Ramsey is great for people who want to have their 8-5 job, build a savings account and a 401(k), and create growing savings. Kiyosaki is inspiring, but there seem to be a lot of stories indicating that he mainly makes his money off seminars, not real estate. Still, if you want to grow wealth: • Consumer debt is bad. This includes cars. • House debt is fairly neutral, but it can tip one way or another (being house-poor, or having all your cash tied up in your house when a mortgage might benefit you). • Money-making debt, (leverage on appreciating or cash-flowing assets) is good....up to the point where too much of it becomes bad. (Could you survive a crash that devalued your assets?) Life is pretty complex. Finding the right answer generally requires developing judgment and wisdom. Best of luck as you work through that path.

As I've said before one teaches you how to get out of debt and one teaches you how to get into debt. I'm not saying debt is a bad thing but it is like a power saw in the wrong hands it can be bloody. Just ask all of those Kiyosaki followers who lost everything in 2007-2009. I wonder how many houses lost by Kiyosaki followers were picked up by Dave Ramsey followers.

I think Ramsey is worth $50 million and Kiyosaki is worth $80 million. Both much more successful that probably anybody on this site. To bash either one is ridiculous, they both have their methods and have worked. The only people who think whole life is good are people who sell whole life. The fees eat up your potential growth. Why not buy term life which is about 1/3 or more cheaper than whole life and put the difference in the stock market or save up and buy a house with it.

I know guys who are multi millionaires with no debt. I also know guys who are multi millionaires and are heavily leveraged. This difference, the guys with no debt are 60+ years old and the guys with debt are as young as late 30s. Different strategies, if your risk adverse no debt is a good option but don't expect to have the net worth right away, it takes time to build. Side note: I know of the Ramsey program and have known people who have completed it and where diligent in their self control, wiping out all their debt within a couple years. I think the Ramsey program does a great job telling people what they need to do to get out of debt. Where it lacks is in educating people about debt and how to use it. Take my example above they were out of debt within a couple years, first thing that couple did after getting out of debt was buy a new car with a loan.

If I want to read lightweight fiction, I generally go with Vince Flynn or Clive Cussler.

Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman don't understand the benefit to having mortgage debt. Mortgage debt is actually the only debt that is good to have. They are spot on when it comes to consumer debt. But having mortgage debt is good because not only is the bank taking most of the risk, but you leverage your money, thus allowing you to build a bigger portfolio. Check out the Ric Edleman link below. I think he sums it up pretty good. http://www.edelmanfinancial.com/education-center/a...

Hey, @Steve Vaughan! Thanks for pulling me in to another DR discussion :) I love Dave Ramsey, love listening to him, my husband says I have a crush on him. Having free and clear rentals feels great since we are very, very new to REI. It helps cushion any mistakes we may make due to our inexperience. Having a paid for house feels great too. All of our excess income (W2 and rental) is snowballed into investing. What would go toward a mortgage on our PR and rentals instead is being saved up for the next property. From a numbers standpoint, does it make the most sense? Maybe not from a pure finance perspective. But are slowly and steadily amassing a real estate portfolio that will meet our goals in a way that we are comfortable with based on our risk tolerance and stage of life. And I think @Cheryl Packham made some great points in her post so I'll just say ditto to that :) Enjoying the discussion! These threads are always fun to read :)

Ok I will take a stab at this. The biggest problem is the government allowing crappy ideas to be in the marketplace, like the MBA allowing liar loans in 2002 - 2007, etc. Is 3% ok for a down payment? Canada doesnt think so. You gotta save that down payment, 10 - 20%. The public school system is not getting money education executed. Parents arent qualified. Kids are inundated with consumerism and $150 sneakers and $800 iphones. Mr Ramsey is trying to protect the consumer from stupid financial decisions like "Paycheck loans at 31%", etc, assisting the poorly educated about finances, nothing wrong about that. What is available for free www.FTC.gov has a HUGE amount of free credit info and free identity theft info. See https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/topics/money-credit https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/education/ great basic site about credit and money. http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/category/finan... The new cfpb above for Dodd Frank info and basic consumer financial education is just awesome. Any new RESPA and TILA info is there, especially the new closing docs on Aug 1 2015. Now sophisticated education and long term planning I believe the place the start is with this video - The Cash Flow Quadrant Cash Flow Quadrant see video If you do not understand the basics of SMALL BUSINESS, it is really hard to have a great retirement at 65 unless you are a highly paid professional with some consumer spending discipline and savings and diversified investing. I think the last statistic I read was 90% of 65 year old retirees have less than $50K in retirement savings. Re: The book Rich Kid Smart Kid I think is a great book. I plan on giving that book to my son and daughter. In general, Biggerpockets is great with wholesaling flipping, but there are other subjects like business planning, entity planning (I like Amanda Han), taxation planning (Steve Hamilton is awesome), and advanced soft skills like NLP and negotiation (not sales) etc that are super important. Not having a LLC or a Corp before marketing and making offers, seriously? Just do a deal? I enjoy Clint Coons quite a bit. See Will Your Asset Protection Stand Up? Being self employed is awesome, and a good C Corp can get you some awesome tax deductions. There's offense and defense. The sexy marketing info always sells. "How do I get a deal?" "How do make a fast buck?" The boring back office stuff - legal, tax, etc, well what can you do, that's why not being self employed is always easier! Bottom Line: The journey to learning small business is an awesome one. Profitable too hopefully.

95% of the population should go with Ramsey. Only investor-minded folks should depart his advice. I'm not a big fan of Kiyosaki, I would prefer Gary Keller by a large market.

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Updated almost 10 years ago on 06/10/2015. Most recent reply

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Nate HawkinsPoster

New to Real Estate
Nampa, ID

Starting Out

Ramsey or Kiyosaki?

Nate HawkinsPoster

New to Real Estate
Nampa, ID

Posted June 05, 2015 09:33

I think I wrote this post a dozen times and deleted it. I'm not sure how to ask it. In 2013 I lost my step mother(mom) to cancer she left behind many assets and a bit of money for my family and I. Earlier in 2013 I attended FPU Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey and learned a lot about not being debt. So I purchased a house with cash in 2014. Now I wonder if I made a mistake. Should I have a mortgage and used that money for properties? Who is right Dave or Robert? I've read many books on leveraging money (rich dad) but I can't seem to figure out which one is correct. What is the best way to use that equity if I should leverage?

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Alexander Felice

Guy with Great Hair
Austin, TX

Alexander Felice

Guy with Great Hair
Austin, TX

Replied June 05, 2015 09:48

Ramsey gives your security.

Kiyosaki gives you wealth.

The reality is, if you're in debt than Ramsey is probably good to learn from to get out of it. His methods are too conservative to ever get rich off of though (imo). You have to take risk to get ahead, FACT.

Alexander Felice

[email protected]

Podcast Guest on Show #301

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