Town Hall for Hope Available on Hulu
Dave Ramsey’s Town Hall for Hope broadcast is available on Hulu right now. I did not get to see the broadcast the first time around, but now that it is available on Hulu I watched it. If you are interested you can check out the broadcast here:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/74840/the-dave-ramsey-show-frid-may-2-2009
Now that I have been able to watch it, I have some thoughts that I want to share on the event. First and foremost I do recommend that everyone watch the Town Hall for Hope. The message is excellent despite any shortcomings I mention in the rest of this post. It is important that we continue to work our way out of difficult economic times with as much optimism and hope as possible. Key components of Dave’s message in this event include:
- The fear and hysteria can get to anyone, the media has done an excellent job publicizing it.
- Although 45+% of people believe there job may be at jeopardy, the reality is that unemployment has increased only around 3% (this has gone up slightly since the broadcast; also, 3% is based on the official unemployment number — some believe it is optimistic because it does not include underemployed).
- For those who have lost their jobs, attitude is a critical component to moving on and landing the next job.
- Although it is always difficult starting a new business during an economic downturn, there are advantages and opportunities that exist when compared to times of strong economy.
Dave’s message is extremely consistent with his show, and as he puts it, this is common sense — this is advice your grandmother might give. That is true to an extent, though not everyone believes that avoiding debt completely is necessary. In fact many believe debt can be a key to financial well being (for example, buy real estate at no money down). If you have listened to Dave’s radio show, watched his television program, or read his book The Total Money Makeover
Dave believes that you cannot separate the spiritual from finances. Maybe more accurately he believes you cannot separate the spiritual from anything in one’s life, financies being a component of life. Although occasionally he will encourage his listeners to seek advice from their pastor or their church, usually he keeps religion out of the discussion unless he knows one’s faith. A big part of his delivery of Financial Peace is through the church community, so clearly his message has tie-ins with religion. Like his traditional shows, this event was mostly finance and economy with a little bit of spiritual mixed in. This may turn off viewers who do not hold views of any religion, or believe in religions other than Christianity.
Near the end of the event the question / answer session between David Asman and Dave Ramsey added less value to the overall conversation than the initial discussion and the question / answer session with viewers. With the crowd gone and the seats empty, it made me feel as if it were time for me to leave as well.
Dave adds many of his usual quips and expressions to much of the conversation, and if you listen to or watch his show you may be quite familiar with them – to the point where they are overused. But there is something rewarding in Dave’s delivery in general, whether part of this event or his show. To me that reward is a very motivating financial adviser that constantly reminding me of my own financial goals. There are certainly other ways to attain the same motivation, however for those that are looking for the motivation, Dave Ramsey provides it.
In the end, for anyone with uncertainty and concern about our economic climate, the Town Hall for Hope is a must watch. For those who want motivation and want to help spread the message of hope, there is value in the event as well. The only group I might recommend not watch the program are doomsayers, there may be too much hope for even the pessimistic to withstand.
