Before I get thrown to the wolves of social media, I’d like to preface that I’ve always been taught to not have an opinion if you can’t argue both sides of a problem. I hope to be where Dave Ramsey is one day; someone who is respected in the financial community, who gives people the resources they need in order to become successful. Am I Jealous of Dave Ramsey? No. Does he have the answers that work for everyone? No. Do I admire him? Yes. Does his strategy work? Of course it does.

I even attempted to become a part of Ramsey’s Financial Peace University to learn how to teach his strategies because people preach to me how fantastic his program is. Being a Millennial, I’m always open to learning new ideas to expand my mind. There was one problem; I’m Jewish, and I’m not affiliated with a Church. So, becoming part of Financial Peace University was out of the cards for me. Sorry Dave.

Being in the financial realm, I’m always looking at people who are considered “leaders” to learn from the path they’ve taken. I do this because you cannot put a price on experience and time is the most valuable commodity we own as human beings. Dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowball method is genius and I highly suggest considering it if you are struggling with debt. However, I have one problem with Dave:

he thinks entrepreneurs are stupid losers.

Is that an exact quote? No. I don’t want anyone to think I’m attacking his values or putting words into his mouth. But I promise you, I was watching one of his videos and felt personally attacked. If I were to sit down with Dave Ramsey, he would say that I’m losing. Why? I have over $300,000 of debt consisting of a mortgage, student loans, a car note, credit cards, and a business line of credit.

Now, if you’re NOT starting your own business or chasing your dream and are happy living a simple middle-class American life, then yes, Dave is 100% correct about not accumulating debt. In my expert opinion, his program is geared towards the middle-class American. Not people who had a dream like Walt Disney. Not people who had a vision like Howard Hughes. And most certainly not someone like Richard Branson. Disney currently has $50 billion in debt. They’re worth approximately $180 billion.

Are they stupid losers? I’ll let you make that decision.

I believe that instead of fearing debt, we should become more comfortable with it. It’s not our fault; we’re taught in school that debt is a bad thing. Yet, we are also taught that buying a house with a mortgage (debt) is good. It’s confusing as hell. Who do we believe? Dave Ramsey, who is respected and has been giving investment advice for longer than many of us have been alive? Social media influencers who have millions of followers? Or Josh Krafchick, who has a blog, 600 Instagram Followers, and is in debt?

Ultimately, it is your decision whose advice you follow. All I know is that without debt, I wouldn’t have received a degree in Actuarial Science from a respected University. Without debt, I wouldn’t have been able to buy a beach house worth over $400,000. Without debt, I wouldn’t have been able to secure a $250,000 investment for an invention I created.

Do you hear what I’m saying?

Debt isn’t a bad thing if you use it for the right reasons.

I’ll probably receive a lot of grief that I’m going after someone who is more successful than me. That’s cool. I can handle that. I’d rather put forth an effort to help expand the minds of others than to not say anything at all. Dave is great. He’s helped a lot of people. But not all of his advice works if you’re looking to live a life that’s Super-Sized.

Happy Slacking,

Josh A.K.A. “Chachi”