Small Financial Wins Lead To Big Financial Impact

13:10Dr. John Delony:Whatever they got to do. Well, yeah, we've lived together for a long time, you know. And, you know, it's just paying the rent. You know, before we were splitting it, splitting the bills, and now I'm covering the whole thing while he's looking for another job. In the meantime, he's been selling his things, but, you know. Yeah, let me say it like this. Your choice to cover for his expenses is a choice to delay going to nursing school. It's just that simple because you don't have the money. and a bank makes money by loaning you money and the banks have looked at you and said for whatever reason we don't feel comfortable giving you this money either for because you're a loan risk doesn't sound like you are or we don't think that the product that you're want to want to buy with this borrowed money which in your case is a degree uh we don't feel safe giving you that money and so you don't have it and so it's it's i hate to it's a math problem and i think you can get it

14:15Rachel Cruze:you have five you have eight you have five months so you got to figure out hey what does valerie have to do for valerie in the next five months to get this eight grand and it's a year-long program i wonder if you call the admissions office and just say hey can i can i pay the first semester up front and then pay the second half you know what i mean where you can kind of delay a payment or two. But we talk to people all the time, Valerie, and they're hustling. They're doing dog walking. They're cleaning houses. They're driving Uber Eats. And they're making$1 ,000 to$2 ,000 on side hustles. So that's what I would be doing, Valerie, every night after I leave my full-time job.

14:53Rachel Cruze:Because what are you making in your job right now? How much are you bringing home a month?

14:58Dr. John Delony:I make$24 an hour, which is about like after taxes, It's like$750 a week.

15:05Rachel Cruze:Okay. Well, you got to figure out, number one, how you're going to pay rent. But number two, what you're going to do and the boundaries you're going to make with the boyfriend, that you're not going to be supporting him this whole time because you guys aren't married. I understand you guys are in a living situation. You have to pay the rent. But, girl, I would figure out, yeah, how am I going to make this cash? And I would be working nights and weekends to figure it out.

15:25Dr. John Delony:Please don't take a loan out, though, please.

15:27Rachel Cruze:Let's go to Dan in Charlotte. Hi, Dan. Dan. Hi there.

15:32Dr. John Delony:How are you guys doing?

15:32Rachel Cruze:Hi, we're doing great. How can we help? Great.

15:35Dr. John Delony:I've got a quick question for you guys. So I'm 24, making around$80 ,000 a year, thinking about buying a$7 ,000 toy. So right now I drive an older car. It's an old Corolla with a little bit over 100 ,000 miles on it. Oh, yeah. Just getting started. Just getting started, Dan. That's right. That's right. But thinking about adding a second one to the fleet, and this would, funny enough, be a toy that is more expensive than my current car, but it would cost me about$7 ,000. And I'm wondering, A, if that's a wise decision to spend that much money on a toy at this phase of life, and B, just kind of like the practicality of owning two cars at 24-cuma.

16:18Dr. John Delony:What's the toy? It's a Miata, Mazda Miata. That's not a toy, Dan. That's a statement.

16:28Dr. John Delony:That's an identity, brother. I agree with you, John. You're taking on an identity.

16:32Rachel Cruze:You're taking on an identity. Okay. Oh, man. Dan, do you have any debt? Do you have consumer debt?

16:38Dr. John Delony:No, ma 'am.

16:39Rachel Cruze:No. Do you have savings?

16:42Dr. John Delony:Yeah. I've got about$22 ,000 saved in a brokerage just in money market mutual funds. Oh, good for you. Would you take the$7 ,000 out of that to buy it?

16:54Rachel Cruze:And your Corolla, how much is it worth?

16:56Dr. John Delony:a million dollars because it will never stop running ever that that's exactly honestly you know i i have some co-workers say i should i should drive them to the ground but i think i'd be 44 if i did that bro i've been down that road i tried to outlast a corolla and i gave up it

17:13Rachel Cruze:will outlast you it's an apocalypse vehicle it'll never stop running outlast you so it's what if you sold it though what five five thousand seven thousand yeah maybe four yes okay so the things I'm looking for, the big check marks of, can you just go spend money? Number one, do you have it? Number two, financially, are you in a place that that money would be better spent in the present, meaning like getting you ahead financially, which would be to pay off debt or have an emergency fund? You have those, so check, check. And then anything with motors and wheels, we don't want the value of those to be more than half of your annual income, but you're going to be way under that, make an 80.

17:53Rachel Cruze:So, yeah, Dan, I think the new identity is Dan in a Miata.

17:57Dr. John Delony:Oh, Dan in a Miata.

17:58Rachel Cruze:Is that the little two-seater convertible?

18:01Dr. John Delony:Yes. That's right. Yeah, a little tiny car. The noise it makes is eat and eat. Yeah, so we've got workday Dan, and then we've got weekend Dan. The thing you have to factor in, brother, is you have to factor in, you'll have two registrations, two tanks of gas, two, um, like you'll have to insure this car too. So it's not just a matter of a 7 ,000 and I would get a dollar amount on what is your monthly expenses. Interestingly enough, I kept our Corolla, like my wife bought a Corolla. That was the first car to college. We had it for years and I just kept it in the driveway as a third car for us. And it was when I did the math on, it was costing me about 75 bucks a month just to sit there.

18:46Dr. John Delony:And that's when I sold it because between like, if I took the registration and the insurance for the year and all that, and I divided it by 12, I got about 75 bucks a month. And that was a long time ago. So you may be up to 100, 125 bucks a month, um, just in the privilege of keeping the, the, your identity car parked in the driveway. Right. So if that's worth it to you, cool, but you can afford it.

19:07Rachel Cruze:Yeah. Uh, Dan, what are you doing on, uh, April 7th? Do you know?

19:13Dr. John Delony:April 7th. Yeah. Uh, I don't think I have anything planned.

19:17Rachel Cruze:Well, maybe you can come to the Ramsey Show Live. Ken Coleman, George Campbell, and I are going to be in Charlotte then. So if you hold on the line, Christian's going to pick up. We're going to give you two tickets. You can, yeah. And come hang out with us in the Miata. And if you come and you bring that Miata, wave your hand in the audience. Because it's a smaller audience on these shows.

19:36Dr. John Delony:You're going to have to get your other, the person who takes the other tickets is going to have to hold their breath in that tiny little car. I know.

19:40Rachel Cruze:We'll come out and get a picture with it. So, yeah. hopefully Dan you can join us uh yeah in Charlotte for the Rams show live coming up

20:03Dr. John Delony:hey what's up guys it's Jade listen my husband and I drive used vehicles and we really do plan on keeping those running for a long time. So we trust Christian Brothers Automotive to take care of them. Their team is honest. Their shops are super clean. And what I love is they don't try to upsell us on things that we don't need. I personally feel really confident walking into Christian Brothers because I know that no one's gonna try to take advantage of me or scare me into unneeded repairs. Christian Brothers gets it. So schedule a service today at cbac.com slash Ramsey and get 10 % off your visit.

20:36Dr. John Delony:That's up to a$250 value. See stores for details.

20:54Rachel Cruze:So we just mentioned that we are heading to Charlotte for the Ramsey show live. It is going on tour. The show is, and we're also going to be in Denver, Phoenix, and Anaheim. So if you have not come, we went to Chicago back in the fall and Orlando and did some live tapings.

21:13Dr. John Delony:So fun, dude. Ramsey's show.

21:15Rachel Cruze:I know. How was it for you? Because we weren't at the same city.

21:17Dr. John Delony:We were in the raddest place. It was like an old punk rock club. When I walked to the door, I just started smiling. I was like, this feels like home for me. This is good. But yeah, dude, it was awesome. And we had a rad, death-free scream. We had one woman who came up and was like, I'm getting laid off tomorrow. What do I do? It was a real heavy emotional moment. Everyone was open, honest. It was just a great time to see fans live. And they got to ask questions of us personally. So it was a blast.

21:44Rachel Cruze:Yeah. So we take the questions that we take on this show, but it's going to be live in a room. And there's smaller venues, which is fun. So we're able to hang out with the audience some. I don't know. It's just a really enjoyable experience doing the show live with people, but also them participating in it. There was a couple when we were in Chicago, cute young couple. and they had this like big debate because she spent so much on Amazon and he, but they're like debt free and all of this. So there was like a big like audience poll. The whole audience is with you. Oh, we're like back and forth.

22:12Rachel Cruze:And of course, George and I kind of disagree because George is more on his side of like saving. And I'm like, girl, you go spend because you guys have worked hard and you can, you can.

22:20Dr. John Delony:We had somebody in Orlando that would answer before we did. And they were like, no. I mean, they didn't drink the Ramsey Kool-Aid. They somehow got the Ramsey cocaine and they were snorting off the counter. and we were disagreeing with her. We were like, hey, we're up here. It was awesome. It was awesome. So good.

22:38Rachel Cruze:So fun. So if you want some tickets, go to RamseySolutions.com slash events or click the link in the show notes if you're listening on podcast or watching YouTube. Again, Charlotte, Denver, Phoenix, and Anaheim. We are heading to you in just a couple of weeks. So we'll be on the road soon. So fun. All right, let's go to Rapid City and Mike is on the line. Hi, Mike. Mike.

23:00Dr. John Delony:Rachel, John, it's so awesome to be talking to you guys. I feel like I'm in such good hands right now. I can't even tell you. John, I have to say something. I thought I was the only person that still said rad. No way, dude. No way. That's rad. Mike, Mike, Mike. I'm in. I'm in. and Rachel I was watching your dad when you were like I was listening to your dad when you were like 15 years old and oh my gosh how far you have come and what you have done with your life and the books it is just amazing to me and to be talking to you right now is such an honor thank you Mike that is so kind I'm gonna get to the point here wait hold on hold on Mike hold on Mike I just I've got to say, he called out what amazing things you've done with your life.

23:51Dr. John Delony:And for me, I got, I say rad too. Good, Mike. No comparison. Thanks for kicking me while I'm down, brother. Let me buddy your bread, John. You have questions. You ask questions. You show such insight that your instincts are supernatural, my friend. You're the nicest guy ever. You're the nicest guy.

24:12Rachel Cruze:Thank you, Mike. Just the encouragement we needed.

24:15Dr. John Delony:You guys deserve it. You're the A team. Honestly, I love you guys. Thank you. And when Dave decides to quit working, which, you know, that'll never happen, this organization is in great hands with you all, and I'm really happy for that. Thank you, homie.

24:29Rachel Cruze:So kind. Okay, how can we help, Mike? How can we help you? You've helped us.

24:33Dr. John Delony:So my wife and I have been married about 15 years, and a couple years into the marriage, I found out that she had racked up like$9 ,000 in secret debt behind my back. And, you know, back in those days, we were pretty broke. I mean, we were making, we had, we had baby twin girls and we were making under$40 ,000 a year. And I mean, it almost broke our marriage early on. And I buckled down and in about two years or so, I got it paid off. But ever since then, we have had our finances separated. And my goal for my conversation with you guys today is to join our finances again because it's the right thing to do.

25:23Dr. John Delony:And the goal is to really focus on our girls' college savings fund. I've got all of the steps done except for number five and number seven. And I really want to focus on number five right now. And that's kind of like how I want to bring her in on this.

25:44Rachel Cruze:Yeah.

