We’re About to Get $6 Million—How Do We Manage It Wisely?

Summary

---

Episode Overview

Theme:
In this episode of Ramsey Everyday Millionaires, the hosts field a call from Nicole, who, along with her husband, is about to receive $6 million from selling a portion of their business. The discussion centers on how to wisely manage this windfall, ensuring they handle taxes properly, avoid emotional mistakes, stay debt-free, and maintain grounded family values.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Immediate Emotional Response & Mindset (00:18–01:15)

• Nicole expresses anxiety about the sudden wealth, particularly regarding family dynamics and the pressure of making wise decisions quickly.
• The hosts reassure her, emphasizing the importance of not letting the windfall “change their life” unfavorably or lead to hasty decisions.

Memorable Moment:
"Nicole, you sound like someone gave you a bill for 6 million." — Host, [01:02]
This lighthearted comment underscores how overwhelming positive financial news can feel.

---

2. Handling Taxes & The Year-End "Scramble" (01:58–03:15)

• The primary financial concern is tax liability on the incoming $6 million.
• Advice:
  • Don’t rush to make financial decisions or investments before year-end.
  • The only pressing issue is to plan for taxes; everything else can wait.
  • Seek out an experienced, trustworthy tax professional (CPA) to ensure proper filing and minimize risks.

Quote:
"There's a lot of heightened emotion. There's a lot of fog. It's a lot of decision making. Don't do anything." — Host, [03:15]

• Be wary of advisors offering “sketchy” or unclear financial products/services.
• Use reputable resources, like those vetted by Ramsey Solutions, to find financial pros.

---

3. Assembling a Professional Team (03:15–03:59)

• Step one is hiring a great CPA to handle taxes for this unusual, large-scale sale.
• After tax planning, meet with a financial advisor (such as a SmartVestor Pro).
• Before engaging professionals, have a family discussion to clarify goals for giving, retirement, spending, etc.

Quote:
"Nothing sketchy, nothing weird." — Host's advice on choosing financial advisors, [03:57]

---

4. Setting Goals: Generosity, Debt, and Family Impact (03:59–05:07)

• Generosity:

  • Establish a plan for charitable giving; consider multiple causes rather than a single large donation.
  • Discuss as a couple what giving “looks like” for the family.

• Debt:

  • Pay off all personal and business debt, including the mortgage and business vehicles.
  • Maintain a commitment to being debt-free to avoid risk and maximize choices.

Quote:
"Money magnifies who you are. And so the way you guys have dealt with money before, the 6 million, it's going to be amplified." — Host, [04:59]
This highlights how sudden wealth intensifies existing habits—good or bad.

• Retirement & Spending:

  • Prioritize fully funding retirement while deciding what portion to enjoy or spend.
  • A little personal enjoyment is encouraged (e.g., jewelry, upgrading the car, a nice vacation).

• Children & Family Values:

  • Any changes for the children should be minimal to keep them grounded (continue chores, working, etc.).
  • Fund their college education discreetly; avoid flaunting wealth.
  • The goal is for children to feel stability and consistency.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• [01:02] "Nicole, you sound like someone gave you a bill for 6 million." — Host
• [03:15] "There's a lot of heightened emotion. There's a lot of fog. It's a lot of decision making. Don't do anything." — Host
• [03:57] "Nothing sketchy, nothing weird." — Host
• [04:59] "Money magnifies who you are. And so the way you guys have dealt with money before... it's going to be amplified." — Host

---

Key Segment Timestamps

• 00:18 – 01:15: Nicole introduces her situation and feelings about the windfall
• 01:58 – 03:15: Discussion about urgency, taxes, and resisting quick moves
• 03:15 – 03:59: Recommendations on assembling trusted professional help
• 03:59 – 05:07: Structuring generosity, crushing debt, family impact, and healthy spending habits

---

Practical Steps from the Episode

1. Pause and breathe – Don’t rush big decisions; acknowledge the emotion of a windfall.
2. Prioritize tax planning – Immediately consult a quality CPA for legal and tax compliance.
3. Assemble your financial team – Use trusted sources to select a CPA and a financial advisor.
4. Family vision meeting – Clarify goals for generosity, spending, and saving before meeting with professionals.
5. Pay off all debt – Erase mortgage and any business/personal debt.
6. Invest and enjoy thoughtfully – Fund retirement, give generously, spend a portion on personal/family dreams—but keep kids’ lives stable and grounded.
7. Maintain core values – Remember, wealth should showcase and expand your best traits, not alter your character or family’s core structure.

---

Conclusion:
The hosts deliver a framework for navigating a transformative financial event—emphasizing caution, deliberate planning, and an unwavering focus on values and family dynamics. Their message: a windfall is best handled slowly, with expert help and a grounded mindset, so that money serves you—not the other way around.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. This episode is brought to you by SmartVestor. Connect with an investing pro near you at RamseySolutions.com SmartVestor all right, let's go to Greenville, South Carolina. Nicole is waiting. Nicole, how can we help?

[B]

Yes, I am very nervous about a change that's coming to us and how to raise my children through this. My husband is just selling a partial of his business, a little less than 50%, and he's getting a large sum of money just before the end of the year, which leads to another question of how do we score? Do we have to scramble to figure out exactly where to place this before the end of the year comes?

