Dave Ramsey Fans Admit Their BEST AND WORST Money Mistakes
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Hey guys, George Camel here. Recently, I hung out with over 2,000 Dave Ramsey fans, and let me tell you, that day was better than I deserve. Oh, and if you're not familiar with Dave Ramsey, yeah you are. He's this guy. George came off as a little rat bag at first, but he's grown on me. Don't act like you don't know.

I hadn't had a Coke in a long time. I quit drinking Coke. There we go. So I was at the Ramsey Smart Conference right here in Nashville, Tennessee. And if you're not familiar, Smart Conference is a two-day event with all of us Ramsey personalities speaking. And the whole purpose of the event is to help you get smart in all areas of your life, from career to money to relationships and everything in between. And if you want to know what it's like, here's a little teaser for my talk.

As a giant nerd, I did the math. I started Googling in Costco going, what's the real math behind this? And I did it for you so that you didn't have to. Six double rolls somehow equals 12 regular rolls, okay? But then six giant rolls is 14 regular rolls. But then six great rolls is 17 regular rolls. And then I think they just got some kids in the marketing meetings to go like, hey kids, what should we name the next one? And the kids were like, double

plus. We're like, okay, double plus is 19 regular rolls. What's bigger than double plus, kids? Mega. Okay, six mega rolls is now 24 regular rolls. What's better than mega if you're a kid? Mega plus. Okay, six mega plus rolls is 27 regular rolls. And then if you're a kid, what is better than mega plus? Super mega! Yeah!

Six super mega rolls rolling in at 36 regular rolls. So if you take nothing else away from this talk, remember that super mega is the best bang for your butt. That's it.

I don't know why they chose that clip. Toilet paper is a part of all of our lives, whether we like it or not. Smart Conference is a huge event. Like, smaller than a Taylor Swift concert, but bigger than your average bar mitzvah. So this year, I decided to make the most of the action by talking to Smart Conference attendees about the dumbest money mistakes they've made. And guys, these aren't your average Joes who are watching reality TV and going bowling on the weekend. These are grade-A Josephs. They watch shows like The Ramsey Show and attend finance conferences in their spare time on the weekends.

So getting Dave Ramsey fans to admit their biggest money mistakes is like getting Gordon Ramsay to admit that he actually likes Lunchables. Where's the lunchables? But don't confuse them. They don't like that. You're Dave Ramsey. You'll figure something out. Dave Ramsey. My name's Gordon. Gordon, do I look like a f***ing Dave? No. Different Ramseys. Don't get it twisted. So let's get to it. It's time for a little money confessional with some hardcore Ramsey fans.

Tell us your biggest money mistake you've ever made. Biggest money mistake would have to be the investment in the solar panels. Oh, what'd you spend on the solar panels? It's $36,000. On alone? Yeah. Nothing down? Nothing down. Well, one of mine is borrowing money from a girlfriend. You pointed at her. That was before we got married. Yeah. Oh! What did you think about this? I wasn't super stoked, but I loved him and I trusted him.

Did you pay her back all four grand? I never actually paid her back. Because you were married by then? Because now we're married by then. Oh my gosh. Okay, what's your biggest money mistake? I would say buying a brand new car. Ooh, what was it? It's a 2015 Grand Cherokee. Brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee. And you took out a loan for this? I did. How big was the loan? The full amount. Okay, tell us your biggest money mistake.

Oh, wow. It's actually a subscription in MLM. Oh, you fell for the multi-level marketing scheme. I did. What was it? Can you tell us the company? Are you comfortable with that? Yeah, sure. It was Amway. Amway. I almost fell for an Amway pitch. She turned around the little iPad and I ran, man.

Whoa! Can you tell me how much these diamond earrings were? Why? I'm just kidding. He doesn't know the price yet. He still doesn't?

Yeah, I know. Are you willing to tell us? Because she's too embarrassed. Well, I didn't see exactly pride, but I see the whole bill. So, which it was more than the... She bought more than just the earrings. Yes. What else did you buy? Stuff. Stuff. All from Macy's? Yes. Did you know that she had this credit card? Yeah, but I didn't know it was that high on the balance.

I think the biggest money mistake was financing a bed. Oh, a bed? Yeah. How much did you finance? Oh, $7,000, $8,000. Yeah, so it was... That thing make you coffee? I mean, what are they putting in that? I just have French pot of coffee. Does anybody want coffee? Okay, tell us your biggest money mistake. My student loans. How much? $35,000. Probably buying a vehicle, yeah. Buying a brand new vehicle. Well, what was it? A brand new pickup.

The pickup guys want to know what pickup. They have very specific opinions. Oh, man. Silverado? Yes. Yeah. Ah, Silverado guy. Do you remember how much the loan was for on the Silverado? I think it was right around $52, $54. Ouch.

- Ouch. - So my biggest money mistake was back when I refinanced my little condo to buy a car. - So you increased the mortgage to give you some money to buy a car, which you were like, that's smart. - And I couldn't afford it. - The biggest one, gosh, this is whenever I was, I graduated from college and I went to an art auction and I bid on an art piece and paid $1,000. Yeah. And I was like, oh, that looks really cool. And you know, your tastes change. - You're like 20 years old at this point?

