Dave Ramsey, debt, credit cards, retirement, etc

[SuperJETT]

See below for the original post.


We started Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps on 12/15/2005 and paid off our last debt (other than the mortgage) on 10/30/2007. $30,000 in 22.5 months paid off!

The 'Baby Steps' from Dave Ramsey are:
(assuming you are current on your bills)

1. $1000 in a savings account as your Baby Emergency Fund
2. pay minimums on all bills except your smallest, attack the smallest with every dollar available, when it's paid off apply all that money on the next one and on and on, this is the Debt Snowball
3. fully fund your Emergency Fund with 3-6 months' expenses
4. put 15% of your gross income in retirement accounts, matching 401k first, then Roth IRA, then non-matching 401k
5. fund college funds if needed
6. pay off your mortgage early
7. grow, save, spend your money

If right now you'll 'live like noone else', later, you can LIVE LIKE NOONE ELSE!

Also, whether you do Dave's plan or not, do a written budget!


Original post:
The thread on pwctoday about this kinda died, so I figure I'll start one over here to see what you guys are thinking?

Who is doing ok on retirement? I have like 70K in retirement for us and just turned 36, so I think we're well on track. We should be debt-free except the mortgage in under 2 years, and the mortgage paid off in less than 10, when our oldest will be 14 years old. I'm liking this plan.

 

[Frosty]

Yeah, I remember this thread. Nice job on your plan.. sounds pretty good so far.

We were doing ok, but unfortunately used up a huge chunk of our retirement to pay for my daughters med school. Good news is we should be debt free by years end.

Just paid off about $10k in education expenses last week, and my truck will be completely paid off in March. We're sticking to our 2006 debt free plan. :Banane01: :Banane01: :Banane01:

Need to start maxing out our 401k deposits soon, get that baby back up where it should be.

 

[Matt_E]

I am working on paying off debts. :frown:
I got that job I wanted. It'll cost me a bit to move, unfortunately. Also, I will be upping my house payments. (Since I have to sell my current home and get a more expensive one)

 

[Whtbread]

I have a planner do most of my investing work. I have two rules that I try to keep in mind that have really helped me:
Have your money work for you rather then working to pay for money you borrow.
I also never buy anything I can't pay off that month.

 

[Mark44]

My mutual funds are kicking butt everything I have is paid for. 7 more years on mortgage then plan to retire at 50 I have 9 more years left. Just started a 509 account for my kids collage and purchase IRA every year for me. Life is good knock on wood.

Most important my children and myself are healthy
and........
Did I mention I just sent Magoo my cylinder………….

Mark44

 

[ketsair]

i'm 25, and total debt right now including my land is about $30,000, i have 80 acres though and am in the works of sectioning and selling off most of it, we will keep about 15 acres to build our new house behind my motocross track, i fugured out that if my land sells at botom $ we'll still have enough to be debt free and build most of our house:headbang:

 

[Whtbread]

I was watching the Barret-Jackson auto auction the other day and there seem to be a lot of people investing in cars as opposed to the stock market. Many of them are doing very well with it.

The owner of the attatched pics was going to be happy getting $400,000 for the bus. He ended up getting $4 million

 

[freestylegeek]

Wow, you guys are doing great!!

I'm hoping to be in Darin's position by his age, but I doubt it.
I'll be out of debt, and have good stuff going for kids college fund, but my retirement won't be ANYTHING close to what he has.

 

[waxhead]

i am debt free
i just dont have a house at the moment
Haha
i have spent to much time and money on jetskis

I will buy a house next year
but i have been saving a depositi for about 15years so its getting large

 

[beachedflunkey]

I prefer to invest my money in Magoo's and Yamaha stock :nono:

 

[Matt_E]

Wow, you guys are doing great!!

I'm hoping to be in Darin's position by his age, but I doubt it.
I'll be out of debt, and have good stuff going for kids college fund, but my retirement won't be ANYTHING close to what he has.

Same here. 'Sup, "Almost-Like-Darin-But-Not-Quite-Bro"?

 

[michael950]

I bought Apple at $55

(whish I had done it last year when I thought about buying it - it was $35/share.)


Looking to attend FPU. Dave Ramsey Rocks!

 

[Mile9c1]

What's up with that bus???????

I was pretty lucky, I never had student loans so I've been debt free since I graduated from college about 3 years ago. I have a mortgage, but it's like an investment IMO.

I'm going to start doing the Roth IRA thing, it looks like a good deal because your gains are tax free. You can only invest $4,500 a year though (though this number may go up in the future).

I also do a 401K through work, they match part of what I put in, so it's free money.

 

[romack991]

i just got outta college so i'm just starting to plan all this stuff. have 12K in student loans but interest rate is fixed at 2%. I figure that is cheaper than inflation so i might as well just pay the minimum and pay all i can on my truck loan. truck should be payed off in a yr. hopefully by then i'll be ready to get a house. (i'd do it now, but just wanting to work at my job a bit more to make sure im still enjoying it.) no CC debt.

looking at my 401K, if i wouldnt get a raise, contribute the same ammount, and not including any interest, i'll have 63K by the time im Superjett's age.

 

[Snackem]

I realize that this is an old thread but I am a huge Dave Ramsey fan so I gotta post. 25 years old and married we have a mortgage now but other than that are debt free put 15% into retirement (plus a 3% match for my wife). in 2001 I had to drop out of college because I was over 40k in the hole with school, student loans and:headbang: credit cards :headbang: got everything paid offthis past fall and now I am going to start school this comming fall and we will be able to pay cash for it.

 

[SuperJETT]

Awesome, that's the way to go! freestylegeek and I are having an unofficial contest to see which family gets out of debt first. We started in about the same shape, both income and debt-wise and it's been a very interesting journey so far. I'm guessing we'll be out of debt except the mortgage late next year or early 2008. (However, the only debt we have left is our home equity (stupid, did a 80/10/10 loan) which I transferred to a fixed rate credit card until paid off at an interest rate lower than our mortage)

 

[D Slicker]

I have a 80k whole life policy that I am paying into. All my other money is going into 240 acres of land with 800+ residential units and 2 shoping centers that I am developing with my 2 partners. We have 100 units that will be selling in the next 3 months that will net enough to set me up for a while. Then we have 487 units that will be ready buy next summer. Buy the time it is all done I should be ok :woot:

 

[SuperJETT]

I have a 80k whole life policy that I am paying into.

Oh my....get some term life to get you through until you're self-insured, and cash that sucker out and invest it in something that actually makes money! ASAP!

I have 20 year term $500,000 insurance for $290/year. In 20 years, I will be self-insured and won't need insurance. That's a total of $5800 for $1/2 Million for 20 years, and my retirement money has earned 14.76% since transferring it to John Hancock a few years back. Whole life can't do either of those.

 

[Whtbread]

Oh my....get some term life to get you through until you're self-insured, and cash that suck out and invest it in something that actually makes money! ASAP!

I have 20 year term $500,000 insurance for $290/year. In 20 years, I will be self-insured and won't need insurance. That's a total of $5800 for $1/2 Million for 20 years, and my retirement money has earned 14.76% since transferring it to John Hancock a few years back. Whole life can't do either of those.

Thats a good idea. I have never looked into it.

 

[Snackem]

Term life is definately the way to go. Whole life is junk, you make more money in a plain savings account or even a CD most Whole/Cash Value Life policies don't even keep up with inflation.

It's a good feeling to be debt free. . .