My Fiancée Won $1.3 Million—Now What?

Summary

Ramsey Everyday Millionaires: Episode Summary – "My Fiancée Won $1.3 Million—Now What?"

Release Date: June 20, 2025

In this compelling episode of Ramsey Everyday Millionaires, host Dave Ramsey, alongside Rachel Cruze, dive deep into the financial journey of William from Indianapolis and his fiancée, who recently secured a substantial settlement following a medical malpractice case. The episode provides invaluable insights for listeners facing significant financial changes, emphasizing disciplined financial planning, strategic investments, and generous giving.

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1. William’s Journey and Fiancée’s Legal Victory

The episode opens with William sharing his fiancée’s challenging medical ordeal and subsequent legal triumph.

• William’s Fiancée’s Surgery and Recovery:

  • [00:14 - 02:00] William recounts his fiancée’s gallbladder surgery complications, leading to a six-month tracheotomy. Despite the initial setbacks, her resilience shone through during recovery.
  • “She is now doing well. She was in it. She had a trach for six months. But in that time she got a pretty good lawyer and he won us around.” – William, [00:24]

• Legal Settlement Success:

  • Thanks to a skilled attorney, William and his fiancée secured a $1.3 million settlement after legal fees.
  • William acknowledges the support:
    • “Cincinnati shout out to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for being the best airway reconstruction in the United States.” – William, [02:12]

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2. Navigating the $1.3 Million Settlement

The core discussion revolves around the optimal use of the newfound wealth, focusing on real estate, investment, and maintaining financial discipline.

• Home Purchase Dilemma:

  • William and his fiancée are undecided between paying cash for a home or making a substantial down payment due to limited credit history.
  • William explains:
    • “We were planning on getting a house because we are getting married, but we didn't know if we were going to do like full cash pay for the house and get it over with or a really hefty down payment since neither one of us have much credit right now.” – William, [00:24]

• Expert Financial Advice:

  • Dave Ramsey strongly recommends purchasing the home outright with cash to eliminate future mortgage payments.
    • “Short answer is I think that's a very. Yes. Wise way to use this money is to spend cash.” – Dave Ramsey, [02:56]
  • Rachel Cruze echoes this sentiment, highlighting the benefits of avoiding debt and investing the remaining funds.
    • “I'd probably set aside three to six months of expenses. I throw that in a high yield savings.” – Rachel Cruze, [04:30]

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3. Strategic Investment and Generosity

Beyond real estate, the hosts provide guidance on managing the remaining funds post-home purchase.

• Investment Strategies:

  • Dave and Rachel stress the importance of investing wisely to ensure long-term financial stability and generational wealth.
    • “If you invest a good chunk of this and let it grow and just set it and forget it, that's going to be really, really great for your legacy.” – Rachel Cruze, [05:29]
  • William adds:
    • “If you give to someone, you're gonna get back astronomically because that's just how the universe works.” – William, [04:36]

• Generosity and Giving:

  • The discussion underscores the value of generosity, encouraging William and his fiancée to allocate a portion of their settlement to giving back.
    • “And then some generosity and do some giving with that.” – Dave Ramsey, [04:23]

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4. Financial Planning and Future Income Considerations

William outlines their projected combined income post-marriage, influencing their financial planning.

• Income Breakdown:

  • William’s annual income: Approximately $40,000.
  • Fiancée’s fixed income: Around $1,000 monthly from Social Security and a trust fund related to her malpractice case.
    • “Combined, she has a fixed income around a thousand dollars a month... And then I work around 40,000 is what I bring home yearly.” – William, [05:35]

• Long-Term Financial Discipline:

  • Dave emphasizes maintaining a disciplined lifestyle despite the influx of funds to ensure lasting financial health.
    • “This is not an ongoing salary that you all will be getting every single year.” – Dave Ramsey, [06:08]
  • Rachel advises setting aside emergency funds and investing for future stability.
    • “Set aside three to six months of expenses. You throw that in a high yield savings.” – Rachel Cruze, [04:30]

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5. Managing Staggered Payments from Settlement

William clarifies the structure of their settlement payments, which are spread over time.

