Customer Reviews

Financial Peace Revisited

5 star:		(94)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The original edition of this book was the first book I read on personal finance and I still think it's the best one out there. Dave's personal story of how he lived the "rich lifestyle" and then lost it all really speaks to the myth of "having it all". He makes the point that we don't have to "have it all" (or "own it all") to be happy. That said, he offers a very solid and straight-forward plan on how to break out of the debt cycle and save for the future. The book includes a number of ways to change your thinking and your habits to make you more financially secure.

Since reading this book, I have put many of his ideas into practice. There is nothing that has added to my personal happiness and security more than knowing I have an emergency fund to cover expenses if something unexpected happens. I am also almost debt-free and have money saved for retirement.

I have recommended this book to others and have even bought a copy (I originally read this at the library) just so I can read it again and lend it to friends. Everyone needs to read this book!

I've read at least two dozen books on money management and wealth creation, including the Rich Dad series (which is also great by the way), and I have to place this book in the number one spot. I've purchased copies for many friends and family members and continually recommend it to people in my seminars. I really believe it can change your life... it did for me.

I was working hard and earning a great income of more than $100k per year, but I was also spending it all. Then changes came and I plunged down, suddenly, to less than $35k per year. For some people that's a lot of money, but imagine you've been earning $35k per year and suddenly it fell to $15-18k - that's about what I felt like emotionally. Then I cam across Dave's materials and my life was literally unlocked.

I learned that I needed to manage my money to manage the rest of my life. I discovered that stress can disappear - even in the modern world - when you've taken care of your primary needs first and provided a security blanket for the future.

Today, I have a bank account that will keep me going for about a year even if my funds were completely cut of and, borrowing from another excellent book, I have multiple streams of income.

Since reading Dave's book, I've read the entire Rich Dad series, the Multiple Streams of Income and Multiple Streams of Internet Income books and many others on finances. They've all added to my life, but this book is the one that started my journey and gave me the needed principles to evaluate opportunities and options that come my way.

You'll love this book.

Dave's principles are easy to apply for anyone, no matter their income. Even if you only make $24,000 a year, you can do this. The principles are simple: Live on less than you make, shed debt, don't borrow, invest wisely. The pervasive "gotta-have-it-now" conspicuous consumption mindset is addressed, in a no-nonsense style that still manages to convey warmth and caring.

He recommends extra jobs to increase income if the existing income is low. For those that view this as anti-family, consider two things: 1) Dave doesn't recommend it for the long term, only as long as is needed to get out of debt; and 2) financial freedom is a wonderful gift for your family. "Changing your family tree" is the aim. If you get out of debt, and teach your children the same principles of not spending money you don't have (i.e. borrowing), then you've changed your family for generations to come.

I did it; I got out of debt on a single-mom lower-than-national-average salary using Dave's principles. I dug out of a $24,000 pile of debt in sixteen months with this system. I am now debt-free, saving for retirement, setting aside some money for my son's education, and more financially secure than I have ever been. The plan works, if you work it. The key is personal responsibility.

Sure, Dave makes hundreds of thousands of dollars a year - now. He didn't always, and the fact that he lived what he preaches makes this book credible, interesting, and relevant.

I first heard Dave Ramsey on Sirius Satellite Radio. After that I was conviced to buy his book "Total Money Makeover" which I thought was great. Having loved that book I decided to venture back to his previous book "Financial Peace: Revisited"

I initially feared this book would be too much like "Total Money Makeover" and that I would be wasting my time reading the same information I already knew but quite the contrary. This earlier work is less about his baby steps program and more about saving in general. I thoroughly enjoyed his chapters on Insurance, Investment Products & Mutual funds. If you have a child or even a spouse or family member that is interested in aquiring a better understanding of what a mutual fund is and how it works, this is the best and easiest to understand explanation that I have seen to date.

I personally wish there was less religious attributes mentioned in Dave Ramseys teachings but no one is perfect. I reccomend this book to anyone who would like an easy to read book on the topic of money & savings.

"Since money problems and fights are statistically the biggest problem in marriage, any one of us who is wise will be on guard against these problems and looking for ways to win." ~ pg. 207

After reading Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover," I was interested in seeing what he had to say in "Financial Peace Revisited." My husband and I are reading all his books and so far we have set up a realistic budget and have almost paid off all our credit card debt. It was amazing how fast we got with the program and how quickly it works. My only advice is to give yourself time to adjust to the changes. It took me a few weeks to sit down and type out a budget (my husband initially used the worksheets in the back of the book) but I eventually did and it felt good to be in more control of our finances.

How do you control buying fever?
Can someone really become a millionaire by saving $65 a month?
Could this book really save your marriage?
How can you save money when you have credit card debt?
Are you tired of being a servant to financial institutions?
Where should I invest my money for retirement?

These are the types of questions Dave Ramsey answers...and more. I never thought books on finance could be so fun to read. In this book he also makes investing easy to understand. He gets very excited when talking about mutual funds. Some of the main ideas in this book include plans to deal with unexpected expenses (money in savings and emergency funds) and how to pay off debt quickly.

"On average, cardholders carry a $8,367 balance on their cards from month to month (160 percent increase since the past decade), paying an average 18.3 percent in interest." ~ pg. 73

I've listened to Dave Ramsey's radio show and have always found his advice helpful. I can also highly recommend his books. I also think you would love: The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness.

~The Rebecca Review

No matter your financial situation this book will help you improve your finances. This book shows the dangers of all debt period. Dave provides 7 easy "Baby Steps" to follow to get out of debt and acquire wealth. Following his 7 baby steps will change your family tree. He stresses the importance of having a written budget each month before the month starts, but I really think this should have been the first baby step due to how important it is.
Baby Steps:
1.) ...emergency fund
2.) Debt Snowball
3.) Fully Funded Emergency Fund (3-6 months of expenses)
4.) 15% income towards retirement
5.) College Fund for children
6.) Pay off the mortgage
7.) Acquire wealth and give
I would highly recommend one of his live events if you ever get the opportunity.

Absolutely life changing. Rich or poor, you have to read this and apply it to your life. I read Financial Peace Revisited in one day; simply could not put it down. Only months after listening to his radio show I have dumped over $14,000 in debt, have set up an emergency fund, and I'm well on my way to being debt free (other than my home)in a matter of months. Not a lot of people can have this type of effect on you, and after reading this book, you will have a different outlook on every dollar that passes through your hands. I really cannot recommend this book enough and I only wish I could have read it 10 years ago after receiving my first paycheck.

In Dave's Financial Peace Revisited, he tells the story of how he got rich then went broke and what he learned from it. Then, Dave tells how he took a long, hard look at our society and how totally "stupid" he was (and most Americans still are) in terms of how he viewed debt and money. Dave then relates how he re-started his own climb to financial independence in a totally different way than he did the first time. This book doesn't have a bunch of conceptual, theoretical junk. It gives you PRACTICAL, immediately implementable steps that anyone can take to get their financial house in order and tells you exactly how to go about it. If you are handling your money well, this book will help you get better. If you're struggling with your money or your relationship with your spouse due to money troubles, this book may change your life. Learn how to manage your money instead of having it manage you. I've been buying copies of this book online and giving them to the people in my life that I care about most. I couldn't recommend it higher. Good luck and may God bless you.

I bought this book a few years ago and the principles are life changing. I write today to mention a couple of things in retrospect.

We cut up our credit cards and closed our accounts and went debt free also. However, now I know that it is better to NOT close those old accounts and I am regretting that we did. Having the accounts in the first place already dings your fico score. Closing those accounts dings it even more as it increases your debt to credit ratio. A revolving account with a zero balance gives you a better score than a closed revolving account. You will absolutely need those high fico scores when it comes to buying insurance, etc. Higher fico/beacon scores means lower insurance premiums.

Second, never use a debit card for hotels or rental cars like Dave suggests. You are better off using a major credit card and paying off the balance. The reason is, on debit cards, the rental/hotel companies hold up to $500 from your account or even more. You eventually get it back, but sometimes weeks later. Credit cards don't actually get charged. Yes, I think it may be a ploy to encourage people to use plastic, because after all, a visa debit SHOULD be treated like a visa, right? Well, they aren't. Now hotels and rental car companies post warnings regarding the pitfalls of using a debit card.

