Last month I read Total Money Make Over by Dave Ramsey. Over all I really enjoyed the book. It was very fast and easy to read. The information is related with real life experiences and easy to understand steps.
Dave starts off by talking about his own personal life. Telling his story from rags to riches to rags and finally back to riches. After losing millions in the real-estate bubble pop, Dave vowed to regain his wealth the right way, the safe way. Once he did that, he made it his life mission to help those struggling finically, which is most of America. When you google money related topics like average debt, average credit card debt, and so on the numbers can be overwhelming and discouraging. Debt owns America simple as that. We have been led that debt is a part of life and the only way to get the “stuff” we “need”. This is not the case and if at the end of the month you find all of your money going to bills then this book maybe for you.
The book outlines a simple 7 step plan that will help you regain control of your money. I will not go into great depth as Dave does a fantastic job on his own detailing these steps. The first steps are easy. Build a budget, build a $1000 emergency fund, and start snow balling debt. I really like the simplicity here. There wasn’t any “grey area to navigate or what ifs. Dave is cut and tried which I think makes the book easy to read and understand for any age. As you progress up the steps, they get a little harder as bigger debt items lurk towards the end. Dave also throws in investing advice in these sections. Now it is not a invest in stock XYZ. He (and myself) highly recommends talking with a professional. Dave has a team you can find more about at his website https://www.daveramsey.com or if you want to stay local my best advice is ask questions. Do your own homework to find the best option for you and your money. The very end of the book leaves you debt free, mortgage included, investing 15% or more towards your retirement a year, and one day having a net worth of $1 million +.
For a lot of people, the steps to get to the end are hard. Everyone has a different situation, different income, different debt, and so on. Furthermore, when you look at statistics there are not that many people in the U.S. that can claim to be worth $1 million. From here I would recommend again heading to Dave’s website. He has resources on resources to help you achieve your money goals. One I highly recommend is his radio show he does daily. People call in and they get advice on tackling debt and other related things. The show can be found on his website or if you are podcast person, you can find him wherever podcasts are played.
If you tired of the daily grind and you want to start taking baby steps on taking back control of your financial life this book is a great starting point. Do not waste another second go find this book and read/listen now!
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