How The Baby Steps Protect You From Financial Uncertainty

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ramsey Show – How The Baby Steps Protect You From Financial Uncertainty

Released on March 25, 2025, The Ramsey Show episode titled "How The Baby Steps Protect You From Financial Uncertainty" delves deep into the proven financial strategies known as the Baby Steps. Host Dave Ramsey, alongside co-host Ken Coleman and Ramsey personality experts, engages with callers to explore how adhering to these steps can safeguard individuals and families from financial instability. This summary captures the episode’s key discussions, insights, and conclusions, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps for reference.

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1. Introduction to the Episode

The episode kicks off with Ken Coleman introducing the show’s context, highlighting their time spent on the Ramsey Cruise and presenting a compilation of favorite calls and segments. The primary focus centers on the Baby Steps framework and its role in mitigating financial uncertainty.

2. Caller Interaction: Clayton from Little Rock, Arkansas

Topic: Overcoming Discouragement in Wealth Building

Clayton, a 27-year-old with a stable financial standing—no consumer debt, a net worth of approximately $200,000, and a combined household income nearing $160,000—seeks advice on avoiding discouragement in his wealth-building journey.

• Ken Coleman (01:29): “You've done a great job, Clayton. Your numbers are amazing for your age... You're killing it.”

• Clayton (04:40): Expresses concern about the long-term financial challenges, such as rising expenses and ensuring his children's college education.

Insights:

• Ken Coleman (05:31): Emphasizes the importance of focusing on income growth rather than external economic fears. "If you save 15% of $160,000, that's going to be a million dollars in 10 years, dude."

• Dave Ramsey (06:12): Identifies Clayton's root issue as fear rather than comparison. "Your issue is fear... You're focusing on outside circumstances, but you're crushing it."

Conclusion: Both Ramsey and Coleman reassure Clayton that his financial trajectory is strong and encourage him to maintain focus on income growth and personal financial strategies rather than external economic fears.

3. Caller Interaction: Tanner from Washington, D.C.

Topic: Allocating More Than 30% of Income to Rent

Tanner, a 23-year-old professional earning $90,000 annually, grapples with spending approximately $2,000 monthly on rent in an urban setting, exceeding the recommended 30% of take-home pay.

• Ken Coleman (11:39): Reiterates the importance of adhering to budgeting guidelines. “We tell folks to put 25% of their take home pay aside for housing... the purpose is not that 25% is magic, it's to avoid being house poor.”

• Dave Ramsey (14:18): Advises prioritizing time over money if high housing costs are unavoidable. “In my situation, if I were in your situation, Tanner, I would be sacrificing my time, not my money.”

Insights:

• Discusses the concept of being "house poor," where excessive spending on housing limits the ability to save and invest.

• Encourages exploring alternatives like larger commutes for lower rent or sharing housing costs with roommates.

Conclusion: Ramsey and Coleman support Tanner’s approach of allocating extra funds towards paying off his mortgage early, emphasizing financial peace and reduced burden from housing expenses.

4. Caller Interaction: Tyler from Louisville, Kentucky

Topic: Refinancing Student Loans

Tyler, a caller with consolidated student loans, seeks guidance on whether to focus on individual loans or treat them as a single consolidated amount in his debt snowball plan.

• Ken Coleman (17:32): Advises treating consolidated loans as one unit within the debt snowball strategy. “I would just put the total in your debt snowball.”

Insights:

• Emphasizes the effectiveness of the debt snowball method in systematically eliminating debt.

• Highlights the importance of adapting strategies based on loan consolidation status.

Conclusion: Tyler is encouraged to integrate his consolidated loan into his debt snowball plan as a single entry, simplifying his approach to debt repayment.

5. Success Story: Jared and Christina from Woodstock, Georgia

Topic: Achieving Debt Freedom

Jared and Christina share their inspiring journey of paying off $136,000 in debt over seven years while increasing their household income from $60,000 to $145,000.

• Rachel Cruze (27:04): Details their disciplined approach, including refinancing their mortgage to a lower interest rate and making strategic home upgrades to increase property value.

• Ken Coleman (27:11): Highlights their accomplishment, stating, “Way to go. Yes. So seven years later you paid it off and now it's worth 345.”

Insights:

• The couple leveraged the Baby Steps framework to prioritize debt repayment and wealth accumulation.

• Emphasizes the importance of teamwork, strategic financial planning, and career advancement in achieving financial goals.

Conclusion: Jared and Christina exemplify the effectiveness of the Baby Steps, demonstrating that disciplined financial planning and collaboration can lead to significant debt reduction and wealth building.

6. Caller Interaction: Shiloh from Billings, Montana

Topic: Navigating a Potential Union Strike

Shiloh inquires about how to handle potential financial uncertainties due to a looming strike at his husband’s unionized workplace.

• Ken Coleman (33:57): Assesses the probability of a strike and advises based on factual likelihood rather than fear-driven speculation.

• Dave Ramsey (37:36): Emphasizes understanding the specifics of strike funds and how long financial support would last, ultimately encouraging debt repayment to enhance financial resilience.

Insights:

• Highlights the importance of distinguishing between fears and actual facts when facing potential financial disruptions.

• Advises maintaining debt-free status to provide a buffer during uncertain economic times.

Conclusion: Shiloh is advised to continue focusing on debt repayment and financial stability while staying informed about the union’s financial support mechanisms in the event of a strike.

7. Caller Interaction: Morgan from Louisiana

Topic: Combining Finances After Remarriage

Morgan seeks advice on merging finances with her husband amidst a blended family situation involving children from previous marriages.

• Ken Coleman (41:34): Advocates for treating all finances as a unified pool, emphasizing "our money" instead of segregating into individual finances.

• Dave Ramsey (70:42): Reinforces the importance of a joint financial approach to enhance wealth-building prospects.

Insights:

• Importance of communication and mutual agreement in financial planning within a remarried household.

• Encourages transparency and shared responsibility to prevent financial discord.

Conclusion: Morgan and her husband are guided to integrate their finances holistically, fostering a collaborative approach to managing income, expenses, and debt, thereby optimizing their financial growth potential.

8. Caller Interaction: Janet from Boise, Idaho

Topic: Struggling to Stay Ahead of Bill Payments

Janet explains that she and her husband often pay their bills weeks after due dates, despite having a combined income of $75,000 and some debt.

• Ken Coleman (78:00): Identifies the core issue as inconsistency in following a detailed budget, encouraging meticulous allocation of every dollar to specific expenses.

• Dave Ramsey (82:16): Underlines the necessity of living the budget plan without deviation to achieve financial control.

Insights:

• Stresses the importance of precise budgeting and disciplined adherence to financial plans.

• Highlights common pitfalls such as impulse spending and lack of coordinated financial efforts between spouses.

Conclusion: Janet is advised to adopt a structured budgeting approach, ensuring that every dollar is allocated and spent according to a pre-defined financial plan, thereby eliminating missed payments and reducing financial stress.

9. Guest Segment: Jade Warshaw from The Babylon Bee

Topic: The Role of Satire in Modern Media

Jade Warshaw, a representative from the satirical publication The Babylon Bee, discusses the challenges and nuances of creating effective satire in an era where reality often mirrors exaggerated satire.

• Jade Warshaw (55:28): Explains the difficulty of distinguishing between real news and satirical content, noting, “Sometimes I can't tell if it's a real news headline or the Babylon Bee headlines.”

• Ken Coleman (60:11): Commends the importance of satire in balancing humor and critique, emphasizing the need to be able to laugh at oneself.

