Are These Rich People Ready for Retirement?

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Are These Rich People Ready for Retirement?

Podcast: George Kamel, Ramsey Network
Episode Date: June 29, 2026
Host: Dave Ramsey (guest-hosting for George Kamel)
Theme: Dave Ramsey takes to the streets of Franklin, Tennessee, one of America’s wealthiest counties, to ask real people a deceptively simple question: “How much do you have saved for retirement?” Along the way, he crunches numbers for different folks, spanning all ages and financial backgrounds, debunking myths, and illustrating how consistent saving and investing—even starting late—can set you up for a prosperous retirement.

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Main Theme & Purpose

The episode uses candid street interviews to demystify retirement planning and investment habits, showing that net worth or living in a wealthy area doesn't guarantee retirement readiness. With humor, empathy, and “real talk,” Dave Ramsey breaks down basic investing principles, emphasizes the power of time and compound growth, and issues a clear call to action: Start investing now, no matter where you stand.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Income vs. Wealth: Living in a High-Net-Worth Area

• Franklin, TN, boasts sky-high home prices, but even among affluent neighborhoods, saving for retirement is not a given.
• Dave: "Just because you have a nice wraparound porch doesn't mean you can retire on it."
  — [00:04]

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2. Starting Early: The Bartender Turned Manager (Age 27)

• Admits to not budgeting or investing as a bartender; wants to start now as a manager.
• Dave gifts her an EveryDollar budgeting subscription, educates her on compounding, and models investment growth.
• If she starts investing $1,000/mo at age 27 with 10% growth, she'd have $2.2 million at 57, $3 million at 60.
• Memorable Moment:
  • Dave: “The best time to plant the tree was 20 years ago. Next best time—"
  • Bartender: "Today."
    — [02:55–02:59]

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3. Peer Motivation & Investment Accountability (Mid-30s Female Friends)

• Both can realistically save $1,000/mo. Dave models results: $2.2M in 30 years; $2.8M with an extra $250/mo.
• “I think we should keep each other accountable, like, text each other. ‘Hey, girl, did you do $1,000 this month?’”
  — [03:58]

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4. The Young Trader (Age 21): Cash Savings, No Retirement Fund

• Has savings but hasn’t started retirement investing; dabbles in single stocks (e.g., Apple).
• Dave explains mutual/index funds vs. single stocks and the magic of compound growth.
• Investing $1,000/mo from 21 to 60 at 10% return = $5.7 million at 60, $468k contributed, rest is growth.
• Memorable Moment:
  • Dave: “Over 90% was just straight up compound growth...Does that make you want to invest into something a little less risky?”
  • Trader: “Yeah. That sounds great. I should probably start doing that.”
    — [07:25–07:48]

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5. The Experienced Investor in His 30s

• Has $500k by age 38, started IRA at 21, consistent investing 17 years.
• Currently puts away $2k–$3k/mo; non-retirement brokerage account for flexibility.
• Dave runs the numbers: By 65, could have $12 million.
• Quote:
  • Dave: "17 years of consistent investing will get you half a million bucks in your 30s."
    — [08:09]
• Dave: “You’re a normal guy. You didn’t have family money...It ain’t broken. Don’t fix it.”
  — [10:13–10:24]

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6. The ‘Set It and Forget It’ 401k Investor (Age 34, Female)

• Maxes out 401k but isn’t sure of current amount; estimates contributing $450/mo, started 14 years ago.
• Dave calculates with $100k current, $450/mo for 30 years = $3 million (not including employer match).
• Quote:
  • Dave: "Right now it’s just vibes."
    — [11:45]
• Investor: "I'll open it one day at 64 and go, oh, look at that, a million dollars."
  — [11:48]

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7. Married Couple in 30s: Playing Catch-Up

• Under $20k saved at 35, not contributing consistently, invest “whenever.” Combine incomes they could do $1,500/mo.
• Non-retirement brokerage, modest existing savings; conservative approach, concerned about inflation.
• $1,500/mo for 30 years (starting with $25k); could have $3.8M at 65.
• Quote:
  • Dave: "That's the power of marriage financially, when two people are working together toward a vision and a goal."
    — [16:54]

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8. Older Couple: Supporting Kids, Still On Track

• Age 52 & 55; $330k combined, contributing 7–8% payroll (~$650/mo).
• Son in medical school, help with living expenses.
• By age 67, could have $1.7M, plus Social Security.
• Quote:
  • Older Partner: “We follow Ramsey’s method. So every dollar, every dollar counts. And we use the EveryDollar app.”
    — [21:06]

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9. Ramsey Diehard Woman (36): Couple Nears $1M by Their 30s

