The Ramsey Show Live From Orlando

26:37I love my husband, but he is not engaged in our finances, and whenever I ask him to work with me on it, we get into an argument. Our finances aren't combined, and we aren't working together on a team to pay off our debt. I don't want to give up hope and pursue a divorce, but I'm so tired of always pushing him. I mean, my first question would be, have you had any form of counseling? Like, have you sat down with a counselor at any point to discuss this with a third party, right? That'd be my first question. Yeah. What I found that was unique to like coming from the world I came from to this, to the Ramsey world, is a lot of people watch the Ramsey stuff and they get inspired by the plan.

27:19And one of two things is true. They are, I've always been a plan person. Like they used, they brought home a bunch of Avon one time and now they're like heard that essential oils can cure liver cancer. So now they got a bunch of, like, it's always another plan and their partner just checks out. Like another scheme. It's another scheme. Or they come at somebody with a spreadsheet. Like here's the numbers and here's the debt. And we always find ourselves challenging people on air with that question beneath that, or that conversation beneath that, which is sitting down with your spouse and saying, I don't feel safe in my house.

27:57I can't breathe in my own house. And I need you to help participate in helping me feel safe. And if your spouse says, I'm out on that, that's a question. That to me is the question beneath the question. And if a spouse says, I'm not participating, then you're going to end up in one office or another, either a divorce office or in a therapist's office. But you're going to have to involve professionals because that's somebody that's completely unplugged. Most of the time when somebody says, I don't feel safe, I'm out in house, their spouse is like, oh, my gosh, I didn't get it. Right. That was me.

28:33Like, that was me. My wife was so like, I'm just an out of control person. But it was when she said, like, when I said, I feel like you're creating a life without me. and she said, I have to. That sentence, I have to, was like, oh, like I'm so erratic. I don't keep a budget. I don't have any sort of stability. She's having to carve stability out of nothing because I'm, so that was the line. That's like, I got to go get help for me so that I can be more stable in my own house. All right. I'm going to play devil's advocate on this. This is a real conversation. You guys can handle it. So the truth is yes to all of that.

29:10and the truth is, because I'm talking from a personal experience of a best friend of mine, the truth also is you can have a spouse who you've said those things to and say, well, what makes me feel safe is being able to spend money on these things. I want to be able to live my life. The truth is you can have a situation where one spouse wants to do the Ramsey plan and the other spouse is like, I'm all for doing certain things with our money, but I don't want to go to, quote, these extremes, right? And the truth is you can't make anybody change, right? You just can't make, you could tell them everything in the book.

29:44And she was like, Jade, what do I do? And I'm a firm believer. I'm like, there's always something you can do to better your situation. And you can't make this person change. And I told her, I was like, listen, if I were in your shoes, I would keep having the conversation, but I would do what I'm gonna do. And I would share, I would share what I'm gonna do. I would do it and then I would share again. And so for the next decade, she did that. And she paid off$90 ,000 of debt without her husband's true help. He was around, but he wasn't really helping. And when the last$10 ,000 was to be paid, they went to some conference and somebody mentioned the Ramsey plan over the stage and the light clicked on for him.

30:28And for the last$10 ,000, he helped and was on board. And so there's part of this where there's, you shouldn't be rendered completely helpless, right? You still have to go do the next right thing. You still have to go do the next right thing. So I would hate for somebody to feel like, well, they said, you know, we have to do it together. You do. That is the best possible way to do this plan together, aligned on one accord. But at the same time, it could take a decade, right? It could take whatever your marriage situation is. And just because somebody doesn't want to do the Ramsey plan, you're not necessarily going to divorce them, right?

30:59And move on and go do your own money. So what can you do in the meantime? And I think that's the question that people really want to know is, if this takes five years, am I rendered helpless for five years? No, you're not. Share, do, share. And then the hope is that they get on board. And in the meantime, you're in counseling, but don't do nothing waiting for your spouse to do something. That's a good line. On my show, especially, I always ask when somebody says this or that, one of my first questions is always, are you going to leave them? Right. And if they're instant, no, it's okay. Then you've made that choice.

31:35And so then what are you going to do inside that choice you've made? But if I ask that question, are you going to leave them? And there's that long pause. Right. That tells me there's a deeper issue. Yeah. I found that there's such a wide spectrum for this question of basically, how do I get my spouse on board? You've been married a decade and they've made it clear they're not going to opt into this. You kind of have your answer. If you've been married a day, there's probably some hope that we can do this. Did you just hear about the Ramsey plan and you're just excited and they don't get the vision yet?

32:05That's one thing versus someone who's actively dragging you down as you're trying to get out of debt because they're going further into it. So it's so personal to your situation. But at the crux of this is a couple who has marriage issues for a decade and money's just the symptom. And so that's the hard part when we say, well, this is a marriage problem, not a money problem. We mean it. Because until you get the marriage under control and they respect that person and what their dream and vision is and what their feelings are, then they're not going to change. Why would you? That's true. So that's a tough one.

32:37Whoever submitted that, I appreciate that. I know that there are probably dozens more couples in here who have been there or maybe are sitting in this season right now. All right. Let's get to another live question. Tell us your first name and where you're from. My name is Serena and I'm from St. Augustine. All right. What's your question? What are some tips to stay focused on pushing through Baby Step 2? I'm finding it difficult to get out of the YOLO mindset when I'm confronted with the tomorrow isn't guaranteed internal voice. Oh, good. That is good. So like a YOLO thing would be like you're in Baby Step 2 and you buy tickets to come to a club and watch the Ramsey show?

33:21Yes, precisely. So all cash paid. But instead of, you know, sticking with baby step two and you think, okay, I really should save for this over here and pay this off. But, you know, I really want to, I have the opportunity. So this is what I want to do. And it's hard to stay focused on the right thing. How long is this journey for you? Like, what are we looking at? Is it seven years or is it one? So I started with you guys. I say you guys. I started listing to Dave Ramsey in 2021. So we are four years in and still in the same spot. How, like what percentage are you done? Because you haven't moved, you're saying.

