I think Thomas Stanley's "Millionaire" book is the best of the bunch...it really drives home the difference between wealth accumulation and conspicuous consumption. Timeless concepts.

Kiyosaki is nuts. If I have to read any more crap about investing in tax lien certificates, I'm going to shove an awl in my eye. Right after I read that book, I made some phone calls and realized how hard TLCs are to purchase in most areas (many are one day per year, property sight-unseen, etc)

Dave Ramsey is the only money guy that teaches common sense. Suze Orman's advice should be thrown out with the trash.

Peter schiff, financial adviser to Ron Paul. He called the housing market burst 6 years ago and is one of the most successful financial investors in the market. When he talks people listen

Dave Ramsey is, without a doubt, the guy with the answers. We're sitting on a pile of mess because of high levels of debt and low levels of cash. People who follow his plan prosper in up economies and they don't worry in down ones.

Scott Burns, nationally syndicated columnist, has been telling it straight for years. In an era that has definitively proven the Cramers are full of it, he explains why low-fee index investing is your best best. You can read his columns at http://www.assetbuilder.com.

I'll put my vote in for Dave Ramsey as well. He's the only person that actually inspired me in a common sense way to aggressively rid myself of debt. I like Suze enough but she's too out there and a bit CRAZY at times to take seriously.

But who says that Eric Tyson is worth listening to?

Dave Ramsey worked for us on the getting out of debt phase, but he seems to drop off for the phases after that.

The easy answer is none of them.

Dave Ramsey is the best for getting out of debt, but once you in the building wealth phase, his plan seems to be write a book and sell it to people who are in debt.

None of them! Christ.

The best thing you could do for yourself is to pay someone to assist you with managing your finances. What makes a financial advisor effective? Accountability. At the end of the day, Jim Cramer goes home to bed with his paycheck regardless of how his investments perform. Kiyosaki has a boatload of bestseller money irrespective of the housing burst.

As a favorite columnist of mine often says: all predictions true or your money back. So it is with financial "gurus." Unless they have your cash in their pockets they're blowing hot oxygen at you. If an advisor is too pricey, or if you have a lot of debt, there isn't really much to say other than pay your debts down - don't go anywhere near the stock market by yourself. Especially in this environment.

Yeah I'm tossing in my vote for Dave Ramsey. Not that some of the others aren't good (love JD!) but if I had to pick a single one it would be Dave.

Of course the great thing is we don't have to listen to one single person since most of the time one human being doesn't have all the right answers or even all the right answers for you. For instance, even with Ramsey, I don't totally follow or agree with every single thing he says but for the most part I do.

I tend to agree with what Mefinny said about if more people did as Dave suggests we'd have a lot more folks with savings and not as much crazy debt.

Don't forget Larry Burkett, who died several years ago after a long battle with cancer. His materials are top-notch, and I have learned a lot from him over the years. His materials and philosophy live on at crown.org.

@broken5hift: Another vote for Peter Schiff. Unfortunately his future predictions are just as doom and gloom as the ones he made in 2005. Bad news for the rest of us.

@broken5hift: Hear! Hear!

Dave Ramsey to get out of debt and Peter Schiff to build/maintain wealth!

@broken5hift: I voted for Ron Paul and I still support him, but picking the guy who co-wrote the book (with his idiot father, Irwin) on "how to stop paying income taxes" was such a lame-brained maneuver. I have the book, incidentally. It's ridiculous. Some of the ideas are on target, but most are not.

Warren Buffett, Seth Klarman. Both have made billions with disciplined value principles. Their method requires a lot of hard investigative work, and common sense should inform you that this is neccesary.

They will never be as popular as Jim Cramer, who just shouts out ticker symbols without spending many hours researching them first. On the other hand, he will never beat the market like they do.

If you are a master of Google, you can find Seth Klarman's out of print book in pdf.

My favorite financial advisor is my grandmother. She taught me how to bargain and how to complain successfully when I was getting ripped off. She shared with me how to make my money go farther so I can get the things I really want. She told me how to manage my relationships so creeps didn't see me as a sugar momma. She knows her way around a dollar, and she doesn't take crap off anyone.

Any Bob Brinker fans?

I have stirred intense debate before on this topic, but I believe pretty much all so called 'financial advisers' are no better than throwing darts. Worse, in fact. Certainly, the media will give no time or serious attention to anyone (like Peter Schiff, who called the meltdown correctly) who doesn't espouse the most commonly accepted advice.

In particular, how many are still operating on the assumption that we are still in a never-ending bull market? I still hear, constantly, investing advice that is based on the stock market of the 90's: "buy and hold", "don't try to time the market", "just keep buying no matter what", "buy index funds", etc.

For some insight, look at a very long-term chart of the Dow - you'll see long 15 to 20 year periods where the market trended up, down, or sideways. Investing in an index fund any other time than an extended bull market will get you exactly nothing. Sure, you'll get the roller coaster experience, if that's what you like, but your money will essentially go nowhere for a couple of decades.

