Dave Ramsey In Canada (Overview)

Who is Dave Ramsey? He is the Author of several NYT best selling books, the most popular of which is “The Total Money Makeover” (selling over 8 million copies). He is founder and CEO of Ramsey Solutions which has a program on 600+ radio stations and has about 1300 employees and a net worth of over $200 million dollars. He is author of the seven baby steps that teach ordinary people how to get out of debt and live a life debt free. I am told Ramsey has 18 million+ downloads a week on u-tube. U tube places Ramsey Solutions in the top 5 downloads, making him most likely the most widely known authority on personal financial management issues in North America or maybe even the world.

One clarification… he is religious, an evangelical Christian with 90% of his following/clients of similar persuasion. If you cannot handle EXTRAPOLATING wisdom from various sources such as religious programing you may have to skip learning some very important information from him.

Their most prized system is Financial Peace University which walks you through the baby step program. It’s a series of “classes” that incorporates a combination of lectures/lessons and a versatile software platform (Every dollar APP) with an annual fee. They also perform live seminars across the country on personal, business and financial topics.

Ramsey Solutions is also somewhat of a publishing powerhouse… kicking out new books two to four times a year, maybe not full size books but certainly a leadership and management teaching hub. They are a marketing machine.

When following a “teacher” it is important to remain as objective as you can. One of the best perspectives to have when following any teacher is to adopt the understanding that you will never agree with more than 98% of what anyone says/teaches. To believe more than 98% can be emotionally or even intellectually dangerous. Telling yourself that you believe 100% turns a portion of your senses or discernment off. You end up TRUSTING someone TOO much. It would teach you to turn down your own instincts and common sense too much. Trust nobody more than 98%, not me, and not even yourself. We all have blind spots and can be deceived.

Why is Dave Ramsey NOT in Canada?

The Federal and Provincial governments use regulations and beurocracy to control standards. Through regulation our government apparently “OWNS” or maybe the word is “CONTROLS” the concept of higher education and designations (or at least tries to). Words like University and (if they deem necessary) even College are deemed “unusable” without permission by the government. The same general restrictive concepts are found in words such as: Doctor, Professor and even Accountant. An individual cannot advertise themself as a Doctor unless they have “authority” to do so. In Canada that associative control system tracks to some ridiculous conclusions.

So, when Dave Ramsey built Financial Peace University in the US the title was acceptable there but not “usable” in Canada. Simply put he was not a government authorized “University”. In order to rebrand his system to comply with Canadian standards he would have to either change the name of his “course” or acquire authorization to use the name “university”. Changing his signature brand would be very expensive and hardly worth his while.

Now, as Canadians we know this kind of “overreach is comical”, as if education can only take place under the authority of a government beurocrat or all “healthcare” can only occur under the direct guidance of a licensed physician. Do we need a Dr. note to go to the gym? Purchase vitamins, decide to eat less processed food, loose five pounds of love handles? No, of course not but this is the type of “over-site” the Canadian government is busy controlling. If it wasn’t so sad, it would be funny.

There may also be an additional reason attached to the “ban”. His program is not offered with a French translation. I am not sure how much of an issue this is to the “ban”.

In 2017 I went to Franklin TN with my wife to visit the head office. I was treated very well and got a nice tour. Dave was on holiday but the staff was delightful. They were in the middle of building a new facility and it was all hands on deck with their marketing. That is when I found out that Ramsey Solution’s customer base is 90% evangelical Christian. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on their products (such as the board game “Act your Wage” and many other products) and have ordered and read many of Dave’s best 100 books list. It is a great resource list for personal and business development.

Ramsey Solutions is still privately taught in Canada but technically it is “against regulations”. I have never heard of anyone so much as being “fined” let alone sent to jail for it so I assume the enforcement is rather “loose” to say the least. It does not appear that Ramsey Solutions is interested in forcing an issue with the Canadian government. They are looking for a way to legally enter the country and are very cautious. For example, when I was there in 2017 they knew I was a Canadian and refused to sell me any product with the word University on it.

Ramsey Solutions program teaches financial management and savings based on US market, insurance and tax rules. In order to follow the plan well you need to know the terminology differences. For instance: 401k is basically the same as an RRSP, IRA is basically the same as a TFSA. The US deals with Health Insurance at a much greater level than Canadians do (however some Canadians still do have to manage some health costs). These differences must be understood and navigated.