• She and her husband, both late 30s, have just under $900k in retirement savings ($130k hers, rest his).
• Paid off student loans ($70k) in 3 years, then invested the difference.
• Max out retirement accounts ($4,700/mo)—showcasing real payoff of living below one’s means.
• Dave models: Continue until 65 = $18.5M. Retire by 40: $2.3M at 46.
• Quotes:
  • "My husband a couple years ago got a vanity plate on his Toyota Camry that said RB40, which stands for retire by 40." — [24:04]
  • Dave: "Wow, you guys are an inspiration. Tell your husband I'm impressed and inspired by him, and I want to hang out with him." — [25:51]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The best time to plant the tree was 20 years ago. Next best time... Today.”
  — Bartender & Dave [02:55–02:59]
• “Right now it’s just vibes.” — Dave on the 401k investor’s lack of tracking [11:45]
• “Over 90% was just straight up compound growth. You just leaving the money alone and letting it do its thing.” — Dave to Young Trader [07:28]
• “That's the power of marriage financially, when two people are working together toward a vision and a goal.” — Dave [16:54]
• “If you are not investing, start today. If you are investing, keep going. Don’t fall for the traps out there. Slow and steady wins the race.” — Dave’s closing message [26:12]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – 02:59: Bartender/Manager in her 20s – Why budgeting/investing matters; compound growth revealed
• 03:01 – 04:34: Confidence in investing; friends making a pact to save together
• 04:37 – 07:48: Young day trader – The cost of not ‘leaving money alone’ and acting early
• 07:59 – 10:24: Experienced investor in 30s – $500k milestone and what’s next
• 10:28 – 13:14: Maxing out 401k, “set it and forget it” approach, the value of tracking investments
• 13:21 – 17:21: Married couple (mid-30s) catching up, using the power of combined financial goals
• 18:34 – 21:25: Older couple (50s) balancing life-stage priorities; steady compounding even while helping adult children
• 21:31 – 26:00: Ramsey superfan woman—paid down debt, invested early, aiming for early retirement; demonstration of exponential returns with high monthly investment

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Key Takeaways/Financial Lessons

• Time is your best friend: Starting in your 20s or 30s drastically magnifies compound growth’s effect.
• Consistency beats timing: $1,000/mo invested steadily can grow to millions—reliably, not magically.
• Budgeting enables investing: Living on less than you make is the cornerstone of every guest’s plan.
• Don’t fear starting late: Even those in their 50s can make strong progress.
• Track and adjust: Know your numbers, review your accounts, and don’t just “set and forget.”
• Communication matters: Couples and friends hold each other accountable and succeed together.
• Don’t get cute: Day trading, stock picking, trying to outguess the market rarely beats disciplined, diversified investing.
• Debt freedom fuels investing: Aggressively paying off debt unlocks powerful wealth-building capacity.

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Overall Tone & Style

Lighthearted, candid, and relatable—Dave Ramsey uses pop culture references, humor, and a dose of snark. He empowers listeners by demystifying financial jargon, and each mini-conversation models both empathy and straight talk.

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Conclusion

Dave Ramsey’s walk-and-talk through Franklin, TN, reveals a cross-section of Americans “rich” by home value but on wildly different retirement trajectories. The episode illustrates that building wealth is possible for anyone committed to budgeting, steady investing, and letting time <em>(and compound growth!)</em> work its magic. Starting is everything—consistency is key.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

Today, I'm out here in Franklin, Tennessee, which is in one of the wealthiest counties in America. How wealthy, you ask? Well, the median home price is over $826,000. But just because you have a nice wraparound porch doesn't mean you can retire on it. So today I'm asking one simple. How much do you have saved in retirement? But before I go harass strangers, let's raise a glass of sweet tea to delete me for sponsoring this channel. Let's go. We're talking money today. How much do you have saved in retirement?

[Young Bartender/Manager]

I should start saving for that today. I've been a bartender for most of my life, so I just kind of always had spare money on the side that I should be investing, but I never really knew what to do with it. And I just recently swapped over into management, so now I do have to budget a lot more, and it's easier to kind of go that route, but it's still brand new, so.

[Dave Ramsey]

So was the money disappearing when you were a bartender? Like, it was just like, where did that money go? I have it left over, and now it's just kind of spending entertainment.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Exactly. Just living your life, keeping track of it. You know, it's days like today and you go out to eat and.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you want help budgeting? Because I can help with that.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

I would love help budgeting.

[Dave Ramsey]

Don't I look like a guy who could help you make a budget? Yeah, you said that too quickly. A little too quickly, not a lot. We'll get you on a budget. It's called everydollar. I will gift it to you after we're done with this conversation so you don't have to pay for it?

