The Ramsey Show - App - It's Spooky: Millionaires Hiding in Plain Sight (Hour 1)

Episode Date: October 31, 2018

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I am Dave Ramsey, your host. Thanks for joining us this hour. It's a millionaire theme hour on the Dave Ramsey Show. We're going to talk to and interview real millionaires, not your broke brother-in-law with an opinion. Have you ever noticed how many broke people have opinions about money? So the deal is we're going to talk to real millionaires. If you are a real millionaire, let me help you with that if you don't know what that is.
Starting point is 00:01:01 A millionaire is not someone that makes a million dollars a year. A millionaire is someone that has a million dollar net worth. Ramsey personality Chris Hogan is joining me this hour. He is the author of the new book coming out in January, Everyday Millionaires, and has become a millionaire expert in the process of studying and working with our team to survey more millionaires than anyone has ever done. And so, Chris, net worth is how it's done. Tell them what a net worth is. Absolutely, Dave. This is where you take what you own minus what you owe.
Starting point is 00:01:34 Real simple. What you own minus what you owe. That net worth, if it puts you over a million dollars, that makes you an everyday millionaire. So if you own a home minus your mortgage. That's right. Or if you own a home, minus your mortgage. That's right. Or if you own a home free and clear, the value of your home. If you have a 401k, you don't have any other debt. Your 401k and your home, there you go.
Starting point is 00:01:52 Just like that. That's where a lot of it comes from is those two things. It really is, Dave, because as you take time and start to put things aside, it's not an accident. And so working through this process, keeping your eyes open, listening to and hearing and applying what Dave has been telling you for years, attack debt so you can build wealth and be able to give. People are doing it all over the country, Dave. Millionaire theme hour.
Starting point is 00:02:15 If you're a millionaire, call us at 888-825-5225. Of course, we put out a call for millionaires that wanted to join us on this hour. So we've got some on the line. Joe is with us in South Bend, Indiana. Hey, Joe, what's your net worth? Gentlemen, it's about $1.6 million. Cool, and how is that broken down? What's that invested in?
Starting point is 00:02:37 Lots of qualified retirement plans. How much? As well as about $800,000, $850,000. Okay. Qualified plans as well as some stocks, 529 plans for our children. Real estate would be the balance. Okay. So about another $800,000 or so in real estate.
Starting point is 00:02:55 There you go. Yeah. Okay. All right. Give or take. All right. Cool. And how old are you?
Starting point is 00:03:01 43. Wow. Young millionaire. Good. How much of the 1.6 did you inherit? Zero. Okay. We're blessed to have all of our parents still living.
Starting point is 00:03:12 That is fantastic. And Joe, can you tell me this? What was your worst income year and your best income year? Worst income year was $24,000, and best income year was $340,000. Whoa, that's nice. Good. And what line of work are you in? I'm in finance and banking.
Starting point is 00:03:37 Okay. And did you attend college? Yes, I sure did. What did you get your degree in? Something, I have an education degree okay all right and do you recall your gpa probably 3.2 ish okay all right and did you use any debt to help you reach millionaire status did you borrow any money uh only for mortgages and early on a couple cars okay and do you do any giving as a household absolutely yeah we uh we tied on our gross income roughly 10 of our income which makes your church happy because you're killing it dude
Starting point is 00:04:21 that's awesome so uh how many books are you reading a year or a month? Well, I track very closely my reading. I'm sort of a nerd when it comes to that, so I don't repeat books that I've read over time. So I can tell you that so far this year I'm averaging about three and a half books per month. So I usually between 36 and 40 every year, will read. How much TV do you watch? Almost none, unless it's a sporting event I want to see.
Starting point is 00:04:51 There you go. There you go. All right. So what's the best book you've read in the last 12 months that's not a Ramsey book? I really like the book. It's called Drive. It's about motivation, how to motivate those that report to you. Yeah, very cool.
Starting point is 00:05:08 Good, good stuff. All right, so what message would you give to the 25-year-old version of you that's out there listening, making $24,000 right now? Can it still be done, and what should they do? Absolutely, it can be done. It takes three things. You make it automatic, be consistent, and exercise self-control. It doesn't matter what everyone else is doing as long as you're true to yourself and have the end goal in sight.
