Zoomers aren't sold on Dave Ramsey's financial advice. Here's why (2024)

Dave Ramsey, the popular talk-show host who promises to lead listeners to “financial peace,” has some advice for young adults buying nice things for themselves while still living with their parents: Grow up and get out.

“So, let me get this straight. You live in your momma’s basem*nt, but you got a Coach purse. Here’s what’s going to happen — you cannot avoid life ... Momma can’t protect you,” Ramsey said in response to reports that young Americans are spending money on luxury goods because they’re not paying rent, per Yahoo! Finance.

That sort of tough love may be one reason that zoomers and millennials are less inclined to follow Ramsey’s advice than older generations.

As The Wall Street Journal reported, young adults, who are increasingly still living at home, are publicly disdaining Ramsey’s “baby steps” plan for getting out of debt and building wealth, which have been the cornerstone of Ramsey’s program since his radio show debuted in 1992. They say that he is out of touch with the economic realities of today, and they can point to clips that seem to make their point. Numerous news outlets, for example, reported in February about Ramsey’s astonishment when a caller told him what he was paying in child care.

The young adults’ contempt for Ramsey’s advice has led to the hashtag #daveramseywouldntapprove on TikTok and other social media platforms. “Many say they don’t want to eat rice and beans every night — a popular Ramsey trope — or hold down multiple jobs to pay off loans,” The Wall Street Journal article said, noting surging costs for higher ed and housing.

Ramsey, a Christian who often uses Bible verses to make his points, has long been controversial; other financial advisers have disagreed with the nuances of his advice, such as which credit cards to pay off first or whether you should contribute to a company 401K when trying to get out of debt. He has also been the subject of lawsuits in recent years, including one about his endorsem*nts of a business promoting timeshares, and another about the morality clause that his businesses enforce. But the pushback against his core advice is unusually virulent right now among young Americans, and it comes at a time when some school districts are controversially including a Ramsey book in their financial literacy curricula.

Ramsey, who filed for bankruptcy in his 20s, has built an empire called Ramsey Solutions with a lineup of personalities who offer advice on everything from money management to personal wellness to finding a career that you love. On his radio show, he famously features people who have followed his plan to pay off every single debt, and encourages them to scream “I’m debt-free” on the air. He says that his listeners who do the “debt-free scream” have collectively paid off more than $1 billion in debt, by taking on extra work and forgoing large and small pleasures in order to focus with “gazelle intensity” on paying their bills.

It’s the forgoing of small pleasures that seem to be the sticking point of many young Americans who complain about Ramsey on social media. Business Insider quoted one 32-year-old Orlando man as saying, “Self-care is extremely important and if that means buying a $6 coffee every day, do it. I’d rather be caffeinated than depressed with $6.”

Young Americans also take issue with Ramsey’s insistence that they avoid car payments altogether — drive a clunker you can afford to buy with cash, he says — and not spend more than a quarter of their take-home pay on a mortgage, and then only get a 15-year one. And they really don’t like him speaking out against bitcoin, as he did this week.

Per Business Insider, a 28-year-old Dallas man said, ”It’s mind-boggling that the older generation that bought 4-bedroom homes for $50 and a pack of strawberries continues to lecture younger people on money management.”

Ramsey, however, maintains that his financial steps work for everyone, regardless of age, and lead people to become what he and his team call “everyday millionaires.” And he needn’t worry about going broke again, even if he doesn’t have the unquestioning devotion of every millennial and zoomer. Plenty of people respect his advice, including the University of Virginia’s Brad Wilcox (a Deseret contributor), who, in his new book “Get Married,” hails Ramsey’s teaching about joint bank accounts over that of Suze Orman.

Also, after more than three decades on the air, Ramsey is still a heavy hitter in talk radio. Talkers magazine last year ranked him No. 2 in its annual listing of the top 100 most influential talk-show hosts (trailing only Sean Hannity).