The Legacy Journey Summary & Notes (by Dave Ramsey)

Dave Ramsey’s “The Legacy Journey” is a highly acclaimed and widely celebrated book that goes far beyond offering basic financial advice. It delves deeply into the profound impact that wealth can have on an individual’s lasting legacy, making it a truly exceptional and invaluable resource.

This book not only provides practical wisdom on managing finances, but also incorporates and emphasizes Christian values, making it a unique and comprehensive guide for those seeking guidance on both financial and spiritual matters. With its insightful and thought-provoking content, “The Legacy Journey” has earned its rightful place as a go-to resource for countless individuals who are eager to navigate the complex world of money management while also considering the greater purpose and impact of their financial decisions.

Book Details:

Title: The Legacy Journey
Author: Dave Ramsey
Genre: Personal Finance, Christian Literature
Publication Date: 2014
ISBN: 978-1937077716

About the Author:

Dave Ramsey is a renowned personal finance advisor, author, and radio host. His straightforward and faith-based approach to managing money has made him a respected figure in the personal finance realm. Ramsey’s guidance is often sought after for its simplicity and alignment with Christian values.

Summary of The Legacy Journey:

What is The Legacy Journey by Dave Ramsey about?

Dave Ramsey’s Legacy Journey is a program centered on going beyond living a life of just financial peace and prosperity to intentionally living and leading in a way that leaves a lasting legacy for your family and community. It is focused on good stewardship- managing the resources God has given well so that your influence, values and key possessions can be passed on long beyond your lifetime.

A major component is helping people articulate their “why”. What is your purpose for wanting to leave an impact and build a multi-generational legacy. What motivates you towards responsible stewardship and intentional, ethical living and investing. Without knowing your why for doing this, the how will never fully come into focus.

A mindset shift also needs to occur from just being an accumulator of stuff and wealth to embracing a legacy building mindset. It involves changing how you view possessions, money, and resources to see them as God’s provision to you that you manage in order to be a blessing to your heirs and other people for the next hundred-plus years.

Critical tools like the proper establishment of wills, trusts, estates and holding companies are covered to legally ensure assets and real estate can be properly passed down across generations. Effective generational wealth planning protects hard earned gain from being lost.

Cultivating stewardship and healthy financial habits in your children and grandchildren is another point of emphasis. Passing down values of working hard, avoiding debt, delayed gratification and serving others sets up heirs for success. Teaching and modeling prudent principles allows beneficiaries to do greater things over time with their inherited resources.

Finding your personal life mission and passionately investing and giving into related causes as part of your legacy creates impact beyond just family. Funding scholarships, buildings, medical research and fighting poverty through sustained giving of time and money overlaps with values you want your descendants to perpetuate.

The core premise of Legacy Journey is discovering why responsible living and stewardship matter. And then backing up that why with tangible action steps around estate planning, investment allocation and charitable initiatives that aim to improve lives for decades beyond your lifetime. It provides a roadmap for intentionally guiding heirs and making a 2-3 generation positive difference.

Key Concepts/Takeaways & Selected Passages

God started showing us the basic principles for how to handle money in His Word: Get out of debt. Live on a budget. Live on less than you make. Save. Invest. Never cosign. Always get the counsel of your spouse. I discovered these fundamental tenets—the core things you do to win with money—straight out of Scripture. (4)