Starting point is 00:05:31 That was a seminar. Yes, it was. You people just got schooled. Way to go, Joe. Proud of you, man. Congratulations. I'm honored to meet you. Jenny is with us in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Starting point is 00:05:44 Jenny, what's your net worth? Hi, it's just over a million dollars. Perfect. How old are you? 50. Good. And how's the million broken down? About 50,000 cash, 750 in Roth IRA, traditional various retirement funds, and just over $200,000
Starting point is 00:06:03 equity in my home. Perfect. Very good. How much000 equity in my home. Perfect. Very good. How much did you inherit? None. Okay. Never. All right.
Starting point is 00:06:11 And looking at this, Jenny, do you remember your worst income year and your best income year? I think my worst income year was after I graduated from college. It was $44,000. My best is right about now at $85,000. Okay. That's not including when I was married. I was married for a brief period of time, so we had that additional income as well. Gotcha. And what is your profession?
Starting point is 00:06:34 I'm a software engineer. Okay. And did you get a degree? I did. I have my Bachelor of Science and my GPA was 3.8. Oh, that's a high one right there. Yeah, it was, yeah. Did you use any debt to help you reach millionaire status outside of a mortgage?
Starting point is 00:06:52 No, I have not. Okay. And as a household, do you do any giving? I do occasionally at local charities, usually charities that involve children. Very good. And I'm just curious, Jenny, what's the most you've ever paid for a pair of jeans? I have paid $150 for a pair of jeans. Whoa, she went all out. Yeah, do you still have them? I know.
Starting point is 00:07:13 I don't wear jeans very often, so I have purged. Good deal. Good deal. So what advice would you give to the 25-year-old version of you that's listening? Can this still be done, and what should they do? I think the best advice would be don't purchase something, especially if it's large, if it doesn't feel right. I don't like purchasing things on a whim unless I thought them through, and I wish when I was 25 I had thought about that a little bit more.
Starting point is 00:07:41 Very good. Can you still do it, do you think? Can I still do it do you think can i still do can a can a uh a software engineer coming out with a bs with a 3.8 coming out today graduated in may can they still become a millionaire by the time they're 50 oh absolutely okay no question in your mind no question love it thank you for the call we appreciate you sharing with us Open phones at 888-825-5225. It's a millionaire theme hour. Millionaire expert, Ramsey personality Chris Hogan is with us, author of the book Everyday Millionaires.
Starting point is 00:08:13 How ordinary people built extraordinary wealth and how you can too. Those first two callers, we don't tell them what to say. Anyone that's a millionaire from any source is welcome to call. But what we get are people that have done it from nothing and they didn't inherit their money because that's how most of them did it. If you want to get this book, you can check it out at ChrisHogan360.com. Pre-order it. You get all kinds of goodies. Or DaveRamsey.com. You get all kinds of stuff, like $50 worth of extras.
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Starting point is 00:09:52 Go to Zander.com. A little Michael Jackson to go along with Halloween on a Millionaire Theme Hour. See, I'm young enough. I remember when Thriller came out. We were all gathered around the television. It was a big deal. Oh, it was a big deal, Dave. I mean, it was a big premiere. Yeah, really. Are you that old? It's Chris's birthday, by the way.
Starting point is 00:10:34 You said, am I that old? You are that old, because it's your birthday, and I know how old you are. Dave, I am. I am very proud to be 35 today. We've been working on his line. There's a few more numbers. The attributes of millionaires yes but hey listen to this well it's what it's like the 17th anniversary of your 30th birthday it is 47 today 47 but dave i thought of you this morning i saw this article uh there was a study
Starting point is 00:11:03 done about 75 million americans say that their finances have reached horror-like status. Oh, coming out on Halloween, of course. Yes. Horror. Horror. Yes. Okay. What that means is you and I, we're going to be employed.
Starting point is 00:11:18 Absolutely. We got work to do. We have job security. 75 million. Oh, we're talking to millionaires. People with a net worth of a million dollars or greater. How did you get there? What did you do?
Starting point is 00:11:29 So that we can find out the facts, not what people with political agendas have as an opinion, not what people who are just demotivated or unmotivated have as an opinion, and really not what some capitalist pig like me has as an opinion, because I am a capitalist pig. I love capitalism, and I think you can do it. I think America is the greatest country the world has ever known. I still think you can do it. I know you can.
