Having a vehicle paid off is so great

This...It's what I tell my kids too.

Spend money, buy stuff, but save up for the small stuff and no need to replace something every time a new model or color comes out. Fix stuff when you can.

I also don't put furniture and trips on Credit Card and have never carried a balance.

Trailer, toys, truck, house, all paid off.

 

I think taking a loan is perfectly fine if you can afford it. People that can pay cash are the outliers and in my experience don’t buy new vehicles.
IMO, what is key is if you take a loan, make sure you put enough down to where you will never be upside down and can unload whatever it is if a financial hardship happens.

 

I've posted this in another thread...A paid off Toyota with low miles, is a key way to get ahead. Seriously. From my perspective, its a proven theory.

 

In my case, we able to pay cash as my wife and I both have steady income and we keep our New vehicles for 10y or so

All our vehicles have been purchased new.

We are by no means rich or upper class either. Just smart with our money. We also donate 10%, which even our financial advisor said we wouldn't be able to continue do if we wanted to buy a house. We continued to do so and also had our house paid off before I was 42.

 

My dad is still running the boat he bought in 1986. Sure it needs a bit of work and the season is shorter here than in the South but we get out as often as we can in the summer and I'd say he's gotten has money's worth out of it and then some. I think we'd be hard pressed to justify buying a new one if it dies, though.

 

Tundra, Avalon and house is paid off. Come on retirement!

 

When I bought my truck, I saw $45k sitting in our chequing account and said to myself in hindsight that means I should have been putting more into my retirement accounts and making a return on it but, since it's there, I'll spend it on the truck to avoid paying interest on the purchase and bump up my contributions to my savings.

 

This is good information, but debt according to Dave Ramsey has never been about math. Debt is a human behavior.

Disciplining oneself to not spend the 32k on something else after they drive off the lot with a note is worth more than the potential 16k return -taxes IMO.

Then there is also the idea that somone just has $500-$600 a month in pay to buy a vehicle that was previously un-allocated.

A married couple cave save $19,500 a year each in their 401k plus another $5,500 each into a Rowth IRA.

The discussion then turns into saving money outside of a 401k vs inside.

 

Agree - financial discipline prevails in any situation. Debt is not always a bad thing. There’s “good debt” that helps build wealth in the long run like mortgages and business loans and “bad debt” like credit cards. Spending above your means is always bad financial decision.

 

Rice and beans, beans and rice.

You left out the part about him making 8 figures annually selling his plan to people who are broke... but I agree with you on your other points.

 

That s the nature of the beast though. I read a book called Predictably Irrational that talks about this very thing. In a nutshell that s, "business", to many businesses. In their business model empathy is not a requirement. It s actually detrimental as profit is the goal. IMO many businesses are a cold hearted bitch who can pray on the unsuspecting, gullable, or ignorant, using tried and tested tricks of the trade, and binding contracts. And the fact that business law is so intertwined with social norms one can not escape it let alone fight it. In the end I guess it s up to the individual to determine who to do business with.

 

I completely agree with you. Ramsey is a business man (a damn good one if net worth is your measure) - not a philanthropist.

 

They don't like that Dave Ramsey sells a financial product through churches. Financial Peace University is what it's called.
Tom Selleck sells reverse home mortgages or annuities on TV.

Try and think about how it would appear if Tom Selleck was using churches as his marketing and distribution.

Dave prob has most of his wealth through his syndicated radio show, but he does sell, for profit, a financial product through churches.

 

by far the best mod

 

This is where I related to Ramsey. I've always been the type of person to make minimum payments on everything and keep a large cushion in my accounts. Dave turned me on to the "snowball" idea of taking that extra money that wasn't making me anything and paying off debt quicker that is costing me money. Honestly, the only thing I've really researched with Dave are his paying off debt ways. The rest, I don't follow. But I love the feeling of getting closer and closer to financial freedom, and that is because of Dave's direction.