25:45Dr. John Delony:I'm really worried that she's not going to want to.

25:48Rachel Cruze:Okay. So why would she not want to? And have you guys talked about this?

25:54Dr. John Delony:No, I'm scared, honestly. I mean, it's been peace since then, right? Yeah, but it was an arms agreement. It's not real peace, right? It's like you'll have a treaty signed, but y 'all are still staring at each other from the opposite sides of the table. Right? You get what I'm saying? Yeah. I mean, I see that. I mean, I feel that. I feel some resentment because, you know, I feel like she's the spender and I'm the saver. Well, hold on. That's my big question is you have a lived experience where she, we call it financial infidelity. She cheated on you with her money, right? Behind your back. Yeah.

26:37Dr. John Delony:And that was 13 years ago. And so my question for you is, is your fear that she's going to drain the accounts and do stuff behind your back? Is that a real ongoing fear? It is. Because she'll spend her account down to nothing on a monthly basis. And when she sees$35 ,000,$40 ,000 in a checking account, I'm afraid what she's going to do with it. Okay, that's the real issue. The real issue is not the combining of the checking accounts, which I wholeheartedly with all my being indoors. The real issue is you want to save for your daughter's college, and you have an obligation in the middle of your chest to help your daughters out, and you watch your wife burn the thing down, and what you're trying to do is backdoor that conversation with let's just join our money.

27:36Dr. John Delony:and the real conversation is you have a picture about what you want your daughter's life to be when they walk out your door at 18 and your wife has a different picture and y 'all got to align those who what do i say what are the magic words how do i broach this i mean i i it's going to be very defensive the the the most effective path i've seen can i give it to you real quick Let's hear it. Here's what's going on. Here's the story that I am making up about what's going on. Here's how I feel about that story. Here's what I would love to happen next. That sounds very, very, very chill. It doesn't sound like that would start a fight.

28:23Dr. John Delony:No, because what most people do in your situation, myself included, right, I have to really fight this is to sit down and say, you spend all your money and I'm trying to save for the kids college. We have to do a better job of fill in the blank, fill in the blank, fill in the blank. And when you start conversations with you don't and you never, and I'm doing all of this, then what you do is you walk up and you throw a grenade at somebody and they're either going to throw a grenade right back at you or they're going to run. They're going to fight or flee. That's the only way you can protect yourself.

28:52Dr. John Delony:When you come down and say, Hey, I've made up a story about you and the story I've made up, and that's you owning what's going on inside your spirit. I've made up a story about you that you don't care about the kids going to college, that you'd rather have a bunch of shiny toys or objects or whatever she's buying. And that makes me feel alone in this marriage. And that makes me feel scared to death for what our daughters are going to do. I would love it if we could get on the same page and create a plan together so that our daughters have their college taken care of or 50%, whatever you all agree on.

29:26Dr. John Delony:you know john as i'm talking to you about this i'm realizing that it's really not the money because i have the money i make i make 200 grand a year plus and uh i i can i can float this i can i can do it on my own but i you know my my place in my marriage with my wife right now is better than it ever has been and i just feel like this is a missing link that it's just not right it doesn't sit with me. And I want, I want us to be a unit and I want to trust her.

29:56Rachel Cruze:And I think all of that, Mike, like what you just said.

29:59Dr. John Delony:Say that to her.

30:00Rachel Cruze:Say that to her. Because the truth is, and you're feeling this, is when there's a part of your marriage that you're not engaged in and you guys are living in two separate lives and you just sweep it under the rug because it's just easier. The actual intimacy is built when you, when you lift up the rug and you deal with the stuff you've been sweeping under for 13 years, you guys actually are going to have a better marriage on the other end. Yeah, it might get a little spicier and there in some of the conversations, but push through those because you guys have created good habits to this point. And so just apply those to these money conversations, but everything you just said to us, Mike, say to her.

30:44Dr. John Delony:I love entrepreneurs. Don't forget guys, I started my company on a card table myself, so I know what it's like to have people counting on you, your team, your family, not to mention your customers. And when you're the one signing the paychecks, you can't afford to fly blind. But I'll be honest, early on, one thing that nearly sunk us was wasting time with spreadsheets that didn't add up because business units didn't talk to each other. I finally told my team, just fix it. And they did. We got NetSuite. That was years ago, and we've never looked back. See, NetSuite isn't just for tech giants. It's built for growing businesses like yours.

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32:17Rachel Cruze:Up next is Victoria in Philadelphia. Hi, Victoria. Welcome to the show. Hi, thank you. So my question is, I'm in baby steps too, and I wanted to know, is it okay for me to spend beyond just the four walls of necessities to spend quality time or make memories with a family member who is terminally ill. Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry. Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, you know, there's not a right or wrong, I would say, in the moral code of life of how to do your money. There's a plan at which will get you out of debt faster and a plan that won't, but you get to make the decision within that plan of, you know, how intense you want to be.

33:07Rachel Cruze:Is there a, I always, I always hate to ask this.

33:10Dr. John Delony:Who's the person? What's going on?

33:13Rachel Cruze:So it's, it's my mom. She is in her mid seventies and she has dementia. She's in about the middle stages. So, you know, I can't definitively say that she won't be able to go have lunch with me

33:27Dr. John Delony:or go get her nails done in a year. But I can say that the window for us to be able to do that is getting smaller. Yeah. And I do want to spend time with her. And she enjoys doing those things and she enjoys going shopping. But I don't feel comfortable with her paying for it either. Sure. Does she enjoy those things specifically or does she enjoy being with her daughter? She enjoys being with me. She does. So she's also lost her driving privileges a couple of months ago. And so I know getting out of the house and doing things, which typically involves spending money, are important to her and make her feel more like, quote, normal.

34:15Dr. John Delony:Sure. Well, and that's what I was wondering is there's a difference between we're going to get a cup of coffee and we're going to spend a couple hours together, like doing whatever. I'm gonna send you a bunch of questions for humans Dex just as my gift to you like we're gonna just get to Know each other again, and we're gonna talk and we're gonna tell old stories look at photo albums, whatever Are there things you can do that are less expensive? Because I'm a hundred percent with you. I would spend every moment I got with my mom Every moment that I could I get that But you can take her to do a bunch of really fancy expensive things and And or you can spend quality time with her.

34:54Dr. John Delony:And I guess what I'm trying to say is you don't have to do either or. No time with mom. I'm on this baby step two journey. I'm trying to get out of debt. And or I need to we got to go get your nails done, buy a new dress every week. We got to go out to fancy dinners. We got to do expensive stuff. Is there ways y 'all can spend amazing quality and rich time together that doesn't require spending a whole bunch of money? And it just takes some creativity on your part. yeah and i do think we i try to find the balance now but i am feeling sort of morally again i guess

35:29Rachel Cruze:i shouldn't use morally but i'm feeling conflicted between my wanting to dedicate myself wholeheartedly to baby step two but also wanting to do things with my mom that i know she won't be able to do

35:42Dr. John Delony:in the future. Is that, can I ask you a real hard question? Sure. Is that your pain or is that hers? It's mine. She's not really aware of all of the ramifications. Okay. So the reason I'm asking is if it's inside your chest, I want you to spend some time grieving it because it's less about, I think what you're grieving and tell me if I'm wrong, what you're grieving is not that we only have three or four times we can go get her nails, our nails done together. It's that in 10 years, I won't be able to do this with her anymore. In four years, I won't be able to do this anymore. Right? So the grief is probably right.

36:35Dr. John Delony:The grief is less on the the thing and more on, oh, this, this relationship that I've had with this woman for seven, for, for your whole life is coming to an end. It's going to become a new relationship. Yes, it probably is that. Okay. What I want you to do is don't try to bury that in expenses and don't try to bury that in shiny things. I want you to experience that as the grief that it is. That's heartbreaking. That's sad.

37:07right? Okay.

37:09Dr. John Delony:I could try. Well, and here's the magic is grief demands a witness. You have to have a couple of people that are not your mom that you can share how heartbreaking this is. You have to have a couple of friends that you can talk to about this. I would love for you to write your mom a letter and read it to her. I have something I want to tell you. You did a great job. You've been an amazing mom to me. And I want, I would rather, instead of, I don't, I want to try to cram as many nail sessions in. And by the way, those are important. Take your mom and get her nails done. That's amazing. I want there to be nothing left unsaid.

37:50Dr. John Delony:You get what I mean there?

37:51Rachel Cruze:Yeah. There's a, a power in that, Victoria. you.

37:58Rachel Cruze:I hear you.

37:59Dr. John Delony:Yeah. And can I just tell you on behalf of everybody that's struggling with parents with dementia, I hate it. It's evil. It's the worst. I hate it with all my guts and I hate that you're going through this. Thank you. Yeah. Your mom won the lottery with you. It's awesome to hear somebody that cares about their mom.

38:22Rachel Cruze:Yeah. No, but it's a good point, John, on, and it's all that, when we talk about our money, there's always the root issue, whether we're talking about a marriage issue or whatever it may be, but even a grief, grief of the grief of losing a parent and what you're walking through and the immediate knee jerk reaction is because I get it as she was talking. I was like, oh yeah, I want these experiences with her. And so that means we have to go do these things. You know what I mean? The action towards it, but getting to the root of the motivation of what's even going on under that.

38:51Dr. John Delony:Yeah. Actually, what I'm grieving is I'm about to lose my mom. Yes. And she's still going to be alive.

38:56Rachel Cruze:Yes.

38:57Dr. John Delony:And that's painful. So hard.

38:59Rachel Cruze:So hard. All right. Let's go to Ethan in Los Angeles. Hey, Ethan. Welcome to the show. Hey, how's it going? Doing great. How can we help?

39:10Dr. John Delony:Hey, I'm located a little bit far away from Los Angeles. That's the closest city.

39:17Rachel Cruze:All good. All good.

39:18Dr. John Delony:Yeah. My question is, I bought a house almost about two years ago, and I know it needed some work to it. And I'm looking to have kids this year, but there's so much work that needs to be done to it. I might have to push that out to next year, or if I really prioritize this year, I can get it done. But I also want to start investing again. I had to take it out to buy this house. I think I'm on baby step four. So I already got a savings and all that. But I'm just wondering, you know, what percentage of my monthly income should be towards the house? And what should be towards investing? Or should I focus on fixing the house so I could have kids?

40:04Dr. John Delony:Why can't you have kids in the house you're in now?

40:08Rachel Cruze:Is there danger?

40:09Dr. John Delony:Yeah. I mean, when we got it, there was mold, foundation cracks, framing issues. and we fixed the framing issues and a lot of the mold, but there's still mold upstairs. There's leaks in the house. I'm trying to fix those. I just finished the chimney, which was like four different things. That took me like four months to do.

40:27Rachel Cruze:Okay. Well, what I would probably do, Ethan, is Baby Step 4 is investing 15 % of your income into retirement. So I probably would jumpstart that. I mean, I would get that going. And then any money you have left over, then you guys can cash flow some of these renovations. and remember too, a baby takes nine months, you know? So maybe you guys start the journey and you'll have a runway, if you will, before the baby actually gets here too. So I always, yeah, I always hate people putting off things like getting married or having kids or something when it comes to something financial. And I know this is obviously the home and you want it to be safe that they are gonna be living in.