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Amazing. Thank you.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, Wonderful. That's step one. Can I crunch the numbers with you to show you what could be if you started investing today, the way I teach? Okay. This will be fun. I hope this will be aspirational and exciting. So I'm going to use our investment calculator. You can go do this at home if you want. Just search Ramsey investment calculator. So current age you said you are?

[Young Bartender/Manager]

27.

[Dave Ramsey]

27. And what age do you think you'll likely retire? Like, give me a realistic. Like 60, I hope.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Before then, let's go with 55.

[Dave Ramsey]

55. Okay. How about round numbers? We'll say 30 years. That's 27 to 57.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Perfect.

[Dave Ramsey]

30 years of working and monthly contributions, let's say. Do you have any debt right now?

[Young Bartender/Manager]

A little bit.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. If we got rid of your debt, do you think you could invest 15% of your gross income per month. Okay, give us a round number here of what a monthly contribution would look like if you were investing 15% consistently per month.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Thousand, Easily.

[Dave Ramsey]

Easily, she says. Okay, Here we go. $1,000 a month. You have nothing saved. Currently. We're going to go with zero for current investments. So 27 to 50 cent, 1000 bucks a month with zero saved. I'm gonna go with an annual return of 10% on average. So some years it might be 23% up, some years it might be down. But overall, 10% growth every year, and that's compound growth. So that pile of money's gonna make more money. The new pile makes more money. And so it's like a hockey stick over time. Way better than just saving money in a checking account.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Right?

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so crunch the numbers. $2.2 million at 57.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

That's crazy.

[Dave Ramsey]

Is that encouraging?

[Young Bartender/Manager]

It is. I feel like I should have started investing yesterday, but we'll start today.

[Dave Ramsey]

You know, the best time to plant the tree was 20 years ago. Next best time.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Today.

[Dave Ramsey]

Today.

[Couple Partner 1]

So there you go.

[Dave Ramsey]

But here's the deal. You're not gonna have that if you don't put the money in right now. Let's say you went to 60. Let's just see how much more you'd have. 3 million.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Wow.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's pretty wild that you went from 2.2 to 3 with just 3 extra years of working.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

I won't be working through extra years, but I'm okay with the.

[Dave Ramsey]

She will not. And that's, by the way, if you never have a spouse that also brings an income, like, that's just you on your own doing your thing. Wow, that's encouraging.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

I'm a single dog mom of three,

[Dave Ramsey]

so she don't need no man.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

She needs a man that will help with the investment.

[Dave Ramsey]

She's got 12 paws to worry about right now. All right, are you ready to play the game? Let's play the game. All right. Current age is 32. 32. What age do you think you'll retire by, realistically? Well, the career.

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

I wanted to go down at 65 years old. So let's do 30 years. From 32, let's do.

[Couple Partner 2]

What is it?

[Dave Ramsey]

62.

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

All right.

[Dave Ramsey]

To 62 monthly contributions. How much could you realistically put away?

[Couple Partner 2]

Fine.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

$1,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

$1,000. I think we should keep each other accountable, like, text each other. Hey, girl, did you do $1,000 this month? Where we at? Okay, crunch the numbers for me. Oh, hit the button.

[Couple Partner 1]

Yep.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sorry, I can't see another 2.2 million. Do you know why?

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Because we invested the same amount.

[Dave Ramsey]

Same amount for the same amount of time, 30 years. So that's if you never invest more. And let's say you invested. Let's say you did 1250. Let's say you bumped it up 250 bucks extra. You go, okay, that's a decent chunk. But can it really do damage? 2.8 million. So an extra 600 grand. I love this. Do we feel more confident now?

[Young Bartender/Manager]

I do.

[Dave Ramsey]

How much do you have saved for retirement?

[Young Stock Trader]

I have not started saving for retirement, actually.

[Dave Ramsey]

$0.00.

[Young Stock Trader]

$0.00.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you have anything in savings?

[Young Stock Trader]

I do, yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

How much in savings?

[Young Stock Trader]

Well, I don't really want to talk about.

[Dave Ramsey]

Is it like, is it a million dollars? Is it because it's a big number? You're like, I don't.

[Young Stock Trader]

Yeah, I have a pretty good amount saved.

[Dave Ramsey]

Let's go. How old are you?

[Young Stock Trader]

I'm 20, actually. I turned 21 two days ago.

[Dave Ramsey]

Congratulations. And happy birthday. So that's pretty impressive to be 21 with money saved. Do you have any debt?

