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Summary of The Total Money Makeover 

4.7 . 25042 reviews

Short summary

Everybody wants out of debt. No one enjoys being broke. But then, debt is a part of the culture, and the black hole it has become gets deeper and deeper; such that the average Joe or Jane would spend a working lifetime paying it off and yet be left with more debt. In this book, Dave Ramsey shows the way out of debt's trap using seven tried and trusted “baby steps.” This is not your typical get-rich-quick scheme, so it won't be easy; but at the end of the day, expect to smell the air of freedom. In this summary, you will learn:
• The cause and the solution of all your money problems
• That debt is not a tool for building wealth
• Money myths are exactly what they are — myths• The seven baby steps that will lead you from bondage to unimaginable wealth

Table of content

  • Summary of The Total Money Makeover
  • About the author
  • What is The Total Money Makeover about?
  • Who should read The Total Money Makeover
  • Topics in The Total Money Makeover
first key point

First look at the person in the mirror

Listen the first key point
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00:00
Being totally broke is not fun. There's debt, nothing is stashed away for a rainy day, there's no sense of control over life and living.

You can’t do adult stuff like paying the month's bills and mortgage; feeding the kids, keeping them warm, taking care of them in ill health and sending them off to college; enjoying life, and retiring; without constantly being at the edge of money worries.

Money problems begin with the person in the mirror!

Building wealth is not rocket science. It is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge. Knowing what to do is not the problem, doing it is. If the person in the mirror can be made to behave, he or she would soon be rich beyond imagination.

You are the problem with your money, and you are the solution to your money problems, not the financial channels or instructional videos on DVDs. If you change the way you behave with and around money, all your money problems would soon be long gone.

Your financial fitness plan is the tool to help you change your behavior around your money, and its costs. If you make the sacrifices you need to make, that most folks are not willing to, you can live later as those folks will never be able to.

The Total Money Makeover is a proven system of guidelines that require sacrifice and discipline. With it, you will be free of all debts, begin saving, and be able to give like never before. It is not a silver bullet to end poverty, it will work, only to the extent that you work in implementing its guidelines.

But it all begins with the person in the mirror.
second key point

Rid yourself of all denial

Financial freedom begins with a reset of money-spending patterns, and denial of the need to do so is an obstacle to that.
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third key point

Debt is not a tool

fourth key point

Money myths are exactly what they are

fifth key point

Get money-knowledge; refuse to keep up with the Joneses

sixth key point

Baby Step One: Build a $1,000 emergency fund

seventh key point

Baby Step Two: Use the debt snowball to become debt-free except for your home

eighth key point

Baby Step Three: Finish the Emergency fund

ninth key point

Baby Step Four: Invest 15% of your income in retirement

tenth key point

Baby Step Five: Save for college

eleventh key point

Baby Step Six: Pay off your home mortgage

twelfth key point

Baby Step Seven: Build wealth

thirteenth key point

Conclusion

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What is The Total Money Makeover about?

Who should read The Total Money Makeover

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Do you find yourself staring at your computer for long minutes, unaware of time slipping by? Do you enter a room and suddenly cannot remember why you stepped in the first place? Is it a herculean task for you to sit through ten pages of a book without reaching for your phone? If yes, your focus needs some work and fast.

Actually, yours is not a unique situation. Many adults like you have issues concentrating on a given task. However, in this fast-paced world of ours, you can’t afford to be not focused at all times. Thankfully, this article comes to your rescue! With the tips and tricks from Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey, you will get in the top percent of folks who have mastered the art of concentration.