Dave Ramsey

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David L. Ramsey III (b. September 3, 1960) is an American financial writer, radio and television host.

His syndicated radio program, The Dave Ramsey Show, is promoted with a tagline that it is about "Life and Money," and is heard on over 300 radio stations throughout the United States and Canada, and also on XM and Sirius satellite radio.^[1] He has written over 14 books, three of which have been on the New York Times Best Seller list.^[2] His books and broadcasts often feature a Christian perspective that reflects Ramsey's own religious beliefs.

Ramsey's current company, The Lampo Group, is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, and oversees three divisions geared toward financial counseling.

He has been featured on many media outlets including The Oprah Winfrey Show, 60 Minutes, and The Early Show on CBS. He has also recorded a pilot and six episodes of a reality show named The Dave Ramsey Project.^[3] He is the host of The Dave Ramsey Show at 8pm ET and repeated at 12am weekdays on the new Fox Business Network. ^[4]

Contents 1 Biography 2 The Dave Ramsey Show 3 Related companies 3.1 The Lampo Group, Inc. 3.2 Financial Peace University 3.3 Share It! 4 Criticism 5 Publications 5.1 Financial advice 5.2 Kids' books 5.3 Contributions 6 See also 7 References 8 External links 9 Further reading

[edit] Biography

Ramsey was born in Antioch, Tennessee, and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. Ramsey received a Bachelor of Science degree with double majors in Finance and Real Estate at the University of Tennessee in 1982^[5], shortly thereafter finding a niche market in foreclosure real estate. At the age of 26, through his brokerage firm, Ramsey Investments, Inc., he had built a rental real estate portfolio worth more than $4 million. He became one of Tennessee's youngest brokers to be admitted to the Graduate Realtors Institute.^[6]

Ramsey's debt-fueled success soon came to an end as the Tax Reform Act of 1986 began to negatively impact the real estate business. One of Ramsey's largest investors was sold to a larger bank, who began to take a harder look at Ramsey's borrowing habits. The bank demanded he pay $1.2 million worth of short-term notes within 90 days, forcing him to file bankruptcy. ^[6]

Ramsey vowed to never again borrow money and, after walking away from his debts, he eventually recovered his financial footing. After several friends asked for advice with their own financial troubles, Ramsey began counseling couples at his local church. Soon after offering private counseling services, Ramsey began attending every workshop and seminar on consumer financial problems that he could find. He developed a simple set of lessons and materials based partially on his own experience and on works and teachings by Larry Burkett and Ron Blue^[7]. After many requests from his clients, in 1992 wrote his first book Financial Peace.^[6]

Ramsey has been married to his wife, Sharon, for 25 years; they have three children: Denise, Rachel, and Daniel. The family resides in Nashville.^[6] Ramsey's Protestant Christian beliefs have formed a fundamental influence in his life and are a growing presence on his radio show.

[edit] The Dave Ramsey Show

Main article: The Dave Ramsey Show

Ramsey started his radio show, currently known as The Dave Ramsey Show, in 1992 under the title of The Money Game. Originally a locally based show, it is now syndicated across the country. In 2007, he launched a television show under the same name on the Fox Business Network. Both shows are on air Monday through Friday.

[edit] Related companies

[edit] The Lampo Group, Inc.

Ramsey founded his company, the Lampo Group in 1991^[8], initially helping people one-on-one who were struggling with financial issues. In 1994 he hired Russ Carroll, Ramsey's lead financial counselor, and together they began teaching the first Financial Peace University classes on overhead projectors.^[8] Between 1999 and 2004, The Lampo Group grew from 18 to 105 team members. There are currently over 200 team members.

Ramsey claims to run his business completely debt-free, an accomplishment he states was critical to the success of his company.^[9]

[edit] Financial Peace University

Ramsey is also the creator of Financial Peace University, a Biblically based 13-week video training series for adults, and a companion series targeted at teenagers that has been offered in more than 1,200 schools in 46 states. Some topics covered in the series are cash flow planning, investing, saving, credit, retirement, and giving.^[10]

[edit] Share It!

