6 Overlooked Dave Ramsey Strategies Financial Planners Actually Love

Love him or hate him, Dave Ramsey is known for giving straightforward advice to help regular people get ahead financially.

Since you can find many of his better-known pieces of advice in lots of places online, we wanted to give you a closer look at what may be some of his lesser-known financial strategies.

Don't just take our word for it. We asked real financial planners and experts to share which of Ramsey’s solid strategies could work for you.

Steven Kibble, a certified financial planner and senior editor at International Money Transfer, is one of the experts who told us he appreciates Ramsey’s take on sinking funds.

Instead of letting irregular expenses derail a budget, Ramsey suggests setting up small, dedicated savings pots for upcoming costs.

The idea is that contributing a little each month keeps these predictable expenses from catching you off-guard, making it easier to stick to your budget.

Kibbel notes he’s also a fan of Ramsey’s suggestion to prepare for anything that goes wrong that could possibly happen to you.

Kibble agrees that maintaining a strong emergency fund and staying out of debt can make you more resilient to unexpected setbacks, like medical bills or car breakdowns.

According to Kibbel, This mindset encourages people to build a financial cushion, making it easier to handle surprises without stress.

Kibbel alsp likes Ramsey’s ideas about buying cars. Ramsey strongly advocates against financing cars.

“He advises paying cash and never owning vehicles worth more than half your annual household income,” Kibbel says.

“This keeps car costs manageable and helps people avoid debt traps on assets that rapidly lose value. It's a disciplined approach that preserves funds for other financial priorities.”

Alex Schlesinger, Founder and CEO of Active Mutual, is a fan of Ramsey’s lesser-known principle related to extreme financial focus.

“The power of choosing a single financial priority, whether it's building an emergency fund or paying off debt, creates momentum that typical multi-goal approaches simply can't match,” Schlesinger goes on to say.

“One effective way he suggests is by writing down your single most important financial goal and posting it somewhere you'll see daily, then directing all extra funds exclusively toward this goal until it's complete.”

"Many know Ramsey's debt snowball and emergency fund concepts, but his lesser-known strategies pack equal power,” says Abid Salahi, Co-founder and CEO of FinlyWealth.

“The 'plastic surgery' method of cutting up credit cards sounds extreme but works by removing spending temptation entirely. My clients who've done this report save an average of $350 monthly from reduced impulse purchases.”

“I really like Ramsey’s concept of a financial 'buffer' budgeting with last month's income to help with cash flow,” notes Brian Chasin, Chief Financial Officer for SOBA New Jersey.

“There is less to worry about whenever late surprises require spending money, and if a person is living inside just what you have currently earned, then there should be no worries at all.”

“And I highly appreciate his ‘pay off the small loans first’ approach, even if they do carry smaller interest rates, paying the debt in full can have an extremely powerful psychological impact.”

If you’ve searched for advice to build wealth, you’ve probably encountered tips from Ramsey. Depending on your risk tolerance, some of what he advises may not work as well for you.

However, the financial planners we spoke to think some of his strategies are good overall and worth seeing if they could apply to your finances. 

Before you start implementing anything, talk to your own financial planner and do some research; Your situation may not lend itself to these strategies.