He Makes $135K but Spends 40% of His Take-Home Pay on His House. Dave Ramsey Agreed He Should Sell It and Live in a Van. 'You Need a Good Van Girl'

He Makes $135K but Spends 40% of His Take-Home Pay on His House. Dave Ramsey Agreed He Should Sell It and Live in a Van. 'You Need a Good Van Girl'

Adrian Volenik

Mon, August 10, 2026 at 5:46 PM GMT+3 6 min read

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Owning a home is often seen as a financial milestone, but for one New Mexico man, it has become a monthly burden.

Adam, 33, recently called "The Ramsey Show" to ask whether he should sell his house, buy a van, and return to the lifestyle that once helped him save more money than ever before.

Adam lives in Albuquerque, works fully remote and earns $135,000 a year. He has no debt outside his mortgage, yet his housing payment eats up more than 40% of his take-home pay.

"I have a house and I feel like all I do is spend my money," he said. "I'm thinking about selling my house and buying a van and doing the van life thing."

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A Temporary Adventure Instead of a Permanent Lifestyle

Adam explained that he used to work construction while traveling in RVs. During those years, he saved more money than at any other point in his life. He bought his house to stay close to family, but now spends most of his days working from home and no longer feels tied to the area.

One concern kept running through his mind. Selling a home would mean giving up an appreciating asset for a van that would lose value over time. "I hear that in my brain every day," he admitted.

Personal finance personality Dave Ramsey agreed that spending more than 40% of take-home pay on housing was far from ideal. Even so, he surprised Adam by saying he would make the move.

"It's not a good 10-year plan," he said. "It's not a bad two- or three-year plan."

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Ramsey encouraged Adam to put a firm time limit on van life, save as much money as possible and eventually settle down again.

"Yes. Yes. I would go do it," he said. "Put a time limit on it so it doesn't become some kind of weird way of life. You don't want to be 63 and still doing this."

The conversation also drifted into dating. Ramsey joked that living in a van would shrink Adam's dating pool before adding, "You need a good van girl." Adam laughed along, and the mood changed again after he shared that he had more than $300,000 saved for retirement and another $90,000 in cash. Ramsey responded with another joke, saying his "bachelor eligibility just went up again."

Walking Away From a Home Doesn't Mean Walking Away From Real Estate

Adam's situation shows that owning a house isn't the only way to stay connected to real estate. If managing a property no longer fits your life, that doesn't mean you have to give up the asset class altogether.

If you want exposure to real estate without managing renovations, tenants or contractors, Arrived offers a different path. You can buy fractional shares in professionally selected rental properties while Arrived handles tenant interactions and maintenance.

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The company selects homes with the goal of producing rental income while growing in value over time, giving investors a chance to earn monthly dividends without becoming hands-on landlords. Start investing in real estate through Arrived with just a few clicks and let the company handle the rest.

Co-host Rachel Cruze agreed that the biggest challenge would come after the sale. She warned Adam to stay focused on the reason he wanted to make the change.

"It's the same kind of mindset people go and move back home to save money and then they really don't even end up saving money because they just end up spending it," she said.

For Adam, Ramsey's blessing came with one condition above all else. Enjoy the adventure, save with purpose and make sure the road ends with a place to put down roots.

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Building Wealth Across More Than Just the Market

Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That's why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn't tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry.

Arrived

Backed by Jeff Bezos, Arrived Homes makes real estate investing accessible with a low barrier to entry. Investors can buy fractional shares of single-family rentals and vacation homes starting with as little as $100. This allows everyday investors to diversify into real estate, collect rental income, and build long-term wealth without needing to manage properties directly.

Realberry

Institutional-quality real estate has traditionally been difficult for individual investors to access. Realberry gives accredited investors direct access to private real estate opportunities backed by a team with 35 years of experience, $3.4 billion in assets under management, and $481 million in cumulative distributions paid to investors as of Q4 2025, according to the company. With a portfolio spanning 13 million square feet across seven U.S. states, Realberry focuses on acquiring, developing, and managing real estate with an emphasis on long-term value creation while its principals often invest alongside clients to help align interests.

FarmTogether

Farmland has historically held its value through market volatility and delivered returns uncorrelated to stocks and bonds. For accredited investors, FarmTogether offers direct access to high-quality U.S. farmland starting at $15,000 — fully managed, with no landlord headaches.

Immersed

Immersed is building technology for the future of work through spatial computing. Known for its AR/VR productivity platform that enables users to work across multiple virtual screens, the company has grown to more than 1.5 million users worldwide. Immersed is also developing Visor, a lightweight headset designed specifically for professional productivity, positioning the company at the intersection of remote work, extended reality (XR), and next-generation computing.

Fundrise

Private real estate and private credit can add income and stability to a stock-heavy portfolio. Fundrise offers access to diversified private real estate and credit strategies through an easy-to-use platform, with professionally managed portfolios designed to generate passive income and long-term growth.

Mode Mobile

Mode Mobile is changing the way people interact with their phones by letting users earn money from the same apps and activities they already use every day. Instead of platforms keeping all the advertising revenue, Mode Mobile shares a portion back with users who engage with content, play games, and scroll on their devices. Named one of Deloitte's fastest-growing software companies in North America, the company has built a large beta user base and is scaling a model that turns everyday smartphone usage into a potential income stream.

EquityMultiple

For accredited investors looking beyond stocks and bonds, EquityMultiple provides access to vetted commercial real estate deals starting at $5,000, with only ~5% of opportunities passing their due diligence process.

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