Budgeting Leads You out of Debt & Into Wealth

Summary

Summary of "Budgeting Leads You out of Debt & Into Wealth" — The Ramsey Show

Release Date: April 29, 2025

In the episode titled "Budgeting Leads You out of Debt & Into Wealth", hosted by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruz, listeners delve deep into the transformative power of budgeting as a cornerstone for escaping debt and building substantial wealth. The episode blends personal anecdotes, expert advice, and real-life caller scenarios to underscore the significance of disciplined financial management.

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1. Introduction and Personal Anecdote

The show opens with Dave Ramsey addressing a past mistake regarding an anecdote about being fired from a company named Mr. Transmission. Ramsey clarifies that the company, which he initially believed was out of business, had actually been revitalized and was thriving. This correction not only showcases Ramsey's transparency but also sets the tone for accountability—an essential theme throughout the episode.

Dave Ramsey [02:09]: "I straightened up my mess that I made on Sean Ryan's show because I bankrupted a company that was still operating."

2. Money and Relationships Tour Promotion

Dave and Rachel briefly discuss their Money and Relationships Tour, highlighting its success across various cities and emphasizing the interactive nature of the events where audiences vote on discussion topics. This segment underscores the show's commitment to engaging directly with listeners to address their most pressing financial and relational concerns.

3. Caller Interactions and Expert Advice

The core of the episode revolves around listener calls, each presenting unique financial dilemmas. Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruz provide tailored advice based on Ramsey's proven financial strategies.

a. Jenny from Atlanta: Boyfriend's Lack of Financial Contribution

Issue: Jenny, a 40-year-old surgeon earning upwards of $500,000, grapples with her boyfriend's reluctance to contribute to the household mortgage despite her significant income.

Advice: Ramsey categorically labels her boyfriend's unwillingness to work as a deal-breaker, emphasizing that lack of initiative and work ethic are detrimental to a healthy relationship. He advises Jenny to prioritize financial responsibility and warns of growing resentment if the situation remains unchanged.

Dave Ramsey [13:18]: "The reason you're asking the question is you're not great with it."

b. Tim from Toronto: Starting a Nonprofit Amidst a Vision Disability

Issue: Tim, a 21-year-old with a progressing retinal dystrophy, seeks advice on financing a nonprofit aimed at creating a youth drop-in center combined with animal-assisted therapy.

Advice: Ramsey discourages accumulating debt for unproven business ventures, especially given Tim's limited time before his vision severely impairs his ability to work. He recommends scaling the project more conservatively to avoid financial pitfalls.

Dave Ramsey [19:53]: "I would not put $90,000 into a brand new business idea that's unproven when I'm 21 years old."

c. Vince from New Hampshire: Balancing Mortgage and RV Purchase

Issue: Vince, recently retired with substantial savings, is contemplating purchasing a $20,000 RV to fulfill a long-held dream of traveling across the country, despite Ramsey's advice against such splurges.

Advice: Ramsey advises Vince to prioritize debt elimination, suggesting he pay off his car and mortgage before considering such discretionary purchases. He offers an alternative of renting an RV to fulfill his travel aspirations without jeopardizing his financial stability.

Dave Ramsey [23:30]: "I would rent one for two months rather than put 20k in something substandard."

d. Austin in Detroit: Managing Post-Purchase Remorse for a 1977 Corvette

Issue: Austin, who purchased a vintage Corvette for $7,700, is experiencing buyer's remorse and seeks guidance on whether to sell the vehicle to allocate funds toward his mortgage.

Advice: Ramsey assesses the financial impact, concluding that while the Corvette is a leisure purchase, it doesn't critically affect Austin's financial standing. He recommends keeping the car if it brings joy, emphasizing personal satisfaction alongside financial prudence.

Dave Ramsey [35:13]: "If you took that much money and you burn it in the middle of the floor. ... does my life change? If it changes my life, then I don't need to spend that on a toy."

e. Angelica from Mobile, Alabama: Budgeting with an Injured Husband

Issue: Angelica and her active-duty Navy husband are managing finances separately due to his injury and uncertain future in the military.

Advice: Ramsey suggests utilizing the EveryDollar budgeting app to create a master budget that both can access and manage collaboratively. This approach ensures financial transparency and reduces stress, especially during challenging times.

Dave Ramsey [47:35]: "A lot of military families use EveryDollar for that reason on deployment."

f. Trey in Mobile: Handling Inherited IRA and Building Wealth

Issue: Trey has inherited a substantial IRA and seeks advice on investing it wisely while maintaining his debt-free status.

Advice: Ramsey recommends adhering to the Baby Steps, prioritizing debt elimination and building an emergency fund before aggressively investing. He underscores the importance of financial discipline even when wealth is acquired unexpectedly.

Dave Ramsey [56:31]: "No, I would put it on wherever you are in the baby steps."

g. Nicole in New York City: Eliminating Credit Card Debt

Issue: Nicole recently paid off an $8,000 credit card debt and asks whether to cancel the card or let it remain open.

Advice: Ramsey advises closing the account to prevent future accidental spending but stresses the importance of keeping track to avoid fraudulent activities. He applauds her progress and encourages continued adherence to the Baby Steps.

Rachel Cruz [61:50]: "Call them up and cancel. ... you have to close the account."

h. Sarah in Atlanta: Purchasing a New Car at 57

Issue: Sarah, a 57-year-old debt-free individual with significant savings, contemplates buying a new car with cash.

Advice: Ramsey supports her decision, highlighting that the purchase won't jeopardize her financial security. He differentiates between manageable luxury purchases and those that could disrupt financial stability.

Dave Ramsey [36:00]: "If you enjoy it and it doesn't change your life, it's okay."

i. Gary’s Business Credit Card Strategy: Maximizing Points

Issue: Gary questions the efficacy of using a company credit card for bulk purchases to maximize points, despite paying off the balance immediately.

Advice: Ramsey dismisses the strategy as distracting from core business operations. He likens it to gambling, emphasizing that chasing points diverts energy from running and growing the business effectively.

Dave Ramsey [80:17]: "You're wasting your creative energy that you should be using to run and grow your business."

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4. Key Insights and Themes

Throughout the episode, several recurring themes emerge:

• Budgeting as a Pathway to Wealth: Effective budgeting is portrayed as essential for eliminating debt and building sustainable wealth. Tools like the EveryDollar app are recommended to facilitate transparent financial management.

• Debt Elimination Before Wealth Accumulation: Ramsey consistently emphasizes the importance of paying off debts before aggressively pursuing investments or luxury purchases.

• Financial Discipline in Relationships: Couples are urged to communicate openly about finances, ensuring that both partners contribute responsibly to shared goals.

• Strategic Wealth Building: Inheritance and windfalls should be utilized prudently, adhering to established financial steps to honor one's legacy and secure future prosperity.

• Avoiding Financial Pitfalls: Ramsey warns against strategies that may seem beneficial in the short term but could undermine long-term financial stability, such as excessive credit card point chasing or unplanned business debts.

5. Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Dave Ramsey [02:09]: "I straightened up my mess that I made on Sean Ryan's show because I bankrupted a company that was still operating."

• Dave Ramsey [13:18]: "The reason you're asking the question is you're not great with it."

• Dave Ramsey [19:53]: "I would not put $90,000 into a brand new business idea that's unproven when I'm 21 years old."

• Dave Ramsey [23:30]: "I would rent one for two months rather than put 20k in something substandard."

• Dave Ramsey [35:13]: "If you took that much money and you burn it in the middle of the floor. ... does my life change? If it changes my life, then I don't need to spend that on a toy."

• Dave Ramsey [47:35]: "A lot of military families use EveryDollar for that reason on deployment."

• Dave Ramsey [56:31]: "No, I would put it on wherever you are in the baby steps."

• Rachel Cruz [61:50]: "Call them up and cancel. ... you have to close the account."

• Dave Ramsey [36:00]: "If you enjoy it and it doesn't change your life, it's okay."

• Dave Ramsey [80:17]: "You're wasting your creative energy that you should be using to run and grow your business."

6. Conclusions

The episode robustly champions the philosophy that disciplined budgeting is the foundation for financial freedom. By addressing diverse financial challenges faced by listeners, Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruz reinforce the notion that regardless of one's financial starting point, with the right strategies and mindset, moving from debt to wealth is an attainable goal. The integration of personal stories and expert advice serves to inspire and equip listeners to take actionable steps toward their financial well-being.

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For those seeking to transform their financial lives, this episode serves as a compelling testament to the power of budgeting. Whether you're dealing with relationship finances, contemplating large purchases, or strategizing inheritance management, the principles discussed provide a clear roadmap to financial prosperity.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey guys, Dave Ramsey here. Me and Dr. John Deloney are coming to a city near you on the Money and Relationships tour. It's happening soon, so don't wait. Get your [e-mail] tour brought to you by the EveryDollar app. Start budgeting for free today. Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey show where we help people build wealth, do work that they love and create actual amazing relationships. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host, Rachel Cruz Ramsey, personality number one best selling author, host of the Rachel Cruze show and co host of Smart Money Happy Hour on the Ramsey Networks. And my daughter, she's my co host today. Open phones here at Triple 882-55-5225. Before we dive into the callers, I've got to do a correction that I screwed up on. I do this every so often. I've been doing talk radio 15 hours a week for and podcast type stuff for, hey, 34 years now. And so you can add up that number of hours and in that number of hours I have done some stupid butt stuff in my life. But it's, you can't take it back. It goes over the airwaves. It's gone. This was not on this show. My friend Sean Ryan has one of the top podcasts in the world and is here in our community and was nice enough to have me as a guest on and we did a long form interview there. I think it's like three hours and 43 minutes, which is more Dave than anybody should get. But you can get it if you want to go listen to John Ryan. And it was very popular. We've had, he's had, it's one of his top shows. I was talking to him last night about, as a matter of fact, and it's one of the, it's, the numbers on it are absolutely astronomical. And then I get a letter that I had messed up something on the thing.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, no.

