--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first step in taking control of your…" description: "\"The first step in taking control of your money is to stop borrowing money. Start using cash today.\" — Dave Ramsey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/dave-ramsey-1362_borrowing_the-first-step-in-taking-control-of-your_2549781.jpg" --- # The first step in taking control of your money is to stop… ![“The first step in taking control of your money is to stop borrowing money. Start using cash today.” quote by Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/dave-ramsey-1362_borrowing_the-first-step-in-taking-control-of-your_2549781.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/dave-ramsey-1362_borrowing_the-first-step-in-taking-control-of-your_2549781.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/dave-ramsey-1362_borrowing_the-first-step-in-taking-control-of-your_2549781.jpg) > “The first step in taking control of your money is to stop borrowing money. Start using cash today.” [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Control finances by eliminating debt and using cash to limit spending. **In simple terms:** Stop borrowing, use cash to manage money. Key Takeaway Cut credit, pay with cash. Themes financial control debt reduction budgeting Mood practical motivational Type financial advice When to use this quote - daily budgeting - shopping - debt repayment - financial planning Key Concepts personal finance behavioral economics Questions to Reflect On - Can you track every expense in cash? - What alternatives exist when cash isn’t feasible? A Different Perspective Cash may be impractical for emergencies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Borrowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowing/) [Borrowing money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowing-money/) [Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cash/) [Control Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-money-390739/) [First step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-step/) [First steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-steps/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Money Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money-start-1510098/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Stop Borrowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-borrowing-1510096/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Using Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/using-cash-1510097/) ## Related quotes > [The Government has to stop borrowing as much money; if we don't, quite frankly New Zealand will be downgraded and interest rates will go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-key/the-government-has-to-stop-borrowing-as-much-money-if-we-don-t-quite/) [John Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-key/) > [We Americans are not about to stop borrowing as long as they give us money for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rogoff/we-americans-are-not-about-to-stop-borrowing-as-long-as-they-give-us/) [Kenneth Rogoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rogoff/) > [People were holding high denomination notes to keep tax unaccounted for money. Some sectors like real estate were using cash to avoid tax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urjit-patel/people-were-holding-high-denomination-notes-to-keep-tax-unaccounted/) [Urjit Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urjit-patel/) > [Our role as producers is mainly limited to borrowing money from friends when we run short of cash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sreenivasan/our-role-as-producers-is-mainly-limited-to-borrowing-money-from/) [Sreenivasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sreenivasan/) > [We should not be borrowing money from the Chinese to bail out the Greeks. What's coming next? Intergalactic bailouts?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-hensarling/we-should-not-be-borrowing-money-from-the-chinese-to-bail-out-the/) [Jeb Hensarling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-hensarling/) > [There is no practice more dangerous than that of borrowing money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/there-is-no-practice-more-dangerous-than-that-of-borrowing-money/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [There were moments where I had no money in my account and I was borrowing money to do stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-spice/there-were-moments-where-i-had-no-money-in-my-account-and-i-was/) [Ice Spice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-spice/) > [As I have said for many years throughout this land, we're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/as-i-have-said-for-many-years-throughout-this-land-we-re-borrowing/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There is no practice more dangerous than that of borrowing money; for when money can be had in this way, repayment is seldom thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/there-is-no-practice-more-dangerous-than-that-of-borrowing-money-for/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Basically he never went to work and didn't have a job. Of course I thought he did. I thought he was on the phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-brinkley/basically-he-never-went-to-work-and-didn-t-have-a-job-of-course-i/) [Christie Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-brinkley/) > [Borrowing money from a bank is sometimes like borrowing money from your children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/borrowing-money-from-a-bank-is-sometimes-like-borrowing-money-from/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [I was only 21 when I bought a five-bedroom detached house in Stoke-on-Trent that was way outside of my financial status in life. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-caudwell/i-was-only-21-when-i-bought-a-five-bedroom-detached-house-in-stoke-on/) [John Caudwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-caudwell/) > [Except for the con men borrowing money they shouldn't get and the widows who have to visit with the handsome young men in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mayer/except-for-the-con-men-borrowing-money-they-shouldn-t-get-and-the/) [Martin Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mayer/) > [In theory, when you're working with a record label, you're just borrowing their money. And that's basically how the record industry works, right? It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carney/in-theory-when-you-re-working-with-a-record-label-you-re-just/) [Patrick Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carney/) > [Borrowing money on what's called 'easy terms,' is a one-way ticket to the Poor House. If you think it ain't a Sucker Game, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/borrowing-money-on-what-s-called-easy-terms-is-a-one-way-ticket-to/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) ## More by Dave Ramsey > [You've got to tell your money what to do or it will leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/you-ve-got-to-tell-your-money-what-to-do-or-it-will-leave/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Stupid is not illegal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/stupid-is-not-illegal/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Work is a surefire money-making scheme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/work-is-a-surefire-money-making-scheme/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [You can't work three hours a week and make $100,000. Get rich quick doesn't work. Crock pot mentality always defeats microwave mentality!