Can People With Mental Health Challenges Build Wealth?

Summary

Summary of "Can People With Mental Health Challenges Build Wealth?"

Podcast: The Ramsey Show Highlights
Host/Author: Ramsey Network
Episode Release Date: June 7, 2025

Introduction

In this episode of The Ramsey Show Highlights, hosted by the Ramsey Network, Grant reaches out seeking advice on overcoming mental health challenges that hinder his ability to build wealth. Joined by experts Dave Ramsey and John, the discussion delves into Grant's personal struggles, family history, financial setbacks, and the path forward toward financial stability and independence.

Grant's Personal Story and Challenges

Grant opens up about his background, sharing the impact of his family's history with addiction and mental health issues. He discusses the influence of his mother's depression and anxiety, as well as his father's gambling addiction, which disrupted his childhood and extended into adulthood.

Grant's Background:

• Family History: "My mother had depression, anxiety, My father, gambling addict. Great parents. At the end of the day, very fantastic parents. They did a good job..." ([00:21])
• Financial Setback: Inherited money after his mother's passing in 2017 but admits to mismanaging it by spending instead of investing, which has haunted him as he approaches 30.

Emotional Impact:

• Loss and Inheritance: "My mother passed away in 2017. When that happened, I received an inheritance, obviously. And I just was not smart with it the way I needed to be..." ([00:21])

Discussion on Mental Health and Financial Stability

Grant addresses his mental health, mentioning a past diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome and current experiences with anxiety. He expresses doubts about professional therapy based on previous unsatisfactory experiences.

Mental Health Insights:

• Diagnosis: "Yeah, so when I was younger, I was diagnosed Asperger's syndrome. Now that's changed since then..." ([01:27])
• Current State: Experiences "a little anxiety and things of that nature." ([01:27])

Expert Advice from Dave Ramsey and John

Dave Ramsey and John provide guidance on overcoming Grant's challenges, emphasizing resilience, accountability, and the importance of actionable steps toward financial independence.

Key Advice Points:

1. Resilience and Survival:

   • John: "It sounds like for the last 25, 27, 28 years, you've been surviving and congratulations, you made it." ([01:41])

2. Learning from Financial Mistakes:

   • Dave Ramsey: "Yes, you don't have any limiting factors." ([02:42])
   • Encourages focusing on present actions rather than past financial mistakes.

3. Seeking Professional Help:

   • John: "You have the courage and the humility to say, I don't know how to do what comes next. I'm gonna go sit down the professional." ([05:54])

4. Building Confidence through Achievements:

   • Dave Ramsey: "Confidence comes from actually accomplishing something that's right. And yes, it's a muscle that's built." ([05:54])

5. Breaking Negative Patterns:

   • John: "Do something that is different from the situation you're in right now." ([07:09])
   • Dave Ramsey: "Continuing to do the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result is the definition of insanity." ([07:29])

Grant's Current Situation and Goals

Grant discusses his current living situation, residing with his father for mutual emotional and financial support. He expresses a desire to achieve independence, financial stability, and start a family but feels hindered by self-doubt and past failures.

Current Challenges:

• Living Arrangement: "So I'm living with my dad now. We both kind of need each other... we're a good team." ([03:44])
• Desire for Independence: "I want to be able to start a family, have financial stability, all these different things." ([01:21])

Steps Toward Financial Independence

Dave and John outline practical steps for Grant to move towards financial independence and build wealth despite his mental health challenges.

Actionable Steps:

1. Budgeting and Saving:

   • Dave Ramsey: Encourages using budgeting tools and setting aside money for emergencies and future investments. ([02:23])

2. Achieving Quick Wins:

   • Dave Ramsey: "Get some quick wins... rent an apartment, get jobs, pile up some cash." ([06:04])

3. Reframing Identity:

   • Dave Ramsey: "You are not destined to follow in their tracks. You are destined to make a choice..." ([06:48])

4. Changing Behavior Patterns:

   • John: Emphasizes the importance of making different choices to change life outcomes. ([07:09])

Conclusion and Final Insights

The episode concludes with motivational insights from both Dave Ramsey and John, reinforcing the idea that overcoming financial and mental health challenges is attainable through deliberate action, seeking help when needed, and building confidence through achievements.

Final Takeaways:

• John: "Do something that is different from the situation you're in right now." ([07:09])
• Dave Ramsey: "It's not who I am based on my parents, and it's not who I am based on my failure..." ([08:44])

Grant is encouraged to redefine his identity beyond his past and present circumstances, take proactive steps towards financial health, and seek professional support to navigate his mental health challenges effectively.

