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If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else. Okay, folks, do you want to turn those fat and flabby expenses into a well-toned budget? Do you want to transform your sad and skinny little bank account into a bulked-up cash machine? Then get with the program, people. The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness available in Hardcover , Audiobook. Same Day delivery in Manhattan. With The Total Money Makeover: Although it was twenty years ago, I can still taste the emotion as if it were yesterday.

Out of control, lost, no sense of power, I felt dread creep across the room like the afternoon shadows on a cold winter's day. Sitting again at the kitchen table with too much month left at the end of the money, I was not having fun. This "adult" stuff where a wife looks to you to provide and kids expect to be fed and kept warm was not exactly working. I didn't feel like some powerful adult; instead, there was a little boy inside me who was very afraid-afraid of this month's bills, afraid of this month's mortgage, and absolutely terrified when I considered the future.

How was I to send kids to college, retire, enjoy life, and not live at the edge of money worries? The "Normal" American Family It seemed every month I sat at that same table with the same worries, fears, and problems. I had too much debt, too little savings, and no sense of control over my life.

No matter how hard I worked, it seemed I couldn't win. I was to forever be slave to some banker, to the government, and to the "needs" of my family. When Sharon and I "talked" about money,we ended up in a fight, leaving her feeling afraid and me feeling inadequate. The next car purchase, the next house, the kids' college-our entire future seemed out of reach. I didn't need a get-rich-quick guy to pump me up or tell me to be positive.

I didn't need a secret formula to riches. I wasn't afraid of hard work or sacrifice. I didn't want to "feel" my way into being "positive. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was tired of sitting down to "do the bills" and having a heaviness come over me. The hopelessness was overwhelming. I felt like a gerbil in a wheel-run, run, run, no traction, no ground covered; maybe life was just a financial illusion. All the money came in, all the money went out, and only the names were changed to protect the innocent.

I owe, I owe, so off to work I go. Oh, some months everything seemed to work, and I thought maybe we were going to be okay. I could tell myself then, "Oh well, this is how everyone lives. I Did It My Way, and My Way Wasn't Working ENOUGH! I finally decided that this nonplan wasn't working. If you have ever had any of those feelings, you are going to love this book, and, more important, you will love your Total Money Makeover. More than 20 years ago, my wife, Sharon, and I went broke.

We lost everything due to my stupidity in handling money, or not handling it, as the case may be. Hitting bottom and hitting it hard was the worst thing that ever happened to me and the best thing that ever happened to me. I was good at real estate, but I was better at borrowing money. Even though I had become a millionaire, I had built a house of cards.

The short version of the story is that we went through financial hell and lost everything over a three-year period of time. We were sued, foreclosed on, and, finally, with a brand-new baby and a toddler, we were bankrupt.

Scared doesn't begin to cover it. Crushed comes close, but we held on to each other and decided we needed a change. So after losing everything, I went on a quest, a quest to find out how money really works, how I could get control of it, and how I could have confidence in handling it. I read everything I could get my hands on. I interviewed older rich people, people who made money and kept it.

That quest led me to a really, really uncomfortable place-my mirror. I came to realize that my money problems, worries, and shortages largely began and ended with the person in my mirror.

I realized also that if I could learn to manage the character I shaved with every morning, I could win at money. That quest, the one that ended with me staring at myself in the mirror, led me on a new journey over the last twenty years: Live Events, Financial Peace University, The Dave Ramsey Show talk radio and TV show , and the New York Times best-sellers Financial Peace, More Than Enough , and The Total Money Makeover have enabled me to tell millions of Americans what I have learned-the hard way-about money.

Find a Mirror I have a challenge for you. Are you ready to take on the guy or gal in your mirror? If you are, you are ready to win. I rediscovered God's and Grandma's simple way of handling money.

Wealth building isn't rocket science, which is a good thing for me and probably you. Winning at money is 80 percent behavior and 20 percent head knowledge. What to do isn't the problem; doing it is. Most of us know what to do, but we just don't do it. If I can control the guy in the mirror, I can be skinny and rich. We will let other books work on the skinny, and I will help you with the rich part.

No, there are no secrets, and yes, this will be very hard. Hey, if it were easy, every moron walking would be wealthy. So my Total Money Makeover begins with a challenge. The challenge is you. You are the problem with your money. The financial channel or some DVD sets aren't your answer; you are. You are the king of your future, and I have a plan. The Total Money Makeover plan isn't theory.

It works every single time. It works because it is simple. It works because it gets to the heart of your money problems: It is based on a series of prices that must be paid to win. All winners pay a price to win. Some losers pay a price and never win, and that is usually because they didn't have the benefit of a proven plan for financial fitness. Ordinary People Tens of thousands of ordinary people have used the system in this book to get out of debt, regain control, and build wealth.

I've scattered their stories throughout the book. If at any point during your makeover you are tempted to quit or you just need a little encouragement, read one of these stories. These people have sacrificed for a short period of time so they will never have to sacrifice again. If you are looking for a road map to get you home, you've found it.

If you are looking for something easy or fast, you have the wrong book. If you are looking for a book to help you pass your CPA exam in the area of financial knowledge, you have the wrong book.

If you are looking for a writer who has intricate academic theories that don't work in the real world , you've got the wrong guy. I have many of the academic pedigrees, but I ended up broke. I have actually twice become a millionaire from nothing. The first time I was in my twenties, the money was in real estate, and I lost that due to my stupidity; the second time I was not yet forty, but I did the money thing right that time, and I am debt-free.

I often hear about broke finance professors who bemoan that I am way too simple, or as an e-mailer told me on The Dave Ramsey Show one day, "You are a one-trick pony. You will meet people, educated and uneducated, throughout this book who have won, or begun to win, with money for the first time in their lives. The Total Money Makeover works! The Total Money Makeover Motto This plan works, but it will cost you.

It will teach you to say new words, like "no. IF YOU WILL LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE, LATER YOU CAN LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE. This is the motto of your Total Money Makeover. It's my way of reminding you that if you will make the sacrifices now that most people aren't willing to make, later on you will be able to live as those folks will never be able to live. You will notice the motto all through the book, even across the bottom of the pages.

I'm sorry there isn't an easier path to feature in the motto, but the good thing about this one is that it works. You can repeat the motto to yourself as you pass up a purchase in order to hit your goals.

When you work late and are tired, you can say the motto to yourself. Of course, this isn't a magic formula; I'm not into that. But it does remind you that you will win, and the payoff will be worth the cost. Some of you are so immature that you are unwilling to delay pleasure for a greater result.

I will show you exactly how to get the result you want, so the price you pay will not be in vain. I don't want to walk across hot coals because it is fun, but if I can be shown how a short, painful walk will do away with the lifetime of worry, frustration, stress, and fear that being constantly broke brings me, then bring on the hot coals.

My Promise to You My promise to you is this: You will build wealth. I will also promise you that it is totally up to you. The Total Money Makeover isn't a magic formula to wealth. This system will not work unless you do, and then only to the degree of your intensity in implementing it. In the following pages, you will meet many individuals and families who have won many money victories, but not one of them won until they won the battle with the guy in the mirror.

Your situation isn't your spouse's fault well, maybe, but we'll talk later , it isn't your parents' fault, it isn't your children's fault, and it isn't your friends' fault. IT IS YOUR FAULT! My financial life began turning around when I took responsibility for it. People all across America have used these steps to become free, regain a sense of confidence and control, and build a future for their families.

Please join me on a journey away from the young man I was, the one I described earlier who was racked with worry, fear, and guilt over money. Take this journey with me to your own Total Money Makeover, but remember, the first part of the quest is confronting the man in the mirror.

That man in the mirror is your Total Money Makeover Challenge. I'm Not That Out of Shape Several years ago I realized I had let my body dissolve into flab. I had worked so hard for so many years that I had abandoned the care of my physical condition. The first step to getting into shape was to realize I needed to change my ways, but the second and equally important step was to identify the obstacles to getting there.

What would stop me from getting into shape? Once I understood those obstacles, I began a process to lose weight, grow muscle, and become more fit. Your Total Money Makeover is the same. You need to realize there's a problem, but you must also see what could hinder your move toward financial fitness. The next few chapters will identify some major obstacles to YOUR Total Money Makeover.

Look in the mirror. Take a long look. What do you see? Suck in that gut; hold up your chest, and really look at yourself. It doesn't matter how many angles or poses you take, the mirror is cruel.

Focused intensity, life-or-death intensity, is required for you to reset your money-spending patterns, and one of your biggest obstacles is DENIAL. The sad thing is that you can be financially mediocre in this country, financially flabby, and still be average. And if the truth be known, being average, normal, and financially flabby is pretty much okay by most folks' standards.

This, however, is not a book for the wimpy among us. This is a book about winning, about really having something. Don't Wait to Have Denial Knocked Out of You For several years I have spoken multiple times a year to live audiences of two thousand to twelve thousand people, teaching them the ideas this book. After one live event where I spoke to four thousand people, Sara told me that her Total Money Makeover came only after life placed a call to her.

She said she had heard me quote the Wall Street Journal as reporting that 70 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, but she honestly thought she was in the 30 percent who were fine. She had financially struck a pose, and the pose was denial. With two sons from her previous marriage, Sara had just remarried and was happy and secure in her job, as was her husband, John.

Their new life together seemed awesome. With life under control and even going well, Sara and John decided their new family needed a new home, so the builder was selected and construction began. Somewhere deep inside there may have been uneasiness, but it was very deep. Finally the day came when the new home was complete. Everything was going to be fine now, the new family in the new home, the way it is "supposed" to be.

In May they moved into the new home, complete with big new payments. In September Sara's boss asked to see her in his office. She was excelling at work and braced herself for a big "atta, girl" followed by a nice bonus or raise. Instead, the boss explained her job was being eliminated. Not only was her pride hurt and her career path cut short, a creeping terror grew deep down inside as she drove home to tell John.

That night there were tears, fears, and the sudden stark realization that she and John were financially fat. Suddenly, Sara and her family were facing foreclosure on the house and repossession of the car. The basics of life had become precious. Sara and John had listened to The Dave Ramsey Show on the radio, but they always thought someone else needed a Total Money Makeover. After all, they always held their stomachs in when standing in front of the mirror. The night after her layoff was the first night they looked in the financial mirror and saw fat people.

The sight wasn't pretty-big house payments, fat car payments, large student loans, bloated credit cards, anorexic savings, and no budget.

They saw fat people.

When you are physically fat, it is hard to be in denial, because there is the ever-widening belt line. When you are financially fat, however, you can fake it and look good for a while. One of the four major factors that keep people from winning in money by getting a Total Money Makeover is not realizing they need one. Sadly, some of the most dramatic makeovers I've seen have been by people who had life smack them so hard they got the denial knocked out of them, like Sara.

If life isn't smacking you around at the moment, you are actually in greater danger than Sara and John the night of the layoff. You are a real candidate for financial mediocrity or even a major crisis brought on by denial, and you have to see the need to make dramatic changes.

If you are apathetic because everything seems "just fine," then you will be unwilling to make the huge changes needed to get huge results. Frog Legs Years ago, in a motivational seminar by the master, Zig Ziglar, I heard a story about how mediocrity will sneak up on you. The story goes that if you drop a frog into boiling water, he will sense the pain and immediately jump out. However, if you put a frog in room-temperature water, he will swim around happily, and as you gradually turn the water up to boiling, the frog will not sense the change.

The frog is lured to his death by gradual change. We can lose our health, our fitness, and our wealth gradually, one day at a time. The enemy of "the best" is not "the worst. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. Financial Peace, More Than Enough, EntreLeadership, and The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by millions of listeners each week on hundreds of radio stations.

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Eligible for FREE SHIPPING. Overview If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else. A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness' 'The Total Money Makeover: Post to your social network.

A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness 4. Guest More than 1 year ago What I liked best about this book is that it doesn't just rattle off a bunch of things that we should be doing - saving for retirement, paying off credit cards, investing - we already knew what we SHOULD be doing.

This book gives you a gameplan and tells you what you should do first and why. For instance, my husband and I want to buy our first home, and we wanted to know if we should pay off our student loans first, or save up for a big down payment.

The book prioritizes those types of things. It's easy to read, and it makes perfect sense. Dave tells you how everyone, no matter how bad the debt situation, can get out of debt effectively and move towards building wealth. ThorsHammer More than 1 year ago I purchased this to try to make sense out of some pretty deep debt 80k. Paying minimum payments on each card would have me dying before paying everything off. Using Dave Ramsey's snowball method, I've calculated that I can be debt free in February This has certainly given me a new "lease on life" and I do not feel the weight of the world on my shoulders.

It is simple, straight forward, and does not require that you eat rice and beans for eternity. The tables are simple and easy to understand. The only down side to the book is that there is a bit too much fluff.

In the Total Money Make Over, you will learn everything you need to know about getting control of your money, get out of debt, what to do with all the leftover money, and love the people around you. THIS IS HARDCORE TEACHING! SO BE PREPAIRED TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND GET FIRED UP!!! If you follow his teaching and principles you will understand that money good or bad is just the tip of the iceberg.

Anonymous More than 1 year ago If you don't have the money to pay for something, then don't buy it. Sounds simple but how many of us really live this way. Credit cards when not used wisley can lead to personal financial crisis. Until I read this book, I thought I'd be paying off debt for the rest of my life. It wasn't until I read this book that I truly understood that I would have to change the way I live and view money before I could start climbing out of debt. Guest More than 1 year ago I purchased this book several years ago.

What an immediate impact it made on me however, after several months 'eerrr, okay, years' of coaxing my wife, she is finally on board. The results are astounding. Dave, your consistency in delivering a strong message about debt is appreciated. BigMommaMV More than 1 year ago Love Dave Ramsey. I listen to him on the radio and decided to read his book. I thought that I would fall asleep reading a financial book but what it did was wake me up.

I read this book from cover to cover in a day and now our family is on Step 2.

The Total Money Makeover

I 'm telling everyone I know about your book. Anonymous More than 1 year ago This book was VERY helpful and easy to understand. It definitely motivated me to move forward with the plan he explained! Anonymous More than 1 year ago Loved this book and it inspired me to get going with a debt free plan!!!

Great Book, I'm on Baby Step 2, right now and I can't wait for the Debt Free end result. This book will change the way you do things and it will change the way you think. Guest More than 1 year ago As a CPA, I wish that all my clients would read this book. I don't agree with everything he says, but if the average person would listen and follow him, they would be much better off financially.

Guest More than 1 year ago I stumbled across this book in the book store before I had ever even hear of Dave Ramsey. I had told everyone I knew about it. This book made me face reality and stop listening to friends and family who had me convinced that debt was just a part of life. This book has done more than put me on the road to financial freedom.

It has helped me to not define myself by money. It is just an uplifting book which is nice when the reality of your debt is getting you down. This book just gives you direction when you have no idea where to start. Guest More than 1 year ago For anyone who has listened to Dave Ramsey on the radio or in person this book may not teach you anything he hasn't already told you.

However it's nice to have it all in one place for you to look up any time. For anyone who has debt and has no idea who Dave Ramsey is YOU NEED THIS BOOK! As he explains how to turn your debt into wealth you think to yourself this is so simple. Yet so many people choose to stay in debt. Dave Ramsey teaches you how to pay off your debt, build an emergency fund, and save for college all at the same time. Oh, and possibly pay off your home 10 to 20 years early. He does all this using a process that doesn't overwhelm you, in fact it is done in a way that will keep you motivated throughout the process.

WacoM More than 1 year ago I don't write reviews. No really I don't. This would be my first book review and I do this for a reason. It really touched me. If you don't want to spend any money, all 7 steps to this book are freely available on Dave Ramsey's website. But this book is more then just the 7 steps. It goes into detail WHY those steps to financial freedom work.

The Total Money Makeover

It explains why you need an emergency fund and why you really don't need a single credit card. This book is more than just a 7 step process to financial freedom, it's a total remake of your life. I can't recommend this book enough. So, I decided since my work has me on the road driving long distances I decided to buy the audio book.

What a great idea that was! This book has opened my eyes to the dangers I we, my wife and I both was in with my spending habits and lack of saving. Actually, I already knew that I was in danger, I just didn't know how to do anything about it. I thought because I have been repeatedly told my entire adulthood that credit was a way of life and that I would always be in debt to somebody. Well, I learned that it does not have to be that way and I already feel so free!

It has done so much for my well being already! My wife and I no longer argue about money, we have a plan now and we are on our way to being debt free.

Listen to this audio book or read the actual book! It will save you financially and you will be able to "live like no one else" and retire wealthy!

I personally liked listening to the audio book over reading it. The audio book is narrated by the author Dave Ramsey and when you hear it from him, in his own words, it makes his message all the more powerful! I have listened to it in the car commuting three times in a row! The one thing I did like about the actual book over the audio book was that in the back it includes all sorts of the budget and other forms that will be very helpful to you when you plan your total money makeover.

