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Dave Ramsey

Jump start

Question: Michael is a 19 year-old college student and wants to hire himself out over the summer doing odd jobs and then start an investment portfolio with his earnings. He went to Dave's Live Event and was very intrigued by the Ben and Arthur example of saving. He wants to know if he should invest $2,000 and have an emergency fund or invest $2,500?

Dave Ramsey's answer: Dave says to have an emergency fund of some kind before he invests. He should probably put $1,000 aside and the start a Roth IRA.


STAY AWAY, says Dave

Question: Tracy just started her Baby Steps. Her husband is exploring money-making opportunities and came across cash flow investing. What does Dave think of this?

Dave Ramsey's advice: That can mean a lot of things. This sounds like the brand of someone's get-rich-quick plan. My opinion is to stay completely away from that. This is probably one of those stock picking plans where someone says "Follow my plan and you'll get rich". Single stocks are a huge risk, and day trading is even bigger. A study found that 92% of people who day trade lose money. Stay away from stuff like this.


Fund Roths or pay off debt?

Question: Steve and his wife have $8,000 in car debt. He wants to fully fund their Roth IRAs, but she wants to get rid of the rest of the debt. They can have both done by December. Dave settles the debate.

Dave Ramsey's answer: I wouldn't invest until the car is paid off, because I wouldn't borrow on my car to fund a Roth IRA. You've GOT to get out of the mindset that debt is all right. If you miss one year of funding Roths, that won't kill you. But staying in the mindset that debt is all right will kill you financially. Winning with money is more about behavior than math. Compounding interest over time is AMAZING, but what you need to really address is behavior, because the rest of it is theory if behavior doesn't kick in. Get out of debt before you do long-term investing.

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