S&P 500 up 26%, 25%, 18%
The S&P 500 returned 26% in 2023, 25% in 2024, and 18% in 2025, with 10% gains so far in 2026 — meaning the market nearly doubled in 5 years.
Where this was said
Caller: Angela's Synthetic S&P Pitch — Run Away From Jargon
At 1:30:30 · chapter starts 1:24:20
Angela is ten years from retirement with a $2 million net worth, unhappy with her current advisor, and was referred to a firm promising 19% returns through synthetic S&P exposure, LEAP options, and volatility index hedging. She couldn't understand a word of the pitch. Dave's verdict is immediate: run. [1] — Dave Ramsey "A caller was pitched 'synthetic ownership of the S&P 500 with long-dated LEAP contracts' and volatility index hedging — and had no idea wha…" 1:24:20 The financial industry's dirtiest trick is using vocabulary to intimidate clients into trusting them with money they don't understand. The advisor's actual returns — whatever they are — were almost certainly available through a plain, no-commission S&P 500 index fund, as Rachel demonstrates by walking Angela through the index's recent 26%, 25%, and 18% annual returns. Dave then connects this to his study of 10,000 millionaires: 89% built their wealth through basic, consistent 401(k) investing and home payoff — no synthetic instruments required. Angela reveals she called Dave 15 years ago and followed his advice; he notes she almost certainly has more money now than the advisor on the other end of her recent call. He directs her to SmartVestor Pros and recommends she stay for the upcoming Investing Essentials event.
Run Away From Financial Jargon: Synthetic S&P LEAP Options Are a Red Flag
A caller was pitched 'synthetic ownership of the S&P 500 with long-dated LEAP contracts' and volatility index hedging — and had no idea what was said. Ramsey's verdict: run. Your advisor's job is to teach, not impress. The same S&P returns the advisor is claiming could have been earned doing nothing more than a basic index fund.
Father-in-Law Breaks His Promise — Now What?
A newlywed couple planned their finances around a father-in-law's promise to pay $22,000 in student loans after receiving a large life insurance payout — then he simply changed his mind. Ramsey's advice: love him, never do business with him again, and attack the $62,000 in combined debt with everything you've got. The honeymoon can wait.
Similar snapshots
Zero users on launch day
Despite months of meticulous preparation, Starter Story's initial launch attracted zero users — a humbling reminder that building alone guarantees nothing.
First Reddit post: 100 users
A single Reddit link post quickly drove 100 visitors to the Starter Story website, igniting the founder's belief in social traffic.
Hundreds of upvotes on repackaged post
After reformatting content as a native self-post (no direct link spam), the post exploded with hundreds of upvotes and thousands of readers.
Millions reading his content on Reddit
By posting again and again with the native-content strategy, the founder's posts repeatedly hit Reddit's front page, reaching millions of readers.
Tens of thousands of email subscribers
Before Reddit banned his domain, the founder converted his viral traffic into an email list of tens of thousands — a self-owned audience independent of Reddit.
Reddit petition to ban domain
Redditors eventually organized a petition to ban starterstory.com posts, effectively ending the Reddit growth channel — but the email list was already built.
$1M business built on Reddit hack
The Reddit attention strategy ultimately served as the foundation for a million-dollar business, proving that free distribution channels can replace paid marketing.
Strategy: native content, small footer link
The key tactic was keeping content fully on-platform (no direct link spam), then adding a small link at the post's end for users who wanted more.
Quit 9-to-5 after email list built
With a thriving email list and a self-owned audience, the founder quit his six-figure New York City salary job to go all-in on Starter Story.
