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Jan 12, 2011

Laura rated it:

Buy it, live it! An amazing system that's not a system--just living within one's means. Worth the investment many times over!

11 comments like (25 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2008

Melissa rated it:

I read Financial Peace years ago. We tried to live the plan, but looking back we could have done a lot better. The Total Money Makeover takes the same plan and breaks it down into more detailed babysteps. This REALLY works! We've had our $1000 emergency saving account for years now and have hardly had to dip into it because we really think through what an emergency is. Most of the time we have been able to wait a few weeks until the "extra paycheck," tax return or a bonus comes th More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Sep 29, 2007

Cori rated it:

From my blog:

My friend Amanda was nice enough to buy me Dave Ramsey's book. It must mean it's pretty good if someone else is willing to shell out $25.00 to buy you a book on money management! This book was really repetitive, but I thought it was a fantastic planning tool for those of us who aren't making a gobzillion dollars doing...whatever Paris Hilton does, for example. I have a small bit of debt -- mostly due to 2007: The Year of Dental Nightmares -- and literally no savings. I h More...

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

Nov 24, 2009

Linds rated it:

This book is so helpful, straightforward, and inspiring. I have spent my twenties in the misery of consumer debt and student loans.

I am now credit card debt free and am busting up my student loans.

I like his advice. The very first thing you do is to get 1,000 dollars together BEFORE you start tackling your credit cards. Be aggressive, take a second job, sell your prized possessions, whatever, but get that $1,000. This is not $$ to keep in a checking account but in a sav More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jul 08, 2011

Jeremy rated it:

Thank you Tulsa Blizzard 2011 for helping me finish this book in two days.

What makes this book so effective and successful is that it lays out a very appealing vision, which motivates the reader to make the dramatic changes necessary to become financially secure. By the end of the book, you are motivated and energized to do whatever it takes to achieve the vision of wealth described in this book. The best part is that it’s totally doable and no kind of hoax. Like the author says, ther More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Mar 20, 2008

Jen rated it:

Let me preface this by saying that I'm a HUGE fan of Dave Ramsey, so of course I'm a bit biased. I listen to his talk radio show every day without fail, and I'm an active member of his subscription website called MyTMMO (http://www.mytotalmoneymakeover.com).

My husband and I began working the baby steps in September 2005. It took us 22 long months of discipline and sacrifice to become completely debt-free. We don't own a home yet, so yes, we really are living the debt-free life. W More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 20, 2008

Tonya rated it:

I probably should have given this book more than three stars, because it's a good start to figuring out a critical piece of the financial puzzle; getting out of debt. This book is debt-centric, so, if you're in debt, then yes, you really should read this book.

However, while focusing on getting out of debt is a crucially important step of freeing up your income (because if the money you make every month is spent every month, you're not financially fit), there are many aspects of your More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 14, 2008

Tim rated it:

This is a pretty decent plan for getting out of debt and starting to invest. In the time-honored tradition of such self-help books as How To Win Friends and Influence People, Ramsey uses personal stories from other people to drive his points home.

But in essence, the plan is like this:
1) stop buying things, sell off everything you don't need, stop using credit cards, etc.
2) save up a $1000 emergency fund
3) throw all possible cash toward paying off your smallest d More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 16, 2008

Angela rated it:

This guy's claim is basically that the key to accumulating a lot of money is to (1) become debt free, (2) save a sizeable nest egg (3-10k)for the big emergencies that typically send people into debt in the first place, and (3) put the rest of your savings in mutual funds. He's particularly insistent that you suck it up and drive old cars that you've paid cash for rather than make payments on a new car.
Good advice, but it would help if he offered more insights on how to follow it, especi More...

