The Secret Sauce For Becoming a Millionaire With a 9 to 5 (Money Expert Reacts)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Secret Sauce For Becoming a Millionaire With a 9 to 5 (Money Expert Reacts)

Podcast: George Kamel (Ramsey Network)
Host: George Kamel
Date: September 12, 2025

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Overview

George Kamel, personal finance expert and Ramsey Network host, explores the real-life tactics behind modern-day millionaires—especially those who made their wealth through traditional "9-to-5" jobs and disciplined money management. Through humorous and sometimes satirical reactions to popular money-related clips and memes, George debunks financial myths, exposes flawed financial advice, and highlights the tried-and-true principles that lead to lasting wealth.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Credit Card “Hacks” and Morality

[00:29-02:39]

• Clip Recap: A "credit card hacker" explains how to exploit store return policies for cash-back rewards, essentially gaming the credit card system.

• Reaction: George (via Dave Ramsey) quickly calls out these behaviors as not worth the moral or logistical risk, noting it borders on fraud and is “insane” for the tiny payoff.

  "That's an insane way to live your life... No, thank you."
  — Dave Ramsey, 01:29

• Humor & Community Response: Jokes about being banned from Costco and playful ribbing in the comments ("checkmate, nerd") underscore the triviality and risk.

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2. The True “Secret Sauce” to Becoming a Millionaire (Process Over Paycheck)

[02:39-04:14]

• Clip Highlights: Theo Vaughn and Dave Ramsey discuss research proving many millionaires became wealthy not through high incomes, but through consistent, process-driven behaviors—even on modest salaries.

  “One third of them, 33%, made less than 100,000 a year... They were not making bank.”
  — Theo Vaughn, 02:59

• Key Principle: The “secret sauce” is consistency—investing in retirement, living on less than you make, being generous, and following a plan (like the Ramsey plan).

  “Get rich slow, baby. Crock pot instead of a microwave.”
  — George Kamel, 03:11

• Ramsey Plan: Get out of debt, save for emergencies, invest consistently, and avoid get-rich-quick schemes.

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3. Teaching Kids About Money Through Budgeting

[04:14-07:11]

• Viral Clip: A parent gives her child a $50 budget for snacks and lunches at Disney World, letting them practice spending decision-making.

• Reaction: George celebrates this as solid parenting, emphasizing the importance of giving kids hands-on budgeting experience.

  “All you’re teaching this kid is that you gotta have a plan for your money... Spend it how you want to, with intentionality.”
  — George Kamel, 04:54

• Judgment & Humor: George gently mocks online critics focused on minor details (e.g., “just get the refillable cup, save some coin”) and reflects on teaching value by possibly having kids earn their budget first.

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4. The Authorized User Credit Score “Hack”

[07:11-07:55]

• Clip: A dad claims a credit score “hack” by adding his teenager as an authorized user to boost their score before buying a house.

• Reaction: George firmly debunks this hack, cautioning about shared responsibility and potential for financial damage.

  “If you mess up, your kid pays the price... I’m not adding my kid as an authorized user to jack squat.”
  — George Kamel, 07:55

• Bottom Line: Rather than gaming credit, focus on saving, avoiding debt, and being able to truly afford large purchases.

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5. Satirizing Get Rich Quick “Gurus”

[08:44-09:35]

• Parody Guru: A mock influencer advises listeners that the “secret” is simply making money—a joke about the emptiness of vague online wealth advice.

• Reaction: George appreciates the parody, highlighting the real issue: high income doesn’t guarantee wealth unless you manage your spending and invest the rest.

  “Your income is your greatest wealth-building tool. But here’s the key. You can’t just make the money... What you need to do is make more money, live on less than you make, and invest the surplus.”
  — George Kamel, 09:35

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6. Realities of Grocery Budgeting and Gen Z Financial Anxiety

[10:54-11:55]

• Clip: A Gen Z shopper attempts to buy a week’s groceries on a $50 budget, facing sticker shock and anxiety.

