The Total Money Makeover
by Dave Ramsey
Ramsey's seven baby steps, from a starter emergency fund through the debt snowball to investing and giving, have gotten a great many people out of debt. His approach is behavioral rather than mathematical, pay the smallest debt first for momentum, and his tone is blunt. The investing advice is debated; the debt advice works.
Read it if…
you are in consumer debt and need a simple, strict plan you can follow without thinking.
Skip it if…
you are debt-free and want nuanced investing guidance; look elsewhere for that stage.
Three things you will actually use
- Build a small emergency fund first.
- Snowball debts smallest to largest for momentum.
- Budget every dollar before the month starts.
Do this first
List every debt smallest to largest and throw everything extra at the smallest this month.
Our verdict
Rigid, effective and loud; the right book for the debt-payoff stage.
Compare with other Money books
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The Richest Man in Babylon
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Short, quaint and complete; everything else is commentary.
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