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Who Is Right About Finances?
Dave Ramsey, Clark Howard, or Brian Preston?
Dave Ramsey, Clark Howard, and Brian Preston from the Money Guy Show have a few things in common.
All of them advise paying off high-interest debt (all debt in the case of Ramsey) and having a basic starter emergency fund. Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step 1 still requires saving $1000; Preston suggests saving enough to pay insurance (and other) deductibles.
Ramsey often gets flak for not adjusting the starter emergency fund for inflation, but he says the very point is to not feel comfortable and to pay off one’s debt as fast as possible. I get his point, but I agree with Preston here. What good is $1000 if you can’t pay your deductibles, your premiums, etc.?
All three, Ramsey, Howard, and Preston, agree on building a sizeable emergency fund of three to six months’ worth of expenses after paying off some (or all) of the debt.
All three also suggest saving and investing. Howard and Preston are adamant to invest at least enough to get the employer match; Ramsey suggests saving 15% for retirement, which is his Baby Step 4. All three believe in investing to build wealth.
Where these three disagree the most is on credit cards. Watch a Ramsey show and suggest to people in the chat that credit cards are o.k…
