18 Minutes of Dangerous Money Advice From the Internet

Summary

Podcast Summary
George Kamel | Ramsey Network
Episode: 18 Minutes of Dangerous Money Advice From the Internet
Date: August 7, 2026

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Main Theme & Purpose

In this episode, George Kamel and Dave Ramsey dissect and debunk some of the worst personal finance advice trending on social media platforms, especially TikTok. Using Ramsey’s proven money principles as a baseline, they react with humor, snark, and fact-based clarity to viral tips on insurance, real estate, loans, taxes, car buying, and more—showing where influencers go wrong and how listeners can protect themselves from common money traps.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Whole Life / Infinite Banking “Hacks”
    - [00:22 – 02:46]
    - A TikTok influencer claims whole life insurance “is way better than a house” for building wealth, touting cash value, tax-free growth, and “infinite banking.”
    - Dave Ramsey tears into the pitch, calling it “absolute hogwash garbage.”
     - Main arguments:
      - Whole life premiums are 10–15x costlier than term life.
      - Cash value returns are “crappy,” and insurers keep your cash value when you die.
      - The policies are peddled for the commissions, not for your benefit.
     - Solution: Use term life for protection, invest separately for growth.
     - Quote: “Do not ever mix insurance with investing. That’s how you know you got got by a guy like this.” [02:20 – Dave Ramsey]

2. HELOC for Investment Arbitrage
    - [02:49 – 04:21]
    - Real estate guru explains taking a HELOC (home equity line of credit) to buy another property, claiming big returns and minimal risk.
    - Dave lambasts this as “snake oil,” highlighting dangers:
     - Risking your home.
     - No guarantee of 25% ROI, while the value of homes is not always going up.
     - Over-leveraging can lead to financial disaster.
     - The Ramsey Rule: “Don’t buy investment property until your primary home is paid off.”
     - Quote: “Robbing Peter to pay Paul by taking money from your house...built on a house of cards that can come crumbling down with one bad move.” [04:24 – Dave Ramsey]

3. 401(k) Loans for Lifestyle Purchases
    - [06:02 – 08:12]
    - A man brags about “paying himself back” via 401(k) loans for cars, campers, and more.
    - Dave distinguishes this from an outright 401(k) withdrawal, but points out:
     - You still cost yourself years of compound growth.
     - You’re swapping long-term tax-advantaged assets for depreciating purchases.
     - Only consider before age 59.5 in extreme emergencies.
     - “Don’t go into debt for anything. Don’t take out your 401(k) loans to fund your fun stuff. Just save up like a grown adult.” [07:56 – Dave Ramsey]

4. Deducting a Private Chef as a Business Write-Off
    - [08:12 – 08:49]
    - Influencer claims you can make every family meal a “tax-deductible business meeting.”
    - Dave calls this “tax fraud,” not advice.
     - Warns the audience: “I don’t recommend sharing your debit card information with strangers. Every time you shop online, you are trusting a website with your financial information.” [08:56 – Dave Ramsey]
    - Adds an emotional punch: “Your wife doesn’t want to hang out with your business clients every night. Let her eat in peace.” [09:43 – Dave Ramsey]
    - Clarifies that write-offs aren’t “free money”—you only save the tax on the expense, not the whole thing.

5. Car Loans vs. Paying Cash for Your First Car
    - [11:06 – 13:18]
    - Young influencer says paying cash is “dumb” and that loans help you build credit.
    - Dave rejects this, promoting delayed gratification and the peace of cash purchases:
     - Plenty of used cars are available for $10k or less.
     - Financing keeps people stuck chasing credit scores.
     - “Pay cash, do not finance. Don’t get stuck in this payment cycle, which…keeps people broke.” [12:36 – Dave Ramsey]

6. Cash Advance & Payday Loan Apps
    - [13:18 – 14:10]
    - App reviewer praises cash-advance apps as a way to “get money quick.”
    - Dave explains how these are just digital payday lenders with monstrous APRs (500%+), trapping users in a cycle of debt.
    - Solution: Increase your income and expenses, use a real budgeting app, not debt products.
     - “If you’re going to these apps, you are going to be in desperate need of $50 for the rest of your life. So break free. The solution is you, your income, living on less than you make.” [14:33 – Dave Ramsey]

