Dave Ramsey Is A Big Fat Liar

Eh, I’m just joking, but not really. Based upon my own personal experience, Dave Ramsey's book, The Total Money Makeover, is premised upon a flawed concept that is common to all self-help books. Specifically, it bases its advice upon a generalized assumption of human behavior, when in fact, most individuals are complex and often irrational.



As you all know, Dave advocates the debt snowball which requires you to pay off your debts in the order of smallest balance to highest, regardless of interest rates. The debt snowball is based upon the notion that paying off the little debts quickly gives you a “psychological boost” to tackle the next debt.

Well, I just recently paid off my first debt (car loan) and I have to admit, I’m happy, but not AS happy, as I thought I would be. I’ve waited and dreamed over 3 years about the day I would pay off my car loan. I imagined handing my check to the credit union teller and jumping for joy and squealing when she hands me the zero balance receipt.

Truth be told, I was excited that morning, but the whole event itself was disappointingly anti-climactic. Perhaps I was building the whole final payment event up in my mind to the point that I was setting myself up for disappointment.

Worse yet, I expected to feel the way Dave Ramsey said I should, but haven’t. Dave virtually promises in his book that I would feel so great after paying off my first debt that I would be extra motivated to tackle my next debt!!

Uhhhhh…. In reality, I am just relieved to have the $788/month obligation lifted from my shoulders. As a result, I’m now feeling a strong desire to give myself some “breathing” room in my monthly budget. And as I’ve previously mentioned, I’m battling spending demons as I write this.

I’m getting tired of constantly monitoring my spending, deciding what’s a need vs. want, and choosing to forego relatively minor purchases like a $40 cordless phone. (Wah, wah, wah, whine, whine, whine, I know!)

Perhaps I never had the “gazelle intesity” necessary to successfully follow-through with the debt snowball. Or, hopefully, as Abigail from I Pick Up Pennies suggests, maybe I’m just suffering from “frugal burnout” that waxes and wanes. Or, perhaps I’m feeling blue and I’m seeking retail therapy.

I don’t know. But I feel like a recovering addict who is tempted to revert to old habits.

So let this be a warning to all: the purported pyschological boost of the debt snowball is overrated. Instead, you will find yourself at a fork in the road after overcoming your first hurdle.

Next month, I have the choice of either: 1.) saving the $788 car payment with the purpose of paying off my credit card debt in October as per my revised snowball plan, or, 2.) spending some or all of the car payment money on other stuff.

I know which is the right road to take. I just don’t know if I have the emotional strength to do the right thing.