Notable Quotes

• Grant on Financial Setbacks:
  "I just was not smart with it the way I needed to be. Instead of investing it, instead of using that to catapult myself into a stable future, end up spending it." ([00:21])

• Dave Ramsey on Confidence:
  "Confidence doesn't come from someone saying, I believe in you. Confidence comes from actually accomplishing something that's right." ([05:54])

• John on Changing Situations:
  "Do something that is different from the situation you're in right now. Otherwise everything will stay the same, except it will degrade." ([07:09])

• Dave Ramsey on Identity and Failure:
  "It's not who I am based on my parents, and it's not who I am based on my failure, because failure is a momentary thing." ([08:44])

Final Thoughts

This episode serves as a motivational guide for individuals facing similar challenges, illustrating that financial stability and wealth-building are achievable despite mental health hurdles and adverse backgrounds. Through shared experiences and expert advice, Grant's journey underscores the power of resilience, intentional action, and the importance of redefining one's financial and personal narrative.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

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[Grant]

So I was wondering, I know this is a bit of a generalized question, but I was wondering if you had any advice or tips for listeners who feel limited in their potential due to issues. Due to issues, excuse me, with mental health.

[John]

Tell me more.

[Grant]

All right, so just to give you a little bit of background, I'm not in a deep financial hole or anything like that, but there is a bit of family history. Part of it is addiction, part of it is mental health. My mother had depression, anxiety, My father, gambling addict. Great parents. At the end of the day, very fantastic parents. They did a good job, but family history there, that just kind of caused disruptions in my childhood and then into adulthood. On my personal end, my mother passed away in 2017. When that happened, I received an inheritance, obviously. And I just was not smart with it the way I needed to be. Instead of investing it, instead of using that to catapult myself into a stable future, end up spending it. I still think about those mistakes to this day. And now I'm in a situation, I'm approaching 30. I would like to be able to start a family, have financial stability, all these different things. But those past failures combined with the family history really just kind of put a damper on those thoughts. So it's hard to have long term motivation.

[John]

Do you, do you have mental health diagnostics? Have you been diagnosed with emotional and mental health disorders?

[Grant]

Yeah, so when I was younger, I was diagnosed Asperger's syndrome. Now that's changed since then. Obviously they got rid of that diagnosis. So I think it's just, I mean, outside of that, there's definitely a little bit of anxiety and things of that nature.

[John]

So given what I mean, just the two seconds you just unpacked your 30 seconds, you unpacked your childhood. What I would love to tell you is it sounds like for the last 25, 27, 28 years, you've been surviving and congratulations, you made it. Did you do something dumb with money? Yes, we all do. And the only thing you can do anything about is what comes happen, what happens next. And so let me ask you something. Any time you sit down and you think about blowing all that money, has that ever, have you ever been able to figure out how to get some of that money back and deposit it into your checking account?

[Grant]

So I mean, like, in terms of the money that's already gone, like, I do think about just how could I have been smarter with it? And like in the present day, how can I Budget my money. How can I make sure that money set aside for emergencies, for a future. So in those avenues I'm doing well. I do have money saved up. I have a 401k, I have a Roth IRA.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good. And you don't have a mental health diagnosis.

[Grant]

No. I mean so what you are is.

[Dave Ramsey]

Like a normal 30 year old person. Yeah. That made a mistake once with money. You don't have any limiting factors.

[John]

In fact you've climbed. You scratched and clawed your way out of a pretty hellacious childhood to get here.

[Grant]

Thank you for that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, sounds like. Sounds like you're pretty strong to me. You're a lot stronger than you think you are.

[John]

I. If I were you I would go sit down with somebody and get some get retested just to clear your mind. I don't want you googling. I have some sort of diagnostic or some sort of self limiting factor and there's not.

[Dave Ramsey]

John, correct me if I'm wrong but I'm not aware of any environmental. But no physical, inherited. You know, if your dad's an addict, it doesn't make you an addict.

[John]

No, but you can, you can grow up in a pretty traumatic situation.

[Dave Ramsey]

But that's an environment that's.

[John]

I mean that's why you get to decide what happens next.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. Yeah.

[John]

So Grant, what do you think you're doing wrong right now?

[Grant]

I think right now it's just. I don't think that I'm branching out on my own being independent enough. So I'm living with my dad now. We both kind of need each other. Him. You know, I think I'm helping him financially, he's helping me emotionally. So we're a good team. But it's.

[John]

Do you need emotional support right now?

[Grant]

Grant, I'm not through a therapist. I've tried those in the past. I'm just a little, I don't want to say cynical, but doubtful. Maybe just like a little tough to kind of.