41:08Rachel Cruze:So I totally, totally understand that. but I wouldn't kick the can down the road so long. Like I would get on it. So I would just do the minimum of what you guys need. And if you guys want to start a family, then start a family and then you guys will have a good probably, you know, that nine month runway during the pregnancy to continue to do repairs and cashflow the savings.

41:32Dr. John Delony:Okay. All right. I understand. All right. Well, I appreciate it. Thank you.

41:36Rachel Cruze:Absolutely. And then, yeah, good luck on the, on the next journey. But you guys, yeah, when you can start investing as early as possible, when you get to that baby step four, I would do that 15%. I mean, it's kind of a non-negotiable for me. And then anything above that be saving for things you want to do, whether it's replace a car, vacation, fix a house. But that's beyond the 15 % going into retirement.

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42:40Dr. John Delony:See website for full details.

42:59Rachel Cruze:Welcome back to The Ramsey Show and the Fairwinds Credit Union Studio. I am Rachel Cruz hosting this hour with Dr. John Deloney, and we are answering your questions. So give us a call at 888-825-5225. All right, let's go to Sam in Hartford, Connecticut. Hi, Sam.

43:19Dr. John Delony:Hi, how's it going?

43:20Rachel Cruze:Hi, we're doing great. How are you?

43:22Dr. John Delony:I'm all right. Can't complain. Just another day out here. I guess I was listening to your guys' show, and I figured I'd call in today. so i'm glad you called in what's up brother i know i got so i got a house um that's a little bit out of my price range that i bought probably about four years ago now um and it's a rental property and i have two of my apartments that are vacant that need to be rehabbed um i completely gutted them down to studs so i guess my question is um if i should apply for a heloc i'm almost out of baby step two i have about eight thousand dollars in credit card debt left um but i i'm starting to get to the point where i can't really afford the home um is it a duplex is it what is it one building in two units or is it two separate it's a three it's a three family home okay um i currently live in one of them and then i rent the one i live in out during the summertime and then And I move on to a boat that I have not been able to sell for the last, I don't know how many years, four years now.

44:31Dr. John Delony:Can I call something out? Since you called us, you seem to always be on to the next scheme. And like, I'm going to buy a boat and then I'm going to buy a family home. I lived on a boat prior to buying the house. No, I got it. I got it. But like, you always have a good idea, a next good idea. And it feels like all these good ideas are starting to close in around you. Because you gutted a house that you can't finish. You have a house that you can't afford. You got a boat you can't sell. And now you want to take out a leverage against the house that you can't afford yet. And I guess at some point, what I want to tell you is like, at some point you got to pay the piper.

45:18Dr. John Delony:And I would suggest trying to deal in that reality and not trying to float this thing with yet another idea, another thing off of Instagram or something and get another loan and leverage the whole property against that loan, by the way. And like, what would make you think you could pay that HELOC off?

45:39Dr. John Delony:um i was kind of hoping to get them both both the other two remodels um the rental property during the summer probably brings in about eight grand a month eight grand a month for just the one unit on one unit yeah yeah well i where where the house is at is wonderful okay okay It's like a high travel area.

46:00Rachel Cruze:And both other units are gutted, you said, correct?

46:06Dr. John Delony:Yeah. So the house is super old when I bought it.

46:10Rachel Cruze:Okay. So how much money would it take to fix both of those up, each one individually?

46:17Dr. John Delony:I could probably, I do all the work myself, so I could probably do them for both under$50 ,000, I think. So what if this summer you didn't get on your boat and live there for a year, and you spent the summer working your butt off getting these things finished?

46:34Dr. John Delony:Yeah, yeah. Well, then I need somewhere to live, and then I would lose the summer rental. No, I mean you rent out the one room or the one unit, and you work on the other ones. No, so there's three units in there. And he lives on one, and the other two are gutted.

46:50Rachel Cruze:Is the boat near you?

46:53Dr. John Delony:Yeah, it's about a mile from my house.

46:56Rachel Cruze:Okay, perfect. Go live on the boat, rent out the unit for$8 ,000 a month, use that to help cash flow these renovations. And I would just cash flow them one at a time, Sam. So no, we're not going to tell you to take out a HELOC. Now, the other option would be to look at everything in full with two vacant, gutted units, yours, and how much would the whole thing sell for? And do you want to get out of this deal? There could be an exit here because I don't know if you enjoy living next to renters that you're renting from you in these other units. You know what I mean? The whole thing. So I just wonder if you could get out with some equity still, even though they're still gutted, but have another investor come in and buy it.

47:35Rachel Cruze:And then you go buy something small that you can afford and you don't have to worry about all the rental stuff.

47:42Dr. John Delony:Okay. Yeah, that's kind of where I'm at because the house has a lot of equity in it.

47:46Rachel Cruze:How much do you owe on it?

47:50Dr. John Delony:I owe$450 right now.

47:53Rachel Cruze:And how much would it go for?

47:57Dr. John Delony:The three families, that's probably about the same shape as mine. I don't know what the inside of it looks like, but the outside, they're about the same. I think they sold for$1.8. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, but is that completely redone with all new appliances and all new... I never checked and saw. I never looked at their listing. I don't know if the old lady that when she passed away, if it could redid it and then sold it or if it was redone when she was alive. I would get a realtor. I would go to RamseySolutions.com and get a realtor in your area, a real estate pro, and I would get real numbers on what they think they could flip it for.

48:31Rachel Cruze:Yep.

48:32Dr. John Delony:And I would take any cash that I got head extra and count my lucky stars and not do this again.

48:38Rachel Cruze:Yeah, because even if you had to drop the price$400 ,000, that's$1.4 million. You know what I mean? I mean, it's crazy.

48:45Dr. John Delony:Since 66 % of it is gutted down to the studs, imagine you're going to get 30 % of$1.8 million or 40 % of$1.8 million, right? And so even then you win. You get out of this mess. Yeah, I know I'm not negative in the house. I'm just curious. I guess what your guys' opinion would be. Yeah, so it would be option A or B for me.

49:10Rachel Cruze:It's A, I'm going to just slowly redo each unit because you'll love the life you're in. You'll like having the renters. You'll like the income, whatever. And you're going to pay it off eventually because it's, I mean, it's a great, it's$450 ,000, right? So you would just put it in baby step six and you keep it. But you just do the renovation slowly with cash. Or option B is I'm just going to eject out of this whole thing and, holy crap, make a lot of money probably. go buy something with cash. Yeah, that's great. Sam, you know what I mean? For real, go buy something with cash and then just enjoy your life.

49:47Dr. John Delony:Yeah, that's kind of where I'm at. I don't have much for investing. I just, I'm more of the, like I said, I'm on baby stuff too. I've got about 8 ,000 left on credit card debt. Yeah, that's right. And then I was going to move on, but.

50:00Rachel Cruze:For sure, yeah.

50:00Dr. John Delony:That's why I wasn't sure if I should take on more debt. Please don't. Yeah. You've worked too hard to get here, man. You've worked too hard.

50:07Rachel Cruze:Yeah, yeah. The no debt piece is a non-starter for us. So no, no HELOC. So again, it's either cash flowing those renovations or just cashing out because you bought at a good time in apparently a great area, if that's true with a million dollars. Yeah, and that's always hard, you guys. The whole investment property side of life that people look for and or fall into thinking that it's going to be easy passive income continues to come back to show that it's stressful, you guys.

50:41Dr. John Delony:I've also noticed this. My daughter, Josephine, she's 10. She's all into home renovation shows. She loves watching them. And I noticed the other day the demo side, they always show everyone having fun. They play the cool music and they got sledgehammers and they're taking all the stuff out. They don't spend a lot of time when the house is down to the studs because they show these pros come in and wire it all up. And then they show them at the fixture store.

51:10Rachel Cruze:It's just like a boom.

51:11Dr. John Delony:It's a nightmare when you're looking at a house full of studs and you have to level it and fix it. It's not fun. And that's when the Instagram like, oh, this is so fun.

51:20Rachel Cruze:So romantic. It goes to die.

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53:20Rachel Cruze:Up next is Chris in Louisville. Hi, Chris. Welcome to the show.

53:25Dr. John Delony:Hi, how are you doing?

53:27Rachel Cruze:Hi, we're doing great. How can we help today?

53:30Dr. John Delony:Yeah, so I was just wondering, I have a little bit of debt, and I'm recently wanting to move closer to a girlfriend. And I don't know how to kind of navigate that.

53:44Rachel Cruze:Okay, how much debt do you have?

53:47Dr. John Delony:About$38 ,000.

53:48Rachel Cruze:Okay, and how much do you make?

53:53Dr. John Delony:$2 ,200 a month. Yikes.

53:57Rachel Cruze:What are you doing for work?

53:59Dr. John Delony:I work in a factory.

54:01Rachel Cruze:Okay.

54:02Dr. John Delony:That's my net, my take home.

54:05Rachel Cruze:Okay. And do you have a job where the girlfriend is?

54:12Dr. John Delony:No, but there are a lot of opportunities there. Okay.

54:16Rachel Cruze:How long have you guys been dating?

54:18Dr. John Delony:A couple months.

54:20Rachel Cruze:How far is she from you? about two hours okay um and how much will all have you have you added up all the moving expenses and the difference of the housing you're paying now for rent versus where you would live

54:40Dr. John Delony:i mean have you done all that math i've looked at it a little bit but i haven't done an in-depth analysis.

54:46Rachel Cruze:Okay. So I mean, for now, my goal would be to get out of debt as quickly as possible. So I don't know if living where you're living, working where you're working now gives you that opportunity or where she is, is there a better job that you can make more money? And it's a plus plus on your side of the financial spectrum. I mean, I would ask those questions, but I don't know, So a move, switching jobs, everything for a couple-month relationship just feels fast.

55:23Dr. John Delony:Here's the thing. Back when I was dating a quarter century ago, I'm a guy who falls hard, okay? Right. And I would get what I would call love dumb or love blind or love stupid, whatever you want to say. and I only have a job because people make really feel really big firm plans with their relationships and they don't work out and so as you're talking what I'm going to is what happens when you go down there all these quote-unquote great opportunities don't materialize y 'all break up two months later and this forty thousand dollars of debt has followed you plus whatever loan you think you're going to take out to get the move even there, get a deposit on your place, get an apartment, all that kind of stuff.

56:13And so I wouldn't move.

56:16Dr. John Delony:If you were my friend or my son or my brother, I would tell you don't move unless you have a job lined up that you start on this date. And you have a place to live that you already know you can afford. And you've already done some of the math on the back of a napkin, not even a napkin, on a spreadsheet that says, here's how much taxes are going to be. Here's what my take home pay is going to be. And here's my plan to continue to get out of debt as I'm going. And I know that makes me a fun ruiner because you're like, dude, I finally met somebody. I totally get that sentiment and feeling. In fact, I love that feeling.

56:51Dr. John Delony:But man, it can get you in a lot of trouble and turn a$38 ,000 mess into a $50 ,000 mess and a broken heart and in a strange town all at the same time. And so I would be much more concrete in what are my plans? What am I going to do? Not just I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love. Yeah, that makes sense.

57:13Rachel Cruze:Yep, absolutely. So yeah, if there's a job and you got everything and you're like, hey, this is an upside for me, plus I get to live close to the girlfriend. And yeah, that's great. You can move while you're in maybe step two, if you cashflow it, it's just going to pause that process for a little bit. But don't let the, yeah, the love cloud some good judgment and actually have a plan in place.

