No Matter What (review)
Dave Ramey study for teens

No Matter What is a 7-week video-based course with a companion, 32-page fill-in-the-blank workbook. A typical class would include a 30-minute video teaching followed by a discussion time. If time allows, there are also suggested activities to reinforce the lesson – or you can play a clip from the “Reality Bites” CD (“Reality Bites” are tracks from the Dave Ramsey Show featuring 20-something callers asking financial questions and Dave giving an entertaining response).

Strengths:

• Session themes draw on familiar themes from the successful Financial Peace University (i.e. super savers, cash flow planning, buyer beware, the great misunderstanding, etc.). 
  

• The student workbook is only 32 pages! A big plus for teens that might otherwise be intimidated by thick books. 
  

• Chapter 4 (“The Cost of Your Life”) is a great addition for the soon-to-be–adults audience, helping teens discover about what it actually costs to live on your own.
  

• The section on giving (“The Great Misunderstanding”) is very good, walking teens through key scriptures on God’s ownership and the joy of generosity. 
  

• Although it’s not marketed this way, this course could potentially be adapted for adults, as it’s essentially a very condensed version of the 13-week Financial Peace University. 
  

• Each lesson ends with a prayer focus tied to that week’s theme. 
  

• The activities are creative and very practical. For example, teens are instructed to search the newspapers to discover “real life” cost and wages (i.e. apartments, cars, jobs, etc.)

Potential Concerns:

• The video lessons are mostly existing Financial Peace University footage, edited for the No Matter What course (in other words, the video content isn’t necessarily aimed specifically at teens). 
  

• If time is a concern, you may need to adjust how much time you give to the video lessons, which are designed to fill the first 30 minutes of each class. 
  

• While Financial Peace University emphasizes a lot of group interaction and take-home assignments in order to help people develop new habits, No Matter What emphasizes content in class with only a couple take-home assignments in the workbook.