5 Reasons I Won’t Jump On The Dave Ramsey Bandwagon

I am walking into dangerous territory by speaking critically of Dave Ramsey, but after years of privately thinking people should avoid him, he’s finally begun to expose what is hiding under the surface. And by extension, his company, Ramsey Solutions, is beginning to look less ideal or even professional. Is Dave Ramsey giving good financial advice? Does he display Christian character and conduct? Is Ramsey Solutions a healthy environment for employees? Let’s take a walk.

Who Is Dave Ramsey?

I assume nearly everyone knows who Dave Ramsey is at this point. He has long been considered a trustworthy financial guru in Christian and secular homes. According to Ramsey, he came from nothing and made himself a millionaire by the time he was twenty-six. Unfortunately, he managed to achieve his financial “success” by taking out loans he wasn’t able to pay back. Millionaire to bankruptcy was a quick trip. As a result, he took wiser financial advice, and he rebuilt his wealth.

Dave Ramsey started Ramsey Solutions in 1992 with the goal of helping people who are struggling with financial debt. He wrote Financial Peace, and he started a radio show that is now known as The Ramsey Show. His company has grown to over nine hundred employees, boasts multiple well-known show hosts and authors, and sells the wildly successful Financial Peace University.

Ramsey makes money from his books sales, radio show, speaking engagements, and selling his resources to churches and businesses. Ramsey Solutions also trains people to be financial counselors and has real estate and tax services.

Dave Ramsey might be known most for his 7 Baby Steps to getting out of debt.

1. Save $1,000 for your starter emergency fund.

2. Pay off all debt (except the house) using the debt snowball.

3. Save 3–6 months of expenses in a fully funded emergency fund.

4. Invest 15% of your household income in retirement.

5. Save for your children’s college fund.

6. Pay off your home early.

7. Build wealth and give.

Dave Ramsey: The Good Stuff

I won’t have a lot of good things to say soon, so I would like to begin with some of the positives about Dave Ramsey and Ramsey Solutions.

1. The Christian Influence

As a Christian, I like to see businesses trying to apply biblical wisdom and morality to their practices. In general, I’m inclined to use a Christian business over a secular one. For instance, I’ll pick a Hobby Lobby over Michael’s when given the chance because I would rather give my business to believers. I’ll shop at a Michael’s, but I wouldn’t prioritize it over Hobby Lobby.

Dave Ramsey claims that he is a Christian who uses the Bible to guide his finances and business, so if that is true, it’s a positive aspect in my book.

2. The Focus On The Damage Of Debt

Dave Ramsey doesn’t hide his disdain for debt and for good reason. The weight of debt is crushing many Americans. Statistics from 2020 show 80% of Americans have consumer debt which averages to approximately $38,000. 20% of Americans use at least half of their income to pay debt. Additionally, 13% of Americans believe they will always be in debt.

We should avoid debt and try to free ourselves from it as soon as we can. Yet, so many people are struggling in this area of their lives. Dave Ramsey is offering help for a very real need.

3. Reminding Us To Give

Dave Ramsey doesn’t forget to remind his followers to be generous givers. In fact, he teaches that being able to give is one of the benefits of getting out of debt. I may not be a Ramsey fan, but he isn’t wrong on this point.

4. Making It Simple

Debt can easily overwhelm us, but Ramsey makes it seem possible to overcome. His steps are easy to follow, and he is consistent with his advice. A simple system of saving, cutting expenses, paying off debts, and generating more income is an approachable plan most people can understand.

5. Understandable Language

Dave Ramsey doesn’t sound like some intellectual giant…if you know what I mean.

He sounds like a guy you might meet at your local Culver’s while waiting for your butter burger and frozen custard. Admittedly, he’s worth about $200 million dollars, so he’s no Everyman. But he talks to people on his radio show like he’s regular people.

Sometimes the regular guy schtick goes too far when he calls callers “stupid” or “morons,” but on the plus side, he talks to them in ways they can understand and apply what he’s saying. Callers (and readers) walk away knowing what their next step ought to be.

Dave Ramsey: The Bad Stuff

Not everything about Dave Ramsey is good, despite what his admirers say. Some of it has to do with his actual advice while some of it has more to do with who he is as a man and how he runs Ramsey Solutions.

