On Tuesday, a caller to The Ramsey Show sparked debate after family members urged him to put savings toward his mortgage instead of debt, prompting Dave Ramsey to deliver one of his trademark blunt responses.
The caller, who introduced himself as Jeeoff, said he had about $22,000 in savings and $12,500 in outstanding loans while working through Baby Step 2 of Ramsey’s seven-step plan.
Both his father and mother-in-law suggested using his savings to pay down the mortgage.
Ramsey dismissed that idea. “I think their advice is stupid. I think they mean well. But it’s dumb,” he told the caller. “We have led more people out of debt into millionaire net worth than any other organization operating in America today.”
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Ramsey urged Jeeoff to immediately use the savings to erase the $12,500 debt, keep $1,000 aside for emergencies, and then rebuild the fund to at least $20,000.
With no more debt payments, the caller said he could save about $1,000 a month, but Ramsey challenged him to push it to $1,500, which would restore the account within seven months.
“The one vote that does count is your wife’s,” Ramsey added, stressing that unity in financial decisions was essential.
Ramsey created the Baby Steps formula to help people get out of debt. It had helped many, including a Reddit user who shared her experience of becoming debt-free after paying off $37,900 in less than three years.
The 23-year-old wife explained that she and her husband began their Baby Steps journey in November 2023.
Most of their debt came from student loans and vehicle loans, but by following Ramsey’s advice, they paid off their obligations and later shared their new financial goals after becoming debt-free.
Ramsey has long cautioned that record-high credit card debt of $1.21 trillion and paycheck-to-paycheck living threaten Americans’ long-term financial security. He often cites success stories, like listeners who became debt-free and started investing, as proof that his strategies work.
In early 2024, he used social media to highlight costly mistakes, including buying homes with unmarried partners, upgrading vehicles after insurance payouts, and borrowing heavily for low-paying careers.
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