Will Dave Ever Invest In Cryptocurrency?

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Podcast: Ramsey Everyday Millionaires
Episode: Will Dave Ever Invest In Cryptocurrency?
Date: September 29, 2025
Hosts: Dave Ramsey, Co-host (likely Chris Hogan or another Ramsey Solutions expert)

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Episode Overview

This episode digs into Ramsey Network’s foundational investment philosophy in response to a common modern question: Should you invest in cryptocurrency? A caller’s query about using crypto to pay down debt sparks a candid discussion about crypto, fads in investing, and protecting your long-term wealth. Dave Ramsey and his co-host reinforce the network’s principles—avoid debt, build wealth steadily, and resist speculative fads—with the signature Ramsey humor and directness.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Caller’s Situation: Should I Cash Out Crypto to Pay Off Debt?

[00:19–00:54]

• Caller Josh from Pennsylvania has paid down significant debt and asks if he should liquidate $20,000 in crypto to finish paying off the remainder.
• Dave and his co-host unequivocally recommend cashing out any non-retirement investments—including crypto, stocks, mutual funds, or even cash under the bed—to accelerate debt repayment.
• Quote:

  "Anything that you had money in that was not retirement, we would tell you to liquidate it and clear your debt."
  —Dave Ramsey (00:47)

• The reasoning: You regain control of your most powerful wealth-building tool—your income—when it’s not tied up in debt payments.

2. Dave’s View on Cryptocurrency (and Other “Faddish” Investments)

[00:54–03:38]

• Dave emphasizes that the advice to liquidate is not about crypto specifically; it’s the same for any non-retirement investment. However, he doesn’t hide his skepticism regarding crypto.
• Quote:

  "It just gives us a little bit more joy when it’s something as stupid as crypto to tell you to do it."
  —Dave Ramsey (01:51)

• Dave compares crypto to other commodities and speculative investments:
  • He doesn’t buy gold, oil, or other commodities.
  • He sees crypto as a currency (like the yen or Deutsche Mark) with little track record and high volatility.
  • He views crypto as a fad, akin to Beanie Babies or emu farming—“all the cool kids doing stupid stuff.”
• Notable analogy: Investing in crypto is as irrational, in his eyes, as investing in Beanie Babies for your child’s college fund.
• Quote:

  "Right now, it’s just all the cool kids doing stupid stuff... It's as dumb as Beanie Babies."
  —Dave Ramsey (02:42)

3. Will Dave Ever Invest in Crypto?

[02:00–03:38]

• The co-host directly asks if Dave would ever invest in crypto, and under what circumstances.
• Dave insists he would not, because it’s a commodity, not a true investment with a track record, and he never invests in commodities or currencies.
• He reiterates his policy:
  Quote:

  "It’s not going to be a proven investment because it’s a commodity. And commodities are never a proven investment. That’s a problem."
  —Dave Ramsey (02:06)

4. The Dark Side of Crypto: Scams and Financial Losses

[04:29–05:24]

• The co-host and Dave discuss the rampant scams in the crypto space and massive financial losses people have experienced.
• Dave recounts a particularly heart-wrenching story involving a catfishing romance scam, where a woman was persuaded to cash out her 401(k) for a supposed boyfriend she had never met—highlighting the role crypto plays in modern scams.
• Quote:

  "Oh, my God. I mean, that stuff’s everywhere. We’re getting that stuff in here by the tidal waves into our offices by email. Help us with this. Help? We’re not the FBI. We can’t help you with this. It’s just, you know, try not doing stupid stuff. That’ll help."
  —Dave Ramsey (04:51)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dave, on crypto investors:

  "You went to church on Easter, but that was it."
  (01:15)
  A playful jab at the caller for following Ramsey advice only partway.

• Dave, on fads:

  "People were buying Beanie Babies, and I’ve had people call me on the show in the old days... I had people put their kids' college fund in Beanie Babies."
  (03:21)

• Co-host, on scams:

  "The amount of scams... and the amount of things people have lost. I mean, so much money people have lost in it."
  (04:29)

• Dave, advice to listeners:

  "Try not doing stupid stuff. That’ll help."
  (04:51)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:19] – Caller’s question: Using crypto to pay off debt
• [00:47] – Dave’s recommendation to liquidate non-retirement investments
• [01:51–02:42] – Dave’s perspective on crypto as a fad, comparison with Beanie Babies/emus
• [02:00] – Would Dave ever buy crypto? (direct Q&A)
• [04:29] – Discussion of crypto scams, romance scam anecdote

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Tone and Style

Throughout the episode, Dave Ramsey’s tone is candid, direct, and occasionally cheeky—employing analogies and anecdotes to drive his points home. Listeners are left with a clear sense of Ramsey Network’s long-standing skepticism of crypto and emphasis on steady, traditional wealth-building strategies.

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Best takeaway:
If you’re tempted by fads like cryptocurrency, remember Ramsey’s cardinal rule: Protect your income, avoid debt, and don’t let hype derail your long-game financial plans.

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Transcript

[Narrator]

This episode is brought to you by SmartVestor. Connect with an investing pro near you at RamseySolutions.com SmartVestor Josh is in Pennsylvania.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey Josh, how are you?

[Caller (Josh)]

Good. How are you guys?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. What's up?

[Caller (Josh)]

So I'm calling in. We had $90,000 of debt. We have paid it down. We only have 28,000 left and we have about 20,000 in crypto that I've had for that has just kind of sat there like everybody else has. I'm just wondering, should I liquidate that to just get through baby step two here and just finalize everything?