[John]

Okay, so if you don't want to.

[Dave Ramsey]

Get your addict father support you as a 30 year old emotionally.

[Grant]

Well, emotionally. It's just that as you could tell just from this pre phone call there's a lot of self doubt there. And he does try to be as encouraging as possible. You know, this time a year ago I was originally an operations manager for shipping company and I did really well and just you know, some wear and tear. Emotionally, physically ended up losing that job and that really rocked my confidence. He ended up being the person there that just got me through that.

[John]

He got you through or he. Or he Said, I believe in you, you can do it. And by the way, I need you to pay the electric bill and the light bill. Can I borrow $100?

[Grant]

Yeah. It wasn't the, it wasn't the electric bill necessarily. We were. So the original plan when I moved in with him was, hold on, we're.

[John]

Gonna get, we're gonna get all sideways. Here's the deal. I don't understand what you're asking. How can I, how can I help? Because here's the deal. You don't want professional help because you're cynical of it. You don't want to get re diagnosed because. But you do want to diagnose yourself. You don't want to get away from some of this toxic behavior that you grew up with, yet you want to live with your dad. You want to be secure with money as a 30 year old, yet you still feel compelled to fund his life. All these are choices you're allowed to make. You're a grown adult, but I'm trying to walk you through each one of them and seeing where they're not in alignment with what you're telling me you want your life to look like. And so how can I help? How can I help?

[Grant]

I think it's just, I guess how can I, how can I branch away and become independent, move away, get a.

[Dave Ramsey]

Job and move away, branch away and become independent, get a, get a one.

[John]

Bedroom apartment and say, dad, in two months I'm going to be out here on my own because it's time for me to be a 30 year old man about myself.

[Dave Ramsey]

And by the way, confidence doesn't come from someone saying, I believe in you. Confidence comes from actually accomplishing something that's right. And yes, it's a muscle that's built.

[John]

We need people to pick us up when we fall. And that's awesome. And then we got to go take the next step. That's confidence. That's where you get confidence.

[Dave Ramsey]

I want you to go get some quick wins. Get some wins that make you feel good, that make you say, I did this. I accomplished something. I accomplished something. I rented an apartment, I got four jobs, I piled up some cash, I work a lot, I'm good with people and start to build some confidence around these things because you've set your identity up as the child of a depressed mother and an addict father and destined to follow in their tracks. And you are not destined to follow in their tracks. You are destined to make a choice as to whether you will follow in their tracks.

[John]

And you can't say, I Need some help? I want some guidance, but I don't want to take help and I don't want to take guidance. Those two things are incompatible together. So either you have the courage and the humility to say, I don't know how to do what, what comes next. I'm gonna go sit down the professional. I'm gonna go talk to a, an investment professional. I'm gonna go talk to a mental health professional. I'm gonna talk to somebody to walk me through this.

[Dave Ramsey]

Cool.

[John]

Or I'm just going to keep staying in the same situation. At the end of the day, I'll give you a quote from my friend Michael Easter. Do something. Do something that is different from the situation you're in right now. Otherwise everything will stay the same, except it will degrade. It will slowly decompose underneath you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. Those continue continuing to do the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. That's what the 12 Steppers say. And they're quoting Edison when they said that. Or Einstein, one of the two, I can't remember which, but either one. So, yeah, it's. Yeah, the. So when I went broke, Grant, I got the. And lost everything. I also lost a lot of my confidence. And I'm a brand new dad and a husband and I'm obviously lousy at all of it because the water and the electricity got cut off in the house that my children lived in. Not exactly a non toxic environment, you know. And so then I get to decide somewhere in the following months, am I a bankrupt guy who is useless, or am I a guy who made some mistakes and went bankrupt? Those are two different sets of identities. And I had to make that consciousness. I had to make that decision consciously as an act of my will. And by the way, my parents went bankrupt when I was a kid. So does that mean it's always destined for my children then, to go bankrupt? Is that a, Is this like a DNA thing? Well, crap. No.

[John]

You get to choose what happens.

[Dave Ramsey]

You get to choose not to do the stupid stuff that causes bankruptcy. And so, you know, in the following 35 years, I've become a multi, multi millionaire, choosing not to do the stupid stuff that caused me to file bankruptcy. And because I'm not defined by that. It's something that happened, something that I did, but it's not who I am. And that's a different thing. It's not who I am based on my parents, and it's not who I am based on my failure, because failure is a momentary thing. I found something that didn't work and I changed it went to something that does work.

[John]

It's a definition of wisdom.

[Dave Ramsey]

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