The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness,   ISBN:9780785289081

Customer Rating: 

If you think you know a lot about money... think again. Dave's book showed me where I was wrong, when that happened and especially what to do to get out of (now the dreaded word) debt. If you read these reviews you basically admit you're one of us, the people who fell for the buy now, pay later mentality. We know it's wrong but we continued to do it. There is hope! Yes, take heart and read, read and read again this book. It's got all the info you need to get out of it. We are on our way to Freedom, freedom from making others rich and us poor. There is a lot more there so you need to check for yourself. Thank you, Dave. You da' man!

Customer Rating: 

The author presents a total money makeover in a few "simple" steps.

1. Save $1000 for emergencies
2. Create a debt snowball plan - make minimum payments on all debts and focus on paying off the smallest debt first.
3. Save a 3 to 6 month emergency fund (based upon monthly expenses)
4. Invest 15% of gross income
5. Save for college (ESA plan first, then 529 - $2000 per year)
6. Payoff Mortgage
7. Have fun - invest - give

Those are essentially the steps. Follow each one in order and don't move on to the next until you complete each step.

Overall, I agree with the author. There is no better plan for personal finances. However, that doesn't mean there aren't other plans that are equally as good. I do believe that if you follow his steps, you will eventually be debt free and living a healthy financial life.

One thing I didn't like about the book was the number of times the author said he was a millionaire, lost if all and is now a millionaire again! Seems a little egotistical to me.

I also found the customer testimonies annoying. They all seemed to praise the author, how great he is and how much they love him. Blah Blah Blah. I realize some testimonies are good and necessary, but I think most of them simply feed the author's ego and fill his book!

Overall, I would recommend this book and this plan for anyone wishing to get in shape financially.

Customer Rating: 

This is one of the best books and best time you can invest that will provide a return for years!

Customer Rating: 

this book is excellent! it shows that all it takes to be financially responsible is discipline and maturity to forgo automatic satisfaction, for a better brighter future. It gives you a clear path to fix the mess you made with your money, not an easy one, but clear enough for anyone to understand. Who doesn't want to be able to say, I don't owe anything to anyone?? I sure do.

Customer Rating: 

Like Ramsey states himself, his book does not reveal any ground breaking discoveries. Rather it contains some very wise advice but more importantly it's extremely motivational. It was very useful for me and everyone I've shared it with.