34:04We haven't made progress in four years? Little progress, little progress. I mean, I can tell you from my perspective. So for Sam and I, it took seven and a half years to pay off our debt. And I think for us, the mindset had to shift from there's more ways to enjoy life and there's more ways to get the most out of life. And generally that has to do with the people that you're around and the relationships that you're investing in more so. Like, don't get me wrong. Experiences are a way to enjoy life. Going on a trip is a way to enjoy life. But at the end of the day, I'm still coming home to Sam Warshaw, whether we went to Paris or we sat at home and made a pizza and it was delicious and we watched Sister Act, right?

34:45Either way, that's a really great experience and there's ways to create memories and there's ways to truly enjoy and get the most out of life. And it doesn't require spending a bunch of money. And that's the truth. So I think it really is a mindset shift that you're gonna have to make. And it sounds like you spent four years not seeing, you know, it's like you're doing all this toil, but no traction. And I think that's probably what's got you feeling some type of way more so than the YOLO part of it, right? What's the thing you've tried in the past that you've been really successful at? as far as athletics academics like give me a give me an example well both i'm seeing athletics looking at your guns right now and listen gun show don't embarrass me don't embarrass me um yeah so a healthy lifestyle definitely what does a healthy lifestyle get you No pain in my bones.

35:40The ability to live life and not have to depend on other people. So how does it translate to, I'm going to take autonomy and ownership of my body, my health, but I want to depend on a bank and a car dealership? That is true. That is true. What is it about this journey that's harder than this one? because they both seem rooted in freedom autonomy i think it's the being independent being single being responsible for yourself when you think okay i'm gonna take all of this extra and and pay it on this debt then it takes it out and i've heard this before too but it takes it away from being available for groceries for it because I depend on myself for all of those things.

36:36So it's it is that shift of using the cash that you have to pay off the debt, but then you may not have what you need for your necessities. Oh, well, budget oriented. That's a budget question that. Yeah, I love that you framed it up that way, because I feel like now we're getting to the nitty gritty. If we're budgeting properly, you're doing the other things out of excess, right? So if you're starting with those four walls and you're like, hey, when I get paid, I know I'm paying for my rent. I know I'm paying for my utilities, my transportation, my food, and then on down that list of priorities, right?

37:14And then if there's money left, okay, now I can do, yeah, now I'm going to go to the movies. I'm going to go, you know, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came out. I'm going to go see that, you know? And now you're able to do those things and actually feel a level of peace about it. Or you're able to say, I'm going to take this extra money and I'm going to throw it at this extra debt. And I know I budgeted to do that. And it's written on paper and I've done the math and I can feel good about that. So I think it's a little bit of both. And I just want to hit this because I think it's worth noting, and John was getting at this too, I feel like your fear is based on what if I don't do these things I want to do?

37:48What if I live my life and I don't take that trip. But there's also a fear that should be considered of what if I don't do this plan? What happens when I wake up at 50 and I still have the same debt, only now it's higher because the interest stacked up. So allow yourself to play that out on both sides. And I think that's going to inform what really matters to you and what truly the greater fear is. Are you lonely? I am single. I do have a German Shepherd dog. So, you know, she's my life. That's an outstanding deflection. Yes. Are you low? It is, isn't it? It's great. It's so great. You don't have to answer that.

38:23No, that's okay. It's a hard question. That's okay. It is a hard question. There is a depth to, I want to hold on for this just in case. This just in case. What if they call? What if there's an opportunity? And spending or another workout or another protein powder, or I have a supplement. It's not a cabinet. I've got a supplement. Like, it's embarrassing, right? But that can all serve as a Xanax to... And so I wonder if you became with the same intentionality you are about fitness, about taking care of yourself, if you were that intentional about, I'm going to put myself in positions where I'm going to meet other people, and I can become a driver relationally, and that will free up this what if, what if.

39:11I'm going to take the what if off the table, and I'm going to start inviting people over. I'm going to get weird and awkward and ask people from work to come over. I'm going to find people in my neighborhood and have taco Tuesday, whatever weird thing, like whatever the thing is, that begins to heal all the way at the root of that, which is I need to hang on to some, I'm not going to pay off this debt. I'm going to try to get as much fun as I can out of each moment because that's kind of all I've got. And I've got to make, manufacture my own fun through spending, through cars, whatever. Well, and with even the world that we live in right now, it's so hard to know, am I going to be here tomorrow?

39:45So it's like, if I have the opportunity to go on trips with, you know, with friends and do all of these things, it's hard to say no to that, to sitting at home and let me, you know, add this extra to this debt because I may not be here tomorrow. I think at the root of this, there's this like FOMO versus JOMO, which is the joy of missing out. And when you're very clear in your goals, you're not like, oh man, I could have eaten seven pizzas tonight. Instead, you're like, man, I'm glad I took care of myself tonight. I'm going to feel so good tomorrow. And so to John's point, the chances of you dying tomorrow, slim to none.

40:21The chances of you staying the same in this sort of like mediocrity, not making financial progress, there's a high chance of that because that's how most of America lives. And so you've got to kind of choose your heart here. And you're going to have to say no to the big trips, but we can redefine what, you know, the fun looks like in this stage of our life. And knowing that two years from now, it's going to look very different. And you get to define that later on too, if you have that delayed gratification now. So beautiful question. Thanks for being brave. Can I, can I, I got to flip this on its head for one second.

40:52I'm nervous. Listen, I'm just going to go for it. Can I just state the obvious? Because here's, here's what I'm thinking. The truth is, if you die tomorrow, you're going to be in heaven eating a sandwich. You're not going to be thinking, oh my gosh, I didn't climb that mountain when I was on earth. You're going to be in heaven, like living it up. I'll be meeting Jesus. I am so ready. If anything, the other folks are going to be like, oh man, we miss her. Do you see what I'm saying? You're thinking that when you get to heaven, you're going to be thinking about all the things you missed out on earth.

