He Has Marriage Problems Disguised As Money Problems

29:32They need to pay on time. I don't know how true that is. Yeah. It might be six to 12 months, right? And so at the six-month period, they might be saying, okay, we're reevaluating. I really think, to Ken's point, things like this are a full-time job. And it's something that when you call, you record the conversation, you take notes on the conversation, you get the lady's number. So every time you call, you're talking to the same lady. Do you see what I'm saying? You don't have the ability to do that right now. So your fiance is going to have to step up big time and help you with this and advocate for you because like you said, I mean, you're dealing with brain damage.

30:06You're dealing with a surgery tomorrow. It's going to be hard for you. Now let's talk about your four walls because that's the most important thing. Luckily, you're renting from your mom. Let her know what's going on and no one's going to take your place from you. Right. So you've got security there. Utilities, food and transportation. It doesn't sound like you're going anywhere unless somebody's driving you. So I think that you're okay. It sounds like you're surrounded by people who love and care about you and you're going to have to lean on them during this time. You're not able to go out and work like you once were and you're up against some real challenges and in this case sometimes people are the only thing that are there to help you in times like this.

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32:47let's go to detroit next where kim is waiting on us kim how can we help today Hi. I am expecting a sixth baby soon. Whoa. Wait a minute. Did you say sixth as in the number six? That's the one. Kim. Wow. You are a hero. I know. That's right. Wonder woman. What's going to be the age range? We have an almost 12-year-old down to a one-year-old. Oh. Oh, my, oh, my. Holy moly. Would you like me to get on the phone with your husband and tell him to leave you alone? I mean, if you wouldn't mind, that'd be lovely. Tell him to rewind the show today. Hey, pal, leave her alone. She needs a break. Well, in his defense, he was gearing up to get a vasectomy, and we just didn't get that far.

33:42You love each other. What can you say? Have we made that appointment, though? Is that on the books? Oh, I wish. I wish. I don't know what he's doing. Kim, you're a good one. You are a good lady. All right, I'm sorry. I'm having a little fun here. I always represent the American people. I say what they're thinking. Okay, how can we help today? Right, so two of my biggest concerns right now is the fact that we lease a car through my husband's work, and we only have the one car, and it is a seven-seater, so not going to fit six kids. My other issue is the fact that we're essentially in a two-bedroom house and running out of space very quickly.

34:18You think? You're in a two-bedroom house? Yeah. With six kids. My husband, he works from home, and so he uses one of the pseudo bedrooms as an office. So my thought is we can plunk him as quickly as possible into the basement, where we anticipate getting at least two bedrooms put up and his office built down there. But there's a lot of work that has to get done to the basement before rooms and things can be added down there. How many square feet is this place? It's only 1 ,400. It's not a lot. it. It's manageable. Do we have, okay, hold on, slow down. Do we have the money to be able to make these?

34:55Okay. So we have, I thought that was the case. So here's the deal. There is no expansion of the house for him. He's going to a place called a coffee shop. What kind of work does he do and what does he earn? So he, we, he makes about 75 a year. Um, and the problem is like, sometimes he's on the phones and stuff like that so like he has to be in like a quiet secluded area um there's all kinds of what kind of work is it there's the back alley for for volkswagen so a what service it's like a customer service for volkswagen okay um how long has he been doing that uh for about six or so years now okay and do you do any work other than working from the home do you do anything outside to get a check?

35:44How could she? I don't think so. I'm just asking. I fill as much space as I can. When my husband's not working, I'm walking dogs. I'm grooming dogs. We do boarding at the house just to add some extra income. You do boarding at the house where there's no bedrooms for the children to sleep? I have a great idea. I have a great idea for you guys to make more money. You guys need to be on the phone with some reality show producer because I feel like I feel like your life is a reality show waiting to happen. Oh, man. I always told my husband we would make a really great sitcom. I know you would. Six kids and 60 dogs.

36:19I'm exhausted already just talking to you. Okay, well, I like your hustle spirit. I like the fact that you're like, hey, I'm going to get money doing what I can. I love pets, so invite them over. What do you, I mean, on a good month, what do you make from your side hustling? um so from grooming i do about 2 000 uh with uh boarding i do about a thousand walks are harder for me just because it's more of me out of the house so um usually it's like maybe a couple hundred bucks a month or something like that you're pregnant with your six i'm tired yes stop walking the dogs okay so what is the core question you called with today because now we have a pretty good idea what's going on i'm i'm trying to systematically i feel like the car is going to be the biggest thing as far as what we need to do first.

37:05But I mean, I've looked at places that could offer us a car that's going to fit everyone. And they're looking at like, I mean, if we put no money down, we're up to like$700 car payment a month. Right now we pay$275 for this lease. And I'm like, I don't know how to find a car that's going to fit everyone with like zero money. I mean, we're on baby step two right now. So I don't know. What other debt do you have? It's about$30 ,000 in consumer. So there's like$8 ,000 on one card that my husband has that went to collections. We have another$5 ,000 that went to collections that he has. And what was this money spent on?

37:42Is this just you guys surviving? No, it was that my husband spent it on garbage. On what? On what? On garbage. Okay. Yeah, because hold on. I want to pause for a second here. Okay. Okay. You guys are making enough money. Yeah. Yeah. Between his 75 and let's call it your 24 that you guys don't need to be spending money on credit cards. It's not like you need that money to live. You guys are just being ridiculously careless. Yeah. And truthfully, you don't, I mean, Ken is right. You're doing all right, but you don't have a lot of margin for error here. I just kind of calculated. So what's he bringing home like 4 ,800 a month?

38:21Yeah. Give or take. Okay. And yours is 2 ,800. So you're$6 ,800 a month, which doesn't sound bad, but there's eight of you guys. So that goes fast. What do you pay for the mortgage? $1 ,450. Okay, that's fine. And do you have like an actual budget? Could you tell me today, like here's the margin at the end of every month that we have? We have like about$2 ,000 margin after all of like the necessities. Great, great. Right. So the key to this is you're going to have to save up to get something because you already know that that's the problem. Right. So you can't turn around and go into debt on another vehicle.

39:01How often are all of you piling in the car to all go to the same place? So because I'm predominantly a stay at home mom, I'm the chauffeur. So like the kids are with me a good chunk of the day, except the older two who are in school. but because it's also our only car if we go see family if we go do anything we're taking everybody well guess what guess what we're not doing we're not going to see anybody we aren't going to do anything until we get this thing right size yeah i think so everybody's coming to you my goodness i think you got a good case to make i think so too now this lease when is it up i mean it's up any minute.

39:42So like we could return it today and they'd be happy with us. But the only problem is, so right now we're paying$2.75 a month on the car, which is all fine and well. That includes insurance, tags every year, all of it. And they're no longer making the car that we have with the three row seats. So we can't get that same deal if we return it and get another car. We'd be looking at paying closer to$450 on the next lease. Understood. Because the biggest problem is this, and I know it's easy to focus on the micro problems, like the lease. The biggest problem is you've had$2 ,000 of margin for the last five, six years that he's been working on Volkswagen, but you don't have any money saved.

40:24So I can tell you what happened with that. Door dash. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. It doesn't matter at this point. That is the point is that that money has gone to things that are not paying off debt, not saving up for the future. So today, this is the thing that's on fire. You guys have got to save up, start saving that money. And in the meantime, if you can extend this car, if that's possible, I would say do it because you got to have something to drive and you don't have any money. So that would be my first thing is see what you can save up. What can$8 ,000 get you? What can$7 ,000 get you?

40:57And you're going to have a beater for a while after you get out of this lease because that's what you can afford. Yeah. Does your husband, is he mechanical by any chance? Minorly, yeah. Yeah, I get it. Me too. I can barely put gas in a car. But here's, I'm going to get creative if I'm you, right? You know what I'm doing? What are you doing? I'm finding somebody in their local community, their church, who's like really good at working on Chevys or Fords. And they live in the Detroit area. Okay. And I'm going to go find me an old suburban, you know, something in the early 2000s. No, seriously. that's got enough seats and we're going to make it happen we're going to go get a$5 ,000 Suburban and find a good mechanic who isn't going to rip us off who will give us a deal my point is you have to get creative and innovative when you are in this situation and people will feel for it if you go hey we've been dumb we've got some debt we're paying off we've got a sixth kid on the way husband's going to go get snipped soon we're solving that problem we need this and we share the problem and we go to the local community whatever it is and we say, help us.

41:57Yeah. If you have a good church home, let them put the word out. You don't just like make excuses and go, well, we got to go down this. And I know you're not, but I got to tell you, I'd have hubs watch this back on YouTube. And I'm not knocking you, my friend, but you got to step up. You must. You're the one that went out and did this on credit cards. Now you need to go out and not sleep and work and pay this off. Go get yourself a car. My goodness. Step up. You got six kids.