3 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 14, 2007

Sara rated it:

I love Dave Ramsey. We have been doing the Total Money Makeover since Jan 1 of this year (we started after reading Dave's book "Financial Peace") and we are already seeing plenty of success with our baby steps. We pay for everything in cash now and if we don't have the cash, we don't buy it. We've got an emergency fund in place and have used it when things came up - auto repairs, etc. And best of all, we are in debt reduction mode - we had cut up all the credit cards Jan 1 and now we o More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 18, 2007

Shane rated it:

This book is a great step by step plan to help you get control of your finances by walking you through the 7 baby steps.
1. Small Emergency Fund of $1000
2. Pay off all debt except house with debt snowball
3. Fully Fund Emergency Fund to 3-6x of living expenses
4. Invest 15% of income for retirement
5. Fund kids college fund
6. Pay off mortgage
7. Have fun, give and invest

Definitely a must read and the companion website www.mytotalmoneymakeover.com More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 20, 2008

Jessica rated it:

Reading this book, and implementing Dave's financial strategy, has changed our life, and made it so much less stressful. We were able to do what we thought would be impossible, and pay off all our debt other than our home, plus, we are very close to completing baby step 3 (3-6 mths living expenses in savings). A couple years ago, I would have never thought it would be possible--and we even added another family member since then! So thankful we read this book!

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 25, 2007

Evige rated it:

I love Dave Ramsey. I first got stuck on his radio show. His listeners call in about financial questions and he tells it like it is with little to no tact, I think that's why I like it so much. Listening to eveyone's financial problems makes me feel so much better about myself. Search your am station for Dave Ramsey, I know you will love him and learn very uesfull info. The book is awesome with a gameplan you can live by.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Dec 07, 2007

Diana rated it:

This book is great and I hope to be able to find that "gazelle intensity" to get our butts out of debt in the next 18 months!

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 08, 2008

Morgan added it

Inspiring- live now like no one else, so later you can live like no one else!

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 11, 2011

Yolanda added it

I can not believe that I've spent the last 12 years working in the Accounting field being such a good steward of my employers money but could never get a good grasp on my own money. The Total Money Makeover book has helped me go from paycheck-to-paycheck-thinking to wealth-building-thinking. Once my eyes were opened (I read the book in 2 days) I knew my financial life would never be the same. I asked my husband to read the book and when he started sending me texts like: Do you know that if we More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 15, 2011

Jarrod rated it:

Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover is a great outline of how to get out of debt and attain your financial freedom. Like so many self-help books, the information is all very easy to understand and really should be classified as common sense. The ideas are not new in the slightest; Charles Dickens expressed the thesis through David Copperfield over 150 years ago: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual e More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2008

Jay rated it:

This book, and Dave Ramsey's philosophy changed my family's financial life. A year ago my wife found his radio show and we both read the book. Since then we have cut up all our credit cards, paid off our cars, and are three years away from paying off the last of our debt (my USC loans). In 15 years (or less, God willing) we will have built 6-months worth of savings and paid off the house. And during the whole process, we have never felt so confident in our ability to provide for our kids an More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 01, 2008

Angineeki rated it:

This is the most practical personal finance advice I've ever received -- and I've read Millionaire Next Door and am a big fan of Suze Orman. Those "top 10 ways to financial freedom" lists in which a key step is "giving up your daily latte," are cute. But they don't compare to Ramsey's well-thought-out, systematic approach to getting from under debt. Ramsey moves very quickly from the reasons why you can't get ahead (having a lackadaisical attitude when it comes to debt) into More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 18, 2008

Bradi rated it:

Nope; I'm not willing to sell/swap this book as it's become a textbook/workbook for our family. I'm on page 127 of this 223 page book and am loving learning from Dave Ramsey. Lest you think I'm some weirdo constantly on the prowl for the next "Get- Rich- Quick" scheme, I'll have you know: This is the first "money book" I've read (I don't even remember reading a money book in ECON.) and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. The book seems to have entered Ben's and my life at a very opp More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 22, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

Dave Ramsey makes some really great budgeting suggestions. I just passed this on to my husband and so he is reading it now. Hopefully we can start doing some of the steps and get our minivan!

