The Obsolete Man vs Dave Ramsey

 By David Bozeman

If you find yourself struggling financially, rest easy. Social media is teeming with experts full of advice on how to manage your money, and finger-pointing commentary to shame those of you who have amassed - gasp! - credit card debt! But could it be the advisors who could use some advice as well?

Financially, I'm doing ok, but I always watch Dave Ramsey videos that pop up in my social media feeds. I kind of hate to knock this author, radio talk show host and speaker. I salute his advice to the financially troubled, which basically amounts to, 'live within your means.' The good-natured but straight-shooting Ramsey urges personal responsibility and determination as keys to climbing out of debt. He dives into the technicalities, as well, of investing and money management, but he and others convey a notion, perhaps not intentionally, that provokes not better money management but self-loathing.

People who spend unwisely need to hear the harsh truth, but let's discard this notion that everyone with credit card debt is enjoying filet mignons every night and sporting Rolex watches. We are at a point, sadly, where some Americans use them just to pay bills. The experts discourage even having credit cards ('If I can't pay cash, I ain't buying,' is a common Ramsey-ism), but how does one cover out-of-pocket medical expenses or, say, a broken refrigerator? How does one pay for a car repair or new tires if the price exceeds your budget?

And that's another Ramsey trope: buy used cars instead of new and don't spend years indebted to finance companies. Not bad advice, if you're lucky enough to find a decent, affordable used car. For those of us constantly on the road to and from work, however, reliable transportation is a necessity and not a luxury.

Ramsey and others are great on details, but the overarching message is generic, vanilla cupcake, pull-yourself-up philosophy. The comment sections mostly echo the soundbites: 'I scrimped and saved and now I'm debt-free and living the dream.' One commentor urged a struggling health-care worker to find a better paying job. Now, if everyone adopts that mindset, there will be no one to care for our parents, grandparent and us, but so what? Being debt-free is the American dream, so Yay!

Note to Ramsey, et al: one is not negating his or her personal responsibility by addressing systemic roadblocks to financial independence. Affordable housing is out of reach for many. Inflation? Don't get me started. To the pull-yourself-up crowd, what happens when you face unemployment at 50? It doesn't make you a socialist to ponder, what if I'm unable to work and don't have a partner's income as backup?

Here's my complaint - our culture offers an abundance of experts to tell us how to pick up the pieces of our broken lives. But where is the moral support when we're starting out? Yes, financial planning should be taught K-12 - that's almost a cliche - but it's meaningless without mentorship and an occasional pat on the shoulder. Again, I salute Dave Ramsey (and others). Advice must occasionally be shouted rather than whispered, but why don't we all encourage our neighbors before they encounter financial storms? I will try budgeting if you advisors will try a little empathy and humility. And can the condescending attitude, it's counterproductive. Simply put, being broke is bad, but it doesn't make you a bad person. It is that notion alone that brings out the fighter in this obsolete man.

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Comments welcome. davidbozeman63@ gmail.com

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The Wisdom of the Experts?

 By David Bozeman

In the 1980s, the technology company TRW released a magazine ad headlined, "The Future Isn't What It Used to Be." According to TRW, "There's no future in believing something can't be done. The future is in making it happen." The ad featured the following quotations by some of the greatest minds of their days.

• "Everything that can be invented has been invented." - Charles Duell, Director of U.S. Patent Office, 1899
• "Who the Hell wants to hear actors talk?" - Henry Warner, Warner Brothers Pictures, c. 1927
• "Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote." - President Grover Cleveland, 1905
• There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom." - Robert Milliken, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923
• "Heavier than air flying machines are impossible." - Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, c. 1895
• "[Babe] Ruth made a big mistake when he gave up pitching." - Baseball great Tris Speaker, 1921

I share these quotes not for a quick, motivational sugar high, but rather as fists of defiance at the naysayers and Gloomy Guses who, sadly, outnumber the motivators.

It's not just their cutting, defeatist remarks - their sour walls of silence that meet our nervous optimism are just as daunting to our hopes and dreams. In fact, it is the unspoken negativity that permeates the recesses of our souls. We feel lost before we even start, and it's not just our plans but our self-worth that are defeated from the outset. Even worse, we don't always know why we feel so bleak, but we tend to blame ourselves.

Don't let them win. Pursue your passion. Dream big, work hard and never justify yourself. Surround yourself with people who believe in your potential, and, just as important, BE the someone who lifts up a friend or stranger. The love you bring to your endeavors and share with one another can build a community. Ultimately, we will raise our fists not in defiance but in celebration of our own indomitable spirits.

---Comments welcome: davidbozeman63@gmail.com

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