| Title | : | Baby Steps Millionaires: How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth-- and How You Can Too |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | - |
| Publication | : | Published January 11, 2022 |
Baby Steps Millionaires: How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth-- and How You Can Too Reviews
-
I picked up this book fully expecting it to be a repackaged version of the content I've already read through in Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, the Financial Peace University (FPU) material, and Everyday Millionaires by Chris Hogan… and I was pretty much fine with that. In my opinion, it's good to remind myself of why I'm doing what I'm doing with my finances, and to be inspired by more stories of others who have succeeded using the same plan I'm using.
This book has up-to-date information for 2022, and it does a good job of explaining the differences between the way millionaires and billionaires should be perceived.
To give some personal information about myself and how Dave Ramsey's material has affected me… My wife and I were first introduced to the FPU material and the "baby steps" in late 2010. We'd been married for two years, and we'd just moved into a new house. My job was relatively low-paying, and my wife had just been laid off from her job. She had also just given birth to our first child, so to say we were financially stressed would be an understatement.
In order to furnish our new home, we had purchased a refrigerator, an area rug, and a couch on credit. We already had unpaid student loans, a car payment, and some other (relatively small) debt, but we were on our way to accumulating more. In hindsight, I'm extremely grateful that we decided to participate in FPU when we did - I truly believe it changed the trajectory of our lives.
Within a weeks of starting FPU, we started saving aggressively. We cut every expense we could, including the data plans for our phones, cable/streaming services, and other non-necessities. My wife found some contract work, and when we really scrutinized our budget, we realized that we could pay our mortgage, buy groceries, cover our bills, tithe, and have enough left over to pay off our debts within just a few months. It took commitment and sacrifice, but I'm proud to say we did it. By mid-2011, we were debt-free with a fully-funded emergency fund and on our way to paying down our mortgage.
(Just as a side note: Once we were debt-free, we were able to re-activate the data plans for our phones and restart our favorite streaming service, so we didn't have to sacrifice very much for very long. But we also realized which things we weren't missing, and we opted not to restart those unnecessary expenses.)
Per Dave Ramsey's advice, we also made sure to maximize the investments that my company would match for my 401k, and we participated in my company's generously discounted employee stock purchase plan. We eventually opened college savings accounts for our (now three) children as well. God truly blessed our faithfulness to be good stewards of what He'd given us, and as of this month, we're just now obtaining the status of "Baby Steps Millionaires."
In the book, Dave Ramsey explains that the average time it takes for those who follow the baby steps to become millionaires is about 17 years. Thanks to many, many blessings God has provided, our family has done it in less than 12. And we (like many others) did it with a household income of less than six figures.
My reason for sharing all this is to say that the baby steps work. My family has been greatly blessed by Ramsey's teaching, and we're able to bless others with what we have as well. No matter where you're starting from, if you're willing to follow the process, it can and will work for you as well. -
If it wasn’t for the appendix of the Millionaires Study l, there would be nothing to gain from this book that I hadn’t already learned in his prior books. On top of that, where prior books felt inspirational, this book read more like a lecture to me. I would recommend The Total Money Makeover; I wouldn’t recommend this book.
-
I’m so disappointed. Nearly the entire book was proselytization. It’s nothing you haven’t heard before—watch the YouTube videos for free for Ramsey financial advice. I liked his earlier books because they were a lot more accepting and inclusive of other religious beliefs. This one straight up tells you you’ll never find peace and you’ll burn for eternity if you don’t follow his religion. Yikes
-
I did enjoy it but it was a review of things written in his and Chris Hogan’s previous works. There was nothing original except his chapter on “Better than I Should”.
-
5 stars.
If you laugh at the idea that you could be a millionaire someday, I dare you read this book. If you’re in debt and feel like you’ll never escape it- read this book. If you’re a spender or a saver- read this book. If you’re discouraged with your money or excited about your savings- read this book. If you’re a parent who doesn’t want your children to have the same (or worse) money problems that you have have- Read. This. Book.
I truly feel like there’s something for EVERYONE here. Regardless of status, upbringing, religion, race, and gender- Dave explains how anyone can become a millionaire in clear and attainable steps.
“Men and women are limited not by their intelligence, nor by their education, not by the color of their skin, but by the size of their hope.” - John Johnson, founder of Ebony magazine.
I feel so empowered and full of hope and faith after reading this one. -
Some parts of this book were amazing and transformative. I definitely upped my financial IQ. My criticism is how the book is written.