Proverbs says, “He who gives to the poor will not lack, but he who hides his eyes will have many curses.” (28:27) (11)
This is a biblical process, so you are not doing anything wrong by first taking care of your family, then your future, then future generations of your family, then finally, to be outrageously generous with the wealth that God has allowed you to manage for His glory. (13)
The Bible never says that wealth is wrong in and of itself. In fact, the Bible encourages God’s people to take control of money for kingdom work. Over and over again, we see stories and examples of godly men and women who did just that. Abraham, Job, David, Solomon, and Lydia were all portrayed as wealthy in Scripture, but their wealth is never held against them. In fact, Scripture shows us some incredible things they were able to do with their money. Being able to use hard-earned wealth for kingdom work is an amazing honor and blessing! We should be excited that God’s given us that opportunity. (22)
At its core, the spirit of gratitude says, God, I’m going to manage this wealth and this stuff Your way—because it’s Yours. Thank You for trusting me to manage it for you. (27)
Humility, though, is a right understanding of myself and my place in the world. It’s the opposite of entitlement. Humility recognizes that God is 100 percent responsible for every blessing, every success, every outcome, and every reward in my life. I only have these things because God gave them to me. Sure, I worked hard, but God provided the result. Like Proverbs says, “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord” (21:31 NIV)
Building wealth isn’t for wimps. Being diligent in managing your income and actually building some wealth is hard work. Managing that wealth for the kingdom is harder. And so I dare you…. I dare you to be a good steward because Scripture is clear that good stewards are given more to manage. The diligent are going to prosper, and that means if you really follow God’s ways of handling money, you are going to build wealth. But that’s not the goal. This is not about you; it’s not about some hocus-pocus, pseudo-Christian formula so you can get rich. I’m not about you getting rich; I’m about God being rich and you managing it well for him! So go out there and be successful—I dare you! (56)
Contentment is not a lack of ambition or action or intensity. It’s the condition of our hearts while we’re pursuing those things. The question shouldn’t be, “Is it okay for me to have some nice stuff?” The real question is, “If I don’t have nice stuff, will my spirit be okay with that? Do I have to have this stuff in order to have peace?” If the answer to that last question is yes, then you may have a problem with discontentment. (60)
Only you and God can decide how much is enough for you. After all, He gave you this wealth in the first place. He is your loving Father who loves to give His children good gifts. He adores you, and he knows what’s best for you. He can see where you’ll be in twenty years, and he can see the impact of every decision you’ve ever made or will ever make. He holds your life in His nail-scarred hands. He gets to decide [how much is enough for you]. (64)
There are a few things that we should always be doing with our money, regardless of our level of wealth. One of those things, of course, is giving. When we understand that God is the Owner, we remember that He’s called us to be generous, joyful givers. If we’re managing things well for the Owner, then we are definitely setting aside a portion of our income for giving—and at this stage, this is well beyond the tithe….
The second thing you should always do with the overflow is invest in the future. The Bible says, “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil” (Proverbs 21:20 NIV). That means wise people save and invest money. (76)
Planning Ratios The goal is to look at the overflow and set ratios for each of those three areas. You’ll decide what percentage to use on lifestyle. The first thing you have to do, though, is decide what size cup you need to take care of your family. If you are at Baby Step 7, you’ll set your zero-based budget at whatever income level you choose. That will serve as the “Income” blank on your monthly budget, as though that were all you brought home. We’re going to put ratios in place for anything over that amount, so be sure it isn’t so high that there’s no overflow and isn’t so low that you and your family can’t enjoy the blessings God’s given you. You have to find the balance, which definitely means you need to talk to the Owner. Pray about it, and ask God to show you what income is appropriate for your family. (77-78)
Remember, you apply whatever ratios or percentages you would like to your overflow above your baseline budget. If you’re a Christian and you’re deciding on your ratios, it is easy to start by assuming 50 percent of your extra will go to tithe and taxes. That leaves you 50 percent of your extra income for investing, giving, and lifestyle. (82-83)
… God is not necessarily concerned with shaping your circumstances; He’s concerned with shaping your character. And God does that throughout the journey, in the good times and the bad, when you’re doing well financially and when you’re flat broke. (83)
Then, once we know our family is taken care of and we’ve set a fantastic legacy in motion, we look around and start to see the whole world through God’s eyes. We see needs we never saw before. We see ways we can help people next door and around the world. We see people who are starving, orphaned, sick, or hurting, and our response is, “I can help!” That’s a great place to be. That’s what we call the THEM stage because at this stage, you’re not focused on yourself, your future, or your family; those things are already taken care of. At this stage, you’re focused on how God can use you to impact the world. (170)
The apostle Paul told the church at Ephesus, “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need” (Ephesians 4:28). That one verse ties it all together pretty well. You work, you earn, you give. (172)
…stewardship is handling all of God’s blessings God’s way for God’s glory. And when we say “all of God’s blessings,” that’s what we mean: all of His blessings. That includes more than our money. It includes the skills, passions, interests, and opportunities He gives us…. God’s given it all; as good stewards, we should be giving some of all of those blessings. (175)
I believe that God puts us through the mechanical act of giving—even when we don’t fully understand the reasons why—because the act of giving changes us. It crushes our hearts and reforms us into something that looks and acts a little more like Christ. (178)
Giving is hands down the most fun I have with money. I get such a thrill when God uses me to help families or ministries do things they thought were out of reach. (179)
When you get to Baby Step 7, you have zero debt (including the house), and you’re a wealth-building machine. That’s when you get the joy and honor of practicing radical, extravagant generosity regularly. God may specifically call you to do some big giving before this point, and that’s fine. Just consider those to be exceptions. (181)
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it! –William Hutchinson Murray

Who Would Benefit From This Book?

Ideal for church-going individuals, especially those aged 25-45 with kids, who seek a blend of financial guidance and spiritual wisdom. It’s particularly appealing to those who prefer authentic, real advice over corporate jargon and are interested in passive income and increasing their generosity without living frugally.

Popular quotes from The Legacy Journey:

“Wealth is not the enemy; it’s how you handle it that matters.”
“Leaving a legacy is more than leaving assets; it’s leaving values.”
“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.”
“True financial peace isn’t about gathering more stuff; it’s about having a plan and a purpose.”
“Your decisions from today forward will affect not only your life but also your entire legacy.”

Related Books:

“Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey
“Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki
“The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J. Stanley

Readers who enjoyed “The Legacy Journey” might also find value in Bob & Linda’s Award-winning book: Simple Money, Rich Life. Find the connections between financial principles and modern financial strategies to enrich your own financial life!