1. Questionable Financial Advice

For a financial guru with legions of fans, how could he possibly give bad advice? Well, times have changed, leaving him behind a bit, and he might be trying to make the outcomes look better. That’s what his critics say, at least.

The Debt Snowball

Dave Ramsey advises people to pay of their smallest debt first, then use the money saved each month to put towards the next largest debt, and so on. It gives the individual a win right away, motivating her to keep going.

This is not how most financial advisors see it, though. Usually, they say the best plan of action is to pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first. This approach saves the most money when debt repayment has ended.

$1,000 Starter Emergency Fund

Ramsey suggests saving three to six months of expenses for a rainy day, but his first baby step is to put aside one grand for emergencies only. The idea is a good one. An emergency fund saves you from losing your checking account in one fell swoop or having to go into further debt when an unexpected expense arises.

That said…a thousand dollars?! Sure, in 1992 that may have been stellar advice, but many emergencies we encounter today will push us over that total or leave us completely tapped out and literally back at Baby Step 1. It’s time to increase the value of that initial emergency fund.

Zero Debt

I detest being in debt. My husband and I have always sought to get out of debt quickly and avoid it whenever possible. However, some debt is necessary or even useful.

Now, I’m not a rich person, so I don’t know how it all works, but people making a lot of money invest money and that sometimes looks like debt (at least for while). What’s the expression? You have to spend money to make money.

Another example of a necessary or useful debt would be a mortgage. I know some people do, in fact, buy homes outright. We sold our last home to a cash buyer, but the couple was considerably older. They had decades to earn and save. Following Dave Ramsey’s advice means most people will never buy property or only after they enter the winter of their lives.

Debt may have a place in certain circumstances. As we see the cost of living rise, it may be unavoidable.

No Credit Cards

This is a topic in which Dave Ramsey reveals he thinks we are all stupid. The smartest way to use a credit card is as follows: Charge only what you can afford to pay when the bill comes. Pay the bill in full and accrue no interest. Redeem whatever rewards your card offers. And enjoy the benefits of having a high credit score in our credit-based society and whatever rewards you’ve earned from your card’s points.

Ramsey doesn’t suggest this method because he assumes that you and I are too undisciplined to use our own money and resources responsibly. After being taught how to use a credit card (which most people are not), I believe we can all manage to be adults and handle our finances.

Not to mention, having no credit isn’t ideal in our modern world. A high credit score allows for lower credit card interest rates (in case you end up needing to carry a balance), lower insurance rates, easier approval when renting a home or apartment, and avoiding security deposits when setting up utilities or entering a cell phone contract. Oh, and if you decide to get a mortgage loan, no credit means no loan.

Poor Investment Advice

Many experts in investment agree that Dave Ramsey is not aggressive enough with his investing advice. He takes a safe route and advises against riskier investments. Ultimately, his plan yields less income. He also overestimates the return on investments, putting it at 12%. Investor Junkie suggests a 2% return on investments is more realistic while U.S. News & Report says 3-4%.

The other particularly startlingly bad investment advice Dave Ramsey gives is to not save for retirement until one’s debt, aside from the home, is paid off. Meanwhile, retirement experts will tell you that starting to save today is better than tomorrow, but yesterday was an even better day to begin. Anything you can put towards retirement ought to be done as soon as possible. The difference in even a few years can make or break one’s ability to leave a job.

No Wiggle Room

According to Ramsey, you cannot take a vacation, eat at a restaurant, or eat healthy food (that is, pricier food) until you have paid off your debts. OK, I’m joking, but it’s pretty true to life. He tells his radio callers to get a second job (when they don’t have time), sell their belongings, eat cheaper food, and have no extravagances at all.

I get the point, and it isn’t wrong, per se. However, there’s no grace or small rewards built in. This might not be the time for a trip to Disney World, but a cheaper camping trip or weekend getaway could be budgeted for a family.

Keeping grocery costs down is great advice for everyone, but some food is so unhealthy that it will cost more in medical bills and over-the-counter medicine than to just feed your family nutritious meals. The very cheapest food may help your debt snowball plan, but that canned dinner isn’t a great staple in anyone’s diet.

