George Kamel - 8 Unexpected Things Millionaires Own

Episode Date: March 3, 2025

📈 Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a free personalized plan. Believe it or not, you’re more likely to see a millionaire driving a trusty Toyota than aLamborghini. In this episode, find out which eight things most millionaires own and why you should probably own them too. Next Steps: • 🎥 Watch my video How Much You Should Have in Your 401(k)—by Age. • 🛡️ Get 15% off a will from Mama Bear Legal Forms with promo code GEORGE15. • 💰 Get Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Investing. • 💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app! Connect With Our Sponsors: • 🔒 Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. • 💸 Learn more about opening a high-yield savings account with Laurel Road. • 📱 Get $5 off Tello's Unlimited Plan and enjoy great nationwide coverage for only $20 at Tello. Explore More From Ramsey Network: 🎙️ The Ramsey Show   🍸 Smart Money Happy Hour 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A million dollars can buy a lot of stuff. A Matt Black G-Wagon, designer undies, a bejeweled jet ski with your name airbrushed on the side. Hey, whatever rocks your yacht, bro? And believe it or not, there are eight things that are owned by most millionaires, and they're not what you'd expect. So in today's video, we'll talk about what those things are and why you should own them too.

But first, click those like and subscribe buttons, and share this with all your friends who are just $1 million shy of becoming a millionaire. So close. Good things are coming. Good things. Okay. First up on our list of things millionaire's own falls into the category of appreciating assets. Quick refresher, an appreciating asset is something that goes up in value after you buy it.

Examples include real estate, land, and investments like index funds or mutual funds. A depreciating asset, on the other hand, is something that goes down in value after you buy it. Examples of this would be cars, electronics, appliances, mobile homes, and much to the chagrin of millennials, the vast majority of Arbini babies. Including Dinky the Dodo. No, not you, Dinky. Not you. Wow, that was weird. Most millionaires understand the difference between appreciating and depreciating assets.

So it should come as no surprise that most of them are homeowners because a house is very likely to go up in value over time, adding to their net worth. And not only do they own a home, but they tend to pay off their mortgage early as well, which means they really own their home. And Ramsey's Solutions surveyed around 10,000 net worth millionaires, and we found that the average millionaire pays off their house in just 10.2 years.

So if you own a home, you might be a millionaire, especially if that home is paid off. Another thing millionaires do? They drive reliable, used cars, and they pay for them in cash, in full. Our research showed that the average millionaire drives a four-year-old car with 41,000 miles on it, and eight out of ten millionaire car buyers drove away without a car payment. Which makes so much sense. Why would you pay interest on a depreciating asset? That's adding insult to auto injury. And if you've been in a wreck—I'm kidding. Although, let's be honest, guys. Encore career? You bet your bottom dollar. I'd be a personal injury attorney on every billboard, on every park bench and a bad suit jacket, saying,

Call Camel! Leave me your best tagline in the comments, and I'll send you my book if I choose it. How's that? Let's go, caption contest. This is going to be good. And speaking of the comments, before you jump in there with, Yeah, if I had a million dollars, I'd pay cash for a car too. Cool your khakis, Mark. Okay? You don't have to be a millionaire to pay cash for a car. Let me fill you in on a little secret. Don't start with the car you want. Start with the car you can afford. What a concept. If you weren't happy with the cars you can afford, just remember, this is not a lifelong commitment.

Drive the cheaper car, take all the money you're saving on a car payment, and stash that away to save up for a better car down the road. That's called delayed gratification and common sense. That's how grandpa used to do it. Now, back in 2017, I did this. I paid six grand for an 09 Honda Civic EXL that had, seen some things, okay? Sure, it had a little body damage, but who among us is perfectly intact, okay? And I drove that Honda for about five years until I could afford something nicer,

and then I sold it to my friend Kelly, whose son immediately crashed it. Don't worry, he's fine. The Civic, though, totaled. All right, P, King. The point is, I drove like no one else, so later I could drive like no one else. And here's an idea. Maybe stop trying to impress people with the vehicle you drive? Looking at you, Dale, your fully loaded RAM-1500 TRX with an underglow LED kit and the little wadda. Got a little wadder to climb up. And I'm sure all that horsepower comes in handy. When you do a little grocery pickup at Kroger,

man, it can fit so much stuff. You're getting mulch at lows twice a year. All right? Don't act like you're hauling anything important. Get out of here. Hell, you know what the F stands for, right? Freedom. So here's the deal.

