'Had To Uber To The Funeral Home And Beg For A Ride' – This Family Says Dave Ramsey's No-Credit Advice Failed Them

Dave Ramsey has built a name for himself as the financial guru who preaches a simple, no-nonsense approach to money: ditch the credit cards, pay off your debt and live within your means. Millions have embraced his advice, cutting up their credit cards and committing to his cash and debit-only spending philosophy. But for one former Ramsey follower, this rigid system left them in a devastating bind during a family emergency.

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"We were dumb and bought into the no credit card thing," the user shared in a Reddit post. For a while, life seemed manageable. They were "moving along. Slowly. But moving." That changed when a death in the family required them to travel out of town. Without a credit card, they couldn't rent a car. "Tried every place at the airport. Found only one place that would rent using a debit card and they required proof of return flight. I didn't have the money to fly, so I didn't have a return flight!"

The user, left with no other option, explained, "Had to Uber to the funeral home and then beg for a ride off someone to get to the cemetery." Then, they had to beg for more rides back to the bus station. What should have been a moment to focus on grieving turned into a humiliating scramble because they followed Ramsey's directive to never use credit cards.

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Ramsey is firm on this point: credit cards are dangerous, unnecessary and should never be kept, even for emergencies. 

"Get rid of the credit cards NOW so you don’t use them in a moment of weakness," he's stated, according to Fox Business. Ramsey believes that having credit cards encourages overspending and reliance on debt. Instead, he recommends building an emergency fund with 3–6 months' worth of expenses and living strictly on cash and debit cards.

Ramsey even directly addressed the car rental issue in a June 2022 Instagram post. He wrote, "Yes, you can still rent a car or an apartment or even get a mortgage without a credit score. It takes a little more effort to live without one, but it’s a lot better than owing people money for the rest of your life."

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfCAN9qObUr/?igsh=MTVzbW05cms5Y2p5Yg==

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But as the Reddit user discovered, life doesn't always work within the confines of a perfect financial plan. Emergencies happen and there are situations where cash and debit simply don't suffice. After their funeral ordeal, they decided to get a credit card but found the process difficult and frustrating due to their lack of recent credit history. They eventually secured a low-limit, high-fee card and began rebuilding from scratch.

The issues didn't stop there. Later, lenders turned them down when they tried to refinance their home because of their limited credit history. "No one would touch us. We were never late with a payment, but had no real credit history for the past year or so," they explained. Even Ramsey's financial advisors offered little help, suggesting they find a private lender operating as an LLC. "Seriously. That's insane," they wrote.

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Looking back, the Reddit user admitted they made a mistake. "Our own stupid fault for believing this blowhard and his advice," they said. Other commenters pointed out that there's a middle ground. "I think you could've just paid off the credit card and not used it or kept it only for emergency situations such as this," one person suggested.

This story highlights the potential downsides of Ramsey's one-size-fits-all approach. While his advice has helped many people escape crushing debt, it doesn't account for the complexities of modern life. Credit cards aren't inherently bad – they're tools and like any tool, they can be misused. Keeping a credit card for emergencies, maintaining good credit history and using it responsibly could have saved this family from significant stress.

"Just beware the advice you take," the user warned. Ramsey's rigid rules might work for some, but for others, they could lead to being stranded in their moment of greatest need.

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