Insights:

• The saturation of sensationalism in actual news complicates the creation and reception of satire.

• Effective satire requires equal opportunity offense and the ability to self-reflect, ensuring it remains relevant and impactful.

Conclusion: The discussion with Jade Warshaw underscores the significance of satire in providing societal commentary while navigating the blurred lines between humor and reality in contemporary media landscapes.

10. Closing Remarks and Final Advice

Throughout the episode, Ramsey and his team reinforce the foundational principles of the Baby Steps, emphasizing disciplined budgeting, strategic debt repayment, and proactive financial planning as keys to achieving and maintaining financial stability. Notable repeated advice includes:

• Budgeting: Allocate every dollar to a specific purpose before the month begins to prevent overspending.

• Debt Snowball: Systematically eliminate debt by focusing on the smallest debts first to build momentum.

• Savings and Investments: Prioritize emergency funds and retirement savings to ensure long-term financial security.

• Mindset: Cultivate a mindset of financial peace by reducing financial burdens and increasing control over personal finances.

Notable Quote:

• Dave Ramsey (51:04): “It's financial peace. Two words that don't go together. Like airline service…”

This encapsulates the essence of the episode's message—financial peace is attainable through structured financial strategies and disciplined execution of the Baby Steps.

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Conclusion

The Ramsey Show episode "How The Baby Steps Protect You From Financial Uncertainty" provides a comprehensive exploration of essential financial strategies through real-life examples and expert advice. By adhering to the Baby Steps framework, listeners are equipped to navigate financial challenges, eliminate debt, and build sustainable wealth, thereby achieving lasting financial peace and security.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey, guys, it's James Childs, producer of the Ramsey Show.

[Ken Coleman]

Hey. This week Dave and the personalities are.

[Dave Ramsey]

Living it up on the Ramsey Cruise. So we've put together a compilation of some of our favorite calls and segments.

[Ken Coleman]

From the last year. Regular shows are back next week. Hope you enjoy. Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey Show. We help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create actual amazing relationships. Ken Coleman, number one best selling author of the book Paycheck to Purpose, host of the Ken Coleman Show, Ramsey Personality is my co host today. Thank you for joining us, America. The phone number is 888-5225. Clayton is in Little Rock, Arkansas. Hey, Clayton. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Clayton]

Hey, sir. How are you guys?

[Ken Coleman]

Better than we deserve, brother. What's up?

[Clayton]

Awesome, man. Well, you know, first of all, I just want to say it really is an honor to speak to you guys. I'm a huge fan of the show. I've watched countless YouTube clips, etc. And I think you guys are out there changing lives. I want to start off with that.

[Ken Coleman]

Well, thank you, sir. How can we help you today?

[Clayton]

Absolutely. Well, you know, I'll kind of start from a broad overview and I'll kind of break it down if that's okay with you. Just, you know, my broad overview question, Dave, is really just how not to get discouraged in the wealth building process. I'll give you some background information. I'm 27 years old. My wife is 30. We have a combined net worth of around probably 200,000 or so. Wow. It's right there, my number. Thank you. And I make about 58,000, 60,000 on my primary job and I do a side hustle, but total I make around 80 to 90, kind of depending on the year. And my wife makes around 72. The only thing that we owe on is our home. We both have MBA degrees, we have no consumer debt, no car loans, anything like that. My home is currently worth probably around 300,000 and I owe about 195. We have two kids and overall life is good. We're still in the process of trying to button everything up. We're investing 10% right now. I know I need to get that number to 15. My home's on a 15 year note. We're trying to get our kids college, all that situated so there's nothing really on fire per se. But in general, I really do believe what you guys teach and I believe, you know, we give 10% of our income to the church. I mean, I'm a really Big believer in living within your means. I saying we're perfect by any means.

[Ken Coleman]

You've done a great job, Clayton. I mean, your numbers are amazing for your age. Way to go. You make $160,000 a year. You have no debt except your house. Everything's on track. You're killing it.

[Clayton]

Right, right. Well, man, you know, I really do believe it and I appreciate it, but at the same time, like, I think long term, right? Like, I'm.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, but if you've done the math.

[Clayton]

Huh?

[Ken Coleman]

Have you done the math?

[Clayton]

Right, right. Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. If you save 15% of $160,000, that's going to be a million dollars in 10 years, dude.

[Clayton]

Right, right.

[Ken Coleman]

And that's with no match. Have you got a match?

[Clayton]

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

[Ken Coleman]

Do the math.

[Clayton]

Right, Right. Well, you know, man, it just.

[Ken Coleman]

Did you do the math? No.

[Clayton]

Yes, sir, I did. Yes.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, then. Did you see 10 years? You're going to be a millionaire at 20. At 37 years old.

[Clayton]

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

[Ken Coleman]

So how is that discouraging?

[Clayton]

You know, I don't know, man. I just, like. I look at life, right? And I know comparisons, the thief of joy. And I don't, you know, I try not to go there in my head.

[Ken Coleman]

But comparison, if anything you compare to, you should be ahead of.

[Clayton]

Right, right, right. Well, you know, it is. I. It's okay if I give you some background, some more background information? Is that okay?

[Ken Coleman]

I'm trying to understand. It's okay. I'm trying to understand why you're discouraged. There's no reason to be. I'm. I'm really confused with that. Because, dude, you're in the top 2% of America. You're killing it.

[Clayton]

I just think, like, long term, Dave. I think when I just see how everything is so expensive, and even when I pay off my home and I have all my retirement accounts, et cetera, I just, you know, I'm trying to really set my family up. So, like, in 10 years, my daughter will be 13. Right. And I'm trying to almost get ahead of the game where I can make sure we can go on big vacations, you know, take care of her college. And I realize, okay, yeah, I'll be a millionaire. But I just. It feels like everything's so expensive, and it's such a long process, and I realize that, you know, wealth isn't obtained easy. I'm not trying to say that, but it is.

[Ken Coleman]

It is a long process. 10. 10 years is a lot longer than 10 minutes. And most people. Most people have the attention span of a gnat. That's why they're not able to build wealth.

[Dave Ramsey]

I. I've been. I've been listening, Clayton, and I've been where you are. I hear me 10 years ago on this phone call. So I just want to say this. Your issue is not comparison. Your issue is fear. And you're afraid you're not going to be able to do the things that you would like to do because you're too stuck in the headlines. And what you're not focusing on is, as Dave has pointed out, you're crushing it. Number one, you're really ahead of the game. This is all going to compound for you, and you're going to be fine. You're going to take some great vacations. But what you're not focused on is. Is what you can actually do. You're focusing on all these outside circumstances, the economy, inflation, whatever else is going on in your head.

[Ken Coleman]

You do need to quit watching the news.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. You need to start focusing on your income and what, what you're going to make next year and the year after that and how you're going to be able to make more money and that you can go out and determine your financial future. You're already great, but you're. You're forgetting in all this headline stuff and all this fear and comparison, here's what you're forgetting. Your ability, your wife's ability to put a financial plan that includes increasing income. And you're going to be able to pay for all those things.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. Your income is not going to be stagnant for the next 10 years.

[Clayton]

Absolutely.

[Dave Ramsey]

I don't know if that helps you, Clayton. You got to shake all that stuff off. You're inside your head so deep and.

[Ken Coleman]

Or here the thing, the secret to happiness is low expectations. And I'm a little bit afraid. You thought when you made $160,000, you were going to be rich.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's a good point.

