Book Review - The Total Money Makeover

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I listened to this as an audio book. I do this with numerous self-help type and nonfiction books throughout the day and in the car. My kids don't mind most of the ones I listened to, but this one my kids whined every time I put it on. As my children put it, "not the guy who yells at you!" I think he's just trying to make his point, but it does sound pretty forceful in the audio. The ideas in this book are a great starting point. I feel if you are in debt and able to stick with the plan you can definitely work your way out. My biggest gripe with this book was lumping everyone in the same category. Some of us are in debt due to circumstances like medical or loss of jobs or market crashes that were somewhat out of our control. While we are inching our way out of debt, my debt didn't come from too many lattes or clothing purchases. And the $1000 emergency fund wouldn't have covered my time in a coma on ventilators or my daughter's genetic testing. Our income is substantially lower than what his examples give, but the concept still applies, it's just going to take us a lot longer than the year or two the 20 somethings making 50k a year each in a small apartment were able to finish in. I do like the plan and the way it's laid out, I would suggest using the plan as an outline and then finessing to your specific circumstances.

View all my reviews