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Dave Ramsey
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Caller
So I am married, possibly separated from my spouse. I stay at home and he is a breadwinner. I've raised her children. And I am not allowed to see any of our financial information. Bank accounts, credit cards, passwords, nothing like that.
Dave Ramsey
Yikes.
Rachel Cruze
What do you mean you're not allowed?
Caller
I know. He just says that's how I was raised. I make the money. And he does have a lot of. He does very well.
Dave Ramsey
I don't care if he makes a dollar or a million. It has no bearing on your involvement in knowing what's going on financially in the family.
Caller
I know. And he just says I, I won't. He owns commercial real estate. And so he tells me it's too much for you to handle. Stay in your lane.
Rachel Cruze
So we call that financial infidelity.
Caller
That's what I've told him and he just shakes his head at me. My therapist has said the same thing, and he just says that's how I am. That's how my parents were, and I'm not changing.
Rachel Cruze
All right, then here's the thing. Most people don't get that clear of a response. Now you have a choice to make. And I wish it wasn't this complicated. I mean, I wish it wasn't this simple, but it truly is.
Dave Ramsey
He's told you he's not changing.
Rachel Cruze
Yeah. And by the way, if you file for divorce and they do a forensic investigation into his. All of his slash yalls because you're from Texas yalls money, it's all going to be put on the table so he can be a grown up adult and be an actual married man who loves and honors his wife and his kids and like, share the family finances together. Or he can put it all on the table with the help of an attorney and a forensic accountant that he's going to pay for.
Caller
So this is what has happened is we. This is very different from what I'm being told is we did come up with a post nuptial agreement about two years ago. And in his mind it was, if we separate, you will get this amount of money. Now stop talking about it. Stop questioning me. And so he says that if I go and investigate with this forensic. Forensic accountant, that he will take that money away and he will try to take my children more.
Rachel Cruze
Yeah. Hon, you need to go talk to somebody today.
Caller
I've. I've spoken to an attorney and what they've said to me is this is quite a good post nuptial agreement. I would be very comfortable, honestly, for the rest of my life. He has a lot of money in cryptocurrency that I know he's hiding, and I know that's really tough to investigate.
Rachel Cruze
I don't, I don't understand what you're asking. If you have an exit strategy that's going to take care of you for the rest of your life and take care of you and your kids. I don't know. I don't know what you're asking.
Caller
So should I just take the post nuptial agreement and let.
Rachel Cruze
I can't give you that. That's between you and your lawyer. I can't. I mean, I'm not looking at it. I don't have it. I don't know what you're dealing with at home. I just know you're in a very abusive sit. And it's hard to see the forest from the trees. And I'm telling you that you're worth more than the life you're living right now.
Caller
And everybody thinks he's the sweetest guy.
Rachel Cruze
Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter.
Caller
I also have a disability that I'm unable to work. So I'm just real fearful that I don't know. He just.
Rachel Cruze
Listen, what you're doing is you're, you have a lot of what ifs and a lot of oh, this is. And that's. And then in 10 years and in 15 years, I want you to go sit down with an attorney. Not him. Ha. Don't send the post up to a friend of yours who happens to have a law degree. Hire a lawyer and go sit down and talk and say, I need to know what rights. What, what rights I have. Here's my disability. Here's my situation with my kids. I know my husband's hiding money. Here's how. Here's the postnup. And the attorney's job, because you're hiring them, is to advocate for you. And sometimes they're advocate. Like them being an advocate is, hey, this is the best deal I've ever seen on paper. Take it and run. Sometimes they say we're going to dig in and we're going to burn everything to the ground because this is a terrible deal. But that's. Their job, is to fight for.
Caller
You think they can buy in cryptocurrency? Because I know that's so shady. It's such a weird dude.
Rachel Cruze
You're like, you're, you're, you're stepping over 100 bills to pick up nickels right now. Like, you're. You're worried about the. The. How the. The. The thread count on the beach towel you're gonna wrap yourself up with if you swim to shore. Like, let's get to shore first.
Caller
What about him hiding? I know he hides money with his business partners. They, like, swap hundreds of thousands of dollars and put it in each other's accounts.
Rachel Cruze
And like I say, that's. I mean, what do you want me to tell you?
Caller
I don't.
Dave Ramsey
I think this is you starting to realize how angry and resentful you are, living this life this whole time while he hid everything. But the truth is, like John's saying, it has no bearing. You have your agreement on what it says will happen, and that's what will happen if you take the agreement. And so he may have hidden money offshore. I have no idea. But it doesn't matter right now. This is about you and your kids and your health and your safety.
