New vs. Used (Cars)

[Voice of Reason]

Dave Ramsey.

 

I've never read anything by Dave Ramsey and have not listened to his show. The last new car I bought was in 1992 and I've been doing this method ever since. Glad to hear Dave endorses this.

[Voice of Reason]

And borrowing money isn't the big bad wolf that Dave Ramsey tells you it is, either.

 

Agreed. Debt used wisely is a wealth building tool.

[TheDeuce]

Agreed. Debt used wisely is a wealth building tool.

 

Absolutely. Ramsey criticizes having and using credit at a comedic level, and it is unwarranted.

[Randy Parker]

Right. Paying cash for huge purchases sounds like a great idea, and is unrealistic for the overwhelming majority of people.

 

It's unrealistic for a host of people because they've put themselves in a financial position to make it unrealistic.

[TheDeuce]

It's unrealistic for a host of people because they've put themselves in a financial position to make it unrealistic.

 

It's unrealistic because most people aren't okay with being miserable in order to save enough money to be able to say they bought a car with cash.

 

Using credit isn't negative, regardless of how bad Ramsey wants you to believe. It's no different than anything else, it takes discipline and being responsible.

[Randy Parker]

It's unrealistic because most people aren't okay with being miserable in order to save enough money to be able to say they bought a car with cash.

 

Using credit isn't negative, regardless of how bad Ramsey wants you to believe. It's no different than anything else, it takes discipline and being responsible.

 

Miserable is a strong word. I would use the same words you used in reference to debt: discipline and responsibility. As I said before, we haven't had a car payment in 15 years & in no way have we been miserable. Disciplined and responsible, yes.

 

I don't think debt is evil, but neither do I consider it wise. I believe it's in a person's best interest not to have a significant chunk of their income obligated to creditors.

[Bobby Axelrod]

It's unrealistic because most people aren't okay with being miserable in order to save enough money to be able to say they bought a car with cash.

 

Using credit isn't negative, regardless of how bad Ramsey wants you to believe. It's no different than anything else, it takes discipline and being responsible.

 

The people calling for his advice have no discipline and have shown they aren't responsible. His plan for them to get out of debt is being miserable to save money and get themselves out of debt. Using credit definitely isn't negative if you manage it well, but most people don't. IMO Dave Ramsey has to be over the top because those people can't manage credit. The only way for them to dig themselves out of a hole is the extreme measure he lays out.

[rjs4470]

We’ll have to just agree to disagree. Borrowing money for any reason is never a good thing IMO.

 

Hey, I don’t totally disagree with you, and I commend anyone who can live comfortably and completely debt free. But as others have said, using debt wisely is a key avenue to building wealth. The debt I have actually allows me to save more money and helps me budget.

[TheDeuce]

Miserable is a strong word. I would use the same words you used in reference to debt: discipline and responsibility. As I said before, we haven't had a car payment in 15 years & in no way have we been miserable. Disciplined and responsible, yes.

 

I don't think debt is evil, but neither do I consider it wise. I believe it's in a person's best interest not to have a significant chunk of their income obligated to creditors.

 

It's fear mongering by Ramsey to sell his own products, IMO. Almost anything can be bad if it gets out of hand, credit is no different.

 

And I used miserable because DR uses it himself.

[Randy Parker]

One huge plus of being completely debt free--one that I never really thought of before--is that you hold the cards at your place of employment. I've known a lot of employers that will manipulate or attempt to control employees based on the fact that they provide the salary. Having no debt & sitting on a pile of cash gives you middle finger power, as no debt plus a huge pile of savings enables you to give your employer the middle finger if necessary.

[Randy Parker]

And I used miserable because DR uses it himself.

 

Gotcha.

[Voice of Reason]

Using debt/credit to own real estate is one area where it is a great tool for building wealth.

 

I also think having an equity line in place on your home is a good idea. It is added liquidity that can help in certain situations.

[MJAlltheWay24]

If you can get 0% APR and are responsible with your money, I don't know why anyone wouldn't take advantage of that.

[Voice of Reason]

If you can get 0% APR and are responsible with your money, I don't know why anyone wouldn't take advantage of that.

 

Because of the thousands of dollars in depreciation when you drive the new car off the lot.

[TheDeuce]

Because of the thousands of dollars in depreciation when you drive the new car off the lot.

 

There are products to combat that.