[Young Stock Trader]

I do not have any debt, no.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. Why haven't you started investing?

[Young Stock Trader]

Well, I do do a little bit of stock trading.

[Dave Ramsey]

Explain to me your stock trading habits.

[Young Stock Trader]

Well, I'm not super into it. I just do a couple dollars and like certain like $20 into a stock and then sometimes I cash out if I'm getting a little bit of money. But I'm not super into it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. And what's the hot stock right now? What are you investing?

[Young Stock Trader]

Apple.

[Dave Ramsey]

Apple, okay, that's a classic.

[Young Stock Trader]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Can't go wrong with that. Do you want to do some math to see how much you could have in retirement if you stop playing the day trading stock game?

[Young Stock Trader]

Sure. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

You just put it in a safer place. Long term mutual funds, index funds, have you heard of that?

[Young Stock Trader]

I have not.

[Dave Ramsey]

So a single stock is one company, right? That makes sense.

[Young Stock Trader]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

So if you have a mutual fund, it's a fund of many companies. So you could own a piece of like 500 companies, for example, and then you're less concerned about which company's gonna do well.

[Young Stock Trader]

Yes, for sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so let's do this. I'm gonna pull out my calculator, get super nerdy permission to math.

[Young Stock Trader]

Sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wonderful. So let's do the math here. How old are you? Said 21.

[Young Stock Trader]

I'm 21. Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

When do you think you'll retire realistically?

[Young Stock Trader]

I mean, probably like 60.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, we're going to go 21 to 60. And you currently have $0 saved in retirement?

[Young Stock Trader]

Oh, yeah. In retirement.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so zero in investments. Now, monthly contributions. How much could you put away every month? Like, what is 15% of your current gross income every month?

[Young Stock Trader]

I usually put away at least 1000.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you could put away 1000 bucks into investments instead of single stocks?

[Young Stock Trader]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, let's see where that goes. And that's at 21. That's impressive. So we're going to crunch the numbers here. I'm going to go with a 10% rate of return. So if you look at the US stock market over the long haul, we're talking 50, 60, 70 years. 10 to 12% is what we've seen for the average return. Yeah, tracking with me. All right, hit that crunch the numbers button.

[Young Stock Trader]

All right.

[Dave Ramsey]

What's it say?

[Young Stock Trader]

Oh, $5 million.

[Dave Ramsey]

$5.7 million. Does that shock you that if you just put 1,000 bucks away from 21 to 60, you could have that?

[Young Stock Trader]

Yeah, that sounds awesome. I would like that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Now guess how much of that you put in because you didn't actually put away $5 million, right?

[Young Stock Trader]

Yeah. So it grows.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm guessing it grows. That's compound growth, is what it's called. $468,000. Is that pretty wild to you?

[Young Stock Trader]

That is pretty wild. That sounds pretty good.

[Dave Ramsey]

Over 90% was just straight up compound growth. You just leaving the money alone and letting it do its thing.

[Young Stock Trader]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Does that make you want to invest into something a little less risky? Not that Apple's risky, but something that was a little more of a sure bet. You don't have to get in and out of cash in, cash out.

[Young Stock Trader]

Yeah. That sounds great. I should probably start doing that.

[Dave Ramsey]

I love it. We have your word that you're going to be an investor starting today, not a day trader? Yes, I did my work today. How much do you currently have saved in retirement?

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

A half a million.

[Couple Partner 1]

Wow.

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

550.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's incredible. How old are you?

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

38.

[Dave Ramsey]

Goodness gracious. That is really incredible that you did that. How long you been investing for?

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

Started a Roth IRA when I was 22, 21.

[Dave Ramsey]

So how long we've been investing now? If you do the math, 17 years. 17 years of consistent investing will get you half a million bucks in your 30s.

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Does that impress even you?

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

I mean, it was intentional.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. So do you know what accounts you have set up for retirement?

[Young Stock Trader]

Right now?

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

I've got a Roth ira, a traditional IRA and some index funds, some brokerage account. Brokerage accounts.

[Dave Ramsey]

Non retirement funds.

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

Non retirement.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wow. Is that included in the 500 no, that's separate.

[Older Couple Partner]

Wow.

[Dave Ramsey]

So are you using the brokerage account as sort of a bridge or for flexible spending?

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

Flexible spending when I need it. I don't really spend a lot of money.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, this bodes well. I mean, if you're in your early 30s, by the time you're 60, this money's gonna be multi, multi, multi millions. Have you crunched the numbers on that?

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

That's the plan, but no, I haven't. No, I haven't.

[Dave Ramsey]

I think today's the day trajectory. You ready to crunch?