He pushes debt payoff like a crash diet. We’re like the woman who is going to lose twenty pounds fast. Consequently, she doesn’t eat any sweets, drinks only water, eats only vegetables and boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and cuts her calories to the bare minimum. She loses weight fast at first, but eventually she can’t live in a constant state of restriction anymore and binges. In the end, she gives up her diet altogether. That’s Ramsey’s approach to paying off debt. It works for plenty of people, but it isn’t a balanced or healthy approach. And it won’t necessarily help people avoid overspending in the future.

Overemphasis On Self-Reliance

Dave Ramsey wants us to take responsibility for our financial state. All right. That sounds fair. Who else is responsible for consumer debt that I take on, right? But, he leans hard into his Christian faith. He frequently references his faith and godly financial principles, therefore, I expect that his advice would point to the Provider.

Nah. Let’s focus on taking care of ourselves instead. That sounds fine at first because we should take care of ourselves, but where is the mention of God? We can’t do anything without God willing it to be. So, where’s that conversation, Dave?

The Ramsey Solutions website put Ramsey’s perspective in the spotlight in Baby Step 7. Here’s what is says.

“Keep building wealth and become outrageously generous, all while leaving an inheritance for your kids and their kids. Now that’s what we call leaving a legacy.”

Ramsey Solutions

He is teaching Christians to build a kingdom here on Earth, but that is completely against the Word of God.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Matthew 6:19-21

Having money is fine. Being wealthy is not a sin. So, go ahead and earn and save, but don’t forget what a real Christian legacy is and that Earth is not our kingdom.

2. Financial Peace University (FPU)

The first red flag about FPU has to do with a phrase used in it.

“Live like no one else now, so you can live like no one else later.”

Financial Peace University

It’s catchy, I admit. What is the message, though? We need to ask that question because Dave Ramsey is supposed to be some big time Christian financial advisor. So, we had better know what he’s selling us…literally.

This phrase could say, “Tighten your belts now, so you’ll have a lot of money later.” This ties back to Ramsey’s focus on the life we lead now. I’m not entirely convinced it is appropriate to sell the message to churches that getting out of debt in order to have a lot of money later is an admirable goal. Isn’t a Christian supposed to deny herself and take up her cross and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23)?

What about people called to the mission field in faraway lands? Where do they fit into the Dave Ramsey message about money? I mean, a lot of missionaries are poor the entire time. The same can be said about local pastors and other folks in ministry.

The more I read and listen to Dave Ramsey, the more I wonder how his message isn’t considered a form of the prosperity gospel. He claims his teachings are biblical and following them can make you a rich. He almost guarantees it. The fact of the matter is that some people will never be rich. God may have a purpose for some people’s poverty, and no seven-step plan can work around the Lord’s will.

A criticism I have seen from some is that FPU is a vehicle of self-promotion. I’m not surprised because everything Dave touches is meant to point you back to him, his success, and his services. His radio show often moves from advice to selling a program or promoting the benefits of working at Ramsey Solutions. Of course, FPU would be no different.

My last comment about FPU is the same for everything at Ramsey Solutions. It’s not new. Dave Ramsey isn’t offering new and innovative financial advice. In fact, a lot of it is common sense. I don’t have a problem with his information being “tried and true,” but I do take issue with the man charging $130 a year for family access or $3,000 for church access to receive basic information I could find with an effective Google search and afternoon in a library.

For a balanced review on FPU check out Sharper Iron.

3. Scandals And Their Subsequent Revelations

Any well-known millionaire will encounter scandal whether it is legitimate or not. Dave Ramsey, though, has enough questionable accusations and admissions for a Christian man to make me rethink having anything to do with his business.

Dave Ramsey Runs His Secular Business Like A Ministry.

You might be surprised to discover that Ramsey Solutions is a for-profit organization rather than a non-profit ministry, especially given how Ramsey runs his company and talks about it. He may be a believer, but he is still beholden to the same laws as any other secular business in the country.

