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Dave Ramsey has never been shy about what really grinds his gears when it comes to the financial habits of young Americans.
In a 2024 interview with Fox News, Ramsey — a boomer — shared his true feelings about millennials and Gen-Z’s financial habits: “They’re terrible. They live in their mom’s basement. They can’t figure out why they can’t buy a house because they don’t work. (1)”
While this sentiment may ring true for people of any generation, younger Americans certainly have some odds stacked against them amid high home prices and interest rates.
A report by Consumer Affairs found that Gen Z’s money had 86% less purchasing power than baby boomers had in their twenties (2).
Ramsey isn’t frustrated by all the Millennials and Gen Zs in this era. But he says today’s tough economy — and the spending habits of young Americans — are what’s really holding them back.
“We have record credit card debt,” Ramsey said on his show last month (3).
The numbers add up. Total household debt reached $18.59 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Credit card balances, on the other hand, rose $24 billion from the previous quarter to $1.23 billion (4).
“The banks have brainwashed them into thinking that if they use a credit card, they can prosper with points and airline miles, which is mathematically ridiculous,” Ramsey added.
Creating a budget and overall financial plan can be just the spark you need to improve your financial situation. In a video with his daughter Rachel Cruze on her YouTube channel, Ramsey said getting on a budget is one of the best things you can do with your money in 2024.
A quick daily record of your accounts can show you exactly where your money is going.
An app like Rocket Money can easily flag recurring subscriptions, upcoming bills, and unusual charges, pulling in transactions from all your connected accounts.
This can help you cut unnecessary costs and you can then manually redirect the savings directly into your retirement fund. No spreadsheets, no guesswork, no stress. Small habits like this can make a big difference over time.
Rocket Money’s intuitive app offers a variety of free and premium tools. Free features include subscription tracking, bill reminders, and budgeting basics, while premium features—like automatic savings, net worth tracking, customizable dashboards, and more—make it easier to stay on top of your retirement contributions and overall financial goals.
He joked that “nobody wins the Super Bowl, World Series or World Cup by accident,” in a video on his daughter’s channel (5).
In other words, you can’t expect wealth to fall into your lap effortlessly, and we can’t all be on the Ramsey Show when we need advice. But hiring a professional near you can help make sure your financial plan is comprehensive.
With Advisor.com, it’s easy to get set up with a suitable – and professionally vetted – financial advisor. All you have to do is answer a few questions about your financial situation and they’ll match you with advisors that fit your needs.
Then you can set up a free, no-obligation consultation to make sure you find the right fit for your wealth building goals.
Ramsey is a big proponent of the importance of long-term investing. In a February blog post, he wrote, “A solid investment strategy gives you focus, clarity, and direction—and you need all three to become a successful investor. (6)”
But having that clarity and direction is easier said than done, whether you’re just starting to build your portfolio or looking to expand it.
Fortunately, there are investment platforms that come equipped with expert guidance so you can start building your wealth without having to become an investment expert.
One of the easiest ways to invest – without overcomplicating it – is to open a self-directed trading account with SoFi. You can start on your own terms, buy and sell stocks commission-free, and build a portfolio at your own pace.
Even better, you can get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new account for a limited time.
SoFi is designed to help you learn to invest as you go. The platform provides real-time investment updates, curated content and actionable data so you can follow the markets, track your favorite stocks – helping you make smart decisions about the stocks that matter most to you.
Moby provides expert research and recommendations to help you identify strong, long-term investments backed by advice from former hedge fund analysts.
Over four years and across nearly 400 stocks, their recommendations have outperformed the S&P 500 by nearly 12% on average. It also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Moby team spends hundreds of hours researching financial news and data to bring you stock and crypto reports delivered straight to you. Their research keeps you on top of market changes and can help reduce the guesswork behind picking stocks and ETFs.
Plus, their reports are easy for beginners to understand, so you can become a smarter investor in just five minutes.
Read more: Approaching retirement with no savings? Don’t panic, you are not alone. Here are 6 easy ways to catch up (and fast)
With mortgage rates still close to 6%, it should come as no shock that many Gen Zers and millennials are still unable to purchase their first home (7).
That said, even if you can’t buy a home, you can still invest in the real estate market in a number of ways.
Ramsey himself is passionate about generating passive income through real estate, and in a March blog post suggested investing in residential and vacation rentals, with the caveat that “renting a home is not for the faint of heart — even if you hire a property manager.”
Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived makes it easy to fit rental properties into your investment portfolio, regardless of your income.
Arrived’s easy-to-use platform offers SEC-qualified real estate investing without all the hassles of property and tenant management.
You can easily browse a clean selection of vacation homes and units. Once you find a property you like, you can choose the number of shares you want to buy and start investing in real estate right away.
If diversifying into multifamily rentals appeals to you, you may want to consider investing with Lightstone DIRECT, a new investment platform from the Lightstone Group, one of the nation’s largest privately held real estate companies with more than 25,000 multifamily units in its portfolio.
Because it cuts out the middlemen – brokers and crowdfunding intermediaries – accredited investors with a minimum investment of $100,000 can gain direct access to institutional-quality multifamily opportunities. This simplified model can help reduce fees while increasing transparency and control.
And with Lightstone DIRECT, you invest in single-asset multifamily deals with Lightstone – a true partner – because Lightstone puts at least 20% of its own capital into every deal. All Lightstone investment opportunities undergo a rigorous, multi-stage review before being approved by Lightstone executives, including founder David Lichtenstein.
How it works is simple: just sign up with your email and you can schedule a call with a capital formation expert to evaluate your investment opportunities. From here, all you have to do is verify your details to start investing.
Founded in 1986, Lightstone has a proven track record of delivering strong risk-adjusted returns across market cycles, with a historical net IRR of 27.6% and a historical net equity multiple of 2.54x on investments made since 2004. In total, Lightstone has $12 billion in assets under management – including industrial and commercial real estate.
As such, even if multifamily rentals don’t appeal to you, Lightstone can still serve you well as an investment vehicle for other real estate verticals.
Get started with Lightstone DIRECT today and invest alongside seasoned professionals with in-game skin.
Fox Business (1); Consumer Affairs (2); Ramsey Show Highlights (3); Federal Reserve Bank of New York (4); Rachel Cruz (5); Ramsey Solutions (6); realtor.com (7)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. Offered without warranty of any kind.