"Share It!" is a foundation created by Dave and Sharon Ramsey for the purpose of working with other nonprofit organizations such as housing initiatives, work to success projects, domestic violence shelters, drug and alcohol recovery programs, crisis pregnancy centers, youth outreaches, and high schools to help others become financially literate.^[11]

[edit] Criticism

• Ramsey has been criticized in financial circles for offering simplistic solutions to "complex" financial issues. ^[12]
• Ramsey has occasionally been criticized for perceived arrogance, right-wing political views or perceived inaccurate financial advice.^[3]
• The Nashville Scene has reported that Ramsey occasionally receives e-mails and letters containing the Biblical verse, "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'” (Matthew 19:24 NIV) which he sees as a rebuke of his wealth and a call for poverty.^[3]
• In 2004, Ramsey's column was dropped from The Tennessean and four other newspapers owned by Gannett, Co. after it was discovered that the identities of those seeking help were falsified in several of his columns. A Lampo executive vice president attributed the duplications to a young former employee who was in charge of selecting and editing the column questions and answers, and said employee had since left the company. Despite claiming to not have made the mistake himself, Ramsey accepted responsibility for the error and offered refunds to the newspapers affected by the error.^[13]
• Some consider Ramsey a hypocrite for accepting Visa and Mastercard on his web site to purchase his materials, despite his disapproval of credit cards. However, Ramsey's webpage clearly states he urges people to use only debit cards ^[14] and is unable to prohibit credit card use for purchases due to the "Visa and Mastercard virtual monopoly on the debit card industries [which] prohibits merchants from only taking debit cards." Additionally, Ramsey says that anyone who goes against the debit-card-only policy is a "shady and dishonest character".^[15]

[edit] Publications

Additionally, The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace Revisited, and More than Enough are available in Spanish.

[edit] Financial advice

• Financial Peace: Restoring Financial Hope to You and Your Family (1997) ISBN 0-67-087361-6
• The Financial Peace Planner: A step-by step guide to restoring your family's financial health (1998) ISBN 0-14-026468-X
• How to Have More than Enough: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Abundance (2000) ISBN 0-14-028193-2
• More than Enough: The Ten Keys to Changing Your Financial Destiny (2002) ISBN 0-14-200047-7
• Financial Peace Revisited (2002) ISBN 0-670-03208-5
• The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan For Financial Fitness (2003) ISBN 0-7852-6326-8
• Total Money Makeover Workbook (2004) ISBN 0-7852-6327-6
• The Money Answer Book: Quick Answers to Everyday Financial Questions (2005) ISBN 0-8499-9619-8
• Priceless: Straight-Shooting, No-Frills Financial Wisdom (2006) ISBN 0-9774895-9-0

[edit] Kids' books

• The Super Red Racer: Junior Discovers Work (2003) ISBN 0-9726323-0-1
• Careless At The Carnival: Junior Discovers Spending (2003) ISBN 0-9726323-1-X
• The Big Birthday Surprise: Junior Discovers Giving (2003) ISBN 0-9726323-2-8
• My Fantastic Fieldtrip: Junior Discovers Saving (2003) ISBN 0-9726323-3-6
• A Special Thank You: Junior Discovers Integrity (2005) ISBN 0-9769630-0-0
• Battle of the Chores: Junior Discovers Debt (2005) ISBN 0-9769630-1-9

[edit] Contributions

• 48 Days To The Work You Love by Dan Miller, Foreword by Dave Ramsey (2005) ISBN 0-8054-3188-8

[edit] See also

• Debt
• Bankruptcy
• Talk radio
• Envelope budgeting

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Dave Ramsey official website
• MyTMMO.com
• FoxBusiness.com bio
• Dave Ramsey on CBS' 60 Minutes (Transcripts)
• "Interview with Dave Ramsey" Failure Magazine, October 2000.

[edit] Further reading

• Dave Ramsey, The Total Money Makeover ISBN 0-7852-6326-8
• Dave Ramsey, Financial Peace, Revisited ISBN 0-670-03208-5
• Dave Ramsey, More Than Enough ISBN 0-14-200047-7
• Dave Ramsey, The Money Answer Book ISBN 0-8499-9619-8