Dave Ramsey started in real estate in the '80's with no money in his pockets. By the age of 26 he was a millionaire.

Two and a half years later Dave Ramsey filed for bankruptcy. He became broke slowly, by losing his real estate property one lot at a time. Dave had made the same mistake that a lot of business owners make. He financed his business with credit! And when the bank started to call in his bank notes, Dave couldn't pay up. But he wasn't about to give up. Dave decided that he would learn how to become wealthy again and stay that way. So he read books about creating wealth and talked to wealthy people. Dave says he finally realized that he was the person responsible for his wealth and financial future.

Take a look at this video I found on YouTube of Dave Ramsey talking about how he went from becoming a millionaire to filing bankruptcy.

Wow! Listening to Dave Ramsey in that video talk about slowly losing everything he had is pretty scary. But, if Dave went from being bankrupt to becoming a millionaire again, don't you think he can teach it to you? He can. Because Dave Ramsey has the heart of a teacher. As you heard Dave say in the YouTube video, he likes being rich. But as much as Dave likes money he likes teaching people how to get out of the debt trap and become financially free even more.

Through the lessons that Dave and his wife, Sharon, learned Dave Ramsey decided to help people who were financially stressed. Dave Ramsey wrote his first book, Financial Peace, in 1988. Dave also started a radio talk show at that time called "The Money Game" which is now called "The Dave Ramsey Show". Dave Ramsey's radio talk show is played on radio stations all over the United States.

Myth: Debt is a tool and should be used to help create prosperity.
Truth: Debt is not a tool; it is a method to make banks wealthy, not you.

Debt is dumb. Most normal people are just plain broke because they are in debt up to their eyeballs with no hope of help. If you're in debt then you're a slave, in the sense that you do not have the freedom to use your money to help change your family tree. According to a recent USA Today article about debt, 78 percent of baby boomers have mortgage debt, 59 percent have credit card debt, 56 percent have car payments.

It takes a lot of will, discipline, courage and help to slay the debt monster. But it can be done. Imagine how much you could put toward retirement if you just didn't have a stinking car payment? This is how the wealthy build their wealth. Debt is really dumb. Welcome to the real world! Start your Total Money Makeover Now.

Get more information on debt.

Myth: I can get quick debt help over the phone or Internet.
Truth: True debt help is not quick or easy. It starts in the mirror with you.

Where do most people go for debt help? Most people try credit repair companies, debt consolidation, debt management, or bankruptcy.
Companies touting quick, pain-free fixes are really scams that cause more harm than good. These services almost never help solve the true debt management problem - one's behavior.

Most people don't know that financial planners make almost all of their money by selling you a product such as life insurance or mutual funds, instead of spending time counseling you. They're not evil; they just don't get paid to help you get out of debt.

The Total Money Makeover
So my Total Money Makeover begins with a challenge. The challenge is you. You are the problem with your money. The financial channel or some tape sets aren't your answer; you are. You are the king of your future, and I have a plan. The Total Money Makeover plan isn't theory. It works every single time. It works because it is simple. It works because it gets to the heart of your money problems - you. It is based on a series of prices that must be paid to win. All winners pay a price to win. Some losers pay a price and never win, and that is usually because they didn't have the benefit of a proven plan for financial fitness.

Is it easy? No. In fact, it's really hard most of the time. But it's worth it. For over 10 years, we've been teaching people how to get rid of debt forever. Now with over two million listeners to our radio program, "The Dave Ramsey Show," about 200,000 families through our Financial Peace University program and over 1 million visitors a month to our Web site, people are getting out debt by practicing good debt management. The Total Money Makeover is a great book to begin your financial makeover.

Success Stories
"We needed direction. We started the Total Money Makeover plan and got on the narrow road to Financial Peace. We'll have paid off $11,000 in eight months and are well on the road to debt FREEDOM!" -Kathy and James Smith

"We've actually relieved ourselves of over $50,000 worth of debt in two years just from using these principles." -Russ and Mary Lee

New to Dave Ramsey?

Dave Ramsey says: "80% of money management is emotional; 20% is head knowledge."
The Financial Peace University teaches you about all aspects of money - from saving money to dealing with creditors to insurance to mortgages. Financial Peace University covers it all.
Watch Dave Ramsey on YouTube as he talks about the 13 lessons about money that he teaches at Financial Peace University.