Odd Mentality

Ramsey Solutions calls his employees “crusaders on a mission.” A crusader is a person who fervently campaigns for political, social, or religious change. That’s a strange term to use for one’s employees at a secular financial company. What is Dave Ramsey trying to crusade for with his business? Is he trying to turn people into conservative Christians? Hey, I’m one of those, but I’m smart enough to know not to use a for-profit secular company to try and spread my faith.

He claims these crusaders (i.e., employees) are changing people’s lives. That may be true some of the time, but the expectation that all your employees must crusade with your values and see their job as a mission is an unhealthy way to approach business.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s just weird. Christian/churchy labels on employees seems inappropriate, and the terminology lifts a day job at Ramsey Solutions to the highest priority in service of God. Some people claim there is a cult atmosphere at Ramsey Solutions. I won’t say that, but I will note that this kind of language at an institution which is centered around one charismatic man certainly mirrors some cult tactics.

Adding to the cult-like vibe is when Dave Ramsey uses language that is way over the top for the situation. He said on an episode of his radio show that if an employee lies, then that person will be “exposed.” That’s threatening verbiage, and it’s not even sensible. When an employer realizes an employee is a liar, then she can speak with the employee and fire him. What is the point of exposing him? That’s something a bully does. This odd dynamic with a religious vibe in the workplace leads to the scandals and how they were handled.

A Lesbian Employee

I am not LGBTQ+ advocate. I believe the Bible is clear about sexuality beginning in Genesis and going through the New Testament.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

Genesis 1:27-28

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Nonetheless, a secular business has no legal standing to discriminate against employees for their sexualities. A employer doesn’t have to like it or know about it, but he also can’t legally use your sexuality against you. But that’s just what Dave Ramsey did.

In May 2021, a female employee came out as a lesbian. This employee claims she was encouraged to get back in the closet if she wanted to keep her job. She refused to comply and was told she must resign. Ramsey Solutions has denied these allegations. The employee and Ramsey Solutions settled for $76,900.

An additional claim this employee made was that Dave Ramsey won’t allow pastors who are LGBTQ+ allies to come and speak at the employees’ mandatory devotional meetings. I don’t have a comment on the refusal beside it supports her claim of discrimination. Instead, what really sticks out to me is that employees at a secular company are required to attend devotional meetings. Sure, I might love to work in a place that offers that, but it isn’t appropriate to force workers to participate in any form of worship or religious study…at a secular workplace. I really feel like I’m repeating myself here.

Caitlin O’Connor

A former Ramsey Solutions employee, Caitlin O’Connor, sued her old employer in July 2020. She requested maternity leave, which is provided through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). At only twelve weeks pregnant, she was giving her employer ample time to prepare for her absence. She claims the reaction from one of her superiors upon hearing the news was to call her “classless.”

Employees as Ramsey Solutions sign a contract agreeing to “righteous living.” For her part, O’Connor has claimed that premarital sex was not specified in writing on the contract. Ramsey Solutions has admitted to firing nine employees total, including O’Connor, for similar reasons in a five year period.

As I’ve said about other things concerning Dave Ramsey in this post, I don’t fully disagree. The Bible strictly prohibits sex outside of marriage (1 Corinthians 6:9). Simultaneously, I find dictating people’s lives outside of the workplace, especially in a secular environment, to be an overreach.

What followed her dismissal also says a lot about the character of a man who claims to be leading crusaders on a mission. Below is a news report on audio that was leaked from a staff meeting. He goes on to use foul and demeaning language in reference to O’Connor in front of all his staff.

Be aware that Dave Ramsey swears in this clip.

A notable quote from the staff meeting is:

“I am sick of dealing with all this stuff. I’m so tired of being falsely accused of being a jerk when all I’m doing is trying to help people stay in line.”

Dave Ramsey

That sounds like a man who wants to control his employees and values outward performance more or as much as heart change. Oh, woe to Dave Ramsey, you guys. He sounds like a modern-day money obsessed Pharisee.

A newspaper in Tennessee reached out for comment on the story. Ramsey Solutions responded with a cutting and sarcastic letter that belittled the journalist. You can see it HERE.

Here’s a snippet to give you an idea of the level of disrespect and unprofessionalism the letter displayed.