• Understanding Payment Timeline:
  • The settlement will provide $175,000 annually over a 30-year period, with incremental increases every five years.
    • “They can only pay us out a certain amount right now and then they pay a percentage of that over time.” – William, [07:20]
  • Dave advises creating a timeline to manage these payments effectively.
    • “What you guys would have to do is just have a timeline of knowing when is this money coming and what are we using that chunk for at a time.” – Dave Ramsey, [07:55]

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6. Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways

As the conversation wraps, Dave and Rachel reinforce the importance of strategic financial planning, disciplined spending, and thoughtful investing to ensure the longevity of William and his fiancée’s newfound wealth.

• Disciplined Spending:

  • “This is not an ongoing salary... watching the lifestyle and not acting like, oh my gosh, we're a bunch of millionaires.” – Dave Ramsey, [06:21]

• Investment for Legacy:

  • Emphasizing legacy building through smart investments, Rachel concludes with:
    • “Let it grow and just set it and forget it, that's going to be really, really great for your legacy.” – Rachel Cruze, [05:29]

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Conclusion

This episode of Ramsey Everyday Millionaires serves as a beacon for individuals navigating sudden financial windfalls. Through William and his fiancée’s story, listeners gain practical advice on purchasing real estate without debt, investing wisely for the future, maintaining financial discipline, and embracing generosity. The collective wisdom of Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze provides a robust framework for managing wealth responsibly, ensuring not just immediate stability but also long-term prosperity and legacy.

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For personalized investment strategies and more insights, listeners are encouraged to connect with a SmartVestor Pro through RamseySolutions.com.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

Foreign.

[Jade Warshaw]

This episode is brought to you by SmartVestor. Connect with an investing pro near you at RamseySolutions.com SmartVestor up first this hour.

[Dave Ramsey]

We have William in Indianapolis. Hi, William. Welcome to the show.

[William]

Hello. Thank you for having me.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yes, thanks for calling in. How can we help?

[William]

So my fiance, we're planning on getting married this August. So pretty soon.

[Dave Ramsey]

Congratulations.

[William]

She went into a surgery, a pretty simple surgery, gallbladder, to be more specific. And they coded her on the table so she was, she is now doing well. She was in it. She had a trach for six months. But in that time she got a pretty good lawyer and he won us around. Well, won her. I'm not entitled to any of it, but won her around 1.3 million after we pay him and everything we should have around that. So my main question for calling today is like, we were planning on getting a house because we are getting married, but we didn't know if we were going to do like full cash pay for the house and get it over with or a really hefty down payment since neither one of us have much credit right now. That way we could build our credit in the future. But I didn't know what would be the best option. Either one of us have had money like this before, so.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sure. How she doing now?

[William]

She's doing very well. So my fiance was born. She was born deaf. So just by a normal person you would be able to tell, like, hey, there's something a little different. She's not. Yeah, an adult, like an adult size, like, airway.

[Dave Ramsey]

Right.

[William]

I mean, by hearing her talk.

[Rachel Cruze]

Yeah.

[William]

So you would think that doctors would definitely be able to tell.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, man.

[William]

And so, yeah. But she is doing very good now after.

[Dave Ramsey]

So impressive. Wow. She's incredible.

[William]

Cincinnati shout out to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for being the best airway reconstruction in the United States. And luckily, we were very close to them.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wow. My gosh.

[Rachel Cruze]

Wow, wow, wow.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so, William, you guys, you get married in August. Will either of you be bringing debt into the marriage?

[William]

Negative. Neither one of us have student loans, any credit card debts. We both drive older vehicles.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wow.

[Rachel Cruze]

Good for you.

[Dave Ramsey]

I mean, I, I'll be simple with my answer, Jade. You probably could explore it a little bit more. But yet, I mean, yes, this would be a really, really, really, really wise way to use this money. If you guys started off your marriage with no mortgage payment and the amount of money you guys could be investing and saving for the future is going to be insane. William, that what you guys can do versus sending up payments to a mortgage broker or to a bank.

[Rachel Cruze]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

You guys pay yourself a mortgage payment and invest that like the, the numbers are astronomical. What that could. What that could do. So yeah. Short answer is I think that's a very. Yes. Wise way to use this money is to spend cash and, and yeah.

[Rachel Cruze]

Buy it out. Right. How. What do you think it would cost for you guys to get what you. What you want, you know, in, in.

[William]

Indianapolis yet her only stipulation is two bathrooms. So she's not very difficult. Around 175 to $200,000 is around the price range we were looking at for something that's going to be a lifelong house for us.

[Rachel Cruze]

Wow. Okay. That's a lot less than I was thinking when I look at the median home price in the United States. So.

