Dave Ramsey Lists 5 Signs of Financial Health as 90% of Americans Carry Debt

1 articles · Updated · The Independent · Aug 10

Five habits define above-average financial health in Dave Ramsey’s latest TikTok post: paying off debt, saving, investing for retirement, owning a home and being content.
Ramsey framed the list as a practical path through a strained economy, arguing that small wins build momentum, habits and eventually wealth.
90% of Americans carry debt, according to Debt.org, and Experian put the average debt load for borrowers at $104,775 in late 2025.
Housing remains the toughest hurdle in Ramsey’s checklist: the median sold-home price reached $410,700 in June, and mortgage rates have dipped below 6% only once since September 2022.
Those pressures help explain why many households are stuck—40% live paycheck to paycheck, while about 15% of Americans have given up on homeownership by age 30.