[Dave Ramsey]

And 99% of the time when I get a letter like that, I just look at it and I go, yeah, throw it away. But this one I screwed up.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, I can't wait to hear.

[Dave Ramsey]

This is great. Yeah. So I got, I got fired when I was 22 years old. And I tell the story often and I very seldom if ever tell the name of the company, but I told the name of the company, okay. That I got fired from Mr. Transmission and I don't know why I got fired. The guy yelled at me.

[Rachel Cruz]

I've heard that story. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Threw me out of the building and all this stuff. And so it's one of the ways that we decided at Ramsey, no one's ever surprised. If you get fired here, you will at least know why, you know, because I still don't know why. And it was 40 years ago, you know, so I was 22 years. I was 42 years ago. I was 22 years old. So I probably deserved it. I just don't know why someone from the company was telling the story about that. And I said. Well, I said it was a. It was called Mr. Transmission, and they're out of business now. And there's. I think there's a couple of them left open, but the franchise is all closed down. Well, that was wrong. They did go bankrupt in 1990, because I actually looked at buying it at one point, and they went bankrupt in 1990, and another company bought them out of bankruptcy.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And now they're a thriving franchise operation.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, okay. Okay. So they are still alive and kicking.

[Dave Ramsey]

And they're more than alive and kicking. They're doing great.

[Rachel Cruz]

But you said.

[Dave Ramsey]

But I said. I said they're out of business. And. And so the lady that Barbara, that is the president of the company that owns it, sent me a letter. Very nice, very nice. But she quoted exactly what I said in there. And she said, just want to let you know we're alive and well, and we don't treat people like that now under our regime. And I'm like, dude, it was 42 years ago. Of course you don't. And so I called her and talked to her and told her I would. Told her I would come on the air and tell everybody that I was wrong. She's doing great. They're doing great. Mr. Transmission is just doing great. And apparently they're great people. She's a very nice lady. Very nice. There it is. I straightened up my mess that I made on Sean Ryan's show because I bankrupted a company that was still operating. No, they're doing.

[Rachel Cruz]

I don't know why you're. You're fired from 40.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, that doesn't matter. That's just a funny story.

[Rachel Cruz]

No, I know, I know, but it's funny.

[Dave Ramsey]

And if I'd have just been smart enough to not even mention the company name. Sure, sure. Everybody be okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

But that's always a feeling.

[Dave Ramsey]

But instead, I. Instead, I bankrupted a company that's doing really well. So, you know, they're doing great, and they're good people. I talked to her a long time. We had a great conversation. She's sweet as she could be. And Very, very kind, considering I had stepped all over her stuff, you know?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

So, yeah, not everybody's kind when you do that. So it's good stuff. So open phones here. Triple 8, 8, 2, 5, 5, 2, 2, 5. And, man, that's something else. All right, so I'm going to do this. The money and relationships to her. Dr. John DeLoney and I have not gotten fired from that. It is going very well.

[Rachel Cruz]

Bankrupt, depending on what happens.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's not bankrupt at all. It's actually booming. And the Kansas City sold out for Friday, May 9th. The Week from this Friday will be in Kansas City. A week from yesterday will be in Phoenix on May 5, Fort Worth on May 7. Few tickets left in Fort Worth, a handful in Phoenix. Kansas City's gone. Okay. So if you want tickets to come out next week, you bet one of those three cities, you need to get them because they're these. These are all going to be packed. They're gonna be packed out. And Dr. John is on fire. This is his. He. When he's can just free flow and not have to follow a script is his favorite thing in life. So. And he's really good at it. And so it's fun and funny and we're having a good time on stage. Being up there together at the same time, it's a weird way we're doing it. It's not a normal talk.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. So the audience votes on the subjects. Now, y'all have done three cities already. Are the audience what they want? Similar city to city, or has it been very different?

[Dave Ramsey]

Remarkably similar.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay, what are they wanting?

[Dave Ramsey]

What do they want to hear? We're not going to tell because I don't want to. I don't want to skew the voting at the next city.

[Rachel Cruz]

Make sure you get.

[Dave Ramsey]

Your polls aren't closed.

[Rachel Cruz]

All right.

[Dave Ramsey]

You can't tell who's winning it.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay. Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

But it's. Yeah, they're picking out similar topics. Yeah. And they're there to be. Once you look. Once you see them, you go, oh, I get that.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

I get why they're. Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so. Yeah. And they're. But there. You vote before we start, while you're sitting in the audience with a QR code, and then we're backstage scrambling around, looking at the votes, and then we make up the night. Grayson actually helps the guy that runs a content. He makes up the night and then brings us a sheet out, and then we. We talk about those topics. And so it's very off the cuff in that sense. And. And a lot of Fun. So if you want tickets. Ramseysolutions.com Tour ramseysolutions.com Tour and if you're tuning in on the YouTube or podcast, you can click the link in the show notes. You don't have to be stuck trapped in the same patterns of money or relationships. I will guarantee you this. If your spouse is. Or your best friend is. Thinks that the stuff we teach is boring, they can come out and they'll find out it's a lot of fun because we laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh. And you guys do the same thing when you and John are up there doing the marriage and money retreat, right?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And a little different content, obviously, but you two on stage are who. You're both dadgum comedians. So a lot, a lot of fun. So you can get in and get that done. All right, what are we going to talk about for a minute?

[Rachel Cruz]

Love it. Well, I was going to say because I think, well, I was talking to John about these events, but he was talking about how thematically how similar things are and what the problems people have continue to be pretty consistent regardless of where you are in the country, regardless of family of origin. But these ideas that people, they want the ability to have great relationships, they want the ability to take control of their money, they want to build wealth and they want to be able to. Yeah, I mean, I think build a life that. That they love. And so I think that's what's so great about all of this, though, is being able to hit.

[Dave Ramsey]

You see the commonality. Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

And the pain points that are really out there. And we see that theme on this show. Like, we'll get calls four in a row of people that their spouses can't. They can't work together with their spouse. Or we'll get four calls in a row where it's like crazy. Student loan debt.

[Dave Ramsey]

Right.

[Rachel Cruz]

Like, we see themes even on the show. So I think it's just encouragement to people out there. Like whatever that pain point is, we see a consistency in it. And that's why we do what we do, whether it's on this show, whether it's going out to cities and doing events like this money and relationship tour or other shows we have on the Ramsey Network.

[Dave Ramsey]

But that pain, the human condition is just the human.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. And it doesn't make you, you know.

[Dave Ramsey]

The condition we're in.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. You're not weird in that way. Like, there is something so normal. What we're all crying. And I think you guys are seeing that with the content on this, where you have an audience that votes, which I think is awesome. I think it's beautiful. And that's why we're here. This is why we do what we do.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's a great way to build a set list for sure. This is the Ramsey Show.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Foreign. This show is sponsored by Better Help. All right, you've heard me say it a thousand times and I'm gonna keep saying it. You're worth being well. And listen, therapy can help. I see a therapist and let's be honest, a lot of you should too. But let's be real. Taking that first step to see a therapist can feel overwhelming. Maybe it's the time. Maybe you have some preconceived notions about therapy. Maybe it's the cost. But we spend money on gym memberships, organic groceries, essential oils, Little League practices, tracker watches.

[Rachel Cruz]

But for some reason, when it comes.

[Dr. John Deloney]

To our mental and emotional well being, we hesitate. Your mental and emotional health are just as important as your physical health. And the good news, BetterHelp makes therapy more affordable and convenient than ever. It's online so you can talk with your therapist when it works for your schedule. No more waiting rooms, no long commutes, and no six month waiting lists. You just get online and fill out a short survey to get matched with a licensed therapist. And if it's not the right fit, you can switch at any time for no extra cost. Your well being is worth it. Visit betterhelp.com DeLoney to get started. That's BetterHelp. H E L p.com DeLoney.

[Dave Ramsey]

Jenny is in Atlanta. Hi Jenny. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Hi, thank you for having me. My question is my boyfriend doesn't want to work and is that a deal breaker? I'm a 40 year old surgeon. In my first job last year I made about $280,000. This year I'm expected to make close to $500,000 in the second year of my work. My boyfriend of one year is an actor and the entire time I've known him for about a year he's had two days of work as an actor and he made less than 23,000 last year. So he didn't qualify for the Actors Union health insurance. But we want to continue our relationship and keep moving forward and eventually get married and live together. But he says that because the house will be under my name as the main wage earner, he doesn't feel like he should pay for any part of the mortgage. He also can't. And I'm wondering if that's the deal breaker or if I should Just suck it up and pay for the expenses, because I can.

[Rachel Cruz]

Hmm. What do you think, Ginny? Is that. Is that attractive to you? Like, are you, like, what a winner.

[Dr. John Deloney]

This is not how I had imagined, um, being in a relationship.

[Rachel Cruz]

When you're smart, you're a surgeon, Jenny. You're really smart, you know, so I'm just.

[Dave Ramsey]

I.

[Rachel Cruz]

It's just. It kind of. It is interesting because usually, not always, but to a degree, people's intellect, you're attracted to other people's intellect, and you're a hard worker. Obviously, the schooling you had to go through was insane. And the amount of hours you have to put in and work and to have somebody that doesn't give. And again, I'm not mad that he doesn't have a job as an actor every week, but at least he's like, hey, I'm still busting my butt and I'm part time here. I'm waiting tables here, and I'm trying to make this dream work. I'm not mad at the dream, but the fact that there's nothing in between, that. That's happening, right. Is like, that's. As a woman who works and all of it, like, that's not attractive to me as a. For a man, a guy that has a level of initiative, I find attractive. So I'm just curious if. Yeah. If that's how you feel or if you're. If you're great with it and you might be great with it.