If you have money stuck in a 401K or IRA, how do you get any return during a period like this? There is only one way to make money in stocks at a time like this - you HAVE to time the market. Granted, most people trying this will fail.

That's why I push professional computer-based stock timing systems. These are not "get rich quick" schemes, as some have responded to me. In fact, at least half the market is now traded by computer programs.

Click on my user name, and look at my posting history for more details. Look back far enough, and you will see I talked about this both before the market crash and afterward, and that I was able to protect my own retirement money this way.

Suze Ormon's advice is generally sound, both in actual number crunching/decision making and (more importantly) about your attitude towards money. That said, she simply annoys the crap out of me. I cannot stand to watch or listen to her for more than a minute or so.

Dave Ramsey also has some wisdom about money - and also spends a lot of energy trying to get people to change their attitude about money and spending as well as their habits. His system really is effective for getting out of debt. After that...meh.

Cramer is smart and entertaining, but I'd sooner use a dartboard than actually use any of his stock advice.

Kiyosaki is an Amway style scumbag who gives terrible, dangerous, unethical advice.

If I could only recommend one, it would be David Chilton. Nothing fancy, nothing controversial, just plain, time tested, proven financial advice.

@Apeweek:

Agreed on index products, but stochastic modeling systems that rely on Brownian motion - like the ones you recommend - failed as miserably as every other asset management scheme. Perhaps worse!

There is no one single method to asset performance that returns better than careful, diversified allocations.

@broken5hift:

About the only one left to listen to isn't it? Schiff was spot on about the crisis years before it happened (contrary to Cheney's delusional statements that 'no one' saw it coming). May not agree with all of Schiff's ideas but compared to the 99% of financial talking heads, he's right and they're not.

@speedwell, avatar of snark:

Especially since Irwin's currently serving a 13 year sentence for tax fraud.

Tax Cat!

Because if you're going to take advice about your personal finances from a disinterested, third-party, entertainment world flapping head, then it may as well be a cuddly kitty-witty with glasses.

If you want real advice, hire an accountant. I bet you these people do.

@JustThatGuy3: Yes, exactly so.

@Apeweek: I bought gold in 2003, and my returns on the money equalled more than 300 percent (in dollars), but it isn't a repeatable strategy.

Clark Howard FTW!

I have been a loyal devotee for several years now, well more like a disciple, and his advice is always right on target.

When I first stumbled upon his show I was badly in debt, had no retirement savings, and poor credit. Now I have a firm grasp on my finances, a healthy savings account, and a very good start on my retirement.

You write that Tyson says Jim Cramer's advice is worse than a coin toss, but then he says he's worth listening to? HUH!?

By the way, Dave Ramsey is a right-wing, Christian fanatic and that invalidates every word that comes out of his mouth, in my book. Financial advice should not be predicated upon which god you happen to believe in.

Ray Lucia FTW. None of your mass-market/fast-food "gurus" have EVER quoted a scholarly finance/economics article and I don't believe that any of them would understand one. (I exclude JD & Trent from that criticism because I know they're intelligent, but they're not "mass-market")

Geeez! None of this is rocket science.

It's the same as losing weight:

* spend less money than you make,
* eat less calories than you burn

Winning the Out-of-Debt catagory so far is: Dave Ramsey...But how about the Make-A-Million catagory?
Did anyone posting actaully make a million using one of these 'formulas' to invest? If so, do you still have that million? Please speak up!!

@broken5hift: Big deal. My dad predicted the financial crisis 25 years ago.

Oh, I'm so glad JD is included in here. Get Rich Slowly is the best finance blog around, hands down. His advice is solid and careful, and their garden makes me crazy with envy.

@Ash78: Good lord, I know. Kiyosaki's popularity is baffling, unless you consider some people don't read finance books to learn how to manage their money, but rather to "get rich quick" -- then, I supposed it makes sense!

For those of you asking about debt vs. making money, both answers can be found in this video:

Unfortunately people don't understand that "financial guru's" aren't the people who write books about getting out of debt or making some quick cash, guru's are the people who inform you of what the worlds economy is doing long in advance of it happening, then you plan for it, and come out on top while everyone else is sinking. Most of the people listed as "guru's" in the poll aren't anything more than play it safe advisers, anyone can save money or redo a budget, a guru is someone who see's the trends before they happen, for instance Tom Barrack who is the worlds most successful real estate investor sold his entire portfolio back in 2005 because he knew what was comming: [money.cnn.com] <--- That is the definition of a Guru. Which is why Peter Schiff should be at the top of everyones list, he has the future pinned down to a science

Went for a Rich Dad Poor Dad seminar on investing using stock options. I might have as well flushed $500 down the toilet because it was 33% kyosakisms, 33% motivation and 33% upselling.
At least I got a nifty conference bag....

@Flow Bucks: AMEN! He can get a bit preachy, but everything he says financially is spot on the truth (including PAY YOUR DEBTS IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT!).

