The Dave Ramsey DEBT BLOG

Dave Says - January 24, 2012
Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:01:42 CST

In your plan, you talk about Baby Step 3 as saving enough to have three to six months of expenses ...

Wrecked my financial life by helping parents
Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:50:33 CST

I was a very successful twenty some year old back in the late 90's. I was working for a top 5 fortune 500 companies as a road warrior consultant in the IT field making well over $100K! I saved every penny I could save. When my parents wanted to put a retail shop together in 2004, I agreed to help. I gave them $85K cash I saved up and let them use my credit. The next thing I knew, they racked up more than $130K debt under my name in less than 2 years buying inventory. Well, I was helping my parents right? By the time I found my Mr.Right and got married and ready to purchase a house, our application for mortgage got turned down. I didn't realize that over the years when my parents had free access to my credit, they built up so much debt under my name, that my credit is no longer worthy. The lender told me that my husband had to go solo on the mortgage. But since he doesn't make enough income alone, we could not qualify for the house we wanted. Although I was still making really good money, it didn't matter. We opted for a tiny house with no garage and a complete fix upper with no insulation nor plumbing. When I had a baby, the living condition got pretty terrible. My parents were shocked too after they found out what they did to me and vowed to pay off the debt under my name as soon as possible. And they did. It took them over 5 years to pay off the credit cards under my name and restored my credit. I just bought a beautiful house with my husband a month ago. I don't regret helping my parents. But if I knew the consequences of letting someone borrow my credit, I probably would try to come up with some other ways to help them.

Plastic Surgery thanks to Total Money Makeover
Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:33:52 CST

Yesterday in Atlanta my life was changed because I attended Total Money Makeover. I'm a single Dad of 3 Teenagers/Young Adults. I called a family meeting afterwards and performed Plastic Surgery, cutting all my credit cards, including the Kay Jewelers card that is "Doghouse Prevention" for my girlfriend. My Emergency Fund will have to be just a little bit larger to cover the inevitable times in the future when I'll do something stupid, and have to make a jewelry purchase in order to stay out of the doghouse. Today I put a Security Freeze on my Credit with all 3 Credit Reporting Agencies so that I'm protected against Identity Theft, and prevented from ever again making stupid impulse Credit decisions. Thanks to you and your whole team, tomorrow is my 49th Birthday and I'm taking the Baby Steps necessary to get out of debt and live the second half of my life debt free. And through the beauty of Social Networking I have been spreading the word to all of my Friends and Family on Facebook. I want everyone I know to learn how to live debt free.

Murphy's out of the house!!!
Sun, 22 Jan 2012 07:03:56 CST

Dear Dave, GOD IS GOOD! This is our ?debt free scream? and I have to share how good GOD is! 31 months ago we got serious about your program. We had a HELOC and bought a boat (we?re serious fishing people) we owed quite a bit on. In 30 months, with lots of sweat-equity & after $53,216.64, we became debt-free (except for the house) on Christmas day! During this & while we had NO $, the car broke 4 times, then had a major accident totaling it out & emergently having to buy a new car, the house A/C went out, the house water heater died, and we really felt ?Murphy? had moved into our basement. This week I received our first paycheck that goes 100% into savings! Yesterday the (new-to-us / used) car broke on the way to work - estimated $800 was repaired for only $368! We then came home from work to a freezing cold house - furnace died. Thought we needed a whole new furnace, but repair guy fixed it for a mere $300! WE HAVE THE SAVINGS TO COVER BOTH OF THESE!!!!! THANK YOU!!!! AND THANK GOD!!! Grateful & debt free in Grand Rapids, MI, Chris & Amy

We are attacking our $703,000 debt witha plan
Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:43:11 CST

