35 Years and Dave Has Never Gotten This Call

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ramsey Show Highlights

Episode: 35 Years and Dave Has Never Gotten This Call
Date: January 7, 2026
Host: Dave Ramsey

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Dave Ramsey fields what he describes as one of the most unique questions he's received in his 35-year career: Whether it’s appropriate to use an emergency fund to purchase a gun for self-defense following a scary incident involving a stranger outside the caller’s home. The conversation centers on responding wisely to home safety fears, the role of firearms and non-lethal alternatives, and how to communicate effectively with law enforcement in emergencies.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Unusual Caller Question

• Caller’s Situation: A woman asks if she and her husband should dip into their emergency fund to buy a gun.
• Incident Details:
  • Stranger accused them (via their doorbell cam) of stealing his cell phone, as GPS pointed to their address.
  • The man loitered around their property for nearly an hour at night, which unsettled them.
  • Police were called, but slow to arrive; officers treated it as a non-urgent situation since there was no forced entry attempt.
• Unique Question:
  • Dave responds, “35 years of doing this, that's the first time I've heard that question. What is the emergency? How would a gun be an emergency?” (00:22, Dave Ramsey)

2. Escalation and Appropriate Response

• On Use of Force:
  • Dave repeatedly questions the idea of lethal self-defense in this scenario:
    • “So you’re gonna shoot him? We just escalated from a lost cell phone to somebody dead on your front porch.” (00:02, 02:17, Dave Ramsey)
  • He warns strongly against using a gun unless lives are immediately threatened:
    • “The only reason you would shoot someone is if they're inside your home about to harm your family. Not banging on your door, not scaring you.” (02:42, Dave Ramsey)
    • “You don’t wander out in the front yard. You’ll get shot.” (02:54, Dave Ramsey)
• On Law Enforcement:
  • Dave stresses the importance of insisting on a police response:
    • “You call the cops six times and say, get your butt over here. One of us is in danger, and I'm not sure which one it is. But you got. You jack the police up and let them do their job.” (02:46, Dave Ramsey)

3. Firearms, Responsibility, and Alternatives

• Dave’s Own Stance:
  • “I carry a gun. I’m a gun guy, okay? But there’s no case like that that I’m gonna shoot somebody.” (02:17, Dave Ramsey)
  • He cautions against emotional, reactionary gun purchases:
    • “Because I don't like his attitude about handling a firearm. I'm not going to tell you to buy a gun because I think you're going to get yourself in a lifetime of hurt if you handle these situations with a firearm.” (03:43, Dave Ramsey)
• Legal and Safety Risks:
  • “People like that, when they get shot, that's when you go to jail... or you spend a million dollars trying to not go to jail.” (04:08, Dave Ramsey)
• Non-Lethal Option:
  • Recommends non-lethal “Byrna” device as a compromise:
    • “It's a non-lethal firearm called a Byrna... It shoots a projectile that can either be pepper spray or a hard projectile... if you shoot someone with it, they will wish they had been shot. They'll go down, but they're not going to die.” (04:49, Dave Ramsey)
    • Approximate price: $500—on par with a handgun, but “that's not an emergency though.” (04:49, Dave Ramsey)
• Budgeting and Emotional Response:
  • Dave notes, “The fact that you all are reacting to this situation emotionally and actually calling this an emergency means you need to rethink how you're going to defend your home.” (05:18, Dave Ramsey)

