Dave Ramsey has been on so many TV interviews and has been profiled so often in newspapers, there just isnt much new left for him to say about his ultra-conservative approach to money management. So it is, then, that The Money Answer Book gives an easy-to-read distillation of all of the key Ramsey commandments for financial success. You can read the entire book in 90 minutes, even with time to pause occasionally to weigh a matter he is discussing. There are checklists to fill in for budgeting and goal setting; there are little hotboxes offering pithy quotations (Well done is better than well said Ben Franklin); and there are biblical references within the text and in sidebars.
Whether reading this 160 mini-book, listening to Ramsey on his radio show, or attending one of Ramseys workshops, his bottom line always comes down to some very basic premises: (1) all credit cards are harmful; (2) people are in financial messes because they overspent, didnt plan, and lacked discipline; (3) everyone needs a fallback position of three to six months of reserve cash, food, and other necessities; (4) the outside economic picture has little influence on individual households that have learned to save, invest, budget, and tithe; and (5) there is nothing wrong with being incredibly wealthy so long as one uses his or her wealth appropriately.
Sections of this book deal with brass tacks issues such as bankruptcy, divorce, estate planning, saving for college, and contract negotiations (dont become a co-signer is his main point on this last issue). However, to delve deeply into these areas Ramsey has longer, more explicit books, such as his best-seller Total Money Makeover. -- Dr. Dennis E. Hensley, Christian Book Previews.com