[Ken Coleman]

And you're not rich at $160,000 with two kids. There's no, It's. It's no cake. You thought it was going to be on easy street. Like everything's going to, like you're going to be flying in a private jet or something. And you know, it's 160 grand. You're not. So you got a lot more. You got double the household income of the average American. You're in the top 1 or 2% of the average Americans your age with where you are with no debt and already having a positive net worth of a couple hundred thousand dollars. You are killing it and you actually are paying attention, which puts you way above almost everyone who walk around with their head stuck in the fog and kind.

[Dave Ramsey]

That was very.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, I did that. I did that for radio. Did you hear that? Yeah. And. Yeah, I mean that. That's. You're incredible. You're doing great. You're doing great. Calm down. Enjoy the ride, buddy. You really. I can't. I can't tell you enough to do this over and over and over again. Enjoy the ride.

[Dave Ramsey]

I want to say one other quick encouragement because, Dave, I think you're absolutely right. I just want to echo what Dave said we have with all young generations throughout history, but even more so now because we're in the social media era.

[Ken Coleman]

God help us.

[Dave Ramsey]

I know unrealistic expectations lead to unmet expectations. I can't say that enough. I wish I could preach that message to every young person because here's the deal. You nailed it. They think when they get to six figures.

[Ken Coleman]

I thought you talked about my golf game and your golf game.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

Unrealistic expectations.

[Dave Ramsey]

Mine are unrealistic.

[Ken Coleman]

Met expectations. That's it.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, I just. My golf game is in the last category. Just unmet, Period. It doesn't matter.

[Ken Coleman]

That's what it is. Because here's the thing. When you make a hundred thousand dollars a year, you thought it was going to be easy. Then when you make a million dollars a year, you thought it was going to be easy. It don't get easy. It just gets better than if you don't pay attention. That's all it does. This is the Ramsey Show. 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. On why don't people want to take care of their family? They think they're not going to die or something.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, I used to be one of those guys. I didn't even think about it. And one of my buddies said, hey, the only reason to not have life.

[Jade Warshaw]

Insurance is if you hate your wife and kids.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I immediately went and got term life insurance.

[Ken Coleman]

That's a gut punch.

[Dave Ramsey]

For decades, Dave, I've sat across people who've lost a spouse. They've lost somebody important to them.

[Ken Coleman]

Me, too.

[Dave Ramsey]

They don't know what to do next.

[Ken Coleman]

You're going to have a crisis here. 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. These are the two options. It's saying I love you to your family. Term life insurance, Jeff Zander and the team at Zander Insurance makes it easy and affordable. I've used them personally for 25 years. They're the only people I trust. Go to zander.com or call 800-356-4282. Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co host today. Open phones at Triple 882-55-5225. This is the Ramsey Show. Thank you for being with us, America. Tanner's with us in Washington, D.C. hi Tanner, how are you?

[Clayton]

I'm good. How are you?

[Ken Coleman]

Better than I deserve. What's up?

[Clayton]

So my question is I'm curious about the flexibility of spending more than 30% of your take home pay on rent. Found that pretty difficult to do, especially in like an urban area like D.C. i live in downtown. I make around 90,000 a year. Post grad, 23 year old. I've got about 20,000 in cash and 7,000 in an investment account. And minor debt is around $7,500 in student loans. And I spend about $2,000 a month in rent, which is my biggest expense by far. But I still find myself able to save and spend less on other things. I'm just curious your take on that approach.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, well, we tell folks to put 25% of their take home pay aside for housing. And no, math works in every city and in every state. You don't get a pass on math because you're in Washington, D.C. even though Congress thinks you do.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I was getting ready to say a lot of people think they do.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, a lot of people in D.C. think you do, but you don't. And the purpose behind it is not that 25% is magic, Tanner. The purpose behind it is don't be house poor. If you find yourself able to save and able to invest because you keep all other parts of your lifestyle so low, then you're okay. But what happens to most people is when they've got a high cost of housing in their budget, it squeezes their budget and there's not room to save up to buy the next car. So the next car becomes debt and there's not room to save up for Christmas and Christmas becomes debt and there's not room to save up for a couch and the couch becomes debt because it's all going out in house payment. And so in effect what you did is you, you didn't, you know, by squeezing yourself, you did that now you're telling me you've made room in your budget and you're doing okay, then you know, whatever you want to do, brother. But here's the thing. Whatever you spend on rent is gone. I mean, you're setting fire to hundred dollar bills in the middle of the floor. And so the more $100 bills you burn in the middle of the floor, the fewer months, less money you got, man. I mean, it's a pretty simple equation.

[Clayton]

Yeah, definitely, definitely reduces the ability to buy down the road. For sure.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, Yeah. I mean, because you're giving it to them in rent. And so I don't know how you fix that exactly, necessarily in your situation. Maybe your commute is longer, maybe there's a roommate involved, or. Or maybe you just say, I'm gonna. It's gonna cost me this, and it's my choice and I'm an adult. Well, yeah, you're allowed to do all that. But our reason to Giving you the 25% guideline, it's not a rule, it's a guideline, is so that you don't become house poor. Because if you're, for instance, going to get a mortgage, folks in America, the stupid mortgage company will approve you for almost double that. And they'll approve you close to 50% of your take home pay, 36% of your ratio, you know, and so. And that's not based on take home pay. The 36 incident. You can get a house payment up to close to half of your dad gum. Take home pay. And there's just no way that budget works, people. And, well, I'm in California. Well, California, they got to do math too. Even though your governor doesn't think so. You got to do math. You know, it's not. It's not an option. Math is math. And it's not. It's not a moral construct. It's a math thing.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, to win, Tanner, in professional world, financial world, you've got to sacrifice. Everybody who wins has to sacrifice something. And what we've done here with this 25%, you are now having to choose. Do you want to sacrifice money? Dave said by. By burning those extra hundred dollars between the 5% that we're talking about, or do you want to sacrifice a little bit of your time? Now you're living downtown D.C. that's premium. And I get it. You may work on the Hill, who knows what you do, but you're there for a reason. But if you move out into the suburbs of Northern Virginia, I know it well, yes, it's a. It's a headache. But we rather you sacrifice the right thing. And that's why we put this. I want people to understand what we're teaching here. It's not to be hard and fast on a rule. It's to help you learn what you need to sacrifice. And in my situation. If I were in your situation, Tanner, I would be sacrificing my time, not my money.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. 23 years old.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. You know, I will tell you this, Ken. I did it worse than he's doing it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sure.

[Ken Coleman]

Worse.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, he's in good shape.

[Ken Coleman]

My wife and I get out of college and here's how stupid we were. We go and rent a. We have two dogs. We're just out of college. We got two little jobs. We go and rent a three bedroom townhouse, luxury thing.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sure.

[Ken Coleman]

That's like five times what we needed because we thought it was cool.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you remember what were in the extra rooms?

[Ken Coleman]

Nothing. Sure. Because by the time we finished paying the freaking rent, we had no money. Yeah. So what we ended up doing was moving into a little one bedroom apartment in a questionable. I don't know what those ladies down the hall were doing in a questionable situation.

[Dave Ramsey]

You were hoping you weren't on a Vice episode, man.

[Ken Coleman]

I'm telling you. And we lived there for a year, but it was one third the rent that we were paying before one third. And so that'd be like you had an $1,800 rent. And we moved down to a $600 rent kind of thing today. In today's dollars. It was a lot less than that back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, but. Yeah, but. Oh, my gosh. Wow.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, see, I hear that.

[Ken Coleman]

I did the exact same crap.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, I get it.