41:22That's not what's going to be happening. And I think that's really worth you taking some time and thinking about. This is not the home. You know what I'm saying? This is the temporary. Yeah, for sure. Beautifully said. Thank you for the question, Serena. Thank you for being here. Give it up for her. All right. We thought it'd be fun to play a little superlatives because as you guys know, we all have our personal brand. What's that mean? Listen to the show. That's a fancy word for most likely to. You know, when you were in high school. Senior superlatives. Most likely to, I don't know, for you, it was probably run a marathon slash drop out of college.

42:00And you are. You've never ran a marathon and you have like three master's degrees. Booyah. See, it worked out good. Two PhDs. So we're going to have you guys vote and this will also include Ken Coleman and Rachel Cruz who are not with us right now. But you're going to shout out who you think is most likely to do this thing. You with me? All right, lightning round. Here we go. Who is most likely to show up late to the studio? John! That was too easy. Most likely to use a coupon at a restaurant or order a kid's meal? John! That's hurtful but true. Whoever wrote that one. I've been with you when both things have happened.

42:35All right. Most likely to make a caller cry in a good way.

42:42All right, I'm hearing a lot of John, a little bit of Rachel. Most likely to make a caller cry in a bad way. Dave. All right. Shout out to Dave. Just glad I wasn't in the running for that one. All right, Jade, will you read a few of these off? Sure. I want to see what... Let's see, where'd you leave off here? Number, all right. Oh, boy. number four get the giggles and not be able to recover rachel that's easy giggly uh leave their mic muted accidentally at the start of a segment ken wow no that's 100 me i was gonna say i thought it was me that's great i'm glad you didn't notice all right uh tell an 86 year old to get a job Who would do that?

43:30Who would... Heartless, whoever would do that. That's not even... That's a hypothetical. Use the word hemorrhoids on a call with a 52-year-old mom. Oh, boy. Oh, this one's good. Ask for a bottle of Tums. Ken Coleman. He loves... He gets a little heartburn after an intense call. He goes, I gotta get a bottle of Tums. Yeah. That was good. That was good. I've been working on my Ken and Brother. Thank you. That was good. Oh, gosh. innocently drop the worst innuendos on air without realizing it ken coleman oh i was gonna say dave oh dave has done that listen we call them ken uendos here's the thing you got ken is like the most thoughtful person and the most compassion and he's the most like decorum right there's a way you talk to people especially when you're being a professional and it just comes out yeah it does it's awesome it's a good one and what's awesome about james and his team literally you can say something and you can watch the show one the other co-host will just look over at the booth and by the time this segment is over our phones are already buzzing someone's turned it into a meme and the whole company has it it's awesome oh yeah that's my favorite thing to do is when somebody says something sideways i love just looking at james like did you hear what i heard that's half my job now is just keeping track of a quote book of what you guys say It's going to be a memoir one day.

44:56I love it. All right, let's get to some more live questions. Let's see who we have next. We've got, is there a Jean-Pierre in the crowd? Hey. Jean-Pierre. You in for coolest, fanciest name today so far. Thank you. All right, where are you from? I live here in Orlando, Florida. Wonderful. Thanks for being here. What's your question? Thank you. It's a privilege to be here. Just a little context. So I've heard of Ramsey when I first graduated from college, like seven years ago. So I didn't know anything about finances until a buddy told me about Ramsey. And I'm like, wow, this is actually something.

45:28You don't learn this stuff in high school. And fast forward several years in the future now, I guess. I recently graduated from grad school in May. And in that time leading up to grad school, you know, we didn't have a lot of money. We were saving up so I could go to grad school, my wife and I. And now it's done. And now that we are done, you know, we're on baby step six. I have, we're very blessed. My wife and I, we have two kids. How do we grapple with the poverty mindset now that we are out of that now? I love that question. Well, Jade, you've been writing about this, haven't you? I mean, you got...

46:08Yeah, you know, yes, I have been writing. Not specifically about this, though. But I do like this question because I feel like I understand it. And I feel like it's relying on... I kind of have like this checklist that I go through mentally. Cause I feel that like there's times where Sam will want to do something and I'm like freaking out. Like, why would he want to spend this money or vice versa? And it is, it's like, your mind goes back to a mode from the past. That's no longer the case. Right. Yeah. And it's like, if I do this, it could throw everything off the rails. Right. And so I kind of go through this checklist where I'm like, okay, am I, it's, it's what I call a financially responsible adult checklist.

46:46So it's, it's five questions to ask yourself and it's based on the baby steps. Right. So you're asking yourself, okay, wait a minute. Am I on a budget? Am I utilizing my budget every single month? I'm still doing my thing on that green light, right? Then the next question is, am I out of debt? And is what I'm wanting to do gonna put me in debt? No, it's not gonna put me in debt. I'm still out of debt. Okay, yeah, that's great. All right, am I a person who values saving? Am I saving in all the right ways, right? Do I have my emergency fund? Is this gonna affect my emergency fund? Is it gonna affect my 15 % that I'm investing?

47:16Is it gonna affect me putting more money on my house, which is a forced savings account? If the answer is no, that's a green light, right? Like, okay, I can spend this money. Then you're asking yourself, am I carrying the proper insurances, right? Is this, did I do everything that I was taught? Do I carry my term life policy? Do I have the right coverage on my home and my auto? Green light, yes, I do. And then finally, am I still a person who's valuing and prioritizing generosity? and is this gonna affect where that stands in my life? And if the answer is no, you've got five green lights that are showing you, I have proven that I am a financially responsible adult and this is the guiding principle.

47:57I'm not sacrificing that in any way. And if that's true, listen, get into it, get involved, go ahead and spend the money. And I think when you do that, it reminds you of what's kind of what John was saying earlier. It reminds you of what's actually true about the situation. Everything's not on fire. You're not going to screw up your life. You're not going to go back to the hard place you were in before. And that's really good to remind yourself of that from time to time. What was childhood like for you financially? I didn't come from any money. My parents are two immigrants that came here with two suitcases.

48:28And I was born here and I got to live out the American dream. I love that. That's cool. That's amazing. Awesome. What's a practical way you feel like you're still in that poverty mindset? Like what's something recent that's happened where you're like, man, why can't I, I can't click out of this mode. I think it's, you guys always say there's a spender and a saver. I always have that saver mentality. And I probably comes back from childhood, that scarcity mentality and just, I don't know, fighting against that. I'm going to challenge you on that. If in your situation, the way you grew up, it's not a mentality.