 

hard shell

 

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t to credit card crazy. I usually don’t even carry a balance. Both our cars are paid off. He’s a nut in that he’s very hard headed in his ways. No open mind to anything else. Everything but his way is wrong. I prefer Robert Kiyosaki way of borrowing as much as I can if I don’t have to pay for it, and use that untaxed money (money which I didn’t earn, pay tax, then pay tax again) to keep the money rolling. After all, money is like water. Keep it in one place it’s a pond. Keep it flowing and it’s a river. But I get it, and if you benefit from his very simple teachings and if that’s what makes you happy, more power to you. If you like blowing money on hookers and cocaine and you’re truly happy, good for you too. I’m just saying he’s kinda coo coo. And that’s just my opinion. But heck, a lot of people are and we’re at that age when we realize not everyone will like you and you most definitely don’t have to pretend to like everybody.

 

Yes. 0% he brings great points to the table. You have 50k and there is a truck 50k at 0% interest. You get the car at 0% you’re locked in to that monthly payment at no interest not taking into account the inflation (decrease in dollar worth) over your term like 5-7 years. While you invest that 50k in an investment that gives you even as little 10% gains, compounded for 5-7 years, more if you don’t need to touch it, then why not

 

Perfectly fine not to like people. You can buy his books at used bookstores or find them at the library for free. Before listening to him I was basically following his plan without knowing. Getting rid of debt allowed my wife to quit her job as a banker and stay home after we had our first child. She still stays home (although earns a few bucks) 9 years later because of that decision. Yes, when people call Dave Ramsey on his show he gives them the hard answer, otherwise his plan wouldn’t work. So obviously it will seem like he’s a hard ass. Don’t like it, don’t listen to it, don’t dis it.

 

Likewise, don’t get ME wrong, We adopted an approach to finance that minimizes debt and maximizes savings long long before I even knew Ramsey existed. I only heard of him a few years before I retired because I had lots of night shifts and there were few radio stations to listen to when traveling, his program was one. He never said anything that didn’t make sense to me.
Staying out of debt, not paying interest, saving money for the stuff you want; it’s just the way we always tried to live.

 

I spent 6 years paying off my truck and could not be happier that I haven’t had a payment for 4 years.

people knocking Dave Ramsey’s advice really miss the intention behind his advice. SOME people are really good with self control, but MOST are not. Is that their fault? Yes, but why not promote a philosophy that helps most people? if someone can balance loans/income/payments and savings, great for them, nothing wrong with. However most people will not be successful trying to do that. The Bible states that borrowers are slaves to the lender. Most people will experience more fulfillment in life by avoiding debt. I find that in my experience, the burden of debt outweighed the joy from the “stuff” i had purchased with that debt. Just my experience

 

Is it wrong/odd that I have zero debt, a perfect credit score, money in the bank and I have no idea who Ramsey is and don't care to even look him up?

 

I still smile every 1st of the month for almost a year now. Because my TUNDRA is paid off also.

 

You have actually got your score up to 850? WOW!

 

Bringing the thread back around. Feeling good for I just paid the Tundra off.

 

truly happy you found a way to life you wanted. Keep doing you

 

When we were going to pay for our Rav4...he asked if we wanted to know our credit scores (we are in Canada, so I think the numbers are different).

He said mine was xxx I said "what does that mean, is that good?". He said "that's as high as you can get, I don't see many like that.". Then he told us my wife's score and hers was 2 points less, but only because most stuff is in my name.

This was the first time in our 20y or marriage or either of our 45y lives we ever asked or inquired out our scores. I've never paid to get a check.

 

Credit score is there to use. Nothing to be so proud of. Credit scores can swing up or down by 100 points depending on what you’re doing with it. But no nothing wrong at all sir.

 

Did he also tell you you can buy any car on the lot? Did it make you feel good? Nice

 

It was definitely a good feeling.

I was editing the above post. But was just saying we have never checked our scores or needed to. This was the first time we ever had anyone ask us if we wanted to know what they were.