Dave Ramsey Reveals the Biggest Factor Holding You Back From Becoming a Millionaire
Written by
Heather Taylor
Edited by
Chris Cluff
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Money expert Dave Ramsey likes to say personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% knowledge. Believe it or not, we all learn the mathematics of becoming a multimillionaire by the sixth grade.
Why isn’t everyone a millionaire if we all possess the mathematics of wealth building? There’s one factor holding you back from becoming a millionaire — and it has nothing to do with math.
What Holds You Back From Becoming a Millionaire?
In an episode of “The Ramsey Show,” Dave said he studied over 10,000 millionaires and found out over 85% of them said their partner’s unity in their relationship was a contributing factor in their ability to build wealth. This means over 85% of millionaires work together with their spouses and are unified in their approach to life and money.
What holds people back from reaching millionaire status is having a partner who doesn’t want to put in their fair share of work or unite for common financial good.
“You’ve gotta learn to work together with your spouse,” said Ramsey, adding it’s “vital” to be on the same page.
Opportunity To Hold Each Other Accountable
One of the benefits of marriage, Jade Warshaw said during the episode, is accountability. By holding one another accountable, you’re able to make each other better.
“If you’re not willing to get on the same page with one of the most important parts of your marriage — which is your finances — this is an opportunity for you to exercise that muscle,” Warshaw said. “But a lot of people won’t do it because it takes work.”
Those who do put in the work, Ramsey said, will find it changes their marriage in a positive way. Couples will be able to learn more about what’s important to them just from where they spend their money. Ramsey used the example of couples who save for the future or for their children. This is what is important to them.
Similarly, couples can learn what’s important to each partner if they don’t save or spend in alignment. Warshaw used the example of someone who saves to buy designer shoes but makes $60,000 a year and hasn’t fully funded their child’s college education fund. This is a glaring indicator of financial irresponsibility and a lack of respect for one another in the relationship.
“If we [my wife and I] are not in agreement about major purchases or major giving, then we don’t go forward,” Ramsey said.
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