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When it comes to the financial habits of young Americans, Dave Ramsey never hides what really bothers him.
In a 2024 interview with Fox News, baby boomer Ramsey shared his true feelings about the financial habits of Millennials and Gen Z: “They suck. They live in their mom’s basement. They don’t understand why they can’t buy a house because they don’t work. (1)”
While this sentiment may be true for any generation, younger Americans certainly face some headwinds amid high home prices and high interest rates.
A report from the Department of Consumer Affairs found that Gen Z’s money purchasing power is 86% lower than what Baby Boomers had when they were 20 years old (2).
Ramsey isn’t frustrated with all the Millennials and Gen Zers of this era. But he said today’s tough economic conditions and the spending habits of young Americans are what’s really holding them back.
“Our credit card debt is at an all-time high,” Ramsey said on his show last month(3).
The numbers add up. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, total household debt reached $18.59 trillion in the third quarter of 2025. On the other hand, credit card balances increased by $24 billion from the previous quarter to $1.23 trillion (4).
“They’ve been brainwashed by the big banks into believing that if I use a credit card, I can get rich through points and airline miles, which is mathematically ridiculous,” Ramsey further added.
Creating a budget and overall financial plan may be just the spark you need to improve your financial situation. In a video on daughter Rachel Cruze’s YouTube channel, Ramsey shared that staying on a budget is one of the best things you can do with your money in 2024.
A quick look at your account each day can show you exactly where your money is going.
Apps like Rocket Money make it easy to flag recurring subscriptions, upcoming bills, and unusual charges by pulling transactions from all linked accounts.
This can help you cut unnecessary costs, and you can then manually transfer the savings directly into your retirement fund. No spreadsheets, no guesswork, no stress. Small habits like this can have a big impact 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 automated savings, net worth tracking, customizable dashboards and more make it easier to stay on top of your super contributions and overall financial goals.
He quipped in a video on his daughter’s channel, “No one accidentally wins the Super Bowl, the World Series, or the World Cup” (5).
In other words, you can’t expect wealth to just fall into your lap without any effort, and we can’t all come to The Ramsay Show whenever we need advice. But hiring a professional near you can help ensure your financial plan is comprehensive.
Advisor.com makes it easy to find the right, professionally vetted financial advisor. All you have to do is answer a few questions about your financial situation and they’ll match you with an advisor that suits your needs.
You can then schedule a free consultation, without hiring anyone, to ensure you find the perfect fit for your wealth-building goals.
Ramsay is a strong proponent of the importance of long-term investing. In a February blog post, he wrote: “A solid investing strategy gives you the focus, clarity, and direction you need to be a successful investor. (6)”
But whether you’re just starting to build your portfolio or looking to expand it, having this clarity and direction is easier said than done.
Fortunately, there are some investing platforms that come with expert guidance, so you don’t need to be an investing expert to start building wealth.
One of the easiest ways to invest (without overcomplicating it) is to open a self-service trading account with SoFi. You can get started on your own terms, buy and sell stocks without commissions, 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 investing anytime, anywhere. The platform provides real-time investing updates, curated content and useful data so you can follow the market and track your favorite stocks – helping you make informed decisions about the stocks that matter most to you.
Moby provides expert research and advice to help you identify strong long-term investments backed by the advice of former hedge fund analysts.
Over four years, their recommendations have outperformed the S&P 500 by an average of nearly 12% across nearly 400 stocks. They also offer a 30-day money back guarantee.
Moby’s team spends hundreds of hours sifting through financial news and data to provide you with stock and cryptocurrency reports delivered directly to you. Their research keeps you abreast of market changes and can help take the guesswork behind your stock and ETF selections.
Plus, their reports are easy to understand for beginners, so you can become a smarter investor in just five minutes.
Read more: Nearing retirement but no savings? Don’t panic, you’re not alone. Here are 6 easy ways you can catch up (and fast)
With mortgage rates still hovering around 6%, it’s no surprise that many Gen Z and Millennials haven’t been able to buy their first home yet (7).
That being said, even if you can’t buy a home, there are still ways you can invest in the real estate market.
Ramsey himself is passionate about making passive income through real estate and recommended investing in homes and vacation rentals in a March blog post, 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 add rental properties to your portfolio, no matter your income.
Arrived’s easy-to-use platform offers SEC-qualified real estate investing without all the hassle of property and tenant management.
You can easily browse the selection of homes and vacation units. Once you find a property you like, you can select the number of shares you want to purchase and start investing in real estate immediately.
If you are interested in multifamily rentals, you may consider investing in Lightstone DIRECT, a new investment platform from Lightstone Group. Lightstone Group is one of the largest privately held real estate companies in the United States, with more than 25,000 multifamily units in its portfolio.
Because they eliminate intermediaries (brokers and crowdfunding middlemen), accredited investors investing at least $100,000 have direct access to institutional-quality multifamily opportunities. This simplified model helps reduce expenses while increasing transparency and control.
Through Lightstone DIRECT, you invest in single-asset multifamily transactions with a true partner, Lightstone, who invests a minimum of 20% of its own capital in each product. All investment opportunities at Lightstone undergo a rigorous, multi-stage review before being approved by Lightstone principals, 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 opportunity. 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 internal rate of return of 27.6% on realized investments since 2004 and a historical net equity multiple of 2.54x. All told, Lightstone manages $12 billion in assets — including industrial and commercial real estate.
So even if multifamily rentals don’t interest you, Lightstone may still serve you well as an investment vehicle in other real estate verticals.
Start investing with Lightstone DIRECT today with experienced professionals.
Fox Business (1); Consumer Affairs (2); Ramsey Show Highlights (3); Federal Reserve Bank of New York (4); Rachel Cruze (5); Ramsey Solutions (6); Realtor Website (7)
This article provides information only and should not be considered advice. It is provided without any warranty of any kind.
