Description
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Total Money Makeover Workbook
A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
By Dave Ramsey Thomas NelsonCopyright © 2018 Dave L. Ramsey III
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4002-0650-6
Contents
1. The Total Money Makeover Challenge, 1,
2. I'm Not That Out of Shape: DENIAL, 15,
3. Debt Is (Not) a Tool: DEBT MYTHS, 39,
4. The (Non)Secrets of the Rich: MONEY MYTHS, 69,
5. Ignorance and Keeping Up with the Joneses: TWO MORE HURDLES, 97,
6. Walk Before You Run: SAVE $1,000 FAST, 109,
7. Lose Weight Fast, Really: THE DEBT SNOWBALL, 145,
8. Kick Murphy Out: FINISH THE EMERGENCY FUND, 67,
9. Be Financially Healthy for Life: MAXIMIZE RETIREMENT INVESTING, 175,
10. Make Sure the Kids Are Fit Too: COLLEGE FUNDING, 195,
11. Be Ultrafit: PAY OFF THE HOME MORTGAGE, 207,
12. Arnold Schwarzedollar, Mr. Universe of Money: BUILD WEALTH LIKE CRAZY, 221,
13. Live Like No One Else: REACH THE PINNACLE POINT, 237,
About the Author, 244,
Notes, 245,
CHAPTER 1
The Total Money Makeover Challenge
Key Concept #1
No Money ... Is No Fun
I remember the feelings vividly. For several years in my twenties, I faced the end of every month with dread. I had too much month left at the end of my money. I was not having fun.
I wasn't afraid of hard work and sacrifice. I didn't need a secret formula for making money. I didn't need a positive-thinking guru to pump me up and tell me to have a positive attitude. I was simply sick and tired of being sick and tired when it came time to "do the bills." I felt hopeless, as if I were running a financial race with no traction and no ground covered. Money came in and money went out, with nothing real to show for my effort or income.
What About You?
Do you feel as if you have full control over your money ... or are your bills controlling you? The amount of control you have over financial matters is often reflected in how you feel about money matters in general.
The same thing is true, of course, when it comes to any area of your life in which a "makeover" might be needed.
If you are in very bad health — or your physician tells you that certain numbers in your lab reports and exams are "abnormal" — you may become highly motivated to undertake a new exercise, diet, or better-health plan. If your spouse tells you the end of your marriage is on the horizon, you may become highly motivated to seek out a counselor to help you revamp the way you relate to your spouse and to improve your marriage. There's a feeling that hits the pit of your stomach when you finally wake up and say to yourself, "Something's got to change! I can't continue to live this way ... the fact is, to continue this way isn't really living. It's just existing, enduring, putting in the time and the miles and hoping I end up somewhere I like."
Before you are truly willing to embark on a Total Money Makeover, you need to face up to how you feel about your current financial situation. That will tell you how motivated you are to do something about changing your financial situation.
Plain and simple, if you like your current financial situation, you probably feel pretty good about money matters, and you don't need a makeover.
On the other hand, if you don't like your current financial situation, you probably feel pretty lousy about your finances. A makeover is for you!
Key Concept #2
If You Don't Know How Money Works ... What Future Is There in Working for Money?
When I was in my late twenties, my wife and I went broke. We lost everything due to my stupidity in handling money, or not handling it. We hit bottom hard and lost everything. It was then that I began a serious quest to learn how money works. I came to realize:
1. It's up to me. My money problems, worries, and shortages largely began and ended in my mirror — nobody "made" me poor or a bad money manager. I had to take full responsibility for my own stupidity.
2. God's and Grandma's way of handling money works. Wealth building isn't rocket science. The p