Radio personality Dave Ramsey offered financial advice to a caller on a recent episode of The Ramsey Show. Micah, a 24-year-old from Washington, D.C., who serves in the military, called in seeking guidance about a potential car purchase.
Micah reported earning $80,000 annually. He already owns a car valued at $13,000 but was considering buying a new Nissan 370Z sports car for $30,000 in cash. He described the purchase as an indulgence for "play." He asked Ramsey whether he should invest the money instead.
Ramsey advised against buying the second car. He explained his reasoning based on observations from his long career. "The way you know someone is going to stay middle class is when they have two very nice cars — that are obvious $500, $600, or $700 payments — sitting in front of a middle-class house," Ramsey said during the show.
The hosts of The Ramsey Show noted that more vehicles typically lead to more monthly bills. Data from Experian indicates Americans borrow an average of $42,332 for new vehicles and $27,128 for used vehicles.
Ramsey elaborated on wealth-building principles. "If you're going to build wealth, you have to keep as small an amount as possible going into things that go down in value," he stated. He recommended that no more than 50% of one's income should be in depreciating assets like cars.
He emphasized the importance of emergency savings. On a 2025 episode of his show, Ramsey said, "I don’t care if you keep it in the sock drawer." He added, "The emergency fund is not about making money. It’s insurance to keep you from cashing out or going into debt."
Ramsey suggested considering alternative investments that appreciate in value. A survey by wealth manager Empower found nearly half of surveyed Americans with bank balances of $1 to $5 million cited real estate as a top factor behind their wealth.