7. Rapid-Fire Satirical TikTok Takes
    - [15:20 – 16:20]
    - Parody segment featuring absurd claims:
     - Save $1 a day = $30,000/year.
     - “Why not buy the restaurant instead of a meal?”
     - Lip injections save $80,000?
     - Monopoly-themed life hacks.
    - Dave enjoys the satire, noting: “If it sounds easy, it’s probably not good advice. If it sounds like it’s going to take some work, it’s probably the right advice.” [16:28 – Dave Ramsey]

8. Closing Parody & Final Thoughts
    - [16:20 – 17:41]
    - Dave receives comic relief from a Monopoly parody, reminding that real financial success comes from steady, slow growth and avoiding shortcuts and risky “hacks.”
    - Emphasizes the dangers of get-rich-quick schemes, leveraging debt, and too-good-to-be-true financial hacks.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On life insurance scams:
   - “I hate everything. I hate this timeline.” [01:22 – Dave Ramsey]
   - “All of this is built on a house of cards that can come crumbling down with one bad move.” [04:24 – Dave Ramsey]

• On 401(k) loans:
   - “That’s like saying, well, getting punched in the face is better than losing a toe.” [06:55 – Dave Ramsey]
   - “Just save up like a grown adult. That’s all I’m asking.” [08:10 – Dave Ramsey]

• On tax advice gone wrong:
   - “This is reeking of tax fraud…That audit is gonna hit different.” [08:35 – Dave Ramsey]
   - “Your wife doesn’t wanna hang out with your business clients every night…Let her eat in peace.” [09:29 – Dave Ramsey]

• On car buying advice:
   - “I got socks older than you, kid.” [12:11 – Dave Ramsey]
   - “Plenty of used cars under $10,000. [People] save up…That’s called delayed gratification. That’s part of being an adult.” [12:22 – Dave Ramsey]

• On payday apps:
   - “These are very predatory apps…you are going to be in desperate need of $50 for the rest of your life.” [14:24 – Dave Ramsey]

• Monopoly Memes:
   - “Flip your mindset…Just roll doubles and you’re done.” [15:59 – Monopoly Game Player]
   - “Which Monopoly game piece you think I would be and why are we going thimble?…What’s the purpose of the thimble?” [16:35 – Dave Ramsey]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:22] – Infinite Banking/Whole Life Insurance Myth Debunked
• [02:49] – HELOC for Investment Properties: Pitfalls
• [06:02] – 401(k) Loans for Big Purchases: Why Not
• [08:12] – Fake Tax Write-Offs and Audit Risks
• [11:06] – Should You Finance or Pay Cash for First Car?
• [13:18] – Payday and Cash Advance Apps: Debt Cycle
• [15:20] – Parody of TikTok Money Myths (Monopoly Segment)
• [16:20] – Comic Relief and Closing Cautions

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Overall Tone

• Humorous, candid, and snarky—lots of pop culture references and quick-witted jabs at viral “gurus.”
• Unapologetically fact-based (sometimes harshly so), pulling no punches in calling out bad advice.
• Still supportive in providing actual solutions and encouragement for building real financial stability.

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Final Takeaways

This episode is an entertaining and essential guide to spotting “dangerous money advice” online. George Kamel and Dave Ramsey lay out why discipline, patience, and sound, boring financial basics beat hype and trendy hacks every single time. Listeners walk away with clear direction: avoid debt, invest for the long haul, and always ask “Who’s really benefiting from this advice?”

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For further laughs and learning, listen through for the rapid-fire TikTok parody segment—an over-the-top but true-to-life spoof of Internet financial pseudoscience.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

The people of TikTok have spoken and per usual, I suspect they are wrong. Probably today we're reacting to their worst money advice to see just how far down the rabbit hole of debt these financial tweedledees and tweedledums have gone. But before we get to the madness, let's raise a cup of tea to delete me for sponsoring this channel.

[Financial TikTok Influencer 1]

Oh, you're supposed to use life insurance while you're alive.

