Financial Peace: Restoring Financial Hope to You and Your Family [Hardcover]

Dave Ramsey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

Get out of debt and stay out with the help of Dave Ramsey, recently seen by millions of Today Show viewers. His practical regimen, first set forth by The Financial Peace Planner, which will be published by Penguin in January 1998. Loaded with inspirational insights that come from personal experience, this set of books is the most valuable purchase a debt-ridden reader can make.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

As a young and gifted businessman during the real estate decade of the Eighties, Ramsey, who has a Christian radio talk show, made millions; however, when the market eventually collapsed, the author found himself driving a Jaguar with no money for gas. Using the anger he felt from this experience as a catalyst to write this book, Ramsey bypasses advice on stock and mutual fund selection typically found in similar books and takes aim at the behavioral aspects of personal money management. Admonishing the reader to avoid the seductiveness of credit cards, among other things, Ramsey illustrates his strategy for dumping debt, which he considers paramount in realizing financial peace. While here and there he incorporates Christian practice, e.g., in the first chapter he uses prayer for gathering his thoughts and later speaks of tithing and charitable contributions, his work is straightforward and written without financial jargon. This is a firm but necessary slap in the face for individuals and married couples just getting out on their own. Highly recommended for public libraries.?Dennis Krieb, St. Charles Cty. Coll., St. Peters, Mo.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The author's own experience with debt and bankruptcy is the backdrop for the story of his journey from financial riches to loss of everything and then to survival when he found new success through his counseling efforts, which are framed by his religious beliefs. Ramsey determined that his personal experience with financial pain was an ideal foundation for a career in assisting consumers in handling debt. The reader learns that it takes considerable sacrifice, discipline, and patience to control money, and Ramsey contends that a huge percentage of Americans, caught in a web of instant gratification, need help in managing their finances. The core of the book reflects on 25 principles, which the author calls "peace puppies," great creatures that are eager to please and love their master but, without discipline, will become wild and mean. These puppies include avoiding the worship of money, giving money away to worthy causes, living substantially below one's income, and laying out written details of a cash-management plan. One caveat: the book concludes with a set of financial worksheets; however, they do provide an excellent introduction to disciplined planning. Mary Whaley

Product Details

• Hardcover: 270 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Printing edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670873616
• ISBN-13: 978-0670873616
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide to living debt-free and accumulating wealth, August 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Financial Peace: Restoring Financial Hope to You and Your Family (Hardcover)

If you're sick and tired of living from paycheck to paycheck, Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace is an excellent guide of learning how to manage your money. Dave's teachings are Christian-based and emphasize learning to budget, getting and staying out of debt, bargain shopping, and ultimately accumulating enough wealth to retire with peace of mind.

My wife and I first became aware of Dave's teachings through his syndicated radio program. Since we have been following his teachings, we have learned to live on less than we make and have managed to pay off over $12,000 of debt in only 8 months.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is struggling to keep their finances in order. I have also given several copies of this book as graduation and wedding presents.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique Points -- Easy-to-read, July 9, 2002

By 

Charles John Gervasi (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Financial Peace: Restoring Financial Hope to You and Your Family (Hardcover)

This is the best book I have ever seen on personal finance. It is easy to read and uses entertaining anecdotes to keep the reader interested.

So much of the world of personal finance is dominated by people and institutions selling financial products. Ramsey calls for people to be cautious about financial products in favor of simply living on less than they earn and paying down debts. When a salesperson approaches us and says "May I help you?" we prepare ourselves to talk to someone who is trying to sell us something. With financial products, especially debt, people are often too eager to be sold. I think it's rare to hear this point of view because a lot of the information we get about personal finance flows from lending institutions. Think of this book as the other side of the story.

This book gives hard-to-find advice about how to deal with financial emergencies. There's a whole other side to the unctuous, friendly-sounding credit card offers that are so common-- they lend money to people who cannot afford it. When people cannot pay, they sell the accounts to bill collectors who try to get people to put their obligations ahead of basic necessities by using lies, obscenities, threats, insults, and any other tricks they can think of. Where else do you read about this?

As other reviews have pointed out, Ramsey has an abrasive personality and right-wing political views. I totally disagree with his right-wing values, but he doesn't spend enough time on them to detract from the valuable personal finance information.

Another criticism is that Ramsey uses his "ministry" as an advertising vehicle for the very financial institutions he's criticizing. He claims that institutions that he endorses operate by his principles. I doubt, however, that he is picky about his endorsements, so follow Ramsey's advice from this book-- be skeptical about financial products, even ones he endorses on the radio.

I highly recommend this book. It can be easily understood by someone without a high school education and no experience with money. It has advice aimed at helping such a person with financial problems. At the same time, it has equally valuable advice for someone with an advanced education and high-paying job. High-income people often feel pressure to live an affluent lifestyle at the expense of other priorities. This book is a good antidote to that pressure.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Help for millions of people!!!, July 14, 2001

By 

Marc Lucas (San Antonio,TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Financial Peace: Restoring Financial Hope to You and Your Family (Hardcover)

Having recently lived in Tennessee, I have had the opportunity to experience his radio talk show. His common sense approach to one of the biggest problems in the US, DEBT, is both compassionate and straight-forward. I have found the book to be a direct extension of what I heard on the radio for a time.

Is this book simple---YES, financial peace is a simple process. Unfortunately, we live in a country that tries to complicate it. What Dave tries to explain is that if you learn to spend less than you make, you will have financial peace.

Is this hard---Yes, old habits die hard, especially bad ones. The principles in this book WORK!!! But they require a level of self-discipline that few want to attain. Financial peace may mean giving up your new car for an old jalopy in order to reduce a $300/month car payment or moving to a smaller house to reduce cost of living.

What I find most important about this book is that Dave Ramsey focuses on the family aspect of debt and how it can and does tear families apart. He also shares his own experiences with bankruptcy and the personal humiliation associated with it. He has been there people---and he has survived!

If you are up to your eyeballs in debt as most Americans are, this book provides a solid, stable, no-nonsense starting point to learn the simple (yet elusive) principles to help you on your way. It does not take you into complicated business practices nor does it bore you with Wall Street jargon and talk of IPO's, mergers, takeovers... It is in no way intended for those content in their current state, but it is a must-read for the average-joe in mainstream America who dreams of reaching his full potential and a comfortable retirement.

BE DEBT FREE AND SHARE THE WEALTH!!!