Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition

The author himself has declared that a lot in the book is nothing but common sense. But when it comes to personal finance, common sense is not so common.I have benefited from reading this one. It has helped me make a financial plan.I know the author hates credit cards and I see his point. I will be more careful about the spending on them, but I feel cashbacks are useful. So I will keep mine.

Anyway who lives and earns or will earn money must definitely read this. If you're in financial trouble this book will definitely help you out. If you're still young, it's the best time to read this and be prepared beforehand.The way this book is written is so good. It keeps you enticed from the start. Some points may seem reiterated but with good reason. Dave really has put down things well in a step by step format, simple for anyone to understand.Like Dave says, this isn't a Get Rich Quick book. But I'm sure following his advice is definitely the way to get wealthy with time and be secured financially for life.

This book is a must read for everyone who desires to live a debt free life whereby he is able to enjoy every other blessing GOD has blessed him with.It proves that the financial principles the world system teaches us is totally contrary to living a debt free life.Thank GOD for enabling Dave Ramsey to write this book which I believe will be a blessing to everyone who reads it.

Practical common sense debt snowball steps & retirement budgeting which has changed the way we now handle our money which God has blessed us. I have a big smile on my face, this has been perfect timing for us. I also watch Dave’s YouTube shows. Ranjith Samuel, Bangalore India

Its a good book in terms of the knowledge it offers. Talks about a plan that is actually logical and practical. Although, the writing is pretty bad. Redundant and unattractive at times. Dave provides examples of people who have had a makeover financially. All saying the same thing everytime. Thats annoying. I love the plan and think I'll too follow this. But theres little great about the book apart from the steps and a few pages worth of actual interesting information. The rest is redundant and annoying speech. Its a good book which is written badly.

Dave Ramsey is God, everything that comes in a time, similarly when time comes" you will read this book.The strategy will change your life and debt free life is more beautiful than becoming millionaire with risky loans.Dramatic effect and emergencies are explained very well.Must read to become debt free.

This book is good but I don't recommend it for Indians since its more in American perspective. Also its expensive, there are no issues with the product itself but its definitely a non for Indians.

Likes1. Simple language2. Real life examples3. Holistic approach4. A solid solution based idea5. Applicable to the masses- most important oneHighly recommended to each and every child who aspires to grow up in this world of dramatic illusions and get past those to lead a real life ahead!

I am a UK reader and have to say that though the book is very American in the discussion of products that it recommends the principles are sound and help greatly.The techniques are easy to pick up and impliment. The stories within the book give some motivation though I had a tendancy to glaze over them as I was not there for the stories but was there mainly for the tips and tricks.Would reccommend for anyone looking to become debt free

As a UK based reader, I felt some of the concepts which Dave talks about are primarily focused on a US based audience; however, I think the book does give the right type of philiosophy, which is transferable to any global reader. The baby-steps Dave outlines are a good roadmap to follow and really just makes you think about money in a different way.One dislike about the book is that there is a lot of 'filler' in by there are testimonial stories from people who have had a total money makeover. I felt this may have been done to give the reader reassurance they are not alone; however, I do think it acts as a way of diluting down the real content of the book.Dave does talk about Financial Peace and I think this book probably covers a lot of the content covered in that book. If you haven't heard of Dave Ramsey in the UK, he's kind of the US equivalent to Martin Lewis. I like Dave's 'no frills' approach and the book isn't designed as a shortcut to wealth. The fastest way to wealth is to avoid debt like the plague, and I think Dave really addresses this.If you're wanting to improve your basic financial approach and want to think of money in a different way, then this book is for you, but do be prepared to do some homework if you're a non-US reader to find equivalency to some of the concepts I.E. pensions etc. in your home country.ALWAYS speak to a good financial advisor too! :)

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey is the book of elementary financial literacy that imparts common sense wisdom (albeit, with some fiery Christian passion) that every American should know. But I certainly didn’t. And I was in good company with the vast majority of Americans in that ignorant camp (“Don’t be normal,” he encourages, “be weird people!”). This book was my entry point into conscious personal finance and it (along with his podcast) completely shifted our relationship with money. The main battle cry of this book is to live debt-free. Free being the key word. As a slave to a lender, you can never truly be free with debt. These 7 baby steps of his are simple, universal, and brilliant. We worked them, and let me tell you, they work.Save $1000 emergency fundPay off debts using the Debt Snowball: Make a list of your debts, smallest to largest (excluding mortgage) and focus all of your financial effort on one debt at a time (making only the minimum payments on all others), working your way down, with gazelle intensity. Once you cross one off, you divert all the money you were paying on that debt to the next, with the payment size growing at each step.Save 3-6 months expensesPut 15% toward retirementSave for kids’ collegePay off mortgageBuild wealth by investing“We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.”

I'm sure this book may be useful to someone who is riddled with debt (and living in America) but if you have picked up this book for a general guide on finance then you are in the wrong place.Dave takes so long to get to the point in this book, the first 112 pages are him telling you how great his plan for getting out of debt is, sprinkled in are lots of testimonials from people who also claim his plan is great.The actual content of this book could fit on the front cover, let me save you some time and the cost of the book: step 1, save a thousand pounds as a backup, 2 pay off your debts from smallest to biggest, 3 don't buy anything on credit, 4 save money for retirement. Wow, life changed...Unless you are deeply in debt and living in the USA do not waste your precious time or money on this leaflet. Also if you are in the UK and dislike all the awful American over-positive mumbo jumbo you may feel sick reading this.Well done to the guy for getting some people out of debt but man just get to the point!!

Dave Ramsey cannot do Math. Misinformation abounds in this book. First, Ramsey’s famous “12% market return”. This is a false number, and even if he used the correct number for the S&P since it’s inception (10%), it’s not adjusted for inflation. *Real* market returns (the increase in actual value in today’s dollars) are between 6 and 8 percent (see Warren Buffet). Ramsey does some truly spectacular math with this B.S. number, including the statement that if you invested $3600 instead of prepaying for your own funeral you would end up with almost half a million dollars. That’s outright deceptive. There’s plenty of these nuggets throughout the book. Lines such as “you cannot pay off your student loans while in school” (you can, payments just aren’t *required* while in school) are a good example. Or that you can securely withdraw 8% of your nest egg and still see an annual 4% return. This advice is outright dangerous, because the actual value you can withdraw safely in perpetuity is around 3%. That’s how volatile markets and inflation work. Withdraw 8% of your principal per year and you will run out of money.His statements on debt are also questionable, especially student debt. The message is “don’t do it!”. This might make economic sense for an arts major, but for an engineering/STEM major, debt truly is an instrument. Your increase in salary for the first few years post-graduation alone makes it economical.