57:35Dr. John Delony:And I like the idea of you getting another job and making way more money than you're making. 100%. So look for a new job in that community and go line it up.

57:42Rachel Cruze:And regardless, be working nights and weekends with a side hustle and get this$38 ,000 paid off. Yes. All right, let's go to Corey in Nashville. Hi, Corey.

57:51Dr. John Delony:Hello, good afternoon.

57:52Rachel Cruze:Hello, thanks for calling. How can we help?

57:56Dr. John Delony:Yes, I was calling on regards to a collection that we have on our credit, my wife and I, dealing with a landlord from three years ago. I've been contacting this collection agency, trying to settle with them, and I think I'm settling for too much, but beggars can't be choosers. we need to settle this get this off of our credit so that we can move to another rental home but the collection agency is not willing to send me an offer letter and I just feel very hesitant

58:36Rachel Cruze:don't send them a dime until you have something in writing why are they not doing it

58:43Dr. John Delony:the reasoning was that if they send an offer letter they're saying that other people have used that to get into other rentals. I just don't see that adding up, you know. I've never heard that. That doesn't mean it's not true, but I've never heard that. Tell them that you can't make a payment until you have something in writing. Yeah.

59:06Rachel Cruze:What do you owe them? How much do you owe?

59:10Dr. John Delony:Originally, the debt was just a little over$5 ,000. And now over the course of three years with interest, it bumped up to$57 ,000. They were willing to settle at$4 ,000. And I kind of just made it off of my credit. Okay.

59:27Rachel Cruze:Corey, do you guys have the cash?

59:30Dr. John Delony:We do.

59:31Rachel Cruze:Okay. And you've already offered them for, is that right?

59:36Dr. John Delony:Yeah, well, I started off a lot lower. Okay.

59:39Rachel Cruze:And they wouldn't budge.

59:40Dr. John Delony:I've been working on this for a couple of months. And I think that they know that I need it off my credit as well to be able to move into another home. Yeah, but let me say, you're in the driver's seat too. Y 'all are both, it's a game of chicken because they have already come to terms with they're not going to get this money back. and so the fact that you're offering them four grand is a huge olive branch for them too i would hang up and call somebody back and hang up and call somebody back and say i've received a settlement offer for four grand i'm prepared to write the check but i just need an email i need something in writing that confirms this is the final offer and i will i will get you paid and if they don't just don't send them a dime huh say i can't just tell them i can't send you a dime until I have confirmation in writing.

1:00:27Rachel Cruze:Because they lie, Corey.

1:00:28Dr. John Delony:Yeah, they lie. That's what they do.

1:00:29Rachel Cruze:These collectors, yeah, they'll take your money and be like, we didn't get a payment. What are you talking about? We didn't say to settle. We said, no, you got to pay the full 5 ,600, you know?

1:00:36Dr. John Delony:Well, in fact, it's doubled. It's gone to 8 ,000 because we sold it to, like, yeah, you just can't. Don't get, here's the two rules of thumb. Have to get an offer in writing and never give them electronic access to your checking account because they're going to want

1:00:51Rachel Cruze:to withdraw it immediately and say, no, no, no, I will, I will, I'll get you paid another

1:00:56Dr. John Delony:way. Okay. And I think they're, I think they're playing games with you. Yeah, I know. Yeah.

1:01:05Rachel Cruze:It's just, it's a game, Corey. And at this point it's been three years because who owns the debt right now? Which, what collections agency?

1:01:14Dr. John Delony:Genesis.

1:01:15Rachel Cruze:Okay. so look them up online and you're going to see this like made website i mean they're they're it's someone in a cubicle cory who got this debt put on their desk that they're having to collect and then in two months if it's not paid there's a there's another collections agency that's going to buy bad debt from this collections agency and it just hops around like it's just it's it's a crummy crummy industry and the turnover the person you're talking to is probably not even going to be in that job in 60 days. So like, you're not dealing with intelligent life over there. Okay. So to play hardball, that's fine.

1:01:51Rachel Cruze:They don't scare you. They shouldn't scare you. They should be scared because they need money. So you've got$4 ,000 to give them. And you've got it. So you're like, I have it. You have to submit. And if they say no, but all right, no deal. Hang up. Call again. Call again. Just like John said, and it's such a pain in the butt, but it's the way to do it. but you have to get it in writing, Corey. We've heard horror stories of people not doing this and sending these types of companies money and then they change the deal on you.

1:02:19Dr. John Delony:Tell them, please, please let me pay you this money. I have it. Please let you give me my money. I just need it in writing.

1:02:25Rachel Cruze:Yep, that's it. But no, I would not send them a dime. And then you guys just need to have some patience because you're urgent to get it off your credit to go and buy a home or to go to another parental property but don't let that urgency cause you to make a big mistake. Be patient, be thinking through this and get it in writing.

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1:04:24Rachel Cruze:All right, let's go to Colin in Orlando. Hi, Colin. Welcome to the show.

1:04:30Dr. John Delony:Hey, thanks for taking my call.

1:04:31Rachel Cruze:Absolutely. How can we help today?

1:04:34Dr. John Delony:So I'm 22 and a year and a half ago, I was given around$40 ,000 in a lump sum. Since then, I've made some pretty bad decisions when it came to changing car to car. And I also had a roommate dispute. And now I'm only left with about$11 ,000 invested up into stocks. My main question is because now I have a truck payment that's around$1 ,200 a month. God almighty, dude. $76 ,000. I'm upside down,$16 ,000. It's a$76 ,000 truck. Yes. Ridiculous.

1:05:08Rachel Cruze:Okay.

1:05:09Dr. John Delony:And I don't make enough money to pay it, and I'm being kicked out of my house, so I'm about to be moving and paying rent at a new place, and I'm worried this truck payment is going to crush me. I'll be able to afford my bills, but only being able to save anywhere$500 to$800 a month, And I'm just wondering what's the smartest way to fix this.

1:05:28Rachel Cruze:Why are you being kicked out?

1:05:32Dr. John Delony:You know, I got out of the military a little early after a little mental health. I went through some traumatic events, and it's just been hard for my family. And, you know, I was going to school, and I moved out a few times, and I'm not in school anymore. So it's just been a conflict with my parents. I'm having to relocate from Florida to Texas.

1:05:51Rachel Cruze:Oh, wow. Gosh, I'm sorry, Colin. How old are you?

1:05:55Dr. John Delony:22.

1:05:55Rachel Cruze:Wow.

1:05:56Dr. John Delony:Are you interested in getting the help that you need? Absolutely. Okay. Will you make it, forget the money for a second, forget the truck for a second. Will you make that a top commitment when you get to Texas? Yes, yes, sir. Absolutely. And that's the reason I reached out is because a lot of the car, I flipped, I believe it was three different cars into the truck I'm in now in a span of a year due to mental health effects. and that's no excuse. And I've gone on top of that through the VA and I'm on medication and I'm just ready to fix this because I can't do this. Okay. Can you metabolize, and I'm saying this with a smile on my face, okay?

1:06:35Dr. John Delony:So if you were here, you'd hear what I'm saying. You'd see what I'm saying, okay? Are you able to metabolize a, what I would call a$40 ,000 stupid tax? Yep. Okay. So if, would we draw that up again? No. would we run it back differently? Yep, but we can't do either of those things. And so the reality is here we are. I would sell that stock, Rachel, if I'm wrong, I would sell that stock and I'd go take out a$5 ,000 loan from a credit union. I would sell that truck or maybe a$7 ,000 loan from a credit union. I would take that stock, put the 11 grand towards it, get this truck sold, pay the difference and then buy a$2 ,000 1988 Corolla with 400 ,000 miles on it that's still driving.

1:07:21Dr. John Delony:And that would be my car for a season while I got well and got my feet back under me.

1:07:26Rachel Cruze:Yep. That's exactly what I would do, which would be about a$7 ,000 loan and a crappy car versus a nice truck that is worth$76 ,000 and I'm underwater because I've been rolling negative equity into other cars into this thing. So it's a much more peaceful place to be. And then you just got to work your way out of that seven grand. And I would make an aggressive goal call and I would say, hey, every month, I'd be month, I'm going to put$1 ,500. I'm going to put$1 ,000. And in five to seven months, I'm going to be completely debt-free. And getting some traction like that, Colin, I think it's going to be really good for you.

1:08:00Rachel Cruze:It sounds like there's been a lot of setbacks. And you've made decisions with money that weren't great, right? The$40 ,000 that's gone, the truck, I mean, all of it. And so to have some really good wins, I think that's going to feel really good for you. I think you a little bit of confidence. You're young, you've been through a lot already from 18 to 22. And so I think to get you on a new path, get those kind of wheels turning in the more positive direction, it's going to be big. But these are some big things we're asking you to do. I mean, you're selling a nice truck, you're driving a crappy car, you got to go to an auto credit union, you know, talk to the talk to the president there and just say, hey, here's the deal.

1:08:41Rachel Cruze:What can I do? I mean, yeah, there's some work involved in doing it, but I think your situation is going to feel so much different in 30 to 40 days.

1:08:49Dr. John Delony:Here's what I want your number one goal to be, okay? I want to reestablish trust again with Colin. Colin's a guy that does the next right thing. He takes his meds. Even when he feels good, he takes them. He goes out for a run in the morning. he gets out of bed and goes to his first job and then he comes home and he has a sandwich that he makes he didn't go out to eat and then he goes to a second job and he went to the bank and put on his nicest clothes that he pressed and he shook hands and he is going to get this thing paid off and in 40 days you're going to start feeling a little bit taller in six months when you're done with all this debt you're going to be standing eight feet tall because you'll have you'll begin to reestablish Colin is a man that I trust.

1:09:36Dr. John Delony:I trust myself. And then I can begin to head out into the world and do the great things that you're called to do. Yeah. That's honestly probably what I'm going to do. Thank you. And I just needed to hear the reassurance because I thought about doing it already, but my family, you know, obviously has their own opinions and I've already switched vehicles so much. It's hard for them to look at me and be able to trust me to just go sell another vehicle and buy a new one.

1:10:00Rachel Cruze:Which is fair to them because the pattern that was, yeah, that was set was different.

1:10:04Dr. John Delony:And the only thing you could talk all day long, the only thing you can do is go make a different decision next. That's it.

1:10:11Rachel Cruze:Great job, Colin. We're cheering you on, man.

1:10:13Dr. John Delony:We believe in you, brother.

1:10:14Rachel Cruze:For sure. All right, let's go to Logan in Columbus, Ohio. Hi, Logan.

1:10:19Dr. John Delony:Hi, Rachel. Hi, John. How are you guys doing?

1:10:21Rachel Cruze:We're doing great. How can we help?

1:10:23Dr. John Delony:Good. I have a little bit of a relationship question. My wife and I are in baby step two. We've got our$1 ,000 saved up, and we're working on paying off$75 ,000 of consumer debt. My wife wants to help contribute income-wise. She's a stay-at-home mom with her two littles. And she was thinking of things that she could do while also being home with the littles. And she wants to start like an embroidery-type business, like selling stuff on Etsy and stuff online.

1:10:57Rachel Cruze:Yeah.