49:06It's wired into your nervous system. It's life or death, right? You grew up in a home where two people said, we're gonna make a run of it. We got two suitcases and that's all we got, right? So it's easy to beat yourself up. Like I just need to change my mentality. This is in you. And so it's gotta be something that you're gonna have to feel. Like I feel my body trying to take care of me. It's been to the other side where we got nothing, right? And I have to know that's not true. And so I'm going to not just like try to think my way through it or change my mentality. I'm going to practice. I'm going to put, like we talked earlier, like I'm going to put money in the budget that we are going to just literally go blow.

49:51We're going to go have fun. We're going to go dancing. And before we go, I'm going to feel uncomfortable and that's okay. And then I'm going to go do it anyway. And what you'll teach your body over time. It's like the Instagram memes, like, how do I get more confident? like you just got to feel confident. No, that's so stupid. You got to go do things and be successful and teach your body confidence, right? And so I'm going to teach my body. It used to be, and now it is. We weren't safe, and now we are. And a lot of first gen folks who follow this Ramsey plan, I hear there's also this quiet, sometimes loud, but often quiet voice of guilt.

50:28Yes. Why me? And it's not fair. It's like joy is some zero. if I have joy, it somehow takes from somebody else. And that's not how joy works, man. Joy lifts everybody, right? And so it's being really grateful about what happened. And then I'm gonna go practice. We're gonna be super generous. And it's practice this and come back in five years, man. You're gonna have like a feather boa and you're gonna be like, what up? It's gonna be awesome, man. Have you used the word subconsciously? Well, I don't deserve that. Yes. Yeah. So a way that I fought against that is to literally put it in the budget and use my accountability partner, my wife, to force me to go, hey, do you actually spend the money on that thing that you were scared to spend it on, that hobby that you want to invest in, that purchase, the experience?

51:11Do you have a thing in mind that you're like, that just takes my breath away a little bit to put the money there? Nothing at the top of my mind right now, but yeah, instances like that come up. Does your wife have those things? And you've said, I don't think we can do that right now. A lot less now, now that I'm out of school, but yes, it was definitely a lot over the years, absolutely. I'm really, really proud of you. Thank you. That's awesome. You changed your family tree. Thank you. I'm so proud of you, man. Thank you for being here. Thank you, guys. All right. We got another question here from Miguel.

51:41How can I prepare myself at 19 years old to buy a house? You're 19? Yes, sir. You got a full beard, bro. Thank you. Listen, it's thicker than mine. George, puberty is coming. Just keep praying. They keep saying that. Hang in there. Hang in there, George. Oh, my goodness. Okay. So you're 19. you've got some goals. Yes. Are you working full-time? What's your situation? Are you in school? No, I'm not in school. So my family owns a food truck for a long time, and I've always worked with them since I got out of high school. And so he pays me a salary, and I also do, like, I guess, hobbies that I get some good money from weekly.

52:21Some side hustles. Yes. Okay, what do you want to be doing long-term? I'd really like to open up my own food truck and eventually a restaurant and just be my own boss, and I've always liked customer service and serving people food. So that's my passion. You're 19? Yes, sir. I'm just... I was just trying to get somebody to go on a date with me when I was 19. Hold on. Did you have a childhood or was it like I'm 12 and working in the food truck? You grew up fast, didn't you? Okay, so your next goal is to buy a house? I think about, you know, long-term goal. and I think I'd love to, you know, get into a marriage with a house or getting into a house.

53:08Like that's my goal, you know, before I get married or, you know, a couple of years after I get married, I'd like to have a house. Can I ask why that is? For you, is it a security thing? Is it a wealth building thing? Is it a nobody in my family ever owned a house thing? It's a security thing and also wealth building because I just, I really like the idea of having something that's mine. I love that. Do you have any debt? No, no. I got a credit card when I was like 18 and then I cut it up after I watched your video. Three days ago you cut it up. I was 18 yesterday. All right, that's fantastic.

53:43You're doing great. How much do you have in savings? I have like$5 ,000 in savings right now. Fantastic. Good job. Okay, so you're working on the emergency fund. That's great. That's baby step three. And then beyond that, you could be in baby step three, B or four. It's kind of a choose your own adventure or if you want to stack up cash, I would say at 19, there's no reason you should go get a four bedroom house tomorrow. But I would work towards that and just stacking cash, like keep living on less than you make. Do you have any fun hobbies that aren't side hustles that bring in income? I'm working on it.

54:14Like hobbies like that don't include like making money, just. Yeah, well in the hospitality world, like you're just like, I'm working 14 hour days and then I go to bed and wake up and redo. So I'm just trying to make sure that you live life as a 19 year old too. because it's hard to meet a lady other than, you know, a customer at the food truck when you're in the food truck for 14 hours a day. Right, yeah. I'm working on that. I'm doing, like, you know, kayaking. I like riding four-wheelers, stuff like that. Cool. Good gosh. If there's any single people here, he'll be outside in the parking lot when the show's over.

54:45Okay, so my temptation to tell him this is the moment he found somebody, the moment they got married, they're going to want their place. And she's going to want input on that place. like a wife someday, I would love to see you have your own food truck that you own outright. Like, so I'm going to start investing in this. Not so I have stability. Like I get, I get, I want to have roots and this is mine, but I have found buying a house with my wife is a thing that we do together. It's a tree that we plant. Whereas, and not to say if you're single, you shouldn't buy a house. That's not what I'm saying at all, but like at 19.

55:23But man, if you have that degree in whatever, or in your case, I've got my food truck, I own it outright, nobody owns Miguel, and I'm a provider, I'm here. And that to me feels where I would direct a 19-year-old. Yeah, I guess I'm not worried that you're gonna get a house. It's like, dude, you're so incredible that I'm like, sure, we'll save up and get you a good down payment, get a 15-year mortgage, 25 % of your take-home pay. I have all the faith that you're gonna do that. And so to John's point, I would be focusing on how am I going to build a sustainable career for myself where I own it? And man, that food truck is going to cost a pretty penny because I know you're paying cash.

