6 Toxic Money Habits Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman and Other Experts Want You To Avoid
Written by
Brooke Barley
Edited by
Rebekah Evans
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Getting better with money can be as simple as avoiding some behaviors that can wreak havoc on finances. Experts like Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman have built careers giving advice on how to manage money. They have made empires and helped others do the same.
Here’s what Ramsey, Orman and some of the other top money minds have said when it comes to money habits that need to be broken immediately.
Not Talking About Money
A big money mistake people make? Not talking about it at all. That’s according to Ramit Sethi, self-made millionaire and star of the Netflix show “How to Get Rich.” He’s explained in the past that if people aren’t being open about where their finances stand — at least with themselves — they won’t improve.
“How can you expect to get ahead if you’re not actually talking about money, either solo or with a partner?” he said on X. “Money is a regular topic in any financially successful household.”
Being Prideful, Greedy or Fearful
Radio personality and money expert Ramsey advised that pride, greed and fear will make a person broke. He backs this up by saying he’s been all three and lost money in the process. When describing pride, he said that it’s not worth spending money on things just to earn accolades or attention. “Would I buy this if no one ever saw it? That’s your test on the pride button,” Ramsey explained.
Earning money simply for the sake of it is greedy and Ramsey advised against that behavior. “You can have a money motivation to the exclusion of other things. But if your only button to push is money, that’s greed,” he said in an Instagram video clip.
Fear manifests as desperation according to Ramsey and he considers this the worst thing to be when it comes to money. “Just about twenty seconds later after I get desperate, I get stupid,” he added. “And right after I get stupid, I get broke, right?”
Not Questioning Your Family’s Money Philosophies
Sethi said that if people just accept what they were taught about financial literacy (or lack thereof), they have no chance to grow. He recommended thinking about money lessons learned in childhood, then figuring out if they still apply.
“You’ve got to acknowledge them and interrogate them,” he said on X. “And then decide, what scripts do I want to follow or create for the next phase of my life?”
Thinking Investing Is Only for Wealthy People
If people continue to think investing is inaccessible then they’ll never reap the benefits of doing it, according to Sethi. “You can often change your entire socioeconomic trajectory for yourself and your family by starting this one simple thing, which is automatically investing,” he wrote on the same X post.
It’s worth learning about, rather than dismissing it as something only rich people do. Sethi said even investing $20 a month can make a big difference in one’s financial portfolio.
Not Planning for Retirement or Death
“People believe that they’re always going to have a paycheck coming in. That’s why 90% of the people in the United States don’t have a will or a trust,” Orman explained to GOBankingRates.com. Along with being a renowned money expert, Orman is co-founder of emergency savings startup SecureSave, which can help people start to build a fund for retirement.
Orman explained that people don’t want to think about a time where they can’t work — or worse, will die — but not financially preparing for it can be extremely detrimental and leave families without any money to survive.
Maxing Out Credit Cards
Orman also shared that relying on credit cards and not being able to pay them off at the end of the month is irresponsible behavior and can lead to a never ending cycle of merely paying off interest.
“They never thought that the Feds were going to raise their interest rates and now interest rates on credit cards are at 9% all the way up to 20%. People don’t live in reality until reality forces itself upon them,” she added.
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