"I Want My Money, Now!"

Summary

Summary of "I Want My Money, Now!" Episode from The Ramsey Show Highlights

Release Date: June 29, 2025

Introduction to the Caller’s Situation

In this episode of The Ramsey Show Highlights, Nathan reaches out for advice amidst a challenging divorce. He's grappling with financial uncertainties, particularly concerning the division of marital assets and the urgent need to purchase a reliable used car.

Caller Background and Immediate Concerns

Nathan details his predicament:

• He and his soon-to-be ex-spouse had approximately $50,000 in combined savings.
• Post-separation, Nathan has access to only $2,000, primarily allocated towards legal fees.
• His current vehicle is in poor condition, rendering it unreliable for daily use.

Dave Ramsey’s Advice on Financial Division

Dave Ramsey addresses Nathan's situation with a sense of urgency and assertiveness:

• Immediate Action: Ramsey advises Nathan to contact his lawyer and demand, “I need half of our savings account transferred to me by the end of the day” ([00:33]).
• Creating Urgency: He emphasizes the importance of conveying urgency, stating, “I want my money now” ([01:45]).
• Legal Leverage: Ramsey suggests escalating the matter to the court if his ex-spouse remains uncooperative, highlighting the seriousness of the request.

Addressing Emotional Aspects in Divorce

Ramsey underscores the emotional turmoil often intertwined with financial disputes in divorce:

• He likens the divorce to a business transaction, emphasizing that personal emotions should not overshadow financial dealings: “when a divorce occurs, it turns a marriage into a business transaction” ([03:13]).
• Ramsey acknowledges the emotional strain, noting, “we’re all emotional beings,” but urges treating the settlement process with professionalism and efficiency.

Practical Steps and Urgency

To resolve Nathan’s immediate need for transportation, Ramsey provides actionable steps:

• Selling the Current Vehicle: He recommends selling the unreliable car to a salvage yard for a minimal amount (e.g., $500 to $700) ([02:41]).
• Purchasing a Replacement: With the proceeds and existing funds, Ramsey suggests buying a modest used car for around $3,000, allowing Nathan to maintain mobility while the legal matters are sorted.

Concerns Over Asset Mismanagement

Ramsey expresses concern that Nathan’s ex-spouse may have mismanaged or spent the marital assets:

• “She’s got $50,000, 25 of which is yours. And she's getting ready to get a judge to give her a little slapping if she doesn't get their money turned over” ([04:13]).
• He highlights that without proof of the funds’ existence, there’s a risk that the money might already be depleted, urging Nathan to act swiftly.

Final Thoughts and Moving Forward

Ramsey concludes by encouraging Nathan to move forward proactively:

• Stay Calm and Focused: He advises treating the divorce settlement as a straightforward transaction, minimizing emotional interference.
• Legal Assurance: Ramsey reassures Nathan that with proper legal representation, he can secure his rightful share of the savings.
• Long-Term Stability: By resolving immediate financial hurdles, Nathan can begin to rebuild and stabilize his financial future post-divorce.

Notable Quotes

• On Creating Urgency: “I want my money now.” ([01:45])
• On Divorce as a Business Transaction: “When a divorce occurs, it turns a marriage into a business transaction.” ([03:13])
• On Assertiveness: “Light a fire under some people, buddy.” ([02:26])

Conclusion

In "I Want My Money, Now!", Dave Ramsey provides Nathan with a robust strategy to reclaim his financial standing during a turbulent divorce. By emphasizing assertiveness, legal action, and practical financial steps, Ramsey offers a clear path for Nathan to navigate his immediate challenges and work towards long-term financial independence.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

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[Nathan]

I got a question. It's kind of a rough situation. I need to know the best way to buy a used car. Going through a pretty nasty divorce. My car finally just bit the dust. My buddy said it can't. It's. The transmission's out, the frame's rusted, and I'm the type that just drives them until they're dead. The problem is, I don't know what my soon to be ex did with the finances. She split up everything, left me with almost nothing. My lawyer's been trying to work on finding that out, but she's not working with a lawyer. So I just need to know the best way to do this. If we combined everything, we have the money to do that. But she basically has helped me to either get a car loan or. Which I don't like doing because we finally got out of debt. But I just need to know the best way to approach this without having to go out.

[Dave Ramsey]

How long have you been separated, Nathan?

[Nathan]

About five or six months.

[Dave Ramsey]

And where has your paycheck been going, son?

[Nathan]

Oh, I have my. I have my own new bank account.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh.

[Nathan]

How much is in that together right now, about $2,000. Because I'm paying for lawyer fees are really taking a good chunk of my money right now.

[Caller]

Okay, and you're saying, Nathan, you guys had a combined savings?

[Nathan]

We ended about a combined $50,000 cash available.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Nathan]

And I don't know what she's done with that.

[Dave Ramsey]

First thing you do is you call your lawyer and you say, I need half of our savings account transferred to me by the end of the day. This is asinine.

[Nathan]

Okay?

[Dave Ramsey]

I want my money now.

[Caller]

Is there a judge involved, Nathan?

