The Rachel Cruze Show - Here’s When Saving Your Money Is a Bad Idea

Episode Date: September 19, 2025

📈 Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a free personalized plan.   I know this may be a shocker coming from me, but saving your money can go too far. In this video, find out 3 things to keep in mind as you save and spend wisely.   Next Steps: 🎥 Watch my video Toxic Money Lies That Are Keeping You Broke 💵 This is the simplest way to budget. Download the EveryDollar app for free!   Connect With Our Sponsors:   Learn more about Christian Healthcare Ministries. Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. Go to FAIRWINDS Credit Union for an exclusive account bundle!   Explore More From Ramsey Network: 🍸 Smart Money Happy Hour 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 💰 George Kamel 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So I'm always fascinated by what really resonates with people on social media. And so recently, a reel of mine got a lot of shares and comments. And I was talking about when saving your money goes too far. So we're going to revisit this. So here's the reel I was talking about. Hey, go spend your money. Yeah, I'm talking to you. If you have gotten out of debt, if you have some money saved in an emergency funds and you have some extra margin, some extra money, go and enjoy it.

Some of you work so hard to get to a great place financially. And then you feel like you're still in this bondage of like, oh, I can't spend anything. No, don't do that. No, open your hand. Go and be generous. Pay for someone's meal. Go and spend it on experiences with the people that you love. Use money as a tool in your life to enjoy it.

Don't hoard it. Okay, and here's what I meant in this post, that so many people work the Ramsey plan and they are so locked in, they are so committed, which I so appreciate. because I think you do have to be pretty hardcore to see progress with your money. And it's going to feel really hardcore, especially if you change the way you've been handling money, right? If debt's been a part of your life and you stop going into debt and you start paying it off, it's going to feel hardcore.

You're budgeting and you're saying no, maybe to yourself that you haven't said no to yourself in a long time. You're like, nope, we are not going on to eat because we don't have any more money in the budget. So no. Like that can feel really hardcore. But what is so great, though, is you see so much momentum when you go scorched earth, especially at the beginning, where we always say, you know, you're not going on to eat, you're not going on vacation, do nothing with your money, but get out of debt. Let that be one of

your first goals. And then get an emergency fund in place. And once all of that is set, then you can move on to baby steps four, five, six, and then eventually seven, which means you're funding retirement, saving for kids college, putting some extra money towards the house to get it paid off sooner, like all of this, which is so great. But that is the place where you have a little bit more of that wiggle room where you're like, yeah, you know, you can upgrade furniture, you can go on a trip, upgrade a car, like actually do things with your life where at the beginning, you're doing nothing with your money, but paying off debt and getting an emergency fund. Once you do that, though, then the next step is this mindset of like relaxing and you're okay. Yes, you still have a plan.

You're still doing some active things with your money, which is important. But overall, you should relax and have the ability to spend and enjoy your life. And so the problem is, is people on baby steps four, five, six, and even seven are still not having fun with their money. They're still like using Groupon for everything, and they have to get a deal and everything has to be on sale. And they don't ever want to spend money. And if they spend money, it's like a very big deal and all this. And I just want to like, shake your shoulders and be like, hey, chill, enjoy your money. Go spend your money.

Go and enjoy it. That's part of working so hard with it. And to get that margin so that you can enjoy it, have. with it. That's why you're doing this is to create a life that you love, right? And so, listen, no matter where you fall financially in the moment, remember these three things when it comes to spending money wisely. Number one, money is just as much of an idol when you obsessively restrict it. Okay. So it can be an idol and it can be this thing that we worship, but people look at that at the end of like a big lifestyle and oh my gosh, we worship the things and the consumer side or

the number in the bank account, like whatever it is. Like, that can be an idol. Absolutely, it can be. And we don't want to worship at the idol of stuff because stuff is not going to make us happy long term. We can enjoy it and have fun with it, but it's definitely not the thing that is going to fulfill us or create this identity in us.

It's not. It's just not. So that is an idol. But then also, it can be an idol on the other end of the spectrum when all you do is save it. And you end up hoarding it and you end up stressing about anything, even though you have the money. You're still stressed about it.

And you're like, no, that's not what it should be. So that level of restricting yourself and not doing anything and like, oh, it's just like save and save and save and save and save and save and save. And we can't ever buy a nice car. We can never go on a nice vacation. Like, we're not doing any of that. No, we're just going to save money. That is as much as an idol as those that are looking for money to fulfill them.