[Dave Ramsey]

You're asking the question. She's not great with it. She's asking the question. The reason you're asking the question is you're not great with it.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Again, this is now not how I had imagined being in a relationship with a man would be like me being the provider. Because even though I can provide for myself, I thought our relationship or partnership would be a partnership where I don't.

[Dave Ramsey]

Care if he makes as much money. I care that he doesn't work.

[Rachel Cruz]

Or that again and we live in.

[Dave Ramsey]

If he wants to dig ditches, I don't care as long as he's doing it all day, every day.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I've asked him how he can get by without working, and he says he has some residuals coming in from prior work that he's done as an actor. But clearly it's not enough because he didn't.

[Dave Ramsey]

Clearly, he sits on his butt regardless of why or how. He clearly is an unmotivated slug.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Clearly, he's 51. He's 51. And I'm not sure how much things are going to change.

[Dave Ramsey]

Jenny. You don't have kids, do you?

[Dr. John Deloney]

No, he doesn't.

[Dave Ramsey]

If you had a daughter that asked you this question, what would you tell her?

[Dr. John Deloney]

I would probably say, can you find a better guy?

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, that's exactly. And that's what you're. So here's what's happening. You already have made this decision. You just wanted someone else to say it out loud. And I'll tell you, if you go forward with this guy, you're going to get increasingly resentful and increasingly bitter. This is not going to get better. You're not suddenly going to have peace with this. Yeah, you don't have peace with it now is why you asked the question.

[Rachel Cruz]

And as a reminder, it's not a value of what he's bringing monetarily necessarily, it's the effort, Jenny. So, yeah. So if you guys have kids. Yeah. If you get married, you guys have kids. Who he is with his work is the amount of energy he's going to put into that. You know, I mean, your marriage, if your marriage starts to be in a hard spot, the amount of effort that he's putting into his life is what you're going to see there. So it's just an indicator of his level of pursuit in life in general. Starts to kind of show.

[Dave Ramsey]

So, yeah, he's cute, but the cute's already worn off.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So basically it doesn't matter how much money I make and whether we can support ourselves with my money. It's a matter of his.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's a matter of he has no work ethic.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Which is a character.

[Rachel Cruz]

And let's say this, it's 2025. There's some stay at home dads. Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

The.

[Rachel Cruz]

Sometimes the woman is the breadwinner and roles have reversed. So even if that was the case and he's like, hey, we're having to support kids and you, you have a demanding job. I'm able to do this and this and this and. You know what I mean? But there's like effort involved. It's. There's none of that.

[Dave Ramsey]

This is just. I'm gonna sit on a log.

[Rachel Cruz]

I know. And it's hard. Cause you like him, right? I mean, I'm sorry.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yes. The answer to your question is yes. We think it's a deal breaker and so do you. And you just wanted someone else to say it out loud. Did I miss that?

[Dr. John Deloney]

You're right. Thank you for being a mirror that I needed to see.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sorry. Oh, bless your heart. That's hard. It's hard. But yeah, it's because your, your, your Emotions cloud when you're, you know, falling in love. And so it, you tend to put blinders on. But this, this got pushed far enough one too many times. It came up on the fact he.

[Rachel Cruz]

Wants to take no responsibility for anything. Did you hear that? Yeah. Put the, put the house in your name and you pay the mortgage because you make the money. And I'm like, oh, golly, man. You know, like all of it. It's just. Yeah, yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Because I have residuals. I have a residual PTSD just from thinking about it. All right, all right, all right. Tim is in Toronto. Hi, Tim. What's up?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Hi there. I'm 21. I just finished college last week.

[Dave Ramsey]

Congratulations. What's your degree in?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Thank you. I'm a social service community worker.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And I've been working while I was in school to try to put together a kind of out of the box business idea. But I'm kind of working on a time limit with a vision disability. So I'm kind of wondering if I should go through financing and pay it off as quick as I can within five years or if there's other avenues I can take to kind of fit a shorter timeline.

[Dave Ramsey]

Tell me what your vision disability timeline issue is.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So I have something called the retinal dystrophy, which continues to get worse over time. I have about 60% of my vision currently, but I have about less than 10 years before to the point where I won't be able to work anymore.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, you won't be able to work with sight.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Correct.

[Dave Ramsey]

Lots of, lots of people that don't have site work.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Correct. I would just need more help with the local organizations, which I do have connections to.

[Dave Ramsey]

But yeah, you'll have to, you'll have to build, you'll have to build a life to prepare for that. The last thing you need is debt while you're on this journey. So no, we're not going to go that route and we're not going to get desperate and get in such a hurry that you make the mistakes of desperation. Anytime I get desperate, I get stupid right around the same time. And you can really, really step in a bear trap right now. So, man, what a challenge that you're facing. But also the clear definition you have of it allows you to just really think about how you're going to strategize for this. So what is your business idea?

[Dr. John Deloney]

So my local town doesn't have a youth drop in center anymore. So youth don't have anywhere to get like food if they don't have it. So I'M kind of looking to build the drop in center but also incorporate like animal assisted therapy because animals are my passion as well. So kind of combining the two for youth to be able to build enclosures and learn about those types of things.

[Rachel Cruz]

And are you thinking of a nonprofit situation or a for profit business doing this?

[Dr. John Deloney]

I was thinking nonprofit. The only reason being is my local town has a big pot for bursaries and grants compared to other towns. So I would be able to get monthly financing through them as well to help out with everything.

[Dave Ramsey]

What do you have to do to qualify for the grant?

[Dr. John Deloney]

I just have to have a nonprofit number and have the actual building and everything set up. And that's kind of what I was going to take the financing for. I currently have a building accessible to me. It just, it just needs repairs and everything to get to the point where it could be usable for a business.

[Dave Ramsey]

And what's it take to do the repairs? What's the cost?

[Dr. John Deloney]

The cost for that will be for upgrades and renovations of $90,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, absolutely not. I would not do that itself.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Is being sold to me for 40,000 when it was appraised for the same in 2014.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. No, I would not put $90,000 into a brand new business idea that's unproven when I'm 21 years old. Absolutely. I would not do that. I would rent a building somewhere that suffices to operate. Get your operation up and going. Don't get in the real estate business, honey. You need to get in the business. And you need to decide which of these you want to do. Dogs or kids. Don't try to do both. Let's focus. Because you're not going to survive in business if you do the real estate business. Dogs and kids.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Rachel, do you ever get these sketchy text messages that are like, hey, you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Need to update your address and verify.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So we can get you the package you didn't order.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes, I have, George. Sketchy. And never trust them.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And that's why we recommend Delete me. They help with that.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, they do. Delete Me actually goes in and removes your information from data broker websites. And it is an incredible service that everyone needs.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And there's a lot of shady companies out there that solely exist to sell your personal data to bad guys. And that means your info, like your email address, your home address, your kids names, your name, everything is just out there for scammers and spammers to find.

[Rachel Cruz]

So much.

[Dr. John Deloney]

But delete me will delete your data, hence the name.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's gone.

[Dr. John Deloney]

They'll wipe it out for you so you can sleep easy.

[Rachel Cruz]

That's right. And then once they remove your information, then they're going to send you a detailed report telling you where they found your information, when they removed it, how many hours they've saved you. I mean it is incredible. So detailed and it's beautiful.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Get this. So far they've reviewed 27,000 listings on my behalf, removed me from 240 data broker sites and saved me 77 hours of time. It's incredible.

[Rachel Cruz]

Absolutely amazing. And Winston and I now get fewer texts, weird emails, spam calls, all of it.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I love it. So you got to be sure to check them out. Ramsay fans get 20% off their annual plans.

[Dave Ramsey]

Just go to join deletem.com SL Ramsey.

[Dr. John Deloney]

That comes out to less than nine bucks a month. Super affordable.

[Rachel Cruz]

Again, that's joins late me.com Ramsey make sure to check it out you guys.

[Dave Ramsey]

Rachel Cruz, Ramsey personality, is my co host. Our question of the day is brought to you by. Why refi? Why refi refinances defaulted private student loans that other places won't touch and helps you get your life back. So kick private student loan debt to the curb@y refi.com Ramsey that's the letter y r e f y.com Ramsey might not be in all states.

[Rachel Cruz]

Today's question comes from Vince in New Hampshire. I have retired for three years with $1 million in an IRA. My wife is planning to retire next year with $400,000 in her managed IRA and another $220,000 in a pension which she plans to withdraw to add to her IRA. Our only debt is a 15,000 is $15,000 on our car and $100,000 mortgage. I know you say buying an RV is like throwing your money away, but we want to RV for around $20,000 and drive across the country for a couple of months to see sights that we missed when we were younger after being frugal for years to save, invest and pay down debt. Can we afford to splurge a little bit now?

[Dave Ramsey]

Absolutely.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

You ought to pay off your car and your mortgage so too immediately if you're over 59 and a half and you can pull enough of this million six out to pay off 115,000. And I got a better idea but you can do this. I wouldn't personally be a millionaire and be driving a $20,000 RV. That sounds like hell to me because it's going to break down. So why don't you just go rent one for two months. That's the best of the best. And just get the, like the Bentley RV or whatever you call it. I don't even know what it is. Get like I passed one on the interstate the other night.

[Rachel Cruz]

My wife says an Airstream.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, it was. It was my wife. It was just a big old beautiful thing. And my wife said 200 000. I said no, 450.

[Rachel Cruz]

Is it really? Are they really that expensive?

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, the super dogs are.

[Rachel Cruz]

And I google fact check you right now.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, you can. You can fact check me if you want. It's okay. I can handle.

[Rachel Cruz]

They're really for. They are450,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

What you just said you can get the. You can get that model. I promise you. And so it's almost like. Anyway. Yeah, so anyway, I would rent1 for 2 months rather than put 20k in something substandard and go to. It's going to make your dream not so fun. So you do whatever you want to do. But you can. You can buy the 20, but you ought to pay off your house, pay off your car while you're at it. That's simple. All right, fact checker. Any help?