[Ken Coleman]

But I wanted something nice and I had a job and I'd gotten out of college and I deserved it.

[Dave Ramsey]

But I have a lot of 23 year olds that are in a very similar situation to Tanner. Now just think about this. If he gets a roommate and now he's saving. Let's just call it a thousand dollars a month, okay? Splitting the rent. He's paying off that student loan debt of $7,000 really, really fast. And now he's just stacking money.

[Ken Coleman]

So that's what we're talking. Stacking cash, man. So much smarter. Renting. Paying all that money. Rent. Tyler's in Louisville. Hi, Tyler. What's up?

[Clayton]

Yes. Had a quick question. First of all, you guys are awesome.

[Ken Coleman]

Thank you.

[Clayton]

So I have a. I'm on baby step two and been doing ish for a While at the beginning of the year, I got smart and said, you're stupid. Get out of debt with the student loans coming back up. Because I've been basically taking that payment, but it towards everything else. Mine is consolidated, or I believe it is, at least. Do I look at the individual loan amounts, or do I just look at the consolidated amount where I put it at?

[Ken Coleman]

If it's consolidated, it's now one amount.

[Clayton]

Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

It used to be little loans. If it is one loan. I mean, if it's. If it's a bunch of little. Are you paying? Will you be paying a bunch of little payments or one payment?

[Clayton]

No, I pay one payment, and when I look at it, I see all the individual ones I took out.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, but that doesn't matter. The purpose of the debt snowball is you want to. What you want to have happen. And the debt snowball is you want to clear a debt and that payment on that debt to go away. When you clear one of these little debts, it doesn't change your payment.

[Clayton]

That's what I was thinking. I wasn't sure.

[Ken Coleman]

So I would just put the total in your debt snowball.

[Clayton]

Awesome. That works.

[Ken Coleman]

Hey, man.

[Clayton]

Thank you, sir.

[Ken Coleman]

Get after it. That's really smart, because the data is now coming out now that we're actually finding that you're going to have to pay your student loans, which we kind of been telling you for three freaking years now that we found out that we were right again. Yes. I just said I told you so. Live with it. But now that we found out you have to pay your student loans, there's going to be a lot of questions about student loans. One of the things we're finding, Jade and I were talking about this earlier, is that people basically took the money that they would have been paying on student loans and spent it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yes, they did.

[Ken Coleman]

On vacations, alcohol, drugs. This is the actual surveys. You're coming back. I went on a party. Nice.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

With the money that the taxpayers told me I didn't have to pay right now. Because you were in a Covid crisis. Anybody remember what Covid was? Yeah, it was there. It was just a minute ago. But it was a crisis, if y'all didn't remember. And it was such a crisis that nobody could pay their student loans, but they were able to use the money that they would have been paying on their student loans and go buy drugs, alcohol, and vacations. So apparently wasn't too big a freaking crisis. What do I know? Just going with the data here.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yes. What happens when you trust a politician with an empty promise that's not constitutional.

[Ken Coleman]

Well, someone from the medical community that's trying to do math, which is proof that we've proven that, you know, once America got fauci'd, we figured out what happened. This is the Ramsey Show. Hey, guys, I'm Jade Warshaw and I.

[Rachel Cruze]

Want to talk to you for a.

[Ken Coleman]

Quick second about student loan refinancing.

[Dave Ramsey]

If your payment and your interest rate.

[Ken Coleman]

Are burying you and you feel like.

[Rachel Cruze]

You can't dig out, refinancing your student loan debt might make sense. That's because a lower rate could free.

[Ken Coleman]

Up more money in your budget and a shorter term could help you pay.

[Rachel Cruze]

Down your debt faster. So reach out to the student loan refinancing experts today@l Laurelroad.com Ramsey There you'll find helpful resources like a student loan rate table, a refinancing calculator, and other tools.

[Dave Ramsey]

Plus, you can get an initial rate.

[Ken Coleman]

In just a few minutes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Laurel Road offers low competitive rates starting under 5%.

[Ken Coleman]

And you can get your interest rate.

[Rachel Cruze]

Even lower if you sign up for autopay. But if your situation is more complex, sign up for a free 30 minute consultation with one of their student loan.

[Ken Coleman]

Refinancing experts to get your tough questions answered. Listen, not everybody should refinance their student loan. So make sure you run the numbers.

[Rachel Cruze]

But for some people, it is the right move. Learn more@l Laurelroad.com Ramsey to find out more about their student loan refinancing, that's laurelroad.com Ramsey Laurel Road is a brand.

[Ken Coleman]

Of KeyBank National Association.

[Rachel Cruze]

All credit products are subject to credit approval.

[Ken Coleman]

Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality number one, best selling author of the book from paycheck to purpose, is my co host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Thank you for joining us, America. And in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the debt free stage, Jared and Christina are with us. Hey, guys. How are you? Welcome. Where do you guys live? Woodstock, Georgia, about 40 miles north of Atlanta. Yeah, I know it well. Well, welcome to Nashville. Not a bad drive up here. Not bad. Good to have you. So how much debt have you two paid off? 136,000. All right, and how long did this take you? Seven years to the day that we bought the house. Ah, okay. And what was your range of income during that seven years? We started about 60 and ended about 145. Cool. What do y'all do for a living? I'm a mechanic for the post office. Mm.

[Rachel Cruze]

And I'm accountable manager at Kennesaw State University.

[Ken Coleman]

Awesome. Yeah. All right. You got a little bit of a commute down there.

[Rachel Cruze]

Actually, it's only nine. Nine miles for me.

[Ken Coleman]

Oh, okay. All right. Not bad.

[Rachel Cruze]

All right.

[Ken Coleman]

I missed. I messed up. All right. So 136, seven years. Sound like you paid off your house. Yes. All right. Look at it. Weird people. Way to go. You guys. What's this house worth?

[Rachel Cruze]

345 now.

[Ken Coleman]

I'm sorry.

[Rachel Cruze]

345.

[Ken Coleman]

345. Awesome. Very cool. So how much do you guys have in your retirement savings already?

[Rachel Cruze]

I think we're at about a hundred thousand. We took, you know, last year was a little bit of a hit in everybody's.

[Ken Coleman]

But yeah. Okay, so you're, you're going to be about a half million dollar net worth already. So you're on your way to being millionaires in no time. Way to go. That's fun. I just said that out loud.

[Dave Ramsey]

You hear that?

[Ken Coleman]

Wow, that's pretty stinking cool, guys. So what starts you on this journey seven years ago?

[Rachel Cruze]

So actually started when we first got married 15 years ago. We just celebrated our 15th year anniversary.

[Ken Coleman]

Congratulations.

[Rachel Cruze]

And so our first year, you know, I'm actually not originally from here, so we knew each other in person from before. And then when I moved here, it was really the first time we did anything together. And we got married in July of 2008 and it was, you know, the year a great year to get married. So we pretty quickly figured out that, you know, our finances will need some improvement pretty quickly. We had a little bit of debt. I grew up living pretty frugally and so we had some arguments. And by the end of that year we knew we sold the car that he had some debt on. And then when I got a job, we actually paid all of our debt. Our biggest issue was the underwater mortgage for the townhome that was purchased in 2007. So we were kind of bopping along for a couple years. Then we had kids and I ended up staying at home. It was pretty tight and we were still kind of trying to figure out where we could. What are we going to do about the house eventually? This has still not come up to the value that it was. And at some point we got an email from our church. We go to Woodstock City Church introducing Financial Peace University. And in there I was like, ah, you know, I'm pretty frugal. I keep my budget, you know, after the fact that kind of tracked of what was spent. But it said it will show you how you can buy and sell a house. So I'm like, you know, why don't we take this class? So when we went and took the class, I was like, you know, where have y'all been before? So we did quite a few things, followed quite a few things. One of them was we immediately refi that house to a 15 so that we could start paying down the what we owed on it.

