The Best Money and Life Advice I've Heard All Year

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Best Money and Life Advice I've Heard All Year

Podcast: George Kamel (Ramsey Network)
Host: George Kamel
Episode Date: December 26, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this year-end special, George Kamel revisits his favorite guest moments from 2025, curating standout advice on money, life, and purpose. The episode features practical wisdom and straight talk from a range of experts—entrepreneurs, authors, tax advisors, and thought leaders. With Kamel’s signature humor and snark, the show distills actionable tips on sacrifice, purpose-driven wealth, tax deductions, minimalist living, family priorities, generosity, and more.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sacrifice and Delayed Gratification: Sahil Bloom

Timestamp: [00:30–01:28]

• Insight: Building real freedom requires sacrificing short-term pleasures for long-term gains. There’s no “hack” or easy shortcut, despite what’s often sold online.
• Quote:

  "Sacrifice is the cost of entry. Instant gratification will kill the life of your dreams... There is no such thing as a hack or a shortcut to building the life you want. Delayed gratification is the key to the life that you want."
  — Sahil Bloom [00:30]

• Host Reflection:
  George reiterates the wisdom:

  "There are no discounts on that price."
  — George Kamel [01:28]

2. Money’s Real Purpose: Cody Sanchez & Jasmine Dellucci

Timestamp: [01:45–02:19]

• Insight: Having money is only valuable when it brings freedom and enables you to serve others. Without purpose, financial gain leads to emptiness.
• Quote:

  "The goal is not just money. The goal is money which equals freedom, which allows you to pick your impact... It's not profit, it's purpose."
  — Cody Sanchez [01:50] "If you help enough people, you don’t have to worry about money."
  — George Kamel [02:22]

3. Debunking the ‘Write Off Your Luxury Car’ Myth: Jasmine Dellucci & Tax Expert

Timestamp: [02:56–05:57]

• Insight: Writing off a luxury car under Section 179 is misunderstood and often misapplied. There are complex weight rules, deduction limits, and unintended tax consequences—especially when loans and business structures are involved.
• Quotes:

  "You can't just deduct like $500,000..."
  — George Kamel [04:33] "When you have debt and depreciable assets... you basically pay tax on the loan money."
  — Tax Expert [05:22]

• Key Takeaway: A Section 179 deduction rarely works as easily or advantageously as social media promises. Beware of extra taxes from wrong assumptions.

4. Minimalism and the 90/90 Rule: Joshua Fields Milburn

Timestamp: [06:35–07:26]

• Insight: Too often, we believe buying stuff will “complete” us, but it only creates clutter. The “90/90 rule” helps decide what stays: If you haven’t used something in the last 90 days and won’t need it in the next 90, let it go.
• Quote:

  "We often buy a thing because we think it's going to complete us, but it does the opposite. It incompletes us... If the answer is no to both of those questions, then I give myself permission to let it go."
  — Joshua Fields Milburn [06:35]

• Host Reflection: Humorously admits he’s getting rid of a rarely-used jacket, inspired by the rule.

5. Solving for Peace, Not Just Wealth: Dr. John Deloney

Timestamp: [09:36–11:03]

• Insight: The most important question might be, "How do you want your home to feel?" Rather than chasing a number or fancier things, creating peace and joy at home—often with less—is true wealth.
• Quote:

  "How do you want this house to feel like when you come home?... I'm not gonna solve for wealth and I'm not gonna solve for net worth. I'm gonna solve for peace in my house."
  — Dr. John Deloney [09:36] "There's a soul tax to be paid when you're chasing after the wrong thing."
  — George Kamel [11:03]

6. Millionaires, Musicians… and Stock Market Timing

Timestamp: [11:55–13:08]

• Insight: Faced with the choice, the guests would prefer perfect timing in stocks over real estate—it's simpler and less stress. They also humorously imagine which instruments they'd play if they formed a rock band.
• Quotes:

  "Stock market. That's way easier. Less to manage, less hassle. Fact."
  — Cody Sanchez [12:02] "What would you play?"
  — George Kamel [12:38]
  "I would do piano or I'd sing."
  — Sahil Bloom [12:38]

• Host Reflection: Jokes about “doing piano” versus “playing piano,” keeping the tone light.

