‘You’re gonna get there’: Dave Ramsey tells divorced mom, 51, with no savings she can retire a millionaire. Here’s how

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After 22 years as a stay-at-home mom raising and homeschooling her children, 51-year-old Trisha found herself divorced with almost nothing saved for retirement.

Her husband left in 2022, taking his $130,000 annual income with him and leaving Trisha to figure out how to support herself and rebuild her financial future (1).

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He also left behind a new car he'd bought her just a month before — along with its $596 monthly payment.

A few years later, Trisha called The Ramsey Show looking for a way forward. She had started rebuilding her finances, but retirement remained a major concern.

"I spent my whole life raising kids, homeschooling. I have basically no retirement," she told hosts Dave Ramsey and Jade Warshaw.

Ramsey, however, was confident she still had enough time to turn things around — and potentially even retire as a millionaire.

"Lots of 51-year-olds making $50,000 a year, $75,000 a year, with your extra income coming in have become millionaires by the time they were 65 or 70. Lots of them," Ramsey said. "You're gonna get there."

How to start saving for retirement in your 50s

Despite Trisha's fears about starting over financially at 51, Ramsey said the numbers could still be on her side.

"Your math is going to be OK," he told her.

And Trisha had already begun rebuilding. She had refinanced her car loan, taken on a second job and accumulated $38,000 in a money market fund, plus another $3,000 in a separate account.

Ramsey recommended that she follow his 7 Baby Steps, a framework for getting out of debt, building an emergency fund and eventually investing for retirement (2).

paying off all debt (except the mortgage)

saving three to six months of living expenses in an emergency fund

For Trisha, Ramsey wanted her to start by eliminating the roughly $25,000 she owed on her car.

"Write a check today and pay off the car," he said.