Dave Ramsey, the real deal?

Dave Ramsey, the real deal?

Dave Ramsey is the famous voice of radio, TV, and stage who talks about financial matters and teaches us the steps to a debt free life, creating a budget, building wealth, planning for retirement, and finally giving to others. He is a great motivational speaker and all of his principals are built around Biblical teachings. The Dave Ramsey plan sounds great but is he the real deal? Does he really care so much about his loyal listeners or has he just formulated a creative plan for his own financial gain?

I must admit that I am a Dave Ramsey fan despite all the negative feedback I get from co-workers. Many of them believe he’s doesn’t really care about helping people get out of debt, his only concern is to promote his own products and make more money to further his success. I’m not convinced that I disagree with them 100% but even if you are not a Dave Ramsey fan you have to admit that his program does work and many of his teachings are common sense that we should already know.

The fundamental principals of the Dave Ramsey system (which are listed on his website) are built around this simple 7 step process:

1. building an emergency fund
2. payoff your debt using the snowball method
3. get 3-6 months of expenses saved
4. invest 15% of your household income in Roth IRA’s and pre-tax retirement funds
5. college funding for children
6. pay off home early
7. build wealth and give

Follow these steps with the intensity that Dave teaches and you will no doubt be successful in paying off debt and building wealth in just a few years.

As mentioned earlier I like the Dave Ramsey system and agree with most of his teachings, investment strategies and principals but back to the original question, is he the real deal? Does he really practice what he preaches? Lets break down the situation and see if we can get to the bottom of this question.

Dave Ramsey is a very successful business man and claims his teachings and principles are built around the Bible. Does the Bible teach us to not be successful in life? Not that I’m aware of. Do you not strive to be successful in life? I hope so. Sure Ramsey charges a little more than I’m willing to pay to attend a live event, and more than I want to pay for his video series Financial Peace University, but I’m not sure he should be criticized for his marketing efforts. Everything we buy especially the service industry inflates their prices an incredible amount.

The Bible teaches us that we should help the needy and give back a portion of our blessings to the Lord to continue his ministry. Actually the Bible uses the word tithe or 1/10 of your income. I am pretty sure that Dave Ramsey gives back more than a 1/10 of his income to the Lord and even more to others. He also gives away many free tickets to see his live shows and events.

Ramsey also has many sponsors that advertise on his website, radio and television show. It may seem strange that he would promote any product or service that does not promote financial planning, debt management or saving; however, Ramsey does not teach that you should never reward yourself with special treats from time to time. His main teaching is that you should always pay cash for everything. If you have enough money in your “blow money account” then blow it on one of those products.

Sure, many people may disagree with some of the things Ramsey has to say but remember no one is perfect not even you. In life you will never be able to please every person you meet. The fact remains that Ramsey is debt free and has experienced bankruptcy and great financial success, therefore knows what he is talking about. You can decide for yourself if you agree to his teachings.