Dave Ramsey is the Hot Topic
Dave Ramsey is a guru with a loyal throng of fans. Either you love him or you hate him. JLP from AllFinancialMatters made his opinion known, although his post didn’t say much. Any attack on Ramsey, no matter how brief, attracts vitriliolic comments from both lovers and haters. Here are a few of those comments.
- People who charge an arm and a leg for financial organization tools drive me nuts… So maybe you do have to spend money to save money, but why not go for something less extortionate?
- Seems like Ramsey is looking after his own “personal” finance.
- That stuff is pretty valuable information for people not knowing how to get out from under financial pressure.
- Not to sound like his biggest fan or anything but the stuff that you get is pretty good.
- it’s a rock-solid program that the most overwhelmed can understand. i give him kudos for making the tidal wave of personal finance a bite-by-bite program that affords those who don’t have the wherewithal to make something positive from their mess.
- Good call. Save your money and pay off your debt [rather than buy Ramsey’s products].
A Penny Saved is impressed with Ramsey’s book, and he is inspired:
[The book is] sound and isnt a get rich quick or eliminate your debt in 30 days kind of program. It’s a life long commitment to living a sound financial life. I’m fairly sure that we will have begun our own Total Money Makeover soon.
Now, Dave Ramsey often invokes God in his message. But one religious individual shows some of Ramsey’s reasoning conflicts with some biblical teachings. Ariah explains why he (she?) ditched Dave Ramsey (and once again, the cultists are back en force to eagerly defend. You’re better off ignoring most of the 100+ comments, but this is from Ariah’s post:
The thing that bothers me is the second half of the “live like no one else.” statement. The idea is that once you’ve paid off your debt and saved your money you can spend it on what you want to. Now most folks want to hear that and so they are happy to listen and hear what Dave has to say. I have trouble cause my Bible (and I’m pretty sure it’s the same one) seems to say we are to be sacrificial in our lives, regardless of how well we’ve saved, etc. And that we should be good stewards, and wise consumers no matter what income/debt we have.
Here is the piece of bad advice that Ramsey gave that set Ariah over the edge:
A lady called in yesterday with a question. It was quite simple, her husband and her are debt free. The question was which is better: their current minivan or trading it for an SUV of equal value?… Dave’s Response: This is a silly question that you should not fret over… She’s being a “tight-wad…”
Ariah explained that the difference lies in the better gas mileage of the current minivan, and the Bible requires its adherents to be wise stewards.
tinyhands Said,
February 8, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
I’ve left this comment elsewhere, but I’m writing it again so that as many people as possible will see it…
The religious aspect of Ramsey’s teaching touched-on above is just the tip of the iceberg. The last time I listened to him (because my radio is equipped with an ‘off’ button) he reduced a woman to tears and REFUSED TO OFFER ADVICE because of her religious beliefs. In short, she wanted to divorce her husband and that conflicts with Ramsey’s brand of evangelical Christianity. He called her a liar, a weakling, and dished out all manner of abuse. He was very clear about the religious aspect of his hatred towards her.
Perhaps my graduate education was sub-standard, but none of my finance classes mentioned saving my soul. When there are other financial advisors out there who only care about the RELEVANT aspects of your situation, I have no use for someone like Ramsey.
Joseph Bales Said,
February 14, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
I think Dave’s financial advice is very sound. I followed his financial teachings and paid off $8000 in debt. When I stopped following his advice, I quickly went back into debt. So now I am back on his plan and things are working out very well.
His Christian preaching (and bigotry) is a turnoff to me, but that doesn’t make his financial advice any less valuable. Ariah needs to realize that Christianity is full of contradictions, and Dave is just manifesting that. If it is un-Christian to tell someone to buy an SUV instead of a minivan, then it should *really* be un-Christian to refuse help to people who are getting divorced or are gay or atheist. Dave regularly refuses to help non-Christians, but Ariah doesn’t seem to have any problem with that.
Royster Said,
April 7, 2007 @ 4:36 am
A minivan over an SUV? Oh Come On! That’s just splitting hairs. We’ve got both (Hondas in our family) and the mileage is the same. I suppose that if you’re contemplating a Hummer that’s different, but Ariah’s argument sounds like finding something small to pick at because she doesn’t like the messenger. BTW, Dave’s approach works…
Mrs. Micah Said,
September 28, 2007 @ 11:22 pm
As with other finance gurus, I get his stuff from the library. I think his financial principles seem to work out, but I don’t want to shell out a lot of cash for them. Some people do and that’s great for him and great for them if it helps them. I think a lot of what he does, and admits he does, is organize principles that most people already know.
I agree with Ariah about his ideas of living rich–that seems (to me) to contradict with his strong Christian preaching. It seems like someone who cares that much about Jesus would be willing to give up almost everything to help others. Also, Jesus hung out with people who were the gays, atheists, and divorcees of his day—I mean, prostitutes, tax collectors, “sinners,” Romans?