[Ken Coleman]

And from the 7% interest rate that I had been paying on it.

[Rachel Cruze]

Yes. So essentially our payment stayed the same, but, you know, more was going.

[Ken Coleman]

She went down to water three.

[Rachel Cruze]

It was a four run around four at the time. In 20. It was 2013. And so yes, 2013. I contacted one of the LPs. We loved her, Lindsay Haas. A shout to her, she came out because we knew we couldn't sell the house right away. So she showed us what to do. You know, it's just, you know, she didn't charge anything for that. So we started. Over the next couple of years, we started doing some upgrades to the house. Like we painted. We redid the. Not redid the deck, but we cleaned up the deck and some other stuff. And so when the time came in 2016, we were still kind of figuring out whether we're staying in the area or whatnot. And then our HOA was kind of going down the hill. We decided it was time to put it up for sale again. Lindsay helped us through that process. She was a great selling and buying agent. There were several offers on the house that we were looking at to buy and we had had enough equity out of. Gotten enough equity out of the house and we had had some savings or from a sale of an apartment that I had back home. I'm not originally from the US and it was about 20k so we were able to put 20% down. Like you teach. Yes.

[Ken Coleman]

She not only got out of the bad townhome, bad HOA that had been upside down, but you were able to put 20% down on the new deal.

[Rachel Cruze]

On the new deal.

[Ken Coleman]

Way to go. Yes. So seven years later you paid it off and now it's worth 345.

[Rachel Cruze]

Yes.

[Ken Coleman]

You got to feel like a genius. We bought two cars, cash, during this time while we were paying this house off. Yeah. Wow.

[Rachel Cruze]

Another shout out I wanted to do to Rachel. I remember her talking about how, you know, if you want to. Because I wanted to get a change in the career. And so I went into classes at a smaller college, you know, not a four year college, because that we could cash flow at the time. And then now that I work at KSU I went ahead and finished my bachelor degree debt with, you know, they pay for it. They pay for it.

[Ken Coleman]

Right.

[Rachel Cruze]

And I'm working on my master's, so quite a few accomplishments along. Along the way.

[Dave Ramsey]

So how does it feel? I want people who are maybe new to this program going. They paid their house off. That was the debt. What does it feel like to not have a house payment now and then as you look toward the future, it's sinking in.

[Ken Coleman]

It's still not really hit us, but there were several people I worked with that were like, oh, you need to not worry about that. You need to buy this and buy this and go have fun. And you can worry about that later. You've got time before retirement. And now I've had several guys come up to me, shake my hand like, we're proud of you. Good job. That's cool. They kind of see it can be done now. Yeah. So, yeah. And Christina, you really, I mean, you upped your game on your whole career. That's a nice move.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's a very nice move. So what was the increase in your pay? Because we looked at the total, you guys went from 60 to 100, 145. How much did you increase?

[Rachel Cruze]

So that was incremental. I started this full time job in 2018. I was looking at, you know, numbers, and we actually averaged about 108. My latest promotion was in January to the manager position. That was senior accountant.

[Dave Ramsey]

How big of a bump was that for you?

[Rachel Cruze]

14. Yeah, but, you know, the previous year I went to senior accountant, which that was about.

[Ken Coleman]

She goes and gets the. Goes and gets the education that is that she can afford in her budget and then goes to work for a college and they give her free to finish her bachelor. So there's a path here called common freaking sense. Way to go. I'm so proud of you, heroes. Excellent job. What do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? Stick together, talk it through, be in agreement. You won't always see eye to eye on everything, but work through it. Yeah. Make sure you make sure to get.

[Rachel Cruze]

To that point every morning. You know, I am the nerd. He's the free spirit in the sense that, you know, I worry about my spreadsheets, but every Sunday we get together, we sit and we just talk. You know, we dream. And so, you know, his. One of his hugest contributions is he's actually worked overtime for the last 10 years.

[Ken Coleman]

Oh, wow.

[Rachel Cruze]

Six days a week, pretty much every week. So there was a lot of, you know, it wasn't Easy.

[Ken Coleman]

No. How old are you? 41 today. Yeah. And you. Happy birthday. Thank you. And. And you got a paid for $350,000.

[Rachel Cruze]

House and I'm 44.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. And you know you're on your way to being millionaires in no time. Congratulations. We're so proud of you. Heroes. Well done, heroes. All right, bring the kiddos up. Give us their names and ages. And while they're coming up, we've got a baby steps millionaires book for you, a total money makeover book for you and a financial peace university membership for you. You can use them or give them away. That's the live and give box. We'll have that for you. Thanks for coming up to do your debt free screen. So what are their names and ages? This is Greg, he's 11.

[Rachel Cruze]

This is Kira and she's 10 and a half.

[Ken Coleman]

All right. They have no idea yet what their parents have done to change their family tree. Pretty incredible, guys. You guys are awesome. All right, Jared and Christina, Greg and Kara from Woodstock, Georgia. 136,000 paid off in seven years, house and everything making 60 to 145. Count it down. Let's hear a debt free scream.

[Rachel Cruze]

One, two, three.

[Ken Coleman]

We are debt free. Yeah. This is how it's done. I love it. She goes back to school at the community college. Yep. Ups her game. Goes and finishes her master. There goes the finishes her bachelors. Ups her game. Well done, guys. And he works overtime like crazy.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's right.

[Ken Coleman]

This is the Ramsey Show. What does the future hold for business? Ask nine experts and you'll get 10 different answers. Economic growth or a recession. Business taxes will go up, up or down. AI will help us work or it will replace us all. But there's no such thing as a crystal ball. That's why more than 40,000 businesses have future proofed themselves with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud enterprise resource planning system. Ramsey Solutions uses NetSuite and you should too. Whether your company's earning millions or even hundreds of millions, NetSuite helps you respond to immediate challenges and seize your biggest opportunities with one unified business management suite. There's only one source of truth for the visibility and control you need to make quick decisions. NetSuite's real time insights and forecasting help you see into the future with actionable data. And when you're closing the books in days, not weeks, you can spend less time looking backward and more time focusing on what's next. And speaking of what's Next, download the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at netsuite.com Ramsey it's free at netsuite.com Ramsey Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co host today. Thank you for joining us, America. Open phones at Triple 882-55-5225. Shiloh's with us in Billings, Montana. Hi, Shiloh. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Clayton]

Thank you for having me.

[Ken Coleman]

Sure. What's up?

[Clayton]

Okay, so my question is, my husband works for a company that is unionized and they are potentially going to be striking fairly soon. And my question is, do we hunker down and wait and ride it out or do we work on paying off our debt still? What's the best solution to do?

[Ken Coleman]

It depends on the probability of the strike. And let's talk that through for a second, okay?

[Clayton]

Sure.

[Ken Coleman]

How long has he worked for that company?

[Clayton]

Seven years.

[Ken Coleman]

Have they ever been on strike while he worked there?

[Clayton]

No, sir.

[Ken Coleman]

When was the last time they were on strike?

[Clayton]

1997, I think.

[Ken Coleman]

No, you do not hunker down.

