The Voice of Personal Wealth...

[ohiofarmgirl]

i watched some of his message on the site. good ol' common sense goes a long way. i think most folks want a quick fix - but nope. if you dug yourself in, you can dig yourself out.

sorry Big Daddy - dont hate on folks you werent lucky but got there thru hard work and preparedness. average joes can do it. (live long and prosper btw!)

my recent horror story of not getting it right is the family i know that just spend a huge amount of $$ to go on a cruise. but they overspent and when they got home they didnt have grocery money until the next payday. one of their teenagers had to pony up $50 so they could buy some basics to last the week. they could have stopped by my place and i would have loaded them up with milk, eggs, cheese, meat and home made bread but they think the way i live is 'gross' and would never eat my farm stuff. ok.

last nite my hubby and i had grass raised veal steaks on the grill, fresh butter, and bread hot from the oven. i felt kinda bad about them kids eating lunch meat sandwiches.....

 

[davaroo]

To be fair, I've become a millionaire already - just on my wages over the last 30 years.

That I don't have that fortune in hand is due to several things:
I haven't managed it as well as I might have, nor have I lived below my means enough, until recently.

Truthfully, we must all eat and pay rent and so our earnings are inevitably split. However, I did some calculations recently. The sum of these is that, had I begun following Mr. Ramsey's methods at the age of 18, I would have come close to having that million dollars solely on what I have earned in the ensuing three decades.

But for the sake of argument, let's say I never achieve millionaire status... but I AM debt free by age 50 with $500k-$750k earning 8-13% interest somewhere? That wouldn't be so bad would it? That is wholly possible by using what Mr. Ramsey lays out.

Now lets say everyone was taught to do that, starting at the age of 13, the Age of Reason? Add it as an amendment to the Constitution, if we must. Talk about a wealthy nation....

That, of course, is the greater point. I would certainly agree that it takes skill, and would add shrewd discipline and fiscal moderation into the plan. Luck, on the other hand, seems to be the least of the requirements.

 

[patandchickens]

Now lets say everyone was taught to do that, starting at the age of 13, the Age of Reason? Add it as an amendment to the Constitution, if we must. Talk about a wealthy nation....

Although, I would expect an "exciting transition period" for the economy if people were no longer spending like drunken sailors.

Which (i.e. the fact that it would be bad for businesses, at least in the short and mid-term) is probably why you will never find it forcefully espoused by the government

Pat

 

[Big Daddy]

That brings up an interesting question. Since spending is what makes the economy function. What would happen if everyone did like Dave Ramsey espouses and just eat beans and rice every night, live in hovels and never spend any money unless you absolutely have too, except of course your 10% to the church. If we all did that then the only retail outlets we would need would be Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Eventually all the wealthy people would run out of money because there would be no replenishing money and none of us would have jobs except the farmers and anyone involved in essential goods. Life would be very interesting. That's the reason the jobs are not back yet. People are afraid to spend money. It's good and bad at te same time.

 

[Big Daddy]

To be fair, I've become a millionaire already - just on my wages over the last 30 years.

That I don't have that fortune in hand is due to several things:
I haven't managed it as well as I might have, nor have I lived below my means enough, until recently.

Truthfully, we must all eat and pay rent and so our earnings are inevitably split. However, I did some calculations recently. The sum of these is that, had I begun following Mr. Ramsey's methods at the age of 18, I would have come close to having that million dollars solely on what I have earned in the ensuing three decades.

But for the sake of argument, let's say I never achieve millionaire status... but I AM debt free by age 50 with $500k-$750k earning 8-13% interest somewhere? That wouldn't be so bad would it? That is wholly possible by using what Mr. Ramsey lays out.

Now lets say everyone was taught to do that, starting at the age of 13, the Age of Reason? Add it as an amendment to the Constitution, if we must. Talk about a wealthy nation....

That, of course, is the greater point. I would certainly agree that it takes skill, and would add shrewd discipline and fiscal moderation into the plan. Luck, on the other hand, seems to be the least of the requirements.

Using what kind of disposable income scenario? In addition to that what kind of lifestyle are you talking about. There is more to life than just having money in the bank. Some things are more fun to experience at age 30 than at age 70. I guess if I was a vampire it wouldn't matter.

 

[Wifezilla]

Live in hovels???? LOLOLOLOL

You so don't get it.

 

[davaroo]

Live in hovels???? LOLOLOLOL

You so don't get it.

Kinda what I was thinking. I wonder if there is another version of the Ramsey stuff that I haven't seen.

...In addition to that what kind of lifestyle are you talking about. There is more to life than just having money in the bank. Some things are more fun to experience at age 30 than at age 70. I guess if I was a vampire it wouldn't matter.
Lifestyle? One you've paid for. I live in a house and drive decent cars and do all the things I wish. I want for nothing and have no debts, aside from a small mortgage. Having done much in my time on earth, I can tell you there are few things you can do at 30 that are worth being debt-ass broke over.

I can also say this - there are very few things in life that beats money in the bank. Why do you think everyone wants it?

Mr. Ramsey says this: "Live like no one else NOW - and you will soon be able to live like no one else."

He simply advocates deferred gratification, as opposed to the currently popular, instant variety.

 

[davaroo]

Now lets say everyone was taught to do that, starting at the age of 13, the Age of Reason? Add it as an amendment to the Constitution, if we must. Talk about a wealthy nation....

Although, I would expect an "exciting transition period" for the economy if people were no longer spending like drunken sailors.

Which (i.e. the fact that it would be bad for businesses, at least in the short and mid-term) is probably why you will never find it forcefully espoused by the government

Pat

No one in the Ramsey Camp suggests that you shouldn't spend money. FAR from it, in fact.
What they advocate is you do not spend money you DO NOT have.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Money, in general, holds no real power for me personally. I mean, sure, if I want electric and internet and phone, I need money to pay for those. We've thought about doing away with all three of these, as we are able to survive without them. *gasp* Yes, I said they are not necessities, and I have a woodburning cookstove at my disposal if I just said the word.

I've found that lately I've been basing my idea of my own personal wealth by Biblical standards, and that's fine for me, and those who have different beliefs will believe differently, and that's fine, too.

The Bible says if you own land, cattle, and gold you are wealthy. I have two of the three, so I guess that makes me middle class :lol

I've also found that it's very hard to talk to people about living within their means when they live way beyond their means. Especially when they've convinced themselves that they "need" certain luxuries that they could very well survive without.

 

[patandchickens]

Now lets say everyone was taught to do that, starting at the age of 13, the Age of Reason? Add it as an amendment to the Constitution, if we must. Talk about a wealthy nation....

Although, I would expect an "exciting transition period" for the economy if people were no longer spending like drunken sailors.

Which (i.e. the fact that it would be bad for businesses, at least in the short and mid-term) is probably why you will never find it forcefully espoused by the government

Pat

No one in the Ramsey Camp suggests that you shouldn't spend money. FAR from it, in fact.
What they advocate is you do not spend money you DO NOT have.

Let me first make very clear that I totally AGREE with that approach.

That said, though, a cynic might wish to point out that the current state of the economy in the western world is based on people spending lots of money they *don't* have, and thus, to revert to only spending what's actually in the bank, and not necessarily all of it, would definitely cause an (as they say) "adjustment".

I'm all in favor of it, mind you; I'm just sayin'.

Pat