Customer Reviews

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'd never heard of Dave Ramsey until about 6 months ago when my mentor suggested I read his book. I found out later that he also had a radio show. I know, I know...I live under a rock. :) (We don't have a local affiliate where I live that carries his show.)

Anyway, this book gets you to think, which is the most important thing that it does. Does it give all of the most intricate details? Not always, but it doesn't need to. If you can't make your mortgage payment this month and don't have food on the table, do you really care about the intricacies of the ROI of a particular mutual fund? Hell, no!

The most important thing this book does is give you belief. He MAKES the reader analyze their situation and does a darn good job of it. The stories of success written by Dave's faithful listeners are what solidifies this book, not just Dave's messages. I know I would not be as read to commit to fixing my own problems if it wasn't for these stories. They are key...injections of belief.

God Bless Dave Ramsey and his audience for this great read. I'm re-working our budget right now! :)

There are so many books on being financially set that you wonder if there can be another book that has the right principles. Almost like all those diet books out there.

I needed some help and knew of 10 other families in need of help also. So we gathered together and did a course of study using this book as our main textbook. The results???

EVERY family is doing much better financially 4 months after completion of our studies. I am referring to 10 different families with 10 different backgrounds!!!

My statement is that if it can work for this group there is no reason why it cannot work for you. The principles are simple to understand and therefore to follow. The key is learning how to really do a monthly budget with enough room to flow without choking through the month.

IT WORKS!!!!

This book can definitely change lives. Dave Ramsey provides a step by step "real life" approach to tackling your financial woes. I can't say enough good things about this book.

Are you sick of living paycheck to paycheck?

Are you tired of worrying about your retirement funds?

Are you in a financial mess?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need Dave Ramsey's "The Total Money Makeover". It is a great read. It has helped my family immensely; though we need to concentrate a little more in certain areas.

This book can teach you how to become debt-free in three to four years of sincere effort.

Well, what are you waiting for? Click the "BUY" button. It may be the best move you've ever made.

See ya next review.
www.therunninggirl.com

Wow! What a life-changing book. Dave Ramsey hit the nail right on the head. Getting out of debt and building wealth requires more than knowledge of what we need to do with our money, it requires agreement between husband and wife, and the determination to change.

If you have not purchased this book, I would suggest you buy it first in the audio form. My wife and I listened to it while driving the 45 mile trip to Lewiston, Idaho to purchase groceries. Not only was it good entertainment, but it brought us to agreement for the first time in over thirty years of marriage on how to handle our money. Yes, even preachers and their wives can argue over money, only that we call it intense fellowship rather than an argument.

Although I have immense respect for the late Larry Burkett, Dave Ramsey is a whole lot easier to listen to. Dave provides the motivation and the empathy that Mr. Burkett did not. I almost laughed until tears came welling out of my eyes as Dave told of his desperate attempts to keep his Jaguar despite going bankrupt. Dave mantra-If you live like nobody else, you will get to live like nobody else, got me to thinking about our spending decisions. It was sobering. My wife and I now write a monthly budget and are planning to be completely out of consumer debt within eighteen months. It will not be easy but we are determined that we are going to achieve the freedom that Christ desires for us. How in the world, can anybody be truly free in Christ, when they owe money to VISA and GMAC?

Any complaints? Yeah, I got one. I have yet to be convinced of his argument that a Debit Card is just as safe as a credit card. I often listen to consumer advocate Clark Howard on the radio, and he warns his audience almost daily on the dangers of these fake Visa Cards. Listeners call up and tell nightmare stories of being defrauded by unethical merchants or having their checking accounts drained by thieves and taking weeks, if not months to get their money back if they got their money back at all. I then asked my local banker if they would restore funds in my checking account if I were defrauded with my Debit Card and how many days that would take. My bankers reply shocked me. Not only would it take ten days to restore my funds, but if the thief got a hold of my pin number to drain my checking account the bank would assume no responsibility to restore my funds. Even if my pin number was locked in a safe at home and the thieves broke into my home, dynamited my safe and stole my pin number. Why? Because we are supposed to have that number memorized and not written down. Sorry Dave, I am going to follow Clarks advice on this one.

By the way, I am working intensely with my young families in the church trying to get each of them to do a total money makeover. They will retire wealthy if they follow through on Daves advice. This is truly a life-changing book.