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43:28Welcome back to the Ramsey Show in the Fairwinds Credit Union studio. Alongside the incomparable, the fabulous Jade Warshaw, I'm Ken Coleman. So excited that you're with us. The phone number for you to jump in is 888-825-5225, 888-825-5225. Shakira is joining us now in Washington, D.C. Shakira, how can we help? Hi, how are you both? We're having a blast today. What's going on with you? So me and my husband, we recently got married back in June of this year, and we both had a little bit of credit card that has been accumulated. I recently read The Total Money Makeover, and it's been something that we've been speaking about doing.

44:15We already have our$1 ,000 saved up, and we've kind of figured out, We're doing the snowball right now with all of my husband's debts. And altogether, just my husband's, we have around$39 ,000 in debt. But the next thing, that's not including our cars. So the next thing that we want to tackle as we do the snowball is looking at our cars. He currently owes around$17 ,000 on his car, and I owe about$6 ,000 on my car. Car payments, for the both of us, it's about$1 ,000. and so we're just at like a crossroads as far as what we want to do moving forward if it's get just sell our cars get some money to pay off the debt and then just kind of get rid of all of our debt within like the next hopefully two years and or if we should just because he I had I had mentioned to him to just turn in the cars get what we can and buy something that doesn't include a payment, but he kind of doesn't want to let go of his car.

45:21It's something that he has dreamed of having for a very long time. When you say turn in the cars, what do you mean by that? Do you mean just take whatever the dealer will give you for them? Or are you talking about trying to like repo these? No, no, no. Take whatever the dealer will give it to give us for them and then buy another car that without a payment. So what if you just, if you're willing to sell the cars, Why not private sale them so that you can get more from the sale and do it right? That's something that we've kind of mentioned. But where he's at is where he doesn't want to get rid of it is he has brought up the point of refinancing his car.

46:00No, no, no, no. Let's back up. Let's back up. Okay. First of all, if you read Total Money Makeover, you may have not seen it. It's totally okay. But I want you to start talking about your debt, not his debt, my debt. You guys just got married. I know it's new. Congratulations, by the way. But this is now we. This is not his debt. So I just want to mention that it's very important that you guys are unified on this. It's our debt. Now, just a point of clarification. I got the money on the cars. You got$6 ,000 left on your car. He's got$17 ,000 on his. But you said, I thought that in addition to the cars, we have$39 ,000.

46:39You said his. I'm now saying we. I thought she said 139. No, no. How much is it? No. So all of our debt combined is around 39. Oh, okay. That includes the cars. That women... I'm sorry? That includes the cars. Without the cars. That's just credit card debt. Why are you separating it? Hey, this is shocking. You got one male talking, two females, and I'm the only one that's clear on the numbers. This is, write this down, America. This is shocking. I'm trying to follow the path of breadcrumbs here. So we've got$39 ,000 in addition to$6 ,000 car,$17 ,000 car. Is that true or false? True. All right, I knew it.

47:26All right, now, what is the$39 ,000? I need you to break it down for us. It's credit cards. I know, but I still want to hear the numbers. So walk us through it, smallest to largest. Yes, sir. So we have a personal loan that has$10 ,000 on it. We have another card that has$12 ,000, another that has$11 ,000, another that has$1 ,000, and then the rest are just kind of$800,$500,$400. Okay. And what is your combined income, please? My husband makes around$57 ,000, and I am going to be getting a new job soon because in my current role, I don't make enough at all. I make around, I want to say,$12 ,000 a year.

48:10Okay, what is that? That's not even a job. Yes, it's full-time, but it's part-time pay. You are the sweetest person I've ever met in my entire life. Why would you do that to yourself when there's full-time jobs with full-time pay that you can get? Well, she is working on that, so that's good. Yes. What will you make? Do you have any idea? She said she's about to get a new job. We need to quickly move through this. What do you think you're going to make? Do you have an actual job on the horizon? I've been applying. And while I do that, I sometimes do a little teaching on the side with like subbing and things like that.

48:47And that can earn me about a paycheck of about like a thousand dollars. Do you have any kids? No, sir. Okay. Can I just share something with you, Shakira? You need to be working. You need to quit this full-time job that has part-time pay. That's about the most ludicrous thing I've heard all week. And I'm a real fan of yours, so I'm not picking on you. But I hope you hear how really silly that sounds. So you need to go get you a full-time job somewhere. I don't care if it's at Target or Walmart or wherever. And you need to be working another job because we have two potential incomes, no kids, and we can knock this debt out.

49:21Okay, this is all possible. Okay, so we got to first, let's get our income up. And then, Jade, I'm handing it to you to talk about what we're doing on budgeting, the snowball. Take it away. What do they do next? Well, I am wondering about the$17 ,000 car. What's it worth? It's worth around, I want to say$23 ,000. My husband said it's a 2022 Ford Bronco. Okay. That's his baby. No, it's not his baby. It's actually a piece of crap. Have you seen the test ratings on this? It really is. I got to go back to the it's his baby because there's actual real people at home who are struggling financially. Y 'all, you should be his baby.

50:00Do you see what I'm saying? Make sure he listens to this call. He needs to sell it because there's$5 ,000 in equity there that you guys need today. Do you see what I'm saying? And not to mention, what's the payment on that? It's around, I want to say like$690. Oh, come on. So now we just found, let's round it up for fun. Now we just found$8 ,000 plus in a raise. So he could essentially, if he's really down to get this cleaned up, he could essentially take that$5 ,000,$6 ,000 from selling this car. You guys could quickly save up another$1 ,000 or so with it. He's driving a$7 ,000 beater, and now you've just repocketed almost$700 a month.

50:49What about that? And you're paying off those three small credit cards in three months. Look at his split. Just with that payment. But now that you're working harder than you've ever worked before, you're busier than a one-arm wallpaper hanger. That's how busy you are. That's busy. Think about that poor guy trying to hang wallpaper with one arm. That's a lot of work. All right, that's focused. So like this is, you guys can knock this out. I'd keep your$6 ,000 car because that's reachable pretty quick. And you pay that off. So he's got a$5 ,000 car and you've got a$6 ,000 car that we're going to pay off.

51:23This is all doable, but you guys got to get super serious. sacrifice sacrifice is the name of the game you're not getting out of this without sacrifice there's no getting around it that is part and parcel to this whole debt-free deal you can't get around it there's no easy button yeah but no more shakira a full-time job on part-time pay what are we talking about you gotta respect your your time more than that oh my gosh

52:07We'll see you next time.

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53:30Hey, folks, if the show is helping you out, we'd love for you to help us out. There's no better promotion in the world than real people who say, hey, I'm listening. I'm watching this. So a share, a like, and a subscribe on whatever platform that you're enjoying the show. We would appreciate it so very much. Thank you. Brittany is up next in Portland, Oregon. Brittany, how can we help today? Hi there. So I have been working at a company for about five years now. And as part of my compensation, I receive equity grants every year with a four-year vesting schedule. And I have basically just been letting those shares vest, and then they move into my brokerage where I've just been holding on to them.

54:13Unfortunately, over the last few years, the stock has essentially tanked. It's down 60 % from its all-time high, which occurred in November of 2021. And as a long-term investor, I don't need the money, but I've been slowly watching the value of that position decline and decline. And I feel like I'm at a point now where I'm wondering, you know, should I cut my losses and sell out of what's vested and move that money into, you know, either a broader index fund or should I try to see it through? Right now, the total value of the position is around$150 ,000, which is about a third of my overall brokerage account.

54:55Yeah, and the total, the average loss on that is about 30%. So it's painful. It's emotional, and I can't make an unemotional decision about it. So you guys can give me some unemotional advice. Yeah, so first question I have is, I thought I heard you say you're a long-term investor, and so this is all gravy for you, this company stock. You're doing your own investing, and so you know you're going to be fine long term. Correct? Did I hear that? Yeah. That's my hope. That's the goal, yes. All right. Then the next question that I would have, and I'm answering this as if I were you. So I have no emotion in this, so I'm going to go, okay, what would I do?

55:30All right. So what I would do is I would say, what do I know? And let's not look at opinion pieces in the media, but to the best of our ability, let's look at what the company is saying. Let's look at what we can learn from insiders in the building. there's a reason why that stock has gone down. True or false? True. Might be a few big reasons. Do you know what the reasons are? I have some suspicions. I have some solid leads and solid hunches. Which are? You know, we moved away from our core competencies, started investing in things outside of our main space. We've had a CEO transition. New CEO has been in place for about a year.

