Welcome to our collection of quotes by Dave Ramsey. We hope you enjoy pondering them and please share widely.
Wikipedia Summary for Dave Ramsey
David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American personal finance personality, radio show host, author, and businessman. He is an evangelical Christian, and hosts the nationally syndicated radio program The Ramsey Show. Ramsey has written several books, including The New York Times bestseller The Total Money Makeover, and hosted a television show on Fox Business from 2007 to 2010.
There's always something that needs attention when you own a property.
I would not pre-pay. I would invest instead and let the investments cover it.
Whining shows a lack of character. If you don't like the way something is, do something to change it.
The average millionaire can't tell you who got thrown off the island last night.
Don't give money to people who won't behave properly with it. You'll just enable bad behavior.
Saving must become a priority, not just a thought. Pay yourself first.
Being willing to delay pleasure for a greater result is a sign of maturity.
A budget isn't about restricting what you can spend. It gives you permission to spend without guilt or regret.
Too many people buy things they don't need with money they don't have to impress people they don't like.
As much as I want to help people, I had to accept the fact long ago that being stupid with money isn't illegal.
We've really got to stop looking to Washington to fix our problems. It obviously doesn't have the ability to do that. People who are successful are not successful because of the president.
As parents, we teach our kids about things we feel competent in. That's why so many parents don't teach their kids about money.
To be fair, the collection business does have a few good people in it. But it also has those who will lie and make threats.
If you're able to pay your bills, you pay your bills. It's as simple as that.
What your beliefs are about anything creates your actions. What you believe about marriage creates the way you handle your marriage. What you believe about raising kids creates the way you do that.
The Bible clearly says that when we have a problem with our brother, we are to go to them and try to resolve the situation.
You will either tell your money what to do or the lack of it will always manage you.
Money ... is like a beautiful thoroughbred horse -- very powerful and always in action, but unless this horse is trained when very young, it will be an out-of-control and dangerous animal when it grows to maturity.
We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like.
You know what you can do when you don't have any payments? Anything you want.
I can't tell you how many home businesses are almost in bankruptcy court over a Yellow Pages ad only to find out that the Yellow Pages ad isn't where their market will look for them, and it cost more than they thought.
For your own good, for the good of your family and your future, grow a backbone. When something is wrong, stand up and say it is wrong, and don't back down.
Don't react with fear and panic in the face of debt collector threats. Talk to them and explain your situation. See if you can work out a compromise.
Debt collectors like to play on your emotions because they think you'll give in and do something you can't really afford to do. Most of them don't care about you or your situation as long as they get some money.
You don't build wealth with credit card rewards and airline miles. You can't beat the credit card companies at their own game.
You must learn to control your money, or to the permanent deprivation control you.
A big part of being strong financially is that you know where you are weak and take action to make sure you don't fall prey to the weakness. And we ALL are weak.
Work is doing it. Discipline is doing it every day. Diligence is doing it well every day.
Don't medicate dysfunction with spending. No amount of stuff will get rid of guilt.
I'm a Christian. Years ago, I went broke, so I decided to run every part of my life according to the Bible. It sounds hokey, but it works. You run your marriage that way, and it works. It will work with business, too, and finances. Treat people like you want to be treated.
What I have done is packaged the time-honored information into a process that is doable and has inspired millions to act on it.
No one wins the Super Bowl accidentally. Be intentional, Be Passionate, Don't mail it in! You got this!
In the neighborhood where I grew up, it was a rough neighborhood -- well, not rough, but it certainly wasn't upper class or anything. But I remember hearing things like, 'The little man just can't get ahead.' And if you start to believe that, then you know what? You don't get ahead.
Never take a loan against your retirement! When you pay interest against your retirement, you cost yourself interest.
A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.
Financial winners don't run sprints, they run marathons. They don't rush. They do it step by step over time.
I'm not against people having new cars. I'm against them having you. We spend a tremendous amount impressing somebody at the stoplight who we'll never meet. It makes you broke and keeps you broke.
Outrageous generosity is a character quality of people who win with money.
Instead of just purchasing an ad campaign, target test and measure. Give an ad a small try. If the response is enough to pay for the ad, make it larger. With a franchise, ask the most successful franchisees what they did. Ask the bottom five guys what they did and avoid it.
There are several things to be learned about money from Scripture, and the concepts of generosity and giving are in there.
There's not a party, a congressman, a senator, etc. elected that will fix your life. YOU have to fix YOUR life.
Money is not good or evil. It has no morals or intentions on its own. Money reflects the character of the user.
Life will not make allowance for you, but it will pay you what you earn.
You must walk to the beat of a different drummer. The same beat that the wealthy hear. If the beat sounds normal, evacuate the dance floor immediately! The goal is to not be normal, because as my radio listeners know, normal is broke.
If your life is bad because of an elected official, then you don't have a life.
Financial Security is not enough money to buy toys. That is to learn to live with less money than you earn. So, you can help other individuals or investors. You are not a winner until done it.
No one got rich on a government program. Do not choose to be a common man. You can be uncommon.
The first step in taking control of your money is to stop borrowing money. Start using cash today.
The only reason to go into business is to make money. You have to work hard at it. If you're not passionate about it, you'll burn out so fast that it is incredible.
Delegation requires the willingness to pay for short term failures in order to gain long term competency.
The decision to go into debt alters the course and condition of your life. You no longer own it. You are owned.
I think what y'all are doing is great. (The Dave Ramsey Show, September 2012).
Broke people giving financial advice is like a shop teacher with missing fingers.
Be intense, passionate, and fired up, but about things that matter, things that change your life and your legacy.
Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase.
Higher calling matters. When you care so deeply about the why-why you're doing what you're doing-then and only then are you operating in a way that allows you to overcome the obstacles.
Without a mission statement, you may get to the top of the ladder and then realize it was leaning against the wrong building!
Earning a lot of money is not the key to prosperity. How you handle it is.
Just keep taking the next step and keep having excellence in the ordinary.
Your greatest asset is your paycheck. Disability insurance protects you and your family if you are unable to work by providing income which will help pay your bills and take care of your family. It's just as important as life insurance.
Nothing happens without focus. Don't try to do everything at once. Take it one step at a time.
After losing everything, I went on a quest to find out how money really works, how I could get control of it, and how I could have confidence in handling it.
True leadership is servanthood. Put the interests of others at the center of your decisions.
Where you are today is the sum of every choice you've ever made. If you don't like where you are, start making different choices!
Financial peace isn't the acquisition of stuff. It's learning to live on less than you make, so you can give money back and have money to invest. You can't win until you do this.
Great talent stands in line to join your team because the culture becomes the stuff of legend.
Investing is important, but get debt-free first. That's what frees up your income so you can win.
Trust me, I know, you can make mistakes with money and still raise money-smart kids. You can start a new family tradition of handling money the right way.
Babies are wonderful, important things. Having kids, even the thought of having kids, is a big emotional deal. But sometimes it can cause people to change their financial plans and directions.
In order to be a great marketer, you have to be focused and intense and look at scarcity, urgency, activity and passion in the marketplace.
The paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice.