had same thing back in NL
if i'de know that i'de be moving to something like i don't know, Australia in a few years,
all i had to do was not say a thing, then frigging max out them cards and my relocation and first year living costs could be funded in that way


Netherlands is closer to the US then say Belgium where i live now
Belgium credit is regulated by the governement, they can almost not advertise, have to do strict credit checks and what not, hell, credit cards in BE, have to be payed up, every month, no credit you can let loose and just pay minor bits off + interest

My co-worker is paid $180K/yr and also has to work weekends and vacation time to cover his spending....then has to defer paying taxes every year so he can work weekends and vacation to come up w/ that money. For me, it is difficult to be associated w/ anyone this dim.

180K a year???
let's say 50% taxes , health care crapola
that's 90 K left , A YEAR?!

did he build something like the playboy mansion or what??

with a 600 K house, at 20 years, that's 4K a month mortage
leaves him a cool 42 K for all the rest, cars, food, insurances, fuel, whatever

and that's still more then what many people have to do everything with, and he allready has his 600 K house covered


what line of work are you in??
if he can make 180 K, and fail to understand the simplicity of budgeting
then it makes me wonder if i can't get a job there and make the same amount or even more then he does, probably without doing overtime or weekends...

Never heard of Dave Ramsey, but it sounds like simple common sense.

I guess I can say that because I've only had Term life insurance, and I've never leased a car.
I've never had to pay the smallest debt first, because I don't go into debt. It's not rocket science. Just don't spend money you don't have.

The result? I've got a pretty good life, and no debt.

We work in healthcare...and are not physicians...but make more than several physicians in our hospital. His house was $240K. I'm fairly sure that there are several run-of-the-mill car loans (some of the cars are now gone) in his 30 year mortgage. I could go on and on here but the whole thing is beyond my capacity to describe....next purchase I'm aware of is a blue fox (?) coat for wife's x-mas gift.
Oh yeah...his wife works too. I'm pretty sure that it given the opportunity, he could out-spend a $500K/yr income....there is always better boats, hunting land, more expensive dog(s)....

I have been listening to Dave for several years now, and it just so happened that my wife and I had made an independant decision to do exactly what he suggests on his show and in his books, so we both happen to agree with him.

I can tell you from my own life that he is " dead on " with his advice, someone earlier mentioned his filing a chapter 7/11 and that is correct but he makes no bones about it, he went through a bad chapter early in his life and had no other option, he is not an advocate of doing this now.

I still listen to him every day and get some good advice there, if he is not on the air near where you live you can still listen to his show on the web, he is on most NPR stations about three hours a day.

ToddSmileWavy

How can one be so dim an get paid $180k/yr is what I do not understand. What`s his job?

Aurel

Oops, did not read the whole thread. Healthcare, OK. Now I know why there is a healthcare problem in this country. I am glad to learn that my health insurance payments may end up funding this dimwit or the likes of him.

Aurel

I have read the Millionaire Next Door and Charles J. Givens, Financial Self Defense Wealth without Risk. Both of those books agree with what you all are are posing about Dave Ramsey.

I've never heard of him, I basically follow those rules.

I do not buy anything I can't pay cash for. Cars, houses, holidays, TV's. If you can't pay cash you can't afford it. It's that simple. Sometimes I want things I can't afford, so I wait. Society (esp. women) is conditioned to think a) I want it, therefore I need it and b) I deserve it.

But I could just be a misinformed miser.

I will say that he made a great decision at least once....about 13 years ago when he put off the "now" and applied to, attended and finished graduate school.
Today, he enjoys an employment demand that far out-paces supply. He is paid well, works at all hours of the day and night, is required to keep a level head when people are trying to punch out and, because of his pay, is resented by many he works with and for.
However, it may take years to replace him at approximately the cost of his annual pay. Oh, and people in his position have the distinction of enjoying the highest rate of substance abuse of any health care professional....and you never can be sure of who it is you're hiring next.
So, considering the situation in whole, he spends all of his money faster than he can make it. He also has no choice but to come to work every day and night...and when you or yours really need the "dimwit" or his like...you won't consider what he does with the money you pay him. Yet you may be rightfully glad he got there at 2 am or whatever hour something unfortunate (or stupid) occured...and you may never realize he was there.
His vocation is Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and here in rural America, his performance (among other more 'routine' responsibilities) is the difference between transfer to the unit (or the helipad) and transfer to the refrigerator.

