Can You Still Build Wealth After Starting Over With Nothing at 40?

Summary

Podcast Summary: Ramsey Everyday Millionaires

Episode: Can You Still Build Wealth After Starting Over With Nothing at 40?
Date: May 25, 2026
Hosts: Dave Ramsey & Chris Hogan
Caller: Daniel from Salt Lake City

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Episode Overview

This episode tackles a central question for many listeners: Is it possible to rebuild wealth—and become a millionaire—even after starting over at age 40 with nothing? Hosts Dave Ramsey and Chris Hogan analyze Daniel’s situation, offering both practical financial guidance and essential emotional support. The conversation highlights Ramsey Solutions’ core principles: living on less, avoiding debt, disciplined investing, and maintaining hope and perspective after setbacks.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Daniel’s Situation and Concerns

• Background:

  • Divorced after 21 years together, split finalized a year ago (at age 41-42).
  • Lost all home equity and previous savings due to spouse’s debt.
  • Now 42, earning about $85,000, renting, and debt-free but with no significant assets or retirement funds.
  • Feels “too late” to catch up or retire comfortably.

• Quote:

  “It just feels like I'm too late. It feels like I'm too far behind, and I'll never catch up to actually retire at a decent age with my back still straight.”
  — Daniel (00:22)

2. Immediate Reaction from Hosts

• Reality Check:
  • Chris Hogan: Emphasizes the mathematical side: “The biggest thing you have to overcome is not the mathematical challenge of being okay by age 65, because that's a lay down. You definitely are going to be fine. You're going to be a multi millionaire.” (02:30)
  • Dave Ramsey: Backs the numbers, running projections to show Daniel’s potential for wealth building, even starting at 42.

3. The Emotional Side of Starting Over

• Addressing Past Regrets and Self-Confidence:

  • Chris Hogan: “You're grieving a death, a broken heart, a relationship that died after 21 years... If you were just starting fresh without any scars on your heart and you were just 18 years old and all smiles, we could just turn you loose on the world... But you've got to overcome the lack of confidence in yourself and quit looking in the rear view mirror. It's smaller than the windshield. That's called grace.” (02:54–03:40)
  • Learn from the past, then leave it behind and focus on forward progress.

• Quote:

  “The biggest impediment you have today is a broken heart and confidence that it can be done. You're sitting there saying, I don't know if it's too late—you're 42. You're not even close to too late.”
  — Chris Hogan (05:19)

4. Practical Steps to Build Wealth from Here

• Run the Numbers:

  • Dave Ramsey: From age 42 to 67, investing 15% of $85,000 (roughly $1,000/month), Daniel could have $1.4–2 million by retirement, even without employer match or salary increases. (04:06–05:16)
  • Projections: With just average market returns (10%), the nest egg will grow significantly; further increases if income or contributions rise.

• Specific Plan:

  • Live on a strict written budget.
  • Build a 3–6 month emergency fund.
  • Max out retirement contributions (start with Roth 401(k) if available, then Roth IRA; prioritize employer match).
  • Avoid all new debt.
  • Stay consistent—“every stinking month, $1,000 goes into something.”
  • Seek trustworthy investing advice (referral to “SmartVestor pro”).

• Quote:

  “You’re going to have to do this as methodical. It’s just every stinking month, thousand dollars goes into something... and you're going to have serious money and stay out of debt so that you can do that.”
  — Chris Hogan (05:19)

5. Mindset Shift: Stop Comparing to the Past

• Hosts Emphasize Perspective:
  • People often get stuck comparing themselves to an earlier, ‘better’ version of their circumstances. Daniel’s not really behind, especially compared to others overcoming debts.
  • Dave Ramsey: “What's happening? He's comparing his 42 year old self to his 39 year old self who had a bunch of money... You'll hear callers on the show who are in crippling debt at your age who still have a mountain to climb. Cleaning this mess up. And you're actually in a good spot.” (06:50–07:04)

6. Encouragement and Motivation

• The only obstacle is convincing yourself.
• With the right plan and no more bad financial partnerships, Daniel (and others like him) can become a millionaire.
• Chris Hogan: “You hang on. We're gonna get you set up with every dollar, and I'm gonna send you a copy of the book that started the whole thing, The Total Money Makeover with the baby steps, and show you exactly what to do next.” (07:20)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You're grieving a death, a broken heart... But you've got to overcome the lack of confidence in yourself and quit looking in the rear view mirror. It's smaller than the windshield. That's called grace.”
  — Chris Hogan, 03:00

• “If you never get a raise, you're still gonna have over a million and a half dollars. That's with no employer match your whole life.”
  — Chris Hogan, 05:16