7. Generosity and Gratitude: Lewis Howes

Timestamp: [13:47–14:36]

• Insight: Gratitude and generosity—regardless of financial status—are the foundation of an abundant, rich life. Even without much, you can give time or attention and gain fulfillment.
• Quote:

  "Gratitude and generosity, they are the gateway to abundance or to living a richer life... You can give time, you can give attention, you can be present with someone when you're looking at them."
  — Lewis Howes [13:47]

• Host Reflection: Generosity isn’t a “manifestation hack” but a way to attract authentic connection and opportunity.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Delayed gratification is the key to the life you want." — Sahil Bloom [01:28]
• "Stop trying to tell people the goal is just money." — Cody Sanchez [01:45]
• "If you help enough people, you don't have to worry about money." — George Kamel [02:22]
• "We often buy a thing because we think it's going to complete us, but it does the opposite." — Joshua Fields Milburn [06:35]
• "How do you want this house to feel when you come home?" — Dr. John Deloney [09:36]
• "There's a soul tax to be paid when you're chasing after the wrong thing." — George Kamel [11:03]
• On minimalist decluttering:

  "I'm getting rid of it. Hey guys, make sure to put that back on the rack when we're done with this. Thank you. You sit on a throne of lies." — George Kamel [07:26]

• On band dreams:

  "I would do piano or I'd sing." — Sahil Bloom [12:38]
  "It's gonna be a heavy piano band, probably. Genre?" — George Kamel [12:50]

---

Timestamps to Key Segments

| Time | Topic | |----------|------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:30 | Sahil Bloom on Sacrifice and Delayed Gratification | | 01:45 | Cody Sanchez on Purpose Over Profit | | 02:56 | Jasmine Dellucci on Car Write-Off Myths/Tax Expert clarifies| | 06:35 | Joshua Fields Milburn on Minimalism and the 90/90 Rule | | 09:36 | Dr. John Deloney on Solving for Peace at Home | | 11:55 | Millionaires and Cars (Stock vs Real Estate, Band Chat) | | 13:47 | Lewis Howes on Generosity, Gratitude and a Richer Life |

---

Overall Themes & Closing Thoughts

• No Shortcuts: Building wealth and freedom takes sacrifice and delayed gratification—there are no secret hacks.
• Purpose Over Money: Lasting fulfillment comes from purpose, service, and impact, not just a bigger bank account.
• Skepticism Needed: Don’t fall for flashy financial “one weird trick” schemes, especially around taxes or expensive purchases.
• Live with Less: Decluttering your stuff (and your life) is freeing; only keep things that are truly useful.
• Prioritize Peace: Wealth is best used to build a peaceful, joyful life—fancy things often bring more stress than satisfaction.
• Give What You Can: Generosity and gratitude enrich your life, regardless of your financial stage.

George thanks his guests and listeners, closes with his trademark humor, and invites feedback for future guest suggestions.

---

This summary captures the practical wisdom and friendly banter that defines George Kamel’s year-end special—making the episode accessible and actionable for anyone, whether they heard the full show or not.

Transcript

[George]

2025 was one for the books when it came to guests on this channel. From tax experts and entrepreneurs to thought leaders and whatever it is Dr. John Deloney does, I got to hear from some of the smartest and best dressed people I know. So today I'm revisiting some of my favorite conversations from the past year and the advice that stuck with me and I hope it sticks with you. First up is a conversation I had with bestselling author Sahil Bloom and I loved his take on On Sacrifice Your.

[Sahil Bloom]

Entire life will change when you realize you have to sacrifice short term freedom in order to build and earn long term freedom. Sacrifice is the cost of entry. Instant gratification will kill the life of your dreams and anyone is capable of going out and building that if they are willing to pay the price to achieve that thing. Going in with eyes wide open about what the price is is very, very important because you need to internalize what you are going to have to sacrifice in order to earn that long term freedom. The problem is that people think that there's an easy way. There's a shortcut, there's a hack, there's a thing and someone is always willing to sell you that shortcut. There is always someone out there who's gonna tell you like, oh, you're doing this the hard way. Here's the Easy Way for nine payments of 1999 that we can fix this for you. There is no such thing as a hack or a shortcut to building the life you want. Delayed gratification is the key to the life that you want.

[George]

I love that so much. Delayed gratification is the key to the life you want. Sacrifices the cost of entry and unfortunately there are no discounts on that price. Thank you for that timeless wisdom, my friend. Next up, investor and entrepreneur Cody Sanchez on the real goals we should be chasing.

[Cody Sanchez]

Stop trying to tell people that the goal is just money. You guys say this too.

[George]

Oh yeah.

[Cody Sanchez]

The goal is not just money. The goal is money which equals freedom, which allows you to pick your impact, which allows you to feel like that the reason that you breathe is worthwhile. And so it's really not profit, it's purpose. And that serving people is actually an incredible way to make a ton of money. And that is the real goal. At the end of the day, if you're good and you keep going for a long enough time, you're gonna eventually make a ton of money. If you keep learning, you keep growing, you keep earning, you keep investing, the.

