The current #2 best-selling book in Amazon.com's "Personal Finance" category is Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. It's spent plenty of time on the New York Times bestseller lists, too.

Ramsey buttresses book sales with his popular 300-station syndicated radio program, "The Dave Ramsey Show". In October 2007 he launched the TV version of his radio show, which anchors the brand-new FOX Business Network's prime-time schedule with an 8 p.m. airtime.

Throw in a complete financial course called "Financial Peace University", taught online and through various church groups, as well as the "My Money Makeover" membership website, and you've got a total-package financial guru.

Ramsey's style is blunt and intense. It's also down-home, folksy, motivating and biblically-based. If you like brutal honesty you'll love Ramsey. His company's mission statement says it all: "The Lampo Group, Inc. is providing biblically based, common sense education and empowerment which gives HOPE to everyone from the financially secure to the financially distressed."

So how does Ramsey help you complete a total money makeover?

He recommends that you cut up all your credit cards, something Ramsey charmingly calls a "plasectomy". He doesn't just talk the talk; his website won't take credit cards. He also has you take a good, hard look at your assets (or lack thereof), debts, income and expenses.

Don't expect a ton of sympathy from Ramsey, despite the fact he's personally been through bankruptcy and experienced the loss of a $4 million real-estate fortune in his twenties. He's got back on track and figures you can, too. You'll be prompted to take additional jobs, cut back in any and all areas of your spending, and sell anything and everything that can bring you extra cash. (One of my favorite lines from Ramsey's book is that, when it comes to selling stuff, "..the kids should be very afraid they're next".)

Once you've got your house in order, you begin your money makeover with "baby steps", including:

Emergency fund of $1000
Pay off all debt using a debt snowball
Save 3 to 6 months' living expenses
Invest 15% of household income in pre-tax or Roth IRA accounts
Fund college for any children
Pay off home early
Build wealth and give

Those "baby steps" may seem obvious, or trite, to most Americans, but if that's so, it begs the question: why aren't more Americans living this way? Ramsey's genius is that he brings what he calls "gazelle intensity" to your money makeover. You're a gazelle, debt is a cheetah, and you need to do whatever it takes to survive and thrive.

Ramsey peppers his book with plenty of real-life testimonials, a feature I found to be mildly annoying. It's a double-edged sword: either the testimonials will encourage and motivate you, or they'll depress you. Do you frequently compare yourself to others? Are you a perfectionist? Do you usually give up before you start if something seems too hard? If so, skip the testimonials and stick with the how-to.

Speaking of "how-to", the companion Total Money Makeover Workbook is a terrific way to put Ramsey's ideas into action. It features lots of useful forms and charts and has a narrative that makes it a useful tool even if you've never read Total Money Makeover.

In today's uncertain economy it's even more important to dump debt and get your savings and investments on track. If you choose to go Dave Ramsey's way, you won't go wrong.

Buy Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover from Amazon.com

Buy The Total Money Makeover Workbook from Amazon.com