My Husband's Business Is Keeping Us From Retiring

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Ramsey Show Highlights

Episode: My Husband's Business Is Keeping Us From Retiring

Date: July 28, 2026
Host: Dave Ramsey (with co-host/financial expert)
Caller: Concerned Wife

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Episode Theme

A concerned wife calls in regarding her husband’s side business, which led to purchasing a commercial building for cash—but also accumulating $90,000 in business debt. With retirement approaching, she’s worried their financial situation will keep them from their desired retirement timeline. Dave Ramsey and his co-host dive into the situation, offering tough love and practical advice.

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Key Discussion Points

1. The Situation: Business Venture and Retirement Fears

• Caller explains her husband’s side hustle led to buying an $80,000 canal-front commercial building (paid in cash) but renovations led to $90,000 in debt.
• She’s concerned the debt plus ongoing expenses (property tax, utilities) could prevent them from retiring in five years.
• The husband hopes to either rent out the building or use it for family/recreational purposes and run a business from it in retirement, but the caller notes a high vacancy rate for commercial property in the area and unsold business inventory.
  • Notable quote (Caller, 00:06):
    “He loves it, and he’s been working really hard fixing it up, but he ended up with $90,000 in business debt in the process.”

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2. Communication & Decision-Making in Marriage

• Dave probes into their marital dynamics: After 35 years of marriage, how often does the husband make large purchases without full agreement?
• The wife admits there have been smaller examples, but not usually whole buildings. She was okay with buying for cash but worried when debt entered the picture.
  • Notable quote (Host, 01:31):
    “So how often does he go off and buy a building and doesn’t talk to you about it before he does it?”
• The co-host suggests the husband seems to always have “a scheme and a plan” (01:39).

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3. The Problem with Vague Plans and Wishful Thinking

• Dave criticizes the lack of clarity and planning:
  • The husband’s vision mixes family recreation, business, and potential rental—all with no concrete plan.
  • Notable quote (Dave Ramsey, 03:50):
    “He’s dealing with absolutely zero business acumen. He sucks at this because all he’s doing is dreaming... None of this is… it’s all mixed together. It’s not. It’s jumbled up. It’s not a good plan. There’s no plan.”
• Dave insists on the need for a clear, write-it-down business plan, not just “heart’s desire.”
  • Notable quote (Dave Ramsey, 03:50):
    “He needs to write all of this down in a business plan, submit it to you, and the two of you need to look at this with wisdom.”

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4. Practical Advice: Facing Financial Reality

• Assess the Numbers:
  • Ramsey points out they need actual figures: What does the building cost to operate? What’s the realistic rental income? What kind of business is viable?
    • “We need to actually look at real numbers.” (04:55)
  • Warns that the canal-front location with high vacancies isn’t promising for rental income.
• Inventory Mistake:
  • Points out the unsold inventory is another sign of poor business decision-making; sometimes businesses “overbuy” the wrong things, creating financial drag (06:08).
• Sunk Cost Fallacy:
  • Co-host warns against justifying keeping the building because of emotional or monetary investment:
    • “There’s a sunk cost fallacy. She’s going, ‘well, he’s invested a lot into it and he really loves it.’ And it’s going to cause you guys to not be able to retire.” (06:50)
• Financial Impact:
  • Ramsey and co-host worry the building is underwater; not likely saleable for the total invested ($80K + $90K = $170K). Husband likely overbuilt in a soft market.
    • “I just hope the building is worth $170[,000]… so I’m worried he overbuilt.” (07:08)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Dreaming is good as long as you put work clothes on it and turn it into goals and numbers. Otherwise, dreaming is not what you want to marry your daughter… Oh daddy, he’s a dreamer. Oh god. They’re going to live in my basement.”
  – Dave Ramsey, 07:32

• “You can’t have the cake and eat it too here.”
  – Financial Expert/Co-host, 06:50

• The humorous and blunt Ramsey-isms come through, especially in calling out the danger of confusing dreams with business acumen.

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Important Timestamps

• [00:06] – Caller outlines the business, building purchase, and rising debt
• [01:24 - 01:53] – Discussion of past decision-making in marriage, husband’s pattern for schemes
• [03:50] – Dave’s critique of the jumbled, dream-based plan; call for a proper business plan
• [06:07] – Analysis of property’s bleak rental prospects, sinking inventory
• [06:50] – Sunk cost fallacy and warning against emotional or “heart’s desire” reasoning
• [07:29 - 07:32] – Ramsey’s closing tough-love advice on business realism and teamwork in marriage

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Key Takeaways

• A dream is not enough; any business venture, especially in retirement, needs clear, written plans with real numbers.
• Emotional attachment and sunk costs don’t justify holding onto bad investments, particularly when they threaten your financial future.
• Couples should communicate closely about major financial decisions—shared goals and honest evaluation are critical in approaching retirement.
• Don’t let wishful thinking obscure financial reality: get clear, get together, and make a real plan—or be willing to walk away.

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This episode delivers classic Ramsey blend of tough love, practical financial direction, and some humor—highlighting the need for smart planning and teamwork in both business and marriage.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

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[Caller (Wife)]

My husband started up a side hustle in addition to his regular job, and he did fairly well. And he bought himself an $80,000 commercial building for cash on a canal. And he loves it, and he's been working really hard fixing it up, but he ended up with 90,000 in business debt in the process. And he also would like to retire within five years. And I'm concerned we're not on the track for retirement and that the expenses of the building and the debt associated could prevent us from being able to retire when we would like to.

[Dave Ramsey]

And when you say that to him, what did he say?

[Caller (Wife)]

He said he'd be willing to try and rent the building out to help with the expenses, however commercial. There's many vacant commercial buildings in the area. I don't know if his would be nice enough to rent out. I don't know if we'd run into problems with people not paying rent. So I have concerns. I have concerns even with that solution. I mean, obviously that would help. And he has some inventory from the business that he started that he was wishing would have sold by now, but it has not yet. And so I'm concerned, like, when will it sell? We're still paying all these expenses meanwhile. And even when the inventory sold, we'd have a little debt left, and we would have property tax and utilities and many things associated with keeping up the building.

[Dave Ramsey]

So how long have y' all been married?

[Caller (Wife)]

We had been married, like, close to 35 years.

[Dave Ramsey]

So how often does he go off and buy a building and doesn't talk to you about it before he does it?

[Caller (Wife)]

Well, not usually whole buildings. And this one he did mention, but I was like, well, let's keep it all to cash. But things kind of. There was a lot of expenses associated, and he felt his inventory would come, and so he.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, let's keep it all to cash. He didn't buy. But he did buy the building.

[Caller (Wife)]

Yes, yes. And so I was okay that he was buying the building for cash, but I'm more concerned with the fact we ended up with some debt associated.

[Financial Expert/Co-host]

So the debt was used to cover expenses for the building because he's working on it.

[Caller (Wife)]

It was in really bad shape, and he's working on it, like, every night. He's.

[Dave Ramsey]

Let me try. Let me try this again. Okay, honey, I'm okay with you buying the building for cash. And then he didn't. He bought a building and renovated it and went into debt. So how often does that happen in 35 years.

[Caller (Wife)]

Smaller things like he got a pickup for 3500 once, which we still are using. It's a great pickup. So there are a little bit of things like that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Financial Expert/Co-host]

Sounds like he's always got a scheme and a plan.

[Dave Ramsey]

So what. What do you want to do with the building?

[Caller (Wife)]

Well, personally, I just want to get our retirement savings under control. But I realize how much of himself he's invested into the building and how.

[Dave Ramsey]

What do you want to do with the building?

[Caller (Wife)]

Well, I. If it was just me in the marriage, I would sell building.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, then why would you suggest that the two of you keep it?

[Caller (Wife)]

He is hoping to use it. It's on a canal. He loves it. He's hoping to use it both for recreation, for family and retirement. And he'd like to try and run a business out of it in retirement.

[Dave Ramsey]

But you don't believe that's going to happen.

[Caller (Wife)]

I believe that he would try and run a business out of it in retirement. My only concern is that there's a lot of expenses with a commercial building. Property tax is high. Everything's high. And I feel like it would be hard in retirement to constantly be working to keep up with those expenses, but some people do it. So I'm trying to make sure. Making this call that, okay, so you're

[Dave Ramsey]

dealing with a bunch of unknowns and your emotions are saying, sell the building. He's dealing with absolutely zero business acumen. He sucks at this because all he's doing is dreaming. I hope someday that we'll use it for the family. Oh, bullcrap. Okay, this guy's not written anything down. He doesn't have good business. Proform. If he worked for me and he did this, I'd fire him for incompetence. And you're worrying about something you don't even understand because he's never written anything down. This is all jumbled up between some business and some dream and some family use of a building on Canal. None of this is. It's all mixed together. It's not. It's jumbled up. It's not a good plan. There's no plan. It's just vague. I like the building. I wanted to buy the building. Now I'm going to renovate the building. Oh, crap. I don't have the $90,000. So now I'm in debt. Oh. Now I've got inventory I can't sell, and I don't know about the expenses. And you don't either. You've got this vague sense that there's going to be a bunch of insurance and taxes, which is probably true, but we need to actually look at real numbers. Okay, this is what the building cost to operate. Here's what we can rent it for. Here's the business that we can run out of it. And if there's any space left over, the family can enjoy it or the family can. You have the money to eat this. So it becomes a family recreational stop. It becomes a lake house for the summer. The building on the canal. But we've got it all jumbled up with. We can't decide if we're a landlord or we're running a business or we've got a lake house. And it's all pushed together so that he can live this dream that's very fuzzy and in the fog. He needs to write all of this down in a business plan, submit it to you, and the two of you need to look at this with wisdom. And then based on that, if you can see how you actually make money and want to keep it, fine. But just his little heart's desire is not enough to make it work. I've had a lot of heart's desire at stuff I sucked at and it cost me money and it's called dreaming and it turns into a nightmare. So you have to do a business plan a pro forma and go. Okay, if we rent out this, here's what the rental rates are. Oh, oh, wait. Everything on this whole canal is empty. It's gonna be very tough to rent.

[Financial Expert/Co-host]

Doesn't bode well.

[Dave Ramsey]

So we're probably eating this. Oh, we've got this inventory we bought that we financed, but we can't sell it. So we obviously chose the wrong inventory to purchase because we're in. Didn't have our business head together on that either. I've got some of that myself in the warehouse today over purchase of stuff that I wished we hadn't bought at Ramsey. But it's inventory and you know, it was a dumb butt thing. So you do some of that in business. But you've gotta see your way to this. We're. This is how we're going to turn this situation into money. And if we're not going to turn it into money, here's the amount of money we have to pay for it anyway and be okay. She's worried that this has taken the rug out from under their whole lives.

[Financial Expert/Co-host]

Well, there's a sunk cost fallacy. She's going, well, he's invested a lot into it and he really loves it. And it's going to Cause you guys to not be able to retire. So you got to. You can't have the cake and eat it too here.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm guessing they don't have millions of dollars or he wouldn't be $90,000 in debt. I'm guessing.

[Financial Expert/Co-host]

I just hope the building is worth 170. His 80 put in plus the 90 renovations. I don't know that they give and sell it for that much, so I'm worried he overbuilt.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, over. Over renovated. Yeah, he got to the party too soon.

[Financial Expert/Co-host]

How many people are trying to buy $200,000 office buildings in that area if he bought it for 80.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, exactly.

[Financial Expert/Co-host]

Oh, this is gonna be tough conversation because it sounds like he's. He's stubborn.

[Dave Ramsey]

And A, you need to get more involved and, and be involved in the decisions your life is involved because it affects you. And B, he. He needs to approach this with more of a business mind than the mind of a dreamer. Dreaming is good as long as you put work clothes on it and turn it into goals and numbers. Otherwise, dreaming is not what you want to marry your daughter. Oh, daddy, he's a dreamer. Oh, God. They're gonna live in my basement. Create your free every dollar budget today. The simplest way to budget for your life.