Do you think financial advisors like Dave Ramsey..etc give people good or bad car buying advice on car buying?
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I'm not against DR. I think he has his place. It's just some of his advice that's not that great. Through a friend I know a guy who took DR advice. He got out of debt. But that's as far as he got. He is debt free, but has nothing else. Not sure why. He should be saving money
Well, DR's main point is about living below your means and getting out of debt. He's pretty good in that aspect. I don't know about his record with personal investments, though.
Agreed - Once your friend is out of debt - he needs to shift gears and save for the future, and yes, he should consult with a financial advisor that is recommended, and not necessarily one from DR.
I don't know if he gets kickbacks, but you're right he does recommend you contact people who agree with him. I don't see anything wrong with that, though. You wouldn't expect him to direct people to get help from those who disagree with him, do you? Your analogy of a local electrician doesn't work because there are not multiple, competing methods to do standardized electrical work. A better analogy might be advising people to see a specific type of Doctor (alternative medical) rather than a regular medical Doctor. Some people think those doctors are quacks, and others swear they are better than regular MDs. Sounds quite similar to this thread where some think Dave is wrong about everything, and others think his advice is very good.
I never said he is wrong about everything. In fact his get out of debt deal works if you're steadfast and want to do it. His debt advice is pretty concrete and very doable. I've watched a few people use it successfully
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Originally Posted by silverkris
Well, DR's main point is about living below your means and getting out of debt. He's pretty good in that aspect. I don't know about his record with personal investments, though.
Agreed - Once your friend is out of debt - he needs to shift gears and save for the future, and yes, he should consult with a financial advisor that is recommended, and not necessarily one from DR.
Yeah that's what I said when he asked me. I told him about a few investment platforms I used and they are paying nicely. It's like he's done the debt thing but now that's as far as he got
There was no security blanket. We bought a 30/7.5% and refied a year later 15/4.25%. Then I got some certificates that kicked my income up and we added more to the payment. As time went on my income went up and we invested and wanted to pay the house off faster. I simply took advantage of lower rates, better income. Instead of buying a new car I paid on the house. There were a lot of sacrifices we made to get to the position we are now in. It wasn't handed to us.
We bought this house on credit because the rate is a joke. It might as well be free money at this rate. Especially since I plan to do two extra payments a year and I round the payment to the nearest 100 every month.
I don't use my credit very often. Besides this house I don't buy on loan. I haven't applied for a cc hell 18-20 years. Cars are cash purchases. The cc gets used for online purchases because it's pretty tough to send a check if I want the part within a reasonable time.
As for the religion it's not the religion. It's bringing in God to every aspect of the conversation.
I'm not against DR. I think he has his place. It's just some of his advice that's not that great. Through a friend I know a guy who took DR advice. He got out of debt. But that's as far as he got. He is debt free, but has nothing else. Not sure why. He should be saving money
When we're talking about Dave Ramsey, we think of his baby steps to becoming financially free:
1. $1000 emergency fund
2. Debt snowball
3. Fully Funded Emergency Fund (6-12 months)
4. invest 15% of income
5. Save for college
6. Pay off house
Not really anything here I would completely disagree with. Maybe some things wouldn't apply, such as saving for college, or maybe you're already investing 15%.
In terms of paying for vehicles, it also takes a bit more effort on the part of the consumer to educate themselves on the product they wish to buy. Not saying everybody has to be experts in auto mechanics, but they should at least know someone who could give them the 4-1-1 on if that $5k vehicle is worth the money and what would need to be done to it to make it a dependable vehicle. For instance, I have a friend who flips cars. He knows how to find that $1800 deal that he can fix up and turn into $5000, or even $8000 without investing that much into it. He's even purchased vehicles that he used as his daily driver for less than $2000 that he's trusted to make long trips on. It's all about knowing what would need to be done in order to make the vehicle relatively dependable. Sure, you're always taken a chance on a used vehicle, but that's true for any used vehicle.
I think that Dave Ramsey's advice is good for people who are totally incompetent at managing finances and have dug themselves into a deep hole of bad credit and poor decisions.
If you are at all financially capable, then his advice is terrible. For instance, when you say "the average payment is $450-650 a month for 6-7yrs at average 8-10% interest" I can't believe anyone would be that incredibly stupid.
Dave Ramsey's problem is his advice has to be targeted to total morons and financial nitwits, and he has to make sweeping blanket statements, which aren't fully and totally applicable.
Agreed. It's better than having no financial discipline whatsoever but anyone who is half decent with managing money will probably not find his advice very useful.
I think his target audience is people who coasted along, ended up with a lot of credit card debt, and are now trying to figure out how to dig themselves out of the hole. Being Christian probably helps too.
I've never trusted people that use "Jesus" as a sales tool. I respect all religions and the rights of people to practice their religion BUT when someone calls their business a "Ministry".....
I've never trusted people that use "Jesus" as a sales tool. I respect all religions and the rights of people to practice their religion BUT when someone calls their business a "Ministry".....
That’s where DR loses me. Nothing to do with religion. I have my beliefs. I just don’t like having religion pushed in my face.
My issue is when the preachiness (is that a word) comes out.
And by far my biggest resentment is when he refers callers to his network. I’ve never read any of his books. I only found out about him from a friend who was looking for some financial help. He’s a church type so he bought into it. So he turned me on to DR. His advice is very simple and easy to follow for people who are in debt and don’t know where to start or how to get out of it. And it does work. Sure it requires quite a bit of sacrifice but it’s very doable. His advice on investing isn’t anything I would follow.
For anyone who is financially savvy the advice is like a literature professor reading Green Eggs and Ham.
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