Thu 11 Jan 2007
Dave Ramsey = Savvy Capitalist
Posted by RichSlick under Easy money, MMO
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I have never heard Dave Ramsey’s radio show nor have I read any of his books. My only knowledge of Mr. Ramsey is the singing praises from a variety of PF Bloggers out there and snippets of the type of advice he doles out.
I finally decided to visit his website and check it out. The first thing that struck me on a visit to his web page was the Financial Reality Check.
Curious, I clicked the Get Started button. I entered my age, monthly net income, asked if I own or rent, number of mortgages, loan amount, term, rate, consumer debt, payments, current savings, then clicked FINISH.
My Total Money Make Over had “YOUR PLAN” and $5 million (and change) under it and “DAVE’S PLAN” at $10 million (and change) under it.
Wow! I’m intrigued. I clicked Learn How! Oh no! In order to make that $10 million I have to send him $89.95 every year! Hmm…If I were a debtor $90/year is pretty steep but as a capitalist that’s some nice incoming cash flow.
The second thing that struck me as I went back to the original website were all the other products and services for sale. There are the “Trusted Services” such as Financial Counseling, Workplace Trainer Certification, and Endorsed Local Providers providing “Investing Advice”, “Real Estate Advice”, “Health Insurance Advice”, “Long Term Care”, and “CPA Tax Services”
Wow. Those services look like a whole lot of cash flow leaving your pocket book and entering someone else’s bank account.
But wait, there’s more!
Dave Recommends
Zander Insurance, Term Life Insurance, ID Theft Protection, Churchill Mortgage, Bsafe Online, Bee-Alive, USLegalForms.com, CLC-Refi Student Loans, Tivo Kidzone, CLEAR Learning System
Wow. Even more services that look like a whole lot more cash flow leaving your pocket book and entering someone else’s bank account.
There is also an Online Store, and many different workshops, training, programs and much more.
I have been truly mistaken about Dave Ramsey. It turns out he is a savvy capitalist and I was under the impression he was some type of frugalist. Dave’s entire website is setup to EARN income from a VARIETY of products and services. The guy is a genius!
I won’t be buying the $89.95 subscriptions, the books or services but I have a much better understanding of Mr. Ramsey and he’s definitely a capitalist which perhaps explains why he’s a millionaire.
17 Responses to “ Dave Ramsey = Savvy Capitalist ”
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January 11th, 2007 at 4:25 pmOther Voices: Links for 1/11/07…
Freebird! Robert Kiyosaki: I resigned from the Marine Corps and flying in 1974, even though I loved them both. I quit because I no longer wanted to fight for peace. Instead, I believe we can build a more sustainable peace……
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Pingback from Trent Hamm Is The New Dave Ramsey » Get Rich Slick
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:01 am[...] beginning quite obvious to see that Trent will become the new Dave Ramsey. People will eat up his book and radio shows and I’m sure a book signing tour will soon [...]
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Pingback from The Dave Ramsey End Game » Get Rich Slick
August 19th, 2008 at 8:02 am[...] may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. It seems every few months someone will post a comment on this post from a while ago coming to the defense of Dave Ramsey. I guess what I’m really interested [...]
January 11th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
The same thing occurred to me when Kiyosaki and Trump came out with “Why We Want You to Be Rich” except that they are capitalists. If they were sincere in their desire to make people rich, why wouldn’t they put the PDF for free on the web? Perhaps it’s more about them wanting to get rich off of people buying their book.
Trump and Kiyosaki are at least presenting themselves for what they are. Dave Ramsey is definitely more savvy as he’s a basically a wolf in sheep’s cloothing.
January 11th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Well Trump’s book can be purchased on Amazon for $15.00 which is a far cry from $90 Ramsey charges for his “beginners” kit. Maybe I’m missing something but do people pay $90/year for his advice “spend less than you earn” and “pay cash for everything.”
What a world we live in……
January 12th, 2007 at 3:08 am
Dave Ramsey also advocates that no one have ANY credit cards ( and he thinks its better to volunteer to pay deposits on utilities, higher mortgage rate,etc)…
But let me guess, does he accept credit cards for that $90?
I have also seen the business credit reports of his company and they not only use credit but average late pays every month.
January 12th, 2007 at 8:10 am
Wow, under Dave’s plan I can accumulate $30 mill. Sign me up! Oh no, I’m an ahteist though, that might not go over well with Mr. Ramsey from what I’ve heard.
January 12th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Not every pfblogger is a Dave Ramsey fan… I do admire his marketing skills… admiration ends there.
January 15th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
I tried to do the Financial Reality Check but it would accept a total savings number greater than $100k LOL
February 20th, 2007 at 8:30 am
First, Ramsey’s $90 web thing’s a rip. I don’t think it’s designed to be a rip, it’s just ill-conceived. The WHOLE web presence screams huckster. That’s too bad because he does have a good message.
Second, no, you can’t pay for any of Ramsey’s stuff with a credit card. Debit card or bank draft only. (This is like a college newspaper article…try some simple fact checking.)
Third, Ramsey’s book is cheap. Regularly on sale for $10 on the web site. The book is all you need.
Fourth, you don’t even need the book. If you can filter through the marketing crap, the entire content of the book (and more) is on the site.
Fifth, you don’t even need the web site. The radio show has the same content as the book and site. No “secrets” are reserved for the book. Get one hour of the show every day, ad-free, on iTunes…for free.
Sixth, just because he’s a Christian doesn’t mean he harbors ill-will toward atheists. AAMOF, if you listen to the radio show you’ll see him tailor his response to the caller. While I don’t doubt his belief, I think the REAL motivation behind any scriptural reference is geared toward letting you know that he’s talking about ancient, time-tested advice.