It’s called Baby Steps Millionaires and only the first 40 of 280 pages talked about the baby steps. The book itself is 150 pages with 90 pages of notes at the end. Also, the last 20 or so pages were a little too preachy and I felt like I was reading the Bible. Nothing wrong with reading the Bible but it just seemed off topic for this book. -
“Personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge.”
-
Baby Steps Millionaires: How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth-- and How You Can Too by Dave Ramsey 224 pages 4 hours and 50 minutes read by author.
Genre: Nonfiction, Money & Finance, Investing & Trading, Budgeting & Money Management, Christian
Featuring: Mindsets, Testimonials, The Baby Steps, Statistics, Alter Call
Rating as a movie: G - for general audience
My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Quote: "The Tortoise and the Hare is not just a tale to emphasize the speed at which you win, but the things that get in the way of how quickly you win or that keep you from winning at all: Arrogance, Disrespect, Idleness, Neglect, Poor Judgment, and a Lack of Strategy or Focus."
My thoughts: 42% - Very good so far. I haven't had any audio problems. This should have been a one sitting read as it's very engaging but lots of distractions today.
If you think this is a rehashing of The Total Money Makeover or Everyday Millionaires, you're wrong. This book only briefly touches on those topics and is mostly centered around the reason so many people do not achieve millionaire status and how to change your mindset so you can. It focuses on people who used the Ramsey Baby Steps to achieve millionaire status with a huge emphasis on Baby Step 4. It is a very motivating read full of information you make or may not have heard on the Dave Ramsey Show, now The Ramsey Show, including why so many people didn't return to work after receiving unemployment and what that has to do with your kid's allowance. Dave shares the testimonies of others in this book to prove that anybody can achieve millionaire status if they have the time and the determination to do so. He compares decamillionaire and below to billionaire, apparently that is how most Americans see millionaires. He shares stories of celebrities you may or may not know that either blew through their wealth, Andre Rison, and those who made their millions and kept them, Condoleezza Rice. He mostly talks about unknown people who had average jobs and used the Baby Steps to make their million/s. He explains why teacher is in the top careers that millionaire retirees have and doctor isn't, why so many immigrants become millionaires in the US, and how poverty looks different elsewhere. If you make $10,000 a year you are in the top 20% of the richest people in the world, and if you make $20k you're in the top 5% but your perspective is that you are poor because you're comparing yourself to other Americans with more money. He goes into a lot detail about how perspective can change your belief and that can change your mindset. If you see a lot of teachers retiring with 2 million dollars net worth you're more likely to believe it's possible then if you don't know anyone doing that. I hear people talk about broke teachers all the time, seriously they're really not broke. Anyway, I don't think there was tons of new material on this book but I think the insight was new and it was a very motivating read in my opinion. Especially since I actually do know a lot of people who quit after baby step 4 because they were done budgeting and since it would be a long time to a paid off home and retirement, they slowed down or took a break. I think the purpose of this book is to get people over that hump of relief they feel with they are debt free and have extra money, so they can finish the race.
Recommend to others?: Absolutely! This book is on my reread list and to my husband and kids. -
I understand the criticisms of this book but I found a lot of value in it. Specifically for me the understanding of what a millionaire actually is and how to determine net worth. I appreciate the strategy of baby steps and I’m already implementing many of them.
-
If you’ve read his other books, you’ve read this one. The biggest change is that he’s included a massive survey his organization just conducted about “millionaire lifestyle habits, mindsets, goals, and history.” In fact, half the book is the statistical findings from the survey. In other words, the book itself is only 100 pages long. Nothing wrong with that, but just know what you’re getting.
-
The first 113 pages are the Dave Ramsey advice we all know and love. Significant time was spent detailing the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire. Many have childish assumption a millionaire has extravagant vehicles and PJs (that's private jet to the rest of us). They don't have these things or likely even desire them. Everyday millionaires are everyday people who want financial stability and take great care to maintain this stability. This book instills a strong focus on belief, not barriers. Social justice warriors often pedal hopelessness that everyday people cannot achieve any success.
The remainder of the book are the footnotes, introduction and summary of white paper on the National Study of Millionaires compiled by Dave's company. The white paper and appendices are included, so you can be a huge nerd and really drill into the details of the study if that is your thing.
