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We became debt free long before hearing about Dave Ramsey. I see nothing wrong with using a credit card as long as you pay it off in full each month. We tend to keep my vehicles 8-10 years. Started paying cash for vehicles in the 90's. We pay ourselves a car payment into savings each month. When we are ready for a new vehicle we have the cash.

How one does there personal finance is there choice. I like being debt free and living comfortably in retirement. Dave R. is not an idiot. Some of his advice doesn't fit everyone's needs.

For the most part I think leases are a bad deal.

 

Dave ramsey doesn't say you shouldn't get a mortgage.
https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/the-truth-about-mortgages

I bet you haven't actually looked up any of Dave Ramsey's advice, you just like to sit on a high horse and call people who like his advice sheep.

And what do my phone and computer have to do with anything? I can't have tires for my vehicle? Now you are just reaching. All I said was car payments and leases are a waste of money, which they are.

If you have an emergency fund, you have no use for 20k liquid asset. That money should be invested or used on a mortgage or for a car. 20k in the bank is losing value because of inflation.

Credit card companies wouldn't give out points if they didn't make money either.

You tell us we drank the Kool aid but looks like you drank the Kool aid of credit card companies and dealerships.

 

In the blog he states the ideal way to buy a home is to put 100% down and pay cash. Then if you read the blog, did you not notice how he links you to "Dave Ramsey recommends one mortgage company. This one!". You're taking the advice of someone who is being paid by Churchhill mortgage, not exactly neutral advice. He is making money from advertisers and YouTube advertising, not from his own advice.
Dave Ramsey's advice is to not buy anything you don't need, don't buy a new car. Instead save that money. So if you're saying don't buy a new truck, it's a waste of money. How can buying a new phone, new computer, new TV, etc.. be any different?

"That money should be invested or used on a mortgage or for a car. 20k in the bank is losing value because of inflation."
So will it depreciate more sitting in the bank or buying a car? You're contradicting yourself a lot.

Credit card companies make the majority of their revenue from swipe fees, that's why they offer competitive points and cash back. The more you use your card, the more they make on swipe fees. These are paid for by the merchants, not the consumer. So as long as you can pay your card in full every month, your throwing money away by paying cash.

It sounds like you aren't familiar with finances, just with what one person says. Just because you save a thousand dollars a month, doesn't mean you couldn't have saved two thousand dollars.

 

I'm not just familiar with Dave ramseys advice, I took the advice of most people and built up my credit score, got a car payment, used credit cards to collect points, and financed things.

Where did that get me? Credit card debt, spending several thousand dollars more on a car in payments when I could've saved that money every month, buying crap I didn't need, and paying interest.

Yes, I was irresponsible and if I wouldn't not bought anything I couldn't pay off in a month and kept better track of my spending habits, there would have been nothing wrong with credit cards. And my car payment was smaller than most people's.

Here's the thing. While you are correct that there is nothing wrong with using a credit card if you pay off the balance every month and buy nothing you wouldn't normally buy, you can collect a few hundred dollars in rewards points every year. But the problem is that most people do not do that, including myself.

The reason Dave Ramsey's advice works is because he gets people aware of their spending habits and poor financial choices and gets them on track. I'm not arguing that is isn't simple advice, but if you listen to the show these people will call in with tens or hundreds of thousands in debt because they never knew how to manage their finances otherwise.

A lot of the advice that Dave Ramsey gives is based off a book they did interviewing lots of "everyday millionaires" as he calls, AKA regular people who retired wealthy because of their good spending habits. That included paying off mortgages, not buying new cars, never having car payments, etc. I agree with you that you shouldn't take the advice of the Uber rich, because their situation is much different.
At one point in time Dave Ramsey was bankrupt, and now he is worth 200 million. Most of that is because of books and ads, but if his advice didn't work, people would stop buying.

It seems that you have a good grasp of personal finance, but sitting there and saying that he's an idiot and that everyone who listens to him is an idiot is a foolish thing to do. His advice works, it worked for me, and it's worked for many other people.

And while you are correct, buying a used phone or computer is better, you are talking a couple hundred dollars and not thousands of dollars, which many people end up quite upside down on car loans.

I'm not contradicting myself. It doesn't make any sense to not want to lose all your liquid asset into a depreciating asset when a bank account is technically depreciating your money. Cars are not investments, they are tools. I spent 10k on my truck which will do everything a 40k truck will do.

That's why Dave Ramsey says what he says. Most people are fine with a 10-20k truck, and a 20k difference is a lot of money to most people, but not if you are worth a million dollars, then you can afford it. You don't have to agree with it, but the math is in favor of buying a used car with cash.

And you act like him making money is a bad thing. . .it's his business, he has to make money. He tells people that buying a house with cash is the best way, and if you decide to go with a mortgage, go with a 15 year loan. He recommends Churchill mortgage because they do manual underwriting for those without a credit score, and a lot of listeners don't have a credit score because they don't buy cash.

 

"One million dollars isn't a lot of money." - Stockbroker

"Mo' Money Mo' Problems." - The Notorious B.I.G.

"If you don't have the money to buy something, you probably don't need that thing." - Accountant

"Cash is KING!" - Drug Dealer

"Only take financial advice from people with more money than you." - Rich Guy

"Space and Time are irrelevant." - Homeless Guy