55:59Yes. What's that going to cost to get your own food truck up and running the whole thing? I mean, the physical truck, the marketing supplies. What's that going to cost? If I build it myself and use like my father's business name and just make like a part two, it's like$15 ,000,$16 ,000. If I want to buy it from a dealer, like$22 ,000,$25 ,000, brand new. I like investing in like a 401 Miguel for the next three years. Yes. Thank you. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, compound growth, you have all the time on your side. If you didn't start till 25 investing and work on the house, you'd still retire a multi, multi, multi millionaire.

56:35So what I don't want you to do is get the house and you're tied up and you're working on maintenance repairs and you don't have the money for the food truck and so you're going to take on a loan because you think it'll pay off and work out. I think it's just going to add stress to your life. And so to John's point, I always love when young people just invest in themselves, especially people as sharp as you, that I'm like, I'm not worried about the income and the money. Like you have an amazing work ethic. You're living on less than you make. You're staying out of debt. And so I would focus on career at this point.

57:00And this is your college, except instead of paying money to a college, you're making money and using it to invest in yourself. So man, I'm so proud of you. Thank you. This guy's incredible. Give it up for him. Thank you. Thank you.

57:16All right. Man, I'm inspired. You guys are incredible. All right. I was such a bum at 19. I know, that's right. Yeah, I'm just like, dude, what were we doing at 19? Hey, I was staring in the mirror wondering, will I ever get a beard? No. I was taking out student loans. I was in an indie band and working at the Apple store. So yeah, Miguel's crushing all of us. He is, he is. Good job, Miguel. All right, if you listen to the radio show for some time, you know that we've had some great moments on air, some hilarious calls, some crazy calls, some heartbreaking calls. And so we're gonna play a little game.

57:51We're gonna play Two Truths and a Lie, but with Ramsey Show calls. So we're gonna tell you the headline of the call that we actually took on air, but one of them was not a real call, okay? You ready to play? So I'm gonna do A, B, C, tell me which one is the lie. A, is it okay to work as a stripper if I'm making good money to put toward my debt snowball? B, I'm allergic to budgeting. I break out in hives. or is it C, I have 35 credit cards?

58:21I'm hearing a lot of B. Is that fair? I break out in hives. That's the lie. That was the lie? I don't think we've taken that call where someone has a physical reaction. But the stripper call was you and John. That was one of the calls on the way home. I was like, I think we actually helped somebody today. All right, next one. Which one is the lie? A, my husband's been hiding$15 ,000 in the closet. B, my husband is having sleepovers at his ex-girlfriend's house or is it C, my twin sister stole my identity? Oh.

58:57Very mixed crowd on this one. I heard a lot of A's. Make some noise if you think it's A is the lie. Okay, make some noise if you think B is the lie about the sleepovers at ex-girlfriends. Make some noise if you think it's C, twin sister stole the identity. That's pretty equal. Okay, it's C. My twin sister stole my identity. We did not take that call, unfortunately. That would be a great call. But Deloney took the my husband's been hiding 15 grand in the closet. I remember that. I guess there's worse problems to have. Like, I just found out there's all the savings lying around. I'm like, all right.

59:29There's tons of wives that were like, really? Do you do? He's like, I don't know. Better than finding you to get 15 grand in debt, you know? The question is, what was he using the money for or going to use the money for? Listen, George. That's where the call is. It's all coming down. we gotta have 15 ,000 of cash who was the who took the call about sleepovers that was Dave I was gonna say that sounds like a you that was an old one old school Dave call when he was solo wow my husband's having sleepovers at his ex-girlfriends yeah we gotta go google that by the way you can literally just type all these into YouTube and find them later for your own enjoyment alright next one which one's the lie A.

1:00:05I make $700 ,000 a year but I'm miserable B. I was scammed by a NASCAR impersonator or C, my daughter embezzled$80 ,000 from our business. B, I was scammed by a NASCAR impersonator. Happy to tell you that was a real call. I was on that call. I remember that. I believe that. I believe that. It was a lot of money he gave this guy. No, the lie was A, I make$700 ,000 a year, but I'm miserable. Oh, interesting. A very believable call. It is. Over the NASCAR impersonator. So if you ever get a Facebook message from a NASCAR driver, just know you're about to get scammed. All right, next one. My ex-wife and baby mama are now friends.

1:00:46Our kids' sports are costing us$20 ,000 a year, and we're$150 ,000 in debt. I believe that. Or C, we haven't paid our bills in six years. Which one is the lie? You guys could not be more wrong. A and C are real calls. B, our kids' sports are costing us$20 ,000 a year, we're$150 ,000 in debt. It's$50 ,000. Come on, y 'all. Yeah, it's way more than that for kids' sports. All right, our next lineup. Which one's the lie? A, my friend wants me to spend three grand for her bachelorette trip. How do I tell her no? B, should I give my misbehaving spouse an allowance? And C, we're homeless and it's my wife's fault.

1:01:26Once again, you guys couldn't... We really planted these well. It's A, my friend wants me to spend three grand for her bachelorette trip. But I feel like we've taken very similar calls. I feel like I took that call. James did his dirty on that one. James, wait a second. Boo! Yeah, Deloney was on the, should I give my misbehaving spouse an allowance? I just don't like the word allowance for a grown adult. I don't even like it on kids, honestly. I don't like the phrase, my misbehaving adult. Yeah. That's how they titled it. It may not be their words, but there we go. No, that's literally what they said.

1:01:55Oh. Oh, gosh. We got problems. I think of Austin Powers, like the O-behave. O-behave, yeah. Next one. Which one's the lie? A, I inherited$1.25 million from my boss. B, I spent almost$500 ,000 on med school and didn't pass the boards, or C, I have rats living in my walls and my landlord won't do anything about it. C is a lie. What was B? I spent almost 500 grand on med school and didn't pass the boards. I remember that. I was on that. Well, Dave took that one. I think it's an old school Dave call. Oh. I took that. I inherited 1.25 million from my boss. I had questions. Yeah, I got questions. What is the relationship like with the boss?