21 maybe and you spent a thousand bucks on a piece of art yep and i put it on the um it's a it was a credit card oh yeah ouch you still have the piece of art i do and it doesn't fit with my house it's not even like your vibe anymore years later right oh my gosh what is your biggest money mistake oh man not investing when i was younger in my 401k that was yeah that was what were you doing instead just

Just spending, having a good time? Kids, I was living in a 60 trailer house. I just didn't know what I was doing. I wasn't taught. And now you're looking back, you're like, I could have turned into so much money with compound interest. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. Wow.

Man, I gotta say, slightly entertaining, slightly disconcerting, but overall, I'm just really impressed that they were willing to be vulnerable and share some of their biggest money mistakes. And honestly, hearing all this was good for me because I've done stupid stuff with money. I've paid my fair share of stupid tax. So at least now I know I'm not the only one. But we didn't stop there because truthfully, that's kind of a bummer of an episode. These people are here to learn and grow with money and boy, have they done that. So to end on a high note, I asked them to share the best money moves they've made.

Check this out.

That boggles my mind. I think our biggest win would be the fact that we're on the same page. There for a while, I would say we were on two totally different pages and that's really stressful. But now we're on the same page and that makes all the difference in the world. I call that progress and working together is so key. I'm proud of you guys. Definitely.

Thanks. Being able to homeschool and then being able to cash flow their college because now they're in college. That's incredible. These are my beautiful babies. These are Josh and Judah. These are our twins. And then my daughter, who's 21, went to school debt-free, and she's got her MBA. So, I mean, God is so good. That's incredible. Three kids, no college debt because of your hard work and sacrifice and their hard work. We paid off $18,000 while I...

started a new career. Wow, that's amazing. So what's your biggest money win so far? Biggest goal you've achieved, most success you've had? I would say, I don't know if we've reached it yet other than paying off my student loans, but just...

And the debt snowball itself, just watching it actually pay things off. Small to largest, you're feeling the progress. Okay, what's your biggest money win so far on this journey? Honestly, probably attending FPU, using that money to attend the class and learning the principles and, you know, following through with it. So getting financial literacy, going through Financial Peace University and going like, okay, I'm going to learn some things. I'm going to do some things. Right, right. That's awesome. And where are you at now? Are you debt free?

- We're debt free except for the mortgage. So we're on babysat four, five and six. - Woo, investing, saving for college, paying off the house early. That's incredible. I'm proud of you. - Thank you, thanks. - Actively planning.

Every dollar app, my wife and I, we listen to all of the podcasts and we go home and we talk about them. That's amazing. So you're budgeting, you're communicating with your spouse, you're aligned on money goals. That's the big win for you. Yes, sir. That's awesome. Well, it's an honor to have you. Thank you. So have you told your kids about the solar panels? Do you explain that to them? Oh, yeah, they're living it with us. What do they think about the solar panels?

They are mad that we did it. Our son actually bought us tickets to this conference. Your son bought you tickets to be like, don't ever do something like this again. Go to the Smart Conference. We're going to send you there. You're raising great kids. Yes, we are very thankful. That's a great sign. Biggest money win is last year my mom got very sick. And because I'm in Baby Step 7...

I was able to take my full FMLA for seven weeks and I didn't get three paychecks, but it didn't matter. So it allowed me to grieve and to, you know, do the things that I had to do moving forward. So I'm grateful. They gave you that space to do that emotionally, financially. Exactly. You got a paid-for house. Yep. You have an emergency fund. You're like, I could miss three paychecks to be with my mom. Yep. That's really special. Well, you have a great story to tell other people of what it's like to be debt-free.

I'm proud of you. Way to go. This is it. This is what it looks like. What a redemption story that was. Okay, the point of all this is that it's not about the mistakes you've made with money. It's about what you're going to do about it. What are you going to do next? I know that you can get ahead financially because these people did. I don't care who you are, where you're from, what you did. No, for once, I was not trying to make a Backstreet Boys reference. Editors,

Settle down. As long as you love me, who you, who you love.

For real though, regardless of your background with money, we can all get better and build wealth. And these people you just saw, they're living proof. But it starts with knowing the traps to avoid, learning how to manage your money the right way, and deciding that you're in the driver's seat when it comes to your money. And if you don't know where to start, try doing what these people did and check out The Ramsey Show. It's kind of like Smart Conference, but instead of getting life and money advice in one action-packed weekend, it's available to you 24-7, 365.

I'll drop a link to the Ramsey Show YouTube channel where you can watch full episodes and highlights. And if you want to take things further, we actually have another Smart Conference event coming up in Chicago September 15th and 16th if you want to join us. I'll be there. My friend Dave Ramsey will be there. In fact,

All of our Ramsey personalities will be there. And I want to see you in the crowd along with maybe that solar panel guy from the video. That'd be fun. Nice guy. I'll drop a link to the event below if you want to check that out. In the meantime, share this video with a good-natured friend who might relate on a deep level to some of these money mistakes. And if you're willing to be vulnerable, let me know about your biggest money mistakes down in the comments. It'll be a great reminder that we're not all alone in this cold, harsh world. We can warm it up in the comments section together. Keep it cozy. Thanks for watching. We'll see you guys next time.