{"id":17381,"date":"2020-10-30T10:56:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T14:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=17381"},"modified":"2020-11-11T17:30:03","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T21:30:03","slug":"dave-ramsey-quotes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dave-ramsey-quotes\/","title":{"rendered":"Dave Ramsey Quotes: 3 Ideas Reflected in Total Money"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What are some Dave Ramsey quotes? How are Dave Ramsey quotes representative of the principles in Total Money Makeover<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dave Ramsey has built a career on financial and self-help advice. The ideas he shares in these Dave Ramsey quotes are reflected in Total Money Makeover<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on for three Dave Ramsey quotes and what they mean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

3 Dave Ramsey Quotes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The first of the Dave Ramsey quotes is about taking action. Most people are in denial about the state of their finances<\/strong>. You might tell yourself that maybe things aren\u2019t so bad\u2014maybe you\u2019re no worse off than the average person. The unfortunate truth is that most people have financial problems\u2014that counts as average in today\u2019s society, the way being overweight has become average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two ways to break out of denial: you can wait for a crisis or you can proactively choose change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Wait for a crisis:<\/strong> While you can\u2019t argue with the scale when you\u2019re trying to lose weight, you can fake financial health for a while (others will tell you you look great), but eventually your habits catch up with you. A wake-up call can be losing your job or business or suffering a major unexpected expense or health problem. Or, problems or debts may accumulate gradually until they reach a critical mass. Suddenly you can\u2019t pay your debts or meet living expenses, and you can no longer deny that you\u2019ve been skating on thin ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara and John got such a wake-up call. They felt financially secure<\/a> with two incomes totaling $75,000 and \u201ctypical\u201d debts of student loans, a car loan, and $5,000 owed on credit cards. So they built a new home, but shortly after they moved in, Sara was laid off. Upon losing half their income, they couldn\u2019t deny their financial state and were forced to change their spending habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Choose to change: <\/strong>The alternative to waiting for a crisis is to look in the mirror, acknowledge your reality, and choose to change. Hopefully, this book will motivate you to want better-than-average financial health and to meet the makeover challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cParents who let teens run around with unearned adult freedoms are naive and stupid.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The second of the Dave Ramsey quotes focuses on parenting decisions<\/a> that teach financial behaviors, which in Total Money Makeover<\/em>, is the issue of credit cards for teens. Parents often encourage teenagers to get a credit card, supposedly to learn financial responsibility<\/a>. But getting a credit card teaches teens to buy what they can\u2019t afford and incur debt, which is financially irresponsible and launches a lifetime of debt.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young people, as potential life-long interest payers, are key targets for credit card companies, which portray getting a credit card as a rite of passage. It\u2019s important for lenders to snag them early in life, because people tend to stick with the first bank that issues them a credit card. The marketing works: a majority of college seniors have credit card debt<\/a> well before starting a career<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit card companies even work to build brand awareness<\/a> among children by advertising through toys in hopes of influencing their choices later. For example, several Barbie dolls and accessories come with brand name toy credit cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents who encourage teens to get credit cards are endorsing something harmful. Instead, they should teach teens to say no to compulsive spending and debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBroke is normal. Why be normal?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The third of the Dave Ramsey quotes is about mindset. So debt is widely viewed as the way to do things. We\u2019ve bought into it to such an extent that we get defensive if we hear anything negative about debt. But the borrower is the slave to the lender. Your income is your primary means of building wealth<\/a>, and when it\u2019s tied up in debt payments, banks gain and you lose<\/strong>. If you invested your income, you could build wealth and security. How much discretionary money would you have each month without debt payments?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One obstacle to gaining control of your finances is the widespread belief that debt is useful and normal<\/strong>\u2014that everyone has it. In addition to this belief, there are a variety of related myths that encourage different types of borrowing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You must reject these views of debt before you can get control of your finances. Society encourages us to take on debt starting as young adults and to carry debts throughout our lives. There are several reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n