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Permission to crunch, my good sir. Here we go. All right, so your current age.

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

38.

[Dave Ramsey]

And how long do you think you'll go until retirement? What age? I mean, 65.

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

Yeah, 65 is fine.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

All right.

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

Probably won't retire at 65.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you currently have how much in your retirement accounts?

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

Roughly a half a million.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, 500,000. And how much are you contributing monthly into retirement accounts?

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

If you average out the last four or five years, I'd say probably between 30 and 50 grand a year.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so you want to say two or three grand a month invested. All right, three grand a month. That's pretty impressive. We're going to go with an annual return of 10%. Hit calculate. $12 million, my good man.

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

That'd be nice.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's what you won. I think you can live a pretty good life.

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

Yeah, sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

Unless you had some kind of crazy lifestyle expenses. 12 million bucks should do the trick.

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

Yeah, that'd be nice.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, keep at it, man. This is what it looks like. I mean, you're a normal guy. You didn't have family money.

[Couple Partner 1]

No.

[Dave Ramsey]

Nothing was handed to you. No. Well, keep it up. You're doing great. So far. It ain't broken. Don't fix it.

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

That's right.

[Dave Ramsey]

How much do you have saved in retirement?

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

That is an amazing question. I'm not sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you? Is it because you have so much, or is it because you're not sure you're even investing?

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

I know I'm investing. I set everything up at work, and I'm just letting it do its thing.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you want to check live or does that make you nervous to, like, pull out your app and go, like, let's see.

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

I'm not sure I know my login information.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wow, this is kind of locked away.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Yes, it is.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you know how much you're investing per month? Like a percentage of your income or an amount?

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

I do know. I max it out. So whatever my options were, I chose the maximum amount.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

If that helps.

[Dave Ramsey]

So are you maxing out a 401k every year, or are you just maxing out as much as you can contribute?

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

They allow us to contribute.

[Dave Ramsey]

Can we do some napkin math to see how much you could have at retirement age?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you have any goals around how much you would need to retire?

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

No, I don't.

[Dave Ramsey]

How much do you think you'll need? How old are you now? Can I ask a lady?

[Young Stock Trader]

Yes.

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

I'm 34.

[Dave Ramsey]

34, okay, great. What age do you think you'll retire at?

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

I would love to retire around the same age as my parents did. So 60. Early 60s.

[Young Stock Trader]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you want to. Is 64 too late? No, go. 62. It's your life. Who am I to say?

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

Yeah, sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, great. I'm going to crunch the numbers using my handy dandy calculator, and we're going to find out for ourselves the reality of your situation. Because right now it's just vibes. It is just vibe.

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

It's like a surprise, you know, when

[Dave Ramsey]

I'll open it one day at 64 and go, oh, look at that, a million dollars. Now, is million dollars going to be enough at 64 based on inflation and your lifestyle?

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

I do think a 401k is.

[Dave Ramsey]

The 401k is not the problem. It's how much you're putting into it.

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

Right, right. I just feel like we definitely need more than our parents needed to retire.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. That's a fair assessment.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so 34 to 64. And do you know how much you're contributing? As a random guess? Are you doing a 500amonth, 1,000amonth, $10 a month?

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

Let's say I'm putting in $450 a month.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

450amonth is your monthly contribution, and we don't necessarily know your current investments. You have no clue of a ballpark. If you've been investing for 14 years, I imagine it's at least $100,000. I got 100,000 here. And we're going to go with a 10% rate of return. If you're invested in growth stock mutual funds, or things that are going up in value companies that we're all rooting for.

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

Right, right.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right. You crunch the numbers.

[Couple Partner 2]

Okay.

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

Crunch.

[Couple Partner 2]

Wow.

[Young Stock Trader]

How much?

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

$3 million.

[Dave Ramsey]

Does that surprise you? Does it excite you? Does it depress you?

[Young Bartender/Manager]

I'll take it.

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

I'll take it.

[Dave Ramsey]

You will take it. And that's without an employer match. Do you have an employer match?

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

Probably.

[Dave Ramsey]

We have so much homework to do when we get home.

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

We do.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, but it Sounds like if you continue at this pace, you don't stop investing. You'll at least have $3 million in that one account.

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

That's amazing.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

I love it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, it was great talking with you. I wish you the best on your investing journey.

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

Thank you so much.

[Dave Ramsey]

How much do you have saved in retirement?

[Couple Partner 1]

Currently under 20 grand.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so you got under 20 grand. And how much do you think you'll need to retire? What must be in that account for you to go like, all right, I'm good.

[Couple Partner 1]

I'm 65 or something? Probably, you tell me.

