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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.<\/p>\n
In a 2024 interview with Fox News, Ramsey \u2014 a boomer \u2014 shared his true feelings about millennials and Gen-Z\u2019s financial habits: \u201dThey are awful. They live in their mother\u2019s basement. They can\u2019t figure out why they can\u2019t buy a house because they don\u2019t work. (1)\u201d<\/p>\n
While this sentiment may ring true for people of any generation, younger Americans certainly have some odds stacked against them amidst high home prices and interest rates.<\/p>\n
A Consumer Affairs report found that Gen Z\u2019s money had 86% less purchasing power than baby boomers did when they were in their twenties (2).<\/p>\n
Ramsey isn\u2019t frustrated with all Millennials and Gen Z in this age. But he says today\u2019s tough economy \u2014 and young Americans\u2019 spending habits \u2014 are what\u2019s really holding them back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have record credit card debt,\u201d Ramsey said on his show last month (3).<\/p>\n
The numbers add up. Total household debt hit $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 by $24 billion from the previous quarter to $1.23 trillion (4).<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’ve been brainwashed to believe by the big banks that if I use a credit card, I can prosper with the points and the airline miles, which is mathematically ludicrous,\u201d Ramsey added further.<\/p>\n
Creating a budget and overall financial plan can be the exact spark you need to ignite to improve your financial situation. In a video with his daughter, Rachel Cruze, on her YouTube channel, Ramsey shared that getting on a budget is one of the best things you can do with your money in 2024.<\/p>\n
A quick daily check-in of your accounts can show you exactly where your money is going.<\/p>\n
An app like Rocket Money<\/a> can easily flag recurring subscriptions, upcoming bills and unusual charges by pulling in transactions from all your linked accounts.<\/p>\n This can help you cut unnecessary costs, and then you can manually redirect savings straight into your retirement fund. No spreadsheets, no guesswork, no stress. Small habits like this can make a big difference over time.<\/p>\n Rocket Money\u2019s intuitive app<\/a> offers a variety of free and premium tools. Free features include subscription tracking, bill reminders and budgeting basics, while premium features \u2014 like automated savings, net worth tracking, customizable dashboards, and more \u2014 make it easier to stay on top of your retirement contributions and overall financial goals.<\/p>\n He quipped that \u201cno one accidentally wins the Super Bowl, The World Series or the World Cup,\u201d in a video on his daughter\u2019s channel (5).<\/p>\n In other words, you can\u2019t expect wealth to fall in your lap without effort, and we can\u2019t all call in to the Ramsey Show when we need advice. But hiring a professional near you could help ensure your financial plan is comprehensive.<\/p>\n With Advisor.com<\/a>, getting set up with a suitable \u2014 and professionally-vetted\u2014 financial advisor is easy. All you need to do is answer a few questions about your financial situation, and they’ll match you with advisors who suit your needs.<\/p>\n Then, you can set up a free consultation<\/a> with no obligation to hire to ensure you find the right fit for your wealth-building goals.<\/p>\n Ramsey is a big proponent of the importance of investing for the long term. In a February blog post, he wrote: \u201cA solid investment strategy gives you focus, clarity and direction \u2014 and you need all three to become a successful investor. (6)\u201d<\/p>\n But having this clarity and direction is easier said than done, whether you’re just starting to build your portfolio or looking to expand it.<\/p>\n Luckily, there are investing platforms out there that come equipped with expert guidance so you can start building your wealth without having to become an investing savant.<\/p>\n One of the easiest ways to invest \u2014 without overcomplicating it \u2014 is to open a self-directed trade account with SoFi<\/a>. You can start on your own terms, buy and sell stocks with no commission fees, and build a portfolio at your own pace.<\/p>\n Even better, you can get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new account for a limited time.<\/p>\n SoFi<\/a> is designed to help you learn investing as you go. The platform offers real-time investing updates, curated content and helpful data so you can follow the markets, track your favorite stocks \u2014 helping you make smart decisions about the stocks that matter most to you.