• Reaction: George empathizes with the overwhelming decision-making required in today’s economic environment, but insists the key is in planning and budgeting (with tools like EveryDollar).

  “You don’t need to be overwhelmed when you go grocery shopping. You need a plan.”
  — George Kamel, 11:55

• Advice: Shop smart (e.g., Aldi for low prices), meal plan, and budget ahead rather than just reacting in the store.

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7. Home Cafe Trend: Gen Z’s Frugal Socializing

[15:53-16:24]

• Clip: A commentator jokingly claims Gen Z has invented “home cafe” and “home restaurant” trends to save money, which older generations would simply call “having friends over.”

• Reaction: George pokes fun at the rebranding, but applauds the core value of saving money in a socially fun way.

  “We need a rebrand of the common sense money principles that have caused people to build wealth... They think they invented the home cafe... but I love the concept.”
  — George Kamel, 16:24

• Personal Take: George owns many coffee makers at home; making things at home is both frugal and enjoyable.

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Notable Quotes and Moments

• On Process-Driven Wealth:

  “Get rich slow, baby. Crock pot instead of a microwave.” — George Kamel, 03:11

• On Parenting and Money:

  “All you’re teaching this kid is that you gotta have a plan for your money because everyone else in the world, every company, has a plan for it.” — George Kamel, 04:54

• On Credit Score “Hacks”:

  “If you’re still pooping your pants, you’re not going to be on my account.” — George Kamel, 07:55

• On Earning and Investing:

  “Your income is your greatest wealth building tool... but more money doesn’t always equal more wealth.” — George Kamel, 09:35

• On Gen Z Financial Pressure:

  “This really explains the Gen Z anxiety crisis that we are facing... I have a lot of empathy for Gen Z after seeing that video.” — George Kamel, 11:55

• On Gen Z’s Homemade Socializing:

  “They think they invented the home cafe by just making coffee at home, but I love the concept.” — George Kamel, 16:24

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Important Segments/Timestamps

• Credit Card Hacking & Morality: 00:29-02:39
• Process-Driven Millionaires: 02:39-04:14
• Teaching Kids Budgeting: 04:14-07:11
• Credit Score Authorized User Myth: 07:11-07:55
• Mocking Get Rich Quick Gurus: 08:44-09:35
• Gen Z Grocery Budgeting: 10:54-11:55
• Gen Z Home Cafe Trend: 15:53-16:24

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Takeaways for Listeners

• No shortcut beats the power of long-term, consistent investing and living below your means—even if your income isn’t huge.
• Avoid “hacking” the system, especially through gray-area or risky money tricks.
• Teaching kids money management starts early, with real-life practice and responsibility.
• Online “wealth gurus” rarely offer real solutions—focus on fundamentals: earn, save, invest.
• Financial stress is real for younger generations, but planning and budgeting remain timeless solutions.
• Make saving money cool, whether it’s meal-prepping or hosting a “home cafe.”

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Tone:
Witty, practical, and sometimes snarky—balancing humor with actionable insights, true to George Kamel’s down-to-earth, relatable style.

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Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

What's the secret sauce for people who want to be millionaires today? We'll learn the answer courtesy of my two favorite modern philosophers, Dave Ramsey and Theo Vaughn. I'll also be reacting to a handful of other money related videos that my team has rounded up. And as usual, the advice will range from that's a great idea to how is this person allowed to vote? So without further ado, let's hop into the abyss.

[Credit Card Hacker]

Costco doesn't accept Master MasterCard in store, so you have to use a Visa card. So you could buy anything off Costco.com, have it shipped to your house with a MasterCard based credit card, have it shipped to your house and go into the store to return it. But because they don't accept MasterCard in the store, it's called a force return. They have to return the card back to a different card because their systems wouldn't allow it. Meaning you could just continually buy like thousands of dollars worth of stuff and you're getting a 2 or 3% multiplier on that. So it might be like, hey, you buy five grand worth of stuff on a three or cash back card, you're getting a 150 net item comes to you, you just go to the store, you return it, like, oh, well, hey, we can't return it to that card. Do you have another card we can return it to? You give them a debit card again, you get that money. So that method works at a ton of stores. Doesn't quite work that exact same way with Costco, but like Sam's Club and you know, jewelry stores and just almost like almost any retail store nowadays, it almost works at.

[Dave Ramsey]

Got it. Okay, yeah, that's on the line of morally acceptable, maybe bordering fraud. Who am I to say electric chair? But I do know that that's an insane way to live your life, is to go, oh, I'm gonna spend four grand at a jewelry store so I can get 100 bucks in cash back, but then return the jewelry, get the money back to a different card, so I get to keep my rewards over here. It's insane and it's not worth the squeeze. A lot of effort for almost nothing. But that's par for the course for, you know, people obsessed with hacking credit card points. They let it consume their life. It lives in their head rent free and they think they're finessing the system. No, thank you. And let's check out the comment section to see if they think this is immoral, fraudulent behavior here. Ah, interesting. Costco doesn't accept Mastercard credit cards. But they do accept MasterCard debit cards. Bazinga to you, good sir. Checkmate. Nerd. So that solves that problem. One person said that's a good way to get banned from Costco. It happens to people that abuse the return policy. Sounds like he got banned from Costco. What? That sounded like very helpful.

[Theo Vaughn]

They discovered the process of living on less they make living on a budget, starting to invest, being generous, paying off their house, that kind of stuff. And they follow that process and that's what got them there. It was not that. The interesting thing is one third of them, 33% made less than 100,000 a year. Wow. They were not making bank. They were not earning their way into it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Really?

[Credit Card Hacker]

Yeah.

[Parody Get Rich Quick Guru]

Because you would think teachers, you always.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hear we got to pay these teachers more, you know, and we do.

[Theo Vaughn]

I mean that wouldn't be bad at all. But there's the way the teachers brains work. They do process. And that's the secret sauce.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, good stuff from my boss, Dave Ramsey, who I think has been stealing my outfits. Dave flattered. Good stuff though. That's true. So what's the secret sauce to becoming a millionaire? You gotta be a process driven person, which means you're consistent. You're doing something over and over, over a long period of time. Like investing into your employer sponsored retirement plan. Which we found. 8 out of 10 millionaires. That's exactly what they did. There was no get rich quick. It was just get rich slow baby, crock pot instead of a microwave. That's the key between all these careers that we found were in the top tier of millionaire status. So it's that simple. And I think even Theo was taken. Taken aback I think is the right word for his reaction to father Dave in that clip. And it's that simple. Follow a process, follow a proven plan. And for me that's the Ramsey plan. Get out of debt, don't owe people money, have money saved for the future, like for emergencies. Invest and build wealth and you're gonna be just fine. Eventually you'll become a multi millionaire if you follow the stuff that I teach on this channel. Thanks, Dave. Anthea. Next.

[Parent Vlogger]

I gave my kids a 50 budget for all of their snacks and their lunches while we're at Disney World and today we're Animal Kingdom. And here's everything that my 14 year old daughter spent her money on. Now I did tell the kids they could do ice water or refillable water, but they still insisted on doing bottled water. So she started off her day with a bottle of water and an ice cream sandwich. Then after her second bot bottle of water, it was time for lunch. So we did actually go to a sit down restaurant. Now, I know it wasn't exactly the most convenient, but I did do a separate check for the kids so they could learn how to do a tip for the waiter and pay for the bill and all that stuff, which I feel like is such an important life skill. After lunch, she had her third water bottle of the day. And for her last treat of the day, she did a Frappuccino, which I thought was a perfect ending to her day. And she even let me have a sip of it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wow, that's cute. So did she spend the 50 bucks? That's what I want to know. It's. I mean, I guess she gave her a $50 budget. That's a fun video. I like that. Let's see. We ate breakfast at the hotel and I just paid for dinner. To clarify, this is money I gave them. They aren't spending their own money. They just get to choose how to spend it. I think that's good parenting right there. I don't know how the comment section reacted, but considering this had 563,000 hearts, I'd say most people love this concept. Let's read some of the top comments. Lisa said snacks, yes. Lunch, no. That's a parent responsibility. Okay, Lisa, you're not going to be the cool mom with that attitude. In n out Employee 1, your daughter is choosing to drink three bottles of water instead of buying soda. That itself you should be proud of. That's great parenting. Shout out to Just sticking with clean, clear liquid, zero calories, zero sugar. It's how we like it. Go back said tip. Why is it so necessary in America? Praying emoji, crying emoji rose, dying. Why is a dying rose an emoji? Lucy, why aren't you encouraging her to refill that wager bottle each time rather than rebuying? Hey, Lucy, before we make snap judgments, let's use a little spell check. And finally shows 2007 y' all are hating. But learning responsibility is important. Yeah, I agree. I think people miss the memo if they're trying to judge a child's spending decisions. Let me judge your spending decisions. Bro, did you need the lifted truck? Yeah, let's maybe ease off on the little girl. All you're teaching this kid is that you got to have a plan for your money because everyone else in the world, every company, has a plan for it. So you better be first with a plan for your money. And Spend it how you want to, with intentionality. And so I like that she had to kind of divvy this out and go, all right, I got to figure out how much money I have left over. Am I going to have enough for the frappuccino for a little end of day treat? To a little. What's it called? To close out the night. And they'll night cap nightcap at Magic Kingdom? Sign me up for that. I'm impressed. I hope to do the same as a parent. And maybe I'll make them earn that 50 bucks first. That way you feel it a little more, you know what I mean? Like, Dang, that was nine hours of babysitting I did to make that 50 bucks. But I'm not gonna make judgments on the child. If she wants to get bottled water all day, be my guest. But you're gonna burn through that cash, sis. Get that refillable cup, save some coin. I digress. Next up.

[Parent Explaining Credit Score Hack]

Hey, My son here. Hey there. Is planning to buy a house. Congratulations. But first, I will need to check his credit score. Please don't be upset if it's low. He just turned 18 and hasn't had that much time to build a credit score. Oh, I think you're in for a surprise. Wait, is this right? Your son has an 800 credit score? Yep. Well, I certainly can approve this loan. And with a score like this, he will save thousands in interest payments. Thanks, dad. No problem, son. So you're probably wondering how we manage this. It's quite straightforward. I took advantage of a simple hack years ago. Since I'm good with my credit, I added my son as an authorized user to my credit card. He was only a teenager then. He never even saw the card. But because he was on my account with me, his credit score got a huge boost. Parents, do this for your kids and.

[Dave Ramsey]

Don'T do that for your kids. Please do not add your kid as an authorized user and go, well, they're going to get my credit score. It's going to be awesome. Yeah, and if you mess up, your kid pays the price. They'll have a terrible score if you make any financial mistakes, and if your kid messes up, you pay the price. And it teaches your kid the wrong money habits. How about instead of having a score, we have, like, money, we avoid debt, have a bunch of money in the bank, save up a solid down payment, you're going to be just fine when it comes to buying a house. Because what he didn't mention is, can the kid actually afford a house that's the bigger question not will the bank loan him enough money to make a terrible financial decision? Because they will. Great charisma from this fella, but I'm not buying the advice. I'm not adding my kid as an authorized user to jack squat. It's a kid, okay? If you're still pooping your pants, you're not going to be on my account. Let's move on, shall we?

[Parody Get Rich Quick Guru]

Here's One of the Fastest Ways to Get rich Start making money. A lot of people don't know this, but one of the best ways and easiest ways to get rich is to make money. Before Elon Musk was rich, he wasn't making any money. Then he started making money and that got him to be rich. Jeff Bezos he wasn't making money at one point. Then he started making money. What happened? He got rich. One of the things you need to do if you want to be rich is to find ways to make money. And lots of it. Just make a little bit of money. Because a little bit of money won't get you rich. Right now I'm providing a course online to teach you how to get money. If you buy my course, you will find one of the first steps I provide and the insights that I provide is that you need to make money. Thanks for following. Subscribe for More Content thank you very much.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh I love this guy so much. Okay, clearly this is a parody comedy content creator. He's actually very accurate and sounds weirdly like the get Rich Quick gurus, but way more likable. I would actually buy his course. That actually is very appealing to me. Let me see what some of the comments said. Liam this is a little confusing. Could you sell a course for 27.99amonth to elaborate? Very helpful Victoria like stop focusing on not making money and focus on actually making it. Now we're talking. Dapper says start making money. Of course, Robert, the true path to wealth is to become wealthy. Wealth, said Audreus, who's naming these kids making money by buying 50 houses to start a human being. Said Also, before you start making money, considering being born with money. Life Hack all jokes aside, and you know I love the jokes, it's true, your income is your greatest wealth building tool. But here's the key. You can't just make the money because plenty of people make great money. So here's the thing. More money doesn't always equal more wealth. What you need to do is make more money, live on less than you make, and invest the surplus. That is the key to building True wealth. So if you make seven grand, spend three grand, invest four grand. Now we're talking. But we found that the more you make, the more you spend. In America, that's called lifestyle creep. And it's why most people are living paycheck to paycheck, regardless of of their income. Let's get to more.

[Gen Z Shopper]

$50 to spend on groceries for the week. This will be easy. Milk, $5 eggs $6. Oh, I've been wanting some of these little tacos. I'm already up to $20 after tax and I've only gotten enough for two meals. Isn't that the same price as eating out bread for sandwiches? That's like the cheapest thing, right? $6 for ham, $4 for ma', am, $5 for tea.

[Dave Ramsey]

So much happening.

[Gen Z Shopper]

23 ingredients for six sandwiches. Each sandwich still costs $4 each. Then I could buy a cheeseburger for that price and I wouldn't even have to make food. I've only gotten eight of my 23 meals for the week and I only have a measly seven dol. Seven chicken pot pies, 23 bananas, or my contact solution for $7, which I need because if I can't see, I can't drive to work to make the money that I need to buy food. But I'm not even making enough money to buy food. New plan. 43 chicken pot pies and one bottle of contact solution. Oh, dang it. I need some coffee so I can stay a week at work. $6 coffee, 7 $0.28 bananas, $7 contact solution and about 37 $1 chicken pot pies and no little tuff. This isn't what I imagined when they asked me where I saw myself in five years. But at least I'm good at math now.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, that was good. That really explains the Gen Z anxiety crisis that we are facing. Okay, this is what's happening. This is the mental load that Gen Z experiences on a daily basis. So before you rag on them, know this is what they're doing. Do we get the Contact solution or the dollar chicken pot pie so I can survive to fight another day with a toxic boss who doesn't even know how to use Excel? It's exhausting. I'm exhausted watching that. Like I legit. I have a lot of empathy for Gen Z after seeing that video. And I do want to see what what the general consensus was in the comment section because I think that's very telling. Is it a bunch of Gen zers agreeing or is it a bunch of boomers saying raa that's usually what they're saying in the comments. Just ra. Let's find out. Jordan with a Y. Clearly a Gen Z. Er, sorry, there's no boomers named Jordan with a Y. People here are seriously missing the point that we shouldn't be doing mental gymnastics to feed ourselves. Told you. Babs said. Why on absolute earth are the price labels not just including tax on them? Like, what even is America? I'm sorry, that's what we're upset about here is am I on the right video? Why is everyone talking about taxes? So many people are missing the point. What is the point? Don't buy name brand. That's the problem. I don't want data farms and AI. I just want milk to be $2 again. Okay, everyone's talking about. I guess I missed the tax part here. Guys, this is why. I mean, you thought the videos on the Internet are rough? Check out the comment section. This is a scary place. All right, so here's the deal. You don't need to be overwhelmed when you go grocery shopping. You don't need to complain that prices are out of control. You need a plan. And rolling up to the store and trying to figure it out on the fly. If you're gonna get a dollar chicken pot pies or make sandwiches, just come up with it ahead of time. All right, I use an app called EveryDollar to plan out how much I'm gonna spend on groceries each week. You can even chatgpt meals, which I've done for a whole week. And you can check that video in the description below. I'll drop a link to that. And here's the key to smart grocery shopping. Choose where you shop wisely. I choose to go to a grocery store like Aldi because they have the lowest prices of any national grocery store. I choose to make a meal plan. I choose to stick to a budget. And I also try to eat fairly healthy. Yes, I can eat cheaper and get junk, or I can step it up a notch and eat pretty well and eat pretty clean. Or you can go to the fanciest of fanciest stores and get the organic grass fed, whatever, and spend twice as much. So all that to say, be smart about it, but don't complain about it. Well, hey, before we get to the next video, let me ask you a question. You ever walked into a big bank with marble floors, chandeliers, pens that look like they cost more than your first car? Yeah. Guess who's paying for that? Spoiler alert. It's you. And that's why I'm pumped to announce a new partner for the show. Fairwinds Credit Union. Get this. Fairwinds literally put up billboards encouraging people to get out of debt. Meanwhile, most banks are trying to shove another credit card in your face so you'll take out more debt. But Fairwinds gets it. They want you to win with money. They want you to win on the Ramsey plan. And with over 33,000 free ATMs and 5,000 plus credit union partners nationwide, you're covered just about anywhere. So if you're sick of being another account number, instead you want to be a person and be treated like one, go check out [e-mail] Ramsey or click the link in the description below. And another thing, if you aren't taking steps to protect your personal data on the Internet, you've got a big target on your back. And that's why I use and love Delete Me. Another sponsor of today's video, Deleteme helps keep you safe from online scams by cleaning up your digital footprint. They comb through hundreds of sketchy data broker websites to keep your personal info away from spammers and scammers. Plus, they send you custom reports every few months letting you know what they've done and how much time they've saved you. And right now you can sign up and get 20% off through annual plans by going to JoinDeleteMe.com George or just use the link in the description below. And as is tradition with these videos, my producer sent me one that I have no clue about that may not even be money related. We'll find out.

[Gen Z Trend Commentator]

Generation Z, in order to combat high coffee prices, has discovered a brand new trend. The Home Cafe where they let me make sure this right? Yes. They invite their friends over to have coffee at home, or at least in their tiny apartments. And this is a new trend. It's only a matter of time. In order to combat high eating out prices, they discover a new home restaurant trend where you make dinner at home in your kitchen. Zoomers are the boomers of Millennials.

[Dave Ramsey]

Zoomers are the boomers of millennials. What? Okay, first of all, saying the whole name Generation Z makes you a Gen Xer bro. And I'm not taking it from a guy wearing a sleeveless sweatshirt. Who are you? What are you doing out here? But I actually love this trend now. Yes. Does Gen Z think they invented everything that exists because they just rebranded it with a snappier cooler name? Sure. Am I mad about it? Not really. Because what they're trying to do is Save money but make it look cooler, which is exactly what we need. We need a rebrand of the common sense money principles that have caused people to build wealth. So calling it a home cafe and inviting friends over. Love that Way cheaper than everyone going out to spend money at restaurants, coffee shops and bars. So make fun of them all you want. And it is funny, they think they invented the home cafe by just making coffee at home, but I love the concept. And as a person who has way too many coffee appliances, I will say, you're invited to my house and I will make you coffee. Do you want an espresso? Do you want an espresso? Do you want an Aeropress? French Press? Chemex? I got a clever coffee dripper. I got the Oxo coffee maker. We got it all at the Camel House. Do I use any of it? No. Is my wife mad at me? Yes, but I have no hobbies. Your boy's not golfing, but he does like the idea of being able to make any type of coffee he wants at any moment. All right, I have officially maxed out my tolerance for financial tomfoolery today, but lucky for you, the chaos continues. So keep watching to see me react to a guy who believes you're financially cooked. If you have a job, you can click right here to watch it or use the link in the description. Thank you for watching. Be sure to, like, subscribe, and maybe even say a little prayer for humanity's financial future. See you next time.