[Life Insurance Salesperson]

It's called life insurance, not death insurance. Let me show you why. So imagine life insurance policy is a house. You see, every time you make a payment on your house, you build equity in the house. You can then use that equity for whatever you want by getting a home equity line of credit. See? But life insurance is way better. Check this out. With life insurance, when you put money in, you build equity in the form of cash value. That cash value is guaranteed to grow 100% tax free. The money is protected against judgment and lawsuit. In most states, you can access the cash value at any time for whatever you want by taking a policy, loan or. But unlike your house, there is no credit checks required. There's no financial statements required. Unlike your house, there's no repayment terms required. Could take the money and buy a car, go on a vacation or do an investment to make more money. And the whole time you're doing this, you're not interrupting your guaranteed compound growth.

[Dave Ramsey]

I hate everything. I hate this timeline. To learn more, check out the infinite banking link in my bio. I got to admit, they come up with really cool names for scams these days. All right, so everything this woman at the front and this guy for the rest of it said is just absolute hogwash garbage. Here's the problems. The premiums for a whole life cash value policy are typically 10 to 15 times more expensive than a term life policy. And the cash value growth is super slow with crappy returns. And the insurance company keeps the cash value when you die with most policies. But here's why they peddle them. They make so much more money when you buy a whole life policy versus a term life policy. So that's why they peddle them so hard. So here's the deal. You want tax free growth, Invest in a Roth ira. You want more flexibility, Just invest in a mutual fund or index fund outside of retirement. You'll see way better growth without giant commissions that line their pockets. So what's the solution here? Well, insurance is meant to do one thing to transfer risk. Life insurance is meant to do one thing to replace your income if something were to happen. To you, that's it. Do not ever mix insurance with investing. That's how you know you got got by a guy like this. So solution, buy term life insurance on one side to protect your life and your income, and then invest on the other side on your own, without making this guy richer. He already has a nice pool. He doesn't need to. Enough said. I don't want to talk about it.

[Real Estate Investor]

You have a house, and let's just assume for a moment that what you owe on it is $200,000. You bought it several years ago during this last pandemic. What happened? The prices shot through the roof. So let's just assume for a moment that the current value on Your property is 400,000 dol. It's worth 400, but it's half paid off because you only owe $200,000. Did you know that you can go to the bank and you could request something called a home equity line of credit, a heloc, and basically say bank, I would like a credit card that is attached to the available equity in the house. And the bank says, well, we'll go up to 80% of the value. 80% of the value of $400,000 is 320,000. And the difference between 320,000, the max the bank would allow you. But what you owe 200. Basically, the bank says, here's 120,000 DOL. If you don't use it, it's available. It's kind of like a credit card tied to the equity in your home. So you get this home equity line of credit and you're like, what if I went and I bought another house? Let's just say I bought a rental. That rental cost me $50,000 out of pocket. Now where am I getting this $50,000 down payment? I'm getting it from $120,000 line of credit that the bank set up for free for me. Now, here's where arbitrage comes in. I can borrow this 50%, let's say 3%, but I can put it into a property where I'm earning a 25% ROI. And a part of that is cash flow. And let's assume for just a moment that cash flow is $450 a month. I'm borrowing the money at 3, and I'm earning a total return of 25%. Remember, you get to keep what's in the middle, which is.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, I think I've heard enough from the snake oil salesman, which, by the way, this is what this guy does. He sells you on a Course, to arbitrage your life into oblivion and probably cause you to file bankruptcy one day. Sounds fun. I'm not gonna sit here and try to math it out. Here's the stupidity around this. You're just moving backwards financially. You're robbing Peter to pay Paul by taking money from your house, then taking out a giant credit card that hopefully you can pay back while putting your house at risk. With that heloc, your home is collateral. So all of this is built on a house of cards that can come crumbling down with one bad move. So no, Leveraging your way to wealth is not what I recommend, and it's not a peaceful path that you can bank on. So the Ramsey Rule. Do not buy investment property until your primary home is paid off. So, yes, what he's saying here is true. You can take a HELOC out and it can be up to 80% of the value. It doesn't mean you should. John said. I love these scenarios. Property doubles in value. Only a 3% HELOC, no closing cost, 25% ROI in the next property. Rainbows and Unicorns farts. I like the ending. I don't understand the plurality of Rainbows and unicorns farts. I don't know if that's possessive or what he was going for there, if that was a typo or if there's something I'm not understanding about the connectivity between Rainbow's unicorns and their possessive farts jointly. I won't go there. Enzo said you said it so well. Did he though? These snake oil salesmen are wasting everyone's time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. And note, anything that comes out of this guy's mouth, just run. Run. Far, far, far. All right, the blood pressure's going up. Let's see if we can keep it up.