Rachel Cruze
And if he's got a bunch of. A couple of business partners. Partners. And they're all laundering money and being shady and shifty, and they get a knock on the door from a federal investigator or from forensics accountants, and they get served for all of their last seven years of financial transactions and every electronic transaction they have made, every electronic communication they've made, every email, every text, every signal, every WhatsApp and everything. And by the way, it's all discoverable. Then maybe they pucker up real quick and tell him to change his tune. Here's the thing. You won't know any of that. Just sitting in your house and spinning and spinning and looping and looping and looping. And that's what you've been doing for a long time, right?
Caller
Yeah, about five years now. I just.
Rachel Cruze
Let's stop. Let's take action. Either make peace with, this is my life, and this is what we get, and he treats me fine. I just don't know how the money works. And maybe he does. I'm confident he doesn't treat you fine because this isn't the behavior of somebody that treats their wife fine.
Caller
Or he thinks he's amazing to me and he does everything else nicely, but that. And then when I ask him, he gets real defensive.
Rachel Cruze
Okay, so you. Here's the deal. The ball is in your court, and you wondering about what? About this. What about this? What about this? That's just a way to numb yourself from the reality that you are holding the next move you make. And if that next move is nothing Then set the ball down and just decide. I'm not going to ask questions about that. It is what it is what it is.
Caller
Well, we're getting divorced. I mean, it's. It's happening because I. He doesn't want to hear me complain about it anymore.
Rachel Cruze
Have you already filed or has he filed on you?
Caller
No, but he's moved. He's moved out and. Okay, just the next step, okay?
Rachel Cruze
If you're going to file, then go hire an attorney. Do not get a friend who has a buddy who's got a sister who went to law school. Hire an attorney, a good one in your community and someone who will fight and advocate for you, and then sit down and lay it all out on the table. Right? But here's the thing. For. For you and for everybody listening, it's the. And I get it. It's fear. It's scary. And, like, freeze is one of the ways our bodies, like, try to keep us safe. I totally get it. But there comes a moment when I'm gonna stop living like this. And the only way I can do it, I can't think my way out of this mess. I gotta act. I gotta go do. Michael Easter wrote a great article recently. Just go do something, right? And in your case, call an attorney who's ready to go to war for you. And sometimes in war, they say, hey, we need to retreat. Let's just take what we got and let's move. That might be the right case, but you won't know until you make that call.
Dave Ramsey
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Summary of "My Husband Is Telling Me To Stay In My Lane" – The Ramsey Show Highlights
Podcast Information:
In this emotionally charged episode of The Ramsey Show Highlights, a distressed caller reaches out to discuss her tumultuous marital and financial situation. Hosted by Dave Ramsey and featuring Rachel Cruze, the conversation delves deep into issues of financial control, abuse, and the complexities of marital agreements.
Caller’s Situation: The caller, a stay-at-home spouse, describes a marriage fraught with financial exclusion and control. Despite being married and having raised her children, she is denied access to all financial information, including bank accounts, credit cards, and passwords.
Rachel Cruze identifies this behavior as financial infidelity, highlighting the deceit involved when one partner hides financial matters from the other.
Dave Ramsey’s Stance: Dave Ramsey is unequivocal about the necessity of financial transparency in a marriage, regardless of the income disparity.
Rachel Cruze’s Guidance: Rachel emphasizes the importance of taking decisive action. She encourages the caller to consult with a competent attorney rather than relying on informal advice, especially given the complexities of cryptocurrency and potential financial obfuscation by her husband.
Legal Empowerment: Rachel and Dave stress the importance of legal intervention. They advise the caller to hire a dedicated attorney who can advocate for her interests, especially considering her husband's alleged hiding of funds through cryptocurrency and business partnerships.
Emotional Resilience: Both hosts acknowledge the emotional turmoil the caller is experiencing. Rachel Cruze encourages her to recognize her self-worth beyond the current abusive environment.
Action Over Inaction: Rachel emphasizes the paralysis that fear and uncertainty can cause, urging proactive steps rather than remaining stagnant in a detrimental situation.
The episode culminates with a strong message advocating for financial transparency, legal action, and personal empowerment. Rachel Cruze and Dave Ramsey collectively emphasize that the caller deserves a safe and equitable resolution, free from financial abuse. They reinforce the necessity of taking control of one's financial future and seeking professional assistance to navigate the complexities of marital dissolution.
Key Takeaways:
Notable Quotes with Timestamps:
Note: This summary aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the episode's key discussions and advice for listeners who may not have access to the full podcast.