• “You, you know, because you can't make enough money when someone's sucking the marrow out of your bones to end up with anything but broken.”
  — Chris Hogan, 05:48

• “The guy in your mirror is the only one you got to talk into it. That's the only one that can mess it up.”
  — Chris Hogan & Dave Ramsey, 07:16–07:18

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:22 – 02:18: Daniel shares his background and concerns about starting over at 42.
• 02:25 – 03:40: Discussion of emotional impact—loss, grief, confidence, and moving forward.
• 04:06 – 05:16: Running the retirement numbers; path to millionaire status.
• 05:19 – 06:50: Step-by-step financial advice; mindset for consistency.
• 06:50 – 07:18: Perspective shift and identifying the main personal obstacle.
• 07:20 – End: Offer of Ramsey resources; encouragement and clear next steps.

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Closing Takeaways

• It’s not too late to build wealth after 40—assuming discipline, a budget, and steady investing.
• Emotional recovery is as necessary as financial planning; give yourself grace and look forward.
• Your only real opponent is self-doubt. With the right habits, even ‘starting from nothing’ can lead to millionaire status.
• Use trustworthy resources, stay consistent, and don’t let your past define your financial future.

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This episode is a powerful mix of practical advice and reassurance for anyone rebuilding after setbacks, especially in middle age. Dave, Chris, and Daniel’s conversation is raw, honest, and profoundly hopeful—perfect listening for anyone doubting if they can start over and win.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

This episode is brought to you by Smartvestor. Connect with an investing pro near you at ramseysolutions.com Smartvestor Daniel is on the

[Chris Hogan]

line in Salt Lake City. Hi, Daniel, how are you?

[Caller Daniel]

Hey, fellas, how we doing?

[Chris Hogan]

Better than I deserve, sir. How can we help?

[Caller Daniel]

Oh, so got divorced about two years ago. Well, separated two years ago. Finalized a year ago. There was effectively starting over financially. Pretty much lost all the equity in the house. And I'm 42. I've learned a lot of the basics on. I wouldn't say basics. I've actually learned finance within that point. I actually understand money now, but it just feels like I'm too late. It feels like I'm too far behind and I'll never catch up to actually retire at a decent age with my back still straight.

[Chris Hogan]

Yeah. You said you're 40, right?

[Caller Daniel]

42.

[Chris Hogan]

42.

[Caller Daniel]

Got divorced at 40.

[Chris Hogan]

Yeah. And your, your income is what, sir?

[Caller Daniel]

Right now it's about 85,000. Okay.

[Chris Hogan]

All right. And so the house and a bunch of the stuff went away. Did you end up with debt also or are you debt free but have nothing?

[Caller Daniel]

Are you even debt free but have nothing?

[Chris Hogan]

Okay. You have Anything in a 401k from before?

[Caller Daniel]

Yes, but it. Well, so from before. No, it all went to her. Well, yes and no. It's not like she kept it. The, the context is one of the main. One of the main reasons we divorced was she racked up a lot of debt behind my back.

[Chris Hogan]

Oh, okay. All right. And so you cleaned out the 401k to pay that, so you got nothing?

[Caller Daniel]

I never, I've never formally had one because I worked. I worked construction my whole life and I worked for smaller companies that never offered a retirement.

[Chris Hogan]

Okay, all right. I'm just trying to catch up. So you literally have no debt, but you have. But you're renting a house or an apartment?

[Caller Daniel]

Yes, correct.

[Chris Hogan]

And you have no debt on your car.

[Caller Daniel]

Correct. I got a. I mean, I did that Smart. I got a 2010 Toyota Tundra. I just rolled over 251,000 miles, never broken.

[Chris Hogan]

I love it.

[Caller Daniel]

The maintenance.

[Chris Hogan]

I car will go another 250. That's a great car.

[Caller Daniel]

Yes, sir.

[Chris Hogan]

Okay. And you're working construction, so that's perfect truck for it. Absolutely.

[Caller Daniel]

I've taken a promotion. I'm now in the management side rather than the field install.

[Chris Hogan]

Okay, all right, well, here's the thing. The biggest thing you have to overcome is not the mathematical challenge of being okay by age 65, because that's a lay down. We Can. You definitely are going to be fine. You're going to be a multi millionaire.

[Dave Ramsey]

We could show you how to have a million bucks in a nest egg by then.

[Chris Hogan]

But. But easy. Maybe two. Okay. But the biggest thing you've got to overcome is two things. How long were you married?

[Caller Daniel]

Well, we were together for 21 years. Married for 14. Yeah.

[Chris Hogan]

Okay, so you're grieving a death, a broken heart, a relationship that died after 21 years. And with that goes a broken heart. It goes anger, it goes loss of confidence in myself because I let this go on longer than I should have. The part you played in it, that you just kind of turned a blind eye and then finally you didn't and all that crap. If you were just starting fresh without any scars on your heart and you were just 18 years old and all smiles, we could just turn you loose on the world. Making 85,000 and you're going to have a bunch of money pretty quick. But you've got to overcome the lack of confidence in yourself and quit looking in the rear view mirror. It's smaller than the windshield. That's called grace. Start looking forward instead of backwards so much, you know, learn a few lessons that I didn't, that I did wrong. But I want to not do those again. But that's all I got from the past. The rest of the past is just gone. It's past, it's over. Let's go forward and say, okay, because George, 15% of 85,000. Did you run that?

[Dave Ramsey]

I ran the numbers for him here. From 42 to 67, you'd be investing a little over 1,000 doll bucks a month. If you follow our plan, 15% of your household income, you'd have 1.4 million. And that's at 10%. If you get 11 or 12, you're talking 161718. And I think you never got that.

[Chris Hogan]

I think you're going to have $2 million or more at 65 if you do what we teach and you follow it. So you're going to live on a written budget. You're not going to borrow money. You're going to have an emergency fund and you're going to put 15% of your income, whatever you make the rest of your life away into good retirements and good growth stock mutual funds. Get online, go to ramseysolutions.com, find the SmartVestor pro in your area that we have vetted and that we trust and that does stuff the way we teach. And they'll sit down and go, okay, your company has a 401k, you can do this or it doesn't. And you can do that and you can do this and you can do this. And you need to be putting aside in your case right around $1,000 a month. That's about $15,000 a year. I mean about 15% of your income. And, and if you never get a raise in the next 30 years, which would officially make you a loser. Okay, if you never get a raise, you're still gonna have over a million and a half dollars.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's with no employer match your whole life in a retirement account.

[Chris Hogan]

If there's match and you get raises, it's gonna be more than that. But you're gonna have to do this as methodical. It's just every stinking month, thousand dollars goes into something and I don't know what your mix is, what you're gonna be able to put it in, but we're gonna put it into Roth 401 and then we're going to put it into anything with a match second and then we're going to put it into Roth IRAs and all in good growth stock mutual funds. And you're going to have serious money and stay out of debt so that you can do that. And when you start dating again someday and he's like, oh, well, you will. But once you get past this a little bit, you know, you're looking for someone that wants to join you in this wealth building venture, not suck the marrow out of your bones. And so you, you know, because you can't make enough money when someone's sucking the marrow out of your bones to end up with anything but broken. Even at 42, which is where you are. So you're fine, you can become wealthy and you're going to be, you're going to have a lot of money if you just simply follow this plan. But, but the biggest impediment you have today is a broken heart and confidence that it can be done. Cause you're sitting there saying, I don't know if it's too late, you're 42. You're not even close to too late. If you call me up and you're 72, we'll have this discussion. But you're 42 decades, 20 years.

[Dave Ramsey]

What's happening? He's comparing his 42 year old self to his 39 year old self who had a bunch of money.

[Chris Hogan]

Well, but his life was, it's not like it's been ongoing, but I mean, but whatever is 34 years old.

[Dave Ramsey]

What I had and Now I don't. And now it feels like I'm behind.

[Chris Hogan]

Exactly.

[Caller Daniel]

That's.

[Chris Hogan]

That's fair, too.

[Dave Ramsey]

You'll hear callers on the show who are in crippling debt at your age who still have a mountain to climb. Cleaning this mess up. And you're actually in a good spot.

[Chris Hogan]

Yeah, you're.

[Dave Ramsey]

All things considered, you have a great income.

[Chris Hogan]

You don't have to talk anybody into this.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's just you.

[Chris Hogan]

The guy in your mirror is the only one you got to talk into it.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's the only one that can mess it up.

[Chris Hogan]

That's very. That's a lot easier than the way you've been living. You've been trying to push the rock up a hill by yourself and, man. So, yeah, that. You're gonna be fine. So you hang on. We're gonna get you set up with every dollar, and I'm gonna send you a copy of the book that started the whole thing, the total money makeover with the baby steps, and show you exactly what to do next. What to do next. What to do next. I want you to build an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses, but you're gonna do that in just a few months, and then you're gonna kick in on this 15% of your income, and you're gonna retire with anywhere from 2 to 3 million dollars at age 65 to age 70. Somewhere in there, that's where you should land.