[401k Loan Advocate]

Listen to me and listen to me well. Taking loans out of my 401k, bought everything that we wanted, and I paid myself back. Instead of taking a loan for bought campers, it bought cars and almost bought a boat. All the motorcycles that I bought, everything that I bought, I took a loan out of my 401k, I went and paid cash for it, and then I just paid myself back, and it was coming out of my paycheck and I didn't even have to look, didn't have to pay attention to it. Truth of the matter is, every single time you do that, you lose out on compound interest. But if you're taking a loan and your loan rate isn't that great. What's the difference between paying a high interest rate and losing on compound interest?

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, I've heard enough. I'm losing brain cells the longer I watch this. 401k loans are not the move. Sure. Is it better than a 401k withdrawal where you're just taking the money out forever with penalties, with taxes, unplugging all that compound growth? Sure, but that's like saying, well, getting punched in the face is better than losing a toe.

[Financial TikTok Influencer 1]

That is a really good point.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, great. We can all agree on that, Bud. But here's the deal. Taking money out of a 401k, or any retirement account for that matter, before age 59 and a half should be a last resort option when you're facing bankruptcy or foreclosure. It's not free money to go get cars and boats and motorcycles, which, by the way, you're trading something going up in value with tax advantages, and then you're unplugging all of that growth, paying interest on that loan to yourself back into the 401k while buying things with cash. It's not with cash, bud. You use debt to do it. Then those things go down in value while you just decimated your nest egg. So, no. This is a terrible idea. Buy the things you can afford. Make sure that all the things with wheels and motors in your life is no more than half your annual income, and use that margin to invest for the future. That's it. Don't go into debt for anything. Don't take out your 401 loans to fund your fun stuff. Just save up like a grown adult. That's all I'm asking.

[Tax Strategy Enthusiast]

I can't write off a private chef. But if I invite somebody over every single night to have business meetings with me and I hire a private chef to cook the meals, I can write off the private chef and the food that went into making the meal. This is how I'm able to afford having that private chef every single year, every single month, every single day, inside of my house, making me and my wife meals, along with my friends, family members and my business clients, who also some of my family members sit on my board of directors.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, so family dinners are now a tax write off. This is reeking of tax fraud. And I highly doubt this guy has a private chef constantly. But he's teaching the tax game, apparently. I don't. I would. I would not want to take tax advice from this guy. He's going to get you into jail real quick. No trial, no, no nothing. I don't know how you're even allowed to say this on the Internet. Oh, H and R Block. Oh, for anyone in the comments. Don't do this, User X. Even H and R Block cooked this. Man, that is embarrassing. That's super. That's like the kid in school who's like the last one to get picked on kickball roasting you in front of your friends. I was that kid. I can say it. That audit is gonna hit different. I don't need to be a tax expert to tell you this is not legal. And by the way, your wife doesn't wanna hang out with your business clients every night, let alone family business clients. Yikes. Let her eat in peace. Just go eat out every day if you're gonn this expensive and dumb. And by the way, writing it off does not mean it's free. It means you're saving a percentage of what that thing cost you in your taxes come April. Here's a stat for you. 0 out of 0 smart people recommend tax fraud and something else. I don't recommend sharing your debit card information with strangers. And here's the thing. Every time you shop online, you are trusting a website with your financial information. And the last thing you want is for your data to be compromised and a slew of unauthorized charges hitting your account. And that's why for years I've loved and used Privacy.com, a sponsor of today's video. Privacy protects you by creating a unique card number for every merchant you shop with so that your real debit card number is never shared. So if a merchant gets compromised, only the virtual card number is exposed, not your bank account. And you can set up spending limits, time limits, all sorts of stuff with these virtual cards. So sign up today and you'll get a $5 credit just for being a fan of this channel. That's a free five bucks, people. Go to privacy.comgeorge to sign up. And before we get back to these unwise beyond their years influencers, here's a bit of advice I think we can all agree on. Don't overpay for your phone bill. And thanks to Boost Mobile, another sponsor of today's video, you won't have to. With their unlimited plan, you'll pay just 25 bucks a month. Forever. No changes, no hidden fees, no contracts. That whole talk is cheap line. Yeah, these guys are actually doing it. So talk or doom. Scroll as much as you want. The price stays the same at 25 bucks. You can bring your phone, keep your number and start saving. Make the Switch today. At boostmobile.com SL Ramsey $25 forever requires customers to remain active on Boost Mobile Unlimited plan. All right, back to whatever.