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/you-can-t-work-three-hours-a-week-and-make-100-000-get-rich-quick/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [No one got rich on a government program. Do not choose to be a common man. You can be uncommon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/no-one-got-rich-on-a-government-program-do-not-choose-to-be-a-common/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [A lower interest rate doesn't make a debt go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/a-lower-interest-rate-doesn-t-make-a-debt-go-away/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [It's never too late to turn things around. You are the only obstacle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/it-s-never-too-late-to-turn-things-around-you-are-the-only-obstacle/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [You don't want to have so much money going toward your mortgage every month that you can't enjoy life or take care of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/you-don-t-want-to-have-so-much-money-going-toward-your-mortgage-every/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Once I will warn you, and then I will fire you! I have a zero-tolerance-plus-one policy for gossip. I will teach you once, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/once-i-will-warn-you-and-then-i-will-fire-you-i-have-a-zero-tolerance/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [This is not a game, ... Debt has become a part of who we are. It's become that spoiled child in the grocery store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/this-is-not-a-game-debt-has-become-a-part-of-who-we-are-it-s-become/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [We are all in the business of sales. Teachers sell students on learning, parents sell their children on making good grades and behaving, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/we-are-all-in-the-business-of-sales-teachers-sell-students-on/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Trust me, I know, you can make mistakes with money and still raise money-smart kids. You can start a new family tradition of handling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/trust-me-i-know-you-can-make-mistakes-with-money-and-still-raise/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [More wealth doesn't fix your life. More wealth makes you more of what you already are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/more-wealth-doesn-t-fix-your-life-more-wealth-makes-you-more-of-what/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [“I have heard it said that if you tell a lie often enough, loudly enough, and long enough, the myth will become accepted as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/i-have-heard-it-said-that-if-you-tell-a-lie-often-enough-loudly/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [A good financial planner is going to do more than pick your funds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/a-good-financial-planner-is-going-to-do-more-than-pick-your-funds/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) [Explore all 239 Dave Ramsey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) ## More Borrowing quotes > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [ When the fountains of government \[borrowing\] abundance began to dry up, when through lack of funds and the impossibility of negotiating fresh loans the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-t-flynn/when-the-fountains-of-government-borrowing-abundance-began-to-dry-up/) [John T. Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-t-flynn/) > [By taking out a loan, I am committing myself to years of interest repayments, and therefore to years of wage slavery. And the UK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/by-taking-out-a-loan-i-am-committing-myself-to-years-of-interest/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [It’s always going to be easy to live like others or other’s life, because creating or innovating something of own is always difficult in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/it-s-always-going-to-be-easy-to-live-like-others-or-other-s-life/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [A poet ought not to pick nature's pocket. Let him borrow, and so borrow as to repay by the very act of borrowing. Examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/a-poet-ought-not-to-pick-nature-s-pocket-let-him-borrow-and-so-borrow/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Several southern actors are coming to Mumbai. Likewise, many Bollywood actors are appearing down South or borrowing ideas from southern films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-charan/several-southern-actors-are-coming-to-mumbai-likewise-many-bollywood/) [Ram Charan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-charan/) > [As for borrowing Mr. Whistler's ideas about art, the only thoroughly original ideas I have heard him express have had reference to his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/as-for-borrowing-mr-whistler-s-ideas-about-art-the-only-thoroughly/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Saints and ordinary folks are the same from the start. Inquiring about a difference is like asking to borrow string when you've got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hsu-yun/saints-and-ordinary-folks-are-the-same-from-the-start-inquiring-about/) [Hsu Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hsu-yun/) > [Borrowing money on what's called 'easy terms,' is a one-way ticket to the Poor House. If you think it ain't a Sucker Game, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/borrowing-money-on-what-s-called-easy-terms-is-a-one-way-ticket-to/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [What I'm concerned about is endless borrowing, which is going to compromise our economy not only today but in the future. Because we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/what-i-m-concerned-about-is-endless-borrowing-which-is-going-to/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) > [Debt is a bottomless sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/debt-is-a-bottomless-sea/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a big problem. The problem is the country borrowed too much. We went on a borrowing binge, there was a housing boom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-osborne/there-is-a-big-problem-the-problem-is-the-country-borrowed-too-much/) [George Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-osborne/) > [Debtor countries may postpone the inevitable by borrowing from the IMF or U.S. Treasury to buy out bondholders. This saves the latter from taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/debtor-countries-may-postpone-the-inevitable-by-borrowing-from-the/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [We do not project power from bankruptcy court. We're borrowing a million dollars a minute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/we-do-not-project-power-from-bankruptcy-court-we-re-borrowing-a/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) [Browse all 303 Borrowing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first step in taking control of your money is to stop borrowing money. 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