I always thought we are very responsible people since we have no credit card debt, no student loans, no car payments and no equity line of credit. The only debt is our mortgages from three properties, of which two of them are rentals. We never really considered them as "debt", until I learned about a guy named "Dave Ramsey". I took a hard look at these so called "good debt". The reality is, we have a whopping $703K debt and these mortgages keep us away from our child and we HAVE to work hard on our jobs to juggle all three payments. Just for the fun of it, I sat down and used Dave's debt snow ball tool available right here on his site. I figured I can probably set aside $1500 a month to throw at the mortgage payment and started plugging the numbers away...The result is astonishing!! Our smallest mortgage is $86K, by paying extra $1500 a month starting Jan 2013 (I need a year to build up our emergency fund), the mortgage will be paid off by 2016. Then roll the rental income and the $1500 extra payment into my next rental, which has $200K outstanding balance now, it will be paid off in 2018 (I have a 10 year loan on it). Then, here is the best part, roll over all my rental income plus the original $1500 extra payment into my current residence, which has $417K mortgage balance, the house will be paid off in 2023!!! Are you serious? It would have taken 30 years or more if we did nothing extra. Now all I have to do is to put aside $1500 a month and we can be debt free for real in 11 years? When I showed the graph to my husband, who is a CPA, he is immediately on board with the idea. We made a budget plan and found the places to cut that $1500. It's so motivating so it's really not that hard to cut other expenses in exchange of this GREAT FREEDOM. The hardest part is to be aware of the issue and lay out the plan to do it. The rest of it is simply following the plan. We are only on our 1st month here and I just moved our first $1500 aside, but I am so anticipating this whole process. Every month goes by, we are one step closer to total financial freedom!

Never Co-sign Means NEVER ! ! !
Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:28:01 CST

In August of 2008, I co-signed for a pickup with my younger brother so he could lower his car payment. I felt uneasy about it at the time, but with the help of some pressure and guilt, I did it. My brother made his first four payments on time, no problem; however, he was late on EVERY payment since then and often missing payments for months at a time. We did a workout loan in December of 2010 in order to lower the payment to something he could afford, which extended the life of the loan another 84 months. He missed the December payment, the January payment, the February payment... you get the idea. By November of 2011 he had made a total of maybe three payments (one every few months). After three years my relationship with my brother, and consequently the rest of my family, is almost non-existent. My parents support him and tell me I need to be more compassionate; I was told not to worry about the truck anymore because he had it taken care of. In November of 2011, I received a repossession call. I scrambled to buy more time so I could try and figure things out. My brother threatened to let it get repossessed if I didn?t help him out by paying for the truck. I told him I would only pay for the truck if I has possession of it- he dropped it off at my place the next day as a ?sacrifice? for the restoration of our relationship- I had to pay $2500 to bring it current just to avoid repossession? Long story short, he paid less than $4000 on the truck over three and a half years. The truck Blue Books for $17,000 but is not in the best shape. It has been posted online and sitting by the mall for three months now and I have lowered the price to about $15,000 praying that someone will buy it (your prayers for the same would be much appreciated). Oh, and I still owe $23,000; I will be using my savings to pay off the loan once I sell the truck. PLEASE learn from my stupid tax. When someone asks you to co-sign for them, do yourself a favor and RUUUUUUN!!!

That car is now mine!!
Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:18:28 CST

Around a year ago, I wrote and told you I had finally kicked Sallie Mae to the curb. Well I'm happy to say Sallie now has some company because today I paid the last bit of my car loan off. I did it while at work using on line banking. So what this means is when I get in the car to go home tonight it will be my first drive without a payment on the thing. A small celebration will be occurring. I still have some more to do, but each step is a victory. If you are not getting rid of your debt, please start today. You will love the feeling of saying adios to payments. Keep up the great work Dave, John Kinsella

A worthwhile journey...
Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:05:14 CST

In April 2008 I saw the Total Money Makeover Live in Colorado Springs and had my lightbulb moment (Thanks Dave!). We were in deep, to the tune of about $60,000 in credit cards, HELOC and car loans. They had been built up slowly over years of spending more than we earned and buying things we couldn't afford. We tightened up our spending and used the debt snowball. We slowly chipped away at our debt, sold our cars and paid off the loans, any spare cash went to paying off the debt and today I made our last credit card payment. I cannot describe how good it feels. Finally the chains are broken and we no longer have the burden of debt. The world is our oyster and we plan to save up for a home and plan for our future and our children's future. It was a long hard journey, involving good choices and sacrifices but oh so sweet and worthwhile.

Dave Says - January 16, 2012
Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:01:53 CST

We've read about your plan, and we're in pretty good shape financially, but ...

