Any Dave Ramsey Followers??

[edk35]

Am I allowed to ask that?! Anyway....the Fox Business channel is one channel over from Fox News that we watch and I happened upon Dave Ramsey earlier this week. His show was sooooooo interesting. So I have been DVR'ing his daily show and watching it. I have to say there are some interesting stories with the people that call in. He actually got me interested in learning more so I have put a hold request on his book "The total Money Makeover". He actually made me realize how much moola we blow. Just curious. If you have a story you are willing to share I would love to hear it.

 

[Sleepingbooty]

We are! My husband and I love Dave Ramsey. We discovered him on the radio about 12 years ago when we were living in Nashville. You can download a podcast of his radio show (which I like better than his tv show) on his website. Good luck with the baby steps!

 

[sydneysmom]

I LOVE Dave Ramsey !! My DH was a "follower" before we got married....when we were dating, he kind of introduced me to the program, help me set up a budget and I've been doing it ever since. At that time I was divorced w/ a VERY tiny paycheck, a big mortgage, 2 dogs and a credit card debt. I needed some help desperately. I lived on Ramen noodles and spaghetti because my priority was the house and my dogs. I swore to myself no matter what, I was not going to lose my home. Being on a budget helped me tremendously. I always thought I was good w/ money, but once you are on a strict budget, it disciplines you. it's like money boot camp!!

Now that we're married, we follow the budget and have our envelopes. And pay cash for everything. We are in the middle of renovating and remodeling our 2 bathrooms....and paying cash for EVERYTHING. (actually, I put it on Disney visa for the Disney $$ then pay it off the night it hits the account)....I'm sure that might be a Dave no-no, but we never run a balance and it gets me Disney dollars....so unless Dave wants to give me some Dave Dollars, I'll be good and careful w/ my Disney card.

But we set aside cash each paycheck for everything that's an expense of ours and we also budget for going to dinner and the movies. ( we're not very big "go out and blow cash" people) We refinanced our house to a 15 year loan which worked out that it will save us $75,000 in interest vs. a 30 yr loan (plus, we got a better % rate than we had). Once we get past the remodeling projects and Disney this year, we're working towards a goal to pay the house off sooner, but one step at a time.

IMO, once you start doing the program, it's addiciting. it's fun to see how much you can save ....and I will tell you this, we NEVER have fights about money. Sure, sometimes we are like "do we REALLY need to spend that??", but we never have that stress at bill time. From someone who was terrified to balance her checkbook or open bills, I can tell you that it's a relief like no other. I'll never go back to credit or debt. it's quite a nice feeling of freedom to have that gone.

Good luck to you !! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions at all.

 

[edk35]

I LOVE Dave Ramsey !! My DH was a "follower" before we got married....when we were dating, he kind of introduced me to the program, help me set up a budget and I've been doing it ever since. At that time I was divorced w/ a VERY tiny paycheck, a big mortgage, 2 dogs and a credit card debt. I needed some help desperately. I lived on Ramen noodles and spaghetti because my priority was the house and my dogs. I swore to myself no matter what, I was not going to lose my home. Being on a budget helped me tremendously. I always thought I was good w/ money, but once you are on a strict budget, it disciplines you. it's like money boot camp!!

Now that we're married, we follow the budget and have our envelopes. And pay cash for everything. We are in the middle of renovating and remodeling our 2 bathrooms....and paying cash for EVERYTHING. (actually, I put it on Disney visa for the Disney $$ then pay it off the night it hits the account)....I'm sure that might be a Dave no-no, but we never run a balance and it gets me Disney dollars....so unless Dave wants to give me some Dave Dollars, I'll be good and careful w/ my Disney card.

But we set aside cash each paycheck for everything that's an expense of ours and we also budget for going to dinner and the movies. ( we're not very big "go out and blow cash" people) We refinanced our house to a 15 year loan which worked out that it will save us $75,000 in interest vs. a 30 yr loan (plus, we got a better % rate than we had). Once we get past the remodeling projects and Disney this year, we're working towards a goal to pay the house off sooner, but one step at a time.

IMO, once you start doing the program, it's addiciting. it's fun to see how much you can save ....and I will tell you this, we NEVER have fights about money. Sure, sometimes we are like "do we REALLY need to spend that??", but we never have that stress at bill time. From someone who was terrified to balance her checkbook or open bills, I can tell you that it's a relief like no other. I'll never go back to credit or debt. it's quite a nice feeling of freedom to have that gone.

Good luck to you !! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions at all.

Thanks for sharing!! LOL " Dave Dollars"

 

[bumbershoot]

I read that book, but I don't listen to him. I've scoured the free parts of his website and gotten LOTS of good info. And I'm on livinglikenooneele.com (llnoe.com), which is where I've gotten the "day to day this is what you do" info.

It's going GREAT.