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, majority are going for 270. And then it says AI overview, which I know you love AI so much. It says typical is anywhere from 40,000 to a million dollars.

[Dr. John Deloney]

What?

[Dave Ramsey]

Done?

[Rachel Cruz]

I don't know.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, Matt is in North Dakota. Hey, Matt, what's up? I can't drop the mic, so I have to drop the paper.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay, fair enough. Long time listener and I appreciate you guys, all of you. My question, in short, is, is my mom responsible for my dad's credit card debt? Here's what's happened. He's been moved to assisted living about nine months ago. Before that, he'd racked up credit card debt of about $18,000. She's right now just paying off the interest on that monthly to get by. He does have some VA assistance that helps with his assisted living. But she's 75. She cannot afford to continue doing that. So I'm wondering. It's an American Express card. How aggressive are they? She let that go into default. She's not on. She's not on his. She didn't co sign with him, but she did at one time. He got her a credit card, but she no longer has that as just kind of an accessory. It's all in his name. It's his debt.

[Dave Ramsey]

Does he have any assets? Do they own a home?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yes, they do. He's not living in it. He is.

[Dave Ramsey]

Doesn't matter. They could sue him. And take a lien against his home, which happens to be where she lives. Yes, that's a problem. They have no money.

[Dr. John Deloney]

No, no. She works a part time job just three days a week to just bring in groceries and that sort of stuff. But other than that, their home is paid off. Yes, but other than that. No. It just goes to insurance, property taxes, that sort of stuff.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. Sorry. Do you have any money?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah, but not that kind of money.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

Do you have other siblings, Matt?

[Dr. John Deloney]

One sister, yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

What's the house worth? Their house?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Oh, they had just moved into it before he started his fall. And it's worth probably 700,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

And it's paid for?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right. Well, in order to save the house, we're going to have to deal with Amex.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

So they're not going to sue. If they do sue, they're very aggressive in their collection tactics, but they're not real aggressive in actually forcing the sale of a house that they've taken a judgment lien against. That would be like less than 1/4 of 1% chance of that happening. Okay. They technically could. Where's the house? What state?

[Dr. John Deloney]

What state it's in? It's in Montana.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right. I don't know Montana law, but I suspect they could take a lien against the house and eventually execute on the lien and force the sale of the house in order to pay them. And they're going to just drive her bananas in the six years it would take for them to get to that point. Okay. So I don't suggest doing that. It's going to be a problem. It's going to be a problem for you, for her. And sweet lady is just going to get harassed. Now, was he of diminished capacity when he used the card?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Starting to get that way. He racked up a lot of it on dental bills here in the last year or so just before he went to assisted living without her knowing.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I know that her knowing is not necessary, but if he wasn't, if he was like an early onset or something and you can get a doctor letter that'll help you with the process here. Okay. So anyway, what I would do is this. I'll just stop paying it, let it go bad. Okay. And, and teach her to. Don't have conversations with them. Don't even talk to them. If they call or they send something, just ignore it because they're going to drop there. If she picks up the phone every time they call, they're going to drive her nuts. All right?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And then after about six to nine months. You and your sister scrape together $5,000 and settle this, okay? Y'all settle it and get it out of there so your mama's house is not at risk while your dad's declining.

[Dr. John Deloney]

You feel like Amex would settle on that?

[Dave Ramsey]

They'll settle pennies on the dollar once it's nine months old.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Once it's nine months old.

[Dave Ramsey]

Because they don't think they're going to get their money, then statistically, they're not going to get their money.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Right. Will they be the ones to call us? Will they turn it over to creditors?

[Dave Ramsey]

Usually they'll keep it. They'll keep it at least a year, usually.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay?

[Dave Ramsey]

And I will tell you, they are absolute buttholes. They are horrible to deal with. If you work for Amex in the credit card collections department, you should be ashamed of yourself and go get a good job. They're a horrible company, okay? So just get ready to deal with Satan, okay? I mean, seriously, this is what you're going in with? It's. It's horrible. All right? So I. I, you know, I've dealt with them, I don't know, five hundred or a thousand times on behalf of clients and once on behalf of myself 35 years ago, so. No, you didn't. You do not want to. But the trick is you just got to play hardball and go, look, you're not.

[Rachel Cruz]

She doesn't have the money. That's the thing.

[Dave Ramsey]

She doesn't have the money. You're not getting paid. They don't have any assets, and we're offering you a settlement on a bad debt. Hang up. We're offering you a settlement on a bad debt. She doesn't have any money. Do you want some money? Hang up. You're gonna have to do that, like, 10 times before you find someone with two brain cells down there to rub together. Okay?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And when you do finally get somebody on there, they're gonna go, oh, this guy's. Because they record every one of the transactions on the file. So they see every time we start yelling at them, they hang up. But then they'll know that. So the next time they pick up, go, look, don't start or you're gonna be another. Hang up.

[Rachel Cruz]

And if you get it, Matt, get it in writing.

[Dave Ramsey]

Absolutely.

[Rachel Cruz]

Have them email you immediately a letter so you have actual evidence that they.

[Dave Ramsey]

Because they lie. If they say they did something, they didn't do it. If it's not in writing, it didn't happen.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Brother, thank you so much for your advice. I will start saving. I Appreciate you both.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey, be good man. Sorry you're facing that.

[Rachel Cruz]

I know. It's so sad for his mom.

[Dave Ramsey]

This is why we tell you to save 15 of your household income at baby step four before you get to baby step six and pay off your house. Because if you have a paid for house and no money, you can get in a pinch.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Foreign.

[Dave Ramsey]

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[Dr. John Deloney]

Hey, Ramsey. Thank you guys for having me. I appreciate you both. I have a quick question for you here. I have a 1977 Corvette that I just purchased a couple weeks ago and feeling a little buyer's remorse about it. So my, my question is, based on my situation, if you think it would be best to sell the vehicle and put the money into my mortgage or to keep it and just enjoy the ride.

[Dave Ramsey]

What'd you pay for it?

[Dr. John Deloney]

7700.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right. Not exactly mint condition, huh?

[Dr. John Deloney]

It. It is. It was actually from my grandpa's friend. They put a lot of work into were. It's worth about 13,000. But they sold it to me for that price. They didn't want profit on it. And so I got.

[Dave Ramsey]

What do you make a year?

[Dr. John Deloney]

I make about 150,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. You got debt other than the house?

[Dr. John Deloney]

No, sir, just the house.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

How much you have left on the house?

[Dr. John Deloney]

67,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, the rule on toys that I use when Sharon and I are talking about it is. If I take that much money and I burn it in the middle of the floor. $7,700 in this case, and I just set fire to it, does my life change? If it changes my life, then I don't need to spend that on a toy. Okay.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so I think this one's probably. Doesn't change your life. If you lost $7,000. If you just. If the car went in the bottom of a lake with no insurance, your life does not change. Other than you'd shed some tears. But in terms of. Financially, you'd be just fine. I probably would not have bought it until the house was paid off. Matter of fact, I know I would not have bought a toy until the house was paid off. But. But it's not an expensive toy. You didn't spend 77,000 on it. Okay, so you didn't. If you'd have done that, I would have said, yeah, you're out of bounds. Because that amount of money would change your life.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, it's like half. Yeah. Almost the more. That's the mortgage.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

It's left.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. And so. But, you know, if you like the car and you can drive it with freedom and enjoy it, and then you use the. A little bit of a ouchy that you're feeling, and you use that discomfort to lean into the house that much harder, I'd probably keep it.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay. Yeah. Yeah, that. That makes sense. Your. Your voice has been in my head since I bought it, telling me I disrupted the seven baby steps.

[Dave Ramsey]

You did disrupt the seven baby steps. You did do that.

[Rachel Cruz]

Shame.

[Dave Ramsey]

But. But no, I mean, seriously, no, honestly, the. No, that's not. Because if you're.

[Rachel Cruz]

He was hearing you.

[Dave Ramsey]

I know, but. I know, but I was thinking he did disrupt them. But if you're thinking about baby step, 4, 5, 6, which is where you are, you're living intentional. And this is where you would upgrade a car or buy a boat or buy a couch, and then he bought a $7,000 toy.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

So, no, it's not. It's not really out of line. It's not really out of line, but it is a luxury. It was a pretty heavy luxury item, you know, so. It's okay. I. I think you're okay. I think. I think.

[Rachel Cruz]

Do you like the car, Austin? Like, do you.

[Dave Ramsey]

You enjoy it?

[Dr. John Deloney]

I. I do. It feels really good. My wife likes it. You know, we went for a ride the other day, and it. Yeah, it's a step up from what we drive right now, which is, you know, with our compact SUVs so it is freeing for us.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. I keep it fun. I keep it.

[Rachel Cruz]

You're good.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. But I think if it was a. If it was a larger number to where it would hurt you, then, yeah, I'll probably sell it. But the good news here is that when you. When I saw classic car pop up here, I was not thinking $7,000.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. You're thinking more.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I was thinking this call is going to be. Somebody spent a lot of money on something, but it is relative. That's the thing. It's like I got a friend that bought a Lamborghini. I mean, he bought a had gum. Was it 400,000 bucks or something? And I'm like, man, but he made 15 million last year, right? So, I mean, it's. He can burn that in the middle of the floor and it would make all of us cry, but he. His life wouldn't change.