1:10:58Dr. John Delony:But she needs a little bit of money to kind of get everything started, like the sewing machine and stuff. I don't really know the details, but what I do, my opinion was let's focus on paying off the debt, and then we could start something new before we add something in all of this. I just kind of started the— Yeah, has she ever done it before? No. Okay. Not really.

1:11:21Rachel Cruze:Yeah. Don't do this. I'm probably more on your side. If she's done it before and she's really good at it and she has a track record or a history of it and you're like, hey, we got to put a couple hundred bucks into a used machine, but she can make two to three grand a month and it's pretty guaranteed, then I'd say all day, all day do that. But if she's never done it before, what scares me is you get into this. And I love her. I love her gumption, though. The fact that she's like, hey, I can do something. But she's going to – there's a good chance you get into this because she's never done it before.

1:11:48Rachel Cruze:And she's – you know, you guys have two or three kids and she's doing that. She does really well for the first month or two, and then it starts getting behind, and then the motivation kind of goes away, and the reality sets in because there's not been a pattern established yet in her doing this type of business. So, yeah.

1:12:05Dr. John Delony:The two close friends of mine that are real successful in this moment are stay-at-home moms who have their own kids who keep a couple of other kids. and they make great money doing that and it goes into the rhythm of their life and it doesn't cost a lot of capital outlay you don't have to go buy because she's not going to want to buy a used machine is she she's going to go buy a real nice one and all the equipment and all the threads and all the stuff yeah yeah i mean it's only like a thousand dollars ish to get started so like i know in the grand scheme of things it's not that big of a deal but when you owe 76 000 it's a huge deal

1:12:40Rachel Cruze:Yeah, and because she's never done it before. That's my thing. If she's had a history of this and she already had an Etsy shop a few years, you know what I mean? If she's done it, then I'd be like, that's one thing. But starting something just completely new that has that kind of investment right now, the longevity is what I worry about. Because making the craft is one thing.

1:12:58Dr. John Delony:You have to photograph it just right. You have to upload it. You have to ship it. You have to – like it's a lot more than just I can make doilies or I can make bandanas or whatever she wants to do. You get what I'm saying? Yeah.

1:13:11Rachel Cruze:Yeah. So if you guys could find something that's way cheaper and you guys come to like a couple hundred bucks and she wants to try it, you know, I would probably be okay with that. I just wouldn't buy anything new. And I would have it with a very open hand. But I wouldn't spend probably, I mean, I don't know how much this machine costs. I'm just throwing it out there. But from the math of it all, I probably wouldn't spend more than 500 bucks on something new.

1:13:33Dr. John Delony:M-A-X max. Yes. Yeah, all the way.

1:13:35Rachel Cruze:During all of it. So I don't know if that's helpful, Logan, but I so appreciate her idea. I would just find something that she could do to contribute that doesn't cost that much, right? That much of an initial investment.

1:14:09Thank you.

1:14:39Rachel Cruze:conflicting data, it's hard to know what is really happening in the housing market. So we're here to make the latest trends easy to understand. So median home prices went up a little bit to$403 ,000 last month, which is typical as we head into the busy spring season. And mortgage rates dipped a little bit to 5.43%, down from 6.16 % that we saw last February, giving home buyers some breathing room. But since rates are still unpredictable, the best time to buy is always when you are financially ready. Not what the market is doing, not trying to chase an interest rate, but when you are financially ready, that is when you need to buy a home.

1:15:20Rachel Cruze:So if you wanna learn more about the housing market trends and get some free tools to help you when you are buying or selling your home with confidence, go to ramseysolutions.com slash market or click the link in the show notes if you're listening on podcast or YouTube. All right, let's head to Karen in St. Louis. Hi, Karen. Welcome to the show.

1:15:40Dr. John Delony:Hi. I always apologize for my name. Oh, goodness gracious.

1:15:46Rachel Cruze:That is it. I have an Aunt Karen. My name is John.

1:15:49Dr. John Delony:I have an Aunt Karen. My name is John after a toilet. You're fine.

1:15:51Rachel Cruze:That's a tough name to have these days, Karen. We do not judge. We do not see you as stereotypical Karen. At least it's not Rachel. We are happy you called in. How can we help?

1:16:06Dr. John Delony:So I am a recently divorced 58-year-old nurse working full-time. I make about$90 ,000 a year. Okay. I have just finished Baby Step 2. Yeah, good for you. And I'm now working on my fully funded emergency fund. Okay. I have about$230 ,000 in my retirement, and I'm currently a renter. And my question is, should a mortgage or a house even be in my consideration for the future? Because my income is not going to really change much in the next 10 years. Or should I just dump everything I can into my investments for retirement? So I'll let Rachel answer the house question. I just put your current numbers in the Ramsey Investment Calculator, okay?

1:17:02Dr. John Delony:I put your age at 58 and since you're a nurse now you might say no but I put 70 that you would work till 70 and that you currently have 230 grand in investments and I put that you would contribute a thousand bucks a month if you contributed a thousand dollars a month you would have 1 ,036 ,000 dollars when you turn 70

1:17:32Dr. John Delony:okay does that make you breathe a little easier totally totally and the caveat in my financial future is my parents who are in their mid-80s my inheritance will pay fully for a home okay or it would should i it would go into your retirement my retirement yeah yeah right so yeah I'm just trying to figure out what the best direction is to even consider a home or just retirement.

1:18:04Rachel Cruze:Yes. So I would consider a home because that housing line item in your budget is going to be the most expensive and it will continue to go up rent well. Right. So having a home is going to be, yeah, it's going to be important, but your home, Karen, it may just be like a condo, right? It doesn't, I mean.

1:18:21Dr. John Delony:Yeah, I'm fine with that. I'm totally fine with that.

1:18:23Rachel Cruze:Okay. How do you, have you looked at all prices in your area and what that would be like a one bedroom somewhere?

1:18:29Dr. John Delony:um they run probably about 200 to 250 okay perfect so what I would do is I would fund 15

1:18:38Rachel Cruze:percent into retirement regardless and that probably comes out to that thousand bucks a month ish um so I would I would stay consistent with that Karen and then I would make my only goal to be to save up yeah for a down payment and get into something and then your next goal would be to pay it off. And then when your inheritance comes, whenever that is, that's just the bonus money on top, right, to help pay off the house and fund retirement. Or maybe your parents live, I don't know, another 15 years and they're in their late 90s and you've, you know, maybe already taken a big chunk of the house and then you get this inheritance and most of it goes into retirement at that point.

1:19:16Rachel Cruze:But those would be my goals. It'd be 15 % into retirement. And then I would save for a down payment and get into something. But as cheap, again, as cheap as possible, as inexpensive as possible, because we want it paid off. I want that goal would be to have that paid off that property when you go into retirement at 70, which I which you easily can do people that do the baby steps millionaires plan, they're paying off their homes in seven years on average. So I think you can with a$90 ,000 salary, if you live really tightly, I think that there is a Yeah, there's a good chance you can have this paid off in seven, eight years.

1:19:50Rachel Cruze:And I think that's very doable for you for a$200 ,000 mortgage.

1:19:54Dr. John Delony:And Karen, can we get real dark for like 30 seconds? Sure. How much inheritance, if you had to guess a number, what do you think that number is going to be? 350. Okay. So if it was, you were going to say... I've had very open conversations with my parents about it. No, that's awesome. So if you were going to tell me, it actually confirms what I want to just caution you about, okay? If you were going to say$3.5 million or$35 million, not worried about it. But if they're saying, I'm going to give you$350 ,000, do you have siblings too? Well, yeah, but they'll get that amount also. Okay. So let's say your parents are projecting to have a million dollars when they pass away, and they're going to give you$350 ,000, your brother$350 ,000, and your sister$350 ,000.

1:20:42Dr. John Delony:Right. This is what I'm going to get dark for two seconds, and I'm doing this for a reason, okay? If one of them has a six-month stay in ICU because they have congestive heart failure that goes into something, that goes into something, you can burn through some of that cash in a wild way. I agree. And that's why I know it's not a guarantee. Okay. So, yeah, my caution is create a life for yourself that if this money never comes through, you're all good. Right. And if it does, amazing. Right. I didn't want to depend on it, but it's a little caveat. Yes. And I just kind of wanted to throw it out there.

1:21:24Dr. John Delony:But I wanted to make the right decisions for my finances, not dependent on that. You are in rare air. Most people, honestly, before I started working on this show, would have been me too, would have seen, oh, I can afford a$250 ,000 house, plus I'm going to get this$350 ,000. I'm going to buy a$600 ,000 house and then it'll just get paid off later. And later might be, Hey, your inheritance is a hundred grand because we had to spend it on this and this and retirement care and a, and a, in a facility and whatever. And so, yes, you are so wise, so wise. Okay. So that's good to know. Cause I, my, my thinking was going, just dump everything into retirement and don't worry about a house, but you've kind of.

1:22:09Dr. John Delony:Yeah, no, I would, I would have

1:22:11Rachel Cruze:something long-term, yep, that you own and that no one can take from you. It's paid off and there's no rent you're having to chase as it continues to go up year after year. So yeah, owning something is big. And, you know, John did some of that math on the investment calculator, but I think that that is a place that you've done such a great job, Karen. I mean, you have$230 ,000 and what's wild is that doubles every seven years when you actually look at the math. So that would be 400, you know, and yeah, after I did the math, it was after 14 years, it's going to be like 932 ,000 if you don't touch it.

1:22:45Dr. John Delony:And that's if you don't put another penny in it.

1:22:47Rachel Cruze:Yeah, don't put another penny in. So it's going to, yeah, you're doing really great on that end. So I don't want you to feel this urgency of, I mean, we still want to contribute because we want you to have a great retirement that you can go and live your dreams. But it's not like you don't have anything right now. We get a lot of people that call up and they literally are starting. Yeah, they have nothing and they're 58 years old. So I want to just assure you, you're doing a great job on that end. I would still fund it some after you get that three to six months of expenses, but I would be looking for something.

1:23:18Rachel Cruze:And if you can put 20 % down, Karen, like if you're able to take your expenses and figure out a way to rent for a few more years and have a 20 % down payment, like that's awesome. Or if you want to get into something, yep. Or if you want to get into something at five, if you find a great deal and it's a good location and everything you want. And it makes sense. But yeah, our parameters with buying a home is that you are debt free. You have that fully funded emergency fund, at least a 5 % down payment. And then your mortgage payment is no more than 25 % of your take home pay on a 15 year fixed rate.

1:23:48Rachel Cruze:So that's kind of our Ramsey formula for it. And I think you're gonna be able to do that with 90 ,000. And the great thing about nursing too is if there's a season, maybe a year or so that you want to do some extra overtime, like knock that house out. Yes. you're able to really do that, Karen. So I know you, I think you said newly, newly single or newly divorced. So you're starting a new chapter in your life, Karen. I'm really proud of you. Thanks for the call.

1:24:28Rachel Cruze:Welcome back to The Ramsey Show and the Fairwinds Credit Union Studio. I'm Rachel Cruz with Dr. John Deloney, and we are taking your calls about life and money. So give us a call at 888-825-5225. All right, let's go to Atlanta. And we have Dan on the line. Hi, Dan.

1:24:50Dr. John Delony:Rachel, hey, thanks for having me. How are you?

1:24:52Rachel Cruze:Absolutely. We're doing great. How are you doing?

