The Dave Ramsey Experience

Going to see Dave Ramsey last night was very cool. As I mentioned yesterday, he's the "Get out of Debt" guru. His show is part self-help, part entertainment and part motivational coaching. The whole evening is grounded in a seven step program. He also talked a great deal about how American Culture is saturated with a debt mentality. Ain't that the truth...

It also brings debt out in the open. If you see him live, you're sitting with a few thousand other folks in the same position. That's heartening.

What I came away from the show is this: You don't have to be poor to live within a budget. I don't know where I got the idea that only rich people could live within their means.

Jethro and I used the evening as a sort of pre-marital financial counseling session. Our ideas about money aren't far apart, so bringing him to the event was nothing. He's very open to new ideas and pretty much agreed with everything Dave said already. And he already practices a great deal of it, so there you go.

The show made me reflect on how writers often settle for being poor, especially theater folks. I also wondered about the wisdom of going to a *really expensive* university to study something that is saturated in poverty. An office manager for a theater company makes 20K-30K a year. Back in the 90s, I was responsible for working on a compensation study for nonprofits in California. I'm well aware of the salaries issues for nonprofits, and theaters usually fell on the low end of that spectrum. It's one of the reasons I never picked up a job in a nonprofit theater. I couldn't afford it, especially with the debt load from college.

Not only would my life be different if I was debt-free, but my writing would also be different. I'd have more time, for one thing. I could use the money I make to fund my writing project rather than my payments to debtors.

So, there it is. I enrolled in Financial Peace University, mostly to learn how to handle money. (Insurance? Wills? Whaaaa?) This will not be the last you hear about debt, the arts, and me. Time to grow up.

Bottom line: It wasn't one of those cheesy enpowerment exercises. Nor was it a rip-off. I highly recommend him to anyone. If you can't see him in person, at least listen to him on the radio.

Comments

[Scott Walters]

This is one of the most valuable blog posts I have read for a long time. Something that rarely gets discussed, and yet is central of your progress as an artist. I particularly agree with your comment about expensive schools. I had a student who was dead set on going to Columbia for grad school and doing it all through loans. When I showed just how much his monthly payment would be after graduation, and that it would mean he had to work a well-paying job in order to make the payments for ten years, he eventually saw the light.

[Patrick]

Great post, Laura. This is something my wife and I have worked on a lot over the years. We followed the steps laid out in Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, maybe a dozen years ago, and it's made a huge difference in our lives, and in my ablity to have the time and freedom to pursue the writing projects that I want (while also raising two kids). I think that, as you point out, debt is even more dangerous for artists than most other folks, because of our country's stingy support of the arts (at least for the folks who create it. Big non-profits seem to have no trouble raising millions of dollars to put up new buildings or theatres, but the money doesn't go to the creative folk who are supposed to fill those big edifices).

I think it's important for writers to really understand the financial realities of the careers that they're choosing, and ways to make it work (including avoiding debt).

[Chris Thomas]

It's great that you took that much away from the event. If you stay focused and truly work the plan, I promise you, it will work 100% of the time. Give us updates from time to time on how you're liking the class and the progress you're making. Great post!

[DEBTective]

Dollface, just wanted to say a big-time thanks for spreading the word about Dave and debt freedom. Glad to hear that you and your man are getting on board with a plan to deep-six your debt and save a lot of dough. Good luck, baby!