Why I ♥ Dave Ramsey

Are you hooked on Dave Ramsey like I am?

You should be.

I bought the audio version of his book, The Total Money Makeover last fall. It rocks. It has changed the way I think about money.

What I love about Dave is how real he is. There isn't anything gimmicky or fancy about what he teaches. He teaches good ol fashioned advice. But it's advice that a majority of Americans have forgotten about. He just makes it doable.

Here are his "Baby Steps" towards financial freedom (of course, it is assumed you are living on a zero-based budget... "If you don't tell your money where to go, it will leave!")

1. Save $1000 for an emergency fund (I always thought it was weird to SAVE when you had debt to pay off... but having an emergency fund eliminates the use of credit cards the next time you have an emergency! What a concept hu? Since October, we've had to use our emergency fund three times! I'm so grateful we had it!)
2. Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball (currently working on this one)
3. Increase your emergency fund to 3-6 months of living expenses
4. Invest 15% of income into Roth IRA's and pre-tax retirement
5. Start saving for children's college funds
6. Pay off home early
7. Build wealth and give! Invest in mutual funds and real estate.

Stretching my grocery budget is just one of the things I'm doing as I work on my debt snowball. We've also been selling things, using tax returns to pay down debt, and finding ways to bring in extra income.

For you locals, you can catch Dave's radio show on 580 KIDO from 6-9 in the evening (when he isn't ... or better yet, listen to him live (for free) from his website. He's on from noon to 3:00. You can also read show recaps and listen to his archives anytime you want... free of cost of course!

So, are you ready to "Live like no one else, so you can LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE?" I highly recommend his book, The Total Money Makeover!!