Why do you say that? Political talk shows aside all of the financial guys like Ramsey and Clark Howard seem pretty legit as well as Kim Komando (Tech help) and "America on the Road"(cars/automotive).

Kim Komando is generally accurate but is not a show for tech people but for very non-tech people. I wouldn't rely on her for advice myself, I go to better, primary sources. I don't listen to car shows except for catching Car Talk every now and then on NPR so no idea about America on the Road.

Any show where the host endorses products makes me less likely to trust their judgment, so that's a big part of it. It blurs the line between advertising and actual recommendations when someone whose job is to give advice "recommends" a product that is paying for their show.

Ramsey does that. I've never heard Howard. But it's a big thing in talk radio that annoys me and weakens the credibility.

Also when someone's selling themselves as a 'brand' that really works they're not exactly unbiased. I don't really know anyone who uses the method and hadn't gotten around to looking into it, so the only data point I have is himself and the people on his show, not an unbiased sample, ya know?

It seems like all of those financial people say exactly the same thing. I haven't heard Ramsey say anything that Suze Ormann hasn't been saying for years. Don't use credit cards at all, pay as much as you can on them. Pay off the smallest first, then put the money you've been putting toward those small ones to the next one, etc. until they are all paid off. And, pay yourself first. It's all common sense stuff. It's easier said than done. You can choose to not give your kids $76 for high school yearbooks, but you can't tell them that you can't afford to pay for the ACT/SAT/PSAT or the Scholastic Art & Writing contest that they are entering. You can't NOT fix your broken car. I have paid off all of my debt many times over and then hit rough spots where it zooms back up again, like when you lose your child support and end up paying it instead. It will get paid off again, but not right now.

*nod* I know making an emergency fund is supposed to also be a priority, but for example my tuition this semester wiped out all of my savings for moving out. There's just not always a win.

they just announced that my tuition for next year will be raised by 3000.. there goes my savings...

When you hear someone say they paid off $40K on a $50K income in a year....they SOLD something. Plain and simple. We have lived on approximatel 20-25K. We cut back drastically, but we arent starving, and we arent going without things that we need. We cut out crap like eating out alot, or nail salons, and extra cable channels and garbage like that. We cut our lifestyle back temporarily to get out of debt so that way we can do whatever we want when we have finally reached "financial peace."

I started Financial Peace University in Feb 2009. It took until AUGUST before we were FINALLY at a point where we could quit relying on the credit cards. We werent ever racking the debt up higher on them, but it was a cash flow issue - when paychecks came versus when bills were due and when groceries had to be bought. If I spent $200 on the card, I paid $200 or more to it. Finally, in August 2009, I was at at point where I didnt have to rely on them anymore. In February 2010, we paid off the last of that credit card debt and were down to a consolidation loan and a car loan, and now I'm workin on the car. As soon as I finish the car, I'll begin attacking student loan debt, which has been in deferrment. I just finished grad school last month.

I started blogging about my journey last January. Personal Finance is just that - personal, but I try to follow the plan as much as I can. It's been ALOT less stressful since I stopped dealing with credit cards. I was STUPID.

I recommend it. The plan works - if you will listen to it. Dave doesnt preach credit or FICO scores. He makes fun of people who "worship at the alter of the FICO" score. If you care about you "credit" then this plan is not for you. We lived better on one income (hubby was unemployed for over a year) by following this plan, than we were when we were making twice the income because all that extra money was slipping through our fingers.

What Suze Orman are YOU listening to? She worships credit cards, and she believes in math....pay off the highest interest first. Dave says pay the smallest balance first for a quick win, a quick victory, to gain momentum.

I work just across the street from Dave Ramsey's studio/Financial Peace Plaza. Right next door to the Cracker Barrel.

I don't doubt his methods are credible, but I will tell you - the people who work there will tell you it's a miserable environment. We've had friends apply there who said that there isn't enough money in the world to take a job with Dave.

Apparently, on your last interview, you bring your spouse with you and the two of you disclose all your finances and budget. And ok - I get it - you want your employees drinking the Kool-Aid, but to me, that's creepy.

On the other hand being from ATL, I also know a handful of people who have worked with Clark Howard who'll tell you he's so tight he squeaks, but couldn't be a nicer guy.

It is common sense, but most people just ignore it. Ramsey says gaining financial health and getting out of debt is 80% habit and only 20% knowledge.

I haven't listened to her in a while but in the past, she said to pay off the smallest first, then apply the payments you were making to that card to the next smallest until it is paid off, then apply all of that to the next lowest balance, etc. I do know that she changed her philosophy a little bit and was saying that cash reserves were more important during the major credit crunch in 2008/09. I don't agree that she worships credit cards, but she does say that getting your FICO score in good shape is important and I do agree with that. You get better rates on mortgages and car loans if you have a really high FICO. That's hard to deny.

I think the real key is to develop a plan built on common sense, market it well, and sell it to lots of people and using their money to pay off your own bills :)

I really can't imagine having as much credit card debt as I hear people say they paid off (outside of a mortgage and car loan anyway). There are definitely things I could give up if things were dire, like cable, netflix and unlimited data/text packages on cell phones. I could also quit grad school because I have definitely been paying tuition in lieu of paying off credit cards. In fact, all the tuition I paid last year is about equal to my total debt. However, that's going to have a big payoff in the end (hopefully sooner rather than later!). I consider the tuition an investment into my future financial security.

Cutting out stuff like eating out, getting nails done, vacations, movies, and buying just about anything for myself was done as soon I got divorced. When I travel now, it's very cheaply, somewhere I can stay for free (my dad's, friends' houses/houseboats, etc.). I also do things like use gift cards people gave me for Christmas to buy my kids' presents. It means more to me to give them a good Christmas than to have gifts of my own. That's a mom thing though.

ETA: Our Friday paycheck info will be posted some time this evening and I am obsessively checking the site to see how much lower the paycheck will be this year so I can work on the 2011 budget. This is making me nuts.

I thought of several New Year's resolutions but limited myself to three.

1) Eat more veggies.
2) Drink more water.
3) Talk less, listen more.

I'm also trying to go to the gym and be more active.

check in

I didn't initially post in this thread, but I have been sticking to my resolution.

I have been hitting the gym 5 days a week (less for the past few weeks because of travel, but getting back on track). Several people have commented on my weight loss and I've been able to hook up with a lot of frat in the area who frequent the gym. Very motivating :)

Lost 2 pounds, and did start working a bit more. Not quite enough though :D

I'm working on my graduate thesis, so almost there!