The tortoise had it right.
Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:49:41 CST

In '08 I gave a client $22k to invest in Florida real estate b/c it looked like such a great deal. We were doing okay financially but we certainly werent getting rich fast. So I took advantage of this terrific opportunity. It gets worse. b/c we didn't have enough saved and credit cards were so readily available I borrowed $15k from them to do this. Fast forward 4 years - I have only received $4k back from him in total so I'm still out $18k of which $12,600 is still on the credit cards plus all the interest charges b/c that 0% on the credit card didnt stay 0% for long. Lesson learned-trying to jump ahead only ended up getting us further behindthe tortoise had it right-slow and steady wins the race

Retired, debt free, and loving it
Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:09:18 CST

My husband and I attended a FPU class that was offered at our church in January 2011. The class was very helpful and informative. We immediately started making plans to pay off our debts and start our emergency fund. I embraced this wholeheartedly because I wanted to quit my job and stay at home. I am happy to say that my husband and I were able to pay off all of our bills, except for our mortgage, and my dream of retiring came true. On May 31, 2011, I retired from my job of 28 years. There were some ups and downs and unexpected bills that came up during this past year, but in January of 2012 we paid off our mortgage and the few remaining bills that we had acquired. We now are debt free! I do not think it has totally registered with us that we are finally out of debt. My husband is still working and plans on working for a few more years before retiring. I currently am taking training classes to do volunteer work as a CASA and we also became licensed foster parents at the end of 2011. God has been very good to us and we hope we have many more years to serve the Lord.

It is a life changer!
Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:46:25 CST

I was struggling monthly to keep up with the bills. Some months I wondered where my money went and how I would have enough to pay the bills and the "extras" that continued to creep up on me. I thought I made a decent salary, but somehow my finances were tight. In April of 2010 I entered a new church, and by July I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. In December of that year I was baptized. Throughout this process I kept hearing about Financial Peace University. One of my new friends was a Dave Ramsey believer. You just mention FPU and her eyes lit up. I asked her to sit with me in February 2011 and teach me about FPU. She sat and explained Dave's principles, to which I worried about a few, particularly giving up the credit card. I began to work the program, waiting for our church to start a new class, as I couldn't join the current class in session. I did step one and by April had completed step 2. Well... as things go, I ended up with a $12,000 sewer bill by the end of May. While I hadn't charged anything on my credit cards, I didn't give them up. I guess the Good Lord thought I should be all in or not do the program. I cut the first credit card up in June. Mom helped finance the sewer bill. I joined FPU in August/September of 2011. I cut the last credit card up after the debt lesson. I have cut that bill down to $6700.00 as of January 2012. I am in the process of selling my son's truck (really mine... don't ask, you know what I did). Amazingly, I have found $500 to $700 a month. Mom is happy. So am I. Dave Ramsey and his principles have restructured the way I use God's money. Yes, it is God's money, not mine. While I am paying Mom back her money, I am also coming very close to my tithe amount. My tax man will be shocked this year. Thank you, Dave Ramsey. PS. I have shared your book EntreLeadership with my son (26) and your suggestion of Good to Great. His mind is on his business, so I know your words will reach him as they did me.

RELIEF!!
Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:34:35 CST

I started over 3 years ago after a nasty divorce. I had about $23,000 in debt not including my $80,000 mortgage. I knew I wanted financial freedom but didn't know how and kept working with what I had. About a year and half ago I began listening to Dave Ramsey during my hour-long commute home. I continued to listen for motivation and tips as I began slowly working the plan. In a year and half I paid off the $23,000 on a $52,000 a year income while raising 3 kids. I paid $10,000 of it off in the last 6 months! Now that I have only a mortgage for debt it won't take any time to build my 6 month savings. THANK YOU DAVE!!

Opportunity knocked...we answered!
Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:38:14 CST