56:10Okay, pause, pause, pause, pause. So what has new CEO said about it? Because the board brought him in to fix this problem primarily. I know that without knowing what this company is or what they do. I know that. So what is he saying publicly? What is the board saying? Because you can go look this stuff up. That's public information. So what are they saying? You know, we have a turnaround plan in place. I think the expectation is we're going to continue to see softness both on top line and bottom line for at least another year. But the expectation is that by fall of 2026, our new products should be in market.

56:43And there's a lot of optimism around that new product. I think the biggest question continues to be around tariffs. We're incredibly susceptible to tariffs. Exactly. Exactly. All of this smells very good to me. I don't have any suspicion about this at all. I think this is a hold position for you. I disagree. I think I disagree. Tell us why. I'm actually intrigued to hear why you would disagree with that very sensible position. I have two sides of it. So it's possible that, so this is, I mean, this is not your money. It's not like you're investing in this stock. This is stock that they're giving to you.

57:22How quickly after it, I mean, how quickly can you move it over to something else? How quickly could you move it to an index fund once you've received it? How long does it take for it to vest? So it's a four-year vesting schedule, 25 % per year. and then like I said, I have 150K that's fully vested just kind of sitting in the stock. I can move out of that as quickly as tomorrow. I mean, if you wanted to sit on what's currently there, it wouldn't bother me. But moving forward, what I would do is the moment it vests, I'd move it to an index fund or I'd move it elsewhere because I don't want money invested in single stocks, especially in a company that's very soft right now.

58:03I just would never tell somebody to invest their money there. Therefore, I also wouldn't advise somebody to necessarily - But she's not investing her money. I understand it, but it's the same principle. I wouldn't necessarily advise somebody to leave their money there. Now, that's why I said, if you want to keep the 150 there for now and see if it regains, but going forward, I would move - Yeah, I don't have a problem with that. Do you see what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. I was just talking about what I was addressing - I'm not increasing my losses going forward. That's fair. And I don't disagree with Jade on that.

58:30What I was addressing is what you called about, I thought, to say, what do I do with this current stock that has lost all this value? And if it were me in your situation, I agree with what Jade's saying in the future. But I'd say on this particular thing, I'd give the CEO a chance. Let's see if a year from now they can get some of that back. And then you can move it. That's all I'm saying. And that's a unique situation. This is such a unique call. In that situation, I'd probably wait and see if the company can turn things around for that reason. But I also wouldn't have the first problem if you said, I'm out.

59:06I was going to say, if I were in your shoes, I don't think there's any problem with you doing what Ken said or doing what I suggested. If I were in your shoes, I would probably move it. Because I'd be like, I just don't want it in single stocks. And I've already taken a loss. I've already taken a hit. I'd rather this be diversified. That's just what I would do. in order for you to stomach it is why I said what I said, which is, hey, leave what's there, but going forward, make sure you quickly move as soon as it vests. I'm just trying to, this is an emotional thing, Ken. I was just trying to work through the emotional side of it.

59:39That's all. And that's why, again, the only reason I said what I said is because her emotion is where it is. And so it's like, you're not relying on that money. This is what I would call found money. And I'd go, if you're emotional about it, ride the roller coaster a little bit longer, see if they get it back up. And that's so funny because I'm the exact office and I'm like, it's not your money. So there's really no reason to be emotional. I just move it and go, whatever. I have$150 ,000. How do I want to invest this? That's the way I think of it. You're playing with house money. It's house money.

1:00:06So I'm a little bit more aggressive with house. Oh, so we're betting. I'm not betting. Yes, she is in this case. She is. She's going, if she holds and doesn't move it, she is betting that the CEO and the new leadership and the analysis could end up playing out. I wouldn't take that bet. I get it. take it and that's your prerogative it is she got two pieces of advice i know you got two pieces of advice britney what are you gonna do britney you tell us well i think the good news is that it doesn't sound like there's a wrong decision here you know there's not clear something that i'm doing wrong and so you know as an employee of the company i think i'm gonna try to be a little loyal have faith have optimism interesting i'm gonna hold i do i do believe in the company i do believe we're in a rebound we always have in the past um so just don't i'm gonna pull the audience just don't forget going forward that it's a single stock just don't forget that going forward all right now just for fun we got probably 30 40 people in the lobby uh lobby raise your hands if you would go ahead and get out of the stock and cash out raise your hand my guy right one guy one one loyal one loyal guys now let's see how this one goes if you would hold a little bit and wait at least a year, the Ken position, raise your hand.

1:01:18Oh, it's overwhelming. Listen, y 'all are betters. You guys are risky business. It's rare that I'm right. And so I'm going to soak in this one. Lap it up, Ken. I tell you what, I've been married 27 years. I have three teenagers. I'm never right. You know what I mean, people? Thank you very much. There's one guy that's giving me a polite golf clap. No, but in all seriousness, I think, Brittany, you're very wise. You're not doing anything wrong. No, it's not her money. It's not your money. So you decide what you want to do with it. But I like that. It's a really interesting call. And in that situation with a public company, the proof is in the pudding.

1:01:54And here's what I know about public companies. If this guy doesn't get it right. The next guy. They're going to get somebody. There will be a next guy. Who gets it right. And so that's where my mindset is. So I'm thinking long term play in this unique situation. But I loved your advice, too. It's hard not to take advantage of that. And by the way, to fully come back to your point of view, going forward as she gets new stuff, I love that idea of going. Just moving it over. Thank you. Thank you very much. And now I'll take it from here. And I'll take it. So I would do that as well. I want to stipulate that.

1:02:27Yeah. I just was so stuck in my other position. None of it was wrong. No, no, no. None of it. Yeah. So very interesting stuff. And what a benefit to people who have that option. I know. Very nice. Stock options are very nice. Very, very nice. Hello. I got a friend. I got a friend who shall remain nameless who just recently left a massive company. Oh, yeah? And he cashed out. And boy, oh, boy. Cha-ching. Oh, boy. He had a good day, folks. I had a good day just hearing about it. And I didn't get anything from it. That's a good friend right there. The afterglow of his stock cash-in was so nice that I even felt good.

1:03:03Afterglow. There you go. Afterglow.

1:03:12We'll be right back.

1:03:19Dave, we got a lot of calls on this show where life happens. One day someone's healthy, they're working, providing for their family, and then a curveball hits. You know, we hear it all the time. A car accident, a cancer diagnosis, a heart attack, and suddenly everything changes. Yeah, and that's why you've always said that having term life insurance from Xander is essential because it protects your family if the worst happens. Yeah, that's right. You need 10 to 12 times your income in coverage. No gimmicks, no whole life junk, just straightforward term life protection. But there's another piece that people often overlook, and that's long-term disability insurance.

1:03:58Yeah, it's important to understand the difference between them. Life insurance steps in when you die. Disability insurance steps in while you're alive but can't work. So it replaces a large part of your income so the bills still get paid while you get back on your feet. Now, if your employer gives you free disability insurance, great, take it. If it's discounted there at a better price, take it. But if not, Xander can help you find the right plan. Whether you're single or married, it's not optional. If you're going to be out of work for a while, then you need to make sure the money's still showing up.

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1:05:10Anna is up next in Lexington, Kentucky. Anna, how can we help? Hello, hello. All right. Me and my husband, we got ourselves in a pickle. We're spinning fast, young and dumb, you know. But that's okay. That's okay. God redeems, right? Yes. So essentially, we have about, I'll just do the numbers actually, it's about$106 ,000 in debt that's outside of our mortgage. And that's totaling up to about like$3 ,700 a month. But our house is for sale, and we'd be left over with about, I believe, about$12 ,000 or$13 ,000 left over if we sell our house at this price. Kind of like knock it all over the way and then keep on doing what we're doing about strapping down and paying off our debt.

1:06:00So, yeah, we just want to hear your thoughts on that. Where are you going to go after you sell your house? Yeah, so we really feel the Lord calling us back to Knoxville. That's where we were before. and we bought this house like we weren't fearful about it at all it's beautiful it's gorgeous right but um it's really isolating and we work from home we have two beautiful boys we have a nanny that comes in and um yeah we just feel like uh we should be back in knoxville for ministry since and so you're not selling the house but you didn't answer my question you're selling the house in lexington because you're called back to knoxville where are you going to live and how are we going to pay for rent rent okay yeah we can't buy the we can't buy the housing in cash or anything and we don't want to get in that same situation so okay we'd rent and we'd be looking at about 2 ,500 a month for rent um we make a when we're in tennessee because of the income tax we'll make about 10 ,500 a month okay so very good income and is that just his income or both of you I wish.

1:07:05Maybe one day. No, that's both of ours. So he makes about$100 ,000 a little. Are you still there? Oh, we lost. Yeah, we just feel like we should be backing up. Okay, Anna, are you in a storm shelter? Are you driving? We're losing you. No. Oh, you're losing me? Yeah, it sounded like you went in the janitor's closet. Okay, so your question is what to do with the— I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what. We're going to put Anna on hold, and let's see if we can get a better connection there. Let's go to Luke in Philadelphia. Luke, how can we help? Hey, guys. How's it going? Good. How are you, sir? What's going on?