[Car Buying Advisor]

This is a mistake that a lot of you guys make is thinking you need to buy your first car cash. Now I'm not saying you should never buy a car cash, but I'm saying that sometimes it's not the smartest thing to do. Cuz look, taking out a small loan that is still manageable for you is going to build your credit one. I know a common budget for people's first cars around like 15 to 20k. First of all, if you have 15 to 20k cash for your first car by yourself, bro, get go get you something nice. But I know there's also some people who have like 10k who are trying to buy a car cash, bro. You're not getting a car for 10k cash no more. Also for teenagers, like if you are saving up your money for a long period of time, like you're Saving up like 10k or something, bro, dropping all of that money on a car that leaves you literally broke. But I would say like the main thing is building that credit, bro, because like a lot of people go into like their 20s and like have no credit history and then it's hard to buy anything or like to finance anything. But yeah, that's really all. Let me know in the comments what you guys think.

[Dave Ramsey]

I think this, I think this is called rage bait in today's world, especially coming from a guy whose username is Rowan Whips. Rowan whips Accurate LX content, dude. Imagine we're in like 2090 and you're like, what your, what your great grandfather do? You're like, oh, he was, he had a TikTok account about Acura TLX content. That's the legacy you want to leave. Car buying tips and advice. I would not take any car buying tips or advice from this guy. I got socks older than you, kid. So from the start it just made me angry from him saying it's dumb to pay cash. And who even has the money? Well, people who save up over time. And maybe they got help from their parents for their first car. Maybe their parents covered half of whatever they saved. That happens a lot. Maybe they just bought a reasonable used car, which by the way, you can get lots of cars for under $10,000. No one's telling you to drive that car for the rest of your life. But can you drive it for three years, five years, seven years while saving up to upgrade? Yes. That's called delayed gratification that's part of being an adult. So pay cash, do not finance. Don't get stuck in this payment cycle, which, by the way, is what keeps people broke, especially as they chase their credit score, which just lets you get more debt, which lets you get more payments, which then keeps you more broken. Take a deep breath. Take a deep breath.

[App Reviewer]

If you need extra money in your pocket, you have a bill coming up. Hold on one second. And I'm going to give you a few apps that I have personally used myself that have helped me in times of need. Hold on. The first app I will suggest is Credit Convey. Okay? When you go into the Apple Store, I have an iPhone. Where you go in the Apple Store, there's going to be an app with a blue background. The letters are going to be white, and it's going to be a C and A2. It is Credit Combi. They let me borrow $50. The next app I will suggest is for my people that do ride share or make food deliveries off of Grubhub, DoorDash, what have you. This app is called Uala. It is spelled U, A, L, E, T, T. They might take a day or two to get back to you, but they let me borrow $550.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, boy. So what she just described is just a modern version of payday lenders and cash advance apps. These are one of the biggest traps to keep people broke. And it's sad because these are very predatory apps. And they'll promise you, hey, need some quick cash? Come to us, we got you. We're not gonna screw you over. And then they trap you with the fees, with the interest, which, by the way, with payday loans, they don't have to disclose. And if you do the Math, you're talking 500%, 1,000%, 4,000% APR is essentially what you're paying because of their fees. And you're borrowing from the next paycheck, staying in the cycle. And it's exactly what keeps people broke. So if you're desperate for 50 bucks and you're going to these apps, you are going to be in desperate need of 50 bucks for the rest of your life. So break free. Don't download these apps. The solution is you, your income, living on less than you make, cutting your expenses down to the bone, working as much as you can to get out of that cycle to where you can create your own 50 bucks, you become your own bank. That's the key to breaking from the cycle. And a budget is what's going to help you do it. So if you want the best budgeting app that I use. It's called everydollar. I'll drop a link in the description. That's the only app you need to break free from this. No loans required.

