Not to Christianity, but to his How to Live Debt-Free system. Megan McArdle, a University of Chicago MBA, tells how he won her over here. Excerpt:
Though I did take the audio CD of Ramsey's personal witness being handed out free at the exit, I'm afraid that Jesus and I aren't really any better acquainted than we were before. Nonetheless, Ramsey has made a convert out of a secular journalist with one of the pricey M.B.A.s he likes to poke fun at. I have never felt as serenely in control of my finances as I have during these months of knowing that every single dollar is where it is supposed to be: either in the bank, or on a well-chaperoned date with our envelope organizer. The process has been surprisingly painless but, even more surprisingly, pleasant.Of course, both my fiancé and I have already acquired our expensive educations and a pair of decent cars. We don't have any kids, we don't own a home, and it won't hurt us to rent a few extra years until we have paid off the last of our student loans and can afford a 20 percent down payment on a house. It is easier for us to be weird than for most of our peers.
On the other hand, Americans aren't going to fix our national financial problems until a lot more people decide to drop out of the "normal" competition to see who can borrow the most money in order to bid on a fixed number of homes in affluent school districts and places at selective colleges. You don't need to be a Christian to look for a better way. Even an unbeliever knew enough to listen up when he saw the bright light on the road to Damascus.
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Re: Yep, Dave Ramsey gives a good common-sense approach to finance.
Some of it is good advice, some of it less so. Credit cards may be a problem for some-- but for many of us who pay our balance each month, they aren't and may even offer important side benefits (better protection than debit cards, the ability to dispute charges without being out the money, etc.) As for carrying around a lot of cash, I learned my lesson on that when I was mugged in college, and lost more than half a paycheck in cash. Thank you but no. I've carried only very minimal cash ever since (enough for vending machines at work and very small purchases). Also, I have noticed that I tend to regard cash withdrawn from the bank as money already spent, and I have less compunction about blowing through it than I do with using my debit card (my main payment vehicle).
Also, bankruptcy may be necessary for people in less extreme circumstances than he suggests. If you really are in deep and can't manage to pay down principal at all then you are throwing good money after bad by keeping at it and you should consult a professional as to your best course.
by the way, Meagan also recently mentioned planning to spend c. 40K on her upcoming wedding (and considered that rather cheap), so her discovery of frugality sounds a bit like Marie Antoinette's discovery of the joys of shepherdessing.
(And what is up with that accursed "Thanksgiving on CNN" ad? It pops up everytime I do anything on this site!)
Actually, katea, Dave said he thought that if everyone did as he suggests, the economy would not shrivel up. It might not be as zingy as it could if everyone borrowed to the hilt, but it most certainly would not dry up. People still need toilet paper, clothing, computer paper, furniture, homes, etc. They would still be buying all of that. But he thought the economy would be more stable, because of these practices. Sounds good to me, especially in these economically troubled times.
Problem is: If a majority of Americans stop living beyond their means our whole economy will shrivel up.
Wow, incomprehensible.
Any capitalist economy relies on several things to keep working... Productivity, profit, and liquidity.
DEBT is the biggest obstacle to consumption. Why? Because we spend 36,000 to buy a 25,000 dollar car. We pay 725,000 to buy a 247,000 house. We pay $4200 to buy a $2700 couch.
The differences between cost and "payment" are unproductive transfers of wealth to people who produced nothing to get it.
The excessive debt for purchasing has created a huge shortage of capital needed to PRODUCE things of value.
No, our economy would be booming, if we all lived by Ramsey's rules.
Re: Despite the economists proclamations, regular America is still in a recession. It's only Goldman, JP Morgan Chase and Warren Buffet who are out of the recession).
Actually that's not true. About 1/4 of our metropolitan areas are now out of recession. Mainly smaller cities, scattered all around the country. Here in Baltimore we never did have much of a recession: a few resturants closed, but otherwise not much indication of economic woes. Our job market is astonishingly tight, one opening per unemployed worker (in Detroit it's 1 to 18)
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