The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness

Ramsey ends the Total Money Makeover plan with Baby Step Seven: building wealth. Ramsey prefaces his discussion of Baby Step Seven with a question: “Why do you want to have wealth?” (203). He answers that wealth is a responsibility and ought to be put to three uses: fun, investing, and giving.

Ramsey talks about fun first. Delayed gratification was the rule of the previous Baby Steps, but now Ramsey happily urges spending on fun because without debt the new car, nice house, or vacation can be enjoyed without worry or guilt.

Ramsey next considers continued investing. He tells readers to treat wealth-building like an ongoing game instead of cashing out and calling it quits when they have just enough to last them until death. He advises them to keep their investments simple and get financial counsel without transferring financial responsibility to others. Ramsey informs readers that with continued effort they will eventually reach a “Pinnacle Point,” the moment when “your money works harder than you do” (211). He likens the exhilaration of achieving this milestone to the joy a kid experiences riding down a hill on a bike after laboriously pedaling up.