Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Robert Kiyosaki is also a good source of information, especially if you are buying a house. Many people question his methods but there is some great insight in his books.
I relocated over here from Nashville, so I've heard Dave Ramsey almost ever since he first signed on. While some of his stuff can get a little repetitive (credit cards are the devil, debt snowball, etc. - especially after hearing it for so long), he does make a lot of sense.
I just completed the purchase of my first home, and I bought for a half of the amount for which I was approved. I am still getting a "dream" home, and one of which I can be proud. If you know what you are looking for before you start the search, you'll never feel you had to settle for anything, even though your realtor may be a bit upset that they didn't make more commission off you (sorry, realtors reading this! ).
I watch the shows on HGTV like "House Hunters" where people are going out for their first houses and grousing because there's not granite countertops and hardwood floors and such. Get over yourself. You may find one house out of 30 that have them in your price range as a first-time buyer, but stuff like that should never be a consideration. In fact, the upgrades I did on my new construction were almost all structural.
Think of the pride you'll be able to take when you show your house to someone down the road and can say, "see these floors? I did them. see the countertops? did those too", AND you stayed financially within your means. To me, even though there's a ton of stress and research that goes into the process, it's very rewarding. Be a bulldog, not only with your realtor, but with your brokers, the builder (if applicable) and everyone involved. Ask questions. Make comments. People may seem annoyed, but hard work is always paid off.
Robert Kiyosaki is also a good source of information, especially if you are buying a house. Many people question his methods but there is some great insight in his books.
Agreed. I think sometimes he can be a little out in left field and his ideas do not hit home for some "traditional" buyers but he does have some interesting ideas that if used how he intends can be very beneficial
One problem we have in this country is a lack of economic education. When I was in high school we had "civics" class - it was mandatory. We learned about credit cards and how to write out a check. We learned the basic concepts of borrowing and buying. Nowadays schools do not offer such courses, and parents are failing to educate their young people at home. Consequently we have rampant ignorance surrounding financial matters in this country. People like Dave Ramsey are trying to combat that - but we are so far behind I fear we are doing nothing but becoming a dumbed down nation, as evidenced by the high rate of foreclosures on first time home buyers
I could not agree more. Our nation is far behind because of the lack of financial education in many of the schools. For example, Many years back I use to work in retail. I always found it interesting to work with different types of people from different cultures. I had a young typical american kid (maybe 8 or 9 years old) come up to me asking about a product we carried. I told him the price and his mother who was with him purchased it without question. The next day I had a young kid (again maybe 8 or 9) of arabic decent come up to me at the store and ask me for the price of the same item. When I told the kid the price he looked at me like I was crazy and said "I'm not paying that, that's M.S.R.P." I was completly caught off guard. A kid, not more than 9 years old understood about list pricing more so than most adults I worked with. I had many similar situations like this over a period of a few years. I finally have come to the sad conclusion that in general our financial education or lack there of (our youth especially) is far behind other places in the world and this whole housing problem is just a small example of that.
I relocated over here from Nashville, so I've heard Dave Ramsey almost ever since he first signed on. While some of his stuff can get a little repetitive (credit cards are the devil, debt snowball, etc. - especially after hearing it for so long), he does make a lot of sense.
I just completed the purchase of my first home, and I bought for a half of the amount for which I was approved. I am still getting a "dream" home, and one of which I can be proud. If you know what you are looking for before you start the search, you'll never feel you had to settle for anything, even though your realtor may be a bit upset that they didn't make more commission off you (sorry, realtors reading this! ).
I watch the shows on HGTV like "House Hunters" where people are going out for their first houses and grousing because there's not granite countertops and hardwood floors and such. Get over yourself. You may find one house out of 30 that have them in your price range as a first-time buyer, but stuff like that should never be a consideration. In fact, the upgrades I did on my new construction were almost all structural.
Think of the pride you'll be able to take when you show your house to someone down the road and can say, "see these floors? I did them. see the countertops? did those too", AND you stayed financially within your means. To me, even though there's a ton of stress and research that goes into the process, it's very rewarding. Be a bulldog, not only with your realtor, but with your brokers, the builder (if applicable) and everyone involved. Ask questions. Make comments. People may seem annoyed, but hard work is always paid off.
Yep-but you forgot to say: did all myself. Paid for. Still own the house after all these years. I love my house and how well I sleep at nite!
Bottom line is, alot of consumers trusted business professionals to guide them in the biggest investments of their lives. As a health care professional, if I mismedicate overmedicate or don't medicate someone, you can be damned sure I would be held accountable- not the client. If you go to the mechanic to have your car repaired, and 2 days later it breaks down, are we to hold the consumer accountable? Sure, the consumer does bear some responsibility in re the purchase of a home, but shame on the lenders/brokers/realtors/builders who deceived people with promises and guarantees, and then closed shop when the industry went to hell in a hnad basket!!
Consumers are way too dependent on others to tell them what they can and can't afford. They've lost all common sense about it, thanks to things like lines of credit. Your doctor/mechanic argument doesn't hold water, IMHO.
That's not to say bankers aren't mostly scum who rob people blind--they are, but consumers have to be responsible. They have to look at their budget/savings and be real about what they're doing.
Agree 100% that there are a lot of people out there that just don't know the score. It's easy for some of us to sit in judgement now and say they shoulda learned. Let's face it-how many people are smart enough or so inclined to say-yep I'm going to school tonite and take a free course at the local H.S. Yeah right, after they go to the dentist voluntarily. Just doesn't happen.
Of course they are learning a lot now ----"too little too later" I guess is applicable here.
I follow Suze Orman's books and advice for the most part. Her arguments make alot of sense and she is very conservative when it comes to spending money. Her show is great because she doesn't play nice and tells it like it is. Also the biggest thing you start to realize is that people with money problems have problems not money related and use shopping and buying stuff as a way to escape. Also she goes into why people spend on what they do and how financial issues can ruin marriages.
If I recall she recommends a 4 or 6 month backup fund for job loss not to be ever touched unless needed for a medical emergency and is pretty strict about the 3 to 1 for mortgage. And when you have children you better have a Revocable Living Trust.
I think every teenager should be required to read "Young Fabulous and Broke" before they even think about getting a credit card (which aren't all evil)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
).
Financial information
