Dave Ramsey Says, 'You Can't Earn Your Way Out Of Stupidity,' Which Is Why Teachers Making $61K Become Millionaires But Doctors Often Don't

It sounds upside down: doctors, with six-figure salaries, often struggle with wealth, while teachers, earning far less, quietly build millions. Dave Ramsey says the numbers prove it.

On “The Ramsey Show,” a caller named Brad from Idaho asked, “Why are teachers consistently in the group of people that become millionaires? … Is it because they marry well and have a spouse with a better income, or is there another reason?”

Co-host Ken Coleman answered first. He argued that teachers’ success comes from meaning and discipline, not flashy paychecks. “They care deeply about their role,” Coleman said. He pointed to a Ramsey Solutions study, which surveyed more than 10,000 millionaires, and added: “Nine-six percent of net worth millionaires love their work.” In the case of teachers, Coleman said, they live on less, accept their salary, and build habits around a life of purpose.

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Ramsey jumped in with the actual data: “The top five career fields of the millionaires in the largest study … No. 1 was engineer, No. 2 is accountant, No. 3 was teacher, No. 4 was business professional … and No. 5 was lawyer. Medical doctor didn’t even make the top five.”

Then came the kicker. “One third of the millionaires that we studied, 33% of them, never made over a hundred thousand dollars,” Ramsey said. “So it’s not your income. In other words, you can’t earn your way out of stupidity.”

Ramsey explained that the common thread among engineers, accountants, lawyers, business professionals, and teachers is structure. “They are systems people,” he said. “Money works exactly the same way. You live on less than you make, you’re generous, you invest, you have a written plan … these are set principles.”

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The takeaway? Don’t pick a career field just for the paycheck. As Ramsey put it: “Do not pick your field because you think it’s going to make you rich … what you’ll be is a miserable human being with a big income.”

To underline the point, Coleman added: “The median salary right now for teachers in the United States is about $61,000.” That number, Ramsey argued, shatters the myth that only massive incomes lead to wealth. “You can’t out earn your stupidity, that’s a fact I’ve tried it,” he said. “Didn’t work. You just gotta not be stupid. And so you can’t make enough money to be stupid—it won’t work, you’ll lose it.”

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Ramsey even pointed back to his own past mistakes, recalling how earning big didn’t stop him from losing it all when he handled money poorly. “I know what it looks like, exactly how it feels,” he admitted. “No thank you, I don’t want to do it again.”

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The broader study backs that up. Nearly 80% of millionaires surveyed by Ramsey Solutions built their wealth through employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s, not by inheritance or high-paying jobs. Only 15% of millionaires had a household income of $100,000 or more in any single working year, showing that consistent investing and discipline mattered far more than salary.

For Ramsey, it all comes down to principles anyone can follow: spend less than you make, invest consistently, avoid debt, and stick to proven systems. Teachers, who live that way by necessity, end up beating even high earners in the wealth race. Doctors may take home bigger checks, but with student loans, lifestyle inflation, and financial missteps, many struggle to stay ahead.

In Ramsey’s words, wealth isn’t about what you bring in. It’s about what you do with it.

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This article Dave Ramsey Says, ‘You Can’t Earn Your Way Out Of Stupidity,’ Which Is Why Teachers Making $61K Become Millionaires But Doctors Often Don’t originally appeared on Benzinga.com

Dave Ramsey Says, ‘You Can’t Earn Your Way Out Of Stupidity,’ Which Is Why Teachers Making $61K Become Millionaires But Doctors Often Don’t

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