[William]

Well, we live. We live in 500 square foot right now. So anything is an upgrade.

[Rachel Cruze]

That's true. That's true. Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. So let's just say you guys went crazy and spent 300. Yeah. So that means you have a million dollars left. So I think the next question. So, yes, 100% be paying cash for this house. Even more so than. Probably more emphatically than we were thinking earlier. And then. And then for the million. Yeah. Take some of that. William, you guys can upgrade cars. That would be another, another thing to think about. And then, you know, I would be. We always say to give, save and spend.

[Rachel Cruze]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so with the rest of that, you know, do some generosity and do some giving with that.

[Rachel Cruze]

I'd probably sit with a smartvestor pro and figure out how to invest a good portion of it for sure.

[William]

Of course, if you give to someone, you're gonna get back astronomically because that's just how the universe works.

[Rachel Cruze]

It is like that sometimes. Although it's not always financial. So keep that in mind.

[William]

100.

[Rachel Cruze]

But yeah, I. What Rachel said I'd probably. I'd upgrade the cars. I'd take my time on this. Right. I think that's the big thing. Like if you just go out and it's kind of like shopping spree and you buy a house and buy two cars and it's like I feel like that's probably a. Where you could get into no man's land there. But take your time buying this house, take your time doing your research just as though this money were never there. How would you take your time to do your research on these things? Right. And then, yeah, I would set aside three to six months of expenses. I throw that in a high yield savings. You Guys come up with some things that might be important to you on the giving side. Yeah. And then that investing, if you invest a good chunk of this and let it grow and just set it and forget it, that's going to be really, really great for your legacy.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. How, how much do you guys make a year, William? How much combined income will you have once you guys get married?

[William]

So combined, she has a fixed income around a thousand dollars a month that she will not be losing because of the trust fund that is set up through the malpractice case. So she will still get her Social Security income, which is what she gets. And then I work around 40,000 is what I bring home yearly.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so you guys are roughly about 52,000 and so. And that will be her income. Correct. She doesn't make anything above that payment.

[William]

That is correct.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. So yeah. So I, I would. It's going to take some discipline, which you guys, you sound like you guys are pretty disciplined. Seems like it that you don't start living like, oh, because this money is a, you know, a one time payment.

[Rachel Cruze]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

This is not an ongoing salary that you all will be getting every single year. And so watching the, in watching the lifestyle and not acting like, oh my gosh, we're a bunch of millionaires.

[Rachel Cruze]

Yeah, right, right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Like I would be living. And I don't think you will be. I don't think you will be. You guys seem very mature.

[William]

I'm not gonna change my lifestyle.

[Rachel Cruze]

I can already tell.

[Dave Ramsey]

I know.

[Rachel Cruze]

Spend on the house. I was like, we're going to do.

[Dave Ramsey]

Want you to buy some cars.

[Rachel Cruze]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

I will say that as your spender friend. Yes.

[William]

I drive A99 right now. That thing's about to fall.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. So get, get some nice cars and then. Yeah. And then you guys, if you. And part of this too, you know, if you invest it wisely, you guys can be living off of a portion of this every year if you want. But again, sitting down with a Smartvestor Pro is probably gonna be your best bet. Just to make sure the longevity of this lasts hopefully beyond you guys. I mean that's what this kind of money can do. If you invest it early, which is.

[William]

Really beautiful, it's generational. If you can invest it. Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yes, exactly.

[Rachel Cruze]

How old are you?

[William]

I am 24.

[Rachel Cruze]

Oh, most definitely. Yeah.

[William]

Yeah. I was going to say one more thing. I believe that the way that it works in Indiana, I don't know how it works anywhere else but the insurance company, when they like come through hospital and like they have a malpractice case. They they can only pay us out a certain amount right now and then they pay a percentage of that over time. So she's going to get $175,000 over a 30 year period. Every five years she gets a slight increase in the chunk that she gets.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, yeah, that makes sense. So what you guys would have to do is just have a timeline of knowing when is this money coming and what are we using that chunk for at a time. So that actually kind of split spreads it out, which it will, will slow you guys down some. Which is fine. Which is fine. Well, I'm glad everyone's okay. Thanks for the call.

[Jade Warshaw]

Thanks for tuning in to Ramsey. Everyday millionaires need help with your investments? Connect with a smartvestor [e-mail] smartvestor or click the link in the show notes. Ramsey Solutions is a paid non client promoter of participating pros. Learn [e-mail] SmartVestor.