Finances plus God equals Dave Ramsey

[SierraLea]

If you guys have never heard of this guy, check him out. What he says actually makes a lot of sense and he has a great sense of humor. Not really sure if this should go here, but it seemed like the best spot.

http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/home/

[Mr. Rogers]

I've read through some of his stuff. It looks like pretty wise advice. I'm planning on taking his financial course.

[Sheenar]

I took the Financial Peace University class and I highly recommend everyone take it if you get the opportunity. Life-changing stuff there.

[mechana2015]

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/3 ... t-poverty/ just to keep things in perspective here. The guy has some really good ideas, but also some rather poor ones.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/30/what-dave-ramsey-gets-wrong-about-poverty/ just to keep things in perspective here. The guy has some really good ideas, but also some rather poor ones.

Oh lord I LOVE Rachel Held Evans.

[SierraLea]

Did you guys know there's a teen program for this? It's called Generation Change and is run mostly by his daughter. The filming format is pretty creative, and they use a lot of different techniques. It's not as good as the Ramsey videos for content, but I think it's great for the Teens.

[Nate]

I choose to be poor.

[Xeno]

I choose to be poor.

Herman Cain was right!

[seaglass27]

I choose to be poor.

So did Jesus.

[uranium52081]

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/30/what-dave-ramsey-gets-wrong-about-poverty/ just to keep things in perspective here. The guy has some really good ideas, but also some rather poor ones.

Good article. And you're right it does sound like he focuses on some ideas that are unbiblical as well as the wonderful and God centered ideas he promotes. Just goes to show that as humans we must always seek the truth with discernment and open minds comparing all things to the scriptures. Anyone can be off a bit in their beliefs.

That being said I've recently read through half of his book "Total Money Makeover." I've seen nothing in it that has been unbiblical or against Christian principles. His whole ideology about debt is based on the Bible, as far as I can see. And I've already been implementing the plan he set forth. After the first week of being really stressed out, because I realized what a deep hole I was in..., I've really gotten focused on not only budgeting my money but my time as well. Is how I spend my money and time glorifying God? If not, how should I be spending these finite resources? It has really kick-started a new way of life for me in the best way possible. ^_^

[Yamamaya]

I don't like the cultural effect this guy has had on evangelical Christianity. He seems to have given many evangelicals who "never go into debt ever" a superiority complex. Not all debt is caused by being irresponsible, some is caused by medical emergencies(as if cancer wasn't bad enough already).
Not to mention the people that treat him like he's the Jesus of finance.

[Sheenar]

I don't like the cultural effect this guy has had on evangelical Christianity. He seems to have given many evangelicals who "never go into debt ever" a superiority complex. Not all debt is caused by being irresponsible, some is caused by medical emergencies(as if cancer wasn't bad enough already).
Not to mention the people that treat him like he's the Jesus of finance.

Agreed.

I use his system of budgeting because it has helped me be disciplined with the amount of money I have coming in each month. But he does not seem to understand (or be compassionate towards) those of us who live on fixed incomes and other types of assistance --his view seems to be that we got here through our own actions --when so many of us are dealing with disabilities which we have no control over and are not low-income by choice. So many of us would work and get out of subsidized housing and off assistance if we could. We have to eat and have housing and medical care --so what exactly does he expect us to do?

That is my beef with his teachings. The financial budgeting aspect of it is sound, however. The envelope system really does work to keep tabs/limits on spending. It has taught me to be better at saving and better at not spending money without a plan.

[Yamamaya]

Agreed.

I use his system of budgeting because it has helped me be disciplined with the amount of money I have coming in each month. But he does not seem to understand (or be compassionate towards) those of us who live on fixed incomes and other types of assistance --his view seems to be that we got here through our own actions --when so many of us are dealing with disabilities which we have no control over and are not low-income by choice. So many of us would work and get out of subsidized housing and off assistance if we could. We have to eat and have housing and medical care --so what exactly does he expect us to do?

That is my beef with his teachings. The financial budgeting aspect of it is sound, however. The envelope system really does work to keep tabs/limits on spending. It has taught me to be better at saving and better at not spending money without a plan.

Yeah he seems to take a harsh perspective on personal wealth. If you're poor, it's simply because you are lazy or unfit, which certainly isn't a Biblical view.

Reducing debt and budgeting are good ideas of course, but most people know that already. It's just putting it into practice in a productive way.

[shooraijin]

As a preemptive strike, let's not get into Ayn Rand or Objectivism much further, since that'll start skewing into politics real fast.

[Sheenar]

As a preemptive strike, let's not get into Ayn Rand or Objectivism much further, since that'll start skewing into politics real fast.

I don't understand what you mean, but I want to comply. Could you elaborate further (in a PM would be okay)? I Googled the above, but didn't arrive at anything I understood (I'm having more days of cognitive issues and have trouble processing --the Wikipedia article made no sense to me.) I'm not understanding how that fits into the conversation here.

I don't want to break any rules and want to make sure I stay in the parameters set.

Thank you.

[shooraijin]

You're fine. Carry on.