Monday, November 15, 2010

Book Review: The Total Money Makeover

I keep hearing about Dave Ramsey's book, The Total Money Makeover, so when I saw it in our local library, I jumped at the chance to read it.

The book is focused on eliminating all debt, including your mortgage, in order to invest, save for retirement and contribute money for a child's college education. I completely agree with everything in the book, but I do find it lacking in providing step-by-step instructions. Instead, it provides numerous stories of people who have used Ramsey's system to become debt free.

The chapters include:
  1. The Total Money Makeover Challenge
  2. Denial
  3. Debt Myths
  4. Money Myths
  5. Two More Hurdles
  6. Save $1,000 Fast
  7. The Debt Snowball
  8. Finish the Emergency Fund
  9. Maximize Retirement Investing
  10. College Funding
  11. Pay Off the Home Mortgage
  12. Build Wealth Like Crazy
  13. Live Like No Else
I did enjoy reading the success stories and there are some worksheets at the end of the book, but it would've been helpful to include some worksheet examples. That said, Ramsey does have another book called Financial Peace. I'm going to see if the library has it so I can read it to see if it fills in some of the blanks that I've noted.

I'd love to hear your thoughts if you've read any of Ramsey's books.

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4 comments:

  1. a lot of people say his books are good, but I haven't yet read it.
    I do get his email newsletter.

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  2. On Amazon.com, he had loads of great reviews. I'll have to check out his email newsletter.

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  3. It sounds good but from reading your review not very specific in terms of telling you what to do. I like books that tell me step by step how to accomplish a financial goal; many are vague.

    Gmac Mortgage

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  4. The book is fairly prescriptive and detailed, but I didn't want to give away too much in my review. I'd love some recommendations that you enjoyed.

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