@broken5hift: I'm sorry, but "predicting a crisis" 6 years before it happens is not exactly that interesting. (Unless he said "six years from now we are going into the tank.) Any investors that pulled out then would have missed out on a lot of gains. (Unless, of course, you confined yourself to FL,NV, and CA.)

That is about as useful as me saying "there is going to be a big earthquake in California", and when one strikes years from now, crowing about what a smart guy I am.

A prediction without a timeframe is no prediction at all.

SirWired

@Apeweek: It is not correct to say that during anything but a bull market, you will be left with no returns if you invest in an index fund. That statement completely ignores dividends. They look puny, but they add up, and provide some return until a bull market returns.

SirWired

Polls don't work in Google Chrome. Voted with IE.

@sirwired:

What? Do you understand how a market works? To say the housing market is going to burst isn't "interesting" is beyond me, and yes he did give a timetable had you taken the time to research what he said. The economy is in the hole it is mainly due to the housing bubble bursting, it ties into banks, loans, then foreclosures, which effects stocks, and then commodities. No offense but you should really take time to understand how the market works before spouting off a retarded comment.

The housing market crisis isn't important, wow, just wow. 160 billion in bailout money from taxpayers later and your still not interested? wish i could be that ignorant, i think?

@ADismalScience:

The "careful, diversified allocations" you talk about are more of the old 1990's "buy and hold" system that is simply not going to work outside of a long bull market. Where does your investment money stand today compared to a couple of years ago? How is that a successful strategy?

*Everything* is a system. "careful, diversified allocations" is a system, one that worked great in the 1990s, and will not work reliably in the present market (unless you are great at picking individual stocks.)

Again, half the market is traded by computer programs. Why do you suppose this is so?

You say "There is no one single method to asset performance that returns better...", but there is, and this is easily provable, by comparing performance charts.

Timertrac is a website that tracks and independently reviews computerized stock timing systems. It is a paid site, but you can view charts of many of these systems free by Googling "timertrac", to turn up links to performance charts on various websites.

Or, just look at my posting history here. Before the crash, I mentioned three such systems: Equitrend, Sniper, and Tradewhen (Sniper and Tradewhen.com even have free systems for use.) All three of these systems protected users from the ensuing crash. Go to some of these websites and look at performance charts. A good trading system will indeed beat market averages by a wide margin. This is why independent review sites like Timertrac exist, to provide verifiable proof. How is this deniable?

@speedwell, avatar of snark:

Buy-and-hold is not a repeatable strategy, either.

To distill my advice, compare real performance charts of professional stock timing systems, and choose one that does, indeed, provide consistent and repeatable returns.

Mark Cuban. I realize he is not in the business of giving advice, but the little bits he does drop (particularly regarding the stock market) are surprisingly shrewd and candid.

@MaytagRepairman: My vote goes to him and also the guy with the money suit selling the big old book of free government money. (free at your local library, esp if they have the online library thing were you can get a free pdf of it)

Suze Orman generally gives decent advice. My main problem with her is she tells you how you need to get out of debt so you can increase your credit score so you can get into more debt. She's less of an advice giver and more of a shill for TransUnion/Experian/Equifax/FairIsaac.

Dave Ramsey is great because breaks the cycle of constant excuses people give for their situation.

Don't make enough money? Get a new job. The market is bad? So? Doesn't mean that it is impossible for you to get a better job, it just means it is more difficult.

Can't afford your car? Sell it and get a cheap beater to get from A to B. But you really love that car? Should have thought about the fact you can't afford it before you bought it and fell in love. I love German engineered cars, but you don't see a 5 series in my driveway.

Need more money? Get another job. But you don't want to work all those long hours? Then stop bitching about your debt if you're unwilling to sacrifice to get out of debt.

The only problem I have with him is sometimes he says go get a beater cheap car and ignores you might be spending just as much in repairs compared how much you saved selling the car you can't afford. Replacing 5k of debt with 4k of repairs, especially when those repairs means you can't drive which means you can't make an income, is kinda dumb.

@sirwired:

I don't see many big dividends stacking up right now, but if that's your strategy, best of luck.

What if the return of the next big bull market is 20 years away? Is this really the best place for your money?

Here's a performance chart of the sniper.at system , compared to an index fund(this is a free system):

[www.sniper.at]

Here's a chart, again verified by the Timertrac review site, of the free system found at Tradewhen.com - it's compared to an index fund shown at the bottom of the chart:

[tinyurl.com]

A reason we may be in this mess is the "Rich" were all in "Debt poor" from the same upbringing as the rest of us. They just created such a fluid momentum of stimulus for the tax base no in Virginia dared to play chicken little.

Ramsey is beneficial, but he teaches what should be elementary education in our public schools. All of us treat currency like water, drink what u need poor out the rest, another full glass will be available at payday.
-90% of the world doesn't understand how to find the water if it isn't served by the 1%.