There are some people that you just want to punch in the face. Not because they’re awful, but because they’re telling you things you don’t want to hear. And then you do something and you can practically hear their voice saying “told you so”. Dave Ramsey falls into that category for me.

Dave has written books. He’s on the radio. He’s done live events. He doles out financial advice in a manner that pretty much anybody can understand. He’s got a system that works for lots and lots of people. He teaches people how to get their financial lives back in order. And he does it from a Christian perspective that really appeals to me.

When I’m in the car and his radio show is on, I listen to it. And I get great ideas of how to manage things better. I’ve read his books enough times that I had to order new copies because my old ones were falling apart from so much use. I’ve been a paying member of his website so that I could interact with the amazing and supportive community that exists there.

But he still makes me mad.

Not really mad at him, but mad at myself. In his book, The Total Money Makeover, he talks about the Baby Steps to financial success. These seven steps, accomplished in this order are a great roadmap to getting a financial house in order. They’re really not that hard to understand:

• Set aside $1,000 for a starter emergency fund
• Payoff all debt using the debt snowball
• Set aside 3-6 months of living expenses
• Invest 15% of income in Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
• College funding for children
• Pay off home early
• Build wealth and give

Having read the book years ago and listened to the show for years, I’ve seen some of the concepts evolve, but the general idea is manage your money instead of letting your money manage you. While we jumped on the bandwagon late enough in life that the steps are in a jumbled order for us (we already had our oldest in college when we started the first step), I’ve worked hard to make progress on all the steps.

What ticks me off is that it’s hard work. There is nothing easy about this. You have to actually budget your money. When you have a large portion of your income that arrives in fits and spurts due to consulting contracts and irregular distributions from various investments and company-involvements it’s even harder to budget.

You have to look at everything you’re doing that costs money and actually make decisions. You can’t just run on auto-pilot all the time. If you stick to Dave’s teachings, you don’t carry credit cards. There is no buying stuff that you don’t have money for. And that money has to already be sitting in the bank.

Dave has walked the walk. He’s lived through a bankruptcy. He’s recounted how his wife was peeved at him for his inability to control spending. He’s eaten beans and rice to get by. He writes and broadcasts in a way that really speaks to me. But he also challenges me to do more than I’m already doing. Way more.

He’s kind of a hard-butt about things. He doesn’t really go for excuses. When folks call into his radio show with a similar problem to one I’m having I hear the advice as if he’s talking directly to me. And sometimes I just don’t want to hear the specific advice. Like I said…this stuff is hard. You don’t get to take a day off and splurge without facing the consequences later.

During the Christmas season it’s that much harder. With ten of us in the family, it’s hard not to spend. Whether it’s on food for our family meals or gifts for family and friends, my debit card tries to burn a hole in my pocket. We also have travel during the holidays that can get expensive. Pretty much every day I’m tempted to spend on something else.

Fortunately, listening to Dave as much as I have, I also have a habit of really thinking about the consequences of my financial activities. I don’t always like it, but honestly most days I’d like to shake his hand rather than punch him in the face.

At least that’s the case most days.