I have an unusual way of looking at the world. My wife, Sharon, says I'm weird, and, truthfully, I am weird. But there's a reason. Starting from nothing, by the time I was 26, I had a net worth of a little over a million dollars. I was making $250,000 a year. That's more than $20,000 a month net taxable income. I was really having fun. But 98% truth is a lie. That 2% can cause big problems, especially with $4 million in real estate. I had a lot of debt—a lot of short-term debt—andI'm the idiot who signed up for the trip.
The short version of the story is that debt caused us, over the course of two and a half years of fighting it, to lose everything. We didn't tell anyone what was going on, but if we had to do it again, we would learn from the wisdom of others who have been through it. We soon learned that we weren’t the only ones at the bottom. Barbie and Ken (you know, the couple thatappears to be perfect—perfect clothes, perfect car, perfect house) are broke, and I don't take financial advice from broke people anymore.
After losing everything, I went on a quest to find out how money really works, how I could take control of it, and how I could have confidence in handling it. I read everything I could get my hands on. I interviewed older rich people—people who made money and kept it. That quest led me to a really, really uncomfortable place: my mirror. I came to realize that my money problems, worries and shortages largely began and ended with the person in my mirror. I also realized that if I could learn to manage the character I shaved with every morning, I would win with money. I went back to my first love, real estate, to eat and to get out of debt. Along the way, I began another path—the path of helping others, literally millions of others, take the same quest to the mirror. That path led to starting Ramsey Solutions. We’ve been helping people change their lives for over 20 years, and we’re not slowing down.
I’ve paid the “stupid tax” (mistakes with dollar signs on the end) so you don't have to, and I’m here to tell you that whoever you are, wherever you came from, and however deep of a mess you might be in right now, you can get out of it. You can take control and use the same commonsense principles I did to turn your situation around. And my team and I want to walk with you through it, every step of the way. It’s go time.
Some folks will need $10 million to have the kind of retirement lifestyle they've always dreamed about. Others can comfortably live out their golden years with a $1 million nest egg. There's no right or wrong answer here—it all depends on how you want to live in retirement!
How Much You Should Have in Your Emergency Savings. Here's a Dave Ramsey principle we agree with: If you make less than $20,000 per year, aim to have at least $500 in emergency savings. If you make more than $20,000, then aim for at least $1,000.
Key Takeaways. The 50-30-20 budget rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must have or must do. The remaining half should dedicate 20% to savings, leaving 30% to be spent on things you want but don't necessarily need.
There's an 80-20 rule for money Dave Ramsey teaches which says managing your finances is 80 percent behavior and 20 percent knowledge. This 80-20 rule also applies to constructing a healthy life. Personal wellness is 80 percent behavior and 20 percent knowledge.
This can help make it more achievable in the short term. The easiest way to do this is by setting monthly savings goals. To save $10,000 in a year, you'll need to save about $833 each month, or around $192 per week.
The short answer to what happens if you invest $500 a month is that you'll almost certainly build wealth over time. In fact, if you keep investing that $500 every month for 40 years, you could become a millionaire.
Dave Ramsey recommends you take 15% of your gross monthly income and put it toward a retirement fund each month. To figure out how much you should be putting into your retirement fund each month, take your monthly income and multiply that number by 0.15.
Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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