Are you a Dave Ramsey fan?

I‘ve been a Dave Ramsey fan since stumbling onto his radio program in 2000. Disillusioned by the dot.com fallout that led to the evaporation of a significant portion of my 401k, I’d been searching for a guru who could lead me out of the financial straits that had frustrated my wife and me for the first fifteen years of our marriage.

Following Dave’s advice, we repaired our financial house. By 2003, I decided that I too desired to serve others in teaching personal finance. Long story short, I quit my day job, went back to school full-time, and graduated in the spring of 2005 with a BA in Finance.

Upon graduation, I was hired by a major wire house and began my career as a Financial Advisor. Company sales goals were established, and I was provided with an array of investment options to offer potential clients. These different types of investments came with varying levels of fees and commissions. I decided to use a fee platform. But, I found myself discounting the fee to what I felt was a reasonable rate. Now reasonable is probably subjective, but most people assuredly don’t understand the long term implications associated with paying higher fees and commissions, especially as they relate to compounding. And, herein lays the issue.

Understanding the intricacies of investments can be a complicated issue. Even I, with a finance degree, and additional training in investments struggle to grasp the subtle nuances of some financial products. In my opinion, “Caveat Emptor”, or rather “Let the buyer beware” shouldn’t apply to investments.

Now, as history repeats itself, we’ve experienced another bursting of a financial bubble. Folks have once again been victimized by their own spending habits, and the greed of others who had gained their trust. Aside from commissions, I agree mostly with Dave’s ideas. Perhaps the greatest tool to risk management is found not in amassing an enormous retirement nest egg, but in getting out of debt, and living life with a vision.