During the show, Dave Ramsey and his co-host take live calls from listeners centering on issues of finance, careers, and relationships.

[4] The program began June 15, 1992, when Ramsey, selling copies of his self-published book (Financial Peace) out of the trunk of his car, was a guest on 99.7 WWTN.

Ramsey's guest spot was popular and he offered to do a one-hour show for free for one month, not entirely expecting to be successful.

The Money Game went on the air with Ramsey,[6] Hal Wilson[7] and Roy Matlock[8] each hosting the hour alone on certain days of the week.

Ramsey was the bankruptcy and "get out of debt" guru on Mondays and Wednesdays, Matlock answered investing questions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Wilson's Friday topic was primarily real estate.

After station management asked Wilson to discontinue his portion of the program, Ramsey and Matlock teamed up to host the show five days per week.

As Bill Hampton, vice president of radio for The Lampo Group at the time, stated, "they learned syndication from the ground up.

A special stage was eventually built at the studio in Ramsey's company headquarters for people to come and do their debt-free scream live on the air.