The Ramsey Show - App - Anyone Can Become a Millionaire… Here’ How (Hour 3)

Episode Date: July 27, 2022

Dave Ramsey & Ken Coleman interview every day millionaires to find out how they built their wealth. Want a plan for your money? Find out where to start: https://bit.ly/3nInETX Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey Show, where debt is done, cash is king, and the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. This is the Ramsey Show. We help people build wealth, do work that they really love, and create amazing relationships. Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, number one best-selling author, is my co-host today. And this hour is a blast!

We get to talk with people who have successfully become wealthy. One way to gauge that is your net worth. When you have a net worth of a million dollars or more, you are called a millionaire. A millionaire is not someone that makes a million dollars a year. Your net worth is defined as your income, your assets minus your liabilities. What you own minus what you owe equals your net worth. When you have that number be a million dollars, you are a millionaire. Well, I don't feel like a millionaire. It's not a feeling. Well, no one should have that much wealth.

It's not a moral construct. It is a freaking math formula. And when I hear some of these politicians go, well, he makes a million dollars a year. He's a millionaire you it just makes me one of my mind explode because they don't even know what they're talking about there's only one definition of millionaire only one when you have a net worth of a million dollars or greater that's all we're going to talk about and here's the interesting thing we've done the largest study of millionaires in North America ever done. 10,167 millionaires interviewed.

More than statistically sound. More than statistically significant. Airtight research. And we have data to back this up. And we started doing this hour a few years ago talking to actual millionaires. Some of them became millionaires from inheritance. Some of them became millionaires from luck. Some of them became millionaires from hard work and saving. Some of them became millionaires by following the baby steps.

We call those baby steps millionaires. And we wrote a book about it that's a number one bestseller that has the study of the millionaires in the back of it, and so it's a great book to read to go along with all this. So, Ken, we're going to take calls this hour only from real millionaires and find out how they really did it, because everybody's got an opinion, but let's talk to the real guy. Yeah, and this is the place where we celebrate millionaires, not put guilt on them for being greedy.

You know, I forgot about that. You're supposed to be ashamed, but're not we're not we are not ashamed and we are not ashamed of you we're happy for you if you inherited it if you won the lottery if you worked your tail off if you started i don't care what you did as long as you didn't steal it then we're going to celebrate you as being a millionaire steven is our first millionaire up this hour steven is in winston-salem north carolina steven what is your net worth he's shy of four million right now cool way to go man that's awesome so uh how old are you i am 62 you and i are the same age about two months months apart. I love it. Many times. Very cool. So give me the breakdown on the $4 million. How's it break out? Real estate investments and

what? About 2.6 in retirement, about 200 in cash outside of retirement, about $950,000 in a paid for beach house and our primary residence. Way go good good for you love it that's a great breakdown by the way okay so how much of this did you inherit i think i inherited 5 000 when my dad died we bought a dining room table with it what i inherited from my dad was work ethic and do whatever it takes there you go i like that's a good inheritance if you got to choose that's the best kind uh and so and uh what was your range of income during your working lifetime the last 40 years or so what was your best year household income and worst year oh probably worst year probably down as low as 15 000 probably best year or somewhere to go on 15 200

000 okay and what'd you do for a, or do you do it for a living? Well, I'm self-employed, so I'm a flooring inspector. I do forensics for flooring warranties. Okay. Do you have a four-year degree? I have a master's in business and a four-year degree, and I took a two-month-old baby to class for three and a half years to get that four-year degree.

I love it. So what was your gpa in college probably about 3.8 in graduate or excuse me in the undergraduate probably about the same graduate wow show off that's impressive 3.8 so are you guys uh are you guys tv people or book people at night well i, I don't watch much TV. If I watch TV, it'll be a video because I can't stand what's on TV. Okay. All right.

I'll go with that. I travel a lot, so I do a lot of books in the car. Yeah. So can this still be done if somebody's out there 25 years old and listening to you and me? I wish I would have started back when I was 27. I started when I was 46. Wow. Wow. Okay.

