50 Inspirational Dave Ramsey Quotes - Unfinished Success (2024)

Dave Ramsey is a personal finance expert that has helped countless people improve their finances and get out of debt.

He began as a real estate investor and quickly built a portfolio worth over $4 million dollars.

But his financing bank was sold and the new bank demanded immediate payment of the loans.

Unable to pay, he declared bankruptcy.

He worked hard to restore his finances and began to counsel people on their finances at his local church.

As he educated himself more on the subject of personal finances, he wrote a book and eventually started his radio show and Financial Peace University.

Today, his net worth is estimated to be $55 million.

Below are 50 powerful and inspirational Dave Ramsey quotes based on the lessons he has learned over the years.

While many revolve around money and finances, much of personal finance is behavioral.

This means your emotions, character and education all play a role with your financial success or failure.

As a result, you can learn a lot about yourself through these quotes.

Dave Ramsey On Money

#1. “Those who don’t manage their money will always work for those who do.” – Dave Ramsey

#2.“You’ve got to tell your money what to do or it will leave.” – Dave Ramsey

#3.“I believe that through knowledge and discipline, financial peace is possible for all of us.” – Dave Ramsey

#4. “Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase.” – Dave Ramsey

#5.“Winning at money is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge.” – Dave Ramsey

#6.“Earning a lot of money is not the key to prosperity. How you handle it is.” – Dave Ramsey

#7.“Someone who never has fun with money misses the point. Someone who never invests money will never have any. Someone who never gives is a monkey with his hand in a bottle.” – Dave Ramsey

#8.“Don’t buy things you can’t afford, with money you don’t have, to impress people you don’t like.” – Dave Ramsey

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#9.“There is nothing wrong with having nice things, but when you are trying to buy nice things to be happy, you are going to hurt. It’s not going to work.” – Dave Ramsey

#10.“Too many people try to do the new job, new spouse, new house, new car thing in 18 months. That’s a good way to end up broke. We’ve got to resist the temptation to catch up with our parents in 18 months. Slow down. You have the rest of your life to play catch up. After all, it’s just stuff.” – Dave Ramsey

#11.“A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” – Dave Ramsey

#12.“Poor is a state of mind. Broke is, ‘I’m just passing through.'” – Dave Ramsey

#13.“Measure your wealth not by the things you have, but by the things for which you would not take money.” – Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey On Debt

#14.“Most of the things we buy are wants. We call them needs, but they are wants.” – Dave Ramsey

#15.“The decision to go into debt alters the course and condition of your life. You no longer own it. You are owned.” – Dave Ramsey

#16.“Hitting bottom and hitting it hard was the worst thing that ever happened to me and the best thing that ever happened to me.” – Dave Ramsey

#17.“Broke is normal. Why be normal?” – Dave Ramsey

#18.“There are no shortcuts when it comes to getting out of debt.” – Dave Ramsey

#19. “Debt is dumb. Cash is king.” – Dave Ramsey

#20.“You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.” – Dave Ramsey

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#21. “Debt is so ingrained into our culture that most Americans can’t even envision a car without a payment, a house without a mortgage, a student without a loan, and credit without a card. We’ve been sold debt with such repetition and with such fervor that most folks can’t conceive of what it would be like to have no payments.” – Dave Ramsey

#22.“You can’t be in debt and win. It doesn’t work.” – Dave Ramsey

#23.“Debt is normal. Be weird.” – Dave Ramsey

#24.“I’m not against people having new cars. I’m against them having you. We spend a tremendous amount impressing somebody at the stoplight who we’ll never meet. It makes you broke and keeps you broke.” – Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey On Goals

#25.“You must plan your work and then work your plan.” – Dave Ramsey

#26.“Nothing happens without focus. Don’t try to do everything at once. Take it one step at a time.” – Dave Ramsey

#27. “A goal without a plan is just a dream.” – Dave Ramsey

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#28.“What to do isn’t the problem, doing it is. Most of us know what to do, but we just don’t do it. If I can control the guy in the mirror, I can be skinny and rich.” – Dave Ramsey

#29. “If you’re the problem, that also means you’re the solution.” – Dave Ramsey

#30.“Work is doing it. Discipline is doing it every day. Diligence is doing it well every day.” – Dave Ramsey

#31.“You must walk to the beat of a different drummer. The same beat that the wealthy hear. If the beat sounds normal, evacuate the dance floor immediately! The goal is to not be normal, because as my radio listeners know, normal is broke.” – Dave Ramsey

#32.“Without a mission statement, you may get to the top of the ladder and then realize it was leaning against the wrong building!” – Dave Ramsey

#33.“Change is painful. Few people have the courage to seek out change. Most people won’t change until the pain of where they are exceeds the pain of change.” – Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey On Life

#34.“Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who execute them are not.” – Dave Ramsey

#35. “It’s never too late to turn things around. You are the only obstacle.” – Dave Ramsey

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#36.“If you will make the sacrifices now that most people aren’t willing to make, later on you will be able to live as those folks will never be able to live.” – Dave Ramsey

#37. “If you help enough people, you don’t have to worry about money.” – Dave Ramsey

#38.“The enemy of the best is not the worst. The enemy of the best is just fine.” – Dave Ramsey

#39.“Pray like it all depends on God, but work like it all depends on you.” – Dave Ramsey

#40.“If hard work, integrity, thrift, and perseverance have caused you to succeed, then you don’t owe anyone an apology for winning.” – Dave Ramsey

#41. “As parents, we teach our kids about things we feel competent in. That’s why so many parents don’t teach their kids about money.” – Dave Ramsey

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#42. “Being able to delay pleasure for a greater result is a sign of maturity.” – Dave Ramsey

#43.“Aristotle once said, To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, and be nothing.” – Dave Ramsey

#44.“Live like no else today, so you can live like no else tomorrow.” – Dave Ramsey

#45.“Study the habits of the people you want to be like and then imitate them. If they are succeeding, they must be doing something right.” – Dave Ramsey

#46.“Fear is the enemy of hope.” – Dave Ramsey

#47.“You can get anywhere if you simply go one step at a time.” – Dave Ramsey

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#48.“When we’re dealing with money in relationships, when we’re dealing with money in our personal lives, when we’re dealing with money in our families, the flow of money in a family represents the value system under which that family operates.” – Dave Ramsey

#49.“For your own good, for the good of your family and your future, grow a backbone. When something is wrong, stand up and say it is wrong, and don’t back down.” – Dave Ramsey

#50. “Success is a pile of failure that you are standing on.” – Dave Ramsey

Final Thoughts

There are 50 inspirational Dave Ramsey quotes. As I mentioned earlier, while most have to do with money, there are life lessons you can learn as well.

After all, being able to control your wants and needs is a direct reflection of who you are as a person.

And by making sure you are improving yourself daily, not only will you grow as a person, but your finances will grow as well.

If you enjoyed these quotes, be sure to check out the many other motivational quotes we have compiled on this site.