[Rachel Cruz]

It's like when you see those stats of like what Bill Gates makes while he's brushing his teeth, like every two minutes. You know what I mean? It's like $80,000 every two minutes or something. Just insane.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

We're like, oh, my gosh.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's a different. It's a different ratio. And that's the. That's how you know you can actually afford something is the ratio. That's what you're looking for. So I remember we did one the other night on something. Tiger woods at his top of his game when he was making the most of the most. He bought a $70 million house. And this was many years ago. Obviously it was back when he was really at the top of the top of the golf world. And all these people are coming out like, who needs the $70 million? And that year his income was 1.2 billion with endorsements and everything. And so him buying a $70,000 house is like someone that makes $250,000 buying a $15,000 car. I mean, that's the ratio. It's nothing. It's just nothing. And so ratio wise and so. But it's just mind blowing because most of us have never even seen a $70 million house, much less buy one. But you. 1.2 billion in one year either. So it's a different one. I mean, it's a different thing. So you're looking at the ratios there on things and that's. That's a good way. Make sure you're always giving, you're always enjoying, and you're always investing your money. Mackenzie is in Nashville. Hey, Mackenzie, how are you?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Hi, Dave.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm Good.

[Dr. John Deloney]

How are you?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than we deserve. What's up?

[Dr. John Deloney]

I just had a quick question. Well, maybe a quick question, but if we should sell our house, our in laws have offered for us move in. So move in with them, save some money, pay off our consumer debt, and then save some money to buy a new house closer to my husband's work.

[Dave Ramsey]

How far are you from your husband's work?

[Dr. John Deloney]

He's. They're moving him to an hour away from our house.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, where. Where?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Murfreesboro.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right.

[Rachel Cruz]

How much debt do you guys have?

[Dr. John Deloney]

So we have about 60,000 in consumer debt. So that's going to be. Three of those are our auto loans. One is 20,000, one is 10. And then a motorcycle, that's 16,000. And then we have 10,500 in credit card.

[Rachel Cruz]

How much can you get for all the cars?

[Dr. John Deloney]

We could. Unfortunately, the. The Jeep. The jeep is the 20,000 $1. I think we could probably get a little bit less than what it's worth.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Maybe come out even 17, I think.

[Rachel Cruz]

Even on the 10.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

How about for the motorcycle?

[Dave Ramsey]

Motorcycle breaker.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Even the motorcycle, Potentially. I mean, it's a. It's a 12 Harley Davidson Road Glide, I think, or something like that. I think they're a little underwater on that. The one that I know, we could sell and break even for sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

Your in laws live in Murfreesboro.

[Dr. John Deloney]

They live in Rockville, so pretty close.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, I would sell your house and rent something near where your husband's working, and I would sell your motorcycle, and I would sell your car.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I would get out of debt really, really fast.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

How much can you get for the house?

[Dr. John Deloney]

I think we could get potentially 300.

[Rachel Cruz]

Out of it in equity.

[Dr. John Deloney]

No, no. We owe 258. So I think we would come out what we calculated with our realtors, maybe 23, 25,000 after closing costs.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you would be debt free in renting if you sold the motorcycle. Sold and got 20,000.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah. I just. The. The question about the motorcycle is I think we're underwater on it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Not much. Not much. You can sell it. You just don't want to tell him he needs to sell his motorcycle, but he does. He's broke. Broke people don't buy $16,000 motorcycles.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

I don't care how sweet it is, he's getting ready to move you in with his mother because he won't sell his motorcycle. Are you hearing this? Seriously, buy motorcycle. Bye. Bye. No, we're not moving in with your mama. No, no. Nope. Y'all Go, y'all. Go get a life. And you're gonna sell the house because you need to move closer to his work anyway.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. Not for the debt.

[Dave Ramsey]

We're not selling the house because of the debt. We're selling the house because you're gonna need to move closer to work. Right, right.

[Dr. John Deloney]

It just would be a plus to take care of it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. No, I would not move in with your in laws. Yes, I would. Sell the motorcycle, sell the car, and sell the house. It's exactly what I'd do. You're not gonna do it, though.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, you can do it, Mackenzie.

[Dave Ramsey]

She would do it, but I don't think she's going to talk to him about it. I don't think she wants to bring it up.

[Rachel Cruz]

I believe in you, Mackenzie. Go, girl.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right. This is the Ramsey Show.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Foreign.

[Dave Ramsey]

Statistics show that half of Americans don't have enough life insurance or they don't have any at all. I don't understand this, John. Why don't people want to take care of their family? They think they're going to die or something.

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, I used to be one of those guys.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I didn't even think about it. And one of my buddies said, hey, the only reason to not have life insurance is if you hate your wife and kids. And I immediately went and got term life insurance.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's a gut punch.

[Rachel Cruz]

And.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Oh, you're telling me. And for decades, Dave, I've sat across people who've lost a spouse, they've lost somebody important to them.

[Dave Ramsey]

Me, too.

[Dr. John Deloney]

They don't know what to do next.

[Dave Ramsey]

Me, too. I mean, you're gonna have a crisis here, and, you know, you got two options. While you're sitting and talking to a young widow, she's concerned about how she's going to invest all this money properly and not mess this up, or she's concerned how she's going to eat tomorrow. That's exactly the two options. And take care of your dadgum family.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Term life insurance can replace income, pay off debts, cover funeral expenses. So your family can actually have the opportunity to just be sad.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

To just miss you.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's exactly what it's supposed to be. It's saying I love you to your family. Term life insurance, Jeff, Zander and the team at Xander Insurance makes it easy and affordable. I've used them personally for 25 years. They're the only people I trust. Go to Xander.com or call 800-356-4282. Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey show, where we help people Build wealth, do work that they love and create actual amazing relationships. Regular Rachel Cruz, number one best selling author, Ramsey personality. My daughter is my co host. Today, open phones at Triple 882-55-5225. Angelica is with us in Mobile, Alabama. Hi Angelica, how are you?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Hi. Thank you so much for taking my call. Sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

What's up?

[Dr. John Deloney]

So I have a question. My husband and I have been living separately for almost a year now. He is active duty and he's what because of he's active duty? Oh yeah. He's in the Navy.

[Dave Ramsey]

Huh.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So we, due to his orders, we decided to move me back home to be with my family. Well, he got injured shortly after moving us back here and we've been living separately and he got, I guess moved from those orders. So what we've really been struggling with is how to manage our budget separately even though our money is together.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm sorry, he got injured?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

So is he being discharged?

[Dr. John Deloney]

No, he's been on limited duty for a year. So he's been where he's at now, kind of basically waiting to see if it will heal or to see if he is inevitably going to get medically separated or retired.

[Dave Ramsey]

And what's the timeline on that, do you think?

[Dr. John Deloney]

We're waiting to hear something by the end of May. And if they send him back out, then he'll be gone for another nine months. If he doesn't, then we will know in August.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, is he, if he's, he, if he's healed enough to go back out, correct?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

And where is he right now? Is he, is he.

[Dr. John Deloney]

He's in Virginia.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay. Do you guys have kids?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah, we do. We, we do. He is a little over a year old. A little over a year and a half.

[Rachel Cruz]

So you're, you moved back to be close to family, Right. With all the logistics with kids.

[Dave Ramsey]

But he was going to be gone all the time and now he's not. Now he's sitting there. Okay.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Correct. And we're also managing the travel to and from and his leave is being depleted and you know, he drives as much as you can. 15, 16 hours each way.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. I think, I think we're going to put you guys into the Every dollar premium budget app.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And both of you have access to it then. And what I would, what I'll do is I'm going to give you two accounts, not just one. Okay. I want you to have one account that is the master budget. That is everything you all are doing for the whole household, including. And you're the primary on that one. And then I want him to have a little miniature budget for his day to day existence.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And if you can do the, do the miniature budget without using a separate budgeting app, I would prefer you make it a line item in your main budget.

[Rachel Cruz]

That's what I was thinking. Have one main budget and then he has a couple of like he has a full other section within that budget with his expenses so that you both kind of see it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. A lot of military families use every dollar for that reason on deployment. Because even if he's in out of country, if he's got Internet access, he can look and see exactly what you're doing with the money and you guys can communicate what we're doing. You're managing your money together even though you're not in the same country. And because the app allows you to do, to do it seamlessly as one couple, even though you're much more than across the room, you're across the world, but it's still the same function, you're both looking at it, you're both seeing everything the other one's doing. It both fits in. We've agreed that you're spending money when you're out of country is X and that's a part of our overall budget. And he can see that you paid the light bill and he can see that you kept the food on the table at home. And I'll tell you this, it sounds like that he's maybe special ops. Is he?

[Dr. John Deloney]

He. No, he's more cyber security.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right. I just, I could tell something was going, but I couldn't tell what it was. Okay. The. So what we found is working with the military for 30 years now that mission readiness is increased, the guys and gals that are on the front lines and sometimes in danger are much more competent at their battle skills when they know everything at home is set at the table set at home. And so him having access to you, running the budget, watching over your shoulder with every dollar helps him when he steps out there in the edge of stuff to protect in this country. Okay. It helps his mind be clear, in other words. And to do the job he's being hired to do. And we appreciate his service and we appreciate your sacrifice as well, honey. So we'll give you two of them, but I'm going to suggest you use one.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And that you put his part. His part as you can have two or three line items, you can make up custom line items.

[Rachel Cruz]

And even if there's something with his paycheck going into a Different account. If there's something there, you can connect multiple accounts to it. So it's all going into one budget.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, you can put it all in there. And it all really should go into one budget and into one account. And then. Because it's easier for y'all to manage. But once you're using this software, and if he's tech guy, he's gonna love this software because it's robust. I mean, this app is incredible. It's the world's best budgeting app by far. So you hang on and I'll have Christian pick up and we'll get you a couple of them. But I'm gonna tell you, probably you're gonna give away one to a friend. One of his other buddies is deployed, he's got a wife back home.

[Rachel Cruz]

The perfect situation is that you guys have one account. All the incomes go in there. You budget out of that account, you're gonna have different line items for his situation. But sometimes we do see with like, yeah, military stuff or other things. Like, yeah, there's two different accounts. So if that's the case, you can hook both up. You can hook up multiple accounts to every dollar. But I think functioning out of the same budget is the best thing. Yes, that's gonna be clarity and it's more, it's simple.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's gonna give him more peace and it's gon less strain because you don't feel like you're carrying all the decisions by yourself. You're not got the whole thing on your shoulders. He's looking over your. He's watching it with you, even though he's not sitting beside you to do that. So again, thanks.

