I’d agree with you Ben, except that so much of Ramsey’s advice is just plain wrong, because it’s based on his outdated experience.

Two examples. First, he rants that student debt, any student debt, is stupid. He insists that students should do what he did and work during their college years to avoid taking out any student loans. This ignores the fact that college tuition has increased by a large factor, even after inflation, since he graduated in the 80s.

Unless they’re willing to have their academics suffer by working a full-time job while in school, students today simply can’t work their way through college, even if they’re paying in-state tuition at a public school (e.g., my daughter’s full cost of attendance at a Maryland public university was more than $100,000, even though she graduated in 4 years).

Second, while his own mortgage loans may have been called by the bank that bought out his lender, residential mortgages these days cannot be called like that. If a new lender takes over your mortgage, they’re bound by the exact same terms as the original lender.

That’s why it’s much smarter, and safer, to build up your emergency fund and invest any extra cash rather than prepay your mortgage.