He’s the scold and scourge of lenders of all stripes ””well, almost all ”” and he’s taking his one-man financial road show to the Lowcountry today to preach a singular message: Debt is dumb; cash is king.
It’s an attitude that syndicated radio talk-show host and best-selling author Dave Ramsey honed from a deeply humbling personal experience. He and wife, Sharon, went broke twice in the 1980s, after his debt-laden real estate business suddenly crumbled. The couple vowed never again to borrow money and become what he sometimes calls “a slave to the lender.”
“I’m not going to get into a mess again. I’m not going to go there,” he said.
An estimated 5,000 people are expected to take in Ramsey’s five-hour marathon on money matters today at the North Charleston Coliseum, with many looking for ways to put their financial houses in order. He describes his live show as a mix of no-nonsense advice and stand-up comedy.
“The medicine I’m delivering is strong enough that it needs to have some humor with it,” he said.
Ramsey began his second career as a debt counselor in the early 1990s, starting at his local church and eventually parlaying his quick wit, candor and knack for financial plain-speaking into a multimedia empire.
Another way to make more money: charge people plenty to listen to you to talk about it.
“Tickets…are $38 and $68. The $202 ‘platinum’ seats are sold out.”
Available only online. So, there go some more charges on those debt enhancements called credit cards….
w.w.
I am not quite as extreme as he is in his views on debt. But I would certainly agree that way too many Americans borrow for things that they should not be borrowing for. My personal; view on debt is that there are only 3 items that justify long term debt.
1. A home (primary residence only). Very few Americans can afford a house without a mortgage.
2. The primary family car. Not the second car or the car for the kids. Just the primary car. Any others I pay cash up front or I go without.
3. Emergencies. Sometimes bad things happen and you have to go into debt to deal with it. Maybe your car breaks down and you need it for work or there are urgent medical expenses not covered by insurance. But I have a pretty narrow definition of emergency.
And for the record, no I do not put college loans down as justifiable long term debt. College has become waaayyy too expensive and our kids are going into debt up to their eyeballs to pay for it. Get scholarships or get a job. The GI Bill will cover the bulk of a four year education at most state schools.
I do think some short term debt is OK as long as I the pay the bill off in its entirety when it shows up. Thus a credit card is fine for big purchases (I don’t like carrying around lots of cash). But I pay the bill off when it shows up in the mail, or I go without. This is a good way to establish credit for buying the house or family car without getting in trouble.
ICXC
John
#1
I get your point there is a lot of bad stuff out there that we be careful about in the Dilbert cartoon this week, one of the characters said to Dilbert “I’m going to a seminar to learn how to make $1,000,000”, Dilbert replied “It’s a scam” and the other guy said “How do you know? I haven’t even told you the name of the seminar yet!”
But I’m not sure it is fair to Ramsey — you can catch him for free on the radio and his book is available at Wal-Mart for a normal price. And is $38 for a five-hour seminar really outrageous? As St. Paul says: “the laborer is worthy of his wages.” So I think it is fair for Ramsey to charge something for his services.
Do we take advice from Jimmy Swaggart on healthy marraiges? and I have to laugh about $200 tickets, how many will buy those with a credit card they don’t pay off each month?
#1 and #4. Check out Ramsey’s website. He does not accept credit cards, only debit cards for online transactions. Yes, he is making money and lots of it, but he is also giving quite a bit away.
I just finished his 13 week course and the last class is on giving. A powerful Christian witness is presented and he has some good teaching that stands up against any stewardship sermons/teachings I have heard over the years.
Ramsey is fallible as the rest of us, but his teaching is sound financial principles. And something I think our culture needs to hear. None of this “buy it now, you can’t be happy unless you have the latest, greatest, newest….” No get-rich-quick schemes.
KO,
I agree. I too took the 13 week online course – he offered it to veterans for free. His advice is a mixture of common sense, profound insight, Biblical principles, mild, friendly scolding and humor. (If only Episcopal preaching was as good.) He does a great deal of teaching as to how money works in America, and why “debt is dumb.” My wife – an accountant – agrees with almost everything he says (He is a little more Pentecostal than she). Using his system we are completely debt free, have a savings plan for retirement and can put our children through college without loans. I spent over $200 going to my last diocesan convention – Ramsey is a better investment and it isn’t too much to pay for all of that financial security.
I love the Dave Ramsey Show. Reportedly it’s the most listened to radio talk show on the air. And it’s easy to understand why it’s more popular than all those political talk shows; people get practical answers to something they care intensely about, their finances.
Especially every Friday, you can hear people call in and share their testimony of how they got out of debt, using Dave Ramsey’s simple plan (i.e., simple to understand, just hard to do). And then Dave gets them to yell “Freedom!” (like Mel Gibson at the climax of the movie Braveheart). It may be corny; but it’s actually real people telling how they found real freedom from the insanity of piling up lots of debt.
I think every church in America should include something like Dave’s Financial Peace University course, or the Crown Ministries (Howard Dayton) equivalent, as a part of stewardship programs. I really mean that. Literally.
David Handy+
I like him, too. I used to listen to him on the radio and he inspired me and my husband to get rid of our credit cards. We had four, not that many for an avg. American, but we paid them off and have no store credit cards. At Christmas, etc. we pay cash for presents or we don’t buy. It’s really liberating to only have bills for necessities. It really takes a load off. And also Dave inspired me to live more simply. I used to love to go shopping for “stuff” but now I hardly ever do. And I don’t miss it. And he’s pretty funny, too.