[Dave Ramsey]

Retirement, it's a financial number.

[Couple Partner 1]

Probably a few million bucks at that point. That's 30 years from now.

[Dave Ramsey]

So two or three, yeah, I would guess would do the trick. How much do you think you'll need to retire? Who is the spender out of the two of you?

[Couple Partner 2]

Honestly, we both spend quite a bit, but, I mean, we both have our own jobs, our own careers.

[Dave Ramsey]

So are you both investing currently, like a percentage or dollar amount that's going into, you know, a retirement account?

[Couple Partner 1]

No, not at all.

[Dave Ramsey]

Is it kind of random, or do you just set it and forget it throughout the year?

[Couple Partner 1]

We'll put some money aside at different points in time throughout the year, but it's not like a set monthly thing. Okay, that makes sense.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you know what kind of account it's being put in? Like, is it investment account or is it savings brokerage account? Okay, so non retirement brokerage account. And you plan on using that for real estate? Or is that sort of like mini nest egg for you? What do you plan on doing with that money?

[Couple Partner 1]

Mini. Well, just investing over time. We just want it to grow so it's just, you know, like US Blue chip, ETF kind of things, like just investing in the market so you know

[Dave Ramsey]

what you're investing in. It sounds like, yeah, a little bit.

[Couple Partner 1]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Can we do our. Use our calculator to see kind of where things will stand and what could be. I'm a dreamer, you know, what can I say? Current age 35. 35, yeah. And you said you plan on retiring by 65 would be an ideal. Okay, so we're gonna go 65 and, you know, like, give me a monthly contribution. Like, how much can you consistently put away? Or are you into an investment account?

[Experienced Investor in 30s]

Let's say

[Couple Partner 1]

1,000 bucks.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, thousand bucks a month. And you said currently you've got 20 grand.

[Couple Partner 1]

15.

[Dave Ramsey]

15. Okay, 15 grand. Now, I'm gonna go with a 10% rate of return. And if you look at the US stock market, you've Done. The numbers, you know, let's crunch them. Hit the number for me.

[Couple Partner 1]

All right. 2.5 is not bad.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's kind of where you were saying you wanted to be.

[Couple Partner 1]

That's not bad.

[Dave Ramsey]

Is that encouraging?

[Couple Partner 1]

I don't know what 2.5 is going to buy me in 30 years. Sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

With inflation, what's the buying power of that? Lord only knows.

[Couple Partner 1]

Maybe I can get a car, but that's still.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's more than most people are going to have.

[Couple Partner 1]

Yeah, that's not bad.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, that's pretty incredible. Now, that's without your contributions, right?

[Couple Partner 2]

Yeah, I guess. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Can we add those in? I feel like you count. You guys are getting married. You're going to build wealth together. How much are you going to be contributing into your investment accounts or are you currently.

[Couple Partner 1]

Probably 500 bucks a month.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, 500 for you, easy. So I'm going to bump this up to 1,500. And do you have anything in retirement to add to his 15?

[Couple Partner 2]

I do have 401k. I have not seen the account. I just. I know that I have one. I work in the schools, so.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. So is it kind of an auto contribution? Do you even know how to log into it?

[Couple Partner 2]

No idea.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, we got some homework here. We can do that tonight. But let's say you want to take a guess as to how much you have in there right now.

[Couple Partner 2]

I honestly couldn't tell you. I mean, I've been working for probably about five, six years.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Probably at least another 15 grand. It sounds like one would hope. All right, I'm going to add 10 to that. We're going to say 25,000 in current investments, and now we're investing 1,500amonth with our new combined income. Now crunch the numbers. What's it say?

[Couple Partner 1]

3.8.

[Couple Partner 2]

3.8.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's pretty incredible. That's pretty good. That's the power of marriage financially, when two people are working together towards a vision and a goal. And that's if you guys never contribute more, you never get raises. You just stay at this number for 30 years. Can you do it?

[Couple Partner 1]

It's wild, but yeah, hopefully. Yeah, I think so.

[Dave Ramsey]

I could live off of $4 million.

[Couple Partner 1]

Depends on what 4 million bucks is worth in 30 years. But yeah, I mean, even with inflation, a little bit like, it'll be. I think it's a good.

