If you have just heard about Ramsey and his financial peace course you might be a little skeptical.  You likely have heard about him through a course offered amongst a social or church group and you are thinking about joining but want to know what you are getting into and if it is worth the money.  This post isn’t so much meant to directly answer that question as it is to lead you to several other people opinions of Ramsey so that you can make an education decision.

Bible Money Matters discusses the Baby Step Plan, offers some details about what is included in the plan and a favorable outlook on Dave Ramsey.  Bargaineering also lays out a favorable out look and basic details of the programs.

The Simple Dollar compares Financial Peace to the Total Money Makeover, and comes to the conclusion that they are basically the same content but Total Money Makeover is better written.  If you aren’t going to be taking the Financial Peace University class than you might want to consider TMM instead.

This crowd sourcing question about Dave Ramsey being a scam artist is overwhelmingly supportive of him.

If you are in debt and struggling with spending.  You can do worse than following Dave Ramsey’s advice.  Maybe think about watching his TV show or checking out his book from the library instead of spending more money though

The fact that he worked on a song for the awful 1986 film Cobra does not cancel out the genius he showed in the score for Sixth Sense.  Clips from the Sixth Sense score can be found at artistdirect.com.   The tension in Hanging Ghosts is so thick it gives me shivers even out of context and without the film.

I think the biggest mark in the Pro column for James Newton Howard is his versatility.  He has worked on projects from Tap to Flatliners and One Fine Day to Wyatt Earp.  While I think he is at his best in the suspense dramas like Michael Clayton he certainly isn’t limited to it. His work in My best Friends Wedding shows powerful restraint to stay out of the way of such strong characters and a few key popular songs.

He has several projects coming out in 2010 including Salt with Angelina Jolie.  A Spy Thriller that is sure to have tensions high, is the perfect vehicle for Howard’s work.

“Jeff Bridges sings and plays guitar in the movie. As a musician, was he able to keep up with you and your band?
Yeah, he’s great. He was there every time we got in a circle of songwriters at T-Bone’s house, playing and singing tunes. I was really impressed by him and Colin Farrell. I thought Colin sang great as well. Really, with that Irish background, I think folk music is just in his blood.”

My favorite post on his site it about How to Choose the Best Financial Adviser.  He covers the basics like certifications and background checks but goes on to some deeper thoughts.  The two most important are knowing how important you are to any potential planner and how they are compensated.  If your 3 million dollars is 47th on their clients list you could probably get better service elsewhere.  If a planner isn’t completely upfront and open about how much and how they make money of you, move on.  They should be comfortable with the value they are providing and not trying to hide it.

I love this classic poster for my favorite movie,  Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

There are so many great things about this movie that the sound track rarely gets discussed and when it does it NEVER gets past Moon River.  All of these things are great usually people think of Andy Rivers singing the Henry Mancini tune Moon River. It surprises many people that the hit single wasn’t the version that was in the film.  The tune was carried out throughout the film in many different forms but never in the version that Rivers released.

I love that how the movie and that song are inexorably tied together, neither would have been as great without the other.  So go grab the soundtrack if you don’t already have it.