Book Review: "More Than Enough: The 10 Keys to Changing Your Financial Destiny" by Dave Ramsey

New York: Penguin Books, 2003. Paperback version 352 pages. $15.00.

I first came across Dave Ramsey in the early 1990's when he was doing a local talk show called the Money Game in Nashville with a guy named Roy Matlock. While I was working a crummy temp job, I was listening to the radio when I just got fed up with the top 40 songs, so I scanned the dial and found a 99.7 that was a talk radio and started listening. As I sat there deep in debt up to my eyeballs, I heard him talk about tearing up credit cards and living debt free. I thought the guy was a nut case, but I didn't want to listen to the same songs over and over again so I stayed tune. Eventually, what he was saying made sense and I started following his principles. Then I read his book "Financial Peace," and really studied his principles. My life is a whole lot better since I decided to cut up my credit cards and live on less than I make.

Dave Ramsey has made some changes since I started listening to his advice on the radio. He branched out on his own and syndicated his radio show now called "The Dave Ramsey Show." He gives out financial advice as though he is sitting at the kitchen table with you. He treats his listeners as though they are a beloved family member and he is going to help by using strongly put straight talk in a caring manner. He has the courage to tell you want you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

His book "More than Enough" also has this tone. Dave uses Christian principles mixed in with his own personal experiences, those of his audience members and people he has counseled. He doesn't just spit facts at you and expect you to hop to it without knowing the reason why. He gives you a principle then backs it up with facts from experience. He is not about just facts and figures when it comes to financial advice, he understand the psychology behind our behavior and explains it and a manner that makes a lot of common sense. The first sentence of the first chapter is not what one would normally expect from a financial self-help book. "Marge's shoulders pitch forward and back, the sobs coming in great waves of grief. " Sounds more like the opening of a great novel than a financial book doesn't it?

Basically, he tells his readers to take personal responsibility for their own finances, to have hope and have the patience to set long term goals and work on them until they are met. I had heard Dave talk about this book "More than Enough" on the radio and got the idea it was written for couples not single people like me. I was wrong. True the book is geared for couples, but for those of us that are single we can get an accountability coach and use the same techniques. An accountability coach is someone in your life whose opinion you respect and know that they are a wise person. Me, I've been consulting my mother for years, I deeply respect her opinion. An accountability coach isn't there to tell you what you can and can not do with your money; instead they listen to your plans and help you determine if you really need or just want it really badly. The final decision of what you do financially is your own personal responsibility.

"More than Enough" has twelve chapters and an appendix full of financial forms (Major components of a healthy financial plan ; Consumer equity work sheet; Income sources; Lump sum payment planning; Monthly cash flow plan ; Budgeted; Recommended percentages; Allocated spending plan ; Irregular income planning ; Breakdown of savings; The Debt snowball ; Retirement Monthly Planning ; Pro Rata Plan.) At the end of each chapter Dave's wife, Sharon has a "Thoughts from Sharon" section that is short in length, but long in value.

Other Book Reviews by Genie Walker:
Nonfiction:
"How to Retire Happy" by Stan Hinden

Fiction:
"At First Sight" by Nicholas Sparks
"Blow Out" by Catherine Coulter
"The Husband" by Dean Koontz
"The Remains of the Dead" by Wendy Roberts