The Ramsey Show Live from Chicago – October 17, 2025
Podcast: The Ramsey Show
Host: Ken Coleman (with George Kamel & Rachel Cruze, Ramsey Network)
Location: The Den Theater, Chicago
Episode Theme: Empowering people to take charge of their money and build wealth through live Q&A, debate, and real-life stories from the audience.
Episode Overview
This special live episode brings The Ramsey Show to Chicago, featuring Ken Coleman, George Kamel, and Rachel Cruze. The hosts field live money questions from the audience, work through common financial and relational dilemmas, settle debates between couples, and celebrate debt freedom. The tone is supportive, lively, humorous, and honest, emphasizing boundaries, intentional financial management, and the life changes that come from taking control of your money.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Navigating Lending and Family Boundaries
Timestamps: [02:23]-[10:54]
- Question: A couple (Shea & Arnold) from Portage, IN, asks about lending money to Shea’s mom, whose income exceeds theirs.
- Insight:
- You can’t change people who don’t want to change. Set loving but firm boundaries if family regularly asks for money.
- Rachel Cruze: "Unless she wants it, it's not gonna happen ... It's a pretty strong boundary of a conversation." [03:47]
- Ken Coleman: "At some point... you become the parent and the parent becomes the child ... No, Mom, never again. It stops. Never again." [04:01]
- Actionable Steps:
- Communicate honestly with the family member.
- Refuse future loans out of love to protect the relationship.
- Offer budgeting help only if genuinely received.
- Memorable Quote:
- George Kamel: "I love you, I'm your daughter. I don't want to become your lender. I care about our relationship too much for it to become a business transaction." [05:02]
2. Settle the Debate: Spender vs. Saver Couples
Timestamps: [12:09]-[23:47]
- Case: Jenny (spender) & Jake (saver) from Valparaiso, IN, seek a "Supreme Court" ruling on their spending conflict.
- Context:
- Stay-at-home mom of four, family income ~$160k, aggressively paying down mortgage (goal: 5 years).
- Jenny manages the budget and spends within a self-regulated limit (~$400/mo).
- Jake expresses anxiety over spending and being out of control.
- Advice and Solution:
- Once basics are handled (debt-free except the house), families can shift from “gazelle intensity” to “intentionality” in spending.
- Open honest dialogue about underlying money anxiety, family history, and trust.
- Both partners should review the budget to stay aligned and feel agency in spending/saving decisions.
- Panel Decision:
- All judges side with Jenny; spending is within bounds, Jake must engage with the budget and intentionally spend on himself. Jenny breaks down Amazon boxes for a month as part of the compromise.
- Notable Quotes:
- Rachel Cruze: "You have the freedom to spend." [20:59]
- Ken Coleman: "If you're not careful, you're going to be fearful your entire kids’ lives and they're going to adopt that same view." [21:42]
3. Helping a Low-Income Community Improve Financially
Timestamps: [24:12]-[31:50]
- Question: Lynette, outreach director in a rural area with high poverty, asks for advice to help people living paycheck to paycheck.
- Discussion:
- Distinguish between true poverty (income barriers) and middle-class lifestyle inflation.
- For the poorest, solution is a “long path”—upskilling, possibly relocating for better jobs—requiring personal grit and sacrifice.
- Budgeting helps all—identifying if the issue is truly income or debt/lifestyle.
- Ken Coleman: "If you want to help those people, you help them find a path to a better job ... it's going to be rugged individualism." [27:10]
- George Kamel: "The budget will give them at least a financial reality check ... that person in the mirror, they are really the secret sauce." [29:28]
4. Fun Rapid-Fire and Relational Questions
Timestamps: [32:13]-[39:33]
- Personality Types: “Are you the free spirit or the nerd in your marriage?”
- Rachel and Ken self-identify as free spirits; George is the nerd.
- Example: Spreadsheet obsession vs. spontaneous buying for joy/self-regulation.
- Best Gifts Given/Received:
- Ken: Blackstone griddle.
- Rachel: Jewelry for her daughter’s birth and a custom lake house sign.
- George: Experiential “push present” (Backstreet Boys tickets) for his wife.
- Memorable Side Story: Science of why music from our preteen/teen years triggers strong nostalgia ("literal chemical things happen in your body" - Rachel, [37:38]).
5. Wedding Etiquette: How Much Should a Bridesmaid Spend?
Timestamps: [39:48]-[45:55]
- Question: Laura debates with her boyfriend how much to spend on a wedding gift after already investing time and money as a bridesmaid.
- Consensus:
- Spending $150 is fair; multiple events and gifts for one wedding can be excessive.
- Group pushed back on gift-giving expectations; etiquette norms are changing.