1:07:54I'm doing good. So I'm going to be receiving an inheritance from my grandfather next month. It's going to be around$85 ,000. I'm very blessed with that. My question is, being a Ramsey fan, I know that Dave always says to pay off the debt. So I was planning on paying off my student loans. They were about$55 ,000,$56 ,000. But I was talking to my friends in a bar, so this is where all bad ideas start. I like where this is going, though. But he gave me some good advice. He was saying that I should invest it, I think, in like a low – I don't really know the stock stuff. But he was saying to invest it into like a low-security stock investment plan.

1:08:47So like the government – I think it's the government fund at like 4.5%. And I use YREFI for my student loans, so they're down to 2.5 % interest rate. So I'm trying to like, I'm kind of leaning towards that because, you know, keeping the inheritance for as long as I can is very appealing. Wait a second. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Yeah. So if I hear you right, you're kind of leaning toward your buddy's advice in the bar that you can't even say to us in a coherent way. Well, because he didn't hear it in a coherent way. That's what I'm saying. He heard it after about six beers. Yeah. So you're right.

1:09:23It was only six in the evening. So it wasn't that belligerent yet. But I mean, I hope you hear yourself. Whether you were inebriated when you heard it or not, you couldn't repeat it to us in a very coherent way. And that doesn't really matter. My point is, you've got to see the irony in calling this show to ask us if you should take your buddy's advice that you can't recall over paying off the debt. I'm going to see the balance of my time and hand it to the lady and see what she says, because I know what she's going to say. Well, Luke, yes, you know, everybody knows what I'm going to say, but I want to frame it to where it's you making the choice and not me because it doesn't, it's got to be you making the choice.

1:10:01So you have to ask yourself, what do you value? Do you value and how do you see yourself managing money? Because if you're a person who says, you know what, debt's not good. I don't like the way I feel when I'm in debt. I don't like being a slave to the lender. I'd like to have better sleep at night. I don't like this thing, you know, over the shadow over my life all the time. If you value getting away from that, then you're gonna say, there'll be other time to invest. This is my chance to break free. But if you say, you know what? I don't really have a problem with debt. I don't mind borrowing money.

1:10:34It doesn't really bug me. It's fine for me to leverage somebody else's money to get what I want. Like if you're that person, then you might say, well, yeah, I'm just gonna take this money and invest it. If you ask us, we're gonna tell you all day, every day that debt is not the way. It's stealing from you. It's stealing your monthly payment, even at 2.2 and a half percent interest. It's stealing your peace. It's stealing your future. We're going to tell you that. But if you don't value that, then it doesn't matter what I say. You're still going to get off the call and do what your buddy Six Drinks In told you to do.

1:11:06You see what I'm saying? I get what you're saying, yeah. I need to hear this from you in a bar and Six Drinks Steve, and then I can really believe in it. Maybe so. Well, you could pour yourself a tall one while we tell you this. I don't know if that helps. Let's think of it like this. Okay, so you've got 85. You could essentially do both. You could pay off the$56 ,000. Just think for a minute, Luke, how great that would feel for that to be out of your life. Because how old are you? I'm 26. 26 they're gone forever now you've got the rest of your working life another 26 to 30 years to not only keep the other uh the other 10 or so that's left right the other 15 that's left you can go ahead and invest that let it sit do what your buddy said well don't do what they said invested in mutual funds and then you have the next 30 years to invest 15 of your income and build wealth.

1:11:58You're going to be a multi-multi-millionaire. Okay. So why not do both, right? Why not clear out the debt and be a multi-multi-millionaire? I'll drink to that. I'll drink to that. This is why I called because I was like, you know, Luke, you're leaning towards your friend in a bar. And how much do they have? How much money do they have? They do better than me, but yeah. Ask him to show you proof.

1:12:23Listen, I don't mind that you're getting advice from your buddy in a bar, but it better be good advice. I want to know that they're killing it. So my goodness. Yeah. Pretty straightforward answer for us. And I think what you nailed is what I don't think people think about until they start to listen to us or watch us and they hear us say it the same thing over again. And I'm going to bring it back to you. You having written a book, what no one tells you about money, and that is the psychology. Yes. Nobody looks at that on a TikTok or Instagram. Well, it's an emotional thing when you talk about building wealth, especially when you have this opportunity in your hand that he's got$85 ,000 in his hand that he didn't work for.

1:13:03Somebody just dropped it and it's like, oh my gosh, this is my moment. And here we are saying, put it on your debt. That is like buzzkill, right? It feels terrible. That's why I framed it up on his values because here's the truth. The truth is, is it the worst thing in the world he could have done to take that 85 and just drop it in an index fund? Oh, come on. There's a lot dumber things he could have done. That's not a bad move when you think about it. He's still doing something, you know, smart. He's investing it. But when we're talking about good, better and best, the best move is to clear out your debt.

1:13:34Pay off, you know, pay that out. Get that done. It's not chasing you. It's not haunting you. And people don't consider the emotional side of that to finally have peace. When people let their student loans stick around forever, Ken, the amount of guilt associated with that is is crazy because you're like, man, here I am with these student loans. He's going to get married one day. Maybe he already is. And his wife's going to have to be married into that. And he's going to have kids one day. His kids are going to have to, you know, feel the stress of that. So the quicker you're able to deal with this, the better.

1:14:03Because here's the dirty little secret, Jade. You know this and I know this. Most people don't want to admit this. Many people like this. Luke, if they don't do this and take care of this, they're going to wake up in their mid-50s with student loan and then do the math one day of how much interest they've been paying. And now you're talking about severe stomach pain. It's pain. And they know medicine to take care of that. So I love the advice. That's just one of the things she takes on in the fabulous new book. You can preorder it today for the absolute best price of$24.99. Get over$100 worth of goodies.

1:14:33It's called What No One Tells You About Money Until Jay Morshaw Came Along. RamseySolutions.com slash store is where you can get it now before it hits bookstores everywhere.

1:14:59We'll be right back.

1:15:20is and what it was. That's right. It's a great budgeting app, but I sat with the team today and you ready for this? Tell me. It is so fun. I was going through a full demo of it. You know what this is? This is everything. Every dollar is everything you would get if you called this show, but a whole lot more. Let me explain. Yes. They are going to interact with you. This app interacts with you, finds out where you are, and then you know that you can actually get a free 10 minute coaching call. I've been trying to tell people. And the most you're going to get if you call this show is eight minutes and it's truly probably not eight after I've yammer on for a minute.

1:15:54It's probably seven. And I was blown away that it's free right now. And that's not going to be free. Cause I'm gonna tell you once Dave figures it out, it's not going to be free. You think so? But it's a free 10 minute call. That's if you even need it. But I kid you not. People go, is every dollar just about, no, it's not just a budget. It is literally like calling this show. You get real digital advice. You're going to answer these questions. You're going to get real, legitimately awesome, specific coaching. And then you can get a coach if you want a real life coach. That's right. This is unbelievable.

1:16:30So they're going to help you find a minimum of$3 ,000 right out of the gate. I'm looking at this data today. So that's what it is, Jade. What do you add to this? You've been on this game for a bit. Every dollar is exactly what you need. But let me take it a step further. The dynamic duo that you need, you need every dollar because that's going to do the coaching. It's going to do all the practical stuff, make you stay on the baby steps, numbers. But then you need to pick up this book that goes with it because that's going to give you - Would that be your book, Jade? You get the practical side with the numbers.

1:16:58Oh, that's convenient. And then you get the emotional side with this. This is what you need with your every dollar. I'm just saying. I see what she did there. It's a pairing. It's like wine and cheese. Because every dollar is going to tell you what to do and how to do it. and then jade's book is going to come alongside and go hey when you're in the middle of this here's how you keep doing here's how you're going to fit yeah keep your emotions in check do them both i love that it's very good start every dollar for free today in the app store or google play and since she mentioned it you can pre-order jade's new book what no one tells you about money uh same place ramsay solutions.com slash store uh and uh there you go the one two punch and i would do what she says it's not good when you don't take it from me pat is up in kansas city pat how can we help today um i am uh completely out of debt uh this month paid off my home wow congratulations yeah how much is the house worth um well i i'm not sure i i think on zillow it shows it at like$550.

1:18:04Oh, it's probably worth more. I don't know how real that is. Well, you know, find out from a good realtor. But congratulations, you're in that neighborhood. You're in that neighborhood. That's awesome to be in that half a million dollar range. Good on you. Yeah. So now I've got about another nine to 10 years of working. Okay. And I have a business. And so I need to start, because I've been self-employed pretty much my whole adult life. I've invested in businesses and lost and built back up and lost and built back up. Now I can finally put money away for retirement. And so far I've got about 185 in stocks and some smaller Roth IRAs.