My wife and I had purchased a house in 2007 shortly after getting married (nothing down, and a respectable interest rate on the primary loan). We furnished it with our cash on hand. We fully intended to live there for 5-6 years, start a family, and move into a different school district before our children reached school age - of course reaping a windfall from our home sale, because prices always go up up up, right? Well, we found our value going down down down, and our neighborhood becoming less than desirable for young professionals with a new family. We ended up drifting into about 12k of credit card debt, 30k in car debt, and 180k in house debt - despite our budgeting we could never quite get in the black. We were paying on the house, a car, daycare, credit card debt, and the usual everyday expenses that just keep rising - more costs kept coming, but income never changed. We were entertaining borrowing money from my parents to get out of said house and move into a "forever" home, but never felt good about it enough to take up their generous offer, and we knew deep down this would not solve our problem. We waited and waited, slowly building more debt, trying to keep the situation from getting worse, and praying for an answer, but we felt like we were going to be stuck, forever fighting the cycle. Then, our prayers and hopeful optimism paid off when my employer needed someone to fill an overseas post in the Middle East (Abu Dhabi). We jumped on the opportunity. I have to say it was one of the best decisions of our life. We took a loss on the house of $16k, sold the cars (one was paid for, the other we "made" a few thousand), and moved 9000 miles away from our old life. In 6 months, we paid $15k of credit card debt, reclaimed the loss on the house, saved almost 6 months of salary for emergencies, put 10k into a college fund for our daughter (2 years old), and have started saving (10k so far!)for a downpayment on that forever home when we move back to Texas. In addition, now my wife can stay at home with our daughter (and hopefully soon) new child. Many people feared this assignment on account of the perception of the place, but I got to tell ya, we love it, and we always had faith that God would not lead us astray. We gave up all our "stuff" in our life, put our faith in God, and took the leap - it has paid dividends! We are on a budget here with an eye on our return to the US in a few years, and are doing better than we deserve. Anyway, not the traditional budgeting and beans/rice story, but it did remind me of how you close out each and every radio show: "The only way to financial peace is to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ." Without our prayers and His guidance, i do not think this opportunity would have presented itself, or we would have been bold enough to accept it - and maybe would have never even realized the quagmire we were slowly sinking into in the first place! In short, fellow Dave readers, keep the faith, keep working, and keep your eyes and ears open. You never know when your chance will come, and if you aint listening, you wont hear it call. Thanks, Dave.

A New Life Together
Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:35:56 CST

When my husband and I decided to get married, we together had $50,000 of debt plus he had a $75,000 mortgage. We skipped the fancy wedding and even decided not to take a honeymoon. Our first priority was to get out of this hole we had created so we could build a life together on top of a solid foundation rather that teetering over a bottomless pit. So he sold his house, we moved into an all bills paid apartment community. No internet, no cable, no excessive spending. Most of the things people think they can't live without are actually very easy to get used to not having. After only 16 months of marriage we were able to call ourselves debt free! This has brought us closer together that we were able to overcome such an obstacle and we have now eliminated one of the top reasons couples get divorced. We are now 1/2 way to saving for our full emergency fund and have decided to reward our hard work with a belated honeymoon to France, paid in full with cash! This is only the beginning, we will be saving now for a house to be paid for in CASH. 100% of foreclosures have a mortgage. No mortgage for us. We would rather save for 1.5-2 years and have a paid off small home, than live in a house that would take 30 years to pay for. Good luck to all of you out there starting out on your journey to climb out of the pit. It sure is sunny at the top. Ashlee and Kevin

Dave Says - January 10, 2012
Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:01:17 CST

I have old credit card debt that goes back a few years ...

Dave Says - January 2, 2012
Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:01:56 CST

My wife and I have gone from having almost nothing to making about $90,000 in the last few years ...

Dave Says - December 27, 2011
Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:12:54 CST

I've noticed that lots of people seem to get defensive when it comes to talking about money ...

The $80 Christmas Ornament
Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:26:08 CST

One Christmas I bought an ornament for my kids at Hallmark. I wrote a check for just over $16 for it. I wasn't paying much attention to my checking account, and sure enough it dipped into the red. And yes, that $16 check got returned. Hallmark called and I had to go into the store and give them $50 to pay for the ornament and the returned check fees. I also got slapped with a $30 NSF fee from my back. That cheesy $80 plastic ornament is a good reminder to pay attention to my finances!

Pride got us
Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:34:47 CST

My wife and I went to the local farmer's market and saw a bakery. We went in and looked at their breads. None of their items had price tags on them. We decided to buy 2 loaves so we picked them up and went to the counter. The nice lady rang them up - the total was $11 - for 2 loaves of bread! We were shocked, but since we already touched them, we felt compelled to purchase the loaves. Next time, we will ask for the price before picking anything up. We just didnt want to appear cheap. In turn, the baker got rich! Good lesson learned.

DAVE RAMSEY AWARDS THREE WINNERS OF HIS GIVING CHALLENGE $5,000 FOR THEIR CHARITY
Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:12:59 CST

Nationally syndicated radio talk show host, Dave Ramsey, issued a challenge to his listeners, beginning in November, to give like no one else during the holiday season.

