Dave Ramsey’s last major book, “The Total Money Makeover,” has been a bestseller for several years. It is his best book today. It is also one of the best books on personal finance. Prior to this book, Financial Peace was created as a self-published book. Then it became a bestseller and was revised and revisited.
There is something calming and soothing about the title “Financial Peace.” Everyone has a financial life – good or bad. Everyone (whether they care to admit it) wants to have peace in their financial lives. As stated on a consistent basis by Dave Ramsey, personal finance is more personal than finance. You invoke a lot of emotion (and some logic) when discussing personal finance.
Most people seem to handle their personal finance the same way they handle everything else in their life. There are so many complications, ambiguities, even neglect, indifference, good intentions and other mixed emotions and feelings.
This book addresses many of these issues, particularly how money affects our relationships (and how our relationships affect our treatment of money). The principles may seem as simplistic as KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) – but they are essential to achieving success in your personal finances. The Principle of Simplicity (or KISS) is basically a matter of dealing with cash, not credit. When we live on cash, we don’t have to worry about interest rates, finance charges, fees, etc. We have simplified our lives for the better. As Dave Ramsey says, we don’t have to worship at the altar of the almighty FICO score. This also applies to co-signer loans. When we co-sign a loan, we are largely shouldering the burden of paying someone else’s debt. By keeping our personal finances simple, we respect the other person as much as we respect ourselves.
Another key principle the book discusses is the power of conviction. Contentment enables us to limit spending on things or things we don’t need or even care about. Contentment will allow you to have fewer things you don’t need but have more money. The book discusses this principle extensively and clearly in order to allow you to succeed in your personal finance.
Also, money affects our relationships. It is crucial not to borrow from anyone or anything especially (especially) friends or family members. Documenting the relationship. The more important it is not to borrow from that person. Having someone have money changes all the dynamics of that relationship.
This is a good book to read about personal finances. When you apply the principles, you will reach that elusive financial peace.