I never heard of Mr.Ramsey before. I found this book at the library and read it. It is a quick read once you decide to skip all the testimonials. He makes sense and good points. He tells you its your problem and he gives you a plan you can follow or not. His plan I think follows a path that makes you determined and helps you see progress.
Example: eliminating the credit cards from lowest to highest. This goes against common thought. But as he says. You wipe it out and put that money on the next and down the line. Seeing it happen is a help aid as well as good sense. Looking at what interest rates and all that stuff is plain dumb. Overcomplicates it if you ask me. But we are told that is what we need to do (I recall some finance clown saying Debt is necessary. Totally unbelievable). Take it from me. Doing from the interest angle or from highest to lowest don't work. I have never seen it work. You need more money to make the big money go away. Take if from the smaller payments. Simple math.
Debt ruins lives and marriages and families. Its a bad thing and we all know it. Kinda like being told smoking is really bad for you, we all know it, known it a long time, but people still do it.
Mr. Ramsey does a very in your face thing. He preaches,money saving, simple investing techniques and, when its all done, charity, he preaches good will, he shows that money is not for money's sake. That is unusual in a finance book.
I am going to try his methods. On paper it looks like it will work. So far. I got nothing to lose except debt.
For the record:I have even spoken to a debt free person who used his methods. He made a good point. "Ramsey wrote the book, I'm the one that lost the debt on my own."

I highly recommand this book to anyone wanting a simple plan to get out of debt and some common sense advice to go along with it. I wish I had this book when I was 22. I would probably have a million by now. What makes this book so motivating is that he has real life experience. His last name is not Kennedy or Rockafellar.

I have just finished the book and reading the reviews posted to date. The book is wonderful and provides the reader with a simple tool set to eliminate debt and build wealth. The book and the radio program are more importantly, MOTIVATIONAL.

We all know it's important to visit the dentist, but who wants to?

I take exception to those who criticise dave for "selling" and offering simple and sometimes misleading advice.

At least Dave is earning a living by helping others, can we all say the same?

Also paying off a low interest loan before a higher interest loan, while not mathematically correct, is motivational and helps to get the "snowball" rolling.

Motivation and simplicity is of value. This book is a tremendous tool that will better your life if the steps are followed.

For the "elites" who consider this book a lot of fluff, you have missed the point.

For those who want a chance at a better life for them and their family, buy this book now.

Oh yeah, I can't tell you how many times I've heard Dave offer free products and services to those in true need. Dave Ramsey is either the best actor on the radio, or a person who truly has a mission in life to help others. I choose to believe the latter.

And for the "Elites" out there, If you are so savy that you can condem this book and the motives of the author, why did you by the book?

Joe

I enjoy discussions about my finances about as much as I enjoy talking about my weight. I certainly need to work on both, but I'd prefer to avoid the topics if at all possible, thank you very much. Can I get an "amen"?

Dave Ramsey, radio talk show host, author and all-around financial guru, is no stranger to this ostrich routine. After his own bankruptcy he came to the conclusion that the key to financial (and physical) fitness isn't knowing all the tricks of the money trade; it's being honest with yourself. "If I can control the guy in the mirror, I can be skinny and rich," he says in his new book THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER.

In other words, you have to get your head out of the sand. Okay, I have to get my head out of the sand.

Leaving the skinny to other books, Ramsey is a prophet to those who want to be rich but would settle for being financially stable. It's clear that this is a large group, given the popularity of Ramsey's radio show and books. After reading THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER, I can see why they flock to him for advice.

Ramsey's principles are simple and straightforward. Pay cash. Pay off debts from smallest to largest. Create an emergency fund. He provides easy-to-understand answers to many seemingly complex questions about budgeting, retirement funds, saving for college education, and more.

Large pullout quotes scattered throughout the book offer bite-sized financial advice and factoids in Ramsey's typically direct manner:

"A new $28,000 car will lose about $17,000 of value in the first four years you own it. To get the same result, you could toss a $100 bill out the window once a week during your commute."

"Looking to spend $100 per month on life insurance? You could pay $7 a month toward term insurance and invest the remaining $93. But go with a cash-value policy if you'd rather have someone else earn interest on your investments."

"49% of Americans could cover less than one months' expenses if they lost their income."

"If your mortgage payment is $900 and the interest portion is $830, you will pay that year around $10,000 in interest. What a great tax deduction! Right? Otherwise, you'd pay $3,000 in taxes on that $10,000. But who in their right mind would chose to trade $10,000 for $3,000?"

All of this advice is helpful and eye opening, but what Ramsey really excels at is presenting inspirational tales of those who were once, but are no longer, in financial disarray. Their stories make up at least a third of the book, and the cumulative effect is that of a published pep rally designed to get people pumped up about saving money. And it works.

This is a must-read book for anyone whose looking for a little basic financial information and a whole lot of courage to finally put away the ostrich suit.

--- Reviewed by Lisa Ann Cockrel

The absolute best book you can get regarding finances! More than anything, this book offers hope. Applying these amazingly simple principles will forever change your life and your family tree.

THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ! I now worship Dave's principles. You cannot go another day without this book--it is the best thing you can do for yourself and/or your family. Most financial books (and radio talk-shows) talk about how to leverage your debt. Dave talks about how to NEVER have debt again and pay CASH. And I mean for everything including cars and houses. Sounds crazy, but with simple math he makes you realize how easy it can actually be! Financial Peace is a great one too (by Dave), but the Total Money Makeover is a "nuts and bolts" plan. GET IT! You will not regret it.