[Clayton]

Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. If it gets up closer and it heats up and it heats up and it heats up and you feel like the probability, the actual facts, not the emotions, the facts of what's going on indicate that you got a 70 or an 80% chance they are going to go out, then stop everything and pile up cash. But right now what you've got is a bunch of saber rattling. You know what I mean by that?

[Clayton]

Yes, sir, I do.

[Ken Coleman]

Now, the sounds of war, but there's not going to be war.

[Clayton]

Okay? Yeah. He is more confident that there won't be a strike than I am.

[Ken Coleman]

What I'm trying to help you do, and I have to do this myself and you know, Ken works with people on careers and do the same thing is we have to separate DeLoney, Dr. John DeLoney talks about this anytime we're facing an anxiety situation, a trauma situation. We have to separate facts from fears. Facts are our friends. What you are doing is worrying. That's what you just told me. And I do that, too. I do that, too. But when the facts are that there's been two meetings and there was a meltdown and the guy stormed out, and the last time that happened, there was a strike. Well, that's a fact. We're probably going into a strike. But in the meantime, what it is, it's like, I don't like this. They could just put us out and we got no idea. I don't know what's going on. I feel out of control. Well, that's just worrying.

[Clayton]

Okay?

[Ken Coleman]

Both are normal. But we just have to make Good decisions based on all of that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. And one of the things you want to look at. Okay, go ahead, go ahead.

[Clayton]

Well, we have enough in our savings account to pay off all of our consumer debt.

[Ken Coleman]

Do it.

[Clayton]

So just go ahead and do it and then we'll be okay. Okay, that makes sense.

[Ken Coleman]

You won't have any of those payments if you go on strike. That'd be great.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's right.

[Ken Coleman]

Point.

[Dave Ramsey]

And then, Shiloh, you and your husband need to be aware because every union is different. But the one of the major potential strikes that's coming down the pike is UPS right now. And in that particular, this is one of the largest union, the largest union in the country. You need to find out.

[Clayton]

He works for his ups.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. So I actually. Okay, I actually know a little bit about this story.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, wait a minute. I may change my answer. So tell me what's going on.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, no, no, actually Dave is still right. What we want to do is that has been reported that, that the union is saying, and this is posturing as well. But your husband's got to know how much am I going to get paid during this strike and for how long? Because these unions have money set aside for strikes, Dave. But it is not a per. It's not forever and ever and ever. And so what you have to look at is you have to get the numbers. We could survive. I'll continue to get paid for three months if the strike goes beyond. So these are the kind of facts that Dave is talking about. He's right. We pay attention to this and we go, okay, I know that market share.

[Ken Coleman]

That UPS would lose to FedEx if three months, it'll never recover from.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's right. And it'll never happen. But the point is, is the unions have enough money in a pool. Your husband needs to find out.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, that's.

[Dave Ramsey]

How long would I get paid for? And see, this is the point that Dave is making. So we could survive. We pay off the debt and we replenish that emergency fund even in a one month strike. Because I don't think it goes longer than 30 days.

[Ken Coleman]

I don't think it ever happened.

[Dave Ramsey]

These are the facts that you're talking about, Dave.

[Ken Coleman]

So you got to know that. Okay, I had. No, I didn't. I didn't have this other information. This is all right. It's very good. But now I'm even more. I'm even more sure that's right. Pay off your debt. Work your system. I'm not saying there's never going to be a strike. I would Just say there's a very long.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's not going to last a long time.

[Ken Coleman]

Let me just tell you. UPS cannot afford it. No, can't afford it.

[Dave Ramsey]

FedEx will eat their lunch.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, they'll be gone. Yeah, they would lose. The business aspect of that is just mind boggling. So, yeah, no, no, you're good. You're good. Very good.

[Dave Ramsey]

And one other point to point out. This is like, this is like, like Dems and Republicans posturing over the debt ceiling. Let me just tell you, it don't matter who they are. I've been old enough, I've been around long enough to know they're going to keep extending the debt. So I don't hear that headline. Oh, it's going to shut the world up.

[Ken Coleman]

No, Republicans are going to shut the world.

[Dave Ramsey]

They're going to keep extending the debt. This is posturing, negotiation. You know this well. So in this case, nothing to worry about here at all. You're going to be paid at least a month as well. Even the union folks are saying we have about three months worth of dues set aside that would pay our members while we're striking. So those are the nuances, but actual facts that help you make this decision.

[Ken Coleman]

Massive deal. Wow. I'm read on this. I'm really ignorant. Okay, fun. Hey, that's why you pay me. And I truly don't like being ignorant. So I don't mind you being smarter than me.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, no, I'm not. I just have to pay attention to work related issues like this, you know.

[Ken Coleman]

More concerns with us. Morgan's in Louisiana. Hi, Morgan, how are you?

[Clayton]

I'm great. Hi, Dave. Hey, thank you for taking my call. Sure.

[Ken Coleman]

How can we help?

[Clayton]

So. Yes, sir. So I am kind of in this situation. My husband and I, we have been married almost three years in February and we have our finances separate. I have three children and he has one daughter who's in college. And so we're just trying to figure out how to go about combining the finances with a salary I make and his salary and what we owe and expenses. In that nature, what steps do you advise us? Where do we begin?

[Ken Coleman]

So many ago were you divorced?

[Clayton]

Oh, gosh, mine was in 15.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. And what was money? Money problems a contributing factor?

[Clayton]

No, sir.

[Ken Coleman]

Well, how long ago was he divorced?

[Clayton]

He was, I believe, 2018. 2018.

[Ken Coleman]

More money problems are contributing factor?

[Clayton]

Yes, sir.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. Okay, so at some point in your new marriages, you have to be married to the person you are married to now, not the one you used to be married to, meaning he can't hold her misbehavior with money against you and use that as a reason to not combine finances. That's why I ask those questions. This is typically what causes people to not combine their finances. Who have been married once, they got trashed the last time. And it's hard to go back. It's hard to go, oh, yes, I'm going to treat. But he really has, as a part of his healing from that other divorce is his commitment to you and the two of you combining your finances. So tactically, what you do is we change our. We change our proverbs, we change our pronouns. Okay? It's our money. Not your money, my money. It's our income, it's our debt, it's our house, it's our grocery bill. There's not a yours and mine. If you don't do this, you lower your probability of building wealth tremendously. All of the data that we have says that people that work together have a much higher probability of becoming wealthy than those who run two separate. Separate households. Like a couple of freaking roommates.

[Clayton]

Absolutely, Dave. And that's how we both feel, that we're. We're just like, you know, roommates.

[Ken Coleman]

So you just put it in one pile. You have one pile of income at the top of the page. Yours plus his equals hour. And then we have our expenses down the page. Our food, our lights, our water, our house, our. Our, Our. Our vacation. We're visiting your mother and we are paying for that and whatever it is. Right? That kind of. You got it. It's all the way down the page. And if you guys are paying for his daughter's college, that's our expense. Because you married her when you married him.

[Clayton]

Yes. Right.

[Ken Coleman]

Am I off track here?

[Clayton]

You are on track. And I'm going to say I too am at fault in struggling with the finance with the first marriage. Yeah. So we both have been.

[Ken Coleman]

You got to forgive the person you're married to now, cuz they didn't do anything wrong. It's hard, though, because it's human nature to not put your hand out once a dog bit you, you know. Ouch. This is the Ramsay show.

[Clayton]

Foreign.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey, it's Ken. If you love the show and want a deeper dive on your money journey, we have a weekly newsletter that gives you trending and helpful articles and tips on following the Ramsey way. Go to ramseysolutions.com today to sign up for our newsletter. Again, that's ramseysolutions.com to sign up for our weekly newsletter. Rachel, do you ever get These sketchy text messages that are like, hey, you need to update your address and verify so we can get you the package you didn't order.

