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Dave Ramsey says that:

Money magazine states that 78% of us will have a major negative financial event in any given 10-year period

The only other source that I can find for this online seems to have the same wording which makes me think that it's quoting Dave. I can't find any primary source for this claim.

Did Money magazine actually make this claim?

David
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    You're not asking whether Money Magazines claim is correct, but only whether Money Magazine made the claim at all? I'm not convinced that the second one is notable. – gerrit Jun 16 '17 at 09:49
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    @gerrit The [original version of the question](https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/posts/38692/revisions) asked about both claims (i.e. whether _Money_ said it, and whether the claim is true). Oddthinking removed the latter claim from the question with a comment "Too vague to answer whether the statistic is true". – ChrisW Jun 16 '17 at 11:07
  • I'm not sure why the second part was edited out. Clearly (if the source is true) Money magazine didn't think that the claim was too vague to run a study on. Also, it might be too vague to know if it's exactly true but someone might be able to determine if it is absolutely not true or true with a large threshold. Whatever the case, [this](http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/assets/2015/10/emergency-savings-report-1_artfinal.pdf) study makes the other statistic seem reasonable. – David Jun 16 '17 at 18:43
  • If the claim made by _Money_ is more specific/precise/well-defined than simply "major negative financial event", then that more specific claim would probably be on-topic. – ChrisW Jun 16 '17 at 20:00

1 Answers1

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Ramsey gives a citation, specifically:

"Financial Planning 101" Money (March 1989)

Back issues are available for $11.11 if you want to be 100% sure, but it seems like a reasonably well-referenced, but outdated and non-specific, statement.

(originally, in his 2003 book, Ramsey said 75%, not 78%, however)

Another reference specifies that by "major" Money means "$10,000+"

DavePhD
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  • $10k? Does that include voluntary expenses like buying a car / home / redoing the kitchen, etc.? – Kevin Jun 16 '17 at 17:30
  • @Kevin: Those might be major, depending on your perspective, but they're hardly negative since they're pretty much voluntary. (FWIW no one needs to pay $10K or more to replace a car: I never have. Expensive cars are a lifestyle choice.) – jamesqf Jun 17 '17 at 04:58
  • @Kevin less than 1/4 of second hand cars sell for under $10k in Australia. I'd count lifestyle choice expensive cars to be new ones out of rap videos, go much under 10k and you start paying much more for repairs and maintenance. – daniel Jun 17 '17 at 22:09
  • @daniel Prices vary a lot by country, Australia is a very expensive country, but also has very high salaries. So a $10K dollar car in America is maybe like a $15K+ car in Australia. – CodeMonkey Jun 19 '17 at 07:18
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    @CodeMonkey True, in Australia we have to choose between either having a car, smashed avocado on toast, or a home deposit. Having a car at all is a lifestyle choice, you can either ride your fixie to Fitzroy or have a career outside of being a hipster barista / struggling artist. – daniel Jun 19 '17 at 08:37
  • @Kevin not according Ramsey. It means getting pregnant, losing job, major illness, etc. – DavePhD Jun 19 '17 at 10:32
  • @DavePhD Getting pregnant is considered a negative financial event? I suppose if it was an unexpected/unwanted pregnancy, but in general I suspect most parents would consider their kids to be a net benefit. – JAB Jun 20 '17 at 17:48
  • @JAB that's Ramsey's wording, not mine. "Sue gets pregnant or Joe gets laid off or Joe gets hurt on the job or there is a death in the family " https://books.google.com/books?id=3BhiXcAYgj4C&pg=PA112&dq=sue+gets+pregnant+of+joe+gets+laid+or+or+joe+gets+hurt&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjKzLKT_8zUAhVIPj4KHct1CAMQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=sue%20gets%20pregnant%20of%20joe%20gets%20laid%20or%20or%20joe%20gets%20hurt&f=false – DavePhD Jun 20 '17 at 17:55