DH and I NEVER fight about money anymore. Ever. And we used to be quite typical about that stuff. He doesn't act like I'm "saying no" just because I want to, when I remind him of our budget when he wants to buy toys. That alone is lovely.

We don't have lots of debts, but we have a car loan with NASTY interest that makes the interest on our DVC loan (which is an interest rate that people who have always been great with money think is highway robbery) look like nothing. We also had several small, old debts, one that was in collections but eating away at our "souls" or money-brains or just some small part of us.

We came to Ramsey via an impending layoff immediately after the 10 day cancellation period for DVC...we realized we were teetering on the brink...we got scared. And then DH got some big chunks of money thanks to layoff, contract work, and hire. In the middle there, we found Ramsey, and instead of blowing ALL of that money on a big vacation, we paid stuff down and off. Got the small annoying things taken care of. Put a bunch on the car. It was nice.

The car: we bought a 2005 Grand Marquis in August 2007. DH was in charge of paying on it, and he would routinely go well into the "grace period" before doing the monthly payment. And since there was a 2 business day wait before the money actually went through, we would sometimes pay all the way into the 10 day grace period. DH didn't realize that we were charged interest on all of those days. So a payment on the 1st took down the principal much quicker than paying on the 10th. Then we realized that paying even earlier than the due date was even better! When I figured this out, DH nearly cried..he thought the grace period was a no-interest-charged time, no penalties...of course it's just a time that they rake in the interest because people think it's "nice" of the bank to do...

Anyway, by July 2009 we still had $9,406.36 in principal left. So that's 2 years of paying on it a used car...

As of now we have $2041.51 in principal left.

A year ago we would never have thought we could pay that much on the car. But that's what Ramsey did for us. While some of that was the windfall money, most of it was just DH's hard work to get the paycheck, and our hard work to not fritter it away. Going to cash as much as possible, budgeting, setting a grocery budget (and we've actually taken it down a couple times), a "fun" budget amount, small bits of money that DH and I can spend as we wish...it's just made all the difference.

And once we're done with the car (very very soon), the "snowball" will all go towards DVC! And that will be good.


Anyway, read the book,check out his website, definitely check out llnoe.com...good luck!

 

[edk35]

I read that book, but I don't listen to him. I've scoured the free parts of his website and gotten LOTS of good info. And I'm on livinglikenooneele.com (llnoe.com), which is where I've gotten the "day to day this is what you do" info.

It's going GREAT.

DH and I NEVER fight about money anymore. Ever. And we used to be quite typical about that stuff. He doesn't act like I'm "saying no" just because I want to, when I remind him of our budget when he wants to buy toys. That alone is lovely.

We don't have lots of debts, but we have a car loan with NASTY interest that makes the interest on our DVC loan (which is an interest rate that people who have always been great with money think is highway robbery) look like nothing. We also had several small, old debts, one that was in collections but eating away at our "souls" or money-brains or just some small part of us.

We came to Ramsey via an impending layoff immediately after the 10 day cancellation period for DVC...we realized we were teetering on the brink...we got scared. And then DH got some big chunks of money thanks to layoff, contract work, and hire. In the middle there, we found Ramsey, and instead of blowing ALL of that money on a big vacation, we paid stuff down and off. Got the small annoying things taken care of. Put a bunch on the car. It was nice.

The car: we bought a 2005 Grand Marquis in August 2007. DH was in charge of paying on it, and he would routinely go well into the "grace period" before doing the monthly payment. And since there was a 2 business day wait before the money actually went through, we would sometimes pay all the way into the 10 day grace period. DH didn't realize that we were charged interest on all of those days. So a payment on the 1st took down the principal much quicker than paying on the 10th. Then we realized that paying even earlier than the due date was even better! When I figured this out, DH nearly cried..he thought the grace period was a no-interest-charged time, no penalties...of course it's just a time that they rake in the interest because people think it's "nice" of the bank to do...

Anyway, by July 2009 we still had $9,406.36 in principal left. So that's 2 years of paying on it a used car...

As of now we have $2041.51 in principal left.

A year ago we would never have thought we could pay that much on the car. But that's what Ramsey did for us. While some of that was the windfall money, most of it was just DH's hard work to get the paycheck, and our hard work to not fritter it away. Going to cash as much as possible, budgeting, setting a grocery budget (and we've actually taken it down a couple times), a "fun" budget amount, small bits of money that DH and I can spend as we wish...it's just made all the difference.

And once we're done with the car (very very soon), the "snowball" will all go towards DVC! And that will be good.


Anyway, read the book,check out his website, definitely check out llnoe.com...good luck!