4. What Constitutes an Emergency?

• Home Protection Decisions:
  • Dave makes clear that buying a firearm for self-protection is not a financial emergency:
    • “Buying a firearm for self-protection is not an emergency. What is an emergency is changing your situation so that... you don't live there anymore, you move or something like that... But I'm not going to, you know, build Fort Knox over here.” (06:03, Dave Ramsey)
• Rational Safety Improvements:
  • Advises focusing on underlying safety, communication with police, and possibly moving if the area is unsafe.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dave Ramsey’s Shock:
  • “35 years of doing this, that's the first time I've heard that question. What is the emergency? How would a gun be an emergency?” (00:22)
• Escalation Warning:
  • “We just escalated from a lost cell phone to somebody dead on your front porch. He's going to jail.” (00:02)
• On Responsible Gun Ownership:
  • “The only reason you would shoot someone is if they're inside your home about to harm your family. Not banging on your door, not scaring you, not all of that.” (02:42)
• Community and Law Enforcement:
  • “You call the cops six times and say, get your butt over here. One of us is in danger, and I'm not sure which one it is.” (02:46)
• On Emotional Decision-Making:
  • “The fact that you all are reacting to this situation emotionally and actually calling this an emergency means you need... to rethink how you're going to defend your home.” (05:18)
• Pragmatism Over Paranoia:
  • “No, buying a firearm for self protection is not an emergency... I'm not going to... build Fort Knox over here and stick... AR barrels out of every window to protect my house. No, we're not doing that.” (06:03)
• Closing Stance:
  • “I'm about as much a gun guy as anybody you'll ever talk to. So don't misunderstand. I'm not anti 2A. I'm anti shooting people. Hello. That's a bad idea.” (06:34)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:22: Dave receives the unique question about using an emergency fund to buy a gun.
• 01:06: Caller describes the incident with the stranger and slow police response.
• 02:17 – 02:42: Dave’s core advice about gun use and appropriate escalation.
• 03:43: Dave questions the caller’s husband’s attitude about firearms.
• 04:49: Introduction of the “Byrna” non-lethal firearm alternative.
• 05:18: Dave emphasizes emotional decision-making and reframing the situation.
• 06:03 – End: Final advice on what actually constitutes an emergency and smart home defense.

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Summary Takeaway:
Dave Ramsey uses this rare call to deliver tough love and practical advice: Fear-driven, reactive gun purchases are unwise both financially and for personal safety. Focus on law enforcement, rational planning, and non-lethal alternatives. True emergencies are about real, immediate danger, not simply feeling shaken by an unusual event. The episode ultimately stresses personal responsibility, clear thinking, and prioritizing lawful, effective responses to fear.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

Brought to you by the EveryDollar app. Start budgeting for free today. So you're gonna shoot him? We just escalated from a lost cell phone to somebody dead on your front porch. He's going to jail.

[Caller]

My question is whether my husband and I should pull some money from our emergency fund in order to buy a gun.

[Dave Ramsey]

35 years of doing this, that's the first time I've heard that question. What is the emergency? How would a gun be an emergency?

[Caller]

Yeah, I don't necessarily think it is, but my husband does. So we had a weird situation that happened just a couple of days ago where it was like 11 o' clock at night and some guy started banging on our door. And he was. We talked to him through the ring camera and he was saying that somebody stole his phone and that it was GPS pinging to our address. And then it was probably 45 minutes to an hour before he actually left. Like he was looking around our property and then he was sitting in his car, just like sitting in front of our house waiting. It was very strange.

[Dave Ramsey]

Why did it take the police that long to get there if you had a property invasion going on?

[Caller]

I'm not really sure. They said that he did call the police. They said that he had also called them about the phone and I guess they decided it wasn't an emerg. He wasn't. He didn't seem like he was trying to break into the house. He was just looking around on our yard.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you're going to shoot him?

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[Dave Ramsey]

So you're going to shoot him?

[Caller]

Well, my husband, I think, is concerned that if he did come back and like did decide like he was just not.

[Dave Ramsey]

You're going to shoot him?

[Caller]

Just going to break into our house.

[Dave Ramsey]

Instead of tell the cops to come?

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, listen, listen. Let me just tell you, Let me stop, okay? I carry a gun. I'm a gun guy, okay? But there's no case like that that I'm gonna shoot somebody. Yeah, we just escalated from a lost cell phone to somebody Dead on your front porch.

[Caller]

Right?

