Dave Ramsey
does anyone else listen to Dave Ramsey on the radio? me and my wife are regular listeners and we are trying to live a credit free lifestyle we rarely use CC have no consumer debt so our only payment is the mortgage, the only thing I don't completly agree with him on is REI he tells folks who ask to save and pay cash if they want a rental or to do a fix/flip.
any thoughts?
His advice may be ( and I repeat may be ) ok for people who are not looking to invest and want to securely hold on the few things that they will own (i.e. owning everything free and clear ), but for investors that sounds like the worst advice I have ever heard. Why would you want to wait on investing to acquire enough cash to make an investment when you can borrow for a short time, let the lender make a little cash and you keep the rest. His advise might be "safe" but very limiting.
Where is the leverage when you do not use credit? The world works on credit and without it you are like a wounded bird attempting to fly South against the breeze, without protection and little food. At the end of the day this bird is exhausted, and weary from the journey. Take the advice, build a credit worthy empire, then feel proud enough to make a few thousand bucks doing so.
Eric & Rosa
[addsig]
I agree with most of what you guys have said, but I do think we need to be very cafeful about overextending ourselves with credit especially with credit cards that are used to buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like. just read the post at the top of the page about the lady and her husband who want to buy a house but have $60K in cc debt.
I think you have to consider the source. Dave Ramsey has a B.S. degree in Finance and Real Estate from the University of Tennessee and still suffered a personal financial loss of a 4 million dollar real estate portfolio in the 80s.
This experience shaped his perspective on debt and may be why he has become such a strong proponent of debt avoidance.
never heard of the guy, is the radio show syndicated nationwide or is it a local broadcast?
I am a CI and also a Dave Ramsey fan.
Dave was over leveraged before he went bankrupt.
I didn't really pay attention to my own situation until this past year when Greensboro had a really bad rental market and we suddenly had 30% of our units vacant.
Our debt really looked me into the eye. My wife and I are going through Daves 'Total Money Makeover" right now and will be putting the baby steps into action ASAP right after the book.
Not only do I want to own RE, I also want to become debt free as well.
For those who have never listened to him before, you can go to his website at http://www.daveramsey.com[ Edited by joel on Date 02/18/2004 ]