So you think it could still be done now? Oh, yes. All day long. What do you think they should do if they want to be you when they grow up? Well, yeah. So I think Warren Buffett said, you know, you have to pay yourself first and then live within your means and make some smart investments and just do it like the turtles. Short, slow, sweet, and steady. Wow.

So you said you started at 46. I think a lot of people would love to hear what the starting point looked like. Where were you financially when you started this path at 46? Okay, well, let me go to a little bit of background with Dave because my wife and I, when I started, I had two businesses at the time. I had a carpet cleaning company that I started, and then a year later started the business I own now. And about three days before our 22nd anniversary, my wife decided to move out. We went through counsel for a little bit, divorced, filed the next year, had a pastor and his wife devote nine months of their time to get our marriage back together.

And so we renewed our vows. So the first time I met Dave, this is back way many years ago in Knoxville. We did the VIP tickets. We got to eat lunch with you, Sharon, and the kids. Wow. And then we went back that year and did the financial counselor training together. That was the class where the one teammate lost a wife and a child in a car accident. Oh, yeah.

You came out to talk to us during lunch, had your team member features in the newsletter, and I went back that year and did entree leadership. You and I had dinner or lunch a couple times there at the Vanderbilt Marriott when you were doing entree leadership. Man, that was a long time ago. Oh, yeah. This was 20-plus years ago. Oh, yeah. And then you sent a crew, just a maker and a crew to our house aboutplus years ago. Oh, yeah. And then, you know, you sent a crew, Justin Baker and a crew,

to our house about three years ago, right before Everyday Millionaires launched. And they spent a day with us, an entire day. So my granddaughter, actually, half her life she's lived with us, and she got to be in the second half of the video. So a long time, and you've been following our story. So you'd remember me if you saw me. Oh, I know who you are. So now that you've brought all that up because I've seen the videos,

so you truly are a Baby Steps millionaire, and you started at 46 from broke. Correct. And one of my 25th anniversary gifts to my wife when we got back together, well, I had to lie to her because I told her, forgive me for lying, but I had already set up a meeting at our small group leader's house, and she thought we were going there for something after church. And I actually had her dad come down from Pennsylvania to get her sister in Georgia, brought them up. So they were running behind. So I had to kind of lie to her and say, hey, I got to stop and get some ice because Leanne needs some ice.

And she had an ice maker there, and Linda just didn't think about it. So we walked in. I said, happy anniversary again. She said, what's this? I said, Mel, that check-in house is paid for eight years into 15-year loan. We paid the house off. Wow. That's worth a lot.

Well played. Well played. Well played. Hey, good to talk to you, man. Proud of you. Proud of you. Very cool stuff. It's a Baby Steps Millionaires theme hour.

This is the Ramsey Show. Let me tell you a story about two families that are very much alike in a lot of ways. Both families have two working parents and a couple of young kids. Each has debt and has struggled to make ends meet. But they're starting to make headway with their budgets and smarter decisions with money. They have dreams and plans, and the only real difference is that one family has the right amount of term life insurance,

and the other doesn't. Big difference. If one of the parents die, and that does happen, their well-being would be destroyed. Paying for the mortgage, utilities, food, and other bills would be impossible, let alone saving for education or retirement. That's why every day I talk relentlessly about getting term life insurance. Just go to zanderinsurance.com or call 800-356-4282 and see how inexpensive it really is. Be the family that takes those deliberate steps to be different and responsible. It really does make you the hero of your story, and it puts you on course for better things ahead. ken coleman ramsey personalities my co-host today this hour is a baby steps millionaires

theme hour we're talking to real millionaires not your broke brother-in-law about where millionaires come from isn't it funny how broke people have a lot of opinions about this i've been broke but listen here's the thing you're not supposed to have opinions about people who have wealth if you're not one unless you actually are basing that in facts instead of your jealousy or your socialistic tendencies especially around here because this is the number one and number two capitalist pigs on the air today. I like where this is going.

So there you go. Hey, if you're struggling with money out there, it's all-consuming. I've been there. I remember being so scared I couldn't breathe. You don't have to live with that kind of stress. Financial Peace University will show you not only how to get out of debt and get control and budget and save and spend wisely, but also how to become a Baby Steps millionaire and how to be outrageously generous along the way.

