The Ramsey Show

The Ramsey Show
GenreFinancial talk
Country of originUnited States United States
Starring
Created byDave Ramsey
Produced byJames Childs
Executive producer(s)Blake Thompson
Recording studioRamsey Network
Original release1992 (1992) –
present
Opening theme"Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty
Websiteramseysolutions.com
Podcasthttps://podcasts.google.com/search/The%20Dave%20Ramsey%20Show https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ramsey-show/id77001367

The Ramsey Show (formerly known as The Dave Ramsey Show) is a three-hour self-syndicated radio program and podcast, co-hosted by finance author and speaker Dave Ramsey and a rotating Ramsey Personality, that airs Monday through Friday from 2:00–5:00 P.M. ET. It is broadcast from the headquarters of Ramsey's company, Ramsey Solutions, in Franklin, Tennessee.

During the show, Dave Ramsey and his co-host take live calls from listeners centering on issues of finance, careers, and relationships. One notable difference between The Ramsey Show and other financial talk shows is that Ramsey attempts to go beyond mathematical mechanics and reach the callers on an emotional and spiritual level.[1]

The Ramsey Show has a channel on iHeartRadio and Sirius XM.[2][3] As of 2021, it is one of the top five most-listened-to radio shows.[4]

History

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The program began June 15, 1992, when Ramsey, selling copies of his self-published book (Financial Peace) out of the trunk of his car, was a guest on 99.7 WWTN.[5] The station had recently filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and one of its hosts had quit after not getting paid, which left the station scrambling to fill the gap in its lineup. Ramsey's guest spot was popular and he offered to do a one-hour show for free for one month, not entirely expecting to be successful.

The Money Game went on the air with Ramsey,[6] Hal Wilson[7] and Roy Matlock[8] each hosting the hour alone on certain days of the week. Ramsey was the bankruptcy and "get out of debt" guru on Mondays and Wednesdays, Matlock answered investing questions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Wilson's Friday topic was primarily real estate. After station management asked Wilson to discontinue his portion of the program, Ramsey and Matlock teamed up to host the show five days per week. Matlock left the show on good terms in 1996 to focus on his insurance business, leaving Ramsey to host the show alone.[9]

With Ramsey now the sole host, The Money Game changed its name to The Dave Ramsey Show.[10] The program became quite popular in Nashville, which led to Ramsey proposing syndication. Reportedly, when WWTN asked Ramsey who would be syndicating his show, Ramsey simply pointed to his producer, Blake Thompson, who continues as executive producer of the show to this day. As Bill Hampton, vice president of radio for The Lampo Group at the time, stated, "they learned syndication from the ground up."[11]

In the early 2000s, a woman called into the show from Michigan and hysterically screamed that she was debt free-before hanging up.[9] Taken off guard, Ramsey and Thompson initially thought nothing of it, until more people called in to do their own "debt-free scream." Ramsey realized that "there's something emotional, spiritual that was happening these people's lives. They're at a point in their journey, a point in their story, where they need to celebrate."[9] So Ramsey made the debt-free scream a regular part of the show. A special stage was eventually built at the studio in Ramsey's company headquarters for people to come and do their debt-free scream live on the air.

In 2006, the show received two nominations for the 2006 Radio & Records News/Talk Industry Achievement Awards. It was the fifth year in a row for Ramsey in the "Syndicated Personality of the Year" category, and the second year in a row for Hampton in the "Executive of the Year" category.[12] On the success of the show, Hampton stated that it did $2.5 million in network sales in 2005 while MyTMMO.com did $1.2 million. He also stated the show would bring in an estimated $3.7 million from advertisers.[11]

After 20 years of broadcasting on WTN, on January 1, 2013, the show moved to 102.5 FM ("The Game"). Ramsey and WTN were unable to come to terms over a renewal contract.[13] One year later, on January 1, 2014, the show moved to WLAC.

In 2020, The Dave Ramsey Show was renamed The Ramsey Show. This was done to better incorporate the show’s Ramsey Personality co-hosts (who began co-hosting the show full-time the year before) and to make the show less focused on Dave Ramsey himself. Ramsey stated that he wanted to “set the show up for generational success; that it doesn’t die when I do.”[14] Ramsey says that he will continue to co-host The Ramsey Show “as long as I make sense.”[14]

Ramsey's show is one of very few national radio shows to be self-syndicated. The program is not connected to any national network or programming service, and is distributed directly to local stations. Ramsey's show is fed to stations 24/7 so that stations will not have to record his show for later broadcast, but rather they can always use the satellite feed. The show is distributed via Westwood One's satellite platform. The show is now also available on podcast via iTunes. As of 2021, the show is heard on more than 600 stations.

"Seven Baby Steps" Formula

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With a simple, seven-stage "baby steps" formula (Baby Step Two is based on the debt-snowball method), Ramsey urges listeners to avoid all debt except for certain types of home mortgages.

Ramsey's Seven Baby Steps are:

  1. Save $1,000 for a starter emergency fund.
  2. Pay off all debt (except the house) using the debt snowball.
  3. Save 3-6 months expenses in a fully funded emergency fund.
  4. Invest 15% of household income in retirement.
  5. Save for children's college fund.
  6. Pay off home early.
  7. Build wealth and give.

References

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  1. ^ Howard, Joe (2006). "Dave Ramsey: Money in the Bank (10/02/06)". Radio Ink. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
  2. ^ "Dave Ramsey Channel". iHeartRadio. iHeartMedia, Inc. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Ramsey Media Channel". Sirius XM Radio. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. ^ "The Top Talk Radio Audiences". Talkers magazine. November 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-03-24. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  5. ^ Dave Ramsey (2006). "Our Company History". daveramsey.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-18. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
  6. ^ Dave Ramsey (2006). "About us". daveramsey.com. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
  7. ^ Hal Wilson. "The Wilson Group Real Estate". Wilson Group Real Estate. Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
  8. ^ Jan Duke. "The Money Game". About Nashville, TN. Archived from the original on 2007-01-03. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
  9. ^ a b c Never Give Up: The Dave Ramsey Show Story. Ramsey Solutions, YouTube, uploaded September 18, 2017.
  10. ^ Ramsey, Dave; Sharon Ramsey (2003). Financial Peace Revisited. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Viking Penguin. pp. Preface, x. 0-670-03208-5.
  11. ^ a b Mike Kinosian (2005). "The Inside Story with Mike Kinosian: Behind The Dave Ramsey Show" (PDF). InsideRadio.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-05-14. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
  12. ^ Beth Tallent (2006). ""THE DAVE RAMSEY SHOW" RECEIVES TWO NOMINATIONS IN THE 2006 RADIO & RECORDS NEWS/TALK INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS". daveramsey.com. Archived from the original on 2006-06-30. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
  13. ^ "Financial guru Dave Ramsey leaving 99.7 after 20 years". WSMV Nashville, TN. December 11, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  14. ^ a b Nieuwhof, Carey. “Dave Ramsey's Strategy for Successful Succession, Leading Gen Z, & Rules for Working w/ Your Kids.” YouTube. Uploaded October 2, 2023.
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