1:24:54Dr. John Delony:I'm doing well. Thanks for asking.

1:24:56Rachel Cruze:Awesome. How can we help today?

1:24:59Dr. John Delony:So I am coming to you guys as a concerned brother slash son. So I'm the oldest of three brothers. We're all in our 30s. My, specifically my youngest brother, who just turned 30, he has never financially been independent from my parents. And so, you know, being the baby, that might have something to do with it. But just ever since he's been in college and have graduated and is now married, my parents have always financially provided for him, even, you know, in the life, marriage into his 30s, et cetera. And about three years ago, my dad sold his company that he worked really, really hard to build, built it over about 25 years, sold it, made some good money.

1:25:50Dr. John Delony:And naturally, since that happened, the asks for money or for financial help from my brother, specifically my youngest, have drastically increased. I have expressed my concerns to my parents that they are getting taken advantage of. They have heard those, don't necessarily acknowledge those. My dad is an incredibly generous person and actually would call himself a Dave Ramsey disciple. But he doesn't really, I don't think, see the fact that he's getting taken advantage of. But for a little more context, my wife and his brother are pregnant and they are expecting this year. And I just choose to believe that they wouldn't necessarily be planning to expand their family unless they had a financial backer in the form of my parents.

1:26:46Dr. John Delony:And so I just see it coming from a mile away. And my parents don't necessarily see it that way. I kind of have my parents understand that what's really happening. Here's the thing. I don't think you're mad at your brother.

1:27:05Dr. John Delony:Not necessarily, no. No, I would say mad. The problem here is not your brother. Yes, if he was on the call, I would tell him to grow up and be an adult. It's your parents. It's your parents, dude. and the part that you have to like man I overused this word I think but you have to metabolize is you told your dad what you think and he through his actions said I don't care I'm a grown man this is my money and I get to do what I want with it it is true I mean they do get to do with their money as they please which I completely respect I just why do you think they're getting taken advantage of they sound like they're sound mind they're smart people they're generous people why do you think they're getting ripped off

1:27:51Dr. John Delony:um i just i don't i mean look the the help that he's providing is not like setting my parents back or anything necessarily but um i i think that he might struggle a little bit with the idea of like well do i take you know my kids off the payroll or do i tell them to go figure it out Why are you inventing stories that might be in his head and then trying to judge him for those stories? I don't want to say I'm judging. So here's where I'm at. I am very protective of what my parents have built.

1:28:29Rachel Cruze:I think you're annoyed, Dan, that you've worked hard. You're supporting yourself. So is your brother, your middle brother. And then your younger brother is kind of mooching off your parents and you're annoyed by it. That frustrates you. It's annoying to you. You don't like it, right?

1:28:43Dr. John Delony:That is fair. That is absolutely fair. And you're annoyed and you're mad at your dad. But you can't change your parents. Yes.

1:28:47Rachel Cruze:Like, it's your parents' decision. And you can't change your brother. And they're obviously smart people. They're choosing to do this. And so that may hurt you. That may be frustrating. Golly, that he gets this handout and me and my wife aren't getting anything. Mom and dad aren't reaching out to us. And, you know what I mean? It doesn't feel fair. Whatever the feelings are, I think those are all your feelings. But you're not going to be able to change what they're doing. You know what I mean? In a way, it's none of your business.

1:29:14Dr. John Delony:I mean, kind of, right? When you find yourself in a position where you can't change the outcome. It's so frustrating. Yes. A, it's frustrating. It's maddening, dude. And we're both on your side here. I get that. For sure. But to continue to dwell on it, to create, I think he's doing it because of this. And I can't believe he's probably, it's a choice for you to be miserable in your own skin. And so, go ahead. I literally, and I don't say this lightly, I would let it go. Because you've made your position known. Your little brother is not of character that he wants to build up his own home on his own.

1:29:51Dr. John Delony:He wants to keep asking for dad for money. And your dad is of the opinion that he can do whatever he wants with his money, include fund his youngest son's life. And so I've made my position known. I'm going to choose to not let that misery poison my household, me and my wife's relationship. our kids' lives, we're going to choose joy and happiness in our life, which means I'm out. I'm out of y 'all's fights. I'm out of your money drama. I'm out of all that stuff. I'm moving myself. And I'm going to make peace with the life I have chosen to create for me and my spouse. Because any other choice is a choice to be miserable because you can't control any of the other stuff you want to control.

1:30:28Dr. John Delony:So I don't think I'd say I'm miserable. I think frustrated is definitely the accurate word.

1:30:34Rachel Cruze:We're calling a show to talk about it though, Dan.

1:30:36Dr. John Delony:Well, so here's – John, to your point, like, yes, I have made my thoughts known and I've expressed these to my parents and I've made the decision, like, I'm not going to bring it up again, right? So I'm not necessarily, like, pushing the envelope or trying to continually, like, rehash it. But it is frustrating. So my dad was a guy who taught me to just work for everything that I have and to grind it out and to hustle. And that's how I sort of, like, molded my life. I know, but you're setting yourself up in a lifeguard tower, looking down on your brother and your dad. And you're asking, why aren't y 'all up here with me?

1:31:18Dr. John Delony:And what I want to tell you is just climb off the lifeguard tower and get on with your life. Right? Because even then, you loop back to, I've done these things. My dad taught me this stuff. I built my life this way. And my son, I mean, my brother hasn't. And it's like, you're right, and all you're left with is your frustration, but nothing's going to change. You get what I'm saying? I do. I do. And I don't disagree. I mean, there's nothing I can do to— So how can we help, Dan?

1:31:47Rachel Cruze:What do you need from us?

1:31:48Dr. John Delony:Well, I just still go back to the fact that my—and look, maybe there isn't an answer. Maybe I just have to let it, you know, let things take their course. But my parents are essentially right now the giving tree. And at some point, they're going to get picked and picked and picked, and maybe they've got to figure it out. Yes, they do. Yes, they do. But your advice is to just let that happen. Let it happen.

1:32:12Rachel Cruze:You can't do anything different.

1:32:13Dr. John Delony:Give me an alternative. Are you going to go file a competency claim against your parents and take over? Right? You can't do anything.

1:32:22Rachel Cruze:And can I tell you, after thousands of dollars of therapy through my life, coming to the realization that you can't change people. And I used to really believe in my head. If I say this sentence in this conversation with this person this way, they're going to get it. Like the light bulb's going to, they're going to see it. If I, oh, I have a great way to present it and they're going to get it.

1:32:43Dr. John Delony:Yes.

1:32:44Rachel Cruze:They don't get it unless they want to. You can say it over and over and over and over and over and over and over. and they may not change.

1:32:54Dr. John Delony:So at Christmas, when y 'all all go out to dinner, you get a separate tab for you and your wife and say, I'm not gonna take dad's money. That's what you can control. Nothing else at that table.

1:33:15Rachel Cruze:When I talk to people on The Ramsey Show, 90 % of the problems I hear come down to one thing, not having a plan. They're not living on a budget. They have no idea where their money's going. Money is just happening to them instead of them happening to their money. And guys, that is so normal, but it doesn't have to be normal for you. And that's why I want you to go download our EveryDollar budget app. EveryDollar not only helps you tell your money where to go with a budget, it also builds a plan to free up extra money so you can pay debt off faster and start building wealth. And the best part, your plan is completely personalized to your life.

1:33:53Rachel Cruze:It's the same advice that you would get if you called the show. And it's right in your pocket. So don't keep living normal. Go download the EveryDollar app, answer a few questions, and get your plan today.

1:34:19Rachel Cruze:Our question of the day is brought to you by Y-Refi. If private student loan default has knocked you off track, this is how you reset. Y-Refi works with borrowers, other lenders won't, and helping you refinance defaulted private student loans with a low fixed rate so that you can get back on the plan and move forward. So visit Y-Refi.com slash Ramsey. That's the letter Y-R-E-F-Y.com slash Ramsey may not be available in all states.

1:34:49Dr. John Delony:Our, uh, today's question comes from Rachel in Louisiana.

1:34:52Rachel Cruze:Hey, Rachel.

1:34:53Dr. John Delony:This is probably gonna be a doozy.

1:34:55Rachel Cruze:I can't wait.

1:34:56Dr. John Delony:My husband and I are on, are on baby step three. We currently have$15 ,000 saved and our monthly expenses average around six grand. Our monthly take home pay is 10 ,000. I recently got a promotion that will come with new responsibilities and workloads to balance. I would like to hire a house cleaner to free up more time for us as a family. My husband feels like it will cost too much and that we'll neglect our parental responsibilities. What? At what point in the baby steps can we reasonably afford to hire a house cleaner?

1:35:31Dr. John Delony:Oh, man. I got all kinds of feelings about this.

1:35:35Rachel Cruze:Neglect our parental – that's funny. Responsibilities. I'm like, uh-uh.

1:35:39Dr. John Delony:Yeah. Have someone to – I think what it sounds like to me, Rachel from Louisiana, is that your husband is volunteering to take on the new cleaning, house cleaning, because he believes it's too expensive. Fair. So, but you've taken on this new job with new responsibilities and workloads. And since he doesn't want to hire some support and help, then he sounds like he's signing up to do it all.

1:36:07Rachel Cruze:That's awesome. What a great husband. Rachel's husband is so selfless.

1:36:10Dr. John Delony:Yeah, so selfless.

1:36:12Rachel Cruze:Man, that's so nice. So nice of him.

1:36:15Dr. John Delony:Rachel, what would your math answer be? I mean, not even math. What do you think?

1:36:18Rachel Cruze:Well, I was going to say, I mean, a three-month emergency fund basically would be$18 ,000. They have$15 ,000 saved. I would get to$18 ,000 and then hire a house cleaner once a month, every other week. I don't know. So find someone to come in and, yeah. I mean, put that part of your budget. Make that part of your lifestyle. and if it doesn't work, if you really can't afford it because that's going to take away from other things, then that's definitely a opportunity cost conversation you guys have to have. Like, okay, right now we just can't do that. That's fine if it doesn't work. But if you can make the math work and it gives you some sanity, I'm all about delegating things that you can delegate.

1:36:55Rachel Cruze:Especially when you're past babies, step three.

1:36:57Dr. John Delony:And I have to say, I was against that, like the thought of hiring somebody to mow my lawn, I didn't realize how deep that went. Yes, that's how Winston went too. As like a core, you are no longer a man, right? And who is my son going to think I am, right? Yes. And I was wrong on that. And so I chose other responsibilities that take me out of my house. And so I actually see this opposite. I was hiding on the mower from what this guy is saying, parental responsibilities. I would mow for hours and hours and hours. And I was avoiding being with my kids, being present with my wife. And so I made a choice.

1:37:41Dr. John Delony:I'm going to outsource this so that I can do this stuff right. That's right. And we happen to be in a season where we can afford to do that, right? Yeah, I love it. But man.

1:37:50Rachel Cruze:You know, Arthur Brooks talks about that. There's five things you can do with money and four will bring happiness. One will not. The one that will not, spoiler alert, is just buy stuff. That doesn't make you long-term, yeah, give you long-term joy. Giving does, savings does, buying experiences with people you love. And the other thing was using money to buy back your time.

1:38:10Dr. John Delony:Buy back time.

