http://www.thecabin.net/stories/122808/sty_1228080038.shtml

Same thing Dave Ramsey has been saying for years; now that the economy has taken a downturn it's suddenly in vogue.

Ramsey? I didn't see anything in the article about credit being the root of all evil. That's the only thing that distinguishes his advice from any other standard budget/save plan.
It's the same thing a lot of folks have been saying for years (for free). Just that people are listening now.

Im all over it!

Credit is essential but Debt is bad.

What I find the funniest about DR is he wants you to spend tons of money on his "help you save money" plans.... lol.

The funny part is that people actually do!

Do they charge to go to the classes ?

The guy in the office next to me was constantly trying to get me to go to one of the classes, life seminars, or whatever they're called. I thought they were free ?

As far as all the other tools he pitches, I would think you could get enough information of his TV and radio shows and the internet to not have to pay a penny to use his system.

My resolution is to stay in the black. I have been living an all cash life for the past few years. I am just starting to apply for new credit...and my goal is to get a lot of it, and not use much of it.

He charges. So what? He provides a service*. Full time. Overhead and supplies aren't free, not are employee salaries and so on. I seriously disagree with how much he charges for some things. I intensely dislike his large auditorium and arena rallies that he charges $100 a pop and more, for example. That is way beyond helping people when his whole thing is supposed to be keeping them on an austere budget. But I have no problem at all with the concept of charging in and of itself.

Seems strange I know, but many people actually place higher value on something if they had to "invest" something into it, i.e. pay for it. For all the people who criticize him for charging, ask yourself... have you ever used the phrase "you get what you pay for" whenever you or someone you know tried to cheap it out? Have you? I'd bet 99% of you have.

Plus, the implication is that CB is better in part because it's free. Nothing could be further from the truth. CB is better because it's better. Period. CB has costs that need to be covered, and if they hadn't opted for advertising they may have had to start charging or else be limited in scope. Evan at that, CB is still probably somewhat limited. If they wanted the same kind of exposure DR gets, so they could reach more people, they'd probably have to find another revenue source, and that might include charging a fee. There are many free credit and/or financial help people and sites out in the real world and on the internet. Do you give all of them the same credibility just because they're free? No, you don't.

* - Don't get caught up in the quality of said service. I'm not talking about that. That's another subject for another time.

I think that's becoming true with many subjects, not just finance. My photography is mostly self-taught through books and I'm starting to wonder why I need to buy photography books anymore. So many things, at least the basic stuff, is available online either on a web page someone put up, or through an interactive message board.

DR is running a business, not a self-help organization. He even charges the "ELP"'s for his endorsement.
The problem with that is:
1) Nothing he has isn't available for free somewhere else.
2) We don't endorse any pay-for services here. Our site is free and so are those that we endorse. We're not into making money off other folks' financial problems, whether it's us doing it- or someone else.

I guess if someone wants to pay for his stuff, that's their Biz, but we don't advertise or endorse it here.

I understand that, but that's not the gist of my point. Using my photography that I mentioned above as an example, virtually every single piece of information I can get from a book I can also get for free somewhere else. Yet, I seriously doubt anybody here would begrudge an author making money for writing said book.

What does "ELP" stand for?

ETA: I'm not suggested he be endorsed, just saying that this specific criticism is off-base. By including this, people are really just looking for excuses to harp on him, which diminishes the credibility of the legitimate criticisms, IMHO.

same here!!! GMTA!

I would not make such a generalization. I could not be in my career field without debt...nor own a home.