Okay? So remember that. Both ends of that spectrum are not good. The middle, the balance of both of those is what's healthy. All right. Number two, money is a tool that should be used to enrich your life. So money is one of these things. It's not a scorecard. It's not your identity. It's not who you are. Your value does not come out of your salary or how much is in a checking account or an investment account. Okay, it's just not. That does not equate to you as a human being. So that is what money is not. But what

money is is a tool to create a life that you want. And that means, yes, you can have some luxuries in that and enjoy yourself. Absolutely. You can do things to help your kids advance financially, not entitlement or any of that, but I'm just saying in general, changing the way you look and view money and even helping them in some ways. You know, that's great. That's a beautiful thing. Being generous, right? And being able to help other people, you know, organizations, like whatever that looks like for you. So money is a tool to create a life that you love. And we want the balance of all of it. So we always talk about that money. You can really do three things with it. You can give it, save it, and spend it. And you need to be doing all of that. And so that is using it as a tool in

your life with a really healthy balance versus thinking like, again, I can't either on one end, I'm going to spend it all and put all my value there. We don't want that or the other end again. We're not going to hoard it. So make a plan. And yes, spend it and enjoy it. Now, if you don't have a plan with your money. Make sure to check out our get started assessment to help you create a personalized plan for you. So I'll put a link down below so you can check it out. All right, I'm about to go into a minor rant about how some of us need to stop building bigger barns, if you will. But before I explain what I mean, I do want to tell you about delete me. So if you don't remove your personal data from the internet, it's basically like a billboard for all to see because your name, your address,

your email, even your kids' names are out there on sketchy data broker websites. and those data brokers collect your data, sell it, and that puts you at risk for scams and fraud. But the good news is, DeleteMe goes in and removes your information to help protect you from fishing, harassment, and other online threats. So your family safety and financial security are way too important to leave exposed.

So go to join DeleteMe.com slash Rachel for 20% off their annual plans, bringing your monthly cost to under $9 a month, or just click the link in the description. All right, number three, remember this. You can't take it with you. You can't. When you're done here, you're done. It's just your soul that lives on is what I believe.

I don't know what you believe. But, you know, like all of this is done. So what are we going to do? What are we going to do with that? Because the hope is, yes, you are putting yourself in a place financially where you are going to have surplus, right? You are. And instead of being prideful about it and protective about it

and just again locking it up and never touching again, how can we use it for the future? What does this look like? And what do I mean by that? I mean, you know, when you look at your relationships, when you look at your family, when you look at experiences and all of it, there's something to be said. The future of your money can be put and handled in a really wise way, but you have to be proactive with it. So some people have a take. There's a book called Die with Zero. And part of it, I just love, because it is this mentality of you can't take it with you. So use the money while you're alive, whether use it to give it away, or while you're alive. Use it for your kids that while you're alive instead of waiting until you're dead

and them get your money, like give them some now to use for their life. You know, doing things with experiences of the people you love, like use it now while you're alive. And there's a take on that that I really do like because I do think we can get in this place where we can, what the Bible says, you're just building bigger barns just to house more and more. And there's kind of a point of like, what is the point of all of this, right? Now, I do believe in changing your family and that there's a legacy to be left because scripture also says that a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. So I think there's a balance in it for sure. But some people take that leave it from my children's children and that's it. And they just keep going and they keep building

and building and building and building. And they never enjoy what they've had while they're here on earth. Like enjoy it. And so there's a balance there, you guys. And I really do want you to wrestle with it because I don't know, you kind of can get to a point where like you win financially and it's great. wonderful. But there is a point of like, okay, are we just going to keep just putting money aside every month? Like, I don't know. Like there gets to a point that you and or if you're married, you have a family, like there is something that you want to create some value systems in place because money is an incredible thing, but also it could be a very dangerous thing. And so you want to live in a really healthy balance of it all. And so for the future, knowing we can't take

it with you, does that change the way you handle money today while you're alive? You know, what does that change within you? And also having the idea of, yeah, like it's a beautiful thing for a legacy to be passed down. But not always is the legacy actual money. It may be the mindset, the values around money, all of it. So it's just something to keep in mind because I think all of this is really important. And especially those of you out there that have been winning for a really long time with money, start expanding your mind and challenging yourself and your thinking because it's just really healthy and good.

So listen, there was a time and a place for savings. but don't forget, there are financial habits out there that you should avoid at all costs. So to find out what I mean, check out my episode, Toxic Money Lies that are keeping you broke coming up next. Or if you're listening on podcasts, I'll leave a link below. All right, you guys, remember to take control of your money and create a life you love.