[Jasmine Dellucci]

Path is pretty clear.

[Cody Sanchez]

But if you don't care about anything besides money or yourself that does lead to misery.

[George]

I think I love this purpose over profit. Cause here's the problem. If you're just after money, you might get the money, but then you realize there's no meaning behind it. You just got money for the sake of getting money, which is fine, but there's no depth to it. So you need to have some purpose behind it. And the better way to do it is think about it this way. If you help enough people, you don't have to worry about money. Because the byproduct of serving others is going to be revenue. Thank you, Cody. Now, one of Yalls favorite collabs I did this year was with tax attorney and expert Jasmine Dellucci. And she set the record straight when it comes to writing off this expensive item.

[Jasmine Dellucci]

Get in, loser. I just got a new car. This car is sick.

[George]

I know.

[Jasmine Dellucci]

I was considering a G Wagon or a Range Rover or a Porsche Cayenne. Okay, Daddy Warbucks. No, dude, I didn't buy this car to be flashy. It's a great financial decision.

[George]

What?

[Jasmine Dellucci]

Yeah, a Section 179 deduction. I own a business and can write the car off as an expense. With regular cars, you'd have to spread the car's price over five years to deduct it off of your taxable income. But with Section 179 cars, the you'll be able to deduct 100% of the cost the same year that you buy it. Wait, can I do this? Maybe you have to have a business like an LLC or an S Corp, and the deduction is proportional to what percent you use it for business. It's also not just luxury vehicles that qualify. Any car weighing over 6,000 pounds works. Here's a quick list. European cars, American cars, Japanese cars, they all count.

[George]

So she sounded like she had done her homework here.

[Tax Expert (possibly a colleague or additional expert)]

The 6,000 pound rule, like people just vary generically. We care about Whether is it 6000 loaded? Like assuming it's with loaded up with people loaded up with all this stuff or unloaded. And that matters a lot. And depending on the type of car that impacts weather, you can go with the easier threshold, which is 6,000 loaded, which a lot of cars meet. Or if you're really not a truck or a van, not one of those heavier cars and there's specific criteria, then it's 6,000 unloaded, which a lot of vehicles basically don't meet that. So that's threshold number one. And then section 179, specifically, people love to just say like section 179, but there's an SUV limitation specific for it and it's around $30,000 a year to limit that first year deduction.

[George]

So you can't just deduct like $500,000.

[Tax Expert (possibly a colleague or additional expert)]

Right.

[George]

For like the G Wagon.

[Tax Expert (possibly a colleague or additional expert)]

Yeah.

[George]

And then like walk me through this. Let's say the g wagon is $300,000.

[Tax Expert (possibly a colleague or additional expert)]

Okay.

[George]

And you said, I'm going to write it off so I can write off $300,000 in one year. But was that a good decision financially? Like she said?

[Tax Expert (possibly a colleague or additional expert)]

Sure. No. In my opinion.

[George]

How does that work? Because you write off the car, you didn't make 300 extra thousand dollars.

[Tax Expert (possibly a colleague or additional expert)]

So hurdle number one, is it even fully deductible? Which I think people make that assumption when they buy it because of videos like this. Not always true.

[George]

Okay.

[Tax Expert (possibly a colleague or additional expert)]

Even if they're over that 6,000 pound, and then. Yeah, I mean, you're not getting like.

[George]

A dollar for dollar, not a dollar for dollar deduction. And you probably still have a huge loan attached to that because most people doing this crap have to take out a giant car loan to make it happen, which then has its own interest.

[Tax Expert (possibly a colleague or additional expert)]

What I would say is like the worst situation that I actually see pretty often is they buy the car, they get the debt, they put it in an S Corp, and then there's a way where not to get too technical, but it's basically like when you have debt and assets, depreciable assets, and debt. On an S Corp, you incur a layer of double tax. It's what we call like exceeding your tax basis, but you basically pay tax on the loan money.

[George]

If the loan was $100,000, you could owe taxes on 100,000 as if you had earned it.

[Tax Expert (possibly a colleague or additional expert)]

Yeah, and it's an indirect impact of it. It's not like you're literally directly taxed on the loan, but it's an implication. Because of the loan, you get that extra layer of capital gains tax.

[George]

Okay. And I know a lot of you are wondering, well, how do I hit the 6,000 pound limit? Just put your mom in it. That should do it. There you go, Brad. And to be honest, that's all I was thinking about. Okay. Sadly, Jasmine's brilliant advice was overshadowed by my killer joke that I was holding on way too long as she nerdily and expertly explained double taxation. Listen, tax me once, shame on me. Tax me twice. I probably have a G wagon that I'm about to write off. Moving on. I always enjoy a good concise chat with the minimalist guys. And this time, Joshua Fields Milburn explained his 9090 rule for living with less.