Starting point is 00:11:54 And, Dave, we did it. As we talked and did the largest study that's ever been done on millionaires, talked to over 10,000. I want to emphasize that. People said, oh, you all did 1,000. You talked to 1,000 people. No, no. Over 10,000 people all across the country, some people that didn't know who Dave was, didn't know who I was. These were the reality of what they've done.
Starting point is 00:12:15 And I'm telling you, we found out the truth. The American dream is alive, and it's available, Dave, for the people who are willing to put in the work and the sacrifice. I was reading a political article this morning because I really completely lost my mind and went down a rabbit hole and uh they were talking about the lead that one candidate has over another and this this poll and it's in a major newspaper 477 people who they polled yeah so we didn't post 477 people. We polled over 10,000 actual millionaires, detailed information about them, and that's what we're doing today. Carlos is with us in Sacramento. Hey, Carlos, what's your net worth? It is $2.9 million.
Starting point is 00:12:57 Perfect. Break that down for me. How's it invested? I have some company stock at $500,000, mutual funds at $1.2, and my house and land is $1.2. Perfect. Love it. How old are you? I'm 60 years old. Wow. Good, good. So how much of this did you inherit? Nothing.
Starting point is 00:13:19 Okay. Cool. And Carlos, do you remember your worst income year and your best income year so far? Oh, yeah. Well, my best was $250,000, and my worst is when I first started at 14 years old. I made, not 15 years old, I made $9,000. Wow. Carlos, I'm curious, at what age did you start investing? Well, I was always a good saver. I bought my first house with my dad when I was 18 years old.
Starting point is 00:13:54 Wow. When you started investing in mutual funds, how old were you? I was 25. Okay. You started early. Good. You did. And what is your career field? I worked for Kentucky Fried Chicken for almost 40 years. Wow. 40 years. And did you go to college?
Starting point is 00:14:15 No, I did not. Okay. And did you, outside of your mortgage, did you use any kind of debt to help you reach millionaire status? A little bit of debt to help you reach millionaire status? A little bit of debt. With the company, they offered stock options, and so for several years we would purchase an option at a large discount, and then when I would get performance bonuses, we would pay those options off. Okay.
Starting point is 00:14:41 You weren't borrowing money, though. You were just buying the option. Right. Yeah, you just took advantage of the option. You didn't have to go into debt. You didn't borrowing money, though. You were just buying the option. Right. Yeah, you just took advantage of the option. You didn't have to go into debt. You didn't pay payments to do that. No. No.
Starting point is 00:14:52 Okay. And do you do any giving as a household right now? Oh, yes. Yeah. We do a lot of, we spend a lot of time giving and monetary also. Mm-hmm. lot of time giving and monetary also. You know, and one of the interesting things about being retired, I've been retired six years now, and people ask me, well, how'd you do it? And what's interesting is most people look at me about halfway through and say, oh, I
Starting point is 00:15:19 can't do that. Why? Why do you think they say that? Well, they have to be too disciplined i mean every day you make a financial decision you know do i save the money or do i spend it you know um so the it's not a true statement i can't do that the statement is i won't do that yes that i agree with that what did you do what did you do for KFC? Well, I started as a dishwasher when I was 15, became a manager of a store when I was 19, and then my wife and I worked together for many years.
Starting point is 00:16:03 And then during that time, I was able to have a partnership and then ownership. And then the last 25 years of my career, I a consultant for the franchise okay wow because the colonel the colonel has made millionaires all over the world and I just thought I thought I'd ask it's very interesting I've read some articles about some of you guys and it's an impressive culture that you came out of very very cool so you work for one company your entire career? Correct. Wow. And you apparently were self-taught. How much do you read?
Starting point is 00:16:34 You know, I don't read a lot. I read a lot of financial magazines and books. I mean, it's kind of a hobby of mine of money and how it all works and investing is a hobby. Not a bad hobby. No, no.
Starting point is 00:16:52 So the other thing that I found interesting in talking to people is when I was young, I was the first one at work and the last one to leave. You know, I dropped out of high school. I mean, I got my GED when I was 30 years old. You know, so it's not an education thing. It's a hard work thing. Well, and as you said, the discipline to every day make a good financial decision. So what would you tell the 19-year-old dishwasher? Can he still do it today?