The new course videos are out. This is the best Financial Peace University we've ever had. Dr. John Deloney, George Camel, Rachel Cruz, and me teaching you nine different lessons. You plug in with a group. The group becomes your best buddies, and you walk through life with them for the next little while, and you get your act together. And then you move on and become wealthy, and that's what we want you to do. It does work.

Over 10 million people have been through this class. Go to ramsaysolutions.com slash FPU. Some of you that have been through need to come back through because you fell off the wagon or you flunked the first time. I don't know. It can happen. Sometimes it takes people more than once to do something. I generally don't get things right the first time. Do you?

So maybe you need to go back through. Sometimes it gets the first time and they just go launching. But RamseySolutions.com slash FPU. We're talking to real millionaires. Charlie is in Lexington, Kentucky. Charlie, what's your net worth? Net worth is just about $2.2 million. Good for you.

Give me a little breakdown on that by category, please. I've got about $1.3 million in 401K, 403, about $120 in taxable investments, about $185 in Roth, $130 in cash and cash accounts. Got a paid-for house, $365, and I bought a Jason lot between my neighbor's house and myself for $60,000. Okay. All right. Good. for $60,000. Okay. All right. Good. Way to go, man. All right.

And so how old are you? 52. Good for you. And how much of this did you inherit? Zero. Okay. And your range of income during your working lifetime, best year and worst year? Best year, just north of $300,000. Wor worst year starting out around 55 cool what do you do what did you do or do you do for a living i'm actually an attorney okay all right very good

and uh so what was your gpa in college uh undergrad it was uh about a three three eight my jd i was more around the three point okay cool very cool so what do you think as you look back on this you did not inherit this money talking to a 25 year old young attorney that's out there half your age who's kind of got his his or her little lip stuck out and says it can't be done in America today. Are they right or are you right? I'm right. So what advice would you have for them? Well, number one, I hope they hadn't taken out student loans like I did and go to school out of state. That was a mistake.

But other than that, I've always lived. One, listen to Dave Ramsey. That's number one. Oh, I agree with that completely. Really, I think for me, you've got to live within your means. I think particularly when you get into a profession like as an attorney or doctor and you think you're somehow, you just mentioned it, you have your lips stuck out a little bit. Live within your means.

Don't compare yourself to others. And above all, appreciate what you have and focus on your goals and what you can control. I think that's key. I love that. I've got to ask you a question. As a successful lawyer, does anybody care? Has anybody ever really asked you and has it done anything for you as to whether or not you went to a law school that they were impressed with or not? How much does the brand name of the law school matter to success? I think it's in very limited circumstances. Like anything, it's what you put into it. And quite frankly, again, if I had known then what I know now, I would have saved a lot of money and maybe not have had the student loans if I stayed in state because there are a lot of tremendous attorneys

who went to schools that are statistically ranked lower than the school that i attend right so nobody really cares your customers don't care no yeah nope my clients don't ask where i went to law school judges don't ask where i went to law school they just look for the results there it is judge reads a brief and goes oh he went to harvard we got no judge said no judge ever yeah yeah i like it so what kind of law were you practicing i i'm in a defense defense firm i do a lot of uh insurance defense work oh okay wow cool good for you that's fun so So I know the answer to this question. You're a reader more than you are a TV guy, right?

Absolutely. You can't get through law school unless you become a reader. It's just impossible. Most docs, most lawyers read like voraciously because they have to to keep up in their world, number one. And you've got a tremendous number of briefs and things to go through, a lot of volume of documents to go through, I assume. A ton of reading, a ton of documents, you're right. Yeah, okay.

Well, very, very cool. Hey, man, it's an honor to speak with you. Congratulations. We're very proud of you, proud for you. Very well done. Jennifer is with us in St. Paul, Minnesota. Jennifer, what's your net worth? Right around $3 million, Dave.

Good for you. Give me a little breakdown on that by category, please. Sure. My home is right around $750,000. I did buy an investment property that my son is currently living in while he goes to school, which is $250,000, so a million in real estate. Right around $1.88 today in my 401 case and right around 200 000 in stock and cash good for you how old are you 52 52 cool and how much of this three million did you inherit absolutely none zero okay nada all right and so your income range, best year and worst year in your working lifetime. Well, I have to tell you that first year that I got a job offer, it was $21,000. So that was my first year.

I actually got the offer and I was waitressing all throughout high school. And I said, oh my gosh, I am making more than $21, was waitressing all throughout high school and I said oh my gosh I am making more than 21,000 waitressing today but I knew that that my career as an accountant was much more long term so took that $21,000 offer in public accounting. And what was your best year? Best year both my husband and I combined income of about 400 000 it worked out i like it yeah so you've got a degree in accounting okay and your gpa in school 3.5 okay cool cool all right so what was your biggest mistake money wise the stupidest thing you ever did with money? Well, there's a couple things. Probably the stupidest thing was when I was in public accounting and you get out of school and you're like, oh, I'm in my profession. I upgraded and went into

with my parents and upgraded our family boat. So if you can imagine living in Minnesota for 12 months and nine months of that, you can't even get on the lake or the water. It is really hard to write out that check for those nine months when the boat is sitting on dry dock. And let me tell you, I still remember that coupon book today. I can remember cutting it off. I can almost remember the exact amount and thinking every month, oh my gosh, I have to pay for this and I can't even use it. So that probably was number one on my list.

Wow. Wow. What would you say to young... Number... Oh, sorry. You were going to say number two. Go ahead. Go ahead.

Number two dumbest thing. Okay. I just want to know what you tell young ladies. We only got about 30 seconds. What would you say to young ladies who may be starting out in their professional career about becoming a millionaire themselves? What would you say to young ladies who may be starting out in their professional career about becoming a millionaire themselves? What would you tell them? Well, I would say number one, and this is a big one for me, you can't live in a stock

certificate. So don't think about buying stocks. Think about owning property or real estate or a home because in the future, you can't live in a stock certificate. That's nice. Interesting. uh-huh good stuff we're talking to real millionaires today it's a baby steps millionaire theme hour this is the ramsey show សូវាប់ពីបានប់ពីបានប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពី Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today. It's a Baby Steps Millionaires theme hour where we're talking to real millionaires in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the debt-free stage.

We've got a couple of millionaires live and in person. Hey, guys. It's Jason and Cheryl are with us. Where do you guys live? Tampa, Florida. Very cool. Thank you for joining us here in Nashville. And what's your net worth?

$1.2 million. Cool. Give me a little breakdown on that by category. I brought a cheat sheet. Okay, that's good. We have two paid-forward houses, which are $815,000. We have $250,000 in our roth and our mutual funds we have 72 000 and a 529 uh 45 000 in cash and then 25 000 and just other home assets

got it wow so how long ago did you break the million dollar mark maybe six months ago yeah six months ago okay so way to go how old are you two i'm 50 and i'm 45 okay all right very good and how much of this did you inherit uh i inherited ten thousand dollars from my grandmother when she passed away and that was during our debt-free journey so you are not millionaires because of inheritance oh no not mathematically anyway okay and uh your income range your best year working household income and worst um right now it's about 140 um and at worst it was probably about 40,000 okay cool and what do y'all do for a living i do accounts receivable for a liquor distribution company and i work for the court systems and then i also have a side hustle that helps us out

okay cool you got four-year degrees i do do. In what? Criminal justice. Okay very cool. What was your GPA? Like a 2.7. Got it. Hey hey you're my territory. You're still higher than me but no shame over there all right? No no no. I played a little too much in college. I love it. So I got two quick questions. One what's the side hustle? I do social media marketing for businesses in Tampa. Oh, nice. So you charge hourly rates or are you on retainers? I do a monthly rate. Okay, good. And then I'm curious, how long did it take you to become? So when you first started focusing on the financial piece, how many years to become net worth millionaires? What was that total journey? So Jason got the total money makeover book in 2004. If we would have started back then, then we'd be super rich but we started our debt-free journey in 2017

and then we did our debt-free scream in 2020 great so from 2020 to now we've achieved that status wow that's impressive zoom zoom yeah yeah very cool okay so you're got people that are 25 year old versions of you sitting out there listening right now or 18 year old versions of you if it's youtube um what um what do you tell them can this still be done because a lot of people telling them they can't become wealthy in america today it can be done why i dropped out of uh. She was homeless on the streets for a while. Yeah, I used to be homeless, and I was addicted to drugs for a long time. I've got 19 years clean today. Congratulations.

So, I mean, I'm just proof that, you know, if you commit to a program, work with a budget, you can be successful. I mean, I went from living in my car to owning two houses, and I'm a millionaire now. It works if you work it. Yeah what a story yeah i'm speechless that's amazing yeah that's a testimony right there so that's a mic drop i mean yeah you can't get in america today well try me i'm a you know 19 years sober and i used to live in my car and now i'm a millionaire so shut up yeah in chicago at that that. In the cold. Winter. You were an L.A. homeless. You were a Chicago homeless. I was a Chicago homeless. Oh, golly.

But because of your program and budgeting and like still just being frugal and like living within our means and not trying to keep up with the Joneses and just like Rachel says, being content with what we have. Yeah. We've done it. You know, need to impress other people really goes away once you've lived in your car right yeah definitely yeah and i'm just grateful for everything that we have because it could go away in a heartbeat yeah no no no it's all paid

for it is it ain't going anywhere that's the whole that's the whole reason we did this yes yeah it's not i mean it can but if you if you got stupid again, you could do that, right? And that's not happening. Yeah. So as long as you just behave, you know, the stuff you've done is very, very solid. Yeah. It's put you in a very strong position. And let's point out here, 1.2 million and growing because you're only 50 and 45.

Yeah. I mean, this is going to just keep on expanding. What a tremendous story. Yeah. You're a great story. You guys are amazing. Thank you. Very fun. And so, yeah, that's kind of an anybody can do it story right there.

Anybody can do it. Because they can, by the way. That's the whole purpose of this. I kept being aggravated by this movement out there, this anti-wealth movement that says, you know, that America is so broken that you can't get ahead today and it's impossible and we've certainly got our problems yeah and there's a lot of mean and angry people out there and a lot of people doing nasty things to each other no question about all that but it can still be done it can be it can still be done and you guys have done most of this in the last three years yes since we became debt-free yeah that's pretty stinking cool right there so very

very cool man you guys that's a greatinking cool right there. So very, very cool. Man, you guys, that's a great story. Thank you for stopping by and sharing that. Yeah, we wanted to do it. I was excited. We're proud of you. You guys are heroes. Yeah, today's a special day.

Yeah, you just inspired a whole bunch of people. Somewhere out there, there's a lady that's been dry for 30 days, and she doesn't know if she can do it or not. And she gets to hear your millionaire story. Yeah, I just, I can't believe how far I've come. And we've come as a couple and just communicating and like how strong our marriage is and then teaching the stuff to our kids is, you know.

Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Hey, thank you for coming. God bless you. Absolutely amazing. So Ken, when I meet people like that,

I feel like it's okay for me to be angry when someone says all the people they're millionaires inherited their money they're so lucky and i meet someone like her and him and i go i just want to smack your little socialist face i mean yeah it just i can't do that it's not legal but i mean it just in verbal slaps infuriates me though i should because for for two reasons one is it's so uh dismissing and so disrespectful to someone who's had a journey like this correct number one number or like me i had to do it twice i was a millionaire and i lost everything i had to do it again i've been a millionaire twice you know i'm so dumb it took two times for it to stick right you know and so you can tell me it can't be done i know you're so lucky lucky's butt lucky had nothing

to do with it right well the reason you're mad you should be mad is because this is taking away from the individualization the grind the struggle that this couple went through. You're talking about Jason, who is a college dropout, and Cheryl is a former drug addict. But see, that doesn't fit the narrative. Because the narrative says you need the government to take care of you. And anybody who doesn't get all of their fortune or all of their goodness of life from the government, well, then they must be greedy or they're cutting the rules. And the fact of the matter is they represent millions and millions of people despite their

story they represent millions of people who say you know what it's i'm gonna make my way you can't be rich without ripping somebody off you have to be a crook well i didn't see any crooks there's no crooks it's just hustle just straight up hard work i didn't see anybody stealing nothing yeah and the character that both of those people have, you know? And you got to be brilliant. You got to have a big GPA. Well, today we've talked to four, 3.8, 3.8, 3.5, and 2.7. I didn't see any 4.2s in there.

You don't have to be freaking Albert Einstein either. Thank God, because that means I got a shot, and you got a shot. James has a shot. I'm telling myself there's a chance. All right, that's what I'm holding and you got a shot james has a shot telling myself there's a chance all right that's what i'm telling me there's a chance you know i mean seriously it's not you you know now most of the time i don't find 1.9 gps you do have to have some gray matter that's you have to have a little bit of intelligence you know to be able to execute on basic plans and to stick with something so most of these people are somewhere in the high twos to mid threes sure you know uh in terms of gpa but this idea that geniuses are who become millionaires no they're not this idea that famous entertainers and athletes and whatever

are millionaire is the only way you become a millionaire they're less than one percent of america's millionaires yeah our household names most way you become a millionaire. They're less than 1% of America's millionaires are household names. Most of the people are people like those guys right there. Amazing. You know, they're an accountant. They're a lawyer. They're a teacher. They're policemen.

They run a flooring company. I mean, these are who we've talked to today. That's correct. And so these people, the problem with you folks that are out there lying about the wealthy because you're mad or jealous or whatever it is, the problem with that is it's not just that you're trying to forward some socialistic thing. The problem with your lie is you're stealing the hope from people who legitimately have a chance to go do this. But if they believe your narrative, they don't think they have a chance,

so they don't go do it. That's correct. You're hope stealers. Yes. And you hope stealers, you need to be smacked. Yeah. This is The Ramsey Show. សូវាប់ពីបានប់ពីបានប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពី Our scripture today, Hebrews 13, 16,

and do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Fred Rogers said, I hope you're proud of yourself for the times you've said yes when all it meant was extra work for you and was seemingly helpful only to someone else. Yeah, thank you, Mr. Rogers. Yeah, gotta love Mr. Rogers.

Gotta love it ken coleman remsey personality is my co-host today this is a baby steps millionaires theme hour we're talking to real millionaires asking them how they really did it claire is in boise idaho hi claire what is your net worth uh my net worth is seven million million. Wow, impressive. And give me a little breakdown on that, please, by category. How much real estate, retirement, and so on? Sure. So I have $2.3 million in real estate.

That's two residences. I have $3.4 in 401k IRA funds, $310 in stock, individual stock, 345 in cash, 405 in deferred comp, and then I have another 300, excuse me, 240 in donor advised funds, HSA, and other mutual funds. Wow. Okay. Great plan. You have got a super plan going here. I love the numbers. So how old are you? I'm 64. Cool. And how much of this money did you inherit? I inherited $100,000, but I was already a millionaire at that point. Okay. So you did not become a

millionaire because of inherited money but you got a substantial inheritance I did okay good and um what was the um I mean what was your best year working income and your worst year working income since you started life so 24,000 was my worst it was my first year out of college and then um 435 growth adjusted gross income was last year wow okay what do you do for a living um recently retired but i was in uh executive management of a financial services company ah Ah, okay. Explains your beautiful portfolio. Okay, very good. All right, and so your degree in finance, maybe? Actually, no, it was in political science. Ah, poli-sci. All right, and your GPA? It was around 3.4, as I recall. Okay, so you spent a lot of your life in leadership and or in the business of showing people that this can be done.

Correct. I was not necessarily on the front line retail, but it was, you know, our business. But you're building products and people that allow people to build wealth. Correct. Absolutely. So you knew it could be done. So obviously you think that this can still be done, I assume. Oh, very much so.

