Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey is well known for his conservative investment philosophy and a deep skepticism of sensational financial trends. When Lisa, a 27-year-old from Arkansas, calle
Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey is well known for his conservative investment philosophy and a deep skepticism of sensational financial trends.
When Lisa, a 27-year-old from Arkansas, called the radio show to reveal that her 35-year-old husband spends 80% of his income collecting Pokémon cards, listeners expected him to lose his temper.
Instead, the host expressed concern for the couple and urged Lisa to seek marriage counseling, saying she was “married poorly” to her husband.
Bitcoin’s rebel days are over (6:24)On a recent episode of "The Ramsey Show," the woman told Ramsey that she has been married to her husband for two years but they still have separate bank accounts because she fears her husband would end up spending most of the money.
The couple works at the same real estate company which pays for their housing, utilities, and gas. But the husband spends 80% of his income on collecting Pokémon cards.
"Sounds like a 14-year-old," Ramsey remarked.
A Pokémon card collector displays the trading card game he purchased after waiting in line outside a Best Buy store to purchase the new 30th Celebration set on September 16, 2026 in Pasadena, California.
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Pokémon is a widely popular Japanese media franchise consisting of video games, manga, animated films and TV shows, and a trading card game.
Its shared universe is populated by humans and eponymous creatures with special powers.
Released in 1996, the Pokémon Trading Card Game remains hugely popular. For many millennials, collecting the cards brings back childhood memories. Some rare cards have sold for millions of dollars.
For instance, Logan Paul had bought the 1998 Pikachu Illustrator, one of the rarest Pokémon cards, for $5.3 million in 2021. In February 2026, the YouTuber and wrestler sold it for a record $16.49 million.
But it doesn't mean every Pokémon card will fetch an equally high figure. The Illustrator is an extremely rare card that was originally awarded to winners of a Japanese illustration contest in 1998. Only a few dozen copies of it are believed to exist, making it a rare valuable collectible.
Most cards will never hit such high valuations, and collecting them is not a wise investment strategy at all, Ramsey argued.
Lisa revealed that her husband’s Pokémon card collection is worth $33,000. Ramsey, however, was blunt in his response.
"It's not an investment and it's not a portfolio. It's a habit."
The personal finance guru said he felt sorry for the couple, calling the situation “very juvenile” and noting that Lisa was giggling about it. He questioned whether she had ever had a serious conversation with her husband about the issue, adding that he appeared to be “addicted” to the hobby.
Lisa: "Oh, he agrees."
Ramsey: "No, he didn't."
Lisa: "He agrees verbally."
Ramsey urged Lisa to seek marriage counseling and have a serious conversation with her husband about his spending habits. In a blunt reality check, he added that he had never met anyone who became a millionaire by collecting Pokémon cards.
He added that the real winners were the people selling Pokémon cards to collectors like Lisa’s husband, who understood how to profit from the craze.
The host compared the trend to the Beanie Babies boom, recalling how collectors once expected the Princess Diana collection to make them rich.
Launched in 1993, Beanie Babies are a line of stuffed toys that turned out to be a major fad and collectible during the late 1990s.
Ty Inc., the company behind Beanie Babies, was among the first businesses to make a business-to-consumer website. Launched in 1995, the website was an important factor behind turning Beanie Babies into one of the world's first internet sensations.
The company deliberately released only a limited quantity of different soft toys and buyers thought these toys were collectibles which could be worth thousands or even millions of dollars over time.
Princess the Bear, a Beanie Baby teddy series created in the memory of Princess Diana after her death in 1997, sold very well. Initially, the collection fetched hundreds of dollars apiece in the secondhand market due to its limited quantity.
But the company soon flooded the market with millions of Princess the Bear, crashing the collectible bubble around them.
Dave Ramsey has frequently used this example as a cautionary tale.
Talking to Lisa, he claimed he had said it 30 years ago that Beanie Babies are not an investment for your kids’ college fund and the statement has been proven to be true.
"It's all bullcr*p."
Ramsey isn't wrong at all.
"Bankrupt by Beanie Babies," a 2009 documentary by Chris Robinson chronicles his father spending more than $100,000 on collecting 20,000 plushies, thinking their future valuation would let him pay for the college tuition of his five children. But the toys never hit such a high valuation and are still lying around at Robinson's home.
Ty Warner, creator of Beanie Babies toys, signs autographs in a rare appearance to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Beanie Babies toy line at the American International Toy Fair February 16, 2003 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.The show's co-host George Kamel told Ramsey that when an 18-year-old caller claimed his Pokémon cards are worth $600,000, he told the young man it's not possible.
But Pokémon card fans went after him and even Bitcoin (BTC) maximalists joined in, Kamel said.
Launched in 2009, Bitcoin is the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency. It's a type of digital currency independent of the control of centralized bodies like governments and banks and runs on a peer-to-peer model.
One Bitcoin was worth a few cents only in the initial period. But it's worth more than $82,000 today, even worth more than $126,000 at its peak in October 2025.
Bitcoin's market cap is $1.64 trillion today. If it were a company, it would be the world's tenth-largest company.
President Donald Trump has promised to build a strategic Bitcoin reserve just like gold at Fort Knox. Wall Street giants like BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) sell Bitcoin funds on stock exchanges.
But Ramsey isn't convinced at all. He has called crypto a "fad" which he thinks is just as "dumb" as Beanie Babies.
He calls crypto "dumber than cr*p" and frequently advises callers against investing in such digital currencies.
If you follow our market coverage, don’t miss the Roundtable 100. Updated every Friday, it's a power ranking of the 100 most investable tech stocks, including digital assets. Check out the latest RTB 100 rankings at roundtable100.com.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments are highly volatile and risky. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.
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