Financial freedom guru rousts S.A. crowd
found at San
Antonio Express, TX -
PHOTOS BY KIN MAN HUI/kmhui@express-news.net
Dave Ramsey, who's become wealthy advising people how to live debt-free, walks the stage at the packed Freeman Coliseum on Saturday, inspiring his audience with sayings like, “You've got to be willing to live like no one else, so later on you can live like no one else.''
Just like a rock star, financial debt guru Dave Ramsey entertained 6,000 people packed into the Freeman Coliseum Saturday.
Ramsey taught them how to get rid of debt during a five-hour “Money Makeover Live” event.
“It's hard and it's worth it,'' he said. “That's the only thing I'm going to promise you over and over.”
Interspersed with jokes, biblical proverbs and inspirational videos, Ramsey, 48, dressed in jeans and a brown shirt, paced the stage yelling at the crowd to get control of their money.
“You've got to be willing to live like no one else, so later on you can live like no one else,'' Ramsey said.
Ramsey rattled off examples of debtors who became solvent following his advice. Like a couple, who earn $60,000 a year, with $46,000 in debt that they paid off in two years, or a guy making $20,000 who took 18 months to pay off $8,000 in debt. They call into his talk show and scream at the top of their lungs, “I'm debt-free.”
The key to getting out of debt is behavior modification, he said. People need to list their debts and attack the smallest first and then work up to the largest, Ramsey said.
Getting rid of debt is like losing weight, he said. If people diet and exercise, they want to see results. So do people who get rid of debt, he said.
“You can wander into debt but you can't wander out,'' he said.
Ramsey has become a multimillionaire teaching people to dump debt. During his event, he pitched his “Financial Peace University” class materials for $99, which retail for $218, or the “Complete Do It Yourself Special” for $180. In the lobby, numerous stands sold books, DVDs, CDs and software for $10 each. Vendors, wearing green T-shirts emblazoned with “Go green, use cash” slogans walked the coliseum's aisles selling tote bags of Ramsey's goods.
Tickets to the event started at $35, although some churches offered discounts. VIP tickets sold for $65 and platinum tickets at $229 each sold out. And Ramsey's stands didn't take credit. They only accepted cash, checks and debit cards. During the breaks, the only ATM at the coliseum had a steady stream of people lined up to withdraw money. It eventually ran out of cash.
People seemed more than willing to pay to hear advice like: Eat rice and beans and get another part-time job until the credit cards are paid off.
Monty Linehan and Lisa Carroll bought the $50 starter kit for themselves and paid $10 for the “Financial Peace Jr.” kit for their daughter, Taylor, 9. The couple plans to put Ramsey's advice into action to get out of debt within two years. They owe more than $12,000 on four credit cards, but Carroll said she was going to cut them up as soon as they got home.
“We live paycheck to paycheck,'' Carroll said.
Linehan, an auto mechanic, and Carroll, an insurance adjuster, said they got into debt putting in a new air conditioner, buying household goods and charging everyday expenses on the credit cards at 18 percent interest.
Now they plan to follow Ramsey's “baby steps,” including setting up an emergency fund, tackling the snowball of debt, quit borrowing more money, selling unnecessary items and setting up retirement accounts.
Quoting the Bible, Ramsey told the crowd they need to “deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter.” He told them to amputate the junk in their lives.
“Put the cat on craigslist ... The faster you get out of debt, the faster you get your life back.”
Compound interest pays off, Ramsey said. If a person invests $100 a month from age 25 to 65 at 12 percent interest, they will have saved $1.17 million for retirement, he said.
“What you spend on pizza, lattes and cable will make you wealthy,” Ramsey said.
Anthony Fletcher, a Starbucks barista, and his wife want to get out of debt from student loans. He said a lot of Ramsey's advice was stuff that they already knew, but the event gave them the push to put it into practice.
“We got to the point where it was hard to do anything but pay bills,'' Fletcher said.
Pastor and businessman Pete Gamez said he has lived like Ramsey for a long time. He doesn't have a mortgage and he's saved money. Now he wants to help others. He bought the Financial Peace University materials to share with his congregation at the House of Living Bread in San Antonio.
“We've got to get Americans out of debt,” Gamez said. “We all play a big part in it. We have to do it so we don't leave it for future generations.”