WOR ADDS THE DAVE RAMSEY SHOW TO LINEUP
Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:12:44 CST

POPULAR PROGRAM HELPS LISTENERS GET OUT OF FINANCIAL TROUBLE WITH ACTIONABLE ADVICE ON MONEY AND RELATIONSHIPS

Dave Says - December 19, 2011
Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:12:18 CST

I've heard you say that people spend more with plastic than with cash ...

Dishonest car dealer cost us $8500.
Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:28:57 CST

About 30 months ago my wife and I bought a 15 passenger van for a really good deal easily saving $5000. It only had 13,000 miles and cost us $13,500. According to the dealer, it had a salvage title because it was a theft recovery vehicle. Prior to purchasing, we asked for the VIN number but he never had it available. My wife asked several times if it had ever been in a flood and he always said no. Late in the afternoon on a Saturday my wife and I and our two younger kids who were still in diapers made the four hour drive to look it over and test drive. The kids made it difficult to give it a good inspection. At 9:30 p.m. we closed the deal. He repeated a couple times, "I'm honest. My family's been in the business for over 40 years. If you don't buy it, I have a waiting list for people wanting to buy it." We drove the van home. The next day I inspected it more and saw rusty springs under the seats and saw that the shocks were beat up. They were not round. On Monday we did a carfax and saw that it had a flood salvage title. We put a stop order on the check and called the dealer to let him know that we stopped payment on the check. He had plenty of time to stop the registration process at our courthouse but never did. We returned the van the next day. A week or so later we received a letter from his attorney. We could either give him a good check or else pay $1000 for courthouse and attorney fees. I read that letter on a Friday evening. Either choice was due five days after the date of the letter which was the following Monday. I called my lawyer on that Monday. He suggested that I not make a rushed decision and wanted to contact the other lawyer. I ended up paying my lawyer $1000, had to buy the van back to avoid being sued from a second attorney that the dealer hired, and filed a complaint with my state's attorney general. After about a year, the AG determined that our case was not important enough to investigate anymore. We tried to sell it for about a year but the salvage flood title always turned buyers off. We owned it for over two years and drove it about 4,000 miles. We never had any major problems but it needed a new evap canister and began not starting as well. We sold it to a dealer for $6,000. Other dealers offered much less. One offered $1,500, another $3,000, another $4,000 and another $5,000. The dealer I sold to put on new tires, hopefully fixed the other two problems, and made it shine on Craigslist. He had it advertised for $13,500 and later it was gone from Criagslist. I would be interested in the rest of the van's life. We learned to always do a more thorough history search, have it inspected prior to purchase, don't rush into a deal, and don't believe any oral promises. Any claims must be written and signed. Fortuneately we have had a prosperous year and do not have that van looming in our minds anymore.

Dave Says - December 13, 2011
Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:12:21 CST

Our financial situation is pretty good now, and my husband and I feel it is time to start giving ...

Dave Says - December 6, 2011
Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:12:30 CST

I'm about to buy my first home. My plan is to buy a duplex and rent out the other side ...

Father's Day Surprise
Mon, 05 Dec 2011 11:28:00 CST

Year after year I try to find a way to surprise my husband on his birthday, Father's Day, our anniversary and for Christmas. Each year I try to keep the surprises under $200 each. I thought I'd nailed it this year when I got him a dog from a local shelter. The adoption fee was minimal. The dog was loaded up in the back of my SUV and off me and our two daughters went to Petsmart for some dog food, bowls, and a cage. Needless to say, I was astounded at the price of a cage big enough to hold the dog (extra large cage), the bedding to go in it, and so on. While we were in Petsmart, I signed our new dog up for a doctor's visit and set up a convient monthly fee that would cover everything that needed doing...or so I thought. Long story short: after all the shots, neutering, and other doggie needs bought (which I placed on a credit card), we were far above my original budgeted amount ($2200). We set up a plan to pay it down and figured everything was going well. Then our littlest started breaking out. A couple weeks went by and she began sneezing a lot. We adjusted her food and my food (I was still nursing) before we went to the allergist. Yup, she was allergic to the dog. One month to the day after I'd gotten him, we ended up taking the dog back to the shelter and showing them everything we'd gotten done. After that, I called Petsmart's customer service and cancelled the monthly fee ($785 to pay it off plus the remainder of his neuter surgery, which went on a credit card). When it was all said and done we had almost $3K added to our debt to have a pet for one month. *sigh* It took us a couple months to pay it off but it's over and done with. There's a little bit left on the card but that'll be gone shortly. This past Friday we had a plumber come out to fix our kitchen sink. We paid for the service in cash and were glad to do it, despite feeling the pain of it leaving our hands. My husband said he felt good about not putting it on the credit card. So, I guess some wisdom has come out of our earlier misadventure. Don't buy it if you can't pay for it...and that means everything that's needed, not just the initial thing.