[Financial TikTok Influencer 1]

You saved a dollar a day for a year. Do you know how much money you'd have? Roughly $30,000.

[Monopoly Game Player]

If you're 25 and you and your friends don't meet up to day trade, how are you expecting to be a millionaire in your 20s?

[Financial TikTok Influencer 1]

If you go to a restaurant and you're like, oh, what am I going to eat for dinner? Like, that's the wrong mindset. You should be thinking, how can I buy this restaurant?

[Monopoly Game Player]

Flip your mindset. If women just stop getting lip injections for a year, What? They save 80k?

[Financial TikTok Influencer 1]

You need great determination and a small loan from your parents.

[Monopoly Game Player]

I'm at the point where if someone came up to me and said, if you slap your mom, I'll give you $15 million. Yeah, I'd slap my mom, but I would not accept the 15 million. Cuz to be honest, that job experience is invaluable.

[Dave Ramsey]

In my resume.

[Financial TikTok Influencer 1]

They say, oh, I have property. How can I make more money on my property? It's simple, like, buy little green houses, maybe a red hotel.

[Monopoly Game Player]

And instead of being innovative and building their passive income income, people are worried about going to jail. Really easy to not go to jail. Just roll doubles and you're done.

[Financial TikTok Influencer 1]

In life, you need to know who you are. Like, are you an iron? Are you a race car? Are you like a thimble? Totally.

[Monopoly Game Player]

And I'm at the point where when I go back to my hometown, people are like, how do I invest in money like you? How do I buy properties like you? Where'd you get that tiny little monocle from?

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, I needed that release. The sweet relief of a parody video where it chaotically escalates into the Monopoly Man. Big fan of this content. More like this on the Internet, guys. More like this. But that's sadly not a far cry from the videos we watch today. Which is just bad math telling people that it's so easy and you just need to do this. No, if it sounds easy, it's probably not good advice. If it sounds like it's going to take some work, it's probably the right advice. All right. Slow is better when it comes to building wealth. And anyone that promises you get rich quick. Just leverage this, take out the cash advance, do the heloc. Debt is not the answer to your problems. Okay, but this perfectly sums up the absurdity of today's. Advice. But fun question for the good of the group. Let me know in the comments section which Monopoly game piece you think I would be and why are we going thimble? Are we going race car? Are we going top hat? Are we going dog? Why are we going thimble? What's the purpose of the thimble? Don't understand that? Let me know. Last but not least, to give me some further reprieve, producer Alex has selected a video of his choosing that may or may not have anything to do with anything. We're gonna watch it and see what we have today. Betting $100 that the gambling addiction hotline operator is a girl.

[Monopoly Game Player]

No.

[Financial TikTok Influencer 1]

Thank you for calling me helpline.

[Dave Ramsey]

Come on, come on. Sorry, wrong number. Come on, bring me my link. Oh, that's dark. That is dark. I wanna know, did they actually call? Is that. Oh, my gosh. That has to be. That has to. No, don't do that to her. That's fun. If we don't laugh, we cry. But just to be clear, I'm not a fan of gambling or gambling addiction. I do not condone this behavior. I simply enjoyed the content that was made. So if you thought today's episode was rich with bad advice, you'll be pleased to know there's more where that came from. The Internet has manifested even more terrible money advice for us to turn up our financially responsible noses at, which I did in this video coming up next. So click here to watch it or use the link in the description. That's it for today. Thanks for watching. We'll see you guys next time.