Anecdotes are amusing or interesting short stories frequently used in a narrative framework to demonstrate a point or make readers ponder an idea. The Total Money Makeover is filled with anecdotes of people who have used Dave Ramsey’s steps to achieve financial success. Ramsey also provides anecdotes from his own life.

Ramsey’s anecdotes position him as the author-protagonist of a hero’s journey from despair to wealth. He gives the account of how he went bankrupt after struggling up from humble beginnings and making millions of dollars in real estate. He repeatedly talks about how going broke forced him to sell his precious Jaguar, a moment that highlights the necessity of “making a decision about looking good versus being good” (33). He adds as a “footnote” (88) that once he let go of the need for a fancy car, God allowed him to have a Jaguar again. He illustrates his biblical gazelle metaphor about debt with a story of watching a cheetah chase a gazelle on television. Talking specifically to men, he emphasizes that having adequate emergency funds will bring the women in their lives peace of mind; he also discusses how his own bad financial decisions left his wife, Sharon, feeling helpless and scared at their lowest point.