1:18:50What's the business? I really want to be wise about from this point on. What's the business? It's a mechanical company, heating, air conditioning, plumbing. me do you plan to sell it i i don't know i don't really have a plan an exit plan i kind of thought that i would just uh manage it and you know get some income and then just shut it and then just shut it down or or sell it i'm i don't have a plan right now well that but that's why i'm asking your retirement yeah my friend like in in your case that needs to be a big part of the plan given that you don't have much in retirement money put away, but you have paid off your house, which puts you in a great situation.

1:19:33So you're actually not as bad a shape as you think. But this is probably one of your best opportunities. Let me walk through some numbers with you, if you don't mind. No, please. What do you anticipate? Well, let's do two questions. What was your gross revenues last year, 2024, in your business? Last year it was$1.2 million. Okay, great. And what are you anticipating that it will be in 2025? It'll be about$1.718. Okay. And how much are you netting?

1:20:12Honestly, I'm not sure. I'm not much of a business person. What do you pay yourself? Is it just you? I pay myself one. I have a partner who bought into the business about in 2022, which I did that because I always wanted to have a business person because I'm a technician. That's what I am. And I've grown the business. It's almost 20 years old. I've grown it and lost it and grown it. Sure. But what do you pay yourself? I pay myself$175 ,000. $175 ,000. And after you pay yourself, does anything remain in the business as just kind of retained earnings every year? Yes. What's left over?

1:20:55Maybe$100 ,000. Okay, good job. You know, I had to get myself out of debt in the business, too. So I've paid off a lot of debt for my business. So you don't employ anybody? No, I have 12 employees. That's what I thought. Okay, because on$1.2 million, I'm going, where's the rest of that money going? And so, okay, so you don't have a firm grasp on your numbers, which is okay today. It's not okay tomorrow. So whoever's running the books, whether it's your business partner or your, I don't know if you have a CPA doing your books, you need to get yourself in the numbers. And you don't need to, aw, shucks, I'm just a technician anymore.

1:21:33It's, no, this is part of my retirement. And so I want to see where we are and what we can do here as it relates to investing money? Where is the business itself? What is its potential growth path over the next, let's call it 10 years, because that's the number you gave us. You've got a goal of 10 years. So where can that business be in 10 years? And let's talk to that business partner. And I'm sure that partner is probably fine exiting when you exit, if not sooner. So let's get a real plan in place. And And because all of a sudden, you know, it's reasonable to believe that this business could be, you could exit for three to five million dollars with some really good work done over the next.

1:22:17I don't think that's a crazy number. I don't think that's crazy given what you're saying, as long as you keep trending the way you've said. And I'm speaking in general terms here. If we continue to grow the company, no debt. Especially, I was going to say, especially that there's no debt on the business. That's great. So that's a pretty nice chunk. How much does your partner have in the company? How much equity? um well he's 49 i'm 51 that's how much money did he put in for 49 and he put and he put in 300 000 now now when he did that uh you know where i've grown since i mean i've had it up to about 2.6 million and come back down and um but since 2020 it was like 600 000 and 21 750 22 when he bought and in 22, we did about 800 ,000, then 23, a million.

1:23:06So we've been going up every year. Good. Yeah, I think you're fine to answer your initial question where you're like, hey, I've got 10 years to save for retirement. Ken pointed out you've got this wonderful asset in the business. Yeah, you guys need to decide a 10-year plan of what that's going to be with your partner. Obviously, it sounds like you've got majority vote on whatever that is. Do you have a very good tax pro? I think so. So, I mean, that's where I'm at. You need a SmartVestor Pro. If you don't have a SmartVestor Pro, you need to click on that link on our website and go interview some people and get somebody and sit with them.

1:23:43I'm talking like next week. I always recommend interviewing at least two or three SmartVestor Pros. Go with the one that you feel does the best job explaining things to where you understand what you need to do and why you should do it. The one that you got the best chemistry with. This is a relationship. And let's look at our long term. What do they say you need to be doing? What's the most you can do personally and through the business? Have them look at the whole thing. I'd also get a tax pro and let's look at your tax situation and let's maximize everything we can because we're aiming with a 10-year bullseye on making and keeping as much money as possible.

1:24:18That's why I'm recommending the tax pro as well. And even if you only invest from the employee side, you as the employee, you as the employee, right? Just the 15 % like we recommend, you're still going to be at a million bucks if you're just investing 15 % of your$175 ,000 income. That's right. So that's the good news. So you're in good shape plus a chance to exit. So lock and load, man. Focus. Let's crush the next 10 years personally and professionally. And I think you're going to find that you're in plenty good shape. Thanks for the call.

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1:26:03welcome back to the ramsey show in the fair winds credit union studio alongside jade warshaw i'm ken coleman triple a 825-5225 is the phone number if you want to jump in let's go to vincent who's waiting in Las Vegas. Vincent, how can we help today? Hello, how are you guys today? We're well, how are you? I'm better than I deserve, as Dave would say. I've heard that a time or two. What's going on? My question is that I live a very simple life, and now it's gotten to the point where I'm struggling to really get full effort and attention in work and other aspects of life when I feel at this point pretty confident in the amount of money I have in my savings and emergency fund.

1:26:48And I more or less already have everything I want in life. How old are you? I'm 22. That's some accomplishment. This begs a few questions. How much cash do you have? About$80 ,000. And how much in savings or retirement? Because I think you mentioned savings or some type of investments. What do you have? um yeah so between the 80 000 is between uh cash checking account uh travel swap account uh which is etfs and gold how much is the break it down how much is the etfs and how much is the gold uh gold i think is about 3 000 and then the etfs is i think about 20 000 and then in high yield CDs, I have about$40 ,000, I believe.

1:27:39And then in checking, I have about$20 ,000. And the checking, would you just call that like a rainy day fund? Yeah, that's just where my paychecks go. And that's where I make most of my daily expenses. Okay. What are your monthly expenses? Just give me a number. Yeah. So my income is about$6 ,000 to$7 ,000 a month. And then after taxes and my basic expenses, I probably have about$3 ,000 left per month,$3 ,000 to$4 ,000. Okay. That's great. It's great, but it's nowhere near the guy who presented at the start of the call going, Hey, I've got everything I need. I'm 22 and I'm just having a hard time being motivated because I don't see the rest of the math that would add up to that.

1:28:27Well, I think I might get it a little bit. I'm not saying I agree. I just think I understand where he's coming from. At 22, you're doing awesome. So I can understand you thinking that like, man, you don't have any debt, right? Like, I don't have any debt. I got$80 ,000 in assets. Do you own your own place or do you rent? Tell us about that. um i i rent a studio apartment and it's um significantly below market value due to uh uh friends and family rate from a connection i made that okay but i'm okay i i'm i'm i'm so confused honestly i'm so i'm really confused by your response well i'm i didn't get to finish my my point was if your measuring stick is for a 22 year old then i think yeah i think you're doing great for a 22 year old no but that's not how he presented the the target you said you were having a hard time being motivated.

1:29:19I understand. I'm getting to it. I'm saying like, I see where you're saying, but you have, now you have to look up and look out because for a 22 year old, that's great, but you're going to age and there's going to be other things that are going to pop up. So that's why I asked you about where you rent or where you live. And you said you're a renter. So already that's telling me, okay, well, that means that at some point you're going to want to be able to buy. And so that's already a huge financial goal that you can set your sights on. Then you said, okay, well, here's my income right now at 22.

1:29:47I think that's a wonderful income but soon you're gonna you know i'm saying there you have to you're looking at where you are today and that's why you're feeling like i feel like i got it in the bag but if you look up and out you're gonna say okay there is more for me to reach towards do you see what i'm saying i i do see what you're saying and that's often the advice that i get from some people i talk with or professionals i've talked with and why don't you believe them really because i don't really have a any desire to like buy a house someday. There's no reason to buy a house if I'm just going to be in it by myself.

1:30:24I just need one bedroom, you know? You don't want the security of having a fixed, that biggest asset or that biggest line item on your budget, you don't want that to be fixed? Not really, because there's, you know, other expenses and repairs and taxes that come with it. Sure, but you've got all the money in the world to pay for it, it sounds like. It's not like that would break you. I mean, yeah, but to me, I don't really see a difference between having that or just having it between, you know, high yield CDs and stocks and gold, you know? Can I ask you why then you care about the high yield, the CDs, the stocks and the gold?