Starting point is 00:17:25 And if he was going to, what would he need to do? I would tell him to don't spend all your money. And, you know, as he's washing dishes, if he's not washing dishes, he should be learning the next job in line. So when the management asks him, can you help, can you move up, he's already prepared to do that. And that worked out for 38 years. Yeah, pretty incredible.
Starting point is 00:17:52 Well done. What a great story. Touchdown. That's an amazing story. High school dropout started out washing dishes in a KFC. And if you could just blink forward, America, just a few years, about 40 years, he's sitting at a net worth of $2.9 million,
Starting point is 00:18:12 and now he's able to do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. Six years ago, retired. Six years, Dave. Excellent. Way to go, Carlos. Man, you're a rock star. It's an honor to speak with you. Chris is with us in Kansas City.
Starting point is 00:18:22 Chris, I'm up against the clock. I'm going to go fast. What's your net worth uh 1.5 cool and what's it broken down as um i guess uh 1.45 million is in retirement mutual funds and 50 000 cash and that does not include my home. My home is probably 225. Okay, so you're really more like... Probably another 50. So you're really more like 1.8. Yeah, if you break it down that way.
Starting point is 00:18:52 Your house is included. How old are you? 57. Okay, what's your degree in? Business and marketing. Okay, did you inherit any of this? I'd say about 80,000. Did that cause you to be a millionaire?
Starting point is 00:19:08 No, I still don't feel like I'm a millionaire. What did cause you to be a millionaire? Honestly, I had started listening to you until about a month ago, but I had a lot of the same practices you preach. I've always felt that I'm going to need a lot of money in retirement. I worked in a business where I would, I worked in a grocery store for years and years. I'll tell you what, hold on. I want to hear the rest of the story when we come back from the break.
Starting point is 00:19:35 I don't want to truncate it. Stay with me a minute. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Thank you. It's a millionaire theme hour here on The Dave Ramsey Show. We're talking to real millionaires about how they got there, what they did. So you know the formula. See, the question is, can you still win financially in America today, or are you stuck? Have all the chips been taken off the table and you can't play anymore? Well, we found out that's a bunch of crap.
Starting point is 00:20:37 There's plenty of chips on the table for everyone. All right, Chris is with us in Kansas City. We were trying to rush through, and we just decided not to do that, which is a good idea. So, Chris, in your range of income and business and marketing career, your worst year and your best year? I never really made a whole lot of money. I don't feel like I ever really put my degree to work. I would say my best year, this is my wife and I's combined gross income, was probably $80,000. Currently, we make, between the two of us, a gross of $60,000.
Starting point is 00:21:13 So we don't make a whole lot of money. And your worst year when you started out, probably? Oh, just, you know, when I was 21, I'm making $290 an hour. I think I made $20,000 a year. Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay. I think I made $20,000 a year. Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay. And your degree is in what?
Starting point is 00:21:29 It's in business of marketing. I worked at a grocery store for 37 years. I worked my way up and was a butcher, actually. And I was forced out about three years ago because they said I was too expensive. And at that point in time, I kind of thought I had enough money to retire, but I didn't want to pay health insurance. So I just am a courier now, and I don't make a whole lot of money. I make $14 an hour, but I make enough to cover our living expenses, and our retirement money is just sitting and growing.
Starting point is 00:22:08 So I'm just kind of holding back. Okay, so you never made over $80, but you're sitting on a $1.8 million net worth. Tell people how you did that. What's the key to that? The key is one thing I did that was kind of neat. The first car I bought, i did take a loan out for and uh ever since i paid that first car i just kept money going into the bank so i every car after that i just paid cash for and um i live within my means um working at the grocery store i
Starting point is 00:22:42 used to see people that would come in and and they would buy peanut butter and day-old bread, and that's what they would try to live on, and I did not want to see myself doing that. So I do carry a credit card, and I know that's against your teachings, but I pay off the balance every month, and I've never paid any credit card fees in my entire life. Okay. So how do you end up with $1.45 million in mutual funds? When I did work at this grocery chain, every time I got a raise, I put it into retirement. I think before I was forced out, I was putting 22% of my check into my 401k every week.
Starting point is 00:23:26 Did you guys, like, go on vacation and enjoy your lives as you were living? Minor vacations. Our vacation would usually be traveling to see family somewhere. We usually went somewhere every year. But we did driving. We did do flying. We'd go to national parks, do the outdoor thing, and didn't leave a lavish lifestyle. You know, we'd go out to eat once a week, but it wouldn't.
