The Total Money Makeover {Booksneeze Review}

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Last year, my family had a chance to go to Financial Peace University- a program by Dave Ramsey designed to help families get out of debt. A TDY and a lot of illness got in the way of us being able to attend all our classes, so I was super excited to have a chance to review Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover through the Booksneeze Blogger program.

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What is special about The Total Money Makeover is that it really is a practical, do-able program. Basically, the gist is this: you have to make some sacrifices. It’s not going to be easy. It’s work. But with planning, and careful management of your money, you can be debt free.

Totally debt free.

No car payment. No house payment. No credit card debt. No nothin’.

More than that, with careful planning, you can build wealth. You can be happy and comfortable and free from your current debt-driven lifestyle.

I wish I could tell you my family is debt free today. We aren’t. We are working on it every single paycheck in measurable ways. Some choices we make to help us pay down our debts include meal planning and cooking at home, not having television service, and not having fancy smart phones (we have pay as you go phones). I work a couple odd jobs to make extra money so we can travel without breaking out a credit card, and of course, Hubby is working like crazy also.

Both of us are really trying hard to get ourselves out of the cycle of paying debt, and gaining debt, and doing it all again. It’s not always comfortable. I miss my iPhone, and being able to check my email anywhere. I miss being able to use apps and look up information while on the go. I miss TV, and being able to record the shows I want to watch. I miss going out.

This lifestyle is temporary. We’re doing baby steps with Dave Ramsey, but I know with time our finances will improve if we stick to this plan. I’m really impressed with this edition of the book because it’s a solid hardcover, with thick, glossy pages. It will hold up to years of referencing as we work through each step.

This book gives you the tools you need to start on your own journey to be debt free. Dave Ramsey will teach you how to budget your money, he’ll help you figure out how to pay debt down fast. Then once you get that debt paid down, he has some wonderful ideas on building wealth.

You can purchase your copy of The Total Money Makeover for 17 dollars today on Amazon (price subject to chance). It’s 17 dollars that can really change your life if you’re willing to do the work in the book.

If you want to read a success story- check out my friends blog– her family actually IS debt free, and even got to meet Dave Ramsey to celebrate.

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6 Comments

  1. I don’t know if this is the EXACT book I read, but I skimmed it, then took everything it had to say and applied it to our finances that day. We paid off two debts in a month, then our washer broke. LOL. I’m currently trying to talk my husband into selling off his car, so we can get our debt to just school loans, and vehicles (he just HAD to buy a motorcycle…..). We’re also talking about selling our house, and moving into an RV for a while (shh, don’t tell my parents), since we keep moving, and it’s getting to be a drain on our funds, honestly. I can’t wait until all of our debt payments are going into savings! I see it happening by Dec of next year. *crosses fingers*

  2. How cool is this?!? Thanks for the shout-out! And, I’ll tell people here that the thing that turned me away from his program for years before I actually tried it was his crazy notion that people should be debt-free even from their houses. I thought he was nuts.

    As I quit trying to do this on my own and took advice from someone who was qualified to teach me about this subject, I heard what he was saying. Basically all debt sucks and should be eliminated. He takes no debt out whatsoever for houses, cars, etc. But for regular people like me, he doesn’t yell at us if we take out a mortgage. He sets conservative boundaries and teaches us where to draw the line in the purchase of a home: Put a downpayment down that will help eliminate PMI, fixed rate (no balloons, no adjustable rates), 15 year (and then work to pay it off sooner) and the total payment should be no more than a quarter of your take home pay.

    These guidelines will help people know how much house to buy and when to buy (after debt free, after emergency fund and after the downpayment is saved). THEN, since it’s only a quarter of your take-home pay, you have room left in your budget to LIVE LIFE on and also, pay it down sooner.

    I love LOVE this topic!!

    We just met (yesterday) with an ELP (Endorsed Local Provider) who is going to help us get started on our investing. It’s so excited. 5 years ago we were on the brink of foreclosure…. This program works.

    1. I was hoping you’d stop by and weigh in! Right now is such a hard time for us to really be doing as much as I want to save- because I also want to travel SO much. And I don’t want to do it on borrowed money. So far, everything we’ve done, we’ve done with cash. Half of me feels bad that that money wasn’t put on our debt- but this is a once in a life time chance to really see Europe!
      At the next base, we’ll be able to throw more money at it. I can’t WAIT to be done with all of it. Especially the student loan. BLEH.

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