D
del_griffith
Guest
Here are the areas I believe Dave should be a little more forthright with regards to details:
1) Yes, a low or no credit score can mess with your employment chances or insurance rates. That is never part of his discussion. However, on the other side of the coin, many of those who follow his plan already have trashed their scores, so for them, it should really be no big deal. But for those who maintained debt but also managed it well, his plan could pose some new hurdles that do need to be explained by him.
There is also an undercurrent to his show. I sense that he believes more should self employ as that goes hand in hand with his self responsibility philosophy. That's my sense. I have no proof. But let's face it. Dave is something of a control freak. A lot of what Dave does is to avoid being beholden in any way to anyone. He's largely been able to achieve that. Can most people?
2) While most hotels and rental car companies now accept debit cards, there are still some that don't. Dave does touch on that, but not in any detail.
What he doesn't touch on is those two industries routinely put holds above and beyond the actual charges when the car is rented or the room is booked. Those hold don't immediately disappear when the car is returned or the hotel stay is completed. If someone runs a tight budget, especially those who had to travel while in his debt snowball period (what he refers to as Baby Step 2), they do risk NSF charges as other items are paid from the account. He needs to be more upfront about the hold situation and that a large buffer may be necessary if travel is necessary.
3) When Dave discusses investing for retirement, his recommendation is a 4 way diversification process. Growth,
Growth & Income, Aggressive Growth and International. For some people or ages, that's way too aggressive.
Dave also has an income generation program called Endorsed Local Providers. Endorsed Local Providers are people who sell investments, real estate, insurance and some other items. The Endorsed Local Provider program is at it's core a pay for play lead generation program. While there is some oversight by Ramsey's organization, it's minimal. And the oversight is primarily based on "bedside manner" over results. A survey is sent a few weeks after the request is made by a Ramsey follower. The survey is primarily focused on customer service. I don't believe, with regard to investing, what they ELP recommended and whether it may or may not be appropriate.
In addition, for most people, investing is daunting. So Dave sends them off with his 4 way diversification process and when they sit with the Endorsed Local Provider, he or she is likely to recommend to the client a different diversification allocation that is actually based on age, desired results, risk tolerance and other factors. Dave never explains this. My recommendation has always been that he should explain the 4 way process as a starting point so the half way savvy people can have a better chance of understanding what's going on when they sit with the sales rep.
With regard to investing, he always tells folks never to invest in anything they don't understand. Yet he sends them into a process where he has recommended A investments while his Endorsed Local Provider will recommend B investments. If you're a novice, that whipsaw did not enhance understanding. Who do you trust. Dave or the Endorsed Local Provider?
Again, I followed his get our of debt plan. I liked that he is an excellent motivator, a great story teller and gave me the tools to live my life by a plan. But there are certain areas where he IIMHO should be more open with some facts.
1) Yes, a low or no credit score can mess with your employment chances or insurance rates. That is never part of his discussion. However, on the other side of the coin, many of those who follow his plan already have trashed their scores, so for them, it should really be no big deal. But for those who maintained debt but also managed it well, his plan could pose some new hurdles that do need to be explained by him.
There is also an undercurrent to his show. I sense that he believes more should self employ as that goes hand in hand with his self responsibility philosophy. That's my sense. I have no proof. But let's face it. Dave is something of a control freak. A lot of what Dave does is to avoid being beholden in any way to anyone. He's largely been able to achieve that. Can most people?
2) While most hotels and rental car companies now accept debit cards, there are still some that don't. Dave does touch on that, but not in any detail.
What he doesn't touch on is those two industries routinely put holds above and beyond the actual charges when the car is rented or the room is booked. Those hold don't immediately disappear when the car is returned or the hotel stay is completed. If someone runs a tight budget, especially those who had to travel while in his debt snowball period (what he refers to as Baby Step 2), they do risk NSF charges as other items are paid from the account. He needs to be more upfront about the hold situation and that a large buffer may be necessary if travel is necessary.
3) When Dave discusses investing for retirement, his recommendation is a 4 way diversification process. Growth,
Growth & Income, Aggressive Growth and International. For some people or ages, that's way too aggressive.
Dave also has an income generation program called Endorsed Local Providers. Endorsed Local Providers are people who sell investments, real estate, insurance and some other items. The Endorsed Local Provider program is at it's core a pay for play lead generation program. While there is some oversight by Ramsey's organization, it's minimal. And the oversight is primarily based on "bedside manner" over results. A survey is sent a few weeks after the request is made by a Ramsey follower. The survey is primarily focused on customer service. I don't believe, with regard to investing, what they ELP recommended and whether it may or may not be appropriate.
In addition, for most people, investing is daunting. So Dave sends them off with his 4 way diversification process and when they sit with the Endorsed Local Provider, he or she is likely to recommend to the client a different diversification allocation that is actually based on age, desired results, risk tolerance and other factors. Dave never explains this. My recommendation has always been that he should explain the 4 way process as a starting point so the half way savvy people can have a better chance of understanding what's going on when they sit with the sales rep.
With regard to investing, he always tells folks never to invest in anything they don't understand. Yet he sends them into a process where he has recommended A investments while his Endorsed Local Provider will recommend B investments. If you're a novice, that whipsaw did not enhance understanding. Who do you trust. Dave or the Endorsed Local Provider?
Again, I followed his get our of debt plan. I liked that he is an excellent motivator, a great story teller and gave me the tools to live my life by a plan. But there are certain areas where he IIMHO should be more open with some facts.