[Rachel Cruz]

It is a, it's a pretty remarkable thing when we talk to active duty military families, how many of them like still continue to get out of debt. Like they're still like working a plan and. But they're like, you know, and it took completely different continent, some of them, for a period of time. So it is, it's. It's pretty remarkable.

[Dave Ramsey]

They make really good headway in some cases. If they're in a battle zone, of course they're getting tax free income. So that's a whole different thing. So that it's beautiful to be able to use all that and make progress. You know, that's the thing. So it's good stuff. All right, that's the everydollar account. Christian, we'll give them two of them and give her two different sign up sheets there and we'll get them going on that. That thing is we've been iterating that and working on it for several years, guys. And if you have not looked at the everydollar account lately, it's going to tell you exactly what you need to do next to walk your way through the baby steps. And it's going to based on what you enter into the budget, it's going to read your mail and tell you it's a little spooky.

[Rachel Cruz]

And the onboarding process too has gotten more robust. So knowing your information and where you're at, even in the base baby steps, all of it, it starts to. It's building out more and more, which we love.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. It's going to show you exactly what to do next and exactly what to do next to walk you out of debt and into wealth. It's a pretty cool deal, y'all. You don't want to miss this. This is the Rams. Hey, when you're Gazelle Intense, you sell so much stuff, the kids think they're next. But when you've gotten rid of all, you can save money by switching your cell phone plan to Boost mobile. It's just $25 a month for unlimited talk, text and data Forever. Boost is a major nationwide network that offers reliable 5G service. And here's my favorite part, transparent pricing. There's no hidden fees, no contracts, and there's a 30 day money back guarantee, which means no risk. Go to boostmobile.com Ramsey to switch today. That's boostmobile.com Ramsey.

[Rachel Cruz]

All right, I want to shout out our teachers for a minute. You guys give so much to our kids every day. And often those days stretch into your nights and weekends. Seriously, you deserve a break. And by that I mean a dream vacation. All you have to do is enter the Ramsey Teacher Appreciation Giveaway sponsored by Ramsey Education. There's no purchase needed to win and you'll get bonus entries if you refer your teacher friends. Just go to ramseysolutions.com teacher that's ramseysolutions.com teacher.

[Dave Ramsey]

Trey is in mobile. Hey, Trey. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Hi, Dave. Hey, Rachel. I appreciate your time. I'm just looking for some advice on how to invest money that I'll be receiving.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. What are you getting?

[Dr. John Deloney]

So right now we're looking at about $200,000 from Inherited IRA unfortunately, I lost both my parents recently. Oh, my goodness.

[Dave Ramsey]

What happened?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah, thank you. Well, my, my mom passed away from cancer and dad had a heart attack, so.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, my gosh.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm sorry.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah, yeah. It's life, though. So obviously their hard work, you know, they they left over this ira and then the home that, you know, we grew up in. And, you know, obviously we're having to sell that now. So it's about $200,000 and the inherited IRA and then splitting it with my sister, we're going to be about $200,000 each when we sell the house as well. So my big thing is obviously the inherited IRA is going to have to get pulled out over time. So just my idea is, you know, pull it out and actually put all that money every year and just max out a Roth. Is my first idea is that, that, is that like the best idea to pull that out, pay taxes, and then put it straight into a Roth?

[Dave Ramsey]

No, I would put it on wherever you are in the baby steps.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay. So we have no consumer debt. We have 26,000 on a vehicle and we rent.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you owe 26,000 on a vehicle?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yes. And that'll be the.

[Dave Ramsey]

That is, that is consumer debt. Okay.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay. I mean, no credit cards.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you owe 26,000 car. What do you owe on your home?

[Dr. John Deloney]

We're renting.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. And you're getting $400,000 total. Right.

[Dr. John Deloney]

It'll roughly, I think it'll be a little north.

[Dave Ramsey]

But taxes, fees, and then taxes on 200 minus taxes on the 200 inherited IRA.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Correct.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right, well, you haven't, you have any money saved?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yes, we have $15,000 set aside. That's like our three to six month kind of backup planner emergency fund.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right, well, our baby steps. Say baby step two is you pay off everything but the house. Then you build an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. So what I'm going to do is just kind of freeze right now. And as soon as you get your hands on some money, first thing you do is pay off the car. Second thing you do is you raise that 15 up to 25, because 15 is probably low. What's your household income?

[Dr. John Deloney]

80. 80,000. My wife's a stay at home mom of two.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. You need 25 in there. Okay, let's get it on up a little bit. It's three to six months. You're down on the three side. And then I'm going to liquidate everything and buy a house for cash.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I'll be able to buy about a $300,000 house right.

[Dr. John Deloney]

In the area we're in. It's mostly, I mean, that's definitely on the lower end of what's in the area. But yes, I mean, that's. That should be really, really close to it.

[Dave Ramsey]

No it's about the medium, about the middle of your area.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Gotcha.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Just from what I've seen, but I.

[Dave Ramsey]

Mean, it's also looking well, the median household. The median house price in America, including Los Angeles, including New York City, is 400,000, some change. That's the median nationally in Mobile, Alabama. I promise you it's less than that. So median is going to be around 300k in your area. So you'll buy a house about the middle of the market. So take your time and shop. There's no rush. Go slowly. You probably got a little time left on your lease anyway. But I'm going to say I'm going to set that money in a high yield savings account and go shopping and, you know, time it. Time the purchase with the end of your lease and get you a bargain and pay cash. Now, if you're making $80,000 and you have zero debt house and anything, and you take your old house payment and you max out all of your retirement, you're going to be a millionaire in about 10 years. Actually, you're going to be a millionaire not counting counting the house, you have about another million dollars in about 10 years.

[Rachel Cruz]

How old are you guys, Trey?

[Dr. John Deloney]

I'm 34.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. So by the time you're 40, you're going to be a millionaire. Plus, because you have a $300,000 paid for house, it will go up to about 600 and you will bank in your retirement accounts probably about another 6 or 700. And so that's where you're going to end up. You're going to be approaching 2 million in your, in your 40s. Okay. If you do all this and you stay out of debt and you stay on a budget. Okay. And you don't mess this up.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Absolutely.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. And if you just follow the baby steps, that's where it'll take you.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Plan.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah. They set us up. I'm not going to mess up.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, it's great, Trey. Well, that's exciting. I'm so sorry that it came from such a devastating situation. But it's always when we talk about inheritances, always living out that legacy of those that left that. And I think that's a great thing for you guys.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. One of the things I think about when I'm telling someone what to do with money that mom and dad left is when you do this, these steps that I just outlined for you, is your mom and dad in heaven smiling? Are they happy with this? I think they are. Because the kind of people that built this kind of money is the kind of people that would be happy with you being smart.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Absolutely.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. So you're. You are honoring their legacy in a very real sense. Hang on. I'm gonna send you a copy of the book, the baby Steps millionaire book, because you're getting ready to be one. And you. You did get a boost from an inheritance, which statistically makes you unusual. But that's good. Still, we can. There's no shame in that. We're going to go there and go there as fast as we possibly can. Nicole is in New York City. Hi, Nicole. How are you?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Hi, Dave. I'm good. How are you doing?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. How can we help?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Good. So actually, I'm proud of myself. Today I paid off one of the cards. $8,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yay.

[Rachel Cruz]

Nice.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Thanks. So I just wanted to know, what do I do? Do I call and cancel or just, you know, let it be?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, call them up and cancel. Yeah. We always tell people when they're getting out of credit card debt, cut up the credit cards, pay it off, and then once there's no balance and you can officially close the account. So go in and. Yep.

[Dave Ramsey]

There's no accidental spending or fraud happens on a closed account.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay, perfect.

[Rachel Cruz]

Great. How much more debt do you have, Nicole, to pay off.

[Dr. John Deloney]

About another consumer? Maybe 20 with the car and everything.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay. Yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And then I have the house.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So baby step one.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, no, yeah, you're on the baby step two.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. Good for you.

[Rachel Cruz]

Good job, Nicole. Congrats. That feels good.

[Dave Ramsey]

You kind of feel. You kind of feel like you can do it now, right?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yes, yes, absolutely.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. How long you been working on this?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Well, actually, I've been working with you guys for years, but I just started maybe about three months ago.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good. Okay. All right.

[Rachel Cruz]

Hey. $8,000 paid off in three months. Pretty good.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's pretty rowdy.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Excellent job. That's how it works. I love it.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah, the return taxes, you know, that helped.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Using your tax return for it. It's great.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Oh, yes, yes, absolutely.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you've adjusted the W2 now so that you don't get tax returns anymore because that just means you had too much withholding. So good job. Well, that's great. Very well played. Very well played. Sarah is in Atlanta. Hi, Sarah. How are you?

[Dr. John Deloney]

I'm good. How are you?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. What's up?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Very good. I have a question. I am 57 years old and I was. Been divorced for 20 years and raised two kids. They're now adults. And I am what you call an everyday millionaire. And debt free.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, good for you.

[Rachel Cruz]

Good job.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Thank you. In a couple years, I know I'm gonna buy a new car, but. New.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And my goal is, I mean, I definitely am going to pay cash. And my boyfriend keeps telling me that that's not a good financial decision.

[Dave Ramsey]

Your boyfriend doesn't have as much money as you have.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Right.

[Rachel Cruz]

And he.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And the reason he.

[Dave Ramsey]

Why would we take financial advice from a broke person? When you're a millionaire, I know you can, but.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Well, mathematically he's saying if you take the money out of the mutual.