I am 32 years old and I feel like I found this book at just the right time in my life. However, sometimes I wish I knew some of this when I was younger so I would already be that much closer on the road to financial freedom. Also though, Dave Ramsey lays this book out in a way that works for all ages, even for people in their 50's who are very close to retirement.

So, I believe this book is great for all ages! It is never too late to get back on the saddle. Anyway, as you can probably tell, I am not much of a review writer; I just wanted to tell everybody how much this book has helped me and if you are looking at books to help you financially then please for your sake, give this one a try. I know that it will help you too!

Rootster More than 1 year ago This book is totally worth reading and following if you want to get on a budget and get your debt paid off. He puts things into perspective and makes you really motivated to getting your finances in order.

We've really stopped blowing our money and we actually know where it goes now instead of looking at the bills and receipts trying to figure out where it went after we spent it. Guest More than 1 year ago If you truly want to get out of debt this is the book to read, this man has changed my life and in a year I found financial freedom. If I did it anyone can do it, it wasnt easy but I was tired of being a slaved of credit card company's.

This book is a MUST. Guest More than 1 year ago This book is amazing! Get started on your TMMO today! Guest More than 1 year ago When I first read this book, it spoke about people who were thousands of dollars in dept. I am about 10, in dept and can't seem to keep a saving's account and we are living pay check to pay check. Now I have saved my 1, for my emergency fund. I have also paid halph of my medical bills. I was mostly impressed in how easy it was to save the 1, I am also learning what an emergency is.

If people who are thousands of dollar's in dept, then I can surly do this. So yes this book really encouraged me. It is very practical so anyone who really wants to get out of dept can do this. And I'm learning how to keep a budget. Cajunsmama More than 1 year ago Dave Ramsey incorporated enough humor to make the subject of finances enjoyable and to hold your interest, while providing a good, basic personal financial management program.

I've put to use a lot of his program, and found that he's definitely right when he says that if you use cash for most of your daily purchases, i. Also when you know that you only have so much cash with you, you can't go off the deep end and buy way more than what you have money to cover.

Anonymous More than 1 year ago I think Dave Ramsey has the solution to people's financial difficulties. He has helped thousands of people learn how to get themselves out of debt and into financial freedom.

His no nonsense approach to finances, leaves the reader with the tools to gain control of the money that flows in and out of their households. This book is full of practical principles and common sense. Guest More than 1 year ago It's funny how we learn that you need to have credit no matter what. I've worked in the financial industry for 12 years and I truly see how the game works now.

I'm well on my way with the snowball and can't wait to get to the last stage of the plan! Guest More than 1 year ago My wife and I started 2 months ago and are well into step two. This really opened our eyes to the money we were wasting. If you have debt, this book is for you! Dave's honesty is refreshing. Guest More than 1 year ago I thought this was the best strategy hands down The books can relate to any level of personal finance.

Ive read a ton of personal finance books, from Orman to Kyosaki and have never been so enamored with such an easy concept. The baby steps go in depth and the focus is always there with stories of others taking the TMMO. Im finally starting to paying off my mortgage My wife and I have never been happier. Guest More than 1 year ago The book has really cool principles that can apply to anyone, but mostly to young people that want to start taking care of their money.

It really points out that in order to biuld wealth it is necessary to never overspend and always save. The real life stories are boring, repetitive, and pointless. This book is mostly motivational and its main idea is that we must control ourselves and make sacrifices in order achieve our goals. Guest More than 1 year ago Ramsey's Total Money Makeover is really a souped-up version of his earlier work, Financial Peace.

It is a great tool for those new to this kind of thinking. If you are deep in debt and have never read a book on how to be free of debt, this is a good start. Discipline and self-control are key. Ramsey's steps are basic,logical, and doable. In addition, I have purchased copies for my year-old son and nephews to read because I wish I had known these principles when I was a young man.

I might be retired now doing nothing but writing books and reviews by now! Guest More than 1 year ago I wish everyone in America was required to read this book prior to high school graduation.

Wouldn't everyone be in better shape? This book is outstanding as a foundation book to build on. The debt reduction techniques and the overall guiding philosophy are superb. However, I strongly disagree with the investment advice, as not everyone belongs in an all equities portfolio. Kudos to Dave for a great book and an excellent support system online and on the radio.

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