And I have to say, Dave, going back to my youth, my dad gave us a book. This predates all your good work, but my dad gave us a book called The Richest Man in Babylon as he shoved us out the door to the university. And even in my lean years, I saved at least 10% of my pre-tax income for retirement. And that was a huge factor in what I have today. I read that book when I was 13. My dad made us do it too and i still sell that

book we bought it's a public domain and we print a ramsey version of it and sell it here it's it's well worth it it really resonated with me um back then yeah it's a great great parable and it does it gets your gets your attention it was one of the first of the little parable books like that that did a huge volume and uh very the richest man in Babylon, for those of you listening that didn't listen well. So yeah, pretty impressive. Yeah, Claire, I want to ask you about that. So when you began to save early on, as you look back on it, what did that do for you beyond, you know, obviously saving the money? What was the principle, or what's something that you would share with somebody younger and say, here's what I learned from that discipline of saving?

Well, one of my motivations was I didn't want to be a burden to anyone in my family in my later years, and that dates back to way back then. And it just felt to me that it was the right thing to be doing and not just living beyond my means, if you will. There was, there was a reason for it and that was to look to the future. And when you see the compounding of your money, even in the, in the early days, it's, it's a motivation to continue along those lines.

Now, a lot of people we talked to have a one or a $2 million net worth. Yours is a threeX or 4X that. Why? Why? Well, real estate, I've lived in two very lucrative real estate markets. And so that's been a big benefit to me. And I worked for a very successful financial services company where I had dock options. And it helped propel and had a nice matching. I always got the match. I had two other answers in mind. Let me see if they're correct.

Okay. Uh-huh. I think you started really early. I did. Yeah. And the other thing, I think by, by hanging out in the financial services world, um, that you had a lot of positive peer pressure around you to do smart things with money. That's absolutely true. And I've turned around and given that same sort of influence on the

young people in my life. Yeah. Very good. Very good. Um, so that was my suspicion anyway. So very cool. Very cool. Oh, man, you're a wealth of information here. There's a lot of things people can draw from your particular story. Claire, I want to ask you, you recently retired. First of all, congratulations. Yeah. That's amazing.

And clearly you're prepared for it. So I'm curious, what does the next chapter look like for you? Because I'd love to hear that picture now that you're very young at 64 and retiring. Well, I'm still figuring that out, to be quite honest with you. I've relocated and am finding my new community and picking up a few hobbies, re-picking up my love of golf, and just trying to find my way. Most important to me is family and being available and interacting and spending time with them. So that is still, like I said, still unfolding. Yeah, but like we say in financial peace, you know what you can do if you have $7 million?

Anything you want. And that's what I wanted people to hear. You don't have to have a fancy answer. You have a lot of peace around this right now. There's no stress. I do. You're just easing into this. Oh, I know what the other thing I wanted to ask you was, because I'm trying to think of

someone sitting out there with their being negative, and I'm solving their objections in a sense here uh during your working life while you amass a seven million dollar net worth by 64 years old uh were you like living in a cave collecting lint and only coming out on triple coupon thursdays or did you enjoy your life and travel and do other things i i enjoyed my life um and uh well i'll have to say it wasn't until my 40s that I actually felt comfortable enough to buying a home in a particular market I was in because I didn't want to overextend myself. But, yeah, I traveled. I had cars. You weren't driving a $1,000 car and shopping at Goodwill.

No, I was not. No, I was not. No. That's fine. You know, sometimes people go, well, I don't want to live my whole life and then not have it. And you've had a good life, a great life, and in the midst of that have just been very intentional and diligent. I'm so proud of you, Claire. Congratulations.

Thank you for sharing your story powerful lady right there dude yeah she has her act together serious i mean this portfolio is it's like gorgeous oh it's incredible it's beautiful so four million 2.2 3 million 1.2 and 7 million we talked to real millionaires today not your broke brother-in-law with a political opinion but real ones. Not your friend who's sitting at the coffee shop whining their socialist rhetoric. Real people. Precisely, the number of them that became millionaires because of an inheritance that we talked to today, precisely zero.

That's correct. I also did not hear about any government stimulus checks or student loans being forgiven. And none of them credited a former president as having made them wealthy. Didn't come up at all. Based on their vote. Yeah. Didn't come up. Didn't come up at all. There you go, folks.

You can do this. That puts this hour in the books. We'll be back with you before you know it. In the meantime, remember, there's ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus. Hey, folks, Ken Coleman here. Did you know The Ramsey Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world? Get your daily dose of advice on life and

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