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Is Dave Ramsey’s Method Best for Women?
For all the women out there who are new to budgeting, saving, and investing, you’ll quickly learn that I started out as a huge fan of Dave Ramsey.
But for those of you who aren’t such a fan, don’t turn away just yet! Hear me out!
To start, I believe Dave’s work is foundational. He gets you introduced to new terms and speaks on a level that everyone can understand. He gives charts, simple guides to follow, and realistic advice. His writings are great for all women, young and older, and of any social class.
Just like any self-help author or blogger, everyone will get criticized for their advice. Dave is not perfect. I am not perfect, and neither are you!
Be sure to not miss out on learning the 5 critical money mistakes to avoid in your 20’s!
However, I feel I have plenty of experience after reading countless books, attending Financial Peace University, and implementing numerous methods to know what works and what is just recycled advice.
In short, as a woman I have liked Dave Ramsey’s work due to the simplicity and straightforwardness of his writings. This is important for anyone, man or woman, who is new to personal finance!
5 reasons why I recommend Dave Ramsey for women:
- Dave teaches behavior (spending) modification
- Dave provides a TON of free content
- Dave educates millennials to create a life they want
- Dave educates with a focus on family
- Dave’s teachings are simplified and help you reach goals fast
There is no true way to getting out of debt. Nor is there a perfect way to investing and creating the financially free life that you desire. However, even I am critical of some of the advice he gives, now that I have much more experience than when I began.
Let’s explore more about why Dave Ramsey’s methods could be great for any woman!
Why Should Women Listen to Dave Ramsey?
1. He teaches behavior (spending) modification.
When talking to others in the debt free community about Dave Ramsey and the Baby Step Method on my Instagram, there are many who agree that he focuses on behavior modification (i.e. building habits through small rewards) to help people achieve their goals.
When I began his baby step process years ago, this was helpful because it provided me an outline of what to do, what to expect, and I was able to pat myself on the back throughout the process!
2. He provides tons of free content
I have found that all of Dave’s famous advice is available at some place on the Internet through one blog or the other. However, if you’re like me, it’s sometimes nice to have a real book to sift through instead of trying to track down an article!
Tip!: If you don’t want to purchase a book, go to your local library! It may sound like obvious advice, but most libraries let you rent eBooks, and there are lots of apps that let you rent for free through a library card!
Be sure to check out some of my top book recommendations while you’re at it!
- The Only 3 Financial Books Young Adults Should Read to Retire Early
- A Full Review of Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money
- 10 Books College Students Must Read To Become Wealthy
3. Dave Educated Millennials To Create a Life They Want
As a millennial, I can confirm that we aren’t taught about finance in school (at least it’s not required), and it’s hard to find good, step-by-step advice about how to manage money.
Millennials and those younger than us have incredible amounts of student debt and overall seem to not know how to save and spend money well!
I still listen to Dave’s podcast and I appreciate how focused he is on helping young adults with starting off their lives debt free. This is very important to me as I try to help other young women learn about their finances!
4. He educates with a focus on the family
This is HUGE for me. I cannot tell you how many books I have read that are written for men, and truly without women in mind. Dave writes to include everyone’s perspective and everyone’s situation.
As someone who wants to teach my children about handling money wisely, I appreciate that the Baby Steps method focuses on helping your children learn about money.
5. His teachings are simplified and help you reach goals fast
I have seen far too many authors who have used summarizations of other writings just to make money of their own. When Dave initially began his work to help others get out of debt, he was an original!
Plus, the Baby Steps is the real deal. It’s easy to follow and easy to understand. Not that us women can’t understand complicated things but we all need to start somewhere!
Is Dave Ramsey’s Advice Realistic for Women?
A very important point you need to know is that I do not fully follow Dave’s guidance. *gasp*
Honestly, it is hard to be as disciplined as he expects you to be in his courses and books!
When I began learning about money, I tried to implement all of his Baby Steps and it only lasted for so long. I craved for faster results, especially since I had tens of thousands of dollars in student debt and was enamored by the idea of investing.
I ended up modifying his guides to work for me and my family. I found what worked, and continued to read and research other perspectives on money management.
For instance, I just could not get myself to purchase everything with cash. Instead, I kept very detailed budgets, used apps to track spending, and tried to make spending an emotional experience. It worked for me.
Click here to discover how I track my spending and net worth for free!
I still use many of the foundational concepts that Dave outlines in his books and courses. However, I have adopted more advanced methods from other books and many mentors. And I know this will be something you’ll grow to have as well! We all have to start somewhere!
So why do I advise his works if I don’t even follow them?
Simple: I believe his methods are one of the best places to start.
I have read dozens of books about money, investing, and personal finance overall. Dave in inclusive. Unless a book is written by a woman, there really are not many other books by men that are written for a family as a whole to work as a team to achieve financial goals.
Nevertheless, all I can say is that I had implemented his methods during my early journey to learning about money, and it helped. A lot. I have seen many women write about their successes, and I love to see young women taking action to rid of their student debt and take pride in creating a wonderful life for their families.
How to Learn From Dave Ramsey:
If you are interested in learning about Dave Ramsey’s methods to financial freedom, you have plenty of options to choose from:
- Read our detailed posts about his methods. While this post serves as an honest take on Dave’s guide to money, I have written many other articles to help you with anything and everything “Dave Ramsey”.
- Check out my Pinterest board for other posts about Dave. We have compiled the board on Pinterest full of printables, infographics, articles to other blogs, and motivational quotes, all revolving around Dave Ramsey. This is a great way to keep up with your learning!
- Listen to his podcast. When I began learning from Dave, I listened to a few podcast episodes a week. I loved hearing about real people getting out of debt using his methods. I find him to be motivational and inspiring.
- Read one of his books!
- Complete Guide to Money: There is a written review of Dave’s Complete Guide to Money in our recommended books section on this site. It is a companion to his Financial Peace course, so I advise that you check out our review before considering purchasing this book!
- The Total Money Makeover: If you prefer reading, I recommend starting here! This book will give you more detail than his other book will. Unlike the Complete Guide to Money, this book is meant to be a standalone.
Let’s Summarize!
- If you are a woman who is new to budgeting, investing, or money management, Dave Ramsey’s guides to money are a great place to start!
- Unlike many authors, you don’t need to read one of his books or attend a course to get all the material you need. All the important advice he provides is available on the Internet through one media source or another.
- Dave’s advice is NOT FOR EVERY WOMAN. He certainly helped me to learn to spend wisely, focus on getting out of debt, and begin to invest, but he may not be a good fit for you. Do your research!
Thanks for reading! I believe Dave Ramsey can help you to begin your journey to being financially free, as he was a great tool for me when I started out!