“Who would have guessed that an unemployed guy, oh I am sorry, a “freelance reporter” would be the one to show us how horrible we are so we can change and to let the world know of our evil intent, secrets, and complete disregard for decency…..but YOU did it, you with all your top notch investigative skills have been able to weave together a series of half-truths to expose our evil ways. You are truly amazing.”

What To Make Of It

There’s more to unpack than I have time for in one post. Again and again Dave Ramsey is right about something, and then he just botches the execution. As more ex-employees file federal lawsuits, it will be interesting to see if he can continue to use discriminatory practices to dictate the professional and personal lives of his employees at his secular company.

More than that, though, is the deeply disturbing attitude and disrespect he shows towards others who do not do what he says or believe as he believes. The man acts like a bully and uses his faith to clobber people over the head.  

Covid-19 Response

Full disclosure: I was willing to go along with precautions when Covid-19 was a complete unknown. We didn’t even know how deadly it was! Quickly, like two-weeks-to-flatten-the-curve quick, I was over it. I thought the shutdowns were too much, the masking was just for optics, and all businesses should have been able to stay open if they chose to. However, my opinion is my own, and a business owner needs to work within the parameters of the world in which he lives.

Dave Ramsey has been very vocal concerning his disdain for Covid policies in the United States. He has openly disagreed with so much government involvement, and he did not want to offer remote work. Alas, Ramsey had to close his doors at first, despite his wishes.

Well, his Covid-19 response led him into some trouble.

Jon and Heather Fulk

Ramsey Solutions shut down on March 20, 2020, but reopened on May 4, 2020. Some employees felt that was too soon. An employee’s wife, Heather Fulk, was concerned because she has asthma, and she was frightened of the potential dangers that lie ahead. So, she shared her frustration on a Facebook post on her private Facebook page. She did not call out Ramsey Solutions by name, but the company found out anyway.

Within a few weeks, Heather Fulk’s husband, Jon, was fired. He was shown a screenshot of his wife’s post, and Jon was informed that he was being fired because of it. An audio recording of the exit interview confirms these allegations.

Ramsey Solutions offered Jon Fulk an $18,000 severance package as long as he and his wife signed a nondisclosure agreement. The Fulks could not agree to those terms and walked away without a penny.

Brad Amos

Amos, a former Ramsey Solutions employee, did not hold the same beliefs about Covid-19 as Ramsey. Amos felt that the best way to protect his family’s health was to work from home. Meanwhile, Dave Ramsey’s thoughts on those individuals who were more cautious concerning Covid were clear. He said anyone wearing a mask was a “wuss,” and desiring to work from home was evidence of “weakness of spirit.”

Amos claims he was fired for his opposing views on Covid-19, and he filed a lawsuit against Ramsey Solutions. He claimed the Ramsey approach to Covid-19 was prayer and no more precautions. The case was dismissed on August 24, 2021.

The OSHA Call

In May 2020, an employee at Ramsey Solutions made an anonymous call to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to report the business for not taking on enough Covid-19 safety precautions. Dave Ramsey was outraged and went on an angry tangent at a staff meeting. I’ve included two quotes from his angry rant below.

“So, whoever you are, you moron, you did absolutely no good, except p*** me off. You are not welcome here if you are willing to do stuff like that. If you are really scared and you really think that leadership is trying to kill you…please, we love you. Just leave. We really don’t want you here.”

Dave Ramsey

“If you really think the people here are evil, bad people and you think that you can effect change by reaching outside of here, you are wrong. And you are not welcome.”

Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey was, yet again, showing poor character and self-discipline. Is this how a Christian business owner should speak to his employees? Or anyone?

Intrusion On Personal Lives

We’ve seen Ramsey Solutions intruding on employees’ personal lives with his standards for their day-to-day life and even social media comments. It gets weirder, though.

Applicants

Heather Fulk, in her interview about getting her husband fired with a Facebook post, also discussed the interview process for her husband which included an interview of her. I thought she was lying because that sounds bonkers to me. Oh, but Dave Ramsey didn’t disappoint. He advises it on the Ramsey Solutions website.

One of the hiring suggestions discusses the importance of the interview. “It’s a great way to weed out the crazies and sniff out the winners.” Everything with Ramsey is winners and losers (or other putdowns).

