Dave Ramsey

Have you discovered Dave Ramsey? He has a daily radio show but it's not available in the Chicago area. You should check out his website.

He is huge on not being in debt. He has several creative ways for people to get out of debt after making a commitment to the goal. His formulas for the path to being debt free are successful.

He is also not fond of mortgage debt and completely against consolidated debt. That is to roll your short term debt into long term debt. The banks and mortgage companies are the ones who gain - always.

Dave is a Christian and his principles are strongly reflected in his books as well. His voice is strong and encouraging. I enjoyed catching his program while we were on the road in western Missouri this week.

As far as mortgages go, I believe they are tools that get most of us into our houses. Of course, a 30 year fixed is best. We pay that debt in future $ with less buying power.

We used a 15-year mortgage to get into this house over 22 years ago. Those $1,100 payments were very difficult on $45,000 a year salary. Now it's paid for! When that milestone was crossed, we had the discipline to invest the mortgage payment on a monthly basis into several mutual funds.

The house, of course, has increased in value but we have no plans to leave it. We just struggle to take care of it. We can afford to as we have all those years of mortgage payments socked away at Vanguard. It worked for us.

'til later