28-Year-Old Refuses to Sell Crypto, But Wants to Drain Her 401(k) And IRA For A $750K House — Dave Ramsey Tells Her 'You're Too Broke'

When you find your dream home—whether it's the wraparound porch, the walk-in pantry, or just the feeling that it's finally yours—logic can take a backseat. Especially when you're 28 and standing on the edge of the American Dream with a pen in one hand and a contract in the other.

That's where Stephanie found herself. She called in to "The Ramsey Show" from Arlington, Virginia, hoping for a thumbs-up from the personal finance legend himself. What she got instead? A very loud, very blunt: "You're too broke."

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Stephanie, who said she's been renting since graduating college, recently went under contract to buy a $760,000 home. Her plan? Use the sale of her employee stock to cover part of the down payment, then pull the rest from her 401(k), cash out her Roth IRA, and absolutely not touch her crypto.

"I thought that would be an option to sell my crypto," she told Ramsey, "but it sounds like Freddie Mac and such have not made legislation that allows me to use that."

Ramsey wasn't buying it—literally or figuratively. "No," he said flatly. "If you sell your crypto and you have the cash, sell the crypto."

When she revealed she had about $30,000 worth of it, but wanted to keep it, Ramsey fired back: "You're broke. Sell it."

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To be clear, Stephanie makes around $130,000 a year and had already put down earnest money. But her remaining cash was tied up in retirement accounts and crypto—none of which Ramsey considered liquid or smart to mess with for a house. Especially not one this expensive.

"You're going to get hit with a 10% penalty plus your tax rate," Ramsey warned. "You're going to get hit with 40%." Then, delivering one of the most memorable lines of the segment, he said, "Dave, I want to borrow money at 40% interest to buy this house… I would say no, don't do that. That doesn't sound wise. And that is exactly what you're doing."

Ramsey wasn't finished. He told her she needed at least $20,000 in the bank after closing or she'd be one bad roof away from financial disaster. "As soon as you move in, crap's gonna fall in," he said. "You're asking for trouble being broke and buying a house."

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In the end, his advice was clear: sell the crypto, don't touch retirement accounts, and make sure there's a cash cushion to fall back on. "It's not a blessing to buy a house when you're broke," he said. "You just got the 28-year-old fever. I gotta have a house. Especially a three-quarter-of-a-million-dollar house."

As for the crypto loyalty? Ramsey didn't hold back: "It's cool to sit at some hipster bar and be like, ‘I got crypto.' You're broke. Sell it."

It wasn't the pep talk Stephanie may have hoped for—but it was pure, unfiltered Dave Ramsey. And for anyone rushing headfirst into homeownership with big dreams and zero reserves, the message was simple: the bank may approve you, but that doesn't mean you can actually afford it.

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