Anyway, the final suggestion is, in fact, the spousal interview, in order to determine whether or not the job is right for the family. That’s interesting because I thought the family could decide if the right job was right for themselves.

In my reading, however, I found an even more shocking hiring practice on his list. Dave Ramsey insists that potential hires submit their family budget so that he can decide if the applicant can live off the salary Ramsey Solutions offers. It looks like yet another opportunity to make decisions for other people and know more about them than he should.

Employees’ Marriages

Chris Hogan was one of the biggest names at Ramsey Solutions. He was an incredibly popular radio host and author. As we often see accompanying men with power who are surrounded by sycophants, Hogan gave into sexual temptation. In 2018, Ramsey Solutions discovered Hogan had engaged in multiple affairs, including one with a female employee.

Hogan’s wife, Melissa, supported her husband and wanted to work on the marriage. Dave Ramsey put Hogan on a plan for restoration. This plan, however, came with some pretty big strings. The Hogans were required to waive privacy rights with their marriage counseling. Melissa agreed to this, and Ramsey Solutions had access, in real time, to counseling notes. This transparency was to let Ramsey Solutions leadership decide whether counseling was working and if their marriage was improving. I guess Dave Ramsey understands your marriage better than you when you work for him.

Melissa reported that board members called and emailed her, trying to dictate her marital decisions. They told her “we have to have oversight” of the marital healing. She pushed back and regretted allowing so much involvement from Ramsey Solutions. It was at that point that the board members uninvited her from her husband’s new book tour, and they suggested she was the problem in the marriage.

*As an aside, it seems unwise to have a chronic adulterer go on a book tour without his wife. Aren’t we asking for trouble?*

Melissa Hogan’s two-person marriage was suddenly overcrowded with Ramsey Solutions leadership, and then the whole company was privy to her personal life. In May 2019, Dave Ramsey discussed her marriage from the stage at a staff meeting. She says Ramsey mischaracterized her and inaccurately described her behavior. Essentially, he presented her as the bad player in the Hogan marriage. He had vilified her and made a public spectacle of her struggling marriage.

Melissa documented her experiences HERE. It’s well worth the read.

It isn’t difficult to recognize a pattern with Dave Ramsey and Ramsey Solutions. The employees (and potential employees) are not allowed to have boundaries. Dave gets full access to your life whenever he wants it, and if you resist he will fire you or publicly humiliate you.

Double Standards

Chris and Melissa Hogan lead us into yet another scandal, and that is the apparent double standard at Ramsey Solutions. Chris Hogan was a big name in the company, and he was set to embark on a tour to launch his new book at the time, Everyday Millionaires. This was the worst time for him to have a scandal or be caught doing something that Dave Ramsey would generally terminate an employee for. This wasn’t just embarrassing; It cut into profits. So, as I explained earlier, Chris Hogan was given an opportunity to restore his relationships and keep his job.

Meanwhile, two years later, Caitlin O’Connor became pregnant as an unmarried woman and was fired. She worked at the company for over four years, but she was an administrative assistant, not a cash cow in the Ramsey Machine. O’Connor wasn’t offered any opportunities for restoration. She was simply shown the door.

What O’Connor did was no less immoral than what Hogan did. So, how can Ramsey Solutions explain the inconsistency? They can’t or won’t. But truth be told, Dave Ramsey is less bothered by unrighteousness when the person committing the sin is making him oodles of money.

Another example of this is Dave Ramsey’s endorsement for Timeshare Exit Team. The company was a respected advertiser on his radio program, and Dave Ramsey recommended them, claiming they shared the Ramsey Solutions core value of “righteous living.”

However, a deposition from 2018 reveals Brad Reed, founder and chief executive of Timeshare Exit Team, admitted to having multiple affairs with female employees, impregnating one.

Ramsey Solutions retained this company he said adhered to “righteous living” until 2021. Clearly, Dave Ramsey didn’t want to be attached to yet another scandal. But rather than call out Brad Reed for not upholding the core values he claimed to, Ramsey blamed the high cost of Timeshare Exit Team’s litigation entanglements for the end of the relationship.

Ramsey Solutions says: “We believe that character matters. All the time.”

