bankrate


Dont kill the messenger, I just thought people would like to read the article.

I am surprised bankrate would promote this idea. Note, I am not promoting this idea either.

One thing they forgot to add no matter how they do it. They forgot to include an emergency fund.

I CAN'T AFFORD THE EXTRA COST OF ALL CASH

I love that there are ads for CREDIT CARDS all over the page

<---SNAKE OIL STAGE LEFT

I wonder how much he paid bankrate to run that stupid story.

Thanks for the thread OP. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions. It is good to have knowledge about everything. I like diversity, people using their brains to do what fits them. Some people figure it's their way or the highway.

Thanks again!

DR is the least diverse of all snake oil salesmen. he does not want his lemmings to think for themselves; why else would he refuse to educate them about his expensive snowball scam.

Snowball scam? I use his snowball method and I love it. I am paying off an $850 balance at 0% before I pay off my $13,000 at 4.99%. What's wrong with that? After our small debts are paid off in 4 months, it will free up $500 a month to knock down the larger debts. It works!

Plus, I didn't pay Dave a dime to use his snowball method.

Another thing, I am a "lemming" who thinks for myself. LMAO!

DIVERSITY--->VISA/MC/AMEX/DISCOVER/STORE CARDS

How can anyone with common sense argue against this? If it works for them, it works for them.

"IF" they CUT $1,500 to $2,000 a month they were pretty BIG SPENDERS to begin with

I say use whatever methods works for yourself, do that. Whether it is Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Cash, or Checks

That is just my opinion.






George, would you still use a credit card if they took all the rewards away?

THE TIME BETWEEN A CHARGE and PIF DUE DATE IS A REWARD THAT CASH DOESN'T HAVE

PAYING 50 to 100 CHARGES WITH ONE SINGLE EFT PAYMNET IS ANOTHER REWARD

THEFT PROTECTION CASH DOESN'T HAVE IS ANOTHER REWARD

NOT HAVING TO WRITE 50 or 100 CHECKS IN ONE MONTH SAVES MONEY TOO (I think I am on box #3 of 4 boxes of checks I bought in the 1990's)

NOT HAVING TO GO OUT OF MY WAY TO GET EXPENSIVE CASH SAVES MONEY TOO

I feel sorry for someone who cannot grasp this simple concept.

You forgot cash, debit, check, charge and maybe some others.

So you're doing what works best for you, which is the whole idea.

I DIDN'T FORGET

CASH = ONLY VENDING

Don't have a debit card

CHECK AT POS is fine for making a payment like at SEARS...WALMART...JC PENNEYS

But to pay for STUFF with a check is so WRONG when they take credit cards

Charge is not a logical choice for most people when they can get credit cards

George what did you mean that statement? Thank you.

Do you really want to know what's wrong with that? $850 * (850/500) * 0.0499 /12 = $6.01 (rounding up). As long as you understand that your method costs you an extra $6 above the "ideal" method and find that the satisfaction of having one debt completely paid off is worth $6 to you then in my opinion there is nothing wrong with that. Unfortunately not everyone who is told to use the snowball method is aware of its deficiencies and make a choice to exchange lost money for peace of mind--and those people may lose considerably more than $6. The same can be said for eschewing credit in favor of an all-cash approach--there are definitely drawbacks to avoiding credit cards but if someone is aware of the drawbacks and accepts them because they are unable to control their spending then that can be an intelligent choice. Anyone who argues that the snowball method is somehow "optimal" or that credit is somehow "bad" without mentioning the implicit assumption in both of those statements (which is an assumption of no ability to stick to a planned budget) is misleading people.

To each their own. I'll stick with my CCs.

A "CHARGE" CARD you don't have the OPTION to pay minimum payments if the NEED ever comes up

100% PIF~100% OF THE TIME

Also the major "CHARGE" CARDS are from AMEX (up to $450)

Pay $450 for the privelege of PIF that can be had with a NO ANNUAL FEE CREDIT CARD

I don't know too many people who CAN'T get a "CREDIT" CARD...but can get all the "CHARGE" CARDS they want

You still have yet to articulate axactly *why* this is such a big benefit for you. (Specifically you, not others)



Which effectively turns 50-100 transactions into 51-101 transactions.


How soon you forget. You get cash back at the W-M register... remember?



Paying highest APR first is the logical choice. No doubt. No dispute. (Most) People are not logical beings. That's the rub. That's why so many are in the predicament to begin with.

Using DR as an example, I've listened to him several times over the last several months primarily because of threads like this, this question about which snowball method to use has been asked on his show a couple times. To his credit, he readily admits it's cheaper to pay highest APR first. Never once dodged the question. The difference is he clearly understands human nature and human behavior (as it applies to real people living in real-life) better than most.

You dont need to roll eyes at me, I was just asking you a question, so I can make a proper comment.

It seems to me that it would actually be the other way around. I never could get charge cards but I got credit cards. I wish it was the other way around for me.

I don't get paid for 10 or 20 word answers...why would I want to type 3 page answers

(explain down to a minute detail)

I know what you mean by a charge card now. You can see how the two statements made is confusing. (I increased the font)

I'm not much of an advocate of using cash. I'm perfectly content using my credit cards, earning rewards, and having superior protection. There are many purchases that I would never make with cash (my cards offer buyer protection, extended warranties, etc.).

That said, credit isn't for everyone. Ramsey's method works for a lot of people for the same reason that many people shouldn't have credit cards. People aren't perfectly rational, they respond emotionally to life. Many people, if given the opportunity, will overextend themselves if they have access to credit (I know... I did it). Many people will have more success paying off their debts if they use the snowball method and get the sense of accomplishment that comes with having a card paid off.

I've never used Ramsey's method personally, but it makes sense to me that a certain cross section of the people that will get in trouble with cards, would get out of trouble well by using the snowball method. The people that get buried in debt buying stupid things for the instant gratification, will get a similar sense of accomplishment more quickly by using the snowball method. If that gets them out of debt, even if they pay an extra $3,000 during the process, its better then still being up to your ears in debt 2 years down the road (and paying interest along the way).

So cash, like DR's methods isn't for me, but I understand why they work for many people. If it works for you, stick with it.

A "CREDIT" is not the same as a "CHARGE" card

Both enlarged statements are FACTUAL

You must get paid per post, then.

Nice!

That makes a lot of sense. If you have not cured yourself of the habit of overspending, DR is for you. If you like logic and can control your emotions, DR sucks.

DR is intolerant of deviations from his magical plan. I feel sorry for fools who do not realize this yet seem to think they can "combine" DR's snake oil with more sensible financial management strategies.

+1000

I would not consider DR to be as dangerous if he actually took the time to educate the lemmings he hypnotizes.

the real rub is he does not educate his listeners; he brainwashes them into thinking he a the master of the financial universe and they shall kneel before him (with their backs turned to him...)

if he told people how they can determine the "costs" of different pay off strategies he would be far less dangerous

That isn't his audience, is it? He caters to folks who just want to told what to do next and be led by hand out of their troubles.
Sorta like the folks who call Orman and ask "Can I afford it?" Uh..if you don't already know the answer to that question or at least how to figure it out- then perhaps you should be led out of the woods by Papa Dave or Mama Suze.

The fact is that a lot of people are simply not going to be independently-analytical and responsible about their finances. They're not going to do that on their own, anymore than I'm going to change my own oil.

And that fact will never, ever change, so there's no point complaining about it, that's just the way it is.

Choose the payment method that works for you. My payment method is all types (Credit Card,Cash, Money order, Checks, ACH, Debit cards, and maybe even western union or moneygram)


I hope I not sounding like a commercial.

...and I'd still rather see them actually get out of debt, even if it does take longer and cost more.

HIGH COST

ALWAYS PIF

"IF" YOU HAVE TO PAY INTEREST...PAY AS LOW OF AN APR AS POSSIBLE

PAY THE MOST TO THE HIGHEST APR FIRST

I see you like to use the word “FOOLS� a lot. Whom are you actually referring to?

Your response has nothing to do with DADDY’s or my statement. Just out of curiosity what part of this simple concept are you unable to grasp?
1) There are no one-size-fits-all solutions
2) It is good to have knowledge about everything
3) I like diversity, people using their brains to do what fits them

+1000

I think you just hit the nail on the head. That is basically what creditboards is all about.

Hege is always saying that it is the DR folks who are intolerant since they frown severely upon people who deviate from their set strategy. Doing something illogical in the name of diversity is just foolish.

I am glad Hege has a PR person.

There you go, making this personal again.

Just joking!!!

I don't personally worry about it if someone chooses to go the DR route. If someone voluntarily decides to move downward in the financial hierarchy, who am I to object?

have you read the DR board? trying posting over there saying that you occasionally use a credit card. you'll get bitch slapped 100 times over. Intolerance is a good word for it. CB is millions of time more tolerate than the pay-per-post DR lemming board.

did you even read my post before agreeing with someone who often goes out of his way to insult me? I said if DR cared enough to educate his listeners/readings/etc then he would be less dangerous. I am sorry you and other post police posters think my opinion should somehow not be allowed.

nobody ever asks if I think he is right about some things. why is that? pathological desire to always post comments diametrically opposed to my opinion? :dontknow:

DR is good at warning people to never borrow against a retirement account

DR is good to tell people to adjust their w-4 because getting a tax return is a terrible thing

DR is right that people should not spend more than they make.

but the conversation always focuses on my opinion about his crazy credit card and anti-debt positions.

how about a group hug and a round of warm fuzzy to make everyone feel above average?

not that you really want an answer...the FOOLS are the people who follow him blindly off the cliff.

I have never call daddy a fool (even when he has attacked me).

and you are hilarious because DR is not at all tolerant of your three points.

Here's the problem that keeps happening: instead of having a discussion on the actual topic- 4 factors to consider before going all cash, it's once again turned into Senate confirmation hearings on Dave Ramsey.
Any discussion on cash lifestyles, manual (envelope) budgeting, reducing credit usage turns into a Ramsey-hunt that'd make Joe McCarthy proud.
We don't like Ramsey, and some of his stuff is damaging. That doesn't mean every discussion on "cash"topics has to turn into a Ramsey discussion, does it? All that does is keep people from discussing certain topics because they know what's coming.

ramsey-hunt? not really. I'd just rather have an educated consumer who draws on multiple sources and decides what is best for him or her. Following any self-proclaimed guru blindly is not something we should stifle ourselves on.

I made a comment in support of Daddy’s statement that basically made these points.
1) There are no one-size-fits-all solutions
2) It is good to have knowledge about everything
3) I like diversity, people using their brains to do what fits them
These are three excellent points but they seem to be hard to grasp for some. They work for almost any situation. It had nothing to do with DR. You injected DR into this. Do you wrongly ASSUME AGAIN that I was talking about DR? So what part of the actual statement (not your assumption) do you disagree with and (or) are having a hard time grasping?