The Ramsey Show Highlights: "Her Parents Are Her Tenants And Never Pay On Time"

Air Date: January 3, 2026
Host: Dave Ramsey with a Financial Expert/Co-host (largely George Kamel)
Caller: Unnamed woman
Podcast Length: ~9 minutes

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights a caller's long-term struggle as a landlord to her parents, who have repeatedly failed to pay rent on time for over a decade. Despite attempts to help—including financial education and offers of alternative living arrangements—the caller’s parents refuse to improve their financial habits or communicate. Dave Ramsey and his co-host George Kamel provide firm yet compassionate advice on boundaries, self-care, and ending enabling behaviors while balancing respect, practicality, and family ties.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Caller’s Dilemma & Background

• Debt-Free But Drained: The caller and her husband are debt-free, but the rental property in question (owed at $60k) was meant for retirement or their children’s college and has turned into an unmanageable family issue.
• History of Nonpayment: The parents have been perpetually late with rent for 11 years—even after attending Financial Peace University and offered alternate solutions (living together, downgrading, building a mother-in-law unit).
• Failed Communication: Caller consistently reaches out about late payments; parents remain uncommunicative.

Dave’s Initial Response

• No Surprises Here:

  “You knew when you stuck them in there that they weren't instantaneously going to become financial geniuses. ... So you signed up for this trip, right?”
  (Dave Ramsey, 01:37)

• Options Moving Forward:
  • “Give Up” Approach: Pay off the $60k, let the parents live there, expect nothing, remove expectations to avoid disappointment or resentment.

    “If you quit expecting them to be something that they're not going to be, then you can just chill. Right. ... And that's not a bad plan.”
    (Dave Ramsey, 03:19)

  • “Be Aggressive” Approach: Sell the house and require the parents to move—frame as advice from her (Ramsey) financial advisor to "avoid being the bad guy."

    “You can call them and say, mom and dad, I talked to my financial advisor…he said to sell this house.”
    (Dave Ramsey, 04:13)

Practical Advice & Emotional Realities

• Liberate Yourself from Unending Stress:

  “But then you can't be running and rescuing them every time they stub their toe. You got to just let them go. I just love you. Some people need to be loved from further distance than others.”
  (Dave Ramsey, 05:34)

• End Enabling and Resentment:

  “If you stop the enabling, then it'll also stop the resentment that's been bubbling up in your life.”
  (Financial Expert/Co-host, 06:03)

• Moral Framing: Caller is not wrong or unkind for “cutting them loose” after 11 years of support.
• Simple, Clear Communication: Advises against emotional confrontation, explanations, or corrections—just a clear, practical message about selling the home.

Memorable Quotes & Commentary

• On Expectations:

  “The secret to happiness is low expectations.”
  (Dave Ramsey, 03:08)

• Refusing Accountability:

  “It's arrogant to be late. You're making a statement to the people that they don't matter.”
  (Dave Ramsey, 07:41)

• Consequences of Enabling:

  “It smells like a parasite. Yeah. It's just sad when your parents are qualified as that.”
  (Dave Ramsey & Co-host, 07:58)

• On the Dangers of Renting to Family:

  “Which is why I personally would not have signed up...and become their landlord. Because they remember when they changed your diaper.”
  (Financial Expert/Co-host, 08:04)

• On Letting Go:

  “You’re a good daughter either way, you gave it a run.”
  (Dave Ramsey, 08:25)

Notable Timestamps

• 00:07 — Caller introduces the rental problem and history with her parents as tenants
• 01:37 — Dave’s assessment: “You signed up for this trip, right?”
• 03:19 — Dave outlines “give up and pay it off” option
• 04:13 — “Aggressive” strategy: sell the house and inform the parents
• 05:34 — Dave on loving from a distance: boundaries with family
• 06:03 — Co-host on stopping enabling and eliminating resentment
• 07:11 — Co-host offers to be the “bad guy” financial advisor
• 07:41 — Dave on the disrespect inherent in chronic lateness
• 08:25 — Dave affirms the caller’s efforts and closure

Conclusion

This episode delivers a candid discussion about the challenge of mixing family and financial/business affairs, especially when chronic irresponsibility is involved. Dave and his co-host validate the caller’s frustration and urge her to either remove expectations (accept and budget for ongoing loss) or sell the home and require her parents to face the consequences of their choices, using the “financial advisor” as the scapegoat if necessary. Both routes are framed as morally acceptable; above all, the hosts stress the importance of boundaries, self-respect, and ending enabling behaviors—bringing hard-earned peace for the caller and her immediate family.

Key Takeaway:
“As hard as it is, sometimes the best help is to stop enabling and let loved ones face the consequences of their own actions—while you protect your own peace and future.”