Just joined- working my debt snowball :)

wildingb · 4 April 2013 at 6:25AM

iclaudius wrote: »

Hey you're killing it! Amazing progress. You'll see we're also Dave converts. His method differs from much of the advice on this site and I have to say the focus on behaviour over maths really seems to be the more effective way.

Best of luck!

His advice is different only because he thinks all debt is bad. (Although he will make an exception for taking a short-term mortgage with payments less than 25% of income). This forum recommends juggling with different rates of loans/credit cards. I agree with Ramsey, 0% offers are a recipe for disaster.

His advice is also geared to the US, and some things do not translate. For instance, the US government insures and subsidizes mortgages. You can get a mortgage for 30 years fixed at 3%!!!

He is also a baptist. And he talks about religion and the bible a lot. Passion of the convert and all that. Personally i don't have a problem with that, I think the bible has the accumulated wisdom of centuries - who on this forum would disgree with 'the borrower is a slave to the lender'. Although I imagine a lot of people in the UK will have a problem with the in your face religious aspect.

He has also been criticised for his investing advice. Could be described as overly optimistic. However, I think he know this and he exaggerates to encourage people to save, even a little bit. Some of his target audience need the exaggeration.

The podcast is free on itunes....

excited_to_be_free · 4 April 2013 at 7:18AM

What good tips! I'll be using some of them for sure.

Bobarella · 4 April 2013 at 7:29AM

I've not come across Dave Ramsey but personally I like to read any of the 'experts' when feeling a bit low. I discovered Alvin Hall long before Martin Lewis and he makes sense to me as well. Also like the Motley Fools advice, and recently have started to read Queen Frugals blog, a lady in Cornwall who paid off 45K of debt and is now chunking down her mortgage in just 8 years.

Bottom line, it feels good to debt bust, but the journey towards it can be a bit sloggy and sometimes depressing on a day to day basis when you feel like all you are doing is saying no to things instead of yes. That is why I love this site because its like to use a cheesy term, we are all each others cheerleaders when our spouse, mum, sibling etc may be sick to the back teeth of talking money money money! So thank you Martin for a brilliant resource.

DebtIsDumbCashIsKing · 5 April 2013 at 10:05PM

Nice to see some new responses here! Pleased other people know about Dave, listening to the show here in the UK it can sometimes feel like your out of your own if you know what I mean.
I'm down to £5500 now and that should hopefully be down again to £3500 / £4000 going into May after a really busy March at work.
I agree with the points above it can seem like a real slog attacking the debt with such focus, sacrificing things (not going out much and spending very carefully) etc... I've been working 60-70hr weeks at work and feels like I virtually live there at the moment. The one thing keeping me going is that I'll be debt free by the end of August (all going well) and I'm excited for that. It'll be a strange feeling.

I'll then start Baby Step 3 (building up the emergency fund) though I'm going to allow myself a little bit slack at first and give myself a chance to breath!

PennySaving · 6 April 2013 at 9:03AM

Good Morning OP, Thank you for your posts, they are inspiring.
I just wondered if you had children and how much your mortgage payments are each month?

I haven't heard of Dave Ramsey before but will be checking him out. Those mantras are fab! I also like to read Louise Hay's daily affirmation online each day to make me feel more positive about life.

Although, just from reading this forum I have been monitoring everything on a spreadsheet and trying to pay as much off our credit card throughout the month. Both my husband & I work really long hours just like you and would love to have the mortgage, 2 x loans & CC paid off within 10 years. Hopefully one loan & definitely the CC this year. (Having 2 teenage boys and a little girl can be expensive at times though!)

Like Bobarella, it does feel dogged at times & like we have no life!!

wildingb · 7 April 2013 at 1:20AM

PennySaving wrote: »

Good Morning OP, Thank you for your posts, they are inspiring.
I just wondered if you had children and how much your mortgage payments are each month?

I haven't heard of Dave Ramsey before but will be checking him out. Those mantras are fab! I also like to read Louise Hay's daily affirmation online each day to make me feel more positive about life.

Although, just from reading this forum I have been monitoring everything on a spreadsheet and trying to pay as much off our credit card throughout the month. Both my husband & I work really long hours just like you and would love to have the mortgage, 2 x loans & CC paid off within 10 years. Hopefully one loan & definitely the CC this year. (Having 2 teenage boys and a little girl can be expensive at times though!)

Like Bobarella, it does feel dogged at times & like we have no life!!

Dave Ramsey would probably say to focus on the CC and loans (baby step 2). Deal with the mortgage later (that is baby step 6). In between is saving the 3-6 months emergency fund (baby step 3), saving 15% income per year retirement (baby step 4) and saving for kids college (baby step 5).

http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/

As an aside and something you might want to think about. I think people in the UK need to wake up about saving for college. Now tuition fees are horrendous, even more than in the US. We in the UK really need to focus on putting some money aside for our kids education. I worked out that about 100/month for 18 years (if you can get 8% returns) should be enough to cover tuition and some living expenses. Although goodness knows what they will charge in 18 years time...

prettyplease · 7 April 2013 at 7:15PM

Im just restarting my debt busting journey and had never heard of Dave Ramsey. I have just had a look and this approach to me makes sense as I am my own worst enemy. If I paid attention to "common sense" then I wouldnt be in £20+k of debt right now.
Im not sure if I trust myself with an emergency fund yet though - Id be off buying an ipad. But I will read more and get the podcasts because I really could do with some motivation.
Thanks and well done!

DebtIsDumbCashIsKing · 7 April 2013 at 9:54PM

PennySaving wrote: »

Good Morning OP, Thank you for your posts, they are inspiring.
I just wondered if you had children and how much your mortgage payments are each month?

I haven't heard of Dave Ramsey before but will be checking him out. Those mantras are fab! I also like to read Louise Hay's daily affirmation online each day to make me feel more positive about life.

Although, just from reading this forum I have been monitoring everything on a spreadsheet and trying to pay as much off our credit card throughout the month. Both my husband & I work really long hours just like you and would love to have the mortgage, 2 x loans & CC paid off within 10 years. Hopefully one loan & definitely the CC this year. (Having 2 teenage boys and a little girl can be expensive at times though!)

Like Bobarella, it does feel dogged at times & like we have no life!!

Hi Penny,

In fairness I live on my own and don't have any children or such family commitments which I need to consider- this has definitely helped with my ability to make the progress that I have.
I feel for you in relation to the expenses involving your kids- good on you for having a family though :-)
Keep at it- my journey so far has told me that anything worth having takes graft, graft and then... a little bit more graft. Focus, dedication, never giving up etc... It's not easy- but then as the saying goes what worth having is? I make mistakes - slacked on the envelope system and often spend too much on fast food etc... and this is another area I need to tackle- but one battle at a time!
But ultimately the end goal- being "weird" (debt free) and changing my life for the better makes all the crap worth while.

Dave often says life is about choices and this is what I remind myself. If you fall off the wagon you then make the choice again to dust yourself down and just get back on track. After all- what's the alternative!

Keep at it. I'm chuffed by the responses to this thread. Sharing my story and hearing others in a similar position is really motivating and makes you feel good. I posted on Twitter recently about my journey and got some great comments on there also.

PennySaving · 8 April 2013 at 9:21AM

Morning, as you say its all baby steps & hard work but I really want to be 'weird', can't wait! Thank you for your comments

I've been looking at the Dave Ramsey link posted above and it all makes a lot of sense.
I know we have debts but they are manageable & feels good knowing there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Have a great week!