[Joshua Fields Milburn]

We often buy a thing because we think it's going to complete us, but it does the opposite. It incompletes us. It gets in the way. Anything that gets in the way is clutter. The Minimalist came up with these 16 rules for living with less. They're not really rules. They're just boundaries. They're adjustable for your life. If you go into your closet, one of the rules that works really well for me is the 9090 rule. You pull out anything that's in your closet. You know, those old sweatpants from 1998. Or maybe you have, like, an oversized jacket you haven't worn in a while, or that sweater. And you ask yourself, have I worn this in the last 90 days? And if the answer is no, then, okay, will I wear it in the next 90 days? Because right now it's the end of summer. And, no, I haven't worn my winter coat in the last 90 days. But, yeah, I know I'm going to wear it within the 90 days, so I'm going to hold on to that. But if the answer is no to both of those questions, then I give myself permission to let it go.

[George]

I'm going to be honest. I was very convicted by the 9090 rule. So much so that I've decided to admit, live on this channel, that there's something I have to get rid of. I have not worn this in the last 90 days, and I do not plan on wearing it in the next 90 days. I wore it one time for a video on this channel, and since then, you it has been collecting dust and probably asbestos based on just the vibe and the general smell. I think this was worn exclusively inside of Waffle House kitchens. I think that's how you get the odor. So, Joshua, I'm gonna make you proud. And I'm getting rid of it. Hey, guys, make sure to put that back on the rack when we're done with this. Thank you. You sit on a throne of lies. Now. One thing I will not be purging from my closet, because I've definitely worn it in the last 90 days. Maybe too much. Is my favorite pair of pants from Cozy Earth a sponsor of today' video? Their men's everywhere pant is a pant that I wear, frankly, everywhere. And that's because it's the rare combo of structure and stretch. And their brushed bamboo joggers are my go to the second I get home because they're soft, breathable, and built to last. So if you want to treat yourself to some S tier pantalones? Look no further than Cozy Earth. And best of all, you can get up to 20% off right now by going to cozyearth.com george and using the promo code George at checkout. You can also use the link in the description. And before we get back to the conversations, I've got my own piece of solid advice for you. Sign up for Deleteme, a sponsor of today's video. Deleteme finds and removes your data from hundreds of data broker sites that are out there selling your personal info to spammers and scammers. Now, trying to remove all this yourself? You could try, but it would take you so much time. And Deleteme periodically sends you a report showing you exactly how much time they've saved you. And I'm currently at 108 hours already, which means I'm essentially living a few days longer than thanks to Delete Me. So help protect yourself from the risks of online scams and data breaches. With Deleteme, you can use my special link to get a discounted plan that comes out to about 9 bucks a month. Go to joindeleteme.com George to get the deal or click the link in the description. All right, back to more advice from this year. My friend Dr. John Deloney is always dropping words of wisdom, but I loved what he had to say in this clip about the question that changed everything for him.

[Dr. John Deloney]

The question that changed my household that my wife asked me was, how do you want this house to feel like when you come home? And that started, oh, I'm not gonna solve for wealth and I'm not gonna solve for net worth. I'm gonna solve for peace in my house. And so yes, I would love to have $110,000 souped up tundra in my driveway.

[Sahil Bloom]

I would.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And dude, I love that. When my son drops something all over the tundra or bangs into it with something, my first thing I do is laugh because it costs 8, 000 bucks. Like, I love that. And so I'm solving for peace. And one day I may have enough wealth that I can buy that hundred thousand dollar. Probably won't, but I can buy a nice truck and have it sit in the driveway and it won't all laugh if somebody dings it or whatever. But I want that life. And so how do I want this place to. I want my house to feel be filled with laughter and with joy. And that means, dude, let's drive Corollas then, right? Let's drive. Let's drive used Camrys and let's live in a smaller house so that we can go do silly things and we can have pizza nights randomly. We can go on fun trips and whatever.

[George]

But that question lifestyle creep and pushing it all to the limit and how.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Do we want this place to feel? So. Yeah. But yes. Whether it's a picture of what you want this to look like and some people do that well. Or whether it's what do you want this to feel like there's some sort of end game that we're gonna reverse engineer. How do we get there then? And then here's what's important. I think you have to hold that endgame really loosely. Cause it can become an idol.

[George]

I love it. I'm convinced at this point that John is sponsored by Toyota. Cause it's the only kind of vehicles he's gonna have in his house. We're a Toyota family. We celebrate Toyota thon not Happy Honda days. But this is actually really good advice. Too many people, they're doing the math. They're solving for a number instead of solving for peace in their homes. And so that hurts their relationships, it hurts their careers, and it hurts their soul. There's a soul tax to be paid when you're chasing after the wrong thing. So I love that John's going, we could have nicer stuff, but that stuff's gonna have us. So I'd rather have the cheaper stuff and focus on being present for my family. Good advice, John. Now, I've had Graham Stephan and Jack Selby from Ice Coffee Hour on several times now. But in this episode of Millionaires and Cars Getting Coffee, I learned something very surprising about these guys whilst going through a car wash. Would you rather have perfect timing in the stock market or in the real estate market?

[Cody Sanchez]

Stock market.

[George]

Stock market. You wouldn't want a 2008 crisis and you're stacked with millions of dollars.

[Cody Sanchez]

Nah.

[George]

Stocks yet perfect timing and starts. Oh, that's way easier. Okay. That's way easier. Less to manage, less hassle. Fact.

[Cody Sanchez]

That was a no brainer.

[George]

Okay, here we go. I can't read the question. Oh my gosh, I'm getting nervous. All right. Would you rather have the jobs you have now or be a successful rock star? Aw, that's a tough one. Graham just had a flashback to his days as a drummer, didn't you?

[Sahil Bloom]

How successful are we talking?

[George]

I'm talking. You're filling arenas.

[Sahil Bloom]

I'd fill arenas.

[George]

I mean, if we're filling arenas, I would do that. Yeah. Would you guys ever be in a band Together? Yeah, I would. I would do it.

[Sahil Bloom]

Yeah.

[George]

What would you play? I would do piano or I'd sing. And you do both? Well, no. What can you still do?

[Sahil Bloom]

Drums.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Piano.

[Sahil Bloom]

Drums and piano.

[George]

It's gonna be a heavy piano band, probably. Genre. What genre could you agree on?

[Sahil Bloom]

I think like a Chili Peppers vibe.

[George]

Yeah, I would do that. I would do that. Yeah. That genre would still sell today.

[Sahil Bloom]

I do.

[Cody Sanchez]

If it's good.

[Sahil Bloom]

If the music's good enough, it'll sell.

[George]

Oh, don't you just love those guys? I love that Jack said he would do piano, which is not what you do in order to make piano. Make noise. You play piano. You do not simply do piano. You do karate. You don't do piano. Oh, potato, tomato, potato, tomato. But aside from that and their band, dreams that have failed. I love their idea of trying to time the stock market. You can't do it, but if you could, you know, I think the timing of that is simpler, less hassle factor than real estate. So I'm with these guys. If I could choose one. Next up, Lewis Howes reveals the key ingredients for building a truly rich life.

[Lewis Howes]

And one of the keys that I've learned in creating a rich life, internally and externally, is that gratitude and generosity, they are the gateway to abundance or to living. To living a richer life, to living a more abundant life. And when you have no money or you're in debt, you can't think, I'm going to give money because I can't do it. But what you can do, and you don't have to give money to be generous, what you can do is you can give time, you can give attention, you can be present with someone when you're looking at them. You can be generous with resources and say, I have a knowledge, I have a wisdom, and I can connect you with my friends to help you thrive. And if we can start being in that state of, how can I be a giver? And how can I be grateful with every single day where I'm at, while also trying to improve, to become better? That is the pathway to abundance and peace.

[George]

I love it. So he's saying, gratitude, generosity, that is a gateway to wealth. Now, is it a ticket to just getting more money? I don't think that's what he's saying here. What he's saying is it creates an attraction to you, not a manifestation. But people want to work with you. They want to give you money because they trust you. When you're a giver, if you're stingy and selfish, nobody wants to work with you. That's unattractive. But if you're grateful and you're generous, I think you're going to be successful in life and that will lead to having more money later on down the road. Hope you guys enjoyed those tidbits as much as I did. Be sure to check out the full conversations right here on this YouTube channel. A big thank you to all of my guests this year that have added so much value to this channel and to everyone watching and comment below. Who you want to see featured on this channel as a guest and maybe we'll reach out and make it happen. And if this video scratched an itch, there's plenty more where that came from. Check out this video for more awesome life and money advice from previous guests on this channel. Give it a click or use the link in the description. Don't forget to hit the like button. Subscribe and share this video with at least three friends. If you want. Good luck in the new year, and if you don't, you don't want to know what's gonna happen. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.