Thanks for sharing your story too. Sounds like you are doing great and on a good track. We have never been budget people so to speak. I KNOW. However we purchased DVC in late Jan. 07 while staying at SOG. After purchasing DVC on that trip... we went on two DVC trips that year....so 3 trips to WDW. Then in 08 we went on two DVC trips and ONE SOG trip. Then the next year in 09 we went on two DVC trips. After that trip in Jan. 09 I realized WHOAHHHHHHHHHHHH We had gone DISNEY CRAZY. That was the first time I had DISNEY REMORSE and wished we had NOT gone in Jan. after just being there in Nov. However.....we went in the summer as plannned that same year. THen skipped Nov. 09 and Jan. 10. After that Jan. 09 trip...I started watching how we spent money. We blew money left and right. DD started college in the fall of 09 and that was ANOTHER EYE OPENER to the amt. of moola we were throwing away. We needed to reel in the spending and have done much better. WELL not compared to Dave Ramsey though.

 

[markbarbf]

i agree with most of what dave says. i have always lived within my means and been debt free, except mortgage.

for those of you like me that can also use a credit card responsible, check out the starwood credit card.

i have saved literally thousands of dollars on free lodging and never paid a penny of interest or late fees.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

Love Dave! He always says what I am thinking but would never have the nerve to say to someone else He is very stright forward and common-sense motivated. He has helped us totally change our way of thinking about credit cards and debt. A great place to start changing your life.

 

[sissy_42]

I just looked up his website today. I already like the "debt snowball" as I have a few smaller debts and a few larger (like DVC) My plan is to have DVC paid off in three years not the ten I financed for, so getting rid of all my small credit card bills will be more I can put towards it (and other travel expenses)

 

[BrettAZ]

Ramsey is incredible!!!!!! So is Clark Howard

 

[TaraLee4]

another follower here. Also recommend llnoe.com. Much slower then the DIS, but good information.

 

[DawnM]

DH and I follow a similar program, called Crown Financial through our church.

We started following about 4 years ago.

Since we started we have paid off all of our consumer debt (student loans and car loans), and have paid cash for our home improvement projects.

We also refinanced to a 15 year loan. Our mortgage is still more than we should have and we hope to sell and downsize in the near future.

I would LOVE to have no mortgage by the time our kids are in college.

Dawn

 

[elle bell]

We've been using Dave's plan for about a year now. I wrote about our experience so far on my blog. Click on the link in my signature to check it out.

Good luck!

 

[aggielawyer]

I found DR on the radio about 4 or 5 years ago. I had always been pretty good with money...I'm naturally a nerd/saver in DR lingo. But even though by normal standards I was good with money, I still made some stupid decisions, and listening to DR helped me really see the risks that I was taking by living my life with no margin. I'm definitely 'weird' now: I haven't had a credit card in 4 1/2 years, I've paid off my car and will never have a car payment again. Right now I'm working on saving my fully funded emergency fund and will then move on to save up a downpayment on a house.

To me, DR's plan is 'common sense' and I've shared it with several people. I converted my whole family, and share it with my clients.

 

[RN01]

Yes, we love Dave too! If you ever get a chance to see him in public go see him. He really knows how to get you motivated. We have been following his advice for about 10 years. Twice over the years it has been a lifesaver. 4 years ago my daughter had to have emergency back surgery. Was in the hospital 16 days in a town 3 hours away. We had the emergency fund to draw money from for food and lodging and other expenses. Also last August my other daughter had a brain hemmorage (yes 2 daughters major things happening... this is not made up), was life flighted to Riley's in Indy which is also 3 hours away. Was in the hospital for a month. I was off work for 2 1/2 months, only 1 month of that was paid. I don't know what we would have done if we hadn't had the emergency fund. It was really a life saver. It was nice to have one less thing to worry about when your kids have a major illness.

 

[PrincessBelle09]

elle bell, just pulled up your blog and I'm in the Triangle too! Good luck with the baby steps!

 

[TnTWalter]

quick search for you to read through for fun.

http://www.disboards.com/search.php?searchid=10513959

We celebrated 'debt free' buy going to WDW for the first time in Jan 2006...

been on 4-5-6 since forever and thanks to an inheritance we were able to do
#7. Without the plan, we would have blown threw it or had piles of debt to pay off instead of the house.

Woo Hoo.

I still shop at good will. We still budget. We still save for retirement college and sinking funds. I need to get back to the envelopes so I can easily see how much I have per category.....I've gotten a little sloppy this year.

It's hard but we are FREE.

I listen to the archives of his show while playing on the computer....

 

[elle bell]

PrincessBelle09 Thanks!

 

[summersalt]

elle bell, just pulled up your blog and I'm in the Triangle too! Good luck with the baby steps!

Howdy Neighbors! I was born and raised in Clayton. Moved to the coast about 10 years ago. On my way to being debit free too! Can't wait!
22 more months....

 

[elle bell]

summersalt I'm on a similar debt free timeline. Race you to the finish! Good luck.