1:38:10Rachel Cruze:And actually using your time, not like scrolling Instagram, but actually using it in a meaningful way. So that's actually a way to find a level of joy with your money is to buy back time.

1:38:20Dr. John Delony:And I want to call this out. Rachel, you and I have taught this from stage for years now at our Money in Marriage retreat. If one of you in your marriage, if y 'all are both workers and both working outside the home, and one of you gets a promotion and it's a new responsibilities, new workloads, I want to challenge you both to consider that you now have a new marriage because your old marriage was built on this routine, this dollar amount, this time, this space, and now things are different. And what I often see happen here is he wants the things to just quote unquote, get back to the way they were.

1:38:57Dr. John Delony:And they're not going to, because she has a new job, new responsibilities, and yet the kids still need food and the house still needs to be cleaned, et cetera. And so let's go treat this for what it is, is the marriage we had doesn't exist anymore. Now we've got a new one with new dynamics, new jobs, new responsibilities, and let's re-co-create this thing. Let's reimagine who's doing what, what needs to get done. How do we want this house to feel when we get home every day? And let's build that from the floor up. That can be a fun, like really adventurous, exciting, joy-filled time, an intimate time together.

1:39:33Dr. John Delony:How do we want this place to feel? Not, well, we used to, it's going to be, you used to, you never anymore. Man, that's a way to just burn the whole thing down all the way to ash.

1:39:43Rachel Cruze:Create a new marriage. I love it. All right, let's go to Lindsay in San Diego. Hey, Lindsay, welcome to the show. Hi, thanks guys. So I've always been the most frugal person my whole life and always invest it and even though no matter how much I have like it's still hard for

1:40:01Dr. John Delony:me like I every penny I'm still like looking at when I'm spending it even though I don't have to but um but basically I have so much and uh I only spend it on like vacations travel and um so I was wondering like if I want to go on a trip like with girlfriends should I

1:40:20Rachel Cruze:see if I can cover them but everyone's like nobody knows I have much money because I don't use it or anything how much is this? over$14 million $14 million? $14 million

1:40:39Dr. John Delony:didn't see that coming

1:40:41Rachel Cruze:well done Lindsay you want me and John to come on a trip you can pay for us to go on vacation with you Lindsay What do you do for a job? How did you accumulate that much? I've always invested in everything, in shops, index funds. Yeah, what do you do for a living? What was your income? I mean, I'm sorry, just what did you do for a living?

1:41:02Dr. John Delony:It didn't matter what it is, but now I just trade options with my money. So I make a lot. I make so much.

1:41:12Rachel Cruze:And for my whole life, like ever since I was 20. So it's been yet to be. Okay, how old are you? I was investing, 54. Okay. Are you married? Not anymore. No. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Kids? They're adults. Yeah. They're adults. Okay. Okay. So your question is, you want to go on a girl's trip and pay for your friends. So they don't usually, like, have money. You know, they probably have money problems. Nobody, you know, knows. So I don't know if it's awkward and weird and if they kind of don't want that and if it makes things, you know, weird and stuff like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally. Totally.

1:41:46Rachel Cruze:Absolutely. If you need your reaction knowing your friends well, how do you think they would react if you're like, hey, I have a bucket list trip I want to take and I want my people with me and I kind of just want to treat everyone? Would that make it weird for your friends? You know your friends well enough. Is that awkward for them? Would they be offended? Would they be excited? How do you think they would respond? I don't know. One might be like, oh, that's okay. You know, they just might feel awkward. But I think in general, I'm sure they would like it. But it's just weird because, like, I mean, they have no idea, you know.

1:42:24Rachel Cruze:And they don't have to know. They don't have to know all that.

1:42:27Dr. John Delony:Here's the path. Here's the thing I want you to think through. Would you rather when you're 75, sitting on a rocking chair in front of your house, would you rather have had a bunch of memories with your friends going to do some wild and crazy stuff? or would you like to have an account on your computer that has big numbers in it?

1:42:50Rachel Cruze:I mean, that's what I'm saying. That's why I do would want to. But like I said, I don't know if it's just awkward.

1:42:56Dr. John Delony:Here's how I get past awkward with my friends. My life has changed. Here's how I get past it with mine. You can take this or leave it, okay? I will tell my friends, hey, I want to go do this thing. And I had a crazy month last month. I got you. And that's it.

1:43:13Rachel Cruze:Yeah. Lindsay, so I saw this on Instagram. Sarah Blakely. Sarah Blakely, who is the founder of Spanx. Okay. I think she's a billion. I think she sold it for over a billion. So she's doing great. Every birthday, every birthday, I'm sure she has a jet or rents one. I don't know. But she takes 12 of her best friends. Most of them are childhood friends. Every year. And she doesn't tell them where they're going. She's just like, pack warm clothes, pack for cold, bring a passport, don't bring a passport. She just gives them some clues and they all board this jet and she just takes them somewhere every year.

1:43:48Rachel Cruze:I was like, oh my gosh. Lindsay, I think you should do that.

1:43:51Dr. John Delony:Yes. Go have fun and go on as many adventures as you can. Do it. I'm kidding.

1:43:55Rachel Cruze:Like, oh my gosh. Go enjoy life, Lindsay. Go enjoy life. Buy the tickets and bring your friends. Yes.

1:44:10Dr. John Delony:All right, let's cut to the chase. It's easy to get discouraged about crazy house prices and interest rates. But when you have the right real estate agent to help you buy and sell the right way, you'll have confidence to make smart decisions. Ramsey Trusted Agents aren't just experts who guide you through buying or selling. They're people you can trust to have your back from the first call to closing day. Find a Ramsey Trusted Agent near you at RamseySolutions.com slash agent. That's RamseySolutions.com. slash

1:45:02Rachel Cruze:one of the best things that you can do for your finances is to have a really good tax pro in your corner that you can trust because they're going to help advise you on the best moves to make in your situation or for your small business, especially if you have had big life changes this year. So go to RamseySolutions.com slash tax pro to find CPAs and enrolled agents that are vetted by the Ramsey team. All right, let's head to Porter in Midland, Texas. Hi, Porter. Welcome to the show.

1:45:32Dr. John Delony:What's going on? How are y 'all?

1:45:33Rachel Cruze:Hey, we're doing great. How can we help?

1:45:36Dr. John Delony:um so i just at the beginning of the year got a raise um not for a huge amount but just enough to make a difference uh and i recently this week just got a email saying that the raise amount was uh incorrectly like inputted into our like payroll program and so there's actually there was an error and it's not supposed to be as high as it currently is and so they're asking me to just sign the document saying, hey, I approve that decrease. And moving forward, this is what the rate will be. Do you have to pay it back? I do not. Okay. Oh, that's nice. This exact thing happened to me, and I actually had to pay it back.

1:46:20Dr. John Delony:It was on a commission. I had to pay it back.

1:46:22Rachel Cruze:I was going to say most companies, yeah.

1:46:23Dr. John Delony:I hated it, but it was what it was, right?

1:46:25Rachel Cruze:Back pay you, yeah.

1:46:27Dr. John Delony:Okay. And that's kind of where most of my, I guess, question was stemming towards, because this is the first time this has happened to me. So I didn't know on the email that it was our payroll person to hire up and then a boss from another branch. And my boss was not included in the email. So I didn't know. I would go right. Have you talked to your supervisor? I have not. And that's kind of where I was like, it was such a minor amount. I didn't know if it was worth splitting hairs over or if I should just kind of accept it for what it is.

1:46:55Rachel Cruze:Yeah. How much is it compared to your, like, what are we talking?

1:46:58Dr. John Delony:It's just 50 cents an hour less. so it's not like I said it's not what did it end up but okay um yeah I probably yeah yeah it stinks and I I always would run this stuff by my supervisor just to make sure there's not end arounds happening you don't know what meetings they have all been in that you weren't a part of

1:47:15Rachel Cruze:and I would always yeah over communications great keep my supervisor in the loop but I

1:47:22Dr. John Delony:this I don't know this happened to me and it was a good faith whoopsie right it was a good faith It didn't mean for this to happen. And it cost me money, every check for several checks for me to catch up. And it stinks. And it was what it was. And then I asked for some confirmation this won't happen again. I got it. And we're the same team. So it's all good. Yes, sir. That makes sense.

1:47:45Rachel Cruze:Cool. Yep. Awesome. Thanks for the question, Porter. Let's go to Alyssa in Toronto. Hi, Alyssa. Welcome to the show.

1:47:52Dr. John Delony:Hi, guys. Thanks. Thanks. So I'm about to get about 280 ,000 Canadian, 200 ,000 U.S. in inheritance because my mom passed away unexpectedly. I'm sorry, Alyssa. Thank you. And I'm just trying to figure out like what to do first. Yeah.

1:48:11Rachel Cruze:Okay. What's your financial situation? Do you have consumer debt? I do.

1:48:18Dr. John Delony:So we have about$90 ,000 in vehicle debt, about$45 ,000 in taxes from when my husband worked for himself.

1:48:26Rachel Cruze:$45 ,000 in back taxes? Yes. And then about$15 ,000 in credit card debt. Okay.

1:48:36Dr. John Delony:And the caveat to this is we're about to move to Florida from here at the end of August.

1:48:43Rachel Cruze:Okay. Okay.

1:48:47Rachel Cruze:Can I say what I would do? What's up with the... Well, yeah, I was going to ask the cars. What's up with the cars?

1:48:54Dr. John Delony:I would have... Obviously, the first thing you do before you even take a breath is you pay the taxes off and get settled up with the government, right? And that brings you down to 165. And this is me, okay? Take this for what it is. This isn't like Ramsey gospel. This is just John. I would have a hard time taking inheritance money from my mom who'd passed away and putting that on depreciating assets like a car. That's just me. I would want to sell$90 ,000 worth of vehicles and be a good – like if I – I would imagine my mom sitting across the table from me and saying, hey, how can I best be a steward of this money?

1:49:39Dr. John Delony:I can imagine my mom saying I'd like you to buy a house or I want to make sure the kids have college or like not get the fanciest car you can buy that will be worth 25 % less this time next year does that make sense and that's just me but that's how I would think about it I'd sell those cars and put some money away so you can cash flow your trip to Florida or your move to Florida

1:49:58Rachel Cruze:yeah yeah because I think the short answer Alyssa is to get out of debt use this to get out of debt that's a beautiful thing for your mom's legacy but to John's point what you're paying off kind of sucks. $90 ,000 of cars that you can't afford. And Alyssa, you guys aren't great with money. Can I just say that out loud? Oh, I know that. A hundred percent. Trust me. Okay. This is like a clean slate. I know, but here's my fear. Here's my fear, Alyssa, is that this money goes and wipes out this debt and nothing has changed in y 'all.

1:50:26Dr. John Delony:And then you'll take a loan out to move to Florida.

1:50:28Rachel Cruze:From a habits perspective, a behavior perspective, nothing has changed. You have felt zero sacrifice. You have had to do zero hard work in this. You felt nothing. It's kind of just a boom, boom, done. And my fear is that this money is going to pay off this debt and you guys are going to get right back to where you are. So I like John's plan, not only because it's cars and I hate car debt so much, I think it's so stupid. Not only that, but I think you guys need to have a sacrificial decision within this blessing somewhere so you can feel something emotionally that's going to help stir and push on the good habits that you guys need to create.