<\/p>\n Moby<\/a> offers expert research and recommendations to help you identify strong, long-term investments backed by advice from former hedge fund analysts.<\/p>\n In four years, and across almost 400 stock picks, their recommendations have beaten the S&P 500 by almost 12% on average. They also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.<\/p>\n Moby\u2019s team spends hundreds of hours sifting through financial news and data to provide you with stock and crypto reports delivered straight to you<\/a>. Their research keeps you up-to-the-minute on market shifts, and can help you reduce the guesswork behind choosing stocks and ETFs.<\/p>\n Plus, their reports are easy to understand for beginners, so you can become a smarter investor in just five minutes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read More: Approaching retirement with no savings? Don\u2019t panic, you’re not alone. Here are 6 easy ways you can catch up (and fast)<\/a><\/p>\n With mortgage rates also still hovering near 6%, it shouldn\u2019t come as a shock that many Gen Zers and millennials aren\u2019t yet able to purchase their first home (7).<\/p>\n That being said, even if you\u2019re not able to purchase a home, you can still invest in the real estate market in a number of ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ramsey himself is passionate about earning passive income through real estate, and in a March blog post suggested investing in residential and vacation rentals, with the caveat that \u201crenting out a house isn\u2019t for the faint of heart \u2014 even if you hire a property manager.\u201d<\/p>\n Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived makes it easy to fit rental properties into your investment portfolio<\/a> regardless of your income.<\/p>\n Arrived\u2019s easy-to-use platform offers SEC-qualified property investments without all the hassles of property and tenant management.<\/p>\n You can easily browse a curated selection of homes and vacation units<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n If diversifying into multifamily rentals appeals to you, you could consider investing with Lightstone DIRECT<\/a>, a new investing platform from the Lightstone Group, one of the largest private real estate companies in the country with over 25,000 multifamily units in its portfolio.<\/p>\n Since they eliminate intermediaries \u2014 brokers and crowdfunding middlemen \u2014 accredited investors with a minimum investment of $100,000 can gain direct access to institutional-quality multifamily opportunities. This streamlined model can help reduce fees while enhancing transparency and control.<\/p>\n And with Lightstone DIRECT, you invest in single-asset multifamily deals alongside Lightstone \u2014 a true partner \u2014 as Lightstone puts at least 20% of its own capital into every offering. All of Lightstone\u2019s investment opportunities undergo a rigorous, multi-stage review before being approved by Lightstone\u2019s Principals, including Founder David Lichtenstein.<\/p>\n How it works is simple: Just sign up with your email, and you can schedule a call with a capital formation expert<\/a> to assess your investment opportunities. From here, all you have to do is verify your details to begin investing.<\/p>\n Founded in 1986, Lightstone has a proven track record of delivering strong risk-adjusted returns across market cycles with a 27.6% historical net IRR and 2.54x historical net equity multiple on realized investments since 2004. All told, Lightstone has $12 billion in assets under management \u2014 including in industrial and commercial real estate.<\/p>\n As such, even if multifamily rentals don\u2019t appeal to you, Lightstone could still serve you well as an investment vehicle for other real estate verticals.<\/p>\n Get started today with Lightstone DIRECT<\/a> and invest alongside experienced professionals with skin in the game.<\/p>\n Fox Business (1<\/a>); Consumer Affairs (2<\/a>); The Ramsey Show Highlights (3<\/a>); Federal Reserve Bank of New York (4<\/a>); Rachel Cruz (5<\/a>); Ramsey Solutions (6<\/a>); Realtor.com<\/a> (7<\/a>)<\/p>\n This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fox Business Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263734,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[72,1890,176,20651,20665,61,60,3916,174,175,9115,11894],"class_list":{"0":"post-263733","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-dave-ramsey","10":"tag-finance","11":"tag-fox-business","12":"tag-fox-news","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-jeff-bezos","16":"tag-personal-finance","17":"tag-personalfinance","18":"tag-real-estate","19":"tag-young-americans"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}