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At 22, Nick called “The Ramsey Show” looking to get a head start on retirement. No 401(k), no massive income, but one big question: should he open a Roth IRA or go traditional?
Turns out, Dave Ramsey had a different priority in mind.
“You’re a little bit early in your process. Not in your age — but in your process,” Ramsey told him. “You’re in the middle of transitional things that need to happen before you start investing.”
Nick lives with his parents in New York City and makes about $15,000 a year through a work-study program. He has $3,000 in savings, but thanks to a settlement from getting hit by a truck as a teen, he also has $43,000 invested — mostly in single stocks on E*Trade.
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Ramsey didn’t love that.
“I don’t do single stocks… I know a lot about them. I buy investments, I’ve got hundreds of millions of dollars of investments. But I don’t buy single stocks because I don’t like the risk associated with that,” he said. “The game you’re playing, there’s a lot of risk.”
If Nick insists on holding stocks, Ramsey said to keep it to no more than 10% of his net worth, or about $2,000 in his case. The rest? Move it into mutual funds.
Ramsey added that retirement saving isn’t even Nick’s next move.
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“You do not need to start your Roth IRAs yet. You need to pile up money to make the transition out of your household… get your career going. Then you need to start.”
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Ramsey stressed that once Nick is out on his own and making real income, he can start investing 15% of it — ideally in a Roth IRA with growth stock mutual funds.
“Get your own place, Nick,” he said. “I don’t want you 28 years old in your mother’s basement, dude.”
The call flipped the usual narrative. Most young adults rush to leave home and buy more car than they can afford. Nick’s playing the long game, but Ramsey reminded him: financial strategy should match life stage.
If you’re not quite sure which investment vehicles suit your own income or timeline — and you can’t call up Ramsey for answers — that’s where a professional financial advisor can help. Instead of taking advice from strangers online, you can match with a vetted financial advisor through SmartAsset’s free tool. It connects you with local advisors who can walk you through the options based on your actual goals and risk tolerance.
See Also: Warren Buffett once said, “If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” Here’s how you can earn passive income with just $10.
While Nick might’ve been told to pause his retirement investing, he’s still ahead of where many people start. Having $43,000 in your early twenties — even in single stocks — isn’t nothing. Yet in today’s online world, someone will always tell you it’s not enough. Ramsey’s message wasn’t that Nick was failing — it was that the timing just isn’t right yet. For a lot of people, knowing what step comes next is half the battle.
Retirement planning is smart. But it’s even smarter when it starts at the right time, with the right help.
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