Financial Friday!

One of our 2015 New Years resolutions was to read at least one nonfiction book dedicated to financial education or growth per month. I have hit the ground running and I am looking forward to reviewing each of them here for you all!

I began my year of financial reading by rereading with a book I already had on my digital bookshelf: The Total Money Makeover

We first purchased this book way back in 2009 when we began our debt free journey. I have periodically read the book through again and again over the years for motivation and a swift kick in the booty. I decided it made the most sense to start our Financial Friday's with a Dave Ramsey book since we are working his baby steps.

I have read this book so many times for a variety of reasons:

• He is blunt and doesn't use flowery words. It is like speaking to a good friend who is willing to tell you that you are being stupid with money.
• He address all of the popular money myths that we are sold as a society. Including the "debt is a tool" argument.
• He lays out his steps in a clear and concise way. No fancy gimmicks or complicated theories.  Just a step by step approach that has been proven to work for many many individuals and families.
• Several success stories scattered throughout the book. I find it very motivating to see how others have made progress with their journey to financial freedom.
• Lots of amazing quotes throughout the book. I love to write them down and refer back to them in times of weakness. Some of my favorites are:

We buy things we don’t need with money 

we don’t have in order to impress people we don’t like.

Ramsey, Dave (2009-12-29). The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness (p. 30). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

One of my pastors says that living right is not complicated;

it may be difficult, but it is not complicated. 

Living right financially is the same way—it is not complicated;

                                                           it may be difficult, but it is not complicated.

Ramsey, Dave (2009-12-29). The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness (p. 53). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

This need for approval and respect drives us to do some really insane things.

One of the paradoxically dumb things we do is to destroy our finances

                      by buying garbage we can’t afford to try to make ourselves appear wealthy to others.

Ramsey, Dave (2009-12-29). The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness (p. 82). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

                                    Don’t even consider keeping up with the Joneses. THEY’RE BROKE!

Ramsey, Dave (2009-12-29). The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness (p. 83). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.


Overall I love this book and find it to be very motivating for me each time I read through it. I strongly recommend it to anyone who feels overwhelmed or stressed out about their finances. I remember when we started our journey in 2009. I felt overwhelmed and helpless each time I thought about everything I knew I should be doing but lacked the knowledge and confidence to take action.  Dave Ramsey makes the entire process easy to understand and gives a wonderful basic action plan for your future financial steps. You will eventually need to educate yourself on investments through a secondary source as this book only covers the very basics concerning investments. However just knowing I have an action plan in place to even need an investment plan in the future was a massive weight off my shoulders.

Have you read any of Dave's books? Care to share your experiences or thoughts? I would love to hear from you!


**I was not asked to review this product and have not been compensated in anyway for my review.**