DAVE RAMSEY on the 5 basics of personal finance. This should all be obvious stuff — but if it were that easy, fewer people would be in trouble.

UPDATE: Reader Vadim Lozko writes: “I’m glad you posted a link for Dave Ramsey. His ‘The Total Money Makeover’ book has had such a profound impact on our family. We’ve paid off all of credit cards and car loans within 1.5 years and even though we have about $200k in college loans between the two of us, we’ve already mapped out a plan on living debt free and with no mortgage within 10 years all thanks to his advice and encouragement.” He’s got a lot of fans. A while back Megan McArdle wrote that her household was living according to his principles, even to the envelope-based budgeting technique. I haven’t heard if they’re still doing that, but she found the approach powerful, and surprisingly easy.