Dave Ramsey Is My Arch Nemesis
Hello, there!
Dave Ramsey is, to put it politely, not my cup of tea. If you vibe with him, and find his approach to finances helpful, that's awesome, I'm super happy for you. (Truly!)
I however, can't get on board with all the moralizing.
To wit, and I'm quoting directly from his website: Debt isn’t a math problem. It’s a behavior problem.
This is, shall we say, NOT MY JAM. I DO NOT APPROVE OF THIS MESSAGE.
Debt is ABSOLUTELY a math problem.
A math problem like:
I just started my business, and I have no access to capital other than credit cards.
I have access to capital, but it would mean asking a relative who doesn't believe in me or support my choices for money/a loan, so that is simply not an option.
A long-time, high-paying client just left and while I have some very promising irons in the fire, I still need to pay my workers and pay my mortgage.
I made a list of pros and cons, listened to my gut/wisdom self/trusted confidant, measured risk vs reward, and made a decision to move forward with a major financial investment in my business. And after all of that, the investment just flat out tanked.
I measured my available coping mechanisms/tools against my current stress/trauma response/instinct for safety and buying the latte/bottle of wine/shiny software/insert-your-go-to-"impulse buy"-here was the most supportive thing I could do in the moment.
NONE of these scenarios come down to a “behavior problem”. (Reading between the lines of what Dave Ramsey terms a behavior problem: shaming and blaming people for doing the best they could in a given situation.)
Y'all, there's SO MUCH shame in the money/finance world, and I hate it. (I know he talks about personal finance, not business finances, but in practice, the same rules generally apply. Which is why I'm talking about it.)
So I'm here to say: whatever your money situation looks like, whether you have $23,459 in credit card debt, or are paying yourself your dream salary, it says nothing about your value as a person.
Every. Single. person reading this email is doing their absolute best with the tools and capacity they currently have.
Do some tools no longer serve us? Yes, absolutely. Are we, when we have the capacity, making strides to swap out no-longer-supportive tools for those that are helpful for the life we're currently living? Of course.
And.
Please don't let anyone shame you for where you are RIGHT NOW.
All the supportive (and consensual) money hugs,