1:31:03What's the motivation behind that? I wouldn't say I care about it. I would more say that I have excess income at the end of each month, sometimes more due to a bonus from work or something. And I put that into something that is going to give me some return, but it's also very liquid if, you know, one day I wake up and decide I want to do something, I guess. Okay. What's at the root of your question? I don't think we're addressing or that you got it out. I'm not sure. What is the reason for calling today? I guess the reason for calling is that I already have a roof over my head and food on my table and clothes on my body.

1:31:45And I don't turn on my car and wish I drove a nicer car or go to sleep at night and wish I had a bigger bedroom or eat food after work and wish I could eat a nicer meal. Because I already could do all of those things and I don't. I just put it towards saving. I understand that's leading to something. So that or so what is the point? The point is that I don't know, I guess, where to spend money where I enjoy it, because I feel like wherever money I've spent, including taking international vacations or buying nicer clothes or jewelry or whatever, I don't or even spending it on gifts for other people.

1:32:25I feel almost all the time that my life is basically the same as if I was just doing the absolute basics. You're completely indifferent to all of those things is what you're saying. I get what you're saying. I just don't know what you're asking. And so I don't I'm just curious. You called us. Are you making more of a statement? Are you here to make more of a declaration? What's the question? Is there a question? I guess the question is, I guess, how can I change my mindset to the point where I'm giving half effort in my job that I do? And, you know, for example, you're brushing my teeth, but I don't know how to accelerate that to give 100 percent effort.

1:33:03Well, first of all, you're not talking to many professionals. OK, let me let me jump in. OK, what I'm hearing is a guy who's describing work and what comes from the work as only a paycheck. and I don't really care about all the stuff I can give for the paycheck. And I talk a lot about this. I've talked a lot about this for years. And I think what's missing is this is not about working to make money for you. I get it. I appreciate that point of view. It's very pure. I love it. But you're asking the question, Ken, I think you're saying I'm not very motivated. And what about that? Now, here's where this comes in.

1:33:36You've got to be doing work to make a contribution that you care about. So I would start looking into what are the results that I ultimately want to put into this world? You're going to have to keep bringing in an income. You're not in that kind of shape, and you didn't say you weren't, but you're only 22, and there's a lot of work left for you just to take care of yourself and do basic investing. But I understand you're going, I'm not working to have stuff. Then you need to start to shift your mindset to I need to work to make a difference. In other words, what is the contribution I want to make in the world of work?

1:34:08and that's going to provide motivation for you. So I'll give you three questions that you need to answer over the days ahead. Here they are. Who are the people that I want to help? Be specific. What problem or desire do those people have? And then third, what are the solutions to that problem or desire that I get most fired up about? Here's what you're going to find. Multiple opportunities to go to work and do something that matters deeply to you and then it's not about the money. The last thing I would say for somebody like you is find a way to give a lot away and then say, oh, if I'm making money to give money away, there's great purpose there.

1:34:51Hey, guys, Dave Ramsey here. Winning at money is 80 % behavior and 20 % head knowledge. What to do isn't the problem. Doing it is. In her brand new book, What No One Tells You About Money, Jade Warshaw dives deep into the reasons you've been stuck. This book exposes the real emotional fight with money and shows you how to win that battle. Pre-order now for$24.99 and you'll get over$100 of free bonus items. Get your copy today at RamseySolutions.com slash store.

1:35:43Okay, everybody, and I mean everybody, needs insurance. However, it can be very hard to find pros who aren't just looking to make a buck off of you, sell you something you don't need, or a junk policy. And that's why Ramsey Trusted is where it is, and it's such a lighthouse to so many people. And our insurance, the Ramsey Trusted Insurance Program vets pros for you. So these are people that are out there in the marketplace, and Ramsey vets them to make sure you're not dealing with sleazy business people. And they've been interviewed and coached to make sure that they're market experts who have your best interest at heart.

1:36:22And if they don't do that, we kick them out of the program. And so that's why we call it Ramsey Trusted. You can go to RamseySolutions.com slash coverage to find the type of insurance you're looking for. or connect with a Ramsey trusted agent. And keep in mind, this is not just a one-way street. In other words, we're not looking to just be making sure we have the right coverage. We want to make sure we don't have too much coverage and thus can save you money. And if you're listening on YouTube or podcast, you can click the link in the show notes to get connected over there. Grand Rapids is where we're going now.

1:36:51Mary is joining us there. Mary, how can we help? Hi. Hey, thanks for taking my call. Sure. So I'm 64 years old, still working. Well, I retired once, but I'm one back. I'm a schoolteacher, single parent. I have two sons. My older son is 30. And he's, well, he's doing okay, but he drives a junky old car, and I get worried about him in it. He's kind of struggling financially. and my question is, should I give him my car and me get a new one? And, you know, I'm getting older. When do I stop helping my kids? Did he ask you to help, or are you just observing this and you're assuming he needs your help?

1:37:39Yeah, he did not ask. He's a good guy. He doesn't ask, but I, you know. So it's me thinking, I think I can afford a car. should I, and I hear, I've heard Dave say it's good to help your kids, you know, when you can. I don't know. I just, why is he struggling financially? Well, he went to college, had a couple jobs, didn't like him. And now he's decided he wants to be an EMT. So he's doing schooling to be an EMT and just kind of working. Great. Is he single? I don't know. He's single, yeah. Okay. And this is not a work ethic issue, correct? He's always been employed. He's hopped around a little bit, but he's got some character.

1:38:22Is that what I'm hearing? Yeah. Oh, he's a worker. In fact, he's got some money saved maybe in a Roth IRA, and he's responsible, but I just hate seeing him in that junky car. When you say junky car, what is that? Because maybe what's junky to you is just a cash car that he likes to drive because he doesn't care about cars and car payments. Oh, that's for sure. He's kind of a, you know, very frugal, I guess. Oh, good. And he has no debt? No debt. Well, what's the car? Answer her question. Do you know what it is? It's a 2007 Honda Fit. okay i you know what i'll be honest with you mary i think that he has different values than you do possibly and if you tell me that this guy is debt free he's got some money saved in a roth ira he's studying to be an emt and he has a older car with no payments i'm hooping and hollering for him i'm like way to go good job so no no yeah i wouldn't now now let let me flip it real quick um let's say, I don't know your financial situation, Mary, let's pretend that, I mean, you did say you're still working.

1:39:36Let's say you've got a couple million bucks. You've got your teacher's pension. You're going to retire. No problem. And you were thinking of getting a new car. And that is the case. Okay. And you were thinking of getting a new car anyway that you're paying cash for. And you're like, Hey, what do you drive currently? What would be the car that you're giving him? It's a 2013 Toyota. And no payments, right? No, it's paid for. I have no debt. My children have no debt because that's how we roll. So if you wanted to offer it to them and say, hey, I'm getting a new car. Would you like to have this? I'd love to give it to you as a gift.

1:40:14I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But if you couch it in, you need this car. I mean, like if the spirit around it is you're struggling, you need this gift. Please, for the love of God, take this car. That might not feel great. but if you really are just looking to be generous and you want to offer it to him I don't think there's anything wrong with that I love this line of questioning that makes sense I like how you're digging partner but I now I'm gonna dig you dig it I thought I heard you say multiple kids is that true two sons yes two boys is this kid the one we're talking about 30 old is he the youngest no he's the older one okay I'm just gonna tell you as a as a father of multiple kids.

1:40:56You know where I'm going here? If you do one, you got to do the other. I just think there's weird. I think there's, I'm not, no, I'm not that guy. I'm not one that says you have to do for one that you do for the other. I'm not, I'm not a hard line on that, but I am acknowledging here and I'm bringing it up for sake of conversation because you've met the financial test. Jay did a fabulous job checking on all that. And my initial answer was no, because he didn't ask for it. And he's finding his way. But now I'm going to question the psychology here. If you do this, and then the younger son, I just think you have to think about that.

1:41:36I'm not even going to say what you should do, because I think you're a wise woman. I'm just going to bring that up. And I'm not going to say that you got to do for the youngest what you do for the oldest. And I love your mom heart. I totally feel all of this. That's why I'm bringing that part up. I'm not even going to say what the position is. Well, then let's ask, what do you think would happen with the youngest son if you gave the oldest son your 2013 paid-for-car? Well, I was trying to be brief, so there's even more to it. So I've given both my kids, they've been given all their cars. And just so you know, I'm a widow.

1:42:12My husband died 10 years ago. And I'm proud of both my sons. that both went to college and graduated. They're hard workers. They have no debt. So my one son has, the younger son has my newer old car, right? And the older son has the older hoopie. Oh, okay. So this is just part of the routine. Oh, well, then I change it. I wish, okay, Mary, you're so sweet. Do it. I didn't, we didn't know all this. I appreciate you wanting to be brief, but this is the background that we need. And I think with all this, I'm changing my entire position and go, Mary, you can give him the car today if he wants. Yeah, and then in seven years when you buy a new car, you'll give the old one to the other side.

