Sometimes you can get the best advice by poking the bear.<\/p>\n
One write-in guest on The Ramsey Show found out the hard way after trying to \u201cmake sense\u201d of Dave Ramsey\u2019s investment advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep saying to invest $100 a month beginning at age 30 and you\u2019ll be worth $5 million at 70 years old,\u201d wrote a man named Isaiah. \u201cThat\u2019s the most ridiculous thing I\u2019ve ever heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Isaiah pointed out that the life expectancy of a white American male is 72 years old, while for a Black male it\u2019s 68, meaning \u201cmost people will never live to see $5 million.\u201d He asked Ramsey to help him \u201cmake sense of this advice\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ramsey, who called Isaiah \u201centitled\u201d and \u201cbelligerent,\u201d said the real issue is the idea \u201cyou\u2019re supposed to get rich in 10 minutes\u201d.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s why investing still makes sense \u2014 even if America\u2019s lifespan stats suggest many men won\u2019t live long enough to enjoy all their savings.<\/p>\n
Ramsey admitted that Isaiah isn\u2019t completely wrong about life expectancy, but said he was putting words in his mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have never said $100 a month from [ages] 30 to 70 is $5 million \u2014 it\u2019s not,\u201d Ramsey said, in a recent episode<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s $1,176,000, and that would be true of \u2026 any 40-year period of time you wanted to pick.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2023, the life expectancy for a man born in the U.S. was 75.8 years. For women, it was 81.1, according to the National Center for Health Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n A Stanford study also found that \u201cpeople who survive to age 65 are continuing to live longer than their parents \u2014 a trend that doesn\u2019t appear to be slowing down.\u201d<\/p>\n Ramsey said that saving $100 a month was an example \u2014 the idea is to save something every month and start building a \u201cmoney mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan \u2018works every single time\u2019 to kill debt, get rich in America<\/a> \u2014 and that \u2018anyone\u2019 can do it<\/strong><\/p>\n A money mindset is \u201cyour unique set of beliefs and your attitude about money,\u201d explained co-host Rachel Cruze in a blog for Ramsey Solutions<\/a>.<\/p>\n That mindset \u201cdrives the decisions you make about saving, spending and handling money\u201d and \u201cshapes the way you feel about debt.\u201d<\/p>\n Story Continues <\/p>\n Cruze pointed to a Ramsey Solutions study of more than 10,000 millionaires, which found that 97% believed they could become millionaires. \u201cAnd having that mindset \u2014 not an inheritance, fancy education or wealthy parents \u2014 is exactly what caused them to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n Some people have an \u201cabundance mindset,\u201d a belief that there are plenty of opportunities for everyone to grow wealth. Others have a \u201cscarcity mindset,\u201d the belief that resources are limited and wealth is hard to come by.<\/p>\n An abundance mindset focuses on possibilities and potential. A scarcity mindset focuses on limitations and fear, which can lead to unhealthy financial behaviors, such as overspending or hoarding.<\/p>\n Changing your mindset is easier said than done. It often means identifying where your limiting beliefs come from \u2014 maybe your upbringing or past money mistakes. Then it takes time and self-reflection to overcome them.<\/p>\n An abundance mindset means looking at how to build wealth over time. It\u2019s not just about saving $100 a month \u2014 it\u2019s about how you use that money, whether through growing assets, investing or developing passive income streams.<\/p>\n