1:51:09Rachel Cruze:so I'm curious we have a little bit of time so I am curious about these cars$90 ,000 worth of cars what what um and there are two cars I'm assuming what do you owe on each um so mine is a 21

1:51:20Dr. John Delony:Wrangler and we owe about 42 ,000 um and then my husband's is a 22 Gladiator so also a jeep

1:51:28Rachel Cruze:um and we owe about 50 on that one okay um how much do you guys make a year

1:51:33Dr. John Delony:um anywhere from 150 to 300 000 he's got a base plus commission oh my gosh y 'all have too much

1:51:40Rachel Cruze:car alissa too much car way too much for what you guys make so you guys i'm definitely upside down on my car though both of you are because they're both probably products yeah y 'all are way upside um so yeah i mean i i would look to see hey what what could we sell them for and or maybe pick one and do the other, but you guys, you own too much car for what you make, okay? Because it's adding up to close to 100 grand in cars, and you guys are at 150. So we always say it should be no more than half of your annual income. So you're looking at 75, and you guys are over that. So something, yeah, something's got to change with the car situation.

1:52:25Rachel Cruze:Do you agree, or are you like, eh, I don't think we're going to do that.

1:52:30Dr. John Delony:Honestly, like the Jeeps are, are at this point, part of like our, our personality and like 90 % of our friends, um, that actually live in the U S are, we've met them from the Jeeps, like going off-roading and like my Jeep is set up to, to go off-roading. Did you tell me that they're part of your personality? Yeah, that's what I just said. Good God almighty. I get, hey listen, Listen, I've got friends who love Jeeps and they go do all this stuff. But to say it's like it's become part of our core. I just.

1:53:08Rachel Cruze:Sell it and go get a$10 ,000 Jeep Wrangler.

1:53:11Dr. John Delony:Yes.

1:53:11Rachel Cruze:Make that your personality.

1:53:14Dr. John Delony:Or get a Jeep tattoo. Make that your personality. Did you really say that$100 ,000? I don't know if we can help, Alyssa.

1:53:22Rachel Cruze:I don't know if we can help. I think we'd be friends, but I don't know if I can help. across the U.S.

1:53:28Dr. John Delony:So I get it. I feel it. Listen, we're both friends with George Campbell. His Tesla is part of his identity, and that's the problem. That's the problem, right?

1:53:38Rachel Cruze:Yeah, Alyssa, I just want this money that you received. After something horrific, I know we're joking about it, but for real. I'm not joking. To be something of a good legacy. And you guys are – you make bad decisions with money and bad decisions with identity. So like, I don't know what to do. I would sell. If I woke up in your shoes, Alyssa, I would use 200 ,000. I'd pay taxes. I'd pay the credit card debt. I would sell the cars. I would re-up what's going inside of me and my consumption of life and cars.

1:54:15Dr. John Delony:And I would change my personality.

1:54:17Rachel Cruze:No, and I would cashflow the move to Florida. But if you, I don't think you're going to. But you know what? We could still be friends. If I see you in Florida, I'd still give you a high five, you know?

1:54:28Dr. John Delony:In the gladiator.

1:54:29Rachel Cruze:And give you a little rubber duck. Don't they, like, trade?

1:54:45Dr. John Delony:Hey, guys. Dave Ramsey here. Every day on this show, we help people work through real money problems and figure out what to do next. Now you can get that same kind of help anytime with Ask Ramsey. Ask your money question and get answers built on Ramsey principles we use on the show. Whether you're making a decision or just want something explained, Ask Ramsey is here to help. It's fast, simple, and free to use. Go to RamseySolutions.com and try Ask Ramsey today. That's RamseySolutions.com.

1:55:37Rachel Cruze:Our scripture of the day comes from Romans 12, 2. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Rob Siltian, I think that's how you say it, said people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. All right, let's go to Kay in Dallas, Texas. Hi, Kay. Welcome to the show.

1:56:08Dr. John Delony:Hi, thank you, Rachel, Dr. John. I have a question. I have a senior in high school. He has received an offer to play college sports. And we, as his parents, think it's a good deal. It would be kind of staying local in our area. But in his mind, he thinks that, you know, going off and playing like for a club sport with the same sport would be better. However, that would incur student loan debt. And we've been pretty frank with him. Like, if you take this offer, then we could get what you owe pretty much down to a manageable amount without student loan. But, you know, your other route, you're going to have to work and do your laundry and all this other stuff.

1:56:53Dr. John Delony:So just wondering, am I missing anything? Am I, you know, what else is there to help him navigate this choice? It sounds like you're asking two different questions. And so I think the first question would be you and your husband taking your son out. What's the sport?

1:57:14Rachel Cruze:Lacrosse.

1:57:15Dr. John Delony:Okay. And saying it's been our joy, one of our life's big joys, traveling around with you and watching you play lacrosse over the years. And if you're done playing lacrosse competitively, let us know that. because I've met with countless college students who felt like their parents looked at all the years of travel sports and lessons as an investment in college. And they were playing college sports, which is a full-time committed job. It's a life, right? And they were doing it to keep mom and dad happy. And it always cratered. And so if you take them out and say, if you're done, we will support you and love you.

1:57:55Dr. John Delony:But if you are going to play, here's an opportunity for you to do this and college is expensive and then the second thing so that's the first one is why doesn't my son want to play sports at this level for the college etc have that conversation but lead it with we're ready to put a period at the end of the sentence if you are and the second question is has to come with you and your husband making some really firm decisions on what you will and won't pay for and then you lead with that yeah I don't I feel

1:58:27Rachel Cruze:uncomfortable, Kay, supporting the idea of making him go to college because he has a full right on a sport that he doesn't want to play. I was just talking to someone and they said a ton of research has come out now with college athletes, the amount of depression, anxiety. I mean, it doesn't look good. And I'm not saying every college athlete is one of these statistics, but when you look at the majority, it's not great for a college athlete, honestly. And especially if he's not wanting it. so my red flag kind of went up when he's like mom dad I don't want to do this full time I mean a club sports grade or like you know like intramurals or whatever at some other college like that sounds more fun to me I get that now let's figure out how we can make that work financially so that means you're probably going to stay in state you're gonna take in state tuition there's a good chance you're gonna have to work maybe get some other scholarships like we're gonna have to figure out a way to cash flow another situation because it's not this it's not as black and white as you You have to go to this school close to us and get a full ride or you're going to take out all this debt.

1:59:28Rachel Cruze:No, people go through college all the time. There's a thousand other ways. Yes, so many ways that he can go to school still debt free, Kay.

1:59:35Dr. John Delony:And Kay, I've never said this publicly. I'm about to say this for the first time, Kay.

1:59:39Rachel Cruze:Oh, my gosh. What an honor this is.

1:59:42Dr. John Delony:Well, I just want to paint you a picture. I had a hundred percent full ride that I walked away from in August to go to another school for a very small partial scholarship. And that happened to be the place where I met my wife, met all my lifelong friends, got connected with mentors and friends. And that's the reason I'm sitting here right now. Wow. And so I want to tell you, his life isn't over. I had a hundred percent everything. thing. And I walked away at the very last minute because I wanted to go and do something else. And quite honestly, to Rachel's point, I was completely cooked on the idea of this being the next four.

2:00:24Dr. John Delony:It's already been four years of my life. It's going to be the next four years of my life. And I just, my heart wasn't in it. Right. And so I think having that big conversation, here's another piece. Do you and your husband secretly want him to go to school kind of by y 'all because you like being around him?

2:00:44Dr. John Delony:Well, I just think the coaches are like great mentors. Pretend he's not playing sports. No sports. Let's say sports are off the table. Do you kind of want him to go to – Oh. I am stunning myself that as my son is heading into the college years, I kind of hope he picks a school next to us because I like cancer. I mean, I do like him, but most days I like him. You know, we're kind of ready, you know, picking up socks and, you know, seeing him come in and out and it's high and by. But, you know, I mean, I'm OK with that idea of him going off. Okay, so be honest about those conversations, but framing this as putting all of the weight on to this 18-year-old kid, that's when 18-year-olds make bad decisions, and they can walk into a room and someone's going to hand them$120 ,000 and say, make good choices.

2:01:37Dr. John Delony:And so you and your husband saying, as for our household, our money will only go here. Here's the dollar amount we can contribute per month, which means this is what the tuition needs to be. and if you choose to go to this school out of state we will love you and we can't wait for you to come home but our money won't go there and then he gets to make grown-up choices for as that they unbelievably allow 18 year olds to make i know right the logical side is just hard do y 'all have a debt journey sir do y 'all have a debt journey where y 'all paid off some money yes Were you all burdened by student loans too?

2:02:19Dr. John Delony:Yes. I mean, I've paid mine off, but unfortunately my husband still has them. Okay. Can I tell you that leading with that level of vulnerability, these things are still hanging around our family? Yes. And maybe it's the reason we haven't gone on big vacations. It's the reason there's been tension in our house. There's a reason your mom and I or your dad and I have fought over the years because these stupid things are still here. Please, we're asking you don't go do this. Yes. Right? So it's leading a vulnerability instead of preaching at him. Oh, yes. And it's probably a lot of both. But we have kind of backed off the past few weeks just to let him, you know, navigate his own choices.

2:03:00Rachel Cruze:But I just wanted to make sure we weren't – I mean, you did bring up some great points. Yeah. Yeah. I get that.

2:03:06Dr. John Delony:And if he comes back and says, I want to commit the next four years of my life to lacrosse, amazing. Awesome. And I promise you, if somebody's offering him a full ride, they will not be the only ones. guaranteed. Okay. And so let's find a place that's going to fit for him if he doesn't happen to want to go to that school right next to you, and we can figure all that out. But we want it to be their choice, but that choice has to be made inside of a boundary framework. Because this open season for 18-year-olds just to decide whether they want to move across the country and quote-unquote live their life, that's so much pressure on an 18-year-old.

2:03:40Dr. John Delony:Yep.

2:03:40Rachel Cruze:And some states are even with community college, you can go for free. So there's just, and I don't know what Texas, what they're doing, but. Texas has tons of programs. Yeah, but so yeah, so he can, I think he's going to have a lot of options, Kay. And I don't want you guys to box yourselves in to either he has to get the full right here or he's going to take on debt. That's not true. There's options A, B, C, D, E, F, G. I mean, all the way down that he can go to a great school and yeah, be able to, whether he starts off in community college for a year or two. and then moves schools to something else, whatever it looks like.

2:04:16Rachel Cruze:But, yeah, man, that is a tale that is happening all over America right now. All over, yeah. Is these kids that get into deep travel sports early, dedicate their whole half of elementary, middle, high school to something, and then they get and they are burned out. And they're like, I don't want to do it. And then they feel the pressure because I've heard them say.

2:04:39Dr. John Delony:Well, mom and dad is like, I put 40 grand towards this thing.

2:04:43Rachel Cruze:Yes, yes. And we did this for the call. You know what I mean? And it gets there. And so trapping them there, that's just, that is so hard. And I get the, obviously the financial advantage of having a full ride. Totally. But also, yeah, just their ability to not just enjoy life for the heck of it at 18, but to have actually a healthy life throughout college, not doing something they hate every day. That's a gift too. So thanks, Kay, for the call. I appreciate it. Great show, John. Always fun. Thanks to all those in the booth for making the show happen. And remember, there's ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus.