The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness

This book is changing the way that my wife and I handle our finances.Before reading it, we had no plan whatsoever for our money, so the same way it would come in, it would go out.We feel confident that using the system outlined in the book, we will be able to pay off our debt and have lasting financial success!

Love Dave Ramsey’s way of managing money. Lots of great information and inspiration provided in this book.

I love it

I usually do not like reading, but I finished reading this book in three days, which is my fastest time I ever red any books.The stories in the book of people who have manage to transform their family by following Dave’s total money make over plan is truly inspiring.As a result of reading this book, I have decided to take action. I am ready to take control over my finances.Thank you Dave for such an amazing book!

This is a good book to have, open my eyes to look at my finances in a more deliberate and responsible manner manner!

I've always been interested in my finances and my husband and I jointly manage our family's finances so we both know what's going on. A friend at church was talking about Dave Ramsey and I had never heard of him before so I decided to look him up and see what kinds of books he wrote. I found this book to be a popular choice of his and I didn't know how much of it would interest me so I ended up borrowing it from the library initially. I enjoyed his writing and found the information to be helpful so I decided to purchase my own copy to reference at home.The Total Money Makeover is a personal finance book written by Dave Ramsey. Ramsey is a financial expert as well as a Christian who has had his own money troubles in the past. He's overcome them and learned from his mistakes so he's passed along his wisdom in these pages. There are also many stories of people who have been in a tough spot financially who used this book to get themselves out of debt. This book is 237 pages long, contains 13 chapters, worksheets and a full index.I found this book to be helpful and I really enjoyed reading it! Dave Ramsey writes in a no-nonsense fashion and if he says something is stupid or a bad idea, he will say exactly that. He doesn't beat around the bush. He provides step-by-step information on getting yourself out of debt and what to do if you have a crisis while you are working on getting yourself out of debt (he also refers to Murphy's Law quite a bit so something will always happen). I like how he tells us what types of companies, funds, etc to avoid and what ones are good ones. Even though he knows a lot about investments, he doesn't provide extensive investment information in this book but he does give some information on what types of funds he thinks are best based on trends.I enjoyed this book so much that I told my sister about it and she said she wanted to read it too so I bought one for her and one for myself. I've told others about the book and I think it is helpful, no matter what your financial situation is. Some parts of the book didn't apply to us but I found the second half of it to be especially informative which is why I decided to buy a copy. Unless you already have millions of dollars in the bank and have all of your finances under control (retirement, investments, kids' college education, etc.), I think you'll find the information in this book to be useful.If you have a lot of credit card debt and loans and want to get your finances under control, I highly recommend this book. Even if you don't have a lot of debt but you want to find a smarter way prepare for your kids' college education, this is a great book to read. It's very informative and you can also borrow a copy from a friend or the library first before you buy your own. I'm glad I bought it because the small investment in this book has caused us to take a closer look at our finances and see what we can do better. Overall, I feel it's worth the money and time to buy and read this book so you have a financially-fit future!