1:02:34Makes you wonder. What do you think we'll inherit from our boss? Precisely zero dollars. Precisely. Yeah. He's like, you are inheriting. It's called a salary. It's a job. As long as you work there. Congratulations on the inheritance. Rachel's not here to defend herself. Okay. All right, let's get to another live question. What's your first name? Where are you from? I'm Doug, and I'm from New York, but I moved to Florida like 10 years ago. Cool. My question is, I'm engaged. Me and my fiance are going to be married, hopefully, by September. I just opened up an LLC, and we want to know how the best method for combining finances.

1:03:13We have shared goals. We're already in premarital counseling. So if you could give me some tips on stuff maybe we wouldn't get from practical or traditional advice. That'd be great. September of the next year? Yes. Like 2026. Is she here? I plead the fifth. I'm just telling you right now, I'll perform the ceremony right now if you want to just do it. Love that. He's done it. No, we're huge fans of your show. Every Monday, Wednesday. Would we get married today? I would love it. Ari, would you?

1:03:44I don't think it's going to happen. All right. I was going to say. You did roll right here. You did roll in here in short. No, y 'all do the plan you had planned. Yeah, yeah. Do the plan you had planned. That would have been epic. So you want untraditional advice on how to combine finances? Yes, please. Or like the best method. You know how untraditional it is to combine finances? Yeah. We get so much hate for telling people, hey, what if you had like a joint checking account? No. My independence. So I'll just tell you what my wife and I did. I had a checking account. She had a checking account.

1:04:18We moved the money into mine and made it a joint account. Kept my account number and she shut hers down. We have a joint high yield savings account. That's it. Now, as far as the business goes, is she part of the business? Yes. Okay. Then she should be on the business accounts as well. Even business checking, business savings. We got to open that up. And I'm doing the work. She's just like helping me with all the admin stuff, which sounds horrible. I just realized. No, I said, I'll do all the work. I'm doing all the work. Yes. No, I get it. That's what I'm not like. Yeah, this lady over here is going to come after you.

1:04:46You're not careful, so. But I heard, I think it was, I'm sorry. Here's some untraditional advice. Yeah. Don't combine money until you're married. Okay. And here's why. It's not like a church answer. I can make a case for that. But this is a, and again, I'm only saying this. I think y 'all are going to go be married for 75 years. You're going to live to be 140 years old. It's going to be awesome. But if you're married and you end up not making it, there is a legal process for dividing assets. If you're just dating or you're engaged and y 'all start mixing stuff up, it is a nightmare to untangle it.

1:05:27Can we do a pre-prenup on that? I wouldn't. Okay. What's a pre-prenup? I don't know. I thought that'd be something. Just making up new legal tools. Yeah. I would have an LLC in your name and you 1099 her and you pay her as an employee. Well, I heard Dave Ramsey, or it was you, John. One caller didn't know where her husband was spending the money. And immediately I was like, Ari, you got to know, I want you to know every dollar that comes in, which isn't a lot right now, so it's easy. But, like, no. You can tell her, though. Yeah. Yeah. So, all right. So I'll tell her. And then once we're married, then we do it.

1:06:06But like, because we heard a lot of different ones where like we live off one person's salary and invest the other. Like, is there a way, have you guys ever heard of that? Is there a way to ease into that? There's really no benefit of doing that because when it's combined, it's both people's salary. So then the question is, well, what are we trying to accomplish? Are we trying to invest? And then if we are, then yeah, we're taking 15 % of our money and doing it like that. Now, mathematically, it could work out to end up being, oh, that happens to be the amount of money that you make. But that's just kind of a coincidence at that point.

1:06:40So it's really looking at the whole and saying, what baby step are we on? And then what amount of our money does it require to accomplish that baby step? Okay, thank you very much. I can't tell you the importance of changing from mine and yours to ours. Oh, we're all about that. I got debt-free because of you guys. I got my... No, you got debt-free because of you, brother. Thank you. That's awesome. It's awesome. No, one line you said that stuck with me, we were just dating then, and she was going through a lot, and I just said, what can I do to help you feel supported? Game changer. We're engaged now.

1:07:17Okay. She said, put a ring on it. That made me feel supported, and he did. Way to go, man. That's awesome. Thank you very much, guys. Yeah, we're rooting for you. Congrats, brother. All right. Let's get to some more fishbowl questions, James. Where'd the fishbowl go? John has it? Okay. Let's pull a few more out, John. If you weren't doing this job, what career would you want instead? I know mine. What's that? The singing chef. Well, I already did the entertainment thing. I'd be a chef. I'd open a restaurant. You got a name for it yet or you not want to leak it? Miguel's Food Truck Incorporated.

1:07:54I have some ideas, but I'm not ready to share them tonight. Okay, so we got Chef. George, what would you, and I like the way it says it, what would you want instead? What would I want instead? I mean, I think right now there's probably some gaps in the late night show host field, so I'd probably put my hat in the ring. You know? It just feels fun. Like the writers write, and I do the monologue, I interview some celebrities, we have a good time, sneak in some personal finance advice in there. I could see you doing that. You know, just give people some hope. And part of that is comedy. And part of it is encouragement and fighting against cynicism and nihilism, which is what we're up against with young people today.

1:08:30So that's what I think I would attempt to do. I'd probably, it'd really be a YouTube channel. TV doesn't exist anymore. What would you do? Man, walking into this room, like into this, this is like an old, like a rock club, right? Like walking into this room reminded me, like when I was 19, I so badly wanted to be the lead singer of like a punk rock band that would fill out rooms like this and just have chaotic evenings and then just go to the next town. So I'd want to do that. But after the last year or two, if I could make a living, travel in the country as a standup comic, that'd be fun. That's just a super fun time.

