Credit Debt Cures

Has anyone tried the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover program and would you recommend it?

Public Comments

1. I've listened to his radio show and honestly think he has a good program. He basically preaches the things I was doing anyway (get rid of your credit cards, pay off your bad debt, save) and they really work. His show has a spiritual aspect to it but is not at all preachy or ideological, which is always a huge turn off for me.
2. My husband has read his book and listens to his show. We are doing this program and it is working great. We do not have to worry if something breaks and are planning for our future. I would definitely try it if I were you.
3. My wife and I are on his plan now. It makes alot of sense. Common sense. We will be debt free in about 3 yrs including the home.
4. Same info, different package. Garrett Sutton, Carolyn White, and others all offer the same info...make more money, live on less, pay off debt, save...etc. The problem is they don't tell you how to save or how to make more. There is a site that has an actual plan, that shows you how to save without giving up your morning coffee, how to earn extra money without any additional expenses or time away from the family and a debt strategy that gives you small wins to keep you on track. Best of all, this site offers the info for free. I'm afraid to post it here for fear of violating the rules. Email me if you are interested. I believe the Money Makeover costs money which is a step in the opposite direction.
5. I don't think the poster "Christopher" has read The Total Money Makeover. The book on Ramsey's website costs about $16 and when he has a sale it costs $10. FPU costs about $130 (how much did you spend at Walmart/Target etc the last time you went??) and his live event costs about $39. All very reasonable. FPU is a life time membership- so you can keep going back for free after you pay the first time. Dave's program works. We are on it and doing great. We finally aren't having fights about money, we are going in the same directions, we have goals for our money and we haven't made any more money than when we started. We now have a plan for our money. Before after we paid bills, what ever was left in the check book we would spend, now we allocate that money to a category. We haven't had an "emergency" in a year. We don't miss the credit cards. We have read the book and we have been through FPU (Financial Peace University) and been to a live event. All money well worth the peace we are going through. We highly recommend his program. You can start with the book and determine if you need more after that! (I have read Suze Orman and Howard Dayton and like Dave's no nonsense easy plan the best.)
6. His plan about paying off all debt and living beneath your income makes good sense. I don't agree with a lot of the other stuff he says like carrying around cash rather than paying with credit cards and just paying them in full each month. You can easily do his plan just by doing the book and listening to his radio show for free. No need to buy anything. Good luck!
7. YES! After reading the Total Money Makeover and getting on a budget we finally feel like we have control of our money. By following Dave's baby steps, we've got $1000 starter emergency fund, and have paid off about 10% of our debt in 3 months. We've never been able make that kind of progress until we starting doing it his way. Having the budget and starter emergency fund has also been a huge comfort. When things come up that you have to pay for, it's just a review of your budget and figuring out where to find the money. If it's not out of the budget, you know you have that emergency fund. It's worth the couple of bucks to buy and read the book. It's a life-changing experience.