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The author is being disingenuous for the sake of a blog post or does not understand the material. For example: "Personally, I think the $1,000 emergency fund

by russh 8y ago

The author is being disingenuous for the sake of a blog post or does not understand the material. For example: "Personally, I think the $1,000 emergency fund is just too low. I understand why Dave advocates $1,000–it’s a small sum that most people can save in a short amount of time and is, in many cases, more money than they’ve had in savings ever. But, taken in the context of the next step, which is to pay off all debt using the snowball method, that $1,000 is probably not going to cut it, especially depending on how much debt you have and how long it’s going to take to pay that off." The emergency fund is NOT for paying off debt it is for unexpected expenses.

blakesterz 8y ago
And HER conclusion... "Would I recommend someone read Dave Ramsey’s book? Absolutely. Will I be willing to read more of Dave Ramsey’s books? Sure. But, I’ll be taking his advice with a grain or two of salt." Edited: "Her conclusion", I had it as "him" originally.
- DFHippie 8y ago
  > And his conclusion... I could be wrong, but I think the author is a woman.
  - blakesterz 8y ago
    D'oh! Thanks for catching that.
javagram 8y ago
The author is not saying the emergency fund is used for paying off debt. The point is that the emergency fund is supposed to be sufficient during the entire process of paying off debt, which might be years. If you have more than a $1000 emergency during that time, you have to fall back on credit. I’d argue the 1000$ number should vary with inflation and cost of living. Having a $2000 or $3000 emergency fund could make sense for a lot of people.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
acemarke 8y ago
Yep. I sat through a Dave Ramsey course several years ago. I don't remember most of the specifics, but I'm pretty sure that the "$1000 emergency fund" is just the _first_ step, for those who don't have _any_ existing savings yet. Looking things up... yeah, these are the "7 steps" he suggests [0]: - Step 1 – $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund - Step 2 – Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball - Step 3 – 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings - Step 4 – Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement - Step 5 – College funding for children - Step 6 – Pay off home early - Step 7 – Build wealth and give! So, the idea is to get _something_ in reserve now, then build up that fund once you've eliminated debt. [0] https://www.daveramsey.com/dave-ramsey-7-baby-steps https://www.daveramsey.com/dave-ramsey-7-baby-steps

by russh 8y ago

blakesterz 8y ago

And HER conclusion... "Would I recommend someone read Dave Ramsey’s book? Absolutely. Will I be willing to read more of Dave Ramsey’s books? Sure. But, I’ll be taking his advice with a grain or two of salt." Edited: "Her conclusion", I had it as "him" originally.

DFHippie 8y ago
> And his conclusion... I could be wrong, but I think the author is a woman.
- blakesterz 8y ago
  D'oh! Thanks for catching that.

javagram 8y ago

The author is not saying the emergency fund is used for paying off debt. The point is that the emergency fund is supposed to be sufficient during the entire process of paying off debt, which might be years. If you have more than a $1000 emergency during that time, you have to fall back on credit. I’d argue the 1000$ number should vary with inflation and cost of living. Having a $2000 or $3000 emergency fund could make sense for a lot of people.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

acemarke 8y ago

Yep. I sat through a Dave Ramsey course several years ago. I don't remember most of the specifics, but I'm pretty sure that the "$1000 emergency fund" is just the _first_ step, for those who don't have _any_ existing savings yet. Looking things up... yeah, these are the "7 steps" he suggests [0]: - Step 1 – $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund - Step 2 – Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball - Step 3 – 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings - Step 4 – Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement - Step 5 – College funding for children - Step 6 – Pay off home early - Step 7 – Build wealth and give! So, the idea is to get _something_ in reserve now, then build up that fund once you've eliminated debt. [0] https://www.daveramsey.com/dave-ramsey-7-baby-steps https://www.daveramsey.com/dave-ramsey-7-baby-steps