Dave Ramsey and Vacation

[perdidobay]

I meant to check the number...37% was stuck in my head....

Here's a paragraph from his site:

Dunn and Bradstreet say that spending cash hurts and registers psychologically. They also did a study proving that people who spend with plastic, even disciplined and responsible people, spend 12%-18% more. Those same people spend 37% more when using plastic at a fast food restaurant and 78% more at a vending machine.

Based on how you built wealth, sounds like you have more in common with DR than you think. LOL....

But when you post....
Sorry you were annoyed by my post. I was replying to KristinU's post about keeping DVC and I lost control, as often happens when I think about Dave Ramsey.

This goes back to my original question...why respond on a THREAD that OBVIOUSLY AGREES with Dave Ramsey [the OP is FOLLOWING TMMO]. That's where I have issue with your posts. They are HOSTILE in tone against DR and those that follow his plan [remember 'no self control' and I think crisi wrote 'what little respect I have for him' for example]. This is where I have issue. These posts are just to 'stir the pot' in my opinion, not really useful FOR THIS DISCUSSION. In another post that has a more generic question, your views and life experiences would be useful. I'm done wasting energy on this. Peace!

And by the way I AM DEBT FREE. Thanks.

First of all, congrats on being debt free!

We were living Dave's plan, way before Dave had a plan


I admit, my post was hostile against DR, I'm sorry, I'll never post on a Dave thread again unless it's asking what's wrong with his plan.

My comment on his plan being good for someone with no self control stands......sorry to imply you had none. Like I said, I don't know anyone's circumstances.
But even Dave says being an adult means doing what is right, not what feels good at that moment... isn't that called self control? That's what I meant.
I too, am done wasting energy on this...peace!

 

[Julia M]

I never said Dave was an idiot, and really, think about it, MOST people could live within their means IF they would control their spending. Some either don't plan or just don't WANT to live within their means. To me that's a lack of self control. Some people have things financially happen beyond their control, I know. That's different.
After all Dave himself says his advice is just common sense. I don't know anyone's situation and don't pretend to.

I get the feeling that the "difficulty" with Dave Ramsey, and people who follow his program very closely, and for people who do not (ie, can manage their money reasonably well without his structure) is that most people follow Dave Ramsey who have been unsuccessful (for whatever reasons), in managing their money effectively on their own. And when you find something that "saves" you in the area of finances, you're going to follow it closely, and not make up your own exceptions to his routines.

I think it's similiar to someone who has had a weight problem, or a drinking problem or problem with drugs. You wouldn't tell someone who is an alcoholic "oh come on, one drink won't hurt you". It's like a dieter who just can't eat chocolate. They may have other treats, but if they start eating chocolate, they can't stop. Yes, someone should be able to eat a piece of cake or scoop of ice cream without pigging out on the rest. But some people can't and know it, and live their life within those restrictions. If you lose weight on Weight Watchers, you often need to follow the program the rest of your life. On your own, you fall back into the same old patterns.

Some people can't use credit cards responsibly. They just can't. They know it about themselves, and live their life accordingly.

I don't need to follow Dave Ramsey. Dh and I, regardless of how much money we've made, have never carried credit card debt, and always save in advance for vacations, and so on. (However, don't talk to me about my weight)

It's like anything else. I have a hard time understanding why people can't have the self discipline to live within their means. Someone else can't understand why I have such a hard time with my eating.

Let's just not be too critical of what works for someone.

Julia

 

[crisi]

My issue with Ramsey's plan is that budgeting is a lot like dieting - not like alcoholism. With alcohol, you never need to take a drink again - you can avoid it completely. With eating and spending, these are things we need to do to survive - and I think Ramsey is a little to strict (the rice and beans, beans and rice while you pay off debt - would it hurt that much to pay off debt over a longer period of time and add a chicken breast! - I know I'm exaggerating his plan). I'm certainly no fan of expensive vacations while paying down debt, but I think the starvation diet leads to binge failure. Obviously, however, it works for lots of people.