Benzinga

España
Italia
대한민국
日本
Français
Benzinga Edge
Benzinga Research
Benzinga Pro

  • Get Benzinga Pro
  • Data & APIs
  • Events
  • Premarket
  • Advertise
Contribute
España
Italia
대한민국
日本
Français

Benzinga

  • Premium Services
  • Financial News
    Latest
    Earnings
    Guidance
    Dividends
    M&A
    Buybacks
    Interviews
    Management
    Offerings
    IPOs
    Insider Trades
    Biotech/FDA
    Politics
    Healthcare
    Small-Cap
  • Markets
    Pre-Market
    After Hours
    Movers
    ETFs
    Options
    Cryptocurrency
    Commodities
    Bonds
    Futures
    Mining
    Real Estate
    Volatility
  • Ratings
    Analyst Color
    Downgrades
    Upgrades
    Initiations
    Price Target
  • Investing Ideas
    Trade Ideas
    Long Ideas
    Short Ideas
    Technicals
    Analyst Ratings
    Analyst Color
    Latest Rumors
    Whisper Index
    Stock of the Day
    Best Stocks & ETFs
    Best Penny Stocks
    Best S&P 500 ETFs
    Best Swing Trade Stocks
    Best Blue Chip Stocks
    Best High-Volume Penny Stocks
    Best Small Cap ETFs
    Best Stocks to Day Trade
    Best REITs
  • Money
    Investing
    Cryptocurrency
    Mortgage
    Insurance
    Yield
    Personal Finance
    Forex
    Startup Investing
    Real Estate Investing
    Prop Trading
    Credit Cards
    Stock Brokers
Research
My Stocks
Tools
Free Benzinga Pro Trial
Calendars
Analyst Ratings Calendar
Conference Call Calendar
Dividend Calendar
Earnings Calendar
Economic Calendar
FDA Calendar
Guidance Calendar
IPO Calendar
M&A Calendar
Unusual Options Activity Calendar
SPAC Calendar
Stock Split Calendar
Trade Ideas
Free Stock Reports
Insider Trades
Trade Idea Feed
Analyst Ratings
Unusual Options Activity
Heatmaps
Free Newsletter
Government Trades
Perfect Stock Portfolio
Easy Income Portfolio
Short Interest
Most Shorted
Largest Increase
Largest Decrease
Calculators
Margin Calculator
Forex Profit Calculator
100x Options Profit Calculator
Screeners
Stock Screener
Top Momentum Stocks
Top Quality Stocks
Top Value Stocks
Top Growth Stocks
Compare Best Stocks
Best Momentum Stocks
Best Quality Stocks
Best Value Stocks
Best Growth Stocks
Connect With Us
facebookinstagramlinkedintwitteryoutubeblueskymastodon
About Benzinga
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
Market Resources
  • Advanced Stock Screener Tools
  • Options Trading Chain Analysis
  • Comprehensive Earnings Calendar
  • Dividend Investor Calendar and Alerts
  • Economic Calendar and Market Events
  • IPO Calendar and New Listings
  • Market Outlook and Analysis
  • Wall Street Analyst Ratings and Targets
Trading Tools & Education
  • Benzinga Pro Trading Platform
  • Options Trading Strategies and News
  • Stock Market Trading Ideas and Analysis
  • Technical Analysis Charts and Indicators
  • Fundamental Analysis and Valuation
  • Day Trading Guides and Strategies
  • Live Investor Events
  • Pre-market Stock Analysis and News
  • Cryptocurrency Market Analysis and News
Ring the Bell

A newsletter built for market enthusiasts by market enthusiasts. Top stories, top movers, and trade ideas delivered to your inbox every weekday before and after the market closes.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Data/Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Service Status
  • Sitemap
© 2026 Benzinga | All Rights Reserved
July 23, 2024 2:45 PM 4 min read

Dave Ramsey Says He Never Bought Single Stocks – 'The Only Dumb Thing I Did Is I Bought Gold One Time'

by Adrian Volenik
Follow

In a recent interview with Theo Von, Dave Ramsey shared some candid thoughts about real estate and investments. Ramsey didn't hold back, saying, "I hear this stuff on social media that real estate's passive income – bull crap. There's nothing passive about it, dude. Your butt's active. You're either in the middle of it, or you're getting screwed. One of the two."

Don't Miss:

  • Gen Z and Millennial millionaires couldn't care less for stocks and bonds — Here's what they're buying instead.
  • Can you guess how many retire with a $5,000,000 nest egg? – How does it compare to the average?

"I got into some real estate," Theo Von said, chiming in with his own real estate woes, mentioning unexpected issues like Airbnb complaints and even someone starting a fire because they didn't want to use their unit’s heat, saying, "Just crazy people doing fires. Stuff like that."

Ramsey agreed, noting that real estate comes with many hassles. He contrasted this with T-bills, which are much less stressful. "You buy it, forget it, and they send you a check. It’s not as big a check, but there’s no hassle," he explained. While mutual funds carry more risk, they're still less stressful than real estate and can yield higher returns.

See Also: This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to become a landlord in just 10 minutes, and you only need $100.

Von mentioned the stress of constantly checking stocks, which he found counterproductive: "I'll check them too much, and I don't like it, and then it's like I spent 30 minutes of my day checking stocks, and that's the time I could have just had him doing my work."

Ramsey responded that he buys mutual funds and forgets about them, focusing on long-term gains. "I don't even know what the market has done this year, and I do this for a living I don't keep up with it," he said. 

For Ramsey, investing is all about the long haul. "You know, look at what the stock market has done since 1980, since 1990, since 2012. Look at what I would have made if I’d have put in $10,000. Since 1992, $1,000 would have turned into $5,000," Ramsey explained to Von.

Trending: Commercial real estate has historically outperformed the stock market, and this platform allows individuals to invest in commercial real estate with as little as $5,000 offering a 12% target yield with a bonus 1% return boost today!

When Von asked if Ramsey ever regretted selling a stock too soon, Ramsey admitted he never bought a single stock. "The only dumb thing I did was buy gold once," he confessed. He lost $5,000 on a risky options bet that didn't pay off. 

Von then shared his experiences with pyramid schemes, recalling a childhood scam and a failed investment in glitter mining. Ramsey added a humorous anecdote about the 1980s emu farming craze, which he managed to avoid, laughing about the absurdity of it all.

"I remember in the 80s, everybody decided that emus would be the new meat, and many people decided they would sell everything and open an emu farm. I managed to stay out of that scam. That was one of those fad things that didn’t work," described Ramsey.

Read Next:

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.


Posted In:
Personal FinanceDave Ramseynews accessPersonal Finance Access
Beat the Market With Our Free Pre-Market Newsletter
Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity Newsletter

He called it "uber high-risk" and likened it to gambling: "This buddy of mine was making money, and he had this gold guy that we could buy gold options. We didn't even buy the gold. You're just buying the right to buy the gold, and he said he put in 5,000 bucks, and if it goes up, the option goes from $5,000 to $50,000, and I'm going to 10x my money. This guy had hit 14 times in a row, and he said, "OK, we need to go in right now and put $5,000." Unfortunately, after Ramsey invested his $5,000, the person didn't predict how it would go for the 15th time. "It's all or nothing, so I lost the whole $5,000 and no sign of $50,000, right? So I'm done," said Ramsey.

  • America's construction sites are desperate for Robots — here’s how to invest in a house-printing startup who’s making them and be a part of a $16 trillion industry.
  • How to turn a $100,000 investment into $1 Million — and retire a millionaire.
Comments
Loading...