Culture April 3, 2019

'Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris': Dave Ramsey on how going broke brought him closer to God

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Dave Ramsey Celebrates 25 Years On The Radio at Sirius XM Nashville studios, Aug. 22, 2017.

In a new episode of "Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris," a podcast featuring conversations about how faith has guided newsmakers and celebrities through their best and worst times, ABC News' Paula Faris sits down with radio show host and entrepreneur Dave Ramsey.

Listen now -- new episodes available every Wednesday.

Here is Paula, in her own words, about the episode.

Dave Ramsey says he was a “hell-raising, beer-drinking hillbilly kid” until he found his faith as an adult. Everything seemed to be looking up. But then he went broke -- with a wife and two young kids.

It wasn’t mere failure, he tells me. “It was epic failure. It was like an atomic bomb was dropped on our lives.”

Ramsey ultimately built a multi-million-dollar empire around helping people get out of debt, but there was a time when he wasn’t sure he could put food on the table. And then the utility company cut the lights because he couldn’t pay the bill. “One year I made $200,000, and the next year I made $6,000 -- taxable income.”

His faith gave him a chance to start over. Though, as he explains on “Journeys of Faith,” it started with a selfish motive.

ABC
ABC's Paula Faris sits down with radio show host and entrepreneur Dave Ramsey to discuss how faith and money are connected on "Journeys of Faith."

We conducted this interview in his studio just outside of Nashville. His company, which started with a handful of people working on card tables in his living room, now employs more than 800 people.

On this episode of “Journeys Of Faith,” Ramsey reveals how bad things got in his marriage during those tough times, and why he can’t talk about his personal finances without mentioning faith.

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