In the end, he is pretty good for the local economy...better than his other dimwit partners :).

I just stumbled on to his podcast a few days ago (on iTunes). Turns out he also just started a show on Fox Business Network. Most of what he says is definitely just common sense but he seems to have a good knack for explaining basic finance principles and discipline to the mostly working-class folks that call-in or email him. (Most I have heard seem to make $10-20/hr and have virtually no assets or savings).

I don't agree that ALL debt is evil under ALL circumstances but I do truly look forward to being rid of my non-mortage personal debt in the near future. Both of our family businesses currently have no debt and decent cash reserves. It really helps one's stress level.

Afraid I don't see or do this debt thing.
Pay cash for everything, if you don't have enough cash - that usually means you can't afford it meaning you either don't buy it or you save up some more.
We're not talking about rocket science here.

Rob - unfortunately " debt " and " credit cards " have become an American tradition, that is a shame to say but it is true. As a young man with a strong work ethic I made decent money and as a result had numerous credit offers, to which I subscribed and before I knew it my decent money was spent before I made it, too me several years to get caught up and pay those plastic debts off but when I did that I realized that if I did not control the credit it would control me, sometimes hard to resist when you are young, but fortunately I have made it to where I am now. It is a rare day that I carry a balance on any credit card I have, some of which has a limit high enough I can buy most any car at the dealerships in town by flopping one down.

Todd SmileWavy

K9Torro - today - its more than an American tradition, its very widespread over here.
When I hear of a colleague mentioning his cards are maxxed out - he's pretty skint this month then in the next sentence he's asking you what's your thoughts on his new car/television/PC?
Am I missing something here?

Rob - nope your not missing anything, I see the same thing with some of the guys I work with, they sit around a gripe about how little they make moneywise and that they can't seem to save anything up , but then you look outside in the yard and they have the latest truck, car, 4 wheeler, enough guns to start an armory etc....

The real funny thing is most of them won't work any overtime or take a second job , they eat out at least twice a day and if they have a wife , she either does not work or works a low pay job. Most of these same guys are on wife number 2,3,4 or 5 take your pic and are paying out mega child support as well...

If nothing else when I listen to Dave Ramsey and he has people calling in it makes me realize how lucky I am,,,

Todd SmileWavy

"Millionaire Next Door" and "The Millionaire Mind" are both excellent books. Ramsey's advice essentially follows that approach. Simple, common sense advice to build wealth.

So does anyone here know the actual criteria for raising their credit scores through all three of PRIVATE companies(the de facto reporting system for the whole PUBLIC US banking system)?

I bet not.

Anyone ever wonder why?

I just read Millionaire 12-18 months ago and I have made some mistakes that I am now fixing.

I WAS debt free, completely, not even a mortgage, I am in the process of selling a vacation home and the lease on my Audi ends in 9 months (I am handing the car in and walking away) Once the house is sold and the Audi is gone I will be pretty close to debt free again. I made some dumb moves about 2.5 years ago.

With business in Florida slowing, I have run up some debt trying to "keep things together" with my employees, the harsh reality is no one cares about how much debt I have, and I have to look out for me. I have 2 open lines of credit now that need to be delt with because I was trying to help my employees too much. Bottom line is, they don't care or appreciate what I am doing and I am burying myself to try to help them. Its hard to turn into a total a-hole but I am seeing if I want to come out of this slow down in one piece I need to only worry about me.

I am trying like hell to hang on to the 911 but the writing is on the wall, I may have to let it go to in order to clean up the mess I made. :(