Thoughts on Dave Ramsey?

[Jake Andronico]

I was NOT a fan at first, but some of his principles (though not all) have resonated with me. 

Curious to hear everyone's thoughts.

[Scott Trench]

This is a community of real estate investors. All but the wealthiest, most hardcore debt-averse, or those at the end of their journeys, who are looking for stability and not growth, will use leverage. 

Dave Ramsey's advice is fantastic. I'd even go so far as to say it is the best in the world the median American. Most people in this country will get richer faster, and with more certainty listening to Dave Ramsey. 

People who hang out on a real estate site, spending hundreds of hours researching deals, however, are likely to use leverage to finance their investments, and there are many successful examples of this being done well. 

I believe that a reasonable amount of leverage (I buy a new property every two years or so, with a solid cash reserve and conservative assumptions) is a powerful wealth building tool that can be used responsibly and will get me to my goals faster than using no leverage. I'm sure Dave would disagree. 

Real estate is essentially the ONLY part of my life where I use debt of any kind, other than a credit card balance that I pay off in full every month.

On almost every other point he has about building wealth, I tend to agree with him. I think there would be a lot more wealth built, and many more happy endings for real estate investors if folks focused on the strong financial foundation built through the first 3 baby steps prior to investing, and did the simple, hard fundamentals of saving up a down payment, building strong credit, and living frugally to maximize their savings rates.