[Dave Ramsey]

Still be okay. Not having a plan for retirement, bad. Overpaying for your phone plan, also bad. And that's why I love telling friends, family, strangers about Boost Mobile, a sponsor of Today's video, with their unlimited plan, you pay just 25 bucks a month forever, which is a very long time. And the best part is there's no contracts, there's no hidden fees, there's no surprises. There's just that simple bill every month for 25 bucks for unlimited wireless. So what are you waiting for? Stop overpaying. Go to boostmobile.com Ramsey to make the switch. $25 forever requires customers to remain active on Boost Unlimited plan. And with all those sweet savings, put it somewhere it can work for you. And one of the most frequently asked questions I get is, George, what is a good place to put my savings? I. I always recommend Fairwinds Credit Union, a sponsor of today's video. You see, their high yield savings account will offer an APY of 3% or more. Compare that to your traditional bank offering a half a percent and you'll see why it's worth the switch. On top of that, they have a no fee checking account and a Ramsey themed debit card. So you can live out this plan, be debt free, and build for the future. So go check out the smart [e-mail] Ramsey. How much do you currently have saved in retirement? You want to yell at me? Can you relay the message?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

How much do we have in retirement?

[Older Couple Partner]

150,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you want to step in and be a part of this, or you want nothing to do with this?

[Older Couple Partner]

I probably need to for legal reasons.

[Dave Ramsey]

He should be involved now. All right, we're getting him involved. So you're investing. Are there still kids you're saving for college for, or are they all out of the house?

[Older Couple Partner]

No, we have a son in medical school in California.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, that sounds expensive.

[Older Couple Partner]

That is expensive. So that's also student loans for that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Are you helping with that or is it like a. Hey, that's. It's $400,000. Good luck, bud.

[Older Couple Partner]

I think probably the best way to describe that is the tuition part he's doing with loans. But there is a rental of an apartment. There's food, there's the livelihood.

[Dave Ramsey]

And are you able to help with that or have you chosen to help with that?

[Older Couple Partner]

Absolutely.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's very nice. Okay, well, let's talk about how long you've been investing, because that's always a factor here. You got 150 grand in the nest egg between the two of you, right?

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Just hers.

[Dave Ramsey]

Just hers.

[Older Couple Partner]

Mine's about 180,000. We do about 7% of our payroll.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so between the two of you, you have more like 330, is that correct? So let's see kind of where we might be at with some napkin math, shall we? Can you tell me your ages?

[Older Couple Partner]

I'm gonna be 55. July.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Woohoo.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's exciting. Okay. And I assume you're much younger.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

52.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, see, I was right. So I'm going to go. I'm going to go with her age, 52, and ride this out to, let's say, what, 65. When do you guys plan on working till? Yeah, okay, so 65 is the number.

[Older Couple Partner]

We have 67.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, let's bump it up. That'll only help with more. Two more years of compound growth. And you know the general monthly contribution number, like a dollar amount. Are you putting 1000 away into these accounts total? Is it 500? Is it 1500?

[Older Couple Partner]

I don't know. If I bring home 104, and I have a three and a half with a 3.5 match. Adding one more percent, we're at 8% of 100,000. So round numbers.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. So 8000 a year and then divide that out. Okay, so final numbers. You're 52, he's 55. We're going to go to 67, contributing 650 bucks a month. Let's say you never increase that. We're just going to leave it alone. You currently have, between the two of you, $330,000 in investments. We're going to go with a 10% average annual rate of return if you're invested wisely in some good mutual funds. Crunch the numbers. Hit that for me. $1.7 million. How does that hit you? Is there any surprise there?

[Older Couple Partner]

No. No. Because that's kind of how we set it up. We follow Ramsey's method. So every dollar, every dollar counts. And we use the EveryDollar app. It's called zero budgeting. So a lot of those things we've already planned for.

[Dave Ramsey]

So between your 1.7 million in the nest egg, maybe Social Security, you guys, you can retire as well.

[Older Couple Partner]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wonderful to take care of our family. Well, keep it up, guys. Do you know how much you currently have saved in retirement?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Exact number.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

I have 130.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's amazing.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

So we're contributing to my husband's 401k and then to Roth IRAs.

[Dave Ramsey]

It sounds like you guys have talked about this, like you have a game plan.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

We're Ramsey fans. So I was telling one of your.

[Dave Ramsey]

I don't have friends. It's a co worker. She wouldn't say I'm a friend, that

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Dave Ramsey was the reason I got out of My student loan debt as fast as I could.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's amazing. How much student loan debt did you have?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

I had 70,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, my goodness. How long did it take to get out?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Paid it off in three years.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's incredible. And that allowed you to then invest? You had all that margin for you. Do you think you would have been able to invest if you had the student loan payments still? No, because all those payments were going to the lender instead of going into an investment account.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

So I had. I had a friend who had the same amount of loans as I did, and he was paying them off way faster than I did. And I said, how is this possible? What are you doing? And he was super diligent. He was not going out. He was not getting the coffees, which is what I was doing. So literally one day I wanted to

[Dave Ramsey]

have the cake and eat it too.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

So one day at work, I was like, how do I get. How do I pay my debt as fast as possible? And Ramsey popped up, and I said, okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

We showed up when you needed a smoke step.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

So my husband and I did not go out to eat. Friday nights were at home. And that's what happened.