I say: “Yeah, unless they make you a ton of money…”

4. Response To Disagreement And Pushback

I don’t have too much to say on this topic because examples have been littered throughout this post. When someone disagrees with Dave Ramsey or challenges him, he goes on the warpath. We wouldn’t say he has much of a teachable spirit, would we?

Specifically, I’d like to mention Dave Ramsey’s take on gossip. First, let’s get on the same page. Gossip is a sin (Proverbs 10:18; Proverbs 11:13; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Ephesians 4:29). I wouldn’t want my place of business to be a gossip mill. On the other hand, I don’t think it would be worthy of the level of attention Ramsey gives it.

Ramsey Solutions defines gossip as “discussing anything negative with someone who can’t help solve the problem.” I wonder how Ramsey gets around this definition when he is talking trash about people and sharing their personal business from the stage at staff meetings. Are these employees going to help him come to an understanding with a disgruntled employee’s spouse? Doubt it. This sounds like some rules for thee but not for me action.

The company website also notes that “complaining to your teammates is disloyalty, and it fosters a negative spirit that will trash the organization.” I didn’t emphasize that quote. That is 100% Ramsey Solutions calling employees disloyal for complaining in bold.

It’s a job, Dave! I oppose gossip and complaining in the workplace, but must your employees be loyal? You can see what Dave Ramsey is doing here, though, right? This policy shuts down disagreement before it begins. Employees tell on each other because they want to be known as loyal members of the team. And if you have a problem with your superior, then you run out of places to go pretty quickly. If you disagree with leadership or, *gasp!* Dave Ramsey himself, then you can just leave. He has said so at staff meetings. I think we ought to take the man at his word.

If his word isn’t enough, however, he could always pull a gun. In 2019, a longtime Ramsey Solutions employee confirmed, under oath, that Dave Ramsey pulled a gun out of a gift bag at a staff meeting to teach a lesson about gossip. I guess he’s a man who just feels passionately about refraining from gossip. Nothing threatening or unhinged to see here.

5. Dave Ramsey Displays Poor Christian Character

The face and voice of Ramsey Solutions is a smug, condescending, authoritative, insensitive, bully. Oh, but he uses enough Christianese that we are supposed to rally around him and praise him for the good works he does for God’s Kingdom. But can we get serious? The only kingdom he seems concerned with is his own.

The quotes I’ve shared have been mean-spirited, self-serving, and lacked compassion. Some of the things he said were not only mean, but they were said in front of his entire staff, effectively shaming whomever he was talking about.

As if this wasn’t enough, Dave Ramsey also speaks rudely to his radio show callers. I must say, I have watched him be quite kind to callers, but I’ve also heard him refer to them as morons and idiots. If you really want to know what he thinks about people struggling financially, then listen to what he said about people in need of the stimulus checks during Covid on Fox News. I shared the quotes below, as well.

“If $600 or $1,400 changes your life, you were pretty much scr***d already. You got other issues going on.”

Dave Ramsey

“You have a career problem. You have a debt problem. You have a relationship problem. You have a mental-health problem. Something else is going on if $600 changes your life.”

Dave Ramsey

Here’s a video of Dave Ramsey discussing his comments from Fox News on The Ramsey Show.

The thing he said in the above clip that I felt was most disgusting was, “If $600 changes your life, your life really sucks. You don’t have a life.”

He, as often seen, places value on money rather than spiritual things. In these comments, he is also devoid of any care and compassion. This is a man mocking those in need while also claiming Christ. Not to mention, he’s also equating money with happiness and having a life.

Maybe I’m just missing it, but his Christian character is so difficult to identify that I wonder if he has any at all.

Final Thought

Some of you are fuming mad right now because I dared to be critical of Dave Ramsey and his teachings. That’s all right by me. You can be angry, but would you also consider what I said? Would you think about whether or not you will continue to recommend a man who alleges to be a believer with a personal testimony rife with anger, control issues, unkindness, and a fixation on money that puts Christ out of focus?

This is a personal conviction issue, so follow Dave Ramsey if you want to. But remember he is just a flawed man. He’s no replacement for Jesus Christ. And money comes and goes, but God is for eternity. Don’t let Dave Ramsey mix up your priorities.

Have you used any Dave Ramsey resources? How did it go?

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