Financial Advice for those wanting to be an O/O

Well it is what it is during these times. The load boards seems super low when comparing them to earlier last year and to the beginning of this year. But I knew the risk I was taking before entering as a new o/o in these times and don't regret it (been driving for over 27 years in the business) I will be o.k and watching things daily. I was never someone to only go into a store with only $1 in pocket if you know what I mean. So a profit will occur.

 

Dave made the majority of his money selling his books, his programs, his seminars. He lives in a $20 million mansion, he owns a fleet of cars, he has box season tickets to the Vols and Titans. Meanwhile, he tells you that you can be like him, if you "eat beans and rice, rice and beans" (his exact words) for as long as it takes to get things paid off.

Good for you, it worked for you, but it doesn't work for everyone.

BTW, why did you need to buy his books to learn his 7 baby steps? Aren't they common sense?

A million in net worth, how long does it take the average person to get a $1 million net worth? Have you hit it yet?

Here's where I'll agree with Dave and you, and disagree with you. How about buying a new car that is practical, not a fantasy, a new car that works for you, and that you can afford, buy the $25,000 Altima instead of the $55,000 BMW, even if you only put $1,500 down on it, it'll last your longer, have lower repair costs, that's the message Dave should be sending, not "go out and buy the $5,000 hooptie", especially when he doesn't tell you that the $5K hooptie will cost you $400 month in repairs. BTW, this goes back to a comparative comment about Ramsey vs Martino, if you listen to Martino long enough, you'll hear people calling him who've followed Ramsey's advice, and now are stuck between a rock and a hard place with a $5k hooptie that they were lied too, and needs $5K in repairs the day after it left the dealer lot, the buyer are out of cash and maybe out of work as a result. What does his books say about that situation? If I followed Dave's advice and had that happen, do you suppose if I called his show he'd help me out of that situation?

In 2015, when my previous pickup with 145K on it needed replaced, the HVAC system had stopped working and after spending $2,500 between 3 different shops, it wasn't fixed, everyone was stumped, I couldn't stomach another winter of no heat. So I went looking for a "new" or even used pickup to replace it. Mind you, that was 2015, long before todays ridiculous inflation hit. My dream truck was a 1 ton Ram limited dually, not that I have a practical need for it, but that's my dream. My practical reality was a Dakota, Ranger, Frontier, Colorado/Canyon or Tacoma. I had $20K that I had inherited, that could buy a lot of truck, Tacoma's hold value for a long time, I looked at 15 yr old Tacoma's with 300K miles, selling for $15,000. Why, regardless of alleged reliability, would I buy a 300k mile pickup? The Dakota and Ranger were long discontinued, the Colorado/Canyon had a 3 yr gap in manufacture, and everything I looked at for them was either very high mileage or ready for the junk yard. Then I started looking at new pickups, $20,000 as a down payment on say a $30,000 to $35,000 pickup, would leave me with a balance I could easily payoff in a short period of time, and that's what I did, I found the pickup that would fit my needs, a 2015 Nissan Frontier, fresh off the truck, so fresh the dealer didn't even know they had it in stock, the sticker price was $32,240, I negotiated it to $30,000 out the door. My mistake was buying the ext. warranty that I never used and couldn't get refunded back, oh well. Before I went to the dealer, I had 4 different pre-approval letters for financing, at rates and payments that worked for me. After negotiating the price, I handed the dealer a check for $20,000 (yes, I realize that's not practical for most buyers), financed $12,000 for 48 months at $.9% for a $255/month payment. Then I went out and got a part time job, first I paid off the loan on my wife's Buick, again bought new, and not a fancy Regal or Lacrosse, but the Verano, the baby Buick, a 2013 MY in March of 2014, the dealer knocked an extra $1,500 off, we paid $23,000, well actually $19,000 with the money from the Audi wreck, then I paid off the pickup. By 2017, both cars were paid off. Today, the Buick has 34,000 miles on it, my wife drives 3 miles a day, my Frontier has 155,000 miles on it, I've kept immaculate care of both cars, my goal for the Frontier is 300,000 or more, in the next year I know the trans will need rebuilt, it's got a random quirk to it, and I'll probably rebuild the drivers seat, the bottom seat cushion is pretty worn and the side is torn as a result of the cushion being worn it's causing the heated seat to not work properly, but I've got the money in the bank to do both. I've contemplated replacing the Buick with a small Subaru so it's easier in the winter for the wife, but why bother, there's nothing wrong with it, it's got two sets of tires, in another month I'll put her winter tires on.

 

Not sure how I feel about this Dave guy and his co-workers. I watched a few of his talks/calls, and feels like 90% of them goes like this:

1. Caller makes $35~60k/yr and wants to buy a house/pay off debts/etc and is struggling
2. Dave show tells them to magically double their income. The end.

I mean, if everyone was bringing in 100k/yr then they wouldn't really be struggling. In one video the guy made $50k/yr and he flat out told him he could not buy a house at all, period

 

You're in denial. It's common sense.

 

Getting fit is common sense too yet there's a multi-million dollar market for personal trainers and diet regimes. Some people lack the discipline to follow-through and need step by step guidance to stay on track. I personally wouldn't pay any money for this, but I can see how someone might seek out financial podcasts/books or weight loss programs.

 

Those obviously don't work either.
That spokeswoman for Jenny craig has been fat for decades, and still is.
If it was any good, she would weigh 120, not 320.

 

You're very passionate about Dave for sure, lol.

What other people clearly point out as Dave's shortcomings you get super defensive over because it worked for you. And because it worked for you and you're just trying to help others (a very Christian thing to do by the way, thank you) you are blinded by his human failings.

Dave Ramsey was very syndicated and i could usually pick him up here on FM. The first time he told me i was going to have plunk down a twenty spot for his financial perverse university well i flipped the channel as quick as flipping tv channels on a Sunday morning growing up in the 70's and 80's away from the preacher telling me to donate if i wanted the miracle of Jesus in my life.

I flipped that dial so hard i ended up on AM and found Clark Howard who has real life strategies and covers a mountain of financial information for free. Probably why Clark was relegated to AM