[Dave Ramsey]

Not yet, but the lawyer picks up the phone and calls her lawyer and says, you have 24 hours to transfer $25,000 or we're going to get before a judge.

[Nathan]

Now, the problem is she's not working with a lawyer right now.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good. We're going to go before a judge if you don't listen, lady.

[Nathan]

Okay, okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you've been being real sweet and stand back and trying to let the lawyers do it, and the lawyers aren't doing their job. They're not working. Yeah, I'm thinking you gave him money, and she still sits on your money for six freaking months. Light a fire under some people, buddy.

[Nathan]

So, yeah, that's.

[Dave Ramsey]

I need a car. I want my 25,000 now. We'll negotiate the rest of it later, but I want my money now.

[Nathan]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

You hear what I'm doing?

[Nathan]

Yes, sir.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm creating urgency with my voice. You've been pushed around and you're about to push back. Your only other option is take your car, which is a piece of crap, and sell it for whatever, 500 or $700 to the local salvage yard, right?

[Nathan]

Yeah, pretty much.

[Dave Ramsey]

And then put $2,000 with that and go get you a $3,000 car to drive until you light a fire under these people on the other side of this discussion. Okay, but this tells you that you've been tolerating this too long.

[Nathan]

Yes. Yes, you're right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. So a friend of mine that does divorce recovery work says that what people have the most trouble with in your situation and you're struggling with it, and it's human. It's not you're a bad guy. But most people forget this. You get all tangled up with the emotions and the grief and the anger and everything else regarding the actual marriage coming to an end. And. But what. What in reality is happening is when a divorce occurs, it turns a marriage into a business transaction.

[Nathan]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And if you were in a business partnership and the partnership was closing down, you would not allow your business partner to sit on $50,000 when 25 of its yours.

[Nathan]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

For five freaking months.

[Nathan]

Yeah. I think the other problem is she's currently pregnant. It's not mine. So that kind of throws.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, it doesn't throw. It doesn't. Doesn't. Doesn't affect anything.

[Nathan]

Okay?

[Dave Ramsey]

That's her problem.

[Nathan]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's not your problem. Her problem is she's got $50,000, 25 of which is yours. And she's getting ready to get a judge to give her a little slapping if she doesn't get their money turned over. That's what's going on. That's her problem.

[Nathan]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

She's got other issues. Like getting pregnant with other people while she's married to you. That's going to be another issue. And that pisses you off and hurts your feelings. And you know, I absolutely. If she had a lawyer, he'd be like going crazy right now trying to defend this situation. Oh, my gosh. And so, yeah, you. You've got to bring this thing to.

[Caller]

A head for your peace of mind. Nathan. I'm like, for this just to drag on in general, whether you need a car or not for this to be sitting in such limbo for so long. I think, yeah, it needs to be done.

[Dave Ramsey]

Here's the thing. If you don't get this done, you're going to reach over there to get the money, it's going to be gone. It may already be gone.

[Nathan]

Yeah, that's what kind of concerns me.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I'm kind of worried about that right now, so. But you know, she's on the hook for it because you have, you have some kind of proof or can get proof that that money existed when you left the house.

[Nathan]

Oh, yes, sir. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so she definitely spent marital assets illegally. No question now whether she'll ever be able to pay it back. Probably not. Doesn't sound like this is the smartest chick on the planet. So anyway, yeah, dude, you got a. You needed to have moved on this four months ago, but now you get to move on it. And if you do find out bad news, there's no money and it's going to take a while and your attorney won't jack them up, then you get to go buy a $3,000 car with cash because the one you're driving wasn't $3,000. So it's not like you're moving down. Unlike you got rid of a $80,000 vehicle or something. So that's where you are. So stay calm. But here's the thing. Treat this now as much as you can. And it's hard to do because we're all emotional beings. I'm emotional just talking to you about it and it's not even me. But I mean, treat it like it's just a transaction. Everything having to do with the closing up of this marriage, the wrapping up of this marriage called a divorce. It's a transaction. It needs to happen efficiently, smoothly and quickly.

[Caller]

Yeah, and your lawyer will know. I've always just been shocked and I feel like I still learn this how different state to state handles the law. When it comes to divorce from communal assets, marital assets like all of can get very complicated very quickly. And so making sure it's as clean cut as possible and quick and fast. That's the thing. It's like wrap it up because. And especially since she doesn't have any representation. Like, I don't know. I don't know if that. I don't know if that makes it, you know, it's gonna make it worse for her probably. But also I don't know if it's going to string along.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, what makes it worse for the rest of you out there is she probably thinks she's going to get away with this because she's not going anybody in her corner as long advising her, selling her. He's telling her this is dumb. You can't do that.

[Caller]

Yes, yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

And she's probably like, well, yeah, I think this is my money and I'm having a baby, so I get to keep it. No, that's not how it works, darling. So, you know, she got nobody there talking sense into her, and she may be getting her best advice from her friend on Instagram, which is, you know, probably not a good idea.

[Caller]

We don't know.

[Dave Ramsey]

Probably not a good idea. Just saying, like, for sure not a good idea. Create your free everydollar budget today. The simplest way to budget for your life.