[Co-host (possibly Chris Hogan or another Ramsey Solutions team member)]

Yes, simple answer.

[Dave Ramsey]

Anything that you had money in that was not retirement, we would tell you to liquidate it and clear your debt.

[Caller (Josh)]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And focus very intensely on your debt. Because when your debt is cleared up, you then have control of your most powerful wealth building tool, which is not investments, it's actually your income. And when your income's all going out in debt payments, you've limited your ability to build wealth.

[Caller (Josh)]

Correct. I mean, look, followed you guys religiously for a while.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, not too religiously. You've got $20,000 in crypto, so you weren't real religious about it, but the, I mean, semi. I mean you went to church on Easter, but that was it. So anyway, anyway, the thing is, yeah, if you had the money in Apple stock, if you had the money in mutual funds, if you had the money in a money market account, if you had the money in a shoebox under your bed, we would tell you the exact same thing to liquidate it and put and pay off your debt as fast as possible. It just gives us a little bit more joy when it's something as stupid as crypto to tell you to do it. So. Yeah, but yeah, definitely go do that for sure.

[Co-host (possibly Chris Hogan or another Ramsey Solutions team member)]

When is a world that Dave Ramsey would ever buy crypto?

[Dave Ramsey]

I don't gamble much. I'm.

[Co-host (possibly Chris Hogan or another Ramsey Solutions team member)]

If it ever became a proven investment for you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, it's not going to be a proven investment because it's a commodity. And commodities are never a proven investment. That's a problem. Commodities like gold or oil. I don't buy barrels of oil either.

[Co-host (possibly Chris Hogan or another Ramsey Solutions team member)]

Sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

Because. Exactly. And I don't buy blockchain. And so I don't buy crypto. So it's a currency. I don't buy the yen and I don't buy the deutsche mark. You can invest in the deutsche mark or the yen. They're a proven currency. You could look at the track record and see what the, how that is done versus the USD. Right. Or the euro. I mean, you could.

[Co-host (possibly Chris Hogan or another Ramsey Solutions team member)]

You could.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's a currency. It's cryptocurrency.

[Co-host (possibly Chris Hogan or another Ramsey Solutions team member)]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so a digital currency, so you could, you know. But I don't invest in currency, so crypto is no exception. It's just the least appealing because it has the least track record of all of them today. Someday, though, it could have a long track record and it could be very much more legitimate than it is now. Right now, it's just all the cool kids doing stupid stuff. And it's just. It's maddening because people are using up their wealth, building power that they could have actually become wealthy. And they get screwed over trying to be cool because it's very faddish. It's as dumb as Beanie Babies or. Well, you know. Really. I mean, people were buying Beanie Babies, and I've had people call me on the show in the old days.

[Co-host (possibly Chris Hogan or another Ramsey Solutions team member)]

Your wife?

[Dave Ramsey]

My wife. No, no, no. She bought Beanie Babies like crazy, but she never once said it was your college fund.

[Co-host (possibly Chris Hogan or another Ramsey Solutions team member)]

Oh, true. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

I had people put their kids college fund in Beanie Babies.

[Co-host (possibly Chris Hogan or another Ramsey Solutions team member)]

The Princess Diana bear. We had a special.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. Can you tell me one that is sold? I got one. The dog carries it around. But I don't yet know one that is sold. I know they're supposedly sold for $10,000, but I've never seen one. They're for sale on ebay, but no one's ever bought one. So anyway, it's hilar. You know, we had. You were a baby, and there was a thing that went around. People decided they were going to. Instead of investing in cattle and pigs, they were going to buy emus because emu meat was somewhat like ostrich meat. And we had emu. We had friends that bought farms and bought emus. I mean, this is the same. It's the same category for me. Okay. As crypto. I mean, it's just the same. It's just a fad and Beanie Babies. And so it's just. Because it's just something everybody's into and all the cool kids are talking about it, and it's dumber than crap. And it's just, you know, people are just doing it en masse. And so. Because they're losing their butts. They really are. And so.

[Co-host (possibly Chris Hogan or another Ramsey Solutions team member)]

Well, the amount of what's wild to me is the amount of scams and the amount of scams within it and the amount of things people have lost. I mean, so much money people have lost in it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. I mean, the other day we took a call. Jade and I caught a catfish. I mean, Jade caught the catfish. The guy was catfishing this girl from Russia. She had never met him. And her boyfriend in Russia wanted her to cash out her 401k and put it into crypto with him. And she'd never met him physically. It was a complete romance scam over the Internet, but they're using crypto to do it, so. Oh, my God. I mean, that stuff's everywhere. We're getting that stuff in here by the tidal waves into our offices by email. Help us with this. Help? We're not the FBI. We can't help you with this. It's just, you know, try not doing stupid stuff. That'll help. It's just. Oh, my gosh. Wow. It was so sad, too. Like, it's the first time maybe she ever realized that she didn't have a real boyfriend. Was when Jade told her. It was awful. It was just devastating.

[Co-host (possibly Chris Hogan or another Ramsey Solutions team member)]

Why? We all need friends.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, right.

[Narrator]

Thanks for tuning in to Ramsey Everyday millionaires, need help with your investments? Connect with a smartvestor [e-mail] smartvestor or or click the link in the show notes. Ramsey Solutions is a paid non client promoter of participating pros. Learn [e-mail] SmartVestor.