Title: Complete Guide to MoneyAuthor: Dave Ramsey (American, 1960- )
Originally published: 2011
Page count: 346
Dates read: 4/6/2020-4/12/2020
2020 book goal progress: 10 out of 20
Reading category: TBR Shelf
Read my other book reviews for my 2020 goal HERE.
Description on back of book:
This book will teach you how money works. It's easy to read and ultra-practical with the information you need, like how to save, budget, dump debt, invest, and plan for college and retirement. You'll also learn the truth about credit cards and credit bureaus, how clever marketing can sway your decisions, what insurance you need (and which kinds are garbage) and more. These are the principles Dave learned - the same ones that have turned millions of families around. To go from debt and discontentment to Financial Peace will take some work, but it's not as far off as it seems. You just need will power and a plan.
First sentence:
"For the past couple of decades, I've been known as 'that money guy on the radio,' but if you had met me back in the late 1980s, you would have met a very different Dave Ramsey."
Review:
I was disappointed in this book because most of it I already knew. I was lucky that, while in college, I was required to take the class 'Church Administration and Personal Finance.' About a year or 2 after taking that class, while still in college, the same professor offered a seminar called 'Financial Bootcamp' - which I also attended. I have kept my notes from the class in the booklet that came with the seminar - both of which contained the same material. I still have those and keep them with me while I do my budget each month. When I compare that information to this book, the statistics, baby steps, and even some quotes from other people are all the same. So, I'm guessing I went through a Financial Peace University class twice without really knowing it.
I skimmed much of the book because I already knew the information and I already am practicing most of the baby steps. This book was persuasive, it was trying to convince the reader that debt was bad (you don't need to convince me of that - I have a mountain of student debt I'm working on paying off)... but what I really wanted was information and it just didn't have much more than I already knew. There was a chapter on investing, another on retirement, one on mortgages, and the last on giving. Those chapters were why I got the book and I did learn some things from them... but for only a quarter of the book? Not worth it.
The anecdotes felt gimmicky and it really bothered me that he quoted himself (multiple times) from other books he's published. It made me feel like he didn't really have anything new to say - he just wanted to publish another book to make more money himself. If you haven't ever taken a financial class/seminar or been taught about finances from your parents, spouse, or someone else, I would suggest reading his Total Money Makeover book instead of this one. I haven't read it myself, but he said it covers his seven baby steps in more depth, which would probably be more helpful to you than this book. If you've already done Financial Peace University or read another book by him, I wouldn't waste your time on this one.
Here are his baby steps:
1. Put $1,000 into an emergency fund
2. Pay off all debt using the debt snowball
3. Put 3-6 months of expenses into your emergency fund
4. Invest 15% of your household income into ROTH IRAs and pre-tax retirement plans
5. Begin college funding for your kids
6. Pay off your home early
7. Build wealth and give
I skimmed much of the book because I already knew the information and I already am practicing most of the baby steps. This book was persuasive, it was trying to convince the reader that debt was bad (you don't need to convince me of that - I have a mountain of student debt I'm working on paying off)... but what I really wanted was information and it just didn't have much more than I already knew. There was a chapter on investing, another on retirement, one on mortgages, and the last on giving. Those chapters were why I got the book and I did learn some things from them... but for only a quarter of the book? Not worth it.
The anecdotes felt gimmicky and it really bothered me that he quoted himself (multiple times) from other books he's published. It made me feel like he didn't really have anything new to say - he just wanted to publish another book to make more money himself. If you haven't ever taken a financial class/seminar or been taught about finances from your parents, spouse, or someone else, I would suggest reading his Total Money Makeover book instead of this one. I haven't read it myself, but he said it covers his seven baby steps in more depth, which would probably be more helpful to you than this book. If you've already done Financial Peace University or read another book by him, I wouldn't waste your time on this one.
Here are his baby steps:
1. Put $1,000 into an emergency fund
2. Pay off all debt using the debt snowball
3. Put 3-6 months of expenses into your emergency fund
4. Invest 15% of your household income into ROTH IRAs and pre-tax retirement plans
5. Begin college funding for your kids
6. Pay off your home early
7. Build wealth and give
Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Dave Ramsey have the last words:
"I once heard the story of a clever English professor who wanted to teach her students the power of perspective. She walked into class and wrote the following on the board:
A WOMAN WITHOUT HER MAN IS NOTHING
She picked two volunteers from the class, one man and one woman. She brought them to the front of the room, handed each of them a marker, and asked them to provide the appropriate punctuation for the sentence she had written. The young man went first. He didn't pause at all as he walked up and made three quick marks making the sentence read:
A WOMAN, WITHOUT HER MAN, IS NOTHING.
He stepped back smiling, confident that he had aced the assignment. Now it was the young woman's turn. She approached the board, shaking her head, and without hesitation, she erased two of the guy's marks and replaced them with the following:
A WOMAN: WITHOUT HER, MAN IS NOTHING.
The lesson, of course, is that two people can look at the same thing but see two very different interpretations. It's all about our perspective; a simple change in perspective can fundamentally change our whole lives."
"I once heard the story of a clever English professor who wanted to teach her students the power of perspective. She walked into class and wrote the following on the board:
A WOMAN WITHOUT HER MAN IS NOTHING
She picked two volunteers from the class, one man and one woman. She brought them to the front of the room, handed each of them a marker, and asked them to provide the appropriate punctuation for the sentence she had written. The young man went first. He didn't pause at all as he walked up and made three quick marks making the sentence read:
A WOMAN, WITHOUT HER MAN, IS NOTHING.
He stepped back smiling, confident that he had aced the assignment. Now it was the young woman's turn. She approached the board, shaking her head, and without hesitation, she erased two of the guy's marks and replaced them with the following:
A WOMAN: WITHOUT HER, MAN IS NOTHING.
The lesson, of course, is that two people can look at the same thing but see two very different interpretations. It's all about our perspective; a simple change in perspective can fundamentally change our whole lives."
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