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 23, 2008

Nicole rated it:

This book unlike most books on finances, and etc actually has specific steps to follow in order to get out of debt and create wealth. There are forms that help you with the process, and all through out there are stories from others that have followed this system. It will amaze you what others have been able to do in the short amount of time that they have, and the nice thing is that you can do it too.....just follow the steps. Its not complicated at all, we just tend to make things harder then w More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 24, 2007

Paula rated it:

I really enjoy Dave Ramsey and his process. I have never been a big spender but I always thought house and car payments would be forever. Well, he made me realize that I don't have to have payments!! We have 2 paid for new cars (sorry, I will always have a new car, but I paid cash) and in about 4 years we will have our house paid off and be debt free!!
Sometimes someone has to light a fire under your ass to get you going and you never thought you could do it but you can!!

IM A More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 16, 2009

Janet rated it:

First of all, Dave Ramsey is a Christian entertainer. Like Dr. Laura, Dave springboards his books from his talk radio shows and life experiences. His advice is simple and folks starting early in life do well to heed his advice on debt and that is….no debt. It all gets a bit murky for those of us who have learned essential money truths later in life, yet there are some embraceable suggestions to be found within the pages of both Ramsey’s “Peace” and “Makeover.” It is the advice my Grandparents w More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 23, 2008

Emanuel rated it:

This book fell into my possession thanks to the brilliant minds at a church I attend. The book its self really takes an honest and realistic look into a subject that is changing and as I have seen in some cases, destroying lives across the United States on a daily basis.Dave gets into a readers face and pretty much throws open the gates and makes the reader take a long hard look at what they are doing with their financial affairs using a series of tools and forms contained within the More...

0 comments like

Feb 05, 2012

Cara rated it:

I liked this book because it gave step by step details on how to get your finances in order. I would say it is especially good for those looking for motivation to get out of debt and build an emergency fund.

For those of us without mortgages, but who one day hope to own a home, this book kind of glazes over the topic. He recommends saving a 100% downpayment, yet does not discuss whether to invest to save up for this substantial cash outlay or hold pure cash and hope you get to your targ More...

0 comments like

Nov 08, 2011

McKenzie rated it:

After hearing about Dave Ramsey from a number of people, I decided to pick this up out of curiosity. I skimmed this book quickly, partly because it is mostly fluff. His crams the book full of testimonials about other families who have gotten out of debt- that's for the outside of the book, not the inside of it. Most of his actual advice (pay for things with cash, don't buy what you can't afford, live below your means, start investing for retirement early) consists of things my parents have been More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 16, 2011

Dawn rated it:

I am still reading this book and will probably have to go back and read it again. I love the myth buster and testimonials. It really helped me get a grip on an actual budget (though I'm constantly having to tweak mine) and to actually build up an emergency fund. I recently had a major car expense of about $750 to repair a fuel pump issue. Normally when "Murphy" (as in Murphy's law) would come around I would freak out and call my parents for help. This time, I had an emergency fund More...

0 comments like

Aug 05, 2011

Seth added it

While the book did contain a lot of useful financial advice that I will follow, the folksy Christian wisdom of Dave Ramsey is enough to make a person gag. For example, Ramsey asserts that we don't learn enough about financial management in high school or college. Fair statement. However, he dumbs down the statement as follows: "We graduate from school, go out into the world, and get a financial master's degree in D.U.M.B." If you find this sort of statement clever, you will LOVE the bo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 20, 2011

Kari rated it:

I've thought about reading this book for awhile. Because people seem to be so crazy for it. But then, that's also the reason I haven't read it. Because people seem to be so crazy for it. I've secretly thought, "Oh, so you've joined the Dave Ramsey cult?" when people talk about his books.

And then someone I respect told me that she "drank the kool aid" and started following the Dave Ramsey plan. And partly because I think highly of her, and partly because she g More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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