[Ken Coleman]

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

[Dave Ramsey]

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

[Ken Coleman]

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. And there's a lot of shady companies.

[Dave Ramsey]

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.

[Ken Coleman]

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.

[Rachel Cruze]

I mean it is incredible.

[Ken Coleman]

So detailed and it's beautiful.

[Dave Ramsey]

I love these reports so far. Get this, 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 Cruze]

Absolutely amazing.

[Ken Coleman]

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

[Dave Ramsey]

So you got to be sure to check them out. Ramsey fans get 20% off their annual plans. Just go to JoinDeleteMe.com Ramsey. That comes out to less than nine bucks a month. Super affordable.

[Ken Coleman]

It's amazing.

[Rachel Cruze]

So again, that's joindeleteme.com Ramsey. Make sure to check it out, you guys.

[Ken Coleman]

Live from the headquarters supporters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey show where we help people build wealth, do work that they love and create actual amazing relationships. Thank you for joining us, America. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host, Ken Coleman. Ramsey personality, host of the Ken Coleman show and author of the number one selling book From Paycheck to Purpose where he helps people with their careers, their jobs and their work. And he's going to be doing that today right here on the Ramsey Show. Phone Number here is 888-255-225. Louisa is with us in Washington D.C. hi Louisa, how are you?

[Clayton]

Good afternoon. So great to be speaking with you today. Thank you so much for taking my call.

[Ken Coleman]

Thank you. What's up?

[Clayton]

All right. I've got a what would Dave do scenario and I'm pretty sure I know what you're going to say, but I kind of just want to walk through some options I have and it's concerning my mortgage. So a little bit of background I have an ARM that resets every November, and it hasn't really been much of an issue until recently, obviously, because the rates have gone up. So it is resetting from 4 and a half to 6 and a half percent.

[Ken Coleman]

Joyful.

[Clayton]

Yep. The balance on the loan is 99,000. I've actually paid off 52,000 in the last year, and I am on track to pay this off. My goal is December of 2025. Okay, so here are the scenarios I just want to walk through. Want to get your thought. Option one is just to, you know, stick with, you know, stick with the new payment coming up in November. My payment is actually going down $180 even with the rate going up because I've paid off so much. So it's actually going down $180. So that's option one is just proceeding with, you know, 6.5%. And then, you know, the rate would reset, you know, next year. Option two is a recast. And I've kind of read where you're not a big fan of a mortgage recast and want to get your thoughts on this. So obviously the rate would stay the same, 6.5%. This would require a $20,000 payment by the end of October, and that would lower the payment $140 a month. Okay, so that's option two.

[Ken Coleman]

And then why would you want to lower it if you're paying it off in two years, what's the benefit?

[Clayton]

Well, I guess that's where I think.

[Ken Coleman]

I don't understand. It's like we're trying to pay it off in two years or two and a half years.

[Clayton]

Right, right, right.

[Ken Coleman]

So how does lowering the payment accomplish that?

[Clayton]

I mean, it's lowering the interest that I'm paying.

[Ken Coleman]

No, it's not. No, it's not. If you recast, you're going to recast at a lower interest rate.

[Clayton]

No, I'm recasting. I'm taking it from a balance of 99,000 to.

[Ken Coleman]

Oh, it would lower the balance. Yeah, but you could do that anyway. You don't have to recast to do that.

[Clayton]

Yes, I could. And that's what I've been doing is.

[Ken Coleman]

Just all recasting does is reset the payment based on a longer term. It doesn't change the interest charged.

[Clayton]

Right, right. Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

So there's no benefit to you mathematically to recast.

[Clayton]

Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

Given that you're planning to pay it off in two years.

[Clayton]

Yes. And here's the other thing, is that I don't have $20,000 just sitting around.

[Ken Coleman]

Well, then there's that right?

[Clayton]

Exactly. So that kind of brings me to option three. And let me just preface this by saying I heard you about a year and a half ago, maybe two years ago before the rates, you know, we're creeping up because I was going to re refinance and I remember you telling a caller, don't refinance if you can pay it off in three years. So I kind of went with that model and I'm, I'm on, I'm on target. I'm on track to pay this off. And that, that is really why I did not refinance. But option three would be digging into my brokerage account and paying it off entirely. I have, I have about $200,000 I'd.

[Ken Coleman]

Have to cash, you know, not in a retirement. You have a brokerage account sitting there with enough to pay it off. Yes, I do pay it off today.

[Clayton]

Yeah, I knew you knew I was gonna do that. I did, I did. I still wanted to walk through the options.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, so if you had a paid for home with a brokerage account with $100,000 less in it, would you go borrow $99,000 on your home paid for home to put more money in your brokerage account?

[Clayton]

No.

[Ken Coleman]

It's the same thing.

[Clayton]

Yeah, Yeah, I think, I think I'm just having some.

[Ken Coleman]

Let me tell you what's going to happen, all right, that you don't anticipate because I've been the other side of it myself and with a whole bunch of other people. You do not understand. When you pay this off and you walk out in the backyard with no shoes on that the grass is going to feel so much different. There's going to be a level of peace blow through your home like a nice cool wind that you don't even know is coming when you owe. No man, nothing. All this hand wringing you've been doing for the last few minutes, trying to figure out what to do, all that's gone, just clean and simple. You just own your house. You're weird. I love it. I love it. And listen, if you really hate it, then go get you a new mortgage.

[Clayton]

Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

But I don't think you're gonna hate it. I think you're gonna feel freedom that you have not felt in your adult life.

[Clayton]

Yep.

[Ken Coleman]

And I know that from having experienced it myself because I don't have any debt and haven't had for 30 years. And I walk around without all of these weights on my shoulders that a lot of people have. And I get to make different decisions and have a different Level of calm in the middle of a storm. And all of that pay off your house? Louisa, please, I promise you, you won't regret it. It. But if I'm completely bonkers, and you do regret it, you can always go get you another mortgage and theoretically put it back in the brokerage.

[Dave Ramsey]

There's a fear there.

[Ken Coleman]

You could hear it. Yeah, no, it's just this angst of the devil I know.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, that's right.

[Ken Coleman]

The devil I know versus the peace I've never known. And it's. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong. I don't know if. Which is the correct thing. And let me just tell you, man, once you get no payments in the whole freaking world. Financial peace. Two words that don't go together. Like airline service, man. Wow. Like postal service. Sorry to you postal people. Oh, my gosh. Sorry you airline people. I mean, really. I mean, it's financial peace. Two words that don't go together. I mean, I've got money in a brokerage. I've got my emergency fund, I've got retirement going, and I own my whole freaking house. Some of you need to breathe that in, make that a goal. Some of you spend a lot of calories flipping stuff over in your head, ringing your hands, trying to figure out something when the answers are usually pretty simple. Clean it up, people. Simplify. Simplify. That's it. Simplify. Yeah, it's hard to beat, guys. Hard to beat. This is the Ramsey Show. It's Holy Week in Jerusalem. Crowds welcomed Jesus as king. Rebellion is in the air. Jesus operates outside our jurisdiction. Rome will descend on us all. But instead of taking the throne, Jesus turns the tables.

[Clayton]

My house shall be called the House of Prayer, but you make it a den of thieves.

[Dave Ramsey]

The world will never be the same.