[C]

Okay, what. What is a substantial amount of money? What does that mean?

[B]

Six million.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Hello?

[C]

It's great.

[A]

Nicole, you sound like someone gave you a bill for 6 million. Where's.

[B]

Well, I know, because I'm kind of. I don't want to act like I got the lottery.

[A]

No, no. But my goodness, I hope. I hope that maybe you get yourself a light blue box, you know, with some jewelry. Come on, Nicole, let's go get a little. Get a little something. I wanted to get that out of the way. All right. That's the best advice you're gonna hear on this call. Nicole, wait. But I seriously. Hey, congratulations. You and your husband. Yeah, this is a pretty cool deal, and I just don't want to fly by that. Yes, now, you got the perfect person today to. No, I'm serious. She's very, very gracious and very humble, but I think you are really perfect to talk about. She doesn't want this to change their life, the kid's life and all this. I think you have tremendous insight on. On a couple things, so get to that. But first, talk about the end of the year scramble.

[C]

I don't think that's you guys. You guys will have to pay taxes on it and. Yes.

[B]

And I understand, you know, that's going to happen, and I know we want to give part of that as well.

[C]

Sure.

[B]

But I'm like, you know, there. My husband's went and talked to someone, and he's like, well, you know, my. He's. He plans to go back within the next couple of weeks, you know, once he gets, I guess, more of the contract in hand. It's like, you know, obviously, he's like, well, I'm not gonna get, you know, that. That investor pro. Or. He's like, well, you know, oh, okay. They're like, you know, here's your free service. But I'm very. I'm not going to tell you everything you need to know. Right.

[C]

Who's saying that?

[B]

Well, someone that my husband had found to get advice from.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

A business tax pro on advice like this, I guess.

[C]

Okay. Okay.

[A]

So I'm so confused.

[B]

Necessarily one of, like, a Dave Ramsey?

[C]

No, it doesn't sound like it. Yes.

[B]

Well, and I'm. I mean, they. I have spoken to one of those before in the past.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Okay. But then this all went down, and I'm like, well, I can't really make these changes right now and getting my husband involved because he's having to deal with this mess. And I mean, not mess, but like, he's had. You know, he's got a lot of this on his shoulders. And.

[C]

Okay, so what I would do. I wouldn't do anything. I wouldn't do anything. I think there's a lot of heightened emotion. There's a lot of fog. It's a lot of decision making. Don't do anything. Okay. Just know in the back of your mind you're gonna have to pay taxes on this. So just. That's the only thing I want you to think about. So, Nicole, that's the only thing I want you to think about. Okay? So just breathe. Okay. So nothing big has to change. I would interview and find a great tax pro in your corner to make sure that everything is buttoned up. I would do that. And we have some wonderful people, you know, that are affiliated with Ramsey. If you go to Ramsey Solutions dot com, you can, you know, interview one of them or find your own. I don't care. But nothing sketchy, nothing weird. Don't tell. I mean, whatever that language was, I was weird.

[B]

That's different than an investment.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you're now. Now a financial planner will be able to talk to you about taxes as well. But I would want to make sure that you have a great CPA that's saying, hey, here's exactly what you need to do and file because we don't want to mess this up. Then I would go sit down with a smartvestor pro and to say, hey, here is this amount of money. And before that, though, I would want you and your husband to sit down and say, okay, what are the things that we want out of this? Meaning the generosity portion. Let's talk through that. What does that look like? How do we want to do that? What are some things? Because you probably don't want to give, you know, 10% all to one thing. It'd probably be good to get a couple of things and just to say what you know, as a family, how can we give out of this? I want you to look at. Do you guys have a mortgage or any debt?

[B]

We, we have like 175 on our house.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

And then really all the other debt is like vehicles with the business. We purchased the business property, you know, about seven years ago.

[C]

I mean, but I would, I would be sure. So I would write a check, pay everything off. And then I do want you to remember that money magnifies who you are. And so the way you guys have dealt with money before, the 6 million, it's going to be amplified. And do you like how you guys have handled money? You've dabbled in the debt stuff, all of it. And my fear is that the 6 million kind of creates this. Oh, gosh, well, we could get into this real estate, then. We could, we could do this. And it's going to be taken up really quick if you guys aren't careful. So I would, I would make it a value statement of no debt. We're going to get completely out of debt, and then we're going to look at our retirement and say, okay, what do we need to put away for it to have, you know, a wonderful. Which is going to be fabulous retirement? And then what percentage are we going to spend? So to your point, Ken, I would not change anything with the kids. I think they need to be working, doing chores. They need to believe nothing has changed. There's no benefit to knowing that you guys changed you. Maybe you go on a nicer vacation and that's all they know. But I wouldn't change much with the kids. Go ahead and fund their college. Like, use this money well and have fun with it. You guys, jewelry, earmark, get you some jewelry, upgrade the car, do some stuff. Stuff that, yeah, you guys enjoy. But remember, you give it, you save it, you spend it, regardless of the amount. That's the three things you want to do.