I have read dozens of finance books and this is one of the best. I would put it up there with Automatic Millionaire, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and Pirates of Financial Freedom. It isn't perfect though which I will talk about later.Who is this book for? Everyone can benefit from it, but it is great for married couples and those in their late 20s, 30s, and early 40s. Young adults could benefit tremendously from it, but I'm worried it might not be exciting or fun enough to hold their attention. It's not really meant for retirees.--- The Good ---* He says financial freedom is 80% behavior and 20% knowledge which is so important, and he emphasizes this by pointing out there are a lot of broke finance professors.* There are many real-life success stories of real people which shows his method works, and they also provide inspiration.* He lays out his seven Baby Steps and makes them simple to understand. He points out that living right financially is not complicated. It may be difficult, but it's not complicated.* I really liked the quote, "If you worked for a company called YOU Inc. and you managed money at YOU Inc. the way you manage your own money now, would you fire you?"* The book includes helpful budget forms and worksheet in the back of the book.* He isn't all gloom and doom. He wants you to have fun and even approves of buying a $30,000 watch, but only after you reach step seven and can afford it.--- The Not-So-Good ---* He doesn't go into a lot of detail on how to increase your income. Dave Ramsey is rich because he is a business owner who can make money from his radio show, books, seminars, programs, etc. It would have been great to get his advice on that, but he probably didn't want to overwhelm the reader with too many topics.* I feel his previous bad experience with debt (he was over-leveraged with his real estate investments) has made him overly zealous on not having any debt. College loans can be very appropriate for some people, business loans can be great in the right situation, and his statement that you should put money toward paying down debt rather than getting the company 401(k) match seemed too extreme to me.* The book wasn't super entertaining. I found a few parts to be a little dry and repetitive. While it certainly wasn't boring, I wish more money management books would be like the new personal finance adventure novel, but I guess that isn't this book's purpose. Still, there were a couple parts that made me chuckle and he did have some interesting stories.* He stressed putting 100% of your investments in stock-related mutual funds. First, I feel ETFs are probably better than mutual funds because they are cheaper and won't underperform the market. Second, recommending a 100% stock portfolio to everyone regardless of age, financial goals, or risk tolerance seems risky to me. Plus you wouldn't experience the diversification benefit of owning non-correlated asset classes.* He doesn't talk about the benefits of setting S.M.A.R.T. goals or having an accountability partner, which have been shown to greatly help people achieve all kinds of dreams.--- Conclusion ---Overall it is a very good book with a lot of good advice and inspirational case studies. You certainly won't regret reading it.

I am a UK reader and have to say that though the book is very American in the discussion of products that it recommends the principles are sound and help greatly.The techniques are easy to pick up and impliment. The stories within the book give some motivation though I had a tendancy to glaze over them as I was not there for the stories but was there mainly for the tips and tricks.Would reccommend for anyone looking to become debt free

As a UK based reader, I felt some of the concepts which Dave talks about are primarily focused on a US based audience; however, I think the book does give the right type of philiosophy, which is transferable to any global reader. The baby-steps Dave outlines are a good roadmap to follow and really just makes you think about money in a different way.One dislike about the book is that there is a lot of 'filler' in by there are testimonial stories from people who have had a total money makeover. I felt this may have been done to give the reader reassurance they are not alone; however, I do think it acts as a way of diluting down the real content of the book.Dave does talk about Financial Peace and I think this book probably covers a lot of the content covered in that book. If you haven't heard of Dave Ramsey in the UK, he's kind of the US equivalent to Martin Lewis. I like Dave's 'no frills' approach and the book isn't designed as a shortcut to wealth. The fastest way to wealth is to avoid debt like the plague, and I think Dave really addresses this.If you're wanting to improve your basic financial approach and want to think of money in a different way, then this book is for you, but do be prepared to do some homework if you're a non-US reader to find equivalency to some of the concepts I.E. pensions etc. in your home country.ALWAYS speak to a good financial advisor too! :)

I'm sure this book may be useful to someone who is riddled with debt (and living in America) but if you have picked up this book for a general guide on finance then you are in the wrong place.Dave takes so long to get to the point in this book, the first 112 pages are him telling you how great his plan for getting out of debt is, sprinkled in are lots of testimonials from people who also claim his plan is great.The actual content of this book could fit on the front cover, let me save you some time and the cost of the book: step 1, save a thousand pounds as a backup, 2 pay off your debts from smallest to biggest, 3 don't buy anything on credit, 4 save money for retirement. Wow, life changed...Unless you are deeply in debt and living in the USA do not waste your precious time or money on this leaflet. Also if you are in the UK and dislike all the awful American over-positive mumbo jumbo you may feel sick reading this.Well done to the guy for getting some people out of debt but man just get to the point!!

In the UK, we have Martin Lewis who only seems to talk about saving money. However, there is no one who tells you how you can win with money. Through the 7 steps David Ramsey advocates, any household can make a financial difference in their lives. I am on the up. I have taken his advice to heart and will update this review once completed. I am confident that it will work. Change your attitude and watch your financial state improve.

This book totally changed my perception of managing my money and has changed my life. I know I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for reading this book. If you want to start saving and get rid of debt, this is the book you NEED to read