligations, I don't generally think an auto loan makes sense. That said, that doesn't mean it's wrong or people shouldn't do it either. I just couldn't talk myself into it.
Your average debt per household is off according to this. Household Credit Card Debt
The link says median of $2300 and average of $5700. Also points out people on the coasts and low income households carry more. You seem to think a lot of people here aren't being truthfull about never carrying over a balance, but I bet its true. Those numbers would suggest a disproportionately smaller number of the public hold a greater amount of the debt. I haven't carried a balance over in years. I pay the total balance off every month. But the amount of time I actually have zero in the balance is virtually never because I put everything on my credit card for points purposes. So how would they count that? I average over a thousand on my credit card every month with just typical living expenses that I always pay off.
I have tons of CC debt right now. Not sure how I got there but probably a bunch of flights to those tiny Myrtle and Hilton Head airports for golf trips since COVID hit and there hasn’t been anything else to do. I’m setting a reminder to pay those off next week or sometime in the future. I’m just too lazy to move the funds around, sell some stonks, or whatever I’ll have to do. Golf Season coupled with Big Brother just takes up you much of my time right now.
Getting bored of my 2019 truck lately too. Need to go in and rent something new.
One of my former employees definitely needs help. His wife is a nurse, he's a programmer, their gross annual income is about $180k. He spends more money than anyone I know. Has never bought a budget item, buys things I can't imagine ever buying. The one thing that stands out most for me is when his daughter was turning one. All of his family and friends were coming over and he wanted to get a big canvas banner announcing her birthday. One of those 3'x8' banners that you can roll up and use again without damaging it. He talked to a printing shop and they told him it was going to cost around $400. That seemed like too much to him, so his solution? He bought a printer that could do it. The printer was $2500. He printed his banner and said he's never used it again. His daughter is 7 now.
He has a brand new truck, his wife has a brand new car, he has a $15k motorcycle and a 2014 Camaro that he bought brand new and immediately modified for drag racing. It isn't street legal and he hasn't had it out in a few years.
He bought a house in 2007 and never got back above water. In 2017, he was laid off (along with 800 others) and he had previously taken out a loan on his 401k that he had to pay back immediately or pay the taxes/penalty. He couldn't afford to pay the taxes (around $7k) and had to figure out a way. Ended up borrowing money from his grandfather.
Last year he could finally "afford" to sell his house (he had enough money to pay the mortgage difference), so he did...and then bought a $500k acreage. I couldn't believe he did it, he must have financed all but a few dollars of it. His first purchase after buying the house was a small tractor - brand new. $60k with a few attachments. I found a similar tractor used online for $20k. He refuses to buy used because "who knows what the previous owner has done with it."
I was on the phone with him last week and we were talking about smokers because I had just gotten one. He, of course, had a very expensive one and was telling me about all of the different stuff I needed to get for it. While we were on the phone he ordered three smoker related items from Amazon. Just bananas.
He worked for me for five years. Excellent programmer, smart guy, but every meeting we had was me providing financial advice that was rarely heeded. His net worth has to be near zero, if not 100k in the hole. I can't imagine living like that.
The numbers I was looking at was average per households with a credit card. Also 55% of individuals with credit cards don’t consistently pay their balance off every month.
Yeah some people are crazy. I know someone who graduated 7 or 8 years ago with $150k in student loans. I know her income has been over $150k the last 3 years and her loans are now around $155k. Like what the heck are you doing with all your money? Lol
We have a 3% cash back card for groceries. My wife just pays the ccard bill from her phone every time she gets a pile of 2 or 3 receipts. Anyone want 3% off on all groceries. It adds up and there are only two of us.
I think people who carry a balance and pay interest and penalties are paying for my cash back rewards (3% on groceries) .
Don’t get me wrong I love the rewards. I use Sam’s 5% gas, US BANK 5% internet/streaming/phone and fidelity 2% on all purchases.
Any time you buy something on a credit card that you aren't going to pay off before the interest bills you're a sucker. I don't think you'll find many people on here that will debate you openly about it.
Maybe not on here, but you'll find them. My Mom used to work with someone who told her the most mind blowing thing. This woman, we'll call her Karen, said her and her husband put everything on their credit card. Despite being able to pay off the balance monthly, they only made monthly minimum payments and paid it in full once a year. Karen gave my Mom a reason, but my Mom's mind was so blown she doesn't remember what it was. Karen was a shopaholic and had Amazon deliveries at the office on a near daily basis.