We don't care what you drive. And apparently most millionaires don't care what you think about their car. According to a study done by researchers at Experian Automotive, 61% of wealthy people actually drive hondas, Toyota's and Ford's. Oh my. So if you own a paid-for, 2021 Honda Accord with 41,000 miles on it,

you might be a millionaire, my friend. And if you're not, you're well on your way. Another common trend you see with millionaires, they don't wear flashy, expensive clothes. Our research shows real millionaires spend an average of $117 per month on clothing. Meanwhile, the average middle-class American household spends 146 each month. So real millionaires tend to look more like Gilligan than Thurston Howell the third. And if you get that reference, congrats on still being alive. Glad my target demo is the old folks home. I love

the young people. And get this. 35% of net worth millionaires in the study said they use coupons all the time. Another 58% use them some of the time. And for those of you doing the math at home, that leaves only 7% who said they never use coupons. So even millionaires

love a good deal, including ya boy. So if you own a couple pairs of Costco jeans, maybe a pullover that you got at a discount, you might be a millionaire. Another thing millionaires understand is how to minimize risk. And one of the best ways you can do this is by having a fully funded emergency fund. This is your never go into debt again insurance. Nearly half the millionaires we surveyed, so they save at least 16% of their monthly income. Now, how much are they saving in these emergency funds? Three to six months of expenses. And that should be enough to cover the repair

bill when your Kia Sorrento starts making a noise that sounds like a T-Rex choking on a harmonica. And a great place to store your emergency fund is a high-yield savings account. aka an H-Y-Y-S-A, L-O-L-L. This is a type of savings account offered by banks and credit unions with a much higher interest rate than traditional savings accounts. And if you're gonna have a big chunk of money

parked somewhere for a while, for an emergency fund, for a new-to-you car, maybe even for a down payment, you might as well be earning some sweet interest on. And if you want to know the one I use, I'll save you all the research that you would be doing.

Just check out the link in the description to open one up. So if you're the proud owner of a high-yield savings account that contains three to six months of living expenses, you might be a millionaire. Okay, another common theme you see with millionaires is they're intentional with their money.

And if you want to be intentional with your money, you need an intentional spending plan, otherwise known as a budget. Now listen, budgets are not just for nerds and broke people. They're for anyone who's serious about winning with money. And also nerds and broke people. And the app that I use to budget and track my expenses is called Every Dollar.

It's a free download, super easy to use, does the math for you. If you want to check it out, click the link in the description below or go to Everydollar.com slash George. Bottom line here, wealthy people don't just spend money willy-nilly. They give every dollar a job and they use their financial margin to build wealth instead of building other people's wealth. So if you own a phone and have a budgeting app installed on it, you might be a millionaire.

And speaking of building wealth, another thing millionaires understand is compound growth. And in case you need a refresher on that one, here's how compound growth works. Let's say you invest $10,000 and you get a 10% return. You just made $1,000 on your money. So after one year, you'd have a total of $11,000. The next year, you get the same 10% return on that $11,000. making you $1,100 this year, which brings your total to $12,100. Now, you repeat this process over a long enough period of time,

and that compound growth means you'll eventually have way more money than you put in. In fact, it's not uncommon to find that 80 to 90% of your nest egg at retirement age was due to compound growth, meaning only 10 to 20% was the money you put into it. But that does take time. The average millionaire hits the $1 million mark at 49 years old after decades of working, saving, and investing. So it's a good idea to start investing as soon as, you're financially ready. But where do millionaires invest to take advantage of this compound growth?

Some sort of private investment opportunity only available to trust fund Harvard grads and the descendants of railroad tycoons? No, it's actually a simple investment vehicle that's available to most working Americans, including you. According to our study, eight out of 10 millionaires invested in their company's 401k plan. And that simple step was the key to their financial success. It's not super exciting, but it works. And it's what they're actually doing. I recommend investing 15% of your gross income into a tax-advantaged retirement account, like your company 401K, 403B, TSP, even a Roth IRA. Then when you get the house paid off, as millionaires do, you can max out your retirement accounts and even invest outside of retirement accounts. This is the proven way to build wealth.

