Comments on: Becoming debt-free with Dave Ramsey’s plan

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:37:48 +0000

I enjoy listening to him. Ramsey has an easy to follow approach that just about anyone can benefit from.

By: Buddystips

Buddystips — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:02:29 +0000

I admire Dave Ramsey’s way of doing business…he always cuts straight t0 the point and his Steps are practical approaches to debt reduction and debt elimination. I do have a difference of opinion with him on putting debt elimination as a top priority ahead of savings. I belive you should do both at the same time. For example, I have heard him advise someone with a 401K match program to forget the match and put all of the funds against the debt…until the debt is eliminated, then renew the match program. Time is your friend in savings and investments…so the longer you take to begin saving the less time you have to accrue investment benefits. In the exmple above, if the firm you work for matches say the first $3,000, it makes no sense not to put at a minimum the $3,000 into the 401K to receive the match…a 100% return on your money. Hence the difference of opinion. I endorse doing both…aggressively reduce your debt (I mean aggressively!) and save at the same time (Establish a good automatic savings program which is tax deferred preferrably). You get the benefit of time for your investment, a tax break and a steady path to debt reduction. I know there are opinions for both sides….this is mine. Dave Ramsey has helped millions discover financial planning…no small feat!

By: RE Ramcharan

RE Ramcharan — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:32:10 +0000

There’s nothing wrong with Dave Ramsey’s plan. But making it work requires that you already have a substantial income and that Nothing Bad happens to you for at least a few months.
If neither of those fits, the baby steps will remain nice ideas.

By: Andrew @ Earn Give Save

Andrew @ Earn Give Save — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:06:08 +0000

Wow! You really got going on the Baby Steps plan quickly—congratulations!

By: John S.

John S. — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:47:41 +0000

We must be the exception to the rule, as I’ve never seen or heard of anyone using Dave Ramsey’s system that (seemed to have) much debt compared to their yearly income – even Dustin at $58,000 seems small, given that two car loans could easily equal this amount. Tack on student loans for undergrad and graduate school, credit cards, and other loans (not to mention a mortgage), and WHAM! your debt goes into the stratosphere.

I could never get through on the phone line to speak with Dave about this issue; if you get a chance to listen to his program, pay attention to the debt amounts, and ask yourself if the debt seems to be large compared to the average household income (approximately $60,000).

By: CherylNH

CherylNH — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:00:55 +0000

Good job on your article! I, too, am a fan of Dave Ramsey. We have paid of $15,000 in 18 months. We have changed our plan a bit as well, which would be out of line with Dave’s plan.
My husband was layed off from his job. We were fortunate enough to know it was coming in advance which is why we went nuts getting out of debt!
We still have a student loan of $12,000 and a personal loan of aprox $2500. We have decided not to pay those off early at this time. The money that was going on our debt snowball. We have put a hold on Baby step 2 and moved onto Baby step 3- a fully funded emergency fund of 3-6 months.
In the summer of 2010, the personal loan will be fully paid off based on our current monthly payment. My husband, if he is not able to secure work by then, we be off unemployment and on early social security. This will reduce our income again, so we will need the emergency fund to get us through a time to make whatever changes we will need to make. We think going to baby step 3 is the way to go.
In addition, we have not put anything toward retirement, which I still have about 20 years to save for. We are also putting 10% of my income toward that so we are not in this reduced income situation again when I retire!

Dave’s Plan was exactly what we needed to really look at our income/expenses in detail-together as a couple. It has helped us achieve debt reduction we would never have actually realized without a plan.

By: Jane

Jane — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:25:11 +0000

Dave Ramsey’s system is AMAZING! My husband and I have a lot more debt than you did, and we aren’t currently paying minimums on anything other than our car payments, so we are trying to figure out where to start. Best of luck to you in becoming debt free!! KUDOS for realizing that Debt Free is the way to be!

By: Ken

Ken — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:15:24 +0000

You can’t go wrong with Dave Ramsey’s advice. Good to hear you have the goal to be debt free.

By: Dustin | Engaged Marriage

Dustin | Engaged Marriage — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 20:21:26 +0000

I am a big Dave Ramsey fan also. Our family paid off around $58,000 in debt and called into Dave’s radio show last February to announce our new freedom to the world. The impact that financial freedom has had on our marriage and our family’s well-being is simply awesome.