You might not agree with everything Dave says or believes in politics or religion, but he advises with honesty and as someone who has done stupid things with money. He wants to show you how not to be stupid; but you have to do the work. -
I like this author and his message. I've listened to his radio show and I've read his books. Now with that little disclaimer out of the way, I can say I didn't care for this one. I'm not really sure who the target audience was on this one.
This short book contained how many books he has sold, testimonials about the author's system for building wealth from people who achieved their goal, a pitch to buy his daughter's book and a lecture on how millionaires are not the same thing as billionaires. I honestly felt like he thought his audience, namely me, was a little on the dense side. Maybe I am a little dense, because I actually finished this one. So 2 stars. -
This was very informative, I enjoyed the read.
-
Millionaire Next Door may be 20+ years old, but it remains unbeaten.
This book was so damn repetitive that I started skimming. It’s saving grace was the white paper, which somehow snagged my interest.
I’ll still read Total Money Makeover just to see how the Baby Steps are broken down, but this was a let down. -
Explicit in measurable steps towards fiscal health and challenges to keep a person motivated. I encourage everyone to grasp and apply these steps outlined by Dave Ramsey and his team.
-
Same stuff from his previous books. Charts at the end were interesting ...
-
Here's what I thought was important enough to take notes on while I was reading:
Step 1: Save $1,000
Step 2: Debt free - DONE! Almost.... car payments.... Ugh....
Step 3: 3-6 months of emergency funds - So far I have 1 month...
Step 4: Invest 15% of income towards retirement. And don't count the match % towards this! That's just extra for being good. Do it in this order: Match beats Roth beats Traditional. - DONE!
Step 5: Invest in 529 for kids. - DONE! I have no kids! Easy peasy!
Step 6: Pay off the house! - ALMOST DONE! Sometime in 2028 or 2029. Shaved off about 10 years!
Plus, I keep a spreadsheet tracking my monthly payments and savings. I think I need to add a sheet to my workbook to also track my net worth. It would be a great morale booster! Grow little numbers, GROW!!! -
Dave does a good job is summarizing his 7 baby steps but doesn’t really introduce any new material. I agree with his points about the high correlation between how much is invested and financial independence, a fact that seems rather obvious. The biggest takeaway from the book is the importance of providing a strong motivation and emotional groundwork through which to make financial decisions. Otherwise, the mathematical and logistical side of personal finance will have little real impact. Overall interesting book but provides very little new information.
-
This book was good. It dispels some wealth myths and helps you see that being a millionaire can become a reality with the right habits in place. This book includes an interesting study about millionaires, but overall I think I would skip this book and just read Total Money Makeover. It does a better job of laying out the framework to get you where you want to be financially. I think Dave Ramsey is a great guy spreading a much-needed message. I love his religious applications to wealth.
-
A lot of people either love or hate Dave Ramsey, but either way, there is plenty to learn from him. This book walks through stories of multiple different people who become millionaires with beginnings you wouldn’t expect by being disciplined and having a plan with their finances. It was encouraging to read and inspires me to have a plan with my personal finances.
The book also includes the results of the largest study of millionaires ever done. That was fascinating and worth the read alone. The two most fascinating stats to me were:
* The three most common jobs of the millionaires in this study were engineers, accountants, and teachers.
* One-third of millionaires never had a six figure household income in their whole career.
I think this further shows that anyone with discipline and a plan can be financially stable. Dave Ramsey walks you through a plan that works for the everyday American. Worth the read! -
Dave Ramsey writes easy to understand books with lots of antidotes and Bible quotes. His books are ones you can get through in a single afternoon. This one is no different.
I love his message that millionaire status is easily attainable for everyone. I also like the chapter explaining the differences between millionaire and billionaire, to give readers the correct expectations. I will confess that I did only skim all the Bible talk. -
I think how you rate this book depends on what you were looking for when you picked it up. I was looking for motivation to continue with our debt free journey instead of looking for knowledge so this book aligned with what I was expecting. If you've read any of his previous books, listen to the podcast, or taken FPU this book will not teach you anything new, but it does give the reader hope and examples of everyday people who have worked these steps to increase their networth over 1 million.
-
Didn’t gain much except a little millionaire pep talk, lots of stories on other people’s success but left me feeling deflated at the end.
-
Nothing new if you already read/listen to Dave Ramsey, but I love Dave Ramsey.
-
Since I have read and listened to most of what Dave Ramsey has ever said or written, this did not reveal anything new to me. Still, his principles of saving and giving are timeless and effective. I am a fan.
