At 60, if your finances are in a shambles, take heart. You’re in good company. However, with a few of Dave Ramsey’s tweaks, you can get back on the right track. After experiencing a downturn in his own, Dave Ramsey has helped millions of people take control of their finances. Facing bankruptcy due to poor financial management prompted Ramsey to develop the principles that became the foundation of his financial advice. After rebuilding his finances, Ramsey started counseling others, which led to the creation of The Dave Ramsey Show and the publication of his bestselling books. So grab your calculator and your listening ears as 24/7 Wall St. presents 8 Dave Ramsey quotes that every 60-year-0ld needs to hear that will help get them back in the black.

1. Have a Budget

• A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. -Dave Ramsey

No Fuss Budgeting

Creating a budget is not that hard. Living within the budget you create is an altogether different story. But if you wish to get out of the cycle of having too much month left at the end of your money, a budget works wonders. Dave Ramsey recommends that your budget include housing, utilities, food, transportation, healthcare, and recreational/entertainment costs, as well as putting at least 15% into savings. Depending on your ability, putting more in savings now will benefit you in the long term.

2. Stay Within Your Budget

• Act your wage. – Dave Ramsey

Act Your Wage, Not Your Shoe Size

This Dave Ramsey quote is sage advice. Acting one’s wage is simply a clever way of saying live within your means. You can’t drink champagne on a beer budget. Heed Ramsey’s advice to create a budget, And stick with it. Living within one’s means promotes not only financial stability but also peace of mind. Contact creditors to discuss your options for payment, or, if you have a lot of different creditors hounding you, consider consolidating your debt into one monthly payment.

3. What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You

• That stupid saying What you don’t know can’t hurt you is ridiculous. What you don’t know can kill you. If you don’t know that tractor-trailer trucks hurt when hitting you, then you can play in the middle of the interstate with no fear – but that doesn’t mean you won’t get killed. -Dave Ramsey

Out of sight, Out of Pocket

Of the 8 Dave Ramsey quotes every 60-year-old needs to hear, this is the one I needed. If life has taught us anything, one of those things is that many of the hackneyed expressions we were taught in our youth don’t actually make a whole lotta sense and no longer hold water. What you don’t know can’t hurt you is near the top of the list. Turning a blind eye to our finances and retirement options is just plain dumb. I should know. I’m the proverbial ostrich with my head stuck in the sand. I thought this was a dandy strategy until I determined that it wasn’t. So, while I will start drawing my Social Security here shortly, I’ll never really retire. At least I didn’t get hit by a truck.

4. Do Without So You Don’t Have To Do Without

• If you will live like no one else today, later you can live like no one else. -Dave Ramsey

A Penny Saved is A Penny Earned

Practicing restraint in your current spending habits is an avenue to securing future financial freedom. Foregoing unnecessary expenditures, like memberships, subscriptions, and luxury items in the here and now can provide financial security and stability moving ahead. Embracing austerity fosters resilience while achieving long-term financial goals. It’s never too late to start saving and you’re never too old to stop dreaming.

5. Control is Key

• You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you. -Dave Ramsey

Save You Must

Out on the road that lies before me now; There are some turns where I will spin; I only hope that you can hold me now; Til I can gain control again. Though Rodney Crowell was undoubtedly thinking of a lover when he penned Til I Gain Control Again, we’re contemplating our budgets. What are some measures that we can take to get a handle on our finances? If you can afford one, hire a financial advisor. These days there are more laws and loopholes than the average citizen knows about. Licensed professionals have information that could potentially save you more money than you’re paying them. So whether you take the reigns, or you hand them over to a trusted professional, gaining control is the mission.

6. Look, Ma, No Hands!

• Earning a lot of money is not the key to prosperity. How you handle it is. -Dave Ramsey

Prospering

We’ve all known the spendthrifts who can’t hold on to their paychecks for more than a few hours. There’s always something that they need. The newest this, the fastest that. The biggest, the badest, the finest, to the point that we begin to assume generational wealth or a backyard money tree. Their reality, however, is often much less shiny. From maxed-out credit cards to no savings, when the facade begins to crack, all bets are off. Meanwhile, Steady Freddie has been saving money, paying off credit cards on time, and building credit. Though Freddie never earned as much as Spendthrift Steve, he was able to retire long before his extravagant friend. Ramsey says you’ve got to learn to differentiate between true needs and unnecessary wants. Postpone unnecessary purchases until you have accrued the funds for them, and avoid dipping into your savings.

7. Meet Your Needs First

• Pay your utilities, gas, and other basic needs before paying on your debts. -Dave Ramsey

Basic Needs Come First

This piece of advice seems like a no-brainer until you see the headlines. You know the ones – Senior Citizen Found Frozen In Apartment Without Power; Family Matron Succumbs to Heat After Power was Cut. Pay. Your. Utilities. Budget for groceries. Make certain you can afford your meds. Only then should you pay on your Macy’s balance. And, again, if you have several outstanding bills, seriously consider consolidating them. Consolidation very often results in a reduction of your monthly payment. But above all, make sure that your critical needs are being met.

8. Money is Not Evil – Necessary or Otherwise

• Money is not good or evil. It has no morals or intentions on its own. Money reflects the character of the user. -Dave Ramsey

Money is Money

Of the 8 Dave Ramsey quotes every 60-year-old needs to hear, this one is the most universal. Money is a necessary evil is another one of those pithy sayings we’ve been hearing all of our lives. Truth is, money is neither necessary nor evil. Money is money, or it was. If you haven’t yet tackled the particulars of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), don’t. It will only serve to make your brain itch and you to question everything you thought you knew about money. It does remain true that money, in and of itself, is not good or evil. Its only value is found in what we ascribe to it, and what we ultimately do with it once its value has been determined. If you have discretionary funds, you might consider how your bounty might best serve the planet and her inhabitants. I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver. –Maya Angelou That’s one saying that is worth its salt. I’ll bet Dave Ramsey wishes he had said it.

 

 

 

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