A trip to Spain, $50,000 and a foreclosure later
Mon, 05 Dec 2011 05:18:17 CST

My first taste of debt came on a trip to Spain in college. Every college student needs a ?study? abroad experience, right? Well, I certainly believed so and even convinced my parents to pay for most of it. Key word: most of it. The rest was placed on a brand new credit card. It was all fun and games in Spain until the bill came due back in America. Fast-forward 4 years. I paid of the credit card right before I got married (4 years later!) and entered our marriage debt-free. My husband entered our marriage with about $10,000 in credit card debt and $30,000 student-loan debt. I thought no big deal, we?ve both got great jobs and we?ll pay it off in no time. Six months later, my husband needed a new vehicle. We?ve got great jobs, right? Why not buy a brand new truck for 0% interest?I mean, come on, 0%! Enter $30,000 more in debt. One year later, obviously we needed to buy a home. We STUPIDLY purchased a home with literally $0 down payment and maybe $1,000 in the bank. We rolled closing costs into the loan for a total of $163,000. We move in and decided that the home obviously needed some updating. Add another $6,000 on a brand new credit card for me and lots of sweat and hey?we?ve got new floors and new paint all around to boot. A mere 12-months from our STUPID purchase, we decided to move to our home-town to be closer to family. Just in-case you?re keeping track?we?re up to $239,000 (including the house). We were promptly able to get new great jobs in our home-town; however, the housing bubble was on the verge of popping and our newly remodeled home wouldn?t sell, and wouldn?t sell, and wouldn?t sell?Turns out there are foundation problems on our ?so-cute? house. Who knew? Clearly we didn?t pay enough attention during our rush to buy a house. We could not keeping paying the mortgage on our vacant home, so we chose to try to rent it out. All was well and good for a few years. We continued to make minimum payments on all of our $239,000 debt and our tenants kept the rent checks coming. Meanwhile, we began to get more street smart and were aggressively paying down our debts. Then?the tenants had some ?domestic disturbance? issues that they took out on our ?so-cute? house. Read: drove a motorcycle through the house. We put it on the market again (in as-in condition), all the while debating whether we should move back and leave our family. (I forgot to mention?during this time, we had a baby. So that meant moving baby away from grandparents as well). We didn?t want to move. It didn?t sell again. Shocking, right? It was going to cost upwards of $5,000 to get the house in any condition to rent again and we did NOT want to go throwing good money into this money pit. We tried short sale, but ultimately our choice was to let the house go to foreclosure. A VERY embarrassing and stupid outcome for otherwise generally smart people. Today, the house situation is behind us. My husband has a foreclosure on his credit. Ouch! We owe about $50,000 in car loans, credit card debt, and student loans. We are gazelle focused on being debt free, having a fully funded emergency fund, and eventually saving for a house?the right way. Talk about stupid tax, yikes. We?re so glad to have found Dave Ramsey and can?t wait to call in a yell ?We?re Debt Free!!? More importantly, we want to teach our son to pay attention and avoid such a high stupid tax.

Doubled My Debt & Didn't Even Get The Degree
Sun, 04 Dec 2011 08:35:03 CST

I considered myself lucky. I had an inheritance that I was able to use to finance 3/4 of my undergraduate education, and left college with what I thought was a manageable $20,000 in loans for my last year at my state school. Then I lost my teaching job and couldn't find another one. No one else wanted to hire a teacher because they seem to assume you don't know how to function in any setting but a classroom. So I needed a change. I've always been good at video editing and thought I could freelance as an editor for extra money. Except without a degree and/or demo. reel, no one would hire me for that either. So I enrolled in a graduate program part-time to earn my degree. I financed it with student loans. Long story short, the program wasn't what it promised and I left after one year of part-time study. That year of part-time study cost me another $35,000 in student loans. And I was still unemployed. It took 2 years, but I decided to enlist in the Coast Guard to get back to a normal paycheck. Now I'm starting my Debt Snowball to pay down this stuff. I'm going back to school again next year for a 2nd undergraduate degree in economics - but this time I'll let the military pay for it!