[Dave Ramsey]

Mathematically he's stupid. No. Yeah, you can tell him I said that. Absolutely. It's asinine. There is no data on the planet that says people become millionaires by borrowing money on their car and investing the difference. None. Zero. Millionaires on the planet did that. That to become millionaires. So don't take financial advice from broke people. You're smarter than he is. Listen to yourself. Way smarter.

[Rachel Cruz]

There's a time in your life and in the baby steps for renting, but you don't want to do it forever because when you rent, you're still paying for a mortgage, just somebody else's. Plus, rent means instability in your budget because it always goes up, never down. So when you're ready to buy, make sure you work with a mortgage partner. You can rely on Churchill Mortgage. Churchill is Ramsey trusted to help you make the move from renting to home ownership. Wisely, Churchill understands that when you buy a home the Ramsey way, your mortgage payment will be a consistent, manageable part of your monthly budget. Plus, when your home is paid off, that was your largest expense. Now it's extra money in your pocket and an asset towards turning you into a baby steps millionaire. Get started on the American dream of home ownership [e-mail] that's Churchillmortgage.com hey guys, Rachel Cruze here. All right, I'm about to say what everyone already knows, but budgeting is a good thing to do now actually starting well, that's where people freeze up. And you guys, it doesn't have to be that way. With the EveryDollar budgeting app, getting started is super easy and so is sticking to it. You can set up your first budget in less time than it takes to go through the Chick Fil. A drive thru. It's fast. And the best part, with unlimited budget categories, you can customize it to fit your life. Grocery runs, coffee runs, or planning your next family trip. Whatever you have going on. Everydollar helps you see exactly what's happening with your money. You'll know what's coming in, what's going out, and what's left over for some fun. Because let's be real, you need some fun in your budget. Everydollar keeps budgeting simple and stress free, just the way you want it. So go download the app for free and get started today. Again, go download everydollar today.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's Financial Literacy Month. If you didn't know, there's a huge movement in high schools and there has been across America for many years. Several states have now passed laws mandating that you take a personal finance class in order to graduate. And I think it's 30 something states now. And the good news is, is that we have a high school curriculum called Foundations in Personal Finance that is taught and about 48% of the high schools, over 6 million students have been through it now. And so we love celebrating Financial Literacy Month and celebrating the idea that teens can learn this stuff before they're 30 and learn it the hard way by doing something stupid like I did. Okay. It's pretty cool. So we all, we want to honor the teachers this month of not only our curriculum, but honor all teachers while we're celebrating Financial Literacy Month. And I got one on the phone. Patrick is in Jackson, Tennessee and he teaches foundations in personal finance in his high school. Thank you for doing that, Patrick. How are you?

[Dr. John Deloney]

You're welcome. I'm doing great. Dave, how are you?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. Now it's Trinity Christian Academy where you teach, is that right?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yes, sir. In Madison County, Jackson, Tennessee.

[Dave Ramsey]

And how many, how many students are enrolled there?

[Dr. John Deloney]

From six weeks old to seniors?

[Dave Ramsey]

Around 700. Oh, wow.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Graduating class 50 to 60 every year.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, that's good size. That way they can, it's big enough that they've got a lot of stuff going on, but it's small enough they get a lot of attention, right?

[Dr. John Deloney]

That's correct.

[Rachel Cruz]

How long have you been teaching the curriculum, Patrick?

[Dr. John Deloney]

This is my ninth year or 18th semester teaching the.

[Rachel Cruz]

Wow.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I did the DVDs and then we transferred over to the digital, which is great.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, you have a very unusual distinction too, that around here we're, we're, we're all just jumping up and down going, Patrick's a hero because one of the high school students that graduated from your class many years ago is now an adult, came in here and did their debt free scream the other day on the air with George.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I'd say that's what we call paychecks as teachers. You know those stories you get from former students and even coaches for players. But those are. That was a true paycheck. When she messaged me, she messaged me two years ago, let me know that she was going to be on the Dave Ramsey journey and she couldn't wait to get on the show for a debt free scream. And then she messaged me that day saying, hey, we made it. And then I got to listen. It was incredible.

[Dave Ramsey]

Faith and Cameron from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, if you guys want to look it up. See the debt free scream. It's pretty cool. Very cool. And they paid off their house and everything and their kids, their little ones.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I mean, and had a zero credit score mortgage.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh my gosh. Love it. It's all your fault, Patrick.

[Dr. John Deloney]

It is.

[Dave Ramsey]

Way to go, man. These people are going to be millionaires because she had a high school teacher as a stud. Man, you're amazing. I'm so proud of you.

[Rachel Cruz]

Have you had a lot of those? Have you kept up with students? I mean, after you've been teaching that long?

[Dr. John Deloney]

We do, I text them from time to time. We have, I would say 20 to 25 students that started a gross stop mutual fund. Since I've been here, instead of spending the money, they just, they've been in Arthur's story and I'm the Jake, Blake. And Blake, I forget the other guy for years.

[Rachel Cruz]

They changed the name Sonya.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And I keep up with them. I get stories from all over and it's been great. I tell them I teach an 18 year old invisible kid every day. It sits at the front desk and that's me 24 years ago. That either wasn't taught or didn't listen to what I'm about to teach you in this class. And everybody, everyone is subjected to it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, I'm always thrilled that the kids love the class and I should, I don't, I shouldn't act so surprised, but because I was in high school, all I could think of was, you know, when I'm learning something right now, how's this ever going to affect me as an adult? Because I've never really used the Pythagorean theorem, but, but I have used this. I've used this stuff for sure. So how am I going to use this? I think that one of the main things we hear back from the students, and I'm sure you do too, is just the fact that they're teaching them something they're going to actually use and they message you back a few years later and go, I got a zero credit score mortgage and I just paid off the house. That's pretty cool. So is that what they tell you? That, that they love doing, learning something that they're actually going to use?

[Dr. John Deloney]

It's just all applicable day one of being a young adult and you know, taxes, insurance, budgets, investing, just stuff to do at 18 that's going to save you your next 30 years.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And. But it's all applicable to life ASAP.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, thank you, thank you, thank you. You're a hero, man. I appreciate you doing this. And it's ever since I wrote the first little book, Financial Peace, and I was carrying it around the trunk of my car, people been saying, why don't they teach this in high schools? And the good news is we do. And the way we do is because of men like you, Patrick, and women like you. So thank you. The teachers out there in the marketplace are amazing and very, very cool. Thanks for doing this, brother.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Absolutely. Thank you very much.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, thanks, Patrick.

[Dave Ramsey]

Very, very cool. Hey, for any of you that are teachers that are listening or if you know a teacher, be sure and tell them. Be sure to enter the Ramsey Teacher Appreciation Giveaway. We're going to give one teacher a $5,000 vacation. And the two second place teachers are going to get two more are going to get a $3,000 vacation. No purchase necessary. You don't have to be teaching our curriculum. You just have to be a teacher in a school. Now, I once taught my dog to sit does not qualify you. You're not a teacher. Okay, so if you're teaching in a school with students, you are a teacher. Or if you know someone. No purchase necessary. No salesman will call. Go to ramseysolutions.com teacher to enter a $5,000 vacation. And two more teachers are going to win a $3,000 vacation. If your name is drawn, Spencer's in Denver. Hey Spencer, what's up?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Hey, Dave and Rachel. Thanks for taking my call. Sure. I have a just a real basic question for you that I need some help with. I'm wanting to find out if I'm investing too much to enjoy being debt debt free. My wife and I, we're completely debt free. We're maxing out both of our 401ks. We're both over 50, so we get the extra amount. And we're also maxing out our IRAs.

[Dave Ramsey]

What's your household income?

[Dr. John Deloney]

So I take home. Well, our household income is about 100,000 each. And then after investments and taxes, mine's about take home about 1500 every two weeks. And my wife's is about the same. About 1700.

[Dave Ramsey]

What is it? She's wanting to do that. She says you're too aggressive and you don't have the money to do because you're putting all of it in savings.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Well, it's not me. It's not her. It's me. I'm wanting to eventually save up for a sports car, and I'm having a hard time getting enough money to do that with all of our money going into investments.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Plus just, you know, just having normal money just to do extra things without having to take it out of the. The money that we're getting from our.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. Well, you guys are almost. If my math's right, you're. You're almost investing close to 30%. Is that right? If you're maxing out, how should. Paid off both 401ks. Oh, your house is paid off.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah, mine's. Mine's probably a little over 30%. My wife's is about 40%.

[Dave Ramsey]

But the percentage of your household income is going to be in the 30% range of your total to total. Right. So that. That's what she's saying. And so.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

And how old are you guys?

[Dr. John Deloney]

I'm 15. My wife's a few years older than me.

[Rachel Cruz]

How much are in the accounts right now?

[Dr. John Deloney]

So in my 401k, I've got 750. My wife's 401k, she's got 400. Plus she'll get a teacher pension with, you know, the school district's taking out money out of her paycheck for that. And then our combined IRAs is about 550, including about 80,000 for an emergency fund.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. You got a $3 million net worth, and you can't save up the money to do it. Buy a sports car. Yeah, I'd crank it down a little.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay. Okay. All right. Any like. Because our investments are through our work, they're Roths, so I really enjoy.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, I enjoy. I love the numbers. But you just. You're telling me you pinched yourself to the point you can't enjoy the wealth you've built.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah. Which. That's completely true.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I don't. If that. That's what I heard you say. Now, if you can. If you can figure another way around it, if the money's going somewhere else, that's fine. But with that kind of net worth, you've done a great job. Congratulations.

[Rachel Cruz]

Amazing.

[Dave Ramsey]

And if you want to crank the savings down and the lifestyle up a little, there's no sin in that.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay. Okay. And just one last question. With Mother's Day Coming up, she really wants me to get a pedicure with her. Would you suggest that I do that?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes.

[Dr. John Deloney]

For you?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes. Hey, I think you would enjoy it. It's actually very relaxing. Do that with her, Dave, wouldn't.

