Dave Ramsey's Pre-Discharge Course

[dabusted]

One day after filing I did the pre-discharge class through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. I liked it so much I signed up for the full 13 week FPU program through a local church.

IMHO, some advantages for Ramsey's class are 1) he's pretty entertaining, 2) it costs about the same as everyone else's -- $45 for joint filers, and 3) if you sign up for the full course, they credit the $45 towards its $129 cost.

I don't really think I'll learn anything in the course I couldn't get from a book, but spending 2 hours a week for 3 months focusing on financial issues and working with 8-10 other people dealing with similar problems will hopefully help me change the behavior that got me into this situation in the first place. I'm going to try D.A. for at least a couple of months for the same reason.

Wishing everyone financial peace! dabusted

[kingred]

I really like his stuff to, especially when I went to one of his seminars. Great information and cheap (I got mine free when I called to talk to him!). If you don't have it, get his latest book and read it through.

[deadbroke99]

I did finacial peace thru a church here. It was great but too late for me. All newleyweds should take the course.

[Trixie007]

I went through FPU online - it did help with budgeting issues and having a plan, but was too late for us too! Just remember that no one person has all the answers and no one plan will be a fit for everyone.

[kathy4530050]

I'm not very familiar with him. Does he have a core message--like all credit a is bad, or just have a budget, or invest everything--and what's his position on bankruptcy?

[Trixie007]

He's pretty anti-bankruptcy (although he filed himself years ago, then later paid all the debts anyway), and says you should pay all your debts if you can reasonably do so in 3-5 years. He's very big on budgeting. Basically he has 7 baby steps that involve having an emergency fund, paying off debt, saving for retirement, kids college, giving, etc. He also is good about getting you to think about all the variables that you should be doing in your finances.

To do all the steps, he teaches that you should sell your stuff (famous for saying "Sell so much stuff your kids will think they're next"), including vehicles where your payments are too high - even if you're upside down! He also teaches that you should go out and get a 2nd or 3rd part time job and be "gazelle" intense about getting out of debt and saving money.

[kathy4530050]

Why is he anti-bankruptcy? Even Suze Orman thinks it's the only way out for some of us. . .

[kingred]

He's against it because he went through it and feels nobody else should be you can lose so much. He lost a real estate business and pretty much everything else but his family.


He can be intense on budgeting with another phrase of "rice and beans, beans and rice" as in that's all you should be eating to save money and get out of debt. His plan is great and makes sense, as well that he isn't condescending and will genuinely try to help you with your finances. I think his general opinion of debt can be summed up with, "you get into debt to buy things you can't afford to impress people you don't really like". In other words, pay cash or don't buy it, if you need it that bad then save up or get a used one. Too bad I didn't listen

[kathy4530050]

Hmmm . . . makes sense to me. I've had a whole bunch of beans and rice this past year. I'll look into his books. Thanks.

[debtmonster]

He can be intense on budgeting with another phrase of "rice and beans, beans and rice" as in that's all you should be eating to save money and get out of debt.

Eating rice and beans won't help me pay off $360,000 in debt on a net take home of barely $30,000 per year.

Bankruptcy is the way for me, baby! Chapter 7! The only way to fly!

[ItCudHapen2U]

We bought FPU 4 years ago. Unfortunately in our case, both parties weren't on board with the program. The only part of the program we completed as a couple was reading most of the book and building a budget. We didnt stick to it for more than a week or two though. By the time both of us were on board, we had slipped past the point of no return. The reason Dave is basically anti-BK is that it usually doesn't change the reckless behavior that got us where we are. We filed in Feb and will use his pre-discharge course, and find the closest place holding a FPU course and take it together. We are both on the same page now. One thing that is great about the FPU program is you buy it once. Then you can attend until you get it right. If you build a budget and dont stick to it, you fail. Go take it again. I have spoken to many who have been to FPU and most of them needed to take it a couple of times before it all clicked and helped them make a paradigm shift in their finances. We have learned that what FPU told us would happen to us if we didnt change, DID. The one basic principal that has been burned into my mind recently is, I'd rather be paid interest than pay interest.

[Mi Bankruptcy]

From what I read on his website and what I have heard discussed about him. He does an excellent job on doing a "pattern interrupt". It stops your normal way of thinking. I have issues about him filing bankruptcy and really preaching against it. Should you pay your bills.. You bet.. Should you sacrifice quality of life and make your children feel insecure..

No way..

In a time when interest rates are jacked up from 6% to 21% for a day late payment, when car insurance is jacked up because they run a credit report, when hospitals charge you or your health insurance $300.00 for a shot, I have no loyalty or desire to pay them back.. As far as I am concerned I already did pay in interest juggling these bills for three years..

I also think bankruptcy should be tuff and you should worry. That is yet another price we pay for failing financially. If I ever file bankruptcy again it is because it had nothing to do with things that were in my control. If Dave Ramsey does a good job and helping people with budgeting great.

[dabusted]

Dave is quite anti-bankruptcy generally (i.e. do everything possible to avoid it if you can including making sacrifices you might not have thought about) because, as he says, he went through it and it was a horrible experience he wouldn't wish on his worse enemy. Of course, it would be more painful for someone like him who was a 26-year-old multi-millionaire when he lost everything over a 2 1/2 year period. Many of us have been suffering pre-bankruptcy for years, on the other hand, and BK really is the less painful/right choice.

A key thing to note is that his pre-discharge course is NOT critical of your filing at all. It focuses on what you can do to improve your financial behavior in the future, not what you might have done wrong in the past. And it is hard to disagree with his suggestion that, if you are not happy with where your previous habits have brought you, maybe it is time to try something new.

dabusted

[Trixie007]

I do wonder if he will start advising more people in this economy to file...

[Mi Bankruptcy]

I do wonder if he will start advising more people in this economy to file...

I wondered the same thing. I told my wife I think we filed at the right time. We realistically looked at our finances. It would have taken use of 10 years to get out of debt. In which case, we would have had missed the enjoyment of raising our family and saving for retirement because of debt. I just thank god we filed before anything bad happened. We never missed house payments or car payments etc. In this case we were proactive. Now time for saving and investing..