Starting point is 00:23:51 Here in Kansas, things weren't too expensive, and I just have never, ever took out a loan for anything other than my house, except for that first car. Yeah, steadily investing and avoiding debt and living on less than you make and watching your lifestyle. There it is. Hey, good formula, Chris. I've heard it's called common sense.
Starting point is 00:24:11 Well done, sir. I'm proud of you. Open phones this hour. Chris Hogan, Ramsey personality, millionaire expert, the author of the book Everyday Millionaires, How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth, How You Can Too. And we will take calls from you regardless of how you built your wealth. Maybe you inherited all of it. We don't get many of those.
Starting point is 00:24:31 I'd like to hear from more of them, actually. But maybe they don't listen to the show. Maybe that's the problem. But if they inherited their wealth. Right, maybe not. We almost never get them on a millionaire hour, but that's okay. We want to learn what's really going on out there and let you guys know what's really happening and how it can be done. Ann is with us in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Starting point is 00:24:51 Hey, Ann, what's your net worth? $1.2 million. Very cool. And break that down for me. How's that invested? One-third of it's in my retirement, one-third of it's in my business, and one-third of it's in my real estate. Gotcha. What kind of business do you have?
Starting point is 00:25:08 I have a small company with about 10 employees. We do shipping and mailing with businesses. Phenomenal. How old are you? 48. How much of the $1.2 million is there because you inherited it? Zero. I always like when they just laugh at that question. Like, you've got to be kidding. Chris?
Starting point is 00:25:36 Okay, Ann, and do you remember your worst income year and your best income year? My worst income year, I made less than $2,000, and I was in college with two of my kids. My badge has been probably close to $140. Okay. Very good. And did you attend college? I have two associate's degrees. Okay. Never used one of them, and the other one I have used.
Starting point is 00:26:00 All right. And do you recall your GPA? She got me my degree. As Dave would say, you graduated. Thank you, Lordy. Yes. I did actually the hard knocks because I did do the $60,000 in college debt. Okay.
Starting point is 00:26:20 And yeah. Yeah. Do you do as a household? Do you do any giving? I do. I give a lot to local charities, but I will only do it if I cannot have my name on it. Okay. Okay.
Starting point is 00:26:37 The, you said a while ago while you were going through school with two kids, you were a single mom? I was. I met my late husband in early 2000, and he passed away two years ago. Oh, wow. Okay. All right. And so what would your advice be to the 25-year-old out there that's scared to death version of you? What do you do?
Starting point is 00:27:03 Can you still do this? And what would you do to be worth a million dollars at 48 years old if you're Ann? I think anybody can. Even with my kids, I never let them, I never did credit cards. You know, if I didn't have the money, they never grew up on those video games. I can never think of them. Nintendos or Wii. They never got name brand clothes, but they always had clothes to start school. They always had food.
Starting point is 00:27:32 Are they in counseling? No, not at all. In fact, all of my kids are debt-free as well. Oh, there you go. You raise good kids. All right. Yeah. Even my 17-year-old has the money saved to buy, as soon as he turns 18, a property across the road from me.
Starting point is 00:27:55 And he's going to start building on that. But he can pay cash. So he's cash-flowing it already. Wow. And you sound so focused. You sound so focused. Did your parents teach you about money or are you self-taught? I am self-taught. My mother likes bankruptcy, unfortunately. So I kind of looked at what they were doing and said I never wanted to be there. Gotcha. So avoid
Starting point is 00:28:22 credit cards and what else should you do to have a million dollars at your age? It's okay to say no. You know, telling my kids, I have four kids, we told them no a lot. And they're fine kids. They're really good kids. Well, they're young adults with grandkids. That's the best kind right there. Yeah, you know, I don't worry about them.
Starting point is 00:28:43 I don't have to bail them out. I'm not afraid to say no to people if I don't have the money. And, you know, I took my kids on vacations every year. They may not have been extravagant when they have gone 20 miles down the road to a campsite, but we still went on vacation. Well done, Ann. Proud of you. Another everyday millionaire.
Starting point is 00:29:05 And she's scratched and clawed. You can feel it. You can feel it. You can hear it in her voice. Yeah. Yeah, she's walked through some stuff. Yeah, and she's a courageous lady. Did you hear her tell your kids no?
Starting point is 00:29:15 Like six times. No is a complete sentence. I love it. Millionaire Theme Hour with Ramsey personality Chris Hogan here on the Dave Ramsey Show. I like doing a millionaire theme hour on Halloween because it's kind of scary out there. If you don't know what to do, and we're helping you learn what to do from real millionaires.
Starting point is 00:30:03 Chris Hogan, Ramsey Personality, joins me this hour as we're talking to real millionaires, finding out how they really did it. A lot of confusion out there about this idea of what a net worth is, Chris. And so you and our team have developed the new net worth calculator. We sure did, Dave. And we wanted to help people know where they are. So the first step to becoming a millionaire is to know exactly where you're standing right here, right now,
Starting point is 00:30:30 today. And so with the net worth calculator, you've got a great opportunity to get over there. It only takes you about five minutes with six questions, and it's going to help you to understand exactly where do you stand. So again, you can find this out by going over to my website. Go to ChrisHogan360.com slash net worth, or you can text the word Hogan to 33789. And how much does it cost? It's free, Dave. Of course it's free. It's a tool. You know at Ramsey Solutions, we do tools all the time.
Starting point is 00:31:00 You know why? Because we want people to have this understanding. And so find out your net worth. Understand where you are. Go to ChrisHogan360.com or go to ChrisHogan360.com slash net worth and get started and find out exactly where you stand. Text the word Hogan to 33789. If you check Chris's website out, that's also where you can run your R.I.Q., your retire inspired quotient. So and all of that's completely free. So jump in and get that done.
Starting point is 00:31:25 Paul is with us in Cincinnati. Hey, Paul, how are you? Paul, couldn't be better. How are you guys? Better than I deserve. What's your net worth, sir? 1.4. 1.4.
Starting point is 00:31:36 And how's that invested? I got a niche house, so it's 275 to 350. We'll note until we sell it. And then 150 in single stock, and the rest is mutual fund mixed portfolio. Okay. So it looks like you've got about a million in mutual funds. Right, right. Okay, very cool.
Starting point is 00:32:02 How old are you? 63 this week. Okay, very cool. How old are you? 63 this week. Congratulations. Happy birthday. So how much of this $1.4 million is there because you inherited money? Well, I'll claim $40,000. My mother left me $40,000. So you're not a millionaire because of inheritance?
Starting point is 00:32:20 No, no. I love it. And, Paul, do you remember your worst income year and your best income year? The best income year, I'll start with easy because that was the most recent. That was the last year before I retired. I was at $119,000. Okay. And the worst was completely on the other end of the work spectrum.
Starting point is 00:32:43 I'll say the year before I went in the Air Force, I think I made about $2,000. Okay. And looking at that, what was your career before you retired? I was a sports specialist for a Fortune 100 company. Okay. And did you attend college? Not a bit. Okay. And did you attend college? Not a bit. Okay.
Starting point is 00:33:07 And looking at this, did you use any debt outside of a mortgage to help you reach millionaire status? No. Okay. And as a household, do you do any giving? Absolutely. What kind of giving do you do? Specifically, we're tied in with some charitable groups, and sometimes it's a mix of cash. Sometimes it's actual effort or work for equity.
Starting point is 00:33:39 Gotcha. Very good. All right. And so what advice would you give to the 25-year-old version of you that's listening right now? Can this still be done? And if so, what do you do to get there? Oh, it definitely can be done. Since I retired, just for whatever reason, I may want to pick up a box.
Starting point is 00:34:01 There's work to do everywhere. And what I'd say to anybody today is, first of all, don't be afraid to work. Show up on time. But most importantly, what worked for me, I didn't have the paper, as I always called it. I didn't have the sheets in. So I kind of lived in fear of that. But what I did instead is I looked for opportunities. So when the door opened, I put my foot in it.
Starting point is 00:34:26 And that's the way I kind of scratched and clawed and got my way from $2,000 to $119,000. How old were you when you started investing in mutual funds? I was 27 years old. What made you do that? That was a year. I think I heard you mention this on a previous show, that the stocks went on sale. And our company at the time started doing the matching fund, and I just thought it was a no-brainer to at least capture the 7% they were matching.
Starting point is 00:35:02 Lo and behold, a couple years later, I looked at it, and I had tens of thousands of dollars all of a sudden. It was kind of cool. It's a nice thing to wake up to, brother. Congratulations. Very proud of you, sir. Very well done. Interesting mix today.
Starting point is 00:35:18 Oh, Dave. Only two college graduates out of the whole bunch today. That's exactly right. Most of the millionaires we studied in the millionaire study from your book, Everyday Millionaires, did graduate from college. Most of them did not graduate from prestige colleges. That's right. 73 percent, I believe it was, did not graduate from a prestige college, went to a state school. But most of them did have a four-year degree.
Starting point is 00:35:39 Today, on today's show, most of them did not. That's right. I mean, a couple of associates degrees and a couple of high school graduates, one with a GED at age 30. Yeah, that's amazing. And, Dave, at the ages that we're looking at, we've got from 43, 50, 60, 57, 48 to 63. That was today. Yeah, all today. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:00 The average age we found in the study was 52, wasn't it? 52 years old. Yeah, that's the average of all of them. That's right. Of the 10,000 that we talked to. But the amazing thing is we've got also two to three of them started investing in their 20s. So they got that first job, got intentional early. They recognized the match.
Starting point is 00:36:18 That's right. Weren't scared of the mutual funds. Weren't scared of the stock market. As a matter of fact, Paul was the opposite. He jumped in when the market was down. That's right. Figured out, hey, it's down. It's time to get in.
Starting point is 00:36:28 Well, because he had listened to you explain that it's on sale. Well, no, he hadn't back then. He said that's the way it felt to him when I said that. Yeah. You know, the other one, we had the one lady that learned what not to do from watching her parents who ended up having to go down the path of bankruptcy. And so this wisdom, Dave, this awareness, this gaining the right kinds of information, using the right tools that are out there, 401ks and 403bs.
Starting point is 00:36:55 So the typical millionaire is not a crook. Nope. They're not an athlete. Nope. They're not an artist. They're not an actor. They didn't inherit a ton of money. They didn't inherit their money no and
Starting point is 00:37:06 the typical millionaire does not have a 4.0 gpa in other words they're everyday people people yeah in plain sight that's right and uh they just made the decision it was their actions that created it not some innate lightning strike uh you know, lightning in a bottle somehow that said, oh, you got to be Brad Paisley, Peyton Manning to be a millionaire. Not true. As a matter of fact, famous millionaires are less than one percent of the millionaires that are out there. And so, you know, in other words words you don't have to be rich and famous so you know when we hear people say the only way out of my neighborhood is a basketball that's not true that's right it is a way out right but it's not the only way out as a matter of fact it's not
Starting point is 00:37:58 the typical way out if you want to be a typical everyday millionaire and that kind of comes down to what condoleezza Rice said, and you've quoted her and I've quoted her because we both just fell in love with not only the lady, but the saying, doesn't matter where you come from, it matters where you're going. That's right. And you make the decision to do these 401ks, stay out of debt, live on less than you make. And several of them today talked about work ethic. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:38:22 I mean, I'm sitting here thinking about Carlos, who was with KFC for over 40 years. One job. Starting out washing dishes, Dave. One company, not one job. One company. Washing dishes. So here he is with a stack of dishes. He's probably in there scrubbing, having no idea his work ethic, his focus was going to put him on a path.
Starting point is 00:38:42 $3 million. $3 million. The highest net worth millionaire we talked to today. Did not get his GED until he was 30. It doesn't matter where you're coming from. It matters where you're going to. That's right. What he says is study the next job in front of you.
Starting point is 00:38:58 I like that. And learn that job. Yeah. Be prepared. Very good stuff. The book Everyday Millionaires is available at ChrisHogan360.com or DaveRamsey.com. It goes on sale now as a pre-sale. All kinds of goodies involved.
Starting point is 00:39:12 The e-book, the audio book, videos from Chris and I. $50 worth of extras if you buy it in advance. The book will actually be shipped to you in January. Chris Hogan, thanks for dropping by and hanging out. Dave, thank you for having me. A Millionaire Theme Hour in the Books. Hey guys, it's Blake Thompson, Chief Production Officer for The Dave Ramsey Show. This hour's up, but you'll find more on our YouTube channel,
Starting point is 00:39:46 where we have over 6 million YouTube views each month. You can find debt-free screens, millionaire hour clips, Dave rants, and so much more. Go check it out.

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