I love Dave......disagree with some of what he says, specifically around the investing piece, but honestly, if I had not stumbled across him about 5-6 years ago, I would still be pissing away a ery good combined income and sitting with student loans that are 20 years old.
His advice on debt elimination are spot on. The reality is that most people are in debt because either 1) they do not understand the math or 2) they cannot control themselves. His advice provides a blueprint for folks to get traction and see progress - and that is what people that are less that financially savvy need in order to become successful. It is what I needed at the time I came across him. When my wife and I came across him, we were carrying a bunch of debt and had very little savings - neither Emergency Funds or Retirement. Today.....no debt but the house, and a net worth of about 500K. Now, things have REALLY accelerated since I started reading the MMM forums, but if I would not have had the foundation Dave provided, there is no way I would be where I am.
With that said, I will be able to entertain FIRE if that is what DW and I want to do, sometime in the next 7-10 years because of some of the principles I have picked up here.
Dave and MMM are just like anything else - take the good parts and leave the ones that do not align to your thought process, etc. The two of them together for us has provided a machine that is allowing us to both build wealth and keep risk in check - we are actively paying down our mortgage and also saving at a 50%+ rate.
TC