Wikinvest Wire

Det S. Dumb

Monday, February 15, 2010

The "get rid of debt" movement is going to be a real killer for the U.S. economy if it turns into a broader cultural movement which, when you think about it, it probably will since it's nearly impossible for millions and millions of Americans to just keep doing what they were doing.


I don't know much about Dave Ramsey, having only listened to him on the radio once or twice while driving, but his growing popularity says a lot about the changing attitudes in this country about money and debt, all of which are good for people and bad for banks.

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6 comments:

OldSouth said...

Not certain how having a high percentage of the country spending significantly less than they earn, owning houses outright, having cash cushions for the present and savings for the future could hurt the economy.

Ramsey preaches against consumer debt, and government debt and excessive taxation, because it destroys lives, families and communities.

Highly recommend you look into Dave Ramsey a bit more.

Thanks for your excellent work on this blog. Most helpful!!

Anonymous said...

Ramsey hates gold. Search gold at his website. He has much anger towards the yellow metal... like Darth Vader.

Chuck Fouts said...

Understanding finance isn't easy. While I don't agree with everything that Dave Ramsey says he provides program that works for a lot of people. You can nit pick the methods but I haven't seen any other popular financial guru provide a program that has bettered more people than Dave Ramsey's.

Tim said...

To be clear, the following was a tongue-in-cheek comment:
"The 'get rid of debt' movement is going to be a real killer for the U.S. economy"

Anonymous said...

Ramsay's appeal and only real value is to the completely financially unsophisticated who literally cannot excercise any control over their spending and borrowing. That's why they must physically destroy credit cards in order not to run them up. This is alchoholic style problem solving (never touch it, ever). Ramsay is so anti-debt that he goes overboard, all in the name of saving the rubes from themselves. No auto loans (even on a used car), no business debt (even to expand), yet he doesn't seem to mind as much real estate debt for investing. Ironic, since it happens to be the NUMBER ONE reason most callers and other americans were financially ruined in the last few years.

His "debt reduction" strategy is to pay off the small debts first, regardless of whether they carry 5% or 30% interest rates. Because being a dummy, that will make you feel better and like you're making more progress.

Go check his record. In '07 he was calling Peter Schiff names (crackpot, idiot, etc) and making snide comments about his imprisoned father while touting RE and Stocks as they were plunging. Hates gold, has made several insulting comments about those who buy it. To this day he wishes callers who want to "grab home bargains now" well and encourages them to go buy homes at "bargain prices". Yet if someone wants to borrow $5,000 on a $10,000 car to get to work reliably and safely he castigates them and tells them to buy a $500 beater.

Do a google search for "dave ramsey wrong" and you'll find web pages with more details on what he's completely wrong about. No sin, we all make mistakes. But this guy is so arrogant he refuses to admit it.

This is not a guy to be touting here. If you are an investor reading this website and can't manage to figure out that paying 18% interest on credit cards in an era of 1.5% CD rates is a bad idea, or that buying $40,000 luxury cars and $2,500 TVs on credit when you have no retirement fund isn't wise, you're a lost cause anyway.

This is trailer park finance. (I can say that, I am from GA and can see a trailer and a cow pasture from my window.)

This guy uses churches to get a foot in the door to sell books, tapes, and seminars to church-folk. Tacky. Borderline unethical.

btw, this ain't sour grapes. I have zero debt other than a 50% mortgage, fat retirement funds, two newer paid for autos, and we live on 50% of our after-tax income. He happens to say a lot of things that are correct. But then any moderately intelligent person could tell you the same thing in 5 minutes. And you don't even have to pay for a seminar or set of recordings to hear it.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S98_eMax9xo

Youtube video of Ramsey's Schiff comments. Never heard of him, never read the book, but he KNOWS Schiff is an idiot and wrong. Meanwhile, the market crashed shortly after this.

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