Dave Ramsey says that if you do these five things, you’ll win money 100% of the time.
to this end:
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Have a written plan (budget).
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Get out of debt.
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Live on less money than you make.
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Saving and investing.
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Be extremely generous.
This includes current sources of income such as Social Security, pensions, investments and retirement plans. It should also include projected expenses, such as taxes and funds set aside for contingencies, compared to expected revenue figures.
As you approach retirement, “begin with the end in mind,” as Stephen Covey said, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
This includes considering how much you’ll need to spend each year on rent or mortgage payments, unless you’re one of the lucky ones who’s already paid off your mortgage, health care and long-term expenses, groceries, medicine, transportation, and even pet expenses. Also, do you anticipate traveling a lot? How much do you expect to spend? Maybe you have plans to help your children, or even their children, with things like college tuition.
For many of us, getting out of debt is easier said than done.
According to Dave Ramsey, focus on smaller balances first. This way, you can free up more cash to pay off heavier debt. Then, once the smaller debt is paid off, you now have new cash flow to work with to make the extra payments on the higher interest balance.
Then, as The Ramsey Solution points out, “Make minimum payments on all but the smallest debt—put as much money as you can into this one. Once That The debt disappears, its payment is collected and applied to Next smallest debt (while continuing to make minimum payments on other debts). “
Then, repeat this over and over until you lower your overall debt.
Or, you could make just the minimum payments on all your debts and put most of your money into the expenses with the highest interest rates. Or third, you can apply for a consolidation loan, eliminating all outstanding debt and having a remaining balance. Not only does this allow you to better manage your debt, it also allows you to put extra money into an emergency account.
Dave Ramsey believes living on less than you earn is crucial to achieving wealth.