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by
Dave Ramsey
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April 15 - May 11, 2019
“A man with an experience is not at the mercy of a man with an opinion.”
Overspending that doesn’t feel like overspending because things are going well is still overspending.
I didn’t need a secret formula to riches. I wasn’t afraid of hard work or sacrifice. I didn’t want to “feel” my way into being “positive.”
The enemy of “the best” is not “the worst.” The enemy of “the best” is “just fine.”
If I loan money to a friend or relative, the relationship will be strained or destroyed. The only relationship that would be enhanced is the kind resulting from one party being the master and the other party a servant.
Be ready to repay the loan; the bank wants a cosigner for a reason, which is that they don’t expect the friend or relative to pay.
These rip-off examples of predatory lending are designed to take advantage of lower-income people and benefit only the owners of the companies making the loans.
This type of business is legalized loan-sharking.
If you use Payday Loans, Tote-the-Note, and Rent-to-Own, please understand that you are being destroyed financially.
Staying away from car payments by driving reliable used cars is what the average millionaire does; that is how he or she became a millionaire.
You can qualify for a conventional fifteen-year fixed-rate loan if: • You have paid your landlord early or on time for two years. • You have a history of uninterrupted, on-time payments for things like utility bills, insurance premiums, school tuition, child care, or medical bills. • You have been in the same career field for two years. • You have a good down payment, which is more than “nothing down.” • You have no other credit, good or bad. • You are not trying to take too big a loan. A payment that totals 25 percent of take-home pay is conservative and will help you qualify.
The FICO score is an “I Love Debt” score.
So if you quit borrowing money you will lose your FICO score. It is not a score that says you are winning with money or that you have a million dollars; it mathematically says you LOVE DEBT.
Remember, there is one thing the debit card won’t do: get you into debt.
A free hat, airline miles, brownie points back, free use of someone else’s money, a discount at the register—the list goes on to get you to sign up for a credit card. Have you ever asked why they work so hard to get you involved? The answer is that you lose and they win.
90 percent of the airline miles are never redeemed.
An American Bankruptcy Institute study of bankruptcy filers reveals that 69 percent of filers say credit-card debt caused the bankruptcy.
Why are these companies selling to our small children? Kid branding intends to influence card choices later in life.
Debt is not a tool; it is a method to make banks wealthy, not you.
Your largest wealth-building asset is your income. When you tie up your income, you lose. When you invest your income, you become wealthy and can do anything you want.
If a thirty-year-old man has $100 per month to spend on life insurance and shops the top five Cash Value companies, he will find he can purchase an average of $125,000 in insurance for his family. The pitch is to get a policy that will build up savings for retirement, which is what a Cash Value policy does. However, if this same guy purchases twenty-year level term insurance with coverage of $125,000, the cost will be only $7 per month, not $100.
Most people concentrate on the urgent in our culture. We worry about our health and focus on our money only after they’re gone.
“A budget is people telling their money where to go instead of wondering where it went.”
Auto and Homeowner Insurance—Choose higher deductibles in order to save on premiums.
Life Insurance—Purchase twenty-year level term insurance equal to about ten times your income. Term insurance is cheap and the only way to go; never use life insurance as a place to save money.
What I needed was for people to be impressed with my success. What I needed was my family raising an eyebrow of approval based on my ability to win. What I yearned for was respect. What I was so shallow to believe was that the car I drove gave me those things.
Spouses just don’t know how to talk to each other about money. That’s because most of the time the husband and wife have totally different personalities about everything—and that includes their money.
Guess what? Neither the Nerd nor the Free Spirit is “right” or “wrong.” You’re a team! You need to have a plan, but you need to have some fun. You need to save, but you need to spend a little. The trick is to figure out how your differences can complement each other, and then you can work together.
Remember, if the Joneses (all the broke people) think you are cool, you are heading the wrong way. If they think you are crazy, you are probably on track.
God wired ladies better on this subject than He did us.
Lol I'm an atheist but this is probably true
College degrees do not ensure jobs. College degrees certainly don’t ensure success. College degrees do not ensure wealth. College degrees only prove that someone has successfully passed a series of tests.
Only if you mix knowledge with attitude, character, perseverance, vision, diligence, and extreme levels of work will your college degree produce for you.
The book Emotional Intelligence reported a similar finding. In studying successful people, the author discovered that 15 percent of success could be attributed to training and education, while 85 percent was attributed to attitude, perseverance, diligence, and vision.
I’ve never walked into a doctor’s office and said, “You know what, Doc, before you check my blood pressure, you better tell me where you went to medical school.” And I’ve never gone into my CPA’s office and quizzed him about where he got his accounting degree. But when we’re picking a school for ourselves or our kids, we act like where we get our degree is some kind of magical fairy dust that’s going to automatically make our lives successful. Here’s a shocker: it’s not. Knowledge, perseverance, integrity, and character will carry you a lot farther than a piece of paper with a particular
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Virtually everyone thinks that saving for college is important; however, hardly anyone saves money for their kids’ college education.
College tuition goes up faster than regular inflation. Inflation of goods and services averages about 4 percent per year, while tuition inflation averages about 8 percent per year.
If you think wealth will answer all life’s questions and make you trouble-free, you are delusional.
Wealth is not an escape mechanism. It is instead a tremendous responsibility.
I can find only three good uses for money. Money is good for FUN. Money is good to INVEST. And money is good to GIVE.
“No one would remember the good Samaritan if he’d only had good intentions; he had money as well.”
If all you get from your wealth is the wrong view of it, wealth will destroy your peace. If you get from your wealth the idea that you are some big deal because you gathered some money, you missed the essence of a Total Money Makeover.
“He who dies with the most toys is still dead.”
We further must recognize that while wealth is very fun, it comes with great responsibility.
Another paradox is that wealth will make you more of what you are. Let that one soak in for a minute. If you are a jerk and you become wealthy, you will be king of the jerks. If you are generous and you become wealthy, you will be most generous. If you are kind, wealth will allow you to show kindness in immeasurable ways. If you feel guilty, wealth will ensure that you feel guilty for the rest of your life.