Stupid Tax Squared
Sat, 03 Dec 2011 04:57:21 CST

In '01, my wife and I had our emergency fund and were in the process of paying off our student loans to be debt free except for our mortgage payment. In '02, we were having a baby, and we sold our small home for almost $100,000 more than we paid for it, used that money to retire our debts, and then purchased a "new" home that was right at the edge of our borrowing power so that we could "live in a safer neighborhood for the baby." After moving in, we financed the installation of a wood fence (credit card at a fixed 9.9%) to keep the dogs in, and we had to finance the purchase of two new cars (for the baby). Fortunately, I changed jobs and doubled my salary, and we started paying off debt again. In '05, my wife's dad (out of state) was diagnosed with cancer and she moved with (the two kids) to help out her parents. We put our house on the market, and found a job about 80 miles from them. But before we could sell the house, we HAD to buy a new home (because of the dogs...). RIIIIGHT. We ended up owning two houses for 2 years. We couldn't find a renter and couldn't unload the home because the market tanked... On top of that, when we finally found a buyer, we had to take out another loan to cover the agent's fees and closing costs, just to stop the bleeding. During that 2 year period, my pay fluctuated wildly and we financed large portions of our bills with our TREMENDOUS credit. We racked up over $100,000 in credit card debt, refinanced our current home twice, and even took money out of retirement funds just to stay afloat. In '08, we found your program and have been working on retiring our debt. We've shut down the cards, completed the baby step, and have been bringing down the debts slowly but surely. We now own those two cars, have closed and payed off a half a dozen credit lines, and are working on the rest. My pay still fluctuates, but the money left over each month keeps getting a little bit bigger each month and the snowball keeps growing. With our current progress, I finally found the courage to step out on my own and start my own business, which (God Willing) should help that debt snowball grow even faster. If nothing changes, we expect to be debt free except for our student loans inside of two years! If the business takes off, we'll get there even faster. Thank you and may God bless your mission.

Dave Says - November 29, 2011
Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:11:26 CST

When does reaching the point of being debt-free become more important than marriage?

Dave Says - November 21, 2011
Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:11:10 CST

I've heard you tell people not to buy mobile homes ...

THE DAVE RAMSEY SHOW ADDS 500TH STATION
Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:10:22 CST

?The Dave Ramsey Show? is now available on 500 radio stations having joined the line-up weekdays on Seattle?s Bonneville International owned station KTTH AM 770.

DAVE RAMSEY'S LATEST BOOK "ENTRELEADERSHIP" DEBUTS AT #1 ON "THE NEW YORK TIMES" BEST-SELLERS LIST
Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:09:00 CST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? Dave Ramsey's "EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches" debuted at number one on the "New York Times" best-seller list for Hardcover Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous.

DAVE RAMSEY TO RELEASE ENTRELEADERSHIP
Fri, 06 May 2011 00:05:00 CST

New York, NY - In his first book since 2003, New York Times Bestselling Author and nationally syndicated radio host Dave Ramsey shares how he grew his successful company from his living room table, with practical tips for starting a business.

RACHEL CRUZE PRESENTS THE GRADUATE'S SURVIVAL GUIDE
Tue, 03 May 2011 00:05:00 CST

Rachel Cruze, speaker and daughter of Dave Ramsey, is excited to introduce The Graduate's Survival Guide. Including the common sense money principles taught by her father. Cruze presents a college freshman's guide to money management and college life.

DAVE RAMSEY ANNOUNCES STOPS ON HIS FALL 2011 TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER LIVE! TOUR
Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:04:00 CST

America's trusted voice on money and business, Dave Ramsey, is hitting the road again next fall in an effort to help people get control of their money. The Total Money Makeover LIVE! is all of Ramsey's financial principles and philosophies packaged into one entertaining and action-packed event.

DAVE RAMSEY ANNOUNCES STOPS ON HIS SPRING 2011 TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER LIVE! TOUR
Mon, 07 Feb 2011 00:02:00 CST

America's trusted voice on money and business, Dave Ramsey, is hitting the road again next spring in an effort to help people get control of their money. The Total Money Makeover LIVE! is all of Ramsey's financial principles and philosophies packaged into one entertaining and action-packed event.

JON ACUFF FEATURES DAVE RAMSEY IN GIFT BOOK
Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:12:00 CST

Author Jon Acuff features a behind the scenes view of the Dave Ramsey organization in Gazelles, Baby Steps and 37 Other Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me About Debt.