Other than these two caveats, and the one brought up earlier by someone else regarding mutual funds and risk, the book is definitely beneficial.

I've read Financial Peace a couple times before but this time was in conjunction with going through Financial Peace University. Both the book and the course have some great information on personal finance.

The driving principles behind Ramsey's philosophy are live on a budget, pay off debt as quick as possible, build an emergency fund, and get rich slow through diversified investments rather than trying get rich quick schemes.

He describes 7 baby steps (a phrase borrowed from the movie "What About Bob?") to financial peace. The first is to go crazy to build up a $1,000 emergency fund. This will allow you to take care of true emergencies while getting out of debt. (Things like going out to eat, new clothes for school, Christmas presents, etc. would not qualify as emergencies.) This emergency fund also allows you to cut up credit cards and never use them again. Since funds are available to cover unexpected expenses credit cards are no longer necessary. (And yes you can purchase anything online, rent a car, or book a hotel with a debit card. Anything you can do with a credit card can be done with a debit card)

He quotes studies by Dunn & Bradstreet indicating that consumers purchase 12-18% more when using a credit card versus using cash. Having to look Uncle Benjamin, Abraham, George, and Andrew in the eye and tell them that they'll being going to live with someone else is an emotional experience and has an ouch factor to it that swiping a card just doesn't have. McDonald's has also done studies indicating the people paying with credit cards end up buying around 30% more than those paying with cash. So yeah, even for those paying off their card every month and getting "skymiles" or "1% cash back," you likely bought 12 to 18% more by using that credit card. Hope you enjoy the "free flight."

The second baby step is to list all debts from smallest to largest and pay minimums on all except the smallest one regardless of interest rate. Once the smallest one is paid off you would roll that money into the second smallest one and so forth. The concept is referred to as a debt snowball.

Mathematically it might seem more advantageous to pay the highest interest card first and on paper this is accurate. However, personal finance is 80% behavior and only 20% head knowledge. When you start seeing the traction and progress you're making you get excited and more focused "gazelle intense" and start really attacking the debts which result in getting out of debt quicker.

Ramsey encourages selling so much stuff the kids start hiding 'cause they think they're next and naming the dog "eBay." Picking up extra side jobs whether that be delivering pizzas, cutting grass, babysitting, cleaning houses or some other hobby which generates money is also encouraged. He also advocates paying only cash for cars not only to stay out of debt but also to avoid the beating in value you take when driving the car 10 feet off the lot.

After paying off all consumer debt not including the house if a home is owned, baby step number 3 is increasing the emergency fund to 3-6 months of expenses. This emergency fund should be placed in something that's extremely safe such as a money market or savings account. One good reason to have this amount of an emergency fund is in cases of losing a job you would have a solid 3 to 6 months to look for one without the pressure of paying bills with no income.

After building the emergency fund to 3-6 months of expenses, you then move on to baby step 4 which is investing in a retirement plan through work if they match a percentage of your contribution and then through a Roth IRA. If there is no matching from the employer in a 401k, 403b, or TSP, you would start with the Roth IRA which grows tax free. Using mutual funds with solid 10 year track records is a great diversified investment strategy for a retirement account. One would also want to spread money around to various mutual funds such as a growth & income fund, an aggressive fund, an international fund, and a value or balanced fund. The goal is to invest 15% of a paycheck into retirement.

You then move on to baby step 5 which is funding education for children. This can be done through a couple different tax defered accounts such as an Education Savings Account (ESA) or a 529 plan. Only after building up retirement should one start on the kids college. Kids can get scholarships and work to help pay for college but retirement is not something that should be put on hold. You really don't want to be eating dog food in retirement.

After all 5 of these steps are in order, you would then pay everything else down on the house as quick as possible.

Once the home is free and clear, you win and have true financial peace. At this point, you invest in 100% paid for real estate as well as continuing to invest in solid mutual funds. You can now live the life you've worked so hard for and give lots of money away.

I highly recommend this book and the Financial Peace University class to anyone. Even those who already know a good bit about personal finance can benefit from them.