Dave Ramsey
Americans are drowning in plastic debt. The average household in this country owes nearly $10,000 on credit cards and it's tough to get out of that hole.
But a financial guru with an evangelical bent is offering his two cents. FOX 4's Paul Herdtner took a look at Dave Ramsey and his message.
Like millions of other Americans, Vince and Connie Campbell are trying to stretch a dollar. The Olathe couple is reluctant to specify how much they owe, but after 10 years of marriage, they're in deep and need guidance. The Campbell's money worries have led them to an unlikely place for financial counseling: Grace United Methodist Church in Olathe.
The Campbell's and others--here and nationwide--take a church-based seminar called "Financial Peace University." They said the 20 couples in the class eliminated $85,000 in debt just over the 13 weeks they took the class--all by following the call of Dave Ramsey, a multi-media financial guru.
Ramsey sells-out live shows, writes best-selling books, and has a daily call-in show on radio stations nationwide.
"The stuff we teach changes people's lives. The stuff we teach is the rock star. I'm just a little bald guy who's a good teacher," Ramsey said. (Hear more from Dave Ramsey, by watching our extended interview to the right.)
The gospel according to Dave is not one of those "get rich quick" schemes. It's more like get comfortable eventually. It's advice that other generations would consider a no-brainer.
"We stole it all from God and your grandmother," Ramsey said. "The success is something Ben Franklin said, 'common sense is not real common.'"
Ramsey crusades against living on credit and said to pay down the plastic: smallest balance to largest. He calls that the "debt snowball." He advises using cash every purchase, or a debit card if you're ordering something on-line or over the phone.
Ultimately, Ramsey said, if you don't have the money, don't buy it and save until you do.
"I think his advice is meant for people who would otherwise get into trouble if they didn't follow this common-sense advice," Kathy Stepp, certified financial planner and Fox 4 contributor, said. "It's kind of a middle-of-the-road answer that keeps you out of trouble."
Ramsey's financial advice comes with a good dose of Christianity. It's why classes based on his teaching are held at churches. But you have to wonder if people from other religions--or none at all--would feel comfortable getting their financial house in order in a house of God.
Ramsey makes one declaration as he signs-off from his radio show every day, "There's ultimately only one way to financial peace and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus."
But he and his students said it's not hurting their numbers.
"I know Jewish people who have been through it," Laura Murphy, a "Financial Peace University" coordinator, said. "Mormons and Catholics and Protestants. It can really be practical anywhere."
"Occasionally, I get some hate mail," Ramsey concedes, "but by and large, it's not a show where we're thumping people with the spiritual side of it. If they're not walking around with a chip on their shoulder because I'm a Christian, I'm usually OK."
Ultimately, Ramsey said, it's about eliminating debt in order to save for retirement: something most of us don't give much thought to.
"That's the problem with what we teach," he said.,"It's very easy to grasp what we do, the going and doing it is a pain in the butt."
Connie and Vince Campbell are in touch with that as they continue on their budgetary diet, but they're relieved to be getting a handle on the mountain of debt they created.
"It's kind of like when you go to learn about how to eat--you never eat the same," Connie says. "We won't ever spend the same."
Paul Herdtner, FOX 4 News
But a financial guru with an evangelical bent is offering his two cents. FOX 4's Paul Herdtner took a look at Dave Ramsey and his message.
Like millions of other Americans, Vince and Connie Campbell are trying to stretch a dollar. The Olathe couple is reluctant to specify how much they owe, but after 10 years of marriage, they're in deep and need guidance. The Campbell's money worries have led them to an unlikely place for financial counseling: Grace United Methodist Church in Olathe.
The Campbell's and others--here and nationwide--take a church-based seminar called "Financial Peace University." They said the 20 couples in the class eliminated $85,000 in debt just over the 13 weeks they took the class--all by following the call of Dave Ramsey, a multi-media financial guru.
Ramsey sells-out live shows, writes best-selling books, and has a daily call-in show on radio stations nationwide.
"The stuff we teach changes people's lives. The stuff we teach is the rock star. I'm just a little bald guy who's a good teacher," Ramsey said. (Hear more from Dave Ramsey, by watching our extended interview to the right.)
The gospel according to Dave is not one of those "get rich quick" schemes. It's more like get comfortable eventually. It's advice that other generations would consider a no-brainer.
"We stole it all from God and your grandmother," Ramsey said. "The success is something Ben Franklin said, 'common sense is not real common.'"
Ramsey crusades against living on credit and said to pay down the plastic: smallest balance to largest. He calls that the "debt snowball." He advises using cash every purchase, or a debit card if you're ordering something on-line or over the phone.
Ultimately, Ramsey said, if you don't have the money, don't buy it and save until you do.
"I think his advice is meant for people who would otherwise get into trouble if they didn't follow this common-sense advice," Kathy Stepp, certified financial planner and Fox 4 contributor, said. "It's kind of a middle-of-the-road answer that keeps you out of trouble."
Ramsey's financial advice comes with a good dose of Christianity. It's why classes based on his teaching are held at churches. But you have to wonder if people from other religions--or none at all--would feel comfortable getting their financial house in order in a house of God.
Ramsey makes one declaration as he signs-off from his radio show every day, "There's ultimately only one way to financial peace and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus."
But he and his students said it's not hurting their numbers.
"I know Jewish people who have been through it," Laura Murphy, a "Financial Peace University" coordinator, said. "Mormons and Catholics and Protestants. It can really be practical anywhere."
"Occasionally, I get some hate mail," Ramsey concedes, "but by and large, it's not a show where we're thumping people with the spiritual side of it. If they're not walking around with a chip on their shoulder because I'm a Christian, I'm usually OK."
Ultimately, Ramsey said, it's about eliminating debt in order to save for retirement: something most of us don't give much thought to.
"That's the problem with what we teach," he said.,"It's very easy to grasp what we do, the going and doing it is a pain in the butt."
Connie and Vince Campbell are in touch with that as they continue on their budgetary diet, but they're relieved to be getting a handle on the mountain of debt they created.
"It's kind of like when you go to learn about how to eat--you never eat the same," Connie says. "We won't ever spend the same."
Paul Herdtner, FOX 4 News
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