Three out of four millionaires said that regular, consistent investing over a long period of time is the reason for their success. Sorry to bore you with how boring that is. I wish I had a cooler answer. Boring but ultimately advantageous. So if you're the owner of a tax advantage retirement account, you might be a millionaire, especially if it's maxed out every year. Now, whether you're a millionaire or not, you don't want to fall victim to some online scammer and lose your hard-earned money.

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So help protect yourself from the risks of online scams and data breaches with DeleteMe. And right now, as a George Camel fan, you'll get 20% off by going to join Deleteme.com slash George. Or click the link in the description below. Now, I don't know what the average millionaire pays for their phone plan, but why pay more if you don't have to? See if you can save some money by switching to Tello, another sponsor of today's episode. Tello has crazy affordable phone plans that get you the same reliable cover. and features as the big guys, but with pricing as low as five bucks a month. And if you want to never worry about data limits like me,

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Another common trend among wealthy people, they stay away from bad financial products, like permanent life insurance. These are insurance policies that cover the insured person for their entire life and include a cash value portion. Basically, it tries to be two things at once, insurance and savings. And it does both poorly. Like your friend Chaz, whose Instagram bio says entrepreneur slash DJ. He's not really excelling at either one.

Oh, have you met entrepreneur? The main types of these permanent life insurance products you see are whole life, universal life, indexed universal life, and variable universal life. And these policies are peddled by insurance agents posing as far as far as far as. financial advisors and wealth strategists. They'll tell you that it's a great way to build your savings and even build wealth. But permanent life insurance locks you in for years with high costs and high commissions. And if you stop paying your premium, your cash value and insurance vanish. And with most policies, your family often won't even get the cash value when you die. It goes to the insurance company. Call it a parting gift. It's a terrible financial product and savvy

millionaires know that term life insurance makes way more sense. Term life is a fraction of the cost of whole life and you can invest the difference to build way more wealth on your own. With a term life policy, you get it for a term, like 15 or 20 years. And once that policy is up, you'll be self-insured by then because you follow the advice on this channel. You've been investing for those 15 or 20 years. And you've paid off your house, meaning your family's going to be a-okay if something were to happen to you. So if you're the owner of a term life insurance policy, you might be a millionaire. Another thing wealthy people do is make sure their family is taken care of when they pass. So listen, every adult

needs a will, whether they have a lot of money or just a few belongings. This is not just for the wealthy. It's for anyone who wants to make sure their assets go to the right people and their loved ones are taken care of after they've, you know, yeed their last haul. It's a family-friendly show. Remember, by not having a will, what you're really saying is, I trust the government to just guess.

And you better believe most millionaires are not going to leave it to chance or worse, the same people who brought you the DMV. Not the DMV. So if you've got a will in place, you might be a millionaire. And if you don't have one, get it done today. I'm begging you. Do what I did. knock it out online in no time. I'll sweeten the deal for you. Go to ramsysolutions.com

slash will or click the link in the description. Use promo code George 15 for 15% off your will. Hashtag not sponsored, I just literally want to save you money. So go check it out and get it done. Okay, so you've probably noticed this list of things millionaire's own isn't full of flashy expensive stuff like luxury watches, private jets and giant mansions on secluded islands. In fact, most of the things on this list aren't even physical things. And that's because most net worth millionaires are more into stealth will. They don't care about showing off their money. And if you ask me, that's way more of a flex

than posting TikToks of yourself leaning against the hood of your leased Lambo wearing a gold chain that says, FTX yourself before you wrecks yourself. Gross. I say, shut it down. And speaking of leases, you know what most millionaires don't have? Debt payments?

They're not hanging on to student loans, racking up credit card debt, and they're definitely not leasing fancy cars to impress people. In fact, nearly three quarters of millionaires we studied have never carried a credit card balance in their entire life. They're not going back,

they're building for the future instead of paying for the past. If you want to know exactly what you can do to start building for the future, check out the Ramsey Investing Guide. It's completely free and it's got all the info you need to build wealth the smart way with peace and confidence. I'll drop a link for you in the description below. And if you want to know if you're on track, keep watching this next video to see how much you should have in your 401k by age

or click the link in the description to watch. Thank you guys for watching. We'll see you next time.