DAVE RAMSEY MEETS FAN DEMAND WITH ANDROID APPLICATION
Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:09:11 CST

Dave Ramsey, America?s trusted voice on money and business, announces the Ask Dave Ramsey Android App, a free application available for download from the Android Market.

$54,000 In 17 Months!
Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:03:00 CST

In total, we paid off $54,000 in 17 months! Thanks Dave for your ministry! The crowns you will be able to lay at the Masters feet one day will be incredible!

Single Dad Now Debt Free!
Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:03:00 CST

Dave, I did it!!! As a single father of 2 wonderful boys (ages 5 & 7), I thought it would be impossible, but 24 months later... I'M DEBT FREE!!!!!

I Can't Wait to Lead My Own Class!
Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:07:00 CST

Jenna just graduated from FPU, but she's already looking forward to leading classes in the near future!

We Are Now Better than We Deserve!
Fri, 23 Mar 2007 00:03:00 CST

Our only regret is that while watching the FPU videos over and over, we realize how much stupid tax we have paid!

We learned to buy only big, big bargains!
Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:01:00 CST

FPU Coordinators Joe and Alicia describe the blessings they have received since finding Financial Peace.

I Committed My Life to 2 Things
Wed, 23 Aug 2006 00:08:00 CST

Rick shares his testimony and journey of committing his life and being an FPU coordinator.

FPU Is A Great Way To Meet New People!
Thu, 27 Jul 2006 00:07:00 CST

The McCords attended FPU at a different church in the community and have benefited from the course in multiple ways!

FPU Taking Living to the Next Level
Mon, 20 Mar 2006 00:03:00 CST

After FPU took Stephanie's "commitment to debt-free living to the next level," she lead a course and now shares an incredible story from a couple in her class.

Online Potluck Highlights
Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:11:00 CST

Here are a few of the stories from the celebration for you to enjoy. You can read them all by signing into the Community and entering the Fellowship Hall.

No AC? No Sweat, thanks to FPU!
Tue, 04 Oct 2005 00:10:00 CST

"I am SO thankful that the course was offered at my church and that I had the opporunity to enroll."

Boarding School Budget Buster
2012-02-05 00:00:00.0

Ann and her husband are considering re-mortgaging their house to pay for their son's boarding school. Dave doesn't like the cost of this boarding school and has some tough words for Ann.

Don't Pick Single Stocks Over College Savings
2012-02-04 00:00:00.0

Aaron and his wife have a 4-year-old son. They haven't begun to save for college, and his wife wants to start. Aaron wants to hold off because he'll have to cut the amount he's putting into stocks at work.

Find a Cheaper Lamborghini
2012-02-03 00:00:00.0

Jennifer and her husband are considering buying a third car. The car they want to buy is a Lamborghini. Dave says Jennifer needs to get the other car paid off first before making this purchase.

Get Half a Month Ahead
2012-02-03 00:00:00.0

Dave is trying to help some young people determine the best way to do a budget. Cash is short at the beginning of the month, but at the end of the month, there's extra available. What's the solution to this issue?

Don't Dump the Health Insurance!
2012-02-02 08:06:48.863

Audrey and her husband barely use their health insurance. They'd like to cancel it and save up cash to just pay for their medical care since it's $600 a month. Dave thinks this is a quick route to bankruptcy.

A Rambling Man
2012-02-02 00:00:00.0

Barrett lost his father over the holidays. Barrett has no idea how to handle the estate. His father's address was a P.O. box with no permanent residence. What's the best way to begin to probate the estate?

Don't Delay Investing For Long
2012-02-01 14:37:35.437

Troy and his wife want to know if they should invest while saving for the 100% down plan on a home. Dave thinks that depends on how long it will take to save the money for a home.

Mailing It In
2012-02-01 14:22:19.26

A Twitter listener asks Dave how he continues to bring excellence to his work day after day. Dave thinks you have to get to the why of doing something in order to maintain excellence.

Avoid the Facebook IPO
2012-02-01 14:09:15.217

Anton is debt-free and has $10,000 in the bank. He's considering taking part of that and investing it in Facebook when Facebook goes public. Dave thinks a single-stock investment is a bad idea.

Even Band Partnerships Are Bad
2012-02-01 00:00:00.0

Chuck and some buddies put together a band. They started making some money from their gigs. Now Chuck needs to start treating this like a business. What's the best way to do that?