- Normalize creativity and practicality over formality.
6. Two Truths and a Lie: Wildest Listener Calls
Timestamps: [46:56]-[56:15]
- Segment: Audience and panel guess which outrageous call stories were not real:
- Examples ranged from “husband doesn’t believe in the government so stopped paying taxes,” to “reverse vasectomy a financial priority?” to “wife maxed out card at McDonald’s.”
- Some calls truly stranger than fiction revealed how real money pain and folly are.
7. Battling Stagnation in Baby Steps 4–6 (Building Wealth)
Timestamps: [60:44]-[65:43]
- Question: Ashley & Jim feel bored and frustrated that, despite making progress to Baby Steps 4–6, they can't accelerate mortgage payoff due to unplanned expenses.
- Advice:
- Typical timeline to pay off a house is 7–10 years.
- Budget audit: Prioritize extra principal payments, but keep realistic and flexible for life events.
- Celebrate the milestones, create visuals, and plan for fun—even in long stretches of grind.
- Rachel Cruze: "Give yourself some patience ... You're seeing it in a really short window where the runway's much longer." [62:13]
8. Finding Meaningful Post-Military Work
Timestamps: [66:13]-[69:56]
- Question: Amanda, Air Force veteran, is struggling with identity after service and seeking meaningful civilian work.
- Actionable Exercise:
- List all acquired skills and experiences, then use them (with tools like ChatGPT) to map to new career paths.
- Recognize employers’ respect for military service and network intentionally.
- Ken Coleman: "Seeing leads to believing, and believing will lead to you getting the thing you want to get." [69:56]
9. Debt-Free Celebration and Community Impact
Timestamps: [70:07]-[74:32]
- Live Debt-Free Scream:
- Audience tallies up over $1.17 million in debt paid off in the last year.
- Entire room does a group debt-free scream to mark the accomplishment.
- Everyone in attendance receives a free year of EveryDollar Premium to help continue their journey.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Ken Coleman: "At some point... you become the parent and the parent becomes the child." [04:01]
- Rachel Cruze: "You have the freedom to spend." [20:59]
- Rachel Cruze: "I think seeing each other two or three layers down of what's really, really going on under that..." [19:50]
- Ken Coleman: "If you're not careful, you're going to be fearful your entire kids’ lives and they're going to adopt that same view." [21:42]
- George Kamel: "The budget will give them at least a financial reality check... that person in the mirror, they are really the secret sauce." [29:28]
- On nostalgia and music:
- Rachel: "When that gets triggered, it's a level of nostalgia that gives you literal... something chemically happens in your body." [38:08]
- On post-military transition:
- Ken Coleman: "Seeing leads to believing, and believing will lead to you getting the thing you want to get." [69:56]
- On group financial progress:
- George Kamel: "$1,172,000 paid off in this room in the last 12 months. That's wild." [72:48]
Important Timestamps
| Segment | Start | Highlights | |-----------------------------------|---------|-----------------------------| | Show open, pizza banter | 00:00 | Chicago vibes, audience energy | | Lending to a parent/setting boundaries | 02:23 | Navigating family loans | | Couples debate: Spender vs. Saver | 12:09 | Mini “Supreme Court” ruling | | Helping the struggling & poor | 24:12 | Community outreach Q&A | | Rapid-fire host questions | 32:13 | Free spirit vs. nerd; gifts | | Wedding gifting etiquette | 39:48 | Bridesmaid expenses, registry vs. cash | | Two Truths and a Lie | 46:56 | Most outrageous Ramsey calls | | Stagnation in Baby Steps 4–6 | 60:44 | Tips for staying motivated | | Military-to-civilian transition | 66:13 | Skills, identity, networking | | Group debt-free celebration | 70:07 | $1.17M paid off, crowd scream| | Final giveaways & close | 74:32 | All get EveryDollar, gratitude|
Final Takeaways
- Boundaries are loving. Saying “no” to family and loved ones is sometimes the most caring thing you can do—especially regarding repeated loans.
- Understand emotional roots. Couples’ financial disagreements often mask deeper anxieties—understand and express them.
- The long path is okay. Building wealth and escaping poverty isn’t quick; celebrate the journey and be compassionate to yourself.
- Celebrate progress. Mark wins, stay visual with your goals, and occasionally reward yourself.
- Community lifts everyone. Sharing stories, support, and tools like budgeting apps multiplies impact across families and neighborhoods.
Original Show Language & Tone:
Supportive, direct, witty, and warm. The team celebrated both small and major wins, called out hard truths, and made the hard work of financial transformation feel possible for everyone.
For more: Visit www.ramseysolutions.com
To ask a question live: Call 888.825.5225 weekdays 2–5 p.m. ET