[Dave Ramsey]

No regrets?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

No regrets.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you know how much your husband has saved? Like, what's the combined nest egg right now in just 401k, all retirement accounts.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Oh, we're probably under. Just under 900,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, my goodness. That's incredible. Can I ask how old you guys are?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

I'm 36. He's 37.

[Dave Ramsey]

36 and 37. And you almost have a million bucks in retirement alone.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's without home equity. Any other savings, any other assets?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Not with the home, but with all of our savings kind of in one.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's incredible. Okay. Do you know what you guys are investing in?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Mutual funds. So we follow the Ramsey 4.

[Dave Ramsey]

So the growth, Aggressive growth. Growth in income International. So nice split from large cap, mid cap, Small cap International. That's fantastic. So you guys have been on the same page. Do you think that has contributed to the amount of wealth you've been to build in your 30s?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Oh, absolutely. If my husband was not on the same page, I don't know that we would have been able to do it at all.

[Young Bartender/Manager]

Wow.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm really inspired by this. I mean, I'm tempted to use the calculator to show you how much wealth you'll have, but I think the calculator might break. Should we try it? Go for it. All right. We'll see if it can handle these kinds of numbers, because you guys probably have. He at least has another, what, 20 working years. You guys will be able to retire early. It seems like he's the kind. Does he enjoy what he does?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

My husband a couple years ago got a vanity plate on his Toyota camry that said RB40, which stands for retire by 40.

[Dave Ramsey]

He's gonna be able to do it. We have three years.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

I don't know. We'll see.

[Dave Ramsey]

Bless him. That's an incredible goal. So your current age is 36?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

And how long do we want to let this run? Until, like, what is the age you want to go until? To see where it grows.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Let's do 65.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. 36 to 65 monthly contributions. If you had a rough number of how much is going into investment accounts currently?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Let me calculate. I just did this for this month. He just started a new job, so I don't know what it's going to be exactly, but let's just say it's

[Dave Ramsey]

4700amonth going into retirement accounts. Let's go, baby. That's incredible. Current investments. You said like 500 in retirement accounts. Okay.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Between two of us.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. 500,000. You're doing 4700amonth. We're going to go with a 10% rate of return.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Perfect.

[Dave Ramsey]

Agree or disagree?

[Maxing Out 401k Investor]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, crunch the numbers.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Oh, you can say it.

[Dave Ramsey]

I. I will give you $18.5 million is what will be in there if they continue at this pace until 65.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

If I don't shop, if I rain.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, we'll take it down. Can you shop with a million? Does that work? We'll take it out. 17.5. That'll work. Now let's even, like, make it more realistic if he wants to retire early.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

RB 40.

[Dave Ramsey]

OK, so let's say. Let's say. Yeah, let's say 46. 10 more years. All right. He's behind his goal, and yet he's doing better than almost anyone in America. Let's see where we're at. Crunch the numbers on that.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

2.

[Dave Ramsey]

2.3 million. That's not bad. And that will continue to grow if you're not, like, drawing it down too hard.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

That's right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wow, you guys are an inspiration. Tell your husband I'm impressed and inspired by him, and I want to hang out with him. Would he hang out with me?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

I think he would.

[Dave Ramsey]

Is he looking for friends?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Do you play tennis?

[Dave Ramsey]

I can learn.

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Play pickleball.

[Dave Ramsey]

I've been forced into playing pickleball. Like, it's like an mlm, you know what I mean? At some point, someone made you play pickleball?

[Married Ramsey Fan Woman]

Yes. Yeah, yeah, he'll play pickleball with you.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right. I'm gonna be an athlete, guys. Well, I gotta say, I have left feeling hopeful about the future of America. Based on the people I've talked to. Now, some of them are starting from nothing, but they still have time on their side if they're in their 20s, 30s, 40s, even early 50s to make up for lost time and still retire with dignity. And I talked to some people who have been doing it right for a long period of time, like over a decade, and now they have a half a million or more sitting their nest egg in their 30s. That is what really inspires me. And I want to encourage you guys, if you're not investing, start today. And if you are investing, keep going. Don't fall for the traps out there. Slow and steady wins the race. Now, if you enjoyed this video, you're gonna love this next one where I go to downtown Nashville and ask people and tourists how much they have in their retirement. Click here to watch it next or click the link in the description. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.