1:09:08It's a blast. Fantastic. Okay. Do you have a frugal habit you'll never give up? George's entire life. Oh, man. So, I mean, all of them. but namely after being in Chicago two days ago and now Orlando, I will circle for parking for a good 15 minutes. If I'm with my wife, 10. If it's just me, 15. And I'm willing to walk at least a half mile to get free parking over a paid lot. That's my frugal habit. That's good. And I stand by that. I will not be bullied by the parking lots. Oh, man. Are you thinking? He's like, I've never been frugal. Yeah. I can think of one. I hate throwing away food. I mean, I'll, I'll, I've been known to eat some questionable food in the refrigerator just to make sure it doesn't go in the garbage.

1:10:02I am, I am the garbage disposal. Listen, 11 days doesn't faze me. I will get into it. What'd you say? I said 11 days doesn't faze me. Like lasagna? Come on. It's the gift that keeps on giving george is changing color right next to you dude i'm like three days i'm like no most things are good like seven to ten days three days to rise from the dead i think we can throw away the food now like no man george throws it away 48 hours before the expiration date that's what the microwaves are for they need to poisoning once to go never again never again a frugal habit i will never give up. I guess, man, I have a thing where cars and trucks and clothes and shoes, the price of those things is frozen in my head at the age of 20.

1:11:02And I remember buying a truck that I could not afford for$17 ,000 when I was 20. and I went to get a truck a few months ago and I looked at the guy and I was like, you need to go in the parking lot and set yourself on fire for just like, and so it stuck in my head. And I think the habit I would give up, I went ahead and bought the truck because I'm insecure, but the habit I'll never give up is like dramatic, exasperated dad anger over the cost of everything. That's my habit. That's strong. All right, pass it down to Jade, because I don't want this lady to yell at us. All right, here we go. What do you think your life would look like if you weren't following the baby steps?

1:11:53What a great question. I've thought about this actually many times. So because of COVID specifically, because when COVID happened, I remember looking at Sam being like, I'm so grateful that we did the baby steps and I'm so grateful we're debt free and we don't, you know, everything is safe like we can because I told you entertainment shut down. So without it, listen, I don't even know. Number one, I hate to say this, but we may have gone through a time where we literally would have been like homeless and had to live with our parents, but neither of us can live with our parents. So we might've chosen like that street life.

1:12:29Mom, dad, homeless, we'll take seats. Yeah, listen, it wouldn't have been good. terrible. Yeah, I'm trying to picture, like, going through it. Like, I probably have bought too much house too soon, 30-year mortgage gone well. I guess I'll be, you know, 60 when that's paid off. Probably would, like, be leasing, like, the newest Tesla, like it's an iPhone upgrade. I'd be finessing credit card points and convincing myself that I'm the smartest one. That you're winning? Bragging about, like, the hotel I got for free, not realizing that I spent 60 grand to get that free hotel. So I'd probably be like just that insufferable bro.

1:13:06You would have a mustache. An insufferable bro. Just a mustache. Really tighter jeans than you have on right now. Yeah, probably still single. I think fiscal responsibility is one of my only attractive traits at this point. So I think that helped get my wife. See, I would just be an insufferable guy bragging about how I'm like, I'm finessing the system, but secretly I'd be stressed out. I would be, no question, I would be institutionalized. I'd be insane.

1:13:34That's not me making a joke. I'd be insane. I hear you. Like, I owed so much. And every second, there were these hounds that were coming after me. And it was such an insane, anxious mess. And my life was so out of control. The most frustrating thing for me as a scientist, as a guy who did research for years, and as a professor was to meet this guy named Dave who came up with a neuroscientifically accurate plan to pay off your debt, but also reclaim stability in your nervous system. And so like following that plan also got me into a gym and it also got me into a therapist and it also got me like sitting down across from my wife saying like we can choose a better marriage.

1:14:24like all those things because it gave me freedom. And that allowed me to take a deep breath and then think about what was next. So yeah, I'd definitely be not allowed out in public. I love that. Yeah, I found like when people do their debt-free scream, one of my favorite things is like, they're like, oh, and I lost 50 pounds and my marriage got better. Like there's something where discipline begets discipline. And what I love about the debt-free scream is yes, you got out of debt, that's great. But it makes you realize how much agency you have over your life. Yeah. And once you have that, you're like, what else can't, why can't I have a better marriage?

1:15:01Why can't I have a better career? And so it's one of my favorite things about the baby steps is it's really just like a little hack to realize that you have more control than you think. That's awesome. Well said. All right. What do you guys talk about during the commercial breaks of the show? Tell them about the game. The game? It's time. They can know. What game? You guys play a game without me? No, you and Ken taught me the game. Oh, like the Ramsey After Dark? Yes. What we would have said. Oh, oh, oh, okay. What we wanted to say. What you muttered under your breath in the car that you couldn't say to your kids.

1:15:34That's kind of what we do during the breaks is the real talk. They're like, just the frustration, the anger, the hilarious thing that we could have said, but may have been inappropriate. Well, I thought it would be fun to end the night with something that is one of our favorite moments on the show, and that is the debt-free scream. Can we end with that? All right. We have someone that we've hand-selected who we think would be a wonderful way to end the night. Would you help us welcome Jessica to the debt-free stage? Give it up for Jessica. All right, Jessica. This is a different debt-free scream.

1:16:11Yes. Yes, it is. You look like you're having an out-of-body experience. Mm-hmm. Yeah. How much debt did you pay off? I paid off$127 ,611. Let's go. Okay. What kind of debt was that? Oh, most of it was graduate school loans. I also had a car loan, medical debt, and credit cards. Wow. A little potpourri. Oh, and I cash flowed an emergency appendectomy. Oh, wow. Yeah. Okay, nothing's stopping you now. Not anymore. What was the grad degree for? I got my master's in international affairs. Wonderful. What do you do for work? Right now, I work for grants and research for a local law enforcement agency in Tampa.

1:16:58Very cool. Thank you. Okay, how long did it take to pay off? Was that$127 ,000, you said? $127 ,000. Yeah, it took me just shy of five years. Wow. Holy smokes. Okay, and what was your range of income during that time? Started at 43 and ended at 72 at that time. Wow. You're amazing. That is impressive. You're amazing. Wow. How did you do it? You lived on nothing. Were you selling stuff? Were there side hustles? How much did you sell that appendix for? Listen, if I could have, no. I did do a couple of side hustles. There was a limited option for overtime at my work. So I did tap into that. I did do a side gig of grant writing.

