Why You Should Prioritize Your Wealth over Baby Steps

TNFG Weekly is a dose of my favorite nutritional content and nuggets that are worth indulging in. Sharing Financial Wholeness through Mindset, Articles, Spirituality, Health, Food, Fitness, Books, etc.

And to be honest, it’s kinda like free-styling off of one topic. Read the last four chapters:

Table of Contents

The Debt Freedom vs Growing Wealth

“If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.”
Dave Ramsey, Author of The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan For Financial Fitness

A TNFG Weekly dose of nutritional content worth indulging. Prioritizing financial wealth building over Baby Steps to Debt Freedom.

I would like to start off by saying that I’m not a fan of Dave Ramsey. Guess what?

It’s not personal. And not everything, he references are bad either. Unlike millions of others, I didn’t start my financial literacy journey off of revelations from the Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace University, or even Rich Dad, Poor Dad quotes.

Rock Bottom and In Debt

When I reached rock bottom back in 2012, I retreated inward. I had to remind myself that I survived being poor, having no parental support for the bulk of my life, and the Marines. By all accounts, I’m a bad a$$. *I promise you that I’m not a narcissist.

However, when you reach a low point, you have to remind yourself of who you were when your back was against the wall last time. I took lessons learned from watching how my grandmother managed a home with less than $12k per year. Meal Prep is a must. Side hustle when and where you can. Give thanks and understanding gratitude even when things are going your way, etc.

For me, I followed the math of personal finances over emotions. The baby steps didn’t align with how much wealth I was slated to leave on the table. The Debt avalanche makes more sense (cents) than the debt snowball over time. I wrote about this in How my 401k Contributions Grew to $150,000+ and What You Should Know Today.

Over six years, my total wealth output grew by an additional $120,500+ beyond my direct contributions of $98,133. I became a homeowner and rental property owner traveled to over 20 countries and got married.

In contrast, per the Ramsey doctrine, I would be debt and wealth free and a recluse by 2020.

My Favorite Videos on the Drawback of Baby Steps

Dave Ramsey vs One Big Happy Life – A Response

Comparing Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps to the One Big Happy Life approach to debt payoff. When it comes to creating a financial plan for your money, it’s important to understand how your finances –and personal finance generally–work so that you can make the best possible decision for your specific financial situation.

The Truth About Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps | The Money Guy Show

The professional focus when it comes to personal finance is on financial planning and investment management and leveraging knowledge for your benefit. The goal is to help you focus on the things you can control and manage the things you can’t.

Why Dave Ramsey Is WRONG About Credit Cards | Marko from WhiteBoard Finance

Credit cards offer many benefits when used properly. If you are financially responsible, then credit cards are a great way to receive perks and bonuses on things that you already spend money on anyway.

My Favorite Finance Articles On why Dave Ramsey’s Approach Might Not Be For You

Dave Ramsey’s “7 Baby Steps” Are Flawed: Get Rid of Debt Quicker Like THIS (Bigger Pockets, article by Connor Anderson)
The Difference Between the FIRE Movement and Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps (House of FI)
Why We STOPPED Following Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps (HABE$HA Finance)

My Favorite Big Idea: Personal Finance is Personal and Complicated too

Life is unpredictable. You have to learn to go with the flow and adjust constantly.
Families shape our money values, for better and worse. Everyone’s starting point is different. We aren’t even glossing over how much financial therapy people need.
People want different things. Depending on where you are on the map or at what age range, we want and need different things. Maybe the salsa class seems superfluous now, but maybe it comes in handy at a work function and helps your net worth for better pay later. That happened to me.
We all have and make different amounts of money. Too often we stumble on people making well over six figures, telling everyone that they can do this or that. What if you are making $40,000, how does investing apply? Where does savings come in?
Money is boring, and you’re not. At some point you can’t be a closet hermit, you have to go out and venture and it might cost you some money however those experiences might help you in the long run.