1:42:51I feel like these boys are blessed. Yeah. And you're a good mom. You're a great mom. My goodness, Mary. Well, I worry about him. And like Jay said, I really take what he says to heart that when the kids need help, they can need help when they're younger. And I think, well, is that like this? Giving them a car? I mean, I guess it would... I do think there's a statute of limitations and I don't know what it is. Yeah. I do think it's like, I'm not sure I'm giving them another one after 30. I mean, this is, you've been very generous, but I don't know that I keep this up the rest of your life. Maybe, but if they're responsible, I can totally see, like as a parent, I could totally see being done with something and being like, well, maybe I'll just give it over.

1:43:38I don't know. At some point I want to go, mom, you're the best. I should probably pay for my next car cash like an adult, but there's nothing wrong here. No, there's nothing wrong here. There's nothing wrong. You said none of them are knuckleheads. None of them are, you know, entitled. That's all we were trying to sniff out. I just hope my kids aren't listening to this show because I'll tell you who's not getting a car from me. Who? I'm getting them their initial. Oh, okay. You feeling? Okay. I thought you were going to say something. Can I kick your brain one more time? Yes, real quick. We got about a minute.

1:44:08Go ahead. Okay. So thank God my husband left us well off, and I've got a pretty good net worth, being north of a couple million. Good. And I'm like one of these people, too. I've just worked my whole life. I'm having a hard time buying a new car, feeling like, oh, my God, when can you afford to buy a different car? I'm so cheap. When you have your net worth. Yeah, you can afford to buy one today. And I probably wouldn't spend more than, you know, if it makes you feel better, no more than half of what your teacher's salary is a year. That's what I'm saying. Your teacher's salary is basically whatever Mary wants to do.

1:44:48You're so set. You know what I would do if I were you, Mary? You're so good. What? Get yourself a fun car. Get something nice, red. Like something fun. Like what's fun for you? Even if it's an old classic. I was thinking of a Toyota Prius. Wouldn't that be fun? They're cute, the new ones. If you say so, Mary, get into it. It's your money, Mary. If you think the Prius is fun, knock yourself out. Send us a picture of you getting inside. That'll be fun. Oh, my God. You're the best. Mary, do it. You've earned it. You have.

1:45:32Buying and selling a home is a big deal. and you want an expert in your corner fighting for you to get the right deal at the right price. That's why we only recommend Ramsey Trusted Real Estate Agents. They're hand-picked pros who know their stuff, listen to your needs, and have your back from the first call all the way to closing day. To find a Ramsey Trusted Agent near you, visit RamseySolutions.com slash agent. RamseySolutions.com slash agent.

1:46:16Our question of the day is brought to you by Why Refi. If your private student loans are in default, it can feel like the end of the road, but Why Refi helps you find a way forward with a low fixed rate payment plan that fits your life. Go to whyrefi.com slash Ramsey. that's the letter y r e f y dot com slash ramsey not available in all states that's right today's question comes from mary another mary i've we've had three marys today is that right one in the lobby one on the line and now one in the words there a song mary mary or something i was thinking miss mary mack mack mack all dressed in black yeah all right anyway today's question our why refi question of the day comes from mary in north carolina she says i'm struggling with a question about the stereotypical golden handcuffs.

1:47:03My job pays well, but to be honest, I'm not motivated to be there anymore, Ken. I struggle with a lack of purpose, Ken. I'm about four years away from retirement. And because of your advice, I do have a six to eight month emergency fund. I do have over 1 million in retirement funds. And I do have a paid off home. Way to go, Mary. Do I push through the last few years to keep stockpiling money? or should I look, Ken, for another job that will certainly pay less but enjoy more? I would go with look for another job that you enjoy more, but let's not assume. Let's not only look at something that pays less.

1:47:45In other words, it sounds like she has an idea here. And so before she locks in on the, well, I'm going to enjoy it a whole lot more, but it's going to pay a whole lot less. Let's just see, can we have good pay and good enjoyment? Let's at least exhaust all options. And, you know, listen, I've always taken this position. And Dave doesn't like it sometimes. He'll always go, well, if you can find just as much money. And look, the data bears itself out. You know, money is not what drives meaning. And in this case, if you can't find something that pays similar, I would be fine with her doing this.

1:48:23I absolutely would because of the stage of life that she's in. She's fine financially. She didn't say she's going to stop working. Right. So, yeah, I think that when someone presents like this, I'm never, ever, ever going to choose money over meaning. I want to pull that thread more because obviously she's, I mean, she's set, right? She's got the paid off home. She's got the nice retirement. She's got everything, six months of emergency, all that. At what point can one make that transition in your mind of, yeah, I'm making a ton of money, but it's just not, it's not hitting right for me, Ken. And at what point can that person kind of do what you said and seek out the meaning, even if the money doesn't?

1:49:09High level, the answer is what we teach when you have financial peace. In other words, when you live like no one else, later you can live and give like no one else. One of the things we don't talk a lot about on this show, probably enough, and I'll say this and indict myself on this, no one else. But live like no one else is the ability to walk away from a job like this that Mary has and take a job that pays less. I agree. But still have plenty of margin in her life. And she's now choosing to work for contribution. Yeah. And I think that's the answer. And that's usually the catalyst. When you have enough peace, or we could call it margin, when you have enough peace and space in your life to make a decision like that, and it is overwhelmingly good for your soul because you have enough.

1:49:59That you can do that. And, you know, again, and I'll tie this into the big picture on money. The fourth largest group of net worth millionaires in a Ramsey study, the 10 ,000 plus millionaires, that was behind Dave's book, Baby Steps Millionaires, were teachers. So these teachers aren't making a ton of money, but they're making enough money based on the lifestyle that they have chosen to live. And they're doing the right things with the margin they do have. So in Mary's case, I'm all for it. And so the answer is when you have peace, you can dial back, you can downshift. Yeah. I think that's hard for people to...

1:50:42It is until you work a job like Mary does and she goes, I honestly... I hate it. Yeah. Four more years of this. Yeah. Four more years when I don't need to. Right. Yank it any younger. When I don't want to. I'll draw a really... Okay. I'm glad you brought this up. Last thing on this, we'll move on. I want to draw the most extreme example of this I can. For those of you who are going, I don't know, Ken, that sounds a little fluffy. It's not fluffy. One of the forms of torture we've seen throughout history is meaningless work. And we saw this in World War II, where in prison camps, prisoners would move one pile of rocks from one side of the prison yard to the other.

1:51:25And if you're not familiar with that concept, read Viktor Frankl's work, In Search of Meaning. And the idea here is that that was a form of torture to do work that absolutely had no redemptive value. What's the purpose? It's hard, painful, and that is to break down the soul, not the mind. And the most tortuous thing you can do to somebody is to remove their meaning. So I'm not trying to be dramatic here. I'm just simply saying that's why I teach what I teach. If anybody's ever wondering why, as Ken, talk about purpose and doing what you're wired to do, because I do believe that we are souls and we have spirits and the spirit leaves the body when it doesn't do what Ephesians 2.10 says, which is that we are created for good works.

1:52:13And so that would be my last statement on that. Man, I like when I say something that gets this King Coleman out, because this guy right here, he's got a lot to say. Well, I think if you wonder why someone feels, you know, meaningless and depressed at work, it's because they're doing something that they got no enjoyment. Now there is a, I mean, I hear the listener right now where it's like, well, but you guys would tell a stay at home mom who wants to stay home that maybe it's a good idea for her to work while she's in debt, right? Like there's a line where we're saying to kind of bite The bullet, a short-term sacrifice for long-term gain.

1:52:47So there is a time and there is a short time period where it can be worth that sacrifice because you know it's not indefinite, right? Well, let me just step into your example. A stay-at-home mom working part-time to help pay off debt is about as meaningful and purposeful work there is. And that's why we do it. That doesn't mean she's called to do part-time job. Sure. She's called to be a stay-at-home mom. and there are viral clips on Instagram of me on this show saying loud and clear, there's not a greater calling in the world than a stay-at-home mom. I am all for that. And that is as important as a job as there is on the planet.

1:53:28Now, let me also say, because shockingly, that'll go viral. People go, way to go, Ken, thank you. And then working women will come in there and attack me. My mom was a working mother. My wife, Stacey, worked for half of our kids' lives. I'm for working women outside the home, too. So let's just everybody relax. But to your point, the greater point is, why am I working? Right. And if you are only working to pay off debt, that's purpose. We listen to debt-free screams all the time. But there's a deeper purpose behind that. They're not just working to pay off debt. They're working because they see a vision.