[Dave Ramsey]

No, this is not okay. That's not a. It's not the way to solve the problem.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

The only reason you would shoot someone is if they're inside your home about to harm your family. Not banging on your door, not scaring you, not all of that. You don't go out in the front yard and wave your gun around because he's sitting in your driveway. You call the cops six times and say, get your butt over here. One of us is in danger. And I'm not sure which one it is. But you got. You jack the police up and let them do their job. But you don't wander out in the front yard. You'll get shot.

[Caller]

Yeah, I think he's just concerned that if something were like, worse were to happen and somebody were to break into our house, he's like, if we don't have it now, we're not going to be able. We're not going to want to wait until something worse happens. I guess is where he's coming from. But I'm with you. I really.

[Dave Ramsey]

What is your. What is your household income?

[Caller]

So annual is about 85,000, but our monthly income during the winter, a lot. It's pretty heavily in the summer. So during the winter we make about four to five thousand dollars a month.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, all right. Because I don't like his attitude about handling a firearm. I'm not going to tell you to buy a gun because I think you're going to get yourself in a lifetime of hurt if you handle these situations with a firearm. You don't use a firearm unless someone is about to die. Okay. That's. You just don't. I mean, it's not. That's not what that's for. And he's this guy on the ring doorbell thing is not even close to that. This is. People like that, when they get shot, that's when you go to jail.

[Caller]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's not. Or you spend a million dollars trying to not go to jail. And because you weren't even defending yourself, you just got spooked or, or you thought you were a ba. Or something. And so don't do that. Now, I will tell you that there's a product out there that I would put in your budget to address this concern. Okay. But it's not a firearm. It's a non lethal firearm called a byrna.

[Caller]

Oh, okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

B, Y, R, N, A. And it'll cost you about 500 bucks. And it shoots a projectile that can either be pepper spray or a hard projectile that. That if you shoot someone with it, they will wish they had been shot. They'll go down, but they're not going to die. It's non lethal. But if your husband pulls a Glock and empties a Glock into the guy's windshield because he freaks out, he's going to jail.

[Caller]

Right?

[Dave Ramsey]

So that ain't cool. And you buy a glock for about 500 bucks.

[Caller]

Okay, yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

But so either one will do the job and you can do that in your budget. It's not an emergency, though. But the fact that you all are reacting to this situation emotionally and actually calling this an emergency means you need, need to rethink how you're going to defend your home.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I got to tell you, I again, I have a gun on my person most of the time, but the chances of me pulling it out are zero. I will run away. I'm not going to shoot somebody.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's just too. There's just too much involved and it's not. It's not the answer. And you know, the only time is if one of my grandkids or my kids or somebody was in danger, my wife was in danger.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

But that's not. That's the only, the only way. And it would not be that I was scared at somebody knocking at my front door. I'm gonna be on 911 talking to dispatch until somebody rolls up on this boy and puts him down. He doesn't be running around my front yard scaring my wife and me. This guy needs to go down. And you know, you guys did not communicate with law enforcement accurately and urgently enough to get some reaction. People don't need to be squirreling around my dadgum house. I don't care if he's drunk. I don't care if he's got the wrong address or whatever with a cell phone. Doesn't matter. All that stuff doesn't matter. You can't bust up on somebody's house like that without consequences. And so put law enforcement on that, for God's sakes. No, buying a firearm for self protection is not an emergency. What is an emergency is changing your situation so that if you need to spend some money on changing your situation so that you don't have this emergency like you don't live there anymore, you move or something like that. If you've got a place that's unsafe, then I would do that. But I'm not going to, you know, build Fort Knox over here and stick, you know, AR barrels out of every window to protect my house. No, we're not doing that. That's just not a good use of your. Of your life. You should be doing something other than that with your life. So. And. And I'm about as gun. About as much a gun guy as anybody you'll ever talk to. So don't misunderstand. I'm not anti 2A. I'm anti shooting people. Hello. That's a bad idea. Create your free every dollar budget today. The simplest way to budget for your life.