[Dave Ramsey]

You know what, 30, 36 years or 33 years on the air and I've never been asked that question. I thought I'd been asked everything at least once. That one's a new one. This is the Ramsey Show.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Hey, George Camel here. So you're thinking about buying or selling your home. It's exciting, but there's a lot to think about and all those decisions can feel overwhelming. Well, here's the good news. You don't have to tackle the process alone. Ramsey's real estate home base is the place to find all of your free tools and resources for help to get prepared to buy or sell your home with confidence. You'll find calculators, start to finish guides.

[Dave Ramsey]

A podcast, and even an in depth.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Video course hosted by yours truly. What's not to love? So if you're ready to take the next steps toward your home goals, go to ramseysolutions.com realestate that's ramseysolutions.com realestate foreign.

[Dave Ramsey]

You can hear and watch the entire show on the Ramsey Network app for free. Parts of the show are not in the podcast every day and are not on YouTube every day. You can pick them, pick them up only there or on talk radio if your local talk radio station carries the entire program. So be sure and check that out. Today's Ramsey Network app question is from gary. We buy $1 million worth of supplies every year for our business. We put it on a company credit card and pay it off immediately. So we don't pay any interest. What am I missing? I understand if I don't pay the charges within the first 30 days, then I have to pay interest, but I'm paying it off immediately. Why is it wrong to take advantage of getting these points? Because, honey, you are chasing points instead of running your business. If you burn the calories running your business that you're doing trying to beat the credit card company at their game. I mean, you're just at Chuck E. Cheese getting the tickets. That's all you're doing. And you know, you're spending a bazillion dollars to get tickets at Chuck E. Cheese to buy nothing. And you're burning up all of your creative energy that you should be using to run and grow your business. Screwing around with trying to beat Citibank at a game that they designed to beat your butt. You might actually be wor. It might be winning mathematically a little bit. But you act like this is a zero sum game and it is not. It is not. So. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I buy. I don't know. Let me think. Not mil. Not a million dollars a year in supplies. We buy, eh, probably 50 million a year in supplies at Ramsey. And we don't use a single credit card to do it. We just freaking buy it. We just pay. Pay the bill and we go run Ramsay. Instead of trying to run around chasing points. Chuck E. Cheese tickets, y'all. Man. I go down there with the grandbabies. I go down there with the grandbabies and they just. And they work, work, work hard. And then they put it on a card now, right?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

It used to be they spit out the tickets. All to get an item that is worth like a penny. Crap. I mean, it's really crappy little toys. They're not even good toys.

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, yeah, and I think it's. It's that point. And it's always the risk. Like, you put a million dollars on it, and then what if one year a co. You know, a pandemic hits and you can't pay it? Then you gotta. You know what I mean? Like, there's just. There's just. It's just not worth the risk. Like, there's just peace of mind knowing that you have autonomy over your life, your money and your business. And it's just more peace that way too. So.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, let's see. If you get 1% on a million dollars, that's $10,000, right? Yeah. So you're working all that to make $10,000 worth of points. By the way, 78% of the credit card miles are never redeemed. Consumer Reports says that. So it's just. It's a game that they designed. It's like going to Vegas. House wins, man. House wins. You don't come out of Vegas with your shirt. They didn't build those, dad gum. They didn't build those lobbies with world class artwork and light fixtures. And they didn't build that with their money. They built it with your money. People who lost money thought they could beat the game. And this is the exact same deal. It's the exact same deal. Those towers in the skyline that Citibank builds, You paid for them, America. They didn't pay for them. You paid for them by doing crap like this right here and fallen for it.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yep. They know what they're doing.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's the deal? That's the deal. All right. Open phones at Triple 882-55-5225. Nick is in Springfield. Hi, Nick, how are you? Hello.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Thank you for taking my call.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sure. What's up?

[Dr. John Deloney]

My wife and I, we are in very good shape financially. Less than a year ago, we inherited some money that tripled our net worth.

[Dave Ramsey]

What is your net worth?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Total right now? 2.5.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good. Awesome. How much did you inherit?

[Dr. John Deloney]

1.5.

[Dave Ramsey]

1.5. Okay, so you're already a millionaire. Good. Way to go, man. That's awesome. How can we help today?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Do we help our kids out now or do we just keep building wealth and then die in 20 years and give it to them.

[Rachel Cruz]

Straight shooter?

[Dave Ramsey]

Any either one is fine. There's nothing immoral about either one. If you're going to do stuff for the kids, it should be enhancing them being as smart as you are. If they're misbehaving and you give them money, you're not helping them. You're enabling.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I would agree. We committed to the boys to be debt free from college. They are. And upon graduation, we'd give them each car, which we did.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Now, what I say about cars, I'm 60 and I've never bought a new car. They've all been used and they've all been salvage titles. So they're cheap. So I'm cheap.

[Dave Ramsey]

What do you. What are they? Are the boys doing well with their money? Are they saving money, living on a budget, staying out of debt?

[Dr. John Deloney]

They are the oldest I had. We haven't given them the oldest one money in four years. Now, granted, when he graduated college, college, he did move back home, but he has a for Roth IRA and he's contributing to it every month.

[Dave Ramsey]

Is he married?

[Dr. John Deloney]

No, neither of them are.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. Are either one of them married?

[Dr. John Deloney]

No.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Dr. John Deloney]

The youngest one's just graduating from college and we haven't given him any money in the last year either.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, what I want to do is I want to enhance positive behaviors with your gift. If your gift is not doing that, then I would hold the gift for a while. Okay, but let me give you an example. Let me give you an example. Let's say these two guys continue to be industrious. They both go get good jobs, they live on less. They make, they pile up some money, they get married, start a little family and they're 28 years old. Maybe you buy them a house and pay cash for it.

[Dr. John Deloney]

We've already talked about that.

[Dave Ramsey]

And then they pay payments into a mutual fund instead of paying payments. So that they're multi millionaires by the time they're 35.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. Nick, there's an interesting book, Die with Zero. It was a great book, and it applies kind of to your situation. Not everyone's able to do this, but it. But his. His idea was. Which, you know, research shows is what he was claiming in the book. Is that from. I think it's like, ages. I'm gonna mess up the age range. It's like 24 to 35 is when kids need money the most. Meaning, like, down payments on house. If they're paying off student loans, all of that. Because to your point, Nick, you know, if you build up all this wealth and you die at 85 and your kids are 60, like, they're already well established. They already may have grandkids of their own. Right. So. So what can you do with money as a tool to help enhance the next generation? If you have the ability to. And it's stuff like that.

[Dave Ramsey]

I mean, you already did some good moves. You paid for the college, zero debt coming out, paid for the first car coming out. And you got a good start that way. And then if they pay cash for the first home, I would say have them do a pledge, a promise never to borrow money. And I promise, take the blessing of this house and take the house payment and put it into mutual funds and build some wealth for the next generation. Change your family tree with that. But they have to also be in on the program. You can't give them enough money for them to be stupid. Yeah, it doesn't work. I mean, you know, they're stupid. Will always outrun money.

[Rachel Cruz]

Would you rather, at your age, see your kids, which is me. Some crime.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. That's a conflict of interest in this question.

[Rachel Cruz]

I know, but I'm just saying, like, because I have little ones. So now. I mean, I'm. We're teaching boundaries and.

[Dave Ramsey]

No.

[Rachel Cruz]

All the time with stuff. But, like, you know what I mean? Like, would you rather see people have their kids be part of their financial legacy while everyone's still alive?

[Dave Ramsey]

Yes.

[Rachel Cruz]

Versus, like, having a bunch of money when you die because. You know what I mean?

[Dave Ramsey]

Because you're accelerating the net worth of the total family by doing that.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you're in. But it only works if you're enhancing proper behaviors.

[Rachel Cruz]

Right. If they have the.

[Dave Ramsey]

If you're enforcing. If you're enforcing proper behaviors.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

But if they're like, oh, I think Dave Ramsey's an idiot, and, you know. No, the idiot will just keep his money. Yeah. So. No, I can do that.

[Rachel Cruz]

So if we say that that's Abrahams, he's an idiot.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'll just keep my money. Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

Kidding. I'm kidding.

[Dave Ramsey]

But. I mean, the but. And so Sharon and I, right now, we do stuff like we'll buy a trip for the whole stinking bunch. We all go somewhere, you know? So in a sense, we're doing that.

[Rachel Cruz]

Enhancing experiences.

[Dave Ramsey]

We're having experiences and lifestyle issues with cash while we're alive.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'd rather go on the trip with you and pay for it and all of us do something together than I would. You do that and celebrate after my funeral.

[Rachel Cruz]

Days gone, we're going to the Caribbean.

[Dave Ramsey]

Tahiti.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, but I think that's true. And I know not everyone, realistically, can have that conversation. We've had people on the show today that they're in retirement and they don't have enough money for themselves. Right, Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, that's first.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes. So it's the idea of that legacy changing while you're alive. I don't know. I think it's. I think it's cool. It's great.

[Dave Ramsey]

Cool question, Nick. Appreciate you calling in with it. Gives us a soapbox to work with. I like it. This is the Ramsey Show.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Hey, what are you still doing here?

[Dave Ramsey]

You know the rest of the show's.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Happening on the Ramsey Network app, right? So you got to jump over there to continue watching. You can download it for free. Just go to your app store, type in Ramsey Network, it's completely free, and I'll drop a link in the show notes to make it easy for you.

[Dave Ramsey]

So if you're watching on the app.

[Dr. John Deloney]

App, you're in luck. But if you're watching anywhere else, this show is over for you. So jump onto the app and let the fun continue. All right, Go on now. Don't make it weird. Okay. I got nowhere to go, so you need to go. Okay, Bye. Bye now.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, this is getting weird over there, guys.

[Dr. John Deloney]

What do we do?