1:54:09Well, but the payoff debt to then live like no one else. But my point is, is that there is purpose in a short term goal in work. But there's also great purpose in going, hey, I don't have to work anymore, but I want to make a contribution. And there's two types. There's two results from work. OK, one is provision to take care of me, to take care of my family, to take care of my loved ones, to take care of my responsibilities, whatever those are, the bills. And then there's contribution. And in our world, we don't teach the contribution. We teach provision, provision, provision. And in a Christian worldview, which I unashamedly hold, I don't think you can be a whole person.

1:54:53I don't think you can have a truly purposeful, meaningful sense of self if you don't do some type of work, even in retirement. I feel that. I agree wholeheartedly. And I'm okay with everybody going, by the way, if I want to retire and walk away, Ken, is that okay? I go, sure. I, for one, am not going to do that. But you're going to do something. You're going to volunteer. You're going to help out with the grandkids. I'm going to do something. Girl Scouts, you're going to do something. Well, the Girl Scouts will keep me away and I appreciate that. I'm not talking about you. I know. I couldn't resist.

1:55:22You left it right there for me. But yeah, I think that we are made to work and that doesn't mean made to break our backs when we're 85, but I do think make a contribution as long as you can. That's a pretty meaningful life. So great question there, Mary. Really fun stuff. You took me down the rabbit hole. I did. I threw you the pitch and you But a worthy conversation for all of you to say, hey, what do I want my life to look like after I've lived like no one else?

1:56:23Our scripture of the day comes from Psalm 1191966. Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands. And our quote today, Simon Sinek. Experts are the ones who think they know everything. Geniuses are the ones who know they don't. Classic Simon. Little wordplay. I like that. Simon can spin anything and sound brilliant. Yeah, he can. The guy flips all these phrases. I love Simon. Brian is up in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Just fun. What famous show was headquartered in Scranton? I was already playing the theme song in my mind, but I was like, this is so like. The office. Yeah. Fantastic.

1:57:03Poor people at Scranton. They can't get past it. Let's go to Brian. Brian, how can we help? We love not being able to get past. Do you? So it's not like an eye rolling thing when idiots like me bring it up. No, you love it. No, we love it. Actually, my daughter learned the theme song on the piano for my birthday and played it for me and I cried. That's really sweet, Brian. Thank you for sharing that. That's so fun. Well, we're here for you today. How can we help? All right. So my wife and I have had a couple large expenses come up this year that we've dipped into the emergency fund for a sewer line backing up, a refrigerator died.

1:57:42So as we've been like replenishing our emergency fund, I just feel like it's taking quite a long time. and we haven't been like we haven't gone back to like the baby step three type intensity like no vacations no eating out like we've kind of continued our baby step four five and six life and uh I just wondered if if that's okay that we that we didn't revert back to like bare bones scorched earth I think it depends on what's left in the emergency fund are you at like the three you were at the six-month point and now you're at the three-month point or are you like down to like the one month point?

1:58:21We, uh, after the two major expenses, which were earlier this year, um, we went down to probably like two months and we're, you know, we're, we're replenishing it for sure. It's, it's back up there, but we've always kind of written, been comfortable with, uh, with a three month emergency fund. Um, just, just cause I'm, I've been so, I'm always eager to, you know, be investing and, and, you know, saving up for the next kid's car, our car, you know, something like that. So yeah. How far away are you? Our marriage we've been comfortable with three months. How far away are you? You said you were down to two months, so you only got a month to replenish.

1:59:02Uh, yeah. Well, I'll put it this way. Our, our emergency fund, we let ride at about$11 ,000. It went down to three or four, I'd say. And we're back up to close to nine. Can you not do this in one month next month? Can you just not pop$2 ,000 in there next month? We might be able to, but like other things have come up, non-emergency things that have kind of taken away from replenishing it quicker. Like what? Regular car repairs. um yeah uh like when whatever a vehicle goes into the shop it seems to be you know hundreds more than we expect we we pay it we pay it with cash and yeah what do you make what's your monthly income between you and your wife uh let's see i'm uh drawing a blank it's 90 000 a year before taxes okay uh i want you to get this saved up sooner than later um for two reasons one um you only had three months to begin with.

2:00:03So let's, let's hurry up and get that stacked back up. Two is, do you both work or is it just you? Uh, she has a couple side gigs that maybe bring in $500 a month on a good month. So then, yeah, that's, it's made it, she homeschools our kids. So it's mainly me working outside the home. Yeah. I want you to, I do, I want you to going back to your initial question of, can we go a little bit slower at our five, six, seven, four, five, six pace or do we need to go with intensity? Because you're the only one working, bringing in a livable wage. And because it was only three months to begin with, I would get intense on this and get it stacked up because every moment that you don't, you are in a position of vulnerability.

2:00:45Yeah. Final answer. I agree with Jade and I'll just give you a personal answer. When I have to touch the emergency fund, it irritates me to the nth degree. And Stacey Coleman will tell you, it is it is it's it's gazelle yeah it's like and i'm you know i mean it's are is that ladies point yes as soon as we touch it the next month i'm trying to get it back um instantly i just there's a certain thing i got so in love with that concept when we first heard it of the emergency fund that um there's a it just it feels great having that there and i'm talking like even if It's like, and I try to never touch it.

2:01:28That's the other thing. We are always, I'll manipulate the monthly spending. Yeah. To try to not, you would think the emergency fund wasn't there. That's how much I like the emergency fund. We have an emergency fund for the, the emergency fund is in a whole different high yield. Oh, ours too. That's like no one ever, it's like a vault, Scrooge McDoug vault. Mine takes 24 hours to get it. Yeah, that's right. And then there's the other - It ain't easy to get it. Yeah. You know? You got a chisel to get to it. And by the way, I'm not saying you shouldn't use it, but I'm at a stage of life where when we have the emergency, we're mostly taking care of that.

2:02:03But I'm telling you, I don't like to touch the emergency fund. So my answer is always going to be, you better get Gazelle to fill it back up. Fill it back up. That's about sleep. I agree. I agree. I sleep better knowing that that emergency fund is... If we had to tap into three quarters of our emergency fund for emergencies, I would be a wreck today. I promise you. I'd be in my kid's room selling stuff. they wouldn't know what was going on, you know? Like, it'd be like, hey, we have a full emergency here. What's the emergency? The emergency fund needs to be replenished. Yeah, we're all going to work.

2:02:36Everybody in this house is getting a job. I mean, it's a little extreme, but it pays off. Well, it's crazy to think, you know, well, I can't, I'm launching into stories. Never mind. Yeah, I took too much time on that one, but that's how I am. Let's go to Amy in Phoenix. Amy, how can we help? Hey there, guys. Thanks for taking my call. You bet. What's up? It's almost along the same line here. So I am a solo parent, and I'm a sandwich generation. I have a nine-year-old and then my retired mother who lives with me, and everyone depends upon me for their lives. I'm very careful with insurance. I always have life insurance, and I actually just got a million-dollar term with Xander.

2:03:25Great. I am canceling my universal whole life that really isn't doing much for me. And I also have a whole life policy I took out on my daughter because I was using that as like an investment. But I also have learned it's not an investment. But I thought, okay, hey, it just goes towards her education, right? I've decided that right now I think what is going to help our family out more is that I make sure everyone's provided for. because education can be sorted out down the line. And we would be going to community colleges. We live in a really good area where we could drive to community college and have great education.

2:04:08So my emergency savings, okay, so I'm zero debt. I'm 50. I have$20 ,000 in my emergency fund. I am making more money now than I have ever in my life. How much? And I have, this year I'm at 122. All right. Way to go, way to go, mama. And 2026, I should net 190, guys. Fantastic. Okay, we got about one minute. So get to your question. Yeah. So should I get the refund I'm getting back from the whole life is going to be around$13 ,000. Okay. Should I fund my emergency fund to get it up to the$50 ,000 that it should be at? Should I use that towards the down payment of a house that we're not in yet? or should I just max out my Roth IRA for 2025 and 2026 using that money?

2:05:00The$50 ,000, is that three months or six months of expenses? That's six months. Knowing that you want to buy a house, I'd be okay with you doing three months and then hitting the ground running on the down payment. I'd be okay with that. And then once you get the house, if you want to stack it up to six, I'm okay with that. Okay. That's where I was at where I don't know. I just know that if anything happens to me, these people have to be provided for. You've done it. It takes a while. It takes a while for insurance to kick in. It could be delayed up to two to three months before they pay out. I've seen this happen with my father.

2:05:38We've had a lot of death in our family. That's true, but you'll also have$50 ,000 sitting there, which will be something in the interim. You've done a great job. I'm with Jade. I think she gave you the right advice. Move forward on it. You've done a great job. Thank you for the call. Remember, folks, there's ultimately only one way to financial peace and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus.