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Business Stationary Mart - The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
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List Price: $24.99
Our Price: $12.92
Your Save: $ 12.07 ( 48% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.02402
EAN: 9780785289081
ISBN: 0785289089
Label: Thomas Nelson
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: 2007-02-06
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: 2007-02-06
Studio: Thomas Nelson
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: The Total Money Makeover
Comment: With the exception of the Bible, Total Money Makeover has made the biggest impact on my life. If you are tired of never having enough money and being in debt, this book is for you! Easy to read and easy to understand.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Dave Ramsey Offers Financial Advice and Motivation
Comment: When it comes to money and financial issues, Dave Ramsay has become one of America's most trusted and popular voices. He is a best-selling author, host of the wildly popular radio program, The Dave Ramsay Show, television host on the new Fox Business Network, and a recognized financial guru. Ramsay has become popular by combining humor and inspirational true stories with cold, hard number crunching. The fact that Ramsay is an outspoken Christian who is just as likely to quote a Bible verse as a money maxim makes his mainstream success all the more impressive.
In The Total Money Makeover, Ramsay outlines how ordinary Americans can get rid of their debt and build wealth. Stating that personal finance is 20% head knowledge and 80% personal behavior, Ramsay believes that being debt-free and rich is not as difficult as most people believe and should be a goal of everyone.
In the first few chapters of the book, Ramsay discusses different myths surrounding money and debt. In these chapters, Ramsay addresses such myths as, "You need a credit card to build credit," "Debt is a tool to create prosperity" and "Leasing cars is what sophisticated people do."
After Ramsay is finished dealing with an assortment of such myths, he starts with the essence of his book: how people can become debt-free and build wealth. Ramsay emphatically believes the first two steps in this process for the individual or family is to stop using credit and creating a budget (and sticking to it). If one doesn't have the money to purchase the product or service outright, Ramsay thinks people should save up their pennies and dollars until they do. This step is essential to Ramsay's money makeover plan and the rest of the book is built around this and other behavior modifications.
For the budget, Ramsay recommends using an envelope system. In this system the allotted cash is placed in labeled envelopes at the beginning in each month. When the envelope is empty no more money can be spent on the item until the next month. Ramsay admits the system is simple, but he also knows it will work. Using statistics and studies to back up his claim, Ramsay explains that psychologically it is much easier to overspend when using a credit card instead of cash.
As for sticking to a written budget, Ramsay writes:
"The dreaded B word enters the picture here. You must set up a budget, a written budget, every month. This is a book about a process that will enable you to win with your money, a process that others have completed successfully, and I assure you that virtually none of the thousands of winners I have seen did so without a written budget."
After the credit cards are forsaken and a written budget is made, Ramsay outlines his proven plan to financial success which is the essence of the book:
1) Save $1,000 Cash as a Starter Emergency Fund - Ramsay is a firm believer in the rainy day fund. When life happens, we need to be ready and, without using credit cards, this is the way to catch the little things life throws at us.
2) Pay Off Debt - Ramsay recommends listing all debts (excluding the mortgage) on a paper from the least to the greatest. He then states one should make minimum payments on all of them except the smallest debt which should be attacked with reckless abandon until it is paid off. Then one should move to the next smallest debt and repeat the process. During this phase, Ramsay recommends trimming all of the excess from your budget until you are completely debt-free. He even suggests taking part-time second jobs or overtime for a period until a family is debt-free.
3) Finish the Emergency Fund - When the big stuff happens, Ramsay states, you can't depend on credit cards. Instead, build up the emergency fund to cover three to six months of expenses.
4) Invest for Retirement - After you're debt free and have an emergency fund ready to cover any unpleasant surprises, start saving for retirement. Ramsay recommends setting aside 15% of your income for retirement. He evaluates a lot of different options concerning this point and lists the pros and cons for each.
5) Pay off the Home - A t this stage, Ramsay urges his readers to start making extra payments toward their house. If someone can pay off their home early they free up a huge portion of their income that can now be spent in a variety of ways.
6) Build Wealth - When people reach this stage of building wealth, Ramsay states there are three ways to spend your money: a) have fun; 2) invest; and 3) give.
Throughout the book there are worksheets and lists to help the reader organize assets, debts and income and to crunch numbers. For those incompetent at math, these sheets can really help.
Interspersed throughout the book are inspirational true stories, mostly in the forms of letters to Dave, by those who have used his advice to get out of debt and build wealth. Most of these stories are truly incredible. Reading about families who have climbed out of more debt than me on less of an income actually did motivate me a bit. The stories also helped the book read better by putting stories about real people behind the numbers.
This is not an advanced book on stocks and investing techniques for savvy investors; rather, it is an excellent book for ordinary people struggling with debt or looking for ways to maximize their money. I think it is especially useful for those who are willfully ignorant when it comes to personal finance or those who have never thought to examine where their paycheck goes each month. Ramsay does a good job keeping his advice straightforward and explaining complex financial issues in simple terms without speaking down to his audience. He also keeps the big picture in mind with personal finance, explaining it's not about having the most toys or having more than your neighbor but helping others.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Attention my fellow salesman: This book can be a game-changer for you!
Comment: As a salesperson who has made uneven, sporadic lump-sums of money on a commission basis for years, I had the tendency to believe that I will always be able to 'outearn my stupidity' (I borrowed that phrase from Dave's Radio Show). This never happened. I heard Dave's radio show and realized that I needed a change in my thinking. This book and Dave's philosophy is largely based around the wise saying that the borrower is servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7). This book was very helpful in helping me realize what changes are necessary. We started the Total Money Makeover with piles of debt (cars, credit cards, etc.) after listening to the CD audiobook version of this book in January 2006. We did the plan and became debt-free (except for my home) by August 2008 and was able to call into his TV show in September and yell, "We're Debt Free!". Yes, I drank the Kool-Aid and am loving it!
Customer Rating:
Summary: 80 percent behavior and 20 percent knowledge, save your first 1000 dollars, cut CC, use visa debit, get a 15 year fixed mortgage
Comment: Myth: You should get a credit card to build credit
1. Pay cash or use a Visa debit card for all financial transaction with the exception of a mortgage.
2. Qualify for a 15 year fixed mortgage loan. The fixed mortgage loan strongly hedges in the favor of the consumer. The banks uses variable rate loans to offset their risk and make available fix rate loans to preferred consumers. Take advantage of the fix rate loan.
3. You can qualifying for the 15 year fix rate loan if: if you have paid your landlord early or on time for two years; have the same career for two years; have a $10-30k downpayment; and do not borrow more than 25 percent of your income.
4. With no debt, a larger percentage of your income can go to reduce principle on the mortgage payment. Banks do not like prepayment. Prepayment forces banks to invest in lower earning investments than interest gather by the mortgage increasing their risk.
5. 60 percent of consumers don't pay off their balance on their credit card every month.
6. The game plan is to have cash or don't buy at all. Save for unexpected events and do not use Credit Cards for emergencies.
7. Debt is not a tool. The risk associated with debt far outweight any of the advantages received purchases. Savings and wealth accumulation create prosperity. Debt creates depression, a systematic revolt.
8. Using a credit card for emergencies codes at a high prices: interest, fees, and penalties. The temptation to use credit cards for emergencies will increase in frequency, until legal protection is required.
9. The longer you have a credit history the greater the chance you will get in trouble with your credit.
Spending by debt free people would prosper the economy
1. If the consumer were out of debt, his spending would be in confidence. The stress and uncertainty of debt repayment would not be pressing upon his mind.
2. Spending using money increases stability and eliminates bank fees and penalties associated with late payment.
3. The economy would prosper from lack of debt. Consumer money would become available to chase value investment and innovation, instead of making banks rich. Financial infrastructure would become more conservative and stable.
4. Non borrowed money could be injected into emerging markets based on localized principles of equilibrium rather than using derivatives to leverage hot money to turn a quick profit and subject emerging country too speculative withdrawals. Derivatives offset risk in emerging countries and expand the money supply. However, when money is borrowed to finance the derivative it becomes leveraged and prone to higher risks due to repayment terms of the bank.
5. Social problems should be solved by privatization and the government should get out of the business of welfare.
6. The decline of the welfare state would reduce taxes and increase available money to invest. Good money chasing good investment.
Myth: Car payments are a way of life; you'll always have one.
1. US today reports that car payments is $464 over sixty-four months. If you invest from the age 25 to age 65, at 12 percent interest, you would have $5.4 million dollars.
2. Save $4,000 dollar and buy your first car. Continue to save for ten months and buy cash the second car, $8,000 and another ten months, a $12,000 car.
Millionares buy cars that are One to Two years old
1. A new car loses 60 percent of its value in the first four years. A new $28,000 car will lose $17,000 of value in the first four years. That is $100 a week in devaluation.
2. The average millionare drives a two-year-old car with no payments.
3. Most warranties are good for five years and transfer to the new owner of the vehicle.
4. A slightly used car is not usually traded because it is a bad car.
5. Pay cash for your car. The average dealer makes $82 dollars, if you pay cash, in addition to mark up. A dealer makes $1,300 by selling finance contract to GMAC, Ford Motor Credit, Chrysler Credit, or Toyota Credit. The dealer makes their money in the finance office.
Myth : Getting out of debt requires Expertise
Getting out of debt is 80 percent behavior and 20 percent knowledge. Everyone can change behavior by saving 1000 dollars, accounting for money spent guidelines using a budget, and using visa debit card and destroying their credit card.
The 1,000 dollars is used as an emergency fund. Dave Ramsey tells us, that initially he encouraged consumers to start attacking debt. Ramsey discovered that many individuals started reducing debt, but soon had an emergency crisis, such as, car problems or home problems requiring additional credit card debt.
The 1,000 dollars is a minimum and should be increased from pay check to pay check. Eventually, the fund will accumulate to six months of emergency living, the power to purchase a used car or repair and existing car, and coverage of some health costs. Health costs and excessive credit card debt significantly increase the probablity of bankruptcy.
The behavior, save a portion of your income every paycheck and have the discipline not to spend it. Knowledge, the 1,000 dollars will give you confidence and help build momentum emotions that will allow you to start attacking the mortgage balance. Eventually, you will be debt free and have money, as working capital.
The potential to apply the principle of debt-free to corporations is huge. Corporations should also remove loans and move to self-funded accounts that pay for operation costs. The need for commercial paper is like a Credit Card sink. The debt is too heavy to carry.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Very simple advice, a lot of filler in this book
Comment: Instead of buying this book here is the advice it contains
Get out of debt
Live below your means no matter what you make,
Throw away your credit cards,
Don't trust any loan consolidation,
Car loans are a joke,
Car leases are even worse,
Drive a quality used car instead,
Save as much money as you can,
Mutual funds and the stock market are the best investment,
Never put all of your savings into one fund or account.
The Lottery is a tax on poor people (TRUE)
90 days same as cash schemes are a risky
Rent-to-own stores are scams
Get Rich Quick schemes are scams
Don't loan money to relatives
Get a retirement plan
Make a budget
And finally do whatever it takes to get out of debt even if that means getting a second job for a short period of time.
Common sense, simple yet hard to live by. I think his advice is great but the book just kept repeating itself was tinged with a strange Christian bent and the occasional right wing political comment here are there. A lot of this book is just story after story after story of people who go in over their heads and how they got out. Some people might find this inspirational but, none of these stories felt anywhere near my life or how I live it. The whole book felt like a broken record. You could put all of the useful advice on one page as I just did, but then I guess he couldn't sell that as a book. And the stock market is a complete disaster right now, most of us have lost 30-50% of our savings value. This book was published before this horrible recession, and it shows that. I doubt any of us will see Mr. Ramsey's 12% return he claims we can get on a mutual fund. Good luck on that one. And Mr. Ramsey doesn't even address a problem of unexpected health costs. Even with insurance I have known many people who were wiped out completely by cancer, or other chronic diseases. I guess he can only tackle so much but our health insurance system is hardly a wonderful safety net even though we pay top dollar for it. But according to Ramsey extreme unexpected medical costs with health insurance could never happen as he never mentions it in the book.
He also plays on the myth that the wealthy are somehow smarter or genetically superior than the poor. He makes the occasional comment here or there about don't be stupid, only dumb people buy lottery tickets, and millionaires are millionaires because they drive used cars, hence they are smarter! The sad truth is that most people who have money are born with money or at least a stable background. Dave admits he has "gone broke" in the past but that was as an adult and of his own doing. I doubt he grew up in trailer park or a inner city housing project. He has advanced degrees so someone had to pay for that either himself or his parents or both. Losing money didn't take away his education, he simply picked himself up and started over. It is much harder to pull yourself up if you are born into poverty with few hopes at a higher education or access to capital. And it is even harder if your household is abusive and chaotic on top of being impoverished. And as a white male Dave is at every advantage for gaining wealth. He is part of the demographic that makes the most money and is the most easily employable. He doesn't need to address all of these issues but most of his "examples" of success stories are middle class people who got in over their heads most of which already have education and a good work background, not extremely poor people beating the odds. A child born into poverty is not inferior or genetically weak, just unlucky.
The book is common sense. If you want to buy it go for it, but there is nothing radical about anything he says and some of it seems a little "fairy tale" to me.
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Editorial Reviews:
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The success stories speak for themselves in this book from money maestro Dave Ramsey. Instead of promising the normal dose of quick fixes, Ramsey offers a bold, no-nonsense approach to money matters, providing not only the how-to but also a grounded and uplifting hope for getting out of debt and achieving total financial health. Ramsey debunks the many myths of money (exposing the dangers of cash advance, rent-to-own, debt consolidation) and attacks the illusions and downright deceptions of the American dream, which encourages nothing but overspending and massive amounts of debt. "Don't even consider keeping up with the Joneses," Ramsey declares in his typically candid style. "They're broke!" The Total Money Makeover isn't theory. It works every single time. It works because it is simple. It works because it gets to the heart of the money problems: you.
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