1:17:38I also did a lot of dog sitting over the course of that time. I did get a promotion and that's why it jumped up. that was about two years ago. So halfway through, but yes. Yeah, but honestly, living way below my means. Like honestly, all that budget is key. If you're not on it, get on it. But living below my means was incredible. Having really understanding family and friends that when I said I couldn't go out to eat, but can we do a potluck? You know, that sort of thing. What got you on the Ramsey plan to begin with? um so around covid um i hadn't heard of y 'all quite yet but we started getting these checks from the government for different things and people were buying pelotons and water coolers and i didn't want any of that um i had a lot of anxiety for my school loans and i just started to you know pinterest getting out of debt because i'm that's my generation that's fantastic okay so you get on a plan and you're making you know 43 grand and you're like all right let's start cleaning up a six-figure mess here?

1:18:38Yep. I started with the checks with my car, and then I snowballed my credit card, my medical debt, and then I had three different student loans. Two of them were federal, and so I tried to take as much advantage of that pause and the interest rate as I could. And then the last one was my private loan, which was about$60 ,000, and that did not have a pause on it, so I just had to flow that through. You just plowed through that thing. So five years is a long journey. I mean, Jade and her husband, Sam, it was like seven years because with a whole bunch of debt, almost half a million. Yeah. Speak to the person who has that longer journey ahead of them who's like, two years, sure, but five, I can't stick it out that long.

1:19:19Yeah, it was just shy. It was three months shy of five years. So I completely understand that mentality. It was hard, but I had, I think it maybe was you, Jade, on the call. well, you're going to be somewhere in five years. Where do you want to be? And I really wanted to be debt-free. I did not want to live the life that I was living. So I was like, what needs to be true for me to get there? I love that. Listen, you've got the mindset. I'm curious, because we're kindred spirits on this. What was the craziest thing that you did that you were like, I don't care. I'll do it if I have to get out of debt.

1:19:53Was it something you cut from your budget? Was it a job you did? Yes. Okay, so it does have to do with the appendectomy. So I was dog sitting at the time and I was at, I was at work at my day job and I went to the gym and I was like, something doesn't feel right. I think I ate too many chips. Not that. It turned out that I needed to go to the hospital, but I was dog sitting and I was like, if I, if this is what I think it is, I'm not coming home and I really don't want to lose this money, this tip. So I went back, walked the dog, figured out everything with the dog and then drove myself to the hospital.

1:20:26You left the hospital to walk the dog? Well, I didn't go to the hospital first. I went, you know. You waited. knowing that this was like exploding inside of you. And you're like, we've got to walk the dog. I need to walk the dog so the dog doesn't explode inside my house. I wasn't going to get the full amount because I wasn't going to stay, you know, for the agreed upon time. But I really wanted that tip. I got you. I'd call that gazelle intensity. Yeah. Is there any chance you're around 19 or 20 years old? Me? No. Sorry, Miguel. I tried, brother. Dang it. This was feeling like perfect. Set you up, brother.

1:21:00So you had some cheerleaders. You said friends, family. Yeah, yeah. My family was really supportive, specifically my parents and my siblings and their families. And then I got connected to a really good group at my church. Some of my work family supported me as well. I love it. So what do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is out of all that stuff you did? Man, I mean, aside from the budget, you have to know your why. unless you have a bigger why of getting out. And for me, it was just, I knew what I wanted to, I knew what I wanted my 30s to look like and it didn't want to be beholden to the man.

1:21:36It wanted to be free for the generosity that we've talked about and just the bigger planes of doing whatever I want. So I kept that in mind when the times were hard. Wow. You're an inspiration. I love it. Amazing. Love it. Let's get to the moment we've all been waiting for. You ready? This is a special debt-free scream because usually the person doing the scream has like seven people in the lobby you get 300 new best friends to cheer you on all right it's jessica from florida 127 000 paid off in five years three months less than five years to be exact making 43 to 72 count it down let's hear a debt-free scream three two one god provides i'm debt free

1:22:37We got the disco lights out here for you. That's something different. Okay, thank you so much, Jessica. We've got a parting gift for you. We're going to gift you a year of every dollar premium, the all new one that coaches you along this baby steps journey. That was a key to your debt free journey. And I feel bad doing that in front of all these people. So I feel like we should give it to more people. Don't you think we should give it to a few more people? Okay. Look under your seat. We've got a year of every dollar premium for everybody in here tonight. Yay. No, that's for real. Look under your seat.

1:23:08It's seriously there. This is our Oprah moment. Congratulations. You get it. It's taped under your chairs, guys. You're all getting one year of our all new every dollar. It's more than just a budgeting app now. We just released the newest version. Yeah. That will coach you guys along the journey. It's got a digital coach experience, recommendations. You got group coaching. So that's our gift to you to say thank you for being a part of our live audience. Yeah. Give it to someone if you already have it. Guys, this has been so fun. Did you guys have a good time being a part of Ramsey Show Live?

1:23:40I'm inspired by you all tonight. The way you're living out the Ramsey plan, the dreams you have, the visions you have for your life, the people you want to become, the people you've transformed into already. like it's just it gives me hope for america that we're gonna be okay because of people like you who decided i have agency over my life that's what this represents tonight so thank you guys so much for being here and hey um i'm just gonna say this as directly as i can i'm not trying to be silly but like right now leaving your house and joining a room full of strangers on a shared mission is an act of courage.

1:24:20And I want to thank everybody who came out and who said, I'm going to go into a room and meet a bunch of new people and hang out with a group of people that we listened to. And we're going to get to see them and experience them. Thank y 'all for being brave. Thank you for being courageous. This right here, leaving your homes and being around like-minded people that share the same mission as you. That's how this whole thing changes. And so thank y 'all for leaving your homes and coming and being a part of this tonight. It's awesome.

1:24:48You guys are incredible. Thank you, Orlando. We love you guys. Have a great night.