This Is Why You Don’t Stop Investing

Summary

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Episode Overview

Title: This Is Why You Don’t Stop Investing
Podcast: Ramsey Everyday Millionaires
Date: February 13, 2026
Hosts: Dave Ramsey, Jade Warshaw (Ramsey Network)

Main Theme:
This episode centers on the power of long-term, consistent investing, regardless of market fluctuations or negative news cycles. Using recent stock market performance as a backdrop, Dave and Jade underscore why ordinary people who are disciplined with their money can achieve extraordinary wealth—and why listening to doom-and-gloom financial news can derail your wealth-building journey.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Stock Market Success Often Goes Unreported

• Dave starts by noting: Mainstream news rarely covers positive market results, focusing instead on negative headlines.
  • [00:00–00:38] Dave cites ABC News and points out that the S&P 500's performance in the past three years (2023 to 2025) showed consistent double-digit gains:
    • 2023: +26%
    • 2024: +25%
    • 2025: +16%
• Quote:

  "The stock market was up... That’s a total of 67% in three years. That means three years ago, if you had $100,000 in your 401k... you now have almost doubled it at 170 [thousand]."
  — Dave Ramsey, 00:38–01:16

2. Ignore the Noise, Follow the Process

• Dave emphasizes: Rather than reacting to scary headlines about government shutdowns, global events, or economic “bubbles,” simply keep investing consistently.
  • He likens himself to the tortoise: methodical and patient.
• Quote:

  "I just keep investing every week, every day, every month... over and over, not worrying about what the news said."
  — Dave Ramsey, 01:24–01:36

• Memorable moment:

  "We've outlived the Internet. We've outlived Sirius XM Radio. We've outlived Bill Donahue and Sally Jesse Raphael."
  — Dave Ramsey, 01:38–01:52

3. Big Returns Even with “Mediocre” Mutual Funds

• Dave stresses: Even if you were invested in a fund that performed at only half the S&P 500, your gains would have outpaced most savings accounts by a wide margin.
  • Quote:

    “…if you have a mutual fund that sucks so bad that your mutual fund did half as good as the stock market, you still did three times what your high yield savings would have done. Smoke on that for a second. Okay. Hello. This is a big deal, y'.”
    — Dave Ramsey, 02:27–03:04

4. Start Now, Don’t Stop

• Main takeaway: The best time to start investing is as soon as possible—and to keep going no matter what.
  • Quote:

    "This is why you start investing. You keep investing and you don't stop investing."
    — Dave Ramsey, 03:05–03:10

  • Jade adds: The time is passing whether you act or not.
  • Quote:

    "The time is passing."
    — Jade Warshaw, 03:21–03:22

5. Eliminate Debt to Participate Fully

• Hosts recommend: Getting out of debt as soon as possible so you can start benefiting from market growth.
  • Quote:

    "Get your butt out of debt so you get to take advantage of this."
    — Dave Ramsey, 03:17–03:21

6. Wealth Multiplies Through Consistent Investing

• Examples:
  • If you had $1 million in investments, you could have made $700,000 in three years—just by staying the course.
  • With $10 million, you could have made $7 million.
  • Dave clarifies these are not guarantees, but real outcomes from the recent past.
  • Quote:

    "If you got a million dollars in there during this time looking nice, that means you made $700,000 in three years on your million sleeping. If you got 10 million, you just made $7 million... Now, is that a guarantee? No."
    — Dave Ramsey, 03:22–03:48

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On filtering out financial noise:

  "If you need to turn off the news, it's not a bad idea."
  — Dave Ramsey, 03:10–03:13

• Jade's encouragement:

  "This is also why you get started on the things we teach, so you don't miss out on stuff like this."
  — Jade Warshaw, 03:13–03:17

• Dave’s mix of humor and wisdom:

  "That and coffee. Yes. I love it."
  — Dave Ramsey, 03:53–03:55

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:38: S&P 500 three-year growth recap
• 01:24: Ignore the news and keep investing
• 02:27: Even mediocre funds outperform savings accounts
• 03:05: The main message—never stop investing
• 03:21: Importance of time and acting promptly
• 03:22: Real world investment return examples

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Summary Takeaway

This episode champions simplicity, discipline, and optimism in building wealth. The hosts urge listeners to tune out doomsday financial coverage and instead focus on long-term investing habits, paying off debt, and letting time—and the power of compounding—work for them. “You don’t stop investing.” That timeless advice, seasoned with humor and real-world numbers, forms the heart of this empowering conversation.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. This episode is brought to you by SmartVestor. Connect with an investing pro near you at RamseySolutions.com SmartVestor ABCNews.com reporting the stock market recorded stellar year end returns for 2025 when the markets closed before New Year's performance marked three straight years of double digit gains. The S and P finished up the year up up 16%. Jade, we often talk about around here how the only thing you hear on the news about the markets is bad news.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

They never report good news. So let me give you the good news, okay? The stock market was up the S and P in 2023, 26%. The stock market was up in 2024, 25%. The stock market was up in 2025, 16%. That's a total of 67% in three years. That means three years ago, if you had $100,000 in your 401k in a basic growth stock mutual fund, if you've added nothing to it, you now have almost doubled it at 170.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

That's not on the news.

[B]

No. And that's a lot of money that.

[A]

You missed because you were watching the news worrying about government shutdowns and tariffs and artificial intelligence bubbles, whatever that is, and whatever else it is that you believe that you're going to watch bad news for every day. So meanwhile, I'm just the tortoise. I just keep investing every week, every day, every month, I just put a little more in, a little more in. And all these years, 65 years old, I've been doing that over and over, over and over, not worrying about what the news said. We've outlived the Internet. We've outlived Sirius XM Radio. We've outlived Bill Donahue and Sally Jesse Raphael.

[B]

That's a blast from the past.

[A]

Wow. I'm trying to think of weird stuff from the past. Yeah. And here we are. And you know, you just keep investing and you just keep living and you keep. And guys, you're not going to hear this on the news, okay? The only thing you hear on the news is when the whole world's coming to an end. Right. And what happened the stock market when the President did so and so or when he didn't do so and so, or when Iraq did so and so, or Iran did so and so, or name it and it's in the news. And then, oh, the market, the market, the market up 16% last year. 16%. That means if it had done half, if you have a mutual fund that sucks so bad that your mutual fund did half as good as the stock market, you still did three times what your high yield savings would have done. Smoke on that for a second. Okay. Hello. This is a big deal, y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

This is why you start investing. You keep investing and you don't stop investing. And if you need to turn off the news, it's not a bad idea.

[B]

And this is also why you get started on the things we teach, so you don't miss out on stuff like this.

[A]

Because the time get your butt out of debt, so you get to take advantage of this.

[B]

The time is passing.

[A]

Because, I mean, if you got a million dollars in there during this time looking nice, that means you made $700,000 in three years on your million sleeping. If you got 10 million, you just made $7 million on your 10 million in three years. Now, is that a guarantee? No. Is it going to happen in the next three years? No.

[B]

But it explains why you're in such a.

[A]

That and coffee. Yes. I love it. Oh, that's fun.