Seventh, it IS unconventional advice. That’s why a lot of people (especially the number crunchers) have a problem with it. Paying on your highest interest rate debt first saves the most money. Correct, if you can be disciplined about it. Unfortunately, if you were disciplined and could do math you wouldn’t be in debt
Dave would advocate knocking off the smallest debt first…make you feel like you accomplished something to encourage you to keep it up. If you felt traction you might continue.
Eigth, if you’re reading this you’re probably smarter than everyone and don’t have any debt so you shouldn’t care about Dave Ramsey.
Ninth, I have no idea why I like to enumerate
Lastly, does Dave Ramsey make money off this stuff? Sure. Does he make it all available for free? Yup.
June 26th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Thats alot of chatter for somebody that really don’t even know what dave ramsey is….and odviously you haven’t listened to his show….Why don’t you turn off kid kraddik and get some real life advise….Yea dave has stuff you can buy on his site….Its called a business….the point of a business is to make a profit….i’ve never heard dave even mention that 89 dollar a month plan on his readio show EVER…….
He’s all about 100% common sense advice
What are you comparing trump to ramsey for? thats just stupid….
About this comment from rich slick >> Maybe I’m missing something but do people pay $90/year for his advice “spend less than you earn” and “pay cash for everything.”
Were you dropped on your head? So your saying its better to use credit and spend more then you earn? You must be in denial or something…90 dollars a year? i haven’t given dave ramsey a dime……Man your ignorant…..Its cheaper to live on cash then credit….Thats a basic fact….
What is this world turning too???!!!!
June 27th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
And how does your comment really add anything to the discussion? Man…talk about ignorance….
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Thanks Actually read it for making most of the points I felt I should
One other note is that having no credit score does not mean higher mortgage rates. You just have to go to someone who does manual underwriting.
February 9th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
The basis for slickrich’s comments are based in a difference in philosophy. Dave Ramsey is not geared towards the financially disciplined. Many people who hold academic pedigrees point out why Dave Ramsey’s plans seem simplistic; its because they are. Many people criticize Dave Ramsey’s math. Thats cool, too. His mission is changing behaviors towards money. He deals with issues of motivation and the heart vs. academia and sophistication. Many of his clients need serious help.
Dave Ramsey is good for those who need training wheels on their way towards financial independence. He provides an excellent *service* that is *worth* the money he charges for it. People deserve to make an income. His money is made as honestly as I have ever seen.
Take this from a recovering spend-a-holic who jumped on his plan 5 years ago and have paid off EVERYTHING I own, including my house. I now have time for family, my money works for me and I am able to take advantage of more sophisticated means of making money.
Dave has his place in the world. Let him be.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
With all the flim-flam sites out there, I can see why you think Dave’s website means he is just another flim-flam artist.
But, ummm, you didn’t call him a flim-flam artist…you said he was a capitalist…which infers that you think capitalism = immoral. Which is not only wrong, but very wrong for a site like this.
Anyway, indeed, Dave is a capitalist…which includes trying to make every aspect of his company into a commission-based venture. Thus, his website is commission-based. He wants it to make money…not just be overhead (you’d know this if you did your research). So there is an uncharacteristic charge for access to certain areas of his website…including forums!
Anyway, a couple years ago I was listening to Dave and got a bit interested. Luckily for me, I went to the library instead of his website. I didn’t check any of them out but read enough of More than Enough to get me to buy it used…$7.
Not only did the book provide/led me to unique financial tools and advice, but, ever the capitalist, Dave *sold* me on not being, well, stupid.
I am now debt-free, have an emergency fund, have a stronger marriage, and a better job…all part of his plan. But more importantly, I see life differently. I *believe* in things that I didn’t believe in anymore, such as: buying cars and houses outright, saving enough to not need insurance, never buying retail again, etc.
Anyway, I can’t think of a better $7 investment.
And I disagree with Ryan’s statement “Dave Ramsey is not geared towards the financially disciplined” and that the “math” is not academically sound. True the majority of his audience isn’t financially disciplined. But I’m willing to bet that most of the financially disciplined use most of the principles and strategy that Dave teaches.
Most of the time stuff that works academically doesn’t work in the real world because they don’t factor in everything. I bet most millionaires (especially married ones) reduce risk in their strategies by keeping them variable free (foolproof)…and that includes following a straight forward path instead of fancy math footwork.
The academic math usually starts out with the presumption of a constant income…which is wrong from the get-go. Losing one’s income then *could* lead to fees and penalties in accounts that under Dave’s plan would have been paid off. Not to mention a plethora of in-direct monetary and non-monetary value that Dave’s advice offers.
Does any debt-payoff math formula make two spouses come together and agree on a strategy? No. Does any debt-payoff math formula make you get a second job to increase income? No. Does any debt-payoff math formula offer sound financial advice concerning life insurance, health insurance, real estate, college saving, retirement, etc.? No.
So we are talking about a selective and deceptive intellectual anti-capitalism argument versus a plethora of wise advice. When looked at from the proper perspective wisdom always beats foolishness.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
“which infers that you think capitalism = immoral.”
Your premise was wrong from the very beginning. Dave Ramsey has NOTHING to teach me. I used credit (like most billionaires) do to make money. Dave hates FICO and credit cards and debt.
My own personal success has come from borrowing (student loans, credit cards, mortgages, etc) and I’m making plenty of money. I have sufficient cash to pay off all my debts but debt at “free” interest is a no-brainer.
September 10th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Take the money you would use to buy his books and pay down your credit cards. Then download his book for free from a torrent….Sorry for the sarcasm