The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness

The success stories speak for themselves in this book from money maestro Dave Ramsey. Instead of promising the normal dose of quick fixes, Ramsey offers a bold, no-nonsense approach to money matters, providing not only the how-to but also a grounded and uplifting hope for getting out of debt and achieving total financial health.

Ramsey debunks the many myths of money (exposing the dangers of cash advance, rent-to-own, debt consolidation) and attacks the illusions and downright deceptions of the American dream, which encourages nothing but overspending and massive amounts of debt. "Don't even consider keeping up with the Joneses," Ramsey declares in his typically candid style. "They're broke!"

The Total Money Makeover isn't theory. It works every single time. It works because it is simple. It works because it gets to the heart of the money problems: you.

But...this book was kind of a letdown. Want to save $20? Here's a summary of the book:

1. Debt sucks. Don't get into it. Buy with cash.
2. Here's how to payoff debt: Concentrate on the smallest debt first. Pay what you can on it, over the minimum payment. Once the smallest debt is gone, add that former payment to the next outstanding debt payment...and so on...and so on (the "debt snowball").
3. After all debts are gone, set aside 3-6 months of expenses (emergency fund).
4. After the emergency fund, start investing.

That's it. Seriously. This book should've been a free/small PDF download from the web..and not a $20 book.


Excellent Book with Two Minor Flaws   February 11, 2005
D. Buxman (Pueblo, CO United States)
201 out of 237 found this review helpful

This book is extremely readable and contains a tremendous amount of helpful information in the areas of personal finance and debt reduction/elimination. Dave Ramsey makes a compelling argument for the elimination of all debt by rather extreme means. He exposes the common myths spread by the credit industry and offers a solution for eliminating debt through something he calls The Debt Snowball. My only complaints center around the fact that he advocates mutual funds as a means to achieving 12% returns over the long run and that he advocates National Guard service as a means of paying for college. I'm not sure that mutual funds can be counted on for 12% in the long run, and National Guard service these days can involve exciting times in far away locations like Iraq, which make the cost/benefit analysis a bit unappealing. However, this isn't a book about investing and the college financing advice is otherwise quite helpful. I'm sold on the concept of The Total Money Makeover!


Ramsey's method is good, but it only needed one book.   September 16, 2003
Tony White (Memphis, TN United States)
80 out of 121 found this review helpful

Folks, if you read Financial Peace, then you've read every thing this book has to offer. I'm a fan of Ramsey's practical advice, but to publish a whole new book and say absolutely nothing new since the first book is a bit of a sham. This is Financial Peace repackaged.

Also, Ramsey has enough money. As a matter of fact he has "more than enough," as his second book puts it. I'm a little disappointed that Ramsey's first lesson isn't "If you're reading this book in a book store, put it down. Go to your library and check it out instead. It's much cheaper than buying my book!"

I went to one of his seminar's once, and it turned out to be nothing more than a few funny stories and a sales pitch to join his "university", and sell more books. And this bugs me: He sells envelopes that you put cash in to help you with your budget. Why not encourage people to use cheapy envelopes from Wal-Mart?

Ok, that said. This book is good. But if you've already read Financial Peace - don't buy this book. Once you check it out at the library, you'll see how familiar it is.


Must-read for people with major problems and for those with little debt   August 15, 2005
Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA)
46 out of 48 found this review helpful

Finally, a book that speaks to everyone, from those who are complete financial disasters to those who pay their bills on time, but overpend and need to reduce their debt load. Too many books about debt focus only on paying your bills on time and reducing your interest rates, while ignoring the people who have too much debt and are too smart about it, never paying a late fee and keeping it all at low interest.

I have never heard Ramsey's radio show, but this book was a huge wake-up call for me. It is motivational and it will get you pumped to get intense about reducing your debt load and living only with the cash you have today. The strategies are excellent, the advice is solid, and people have turned their lives around under Ramsey's guidance. There are a lot of testimonials in this book, perhaps a few too many, but I enjoyed seeing the success stories and seeing the different kinds of people who turned to Ramsey's method.

This book has wide appeal and everyone should check it out once to give their finances a good sanity check.


Dave Ramsey Will Help You Become Financially Fit   February 29, 2004
FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York)
44 out of 47 found this review helpful

I enjoy discussions about my finances about as much as I enjoy talking about my weight. I certainly need to work on both, but I'd prefer to avoid the topics if at all possible, thank you very much. Can I get an "amen"?

Dave Ramsey, radio talk show host, author and all-around financial guru, is no stranger to this ostrich routine. After his own bankruptcy he came to the conclusion that the key to financial (and physical) fitness isn't knowing all the tricks of the money trade; it's being honest with yourself. "If I can control the guy in the mirror, I can be skinny and rich," he says in his new book THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER.

In other words, you have to get your head out of the sand. Okay, I have to get my head out of the sand.

Leaving the skinny to other books, Ramsey is a prophet to those who want to be rich but would settle for being financially stable. It's clear that this is a large group, given the popularity of Ramsey's radio show and books. After reading THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER, I can see why they flock to him for advice.

Ramsey's principles are simple and straightforward. Pay cash. Pay off debts from smallest to largest. Create an emergency fund. He provides easy-to-understand answers to many seemingly complex questions about budgeting, retirement funds, saving for college education, and more.

Large pullout quotes scattered throughout the book offer bite-sized financial advice and factoids in Ramsey's typically direct manner:

"A new $28,000 car will lose about $17,000 of value in the first four years you own it. To get the same result, you could toss a $100 bill out the window once a week during your commute."

"Looking to spend $100 per month on life insurance? You could pay $7 a month toward term insurance and invest the remaining $93. But go with a cash-value policy if you'd rather have someone else earn interest on your investments."

"49% of Americans could cover less than one months' expenses if they lost their income."

"If your mortgage payment is $900 and the interest portion is $830, you will pay that year around $10,000 in interest. What a great tax deduction! Right? Otherwise, you'd pay $3,000 in taxes on that $10,000. But who in their right mind would chose to trade $10,000 for $3,000?"

All of this advice is helpful and eye opening, but what Ramsey really excels at is presenting inspirational tales of those who were once, but are no longer, in financial disarray. Their stories make up at least a third of the book, and the cumulative effect is that of a published pep rally designed to get people pumped up about saving money. And it works.

This is a must-read book for anyone whose looking for a little basic financial information and a whole lot of courage to finally put away the ostrich suit.

--- Reviewed by Lisa Ann Cockrel