[Ken Coleman]

Coming soon to theaters. The Chosen Last Supper. Get your tickets now. Hey, guys, good news. Presale is on now for my new book, build a business you Love. If you're a business owner, you know running a business is hard. That's why I wrote this book, to share what we learned over the last 30 years so business owners can grow your business faster with fewer mistakes. Pre order your copy today and you'll get access to over $350 in bonus items only at ramseysolutions.com store ramseysolutions.com store pre order well, about eight years ago, I looked up on Twitter, back when I looked at Twitter and there were some guys on there poking fun at all kinds of people. And then the next thing I knew, they're Making fun of me. And they're funny as crud. And some of my favorite favorite follows on social media. The Bee. The Babylon Bee. Kyle Mann, one of the founders of the Babylon Bee, along with his friend Adam, who's gone on to do other things now, but they started this thing over in California and a satirical look at church, for one thing, and making fun of us church people by church people because you're a pastor's kid or. No, you are a pastor.

[Jade Warshaw]

You were a pastor.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. You were a pastor at one point.

[Jade Warshaw]

My dad's a rocket science scientists.

[Ken Coleman]

Oh, well, there's that. Wow. For real?

[Jade Warshaw]

Yeah. It's not a joke. You know, not everything I say is right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Right.

[Ken Coleman]

Well, I'm just checking. I didn't know if you were pulling. All right, so Kyle Mann is the editor in chief of the Bee. The Babylon Bee. Around here, all the Ramsey folk are big fans of the Bee, and we recommend you guys check it out if you want to have a good snicker, a good laugh a couple times a day. And you ought to get something positive out of social media, so there's a way you can do it. So welcome, Kyle. Good to have you. We're big fans, man.

[Jade Warshaw]

Good to be here. Thanks, dad. Thanks for having me.

[Ken Coleman]

So, fake news you can trust. All right. Did Trump steal that from you, or did you steal it from Trump?

[Jade Warshaw]

It's ours, man. It's copyrighted. Yeah, we made the T shirt so we own the phrase.

[Ken Coleman]

But fake news, he stole from you.

[Jade Warshaw]

Fake. Well, no, we still fake news.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, that's what I thought. Yeah, but you're.

[Jade Warshaw]

We owe him no royalties on it.

[Ken Coleman]

But fake news, you can trust.

[Jade Warshaw]

That's us. Yeah, that's all.

[Ken Coleman]

Because you can't trust all the fake news, but you can trust this one.

[Jade Warshaw]

Trust me.

[Ken Coleman]

Great, Great play. Great satire. I mean, you got a sense of humor. I love. Sarcasm is my. My love language. So I love the whole thing. And you guys have come at me a bunch of times, and I've loved every bit of it. It's. We always get good response. Because you're not too hard on me, but. But you get a good use.

[Jade Warshaw]

Do you want us to be?

[Ken Coleman]

No, I appreciate it.

[Dave Ramsey]

I know he does.

[Ken Coleman]

Trying not to make you mad. Yeah, I don't. I don't. I don't want. I don't need anybody else picking on me out there, so. But satire is tough. I mean, it's hard. Is it harder to create satire when real life things are so over the top? I mean, it's so weird. Out there that it's like reality is satire.

[Jade Warshaw]

Yeah. G.K. chesterton wrote 100 years ago that he thought satire would be impossible because real news was so absurd. He wrote that in, like, 1911. And you picture how crazy the news has gotten from 1911 until 2023. You know, you just. You open up the news and you can't tell if it's a real news headline or the Babylon Bee headlines. Sometimes I can't tell, and I'm writing the headlines.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah.

[Jade Warshaw]

You know, that's how difficult it is.

[Ken Coleman]

I mean, when I was a kid, the local newspaper, you might not agree with their politics, but it was least objective. The CBS Nightly News with Walter Cronkite was at least objective. But if I look at CNN's website, Fox's website, look at the local newspaper here in Nashville, it more resembles the National Enquirer when I was a kid than it did. Than it does. I mean, even their look, tone, feel, their fonts and everything, it's just so salacious, so bizarre. Aliens, you know, that was reserved for the National Enquirer in the line when you're buying groceries, you know. But it has all shifted that way to where, you know, you guys probably get confused for real stuff sometimes, don't you?

[Jade Warshaw]

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. We've been fact checked dozens of times. Our jokes get fact checked by Snopes, USA Today, of course, all different kinds of outlets fact check our jokes because people think they're real.

[Dave Ramsey]

What's the most famous case of a story being taken very seriously?

[Jade Warshaw]

Well, Snopes fact checked one of our articles that was CNN purchases industrial washing machine to spin the news. Somebody actually checked on that, and that got fact checked. And our Facebook page got demonetized, deplatformed, you know, all of that stuff because of that article, because it was fact checked. And they said, oh, you guys are sharing fake news.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, it's a joke.

[Jade Warshaw]

Because cnn. Yeah, yeah, the giant Washington.

[Ken Coleman]

CNN really didn't do that, huh? Who knew?

[Jade Warshaw]

Well, as far as we know. Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. As far as we know. Is there.

[Dave Ramsey]

Is there anything off limits for you guys or how. How. What's that editorial process like when I. I even hate to say editorial, but there is a version of that.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah.

[Jade Warshaw]

Well, we won't be too mean to Dave Ramsey. That's our number one.

[Dave Ramsey]

We like that.

[Ken Coleman]

We like that.

[Jade Warshaw]

That's our number one rule.

[Ken Coleman]

Use him for clicks and laughs.

[Jade Warshaw]

But that's just clicks and laughs. All friendly stuff. But no, I mean, I don't think there's any topic that's off limits for the satirist. And honestly, that's why a lot of left leaning comedy these days isn't funny anymore. Because they have so many no fly zones things that they won't make fun of that it doesn't surprise you anymore. Imagine if they were to make fun of their own worldview, things in their own worldview. It would be shocking because they don't do that. So I think you do need to be able to make fun of yourself. You do need to be able to make fun of things in the culture. I just think the main guideline that we use is that if we're making fun of a serious topic, like we're trying to call attention to a really heavy topic like abortion or something along those lines, then our jokes are going to be that much more serious. You know, we don't want to make people think that we're making light of those things.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sure, right.

[Jade Warshaw]

So that's kind of one of the, one of the guidelines that we use.

[Ken Coleman]

But you are an equal opportunity offender. I mean, you go after just about everybody in one way or another. I mean, you make fun of Fox or cnn, right. Or left issues or you know, you know, conservatives do this or, or you know, lefties do this or whatever. I mean, you, you, you, you get on every. It's fun.

[Jade Warshaw]

Yeah, well, and you have to like, I think to be a good satirist, you have to first be able to laugh at yourself. You have to be able to make fun of your own. And that's what, you know, that's what made the Babylon Bee get so popular so fast. Because we were writing the, the jokes about the worship leaders who wear the V necks and all that. Oh yeah, absolutely. And our friend Dave Ramsey here.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Jade Warshaw]

You know, those kind of jokes showed people like, hey, they're not afraid to make fun of themselves and that kind of gives you the right to them then go after the other side a little bit too.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, so I got to know this. If you look to the recent past or maybe 100 years ago as a satirist, who would you have loved to been in the public scene now where you could have taken a crack at them, whether that be in the faith based world, politics, sports. What comes to mind when I ask you that?

[Jade Warshaw]

Yeah, so we launched like right at the end of the Obama administration, you know, and so we were kind of like during the Trump, Clinton year. So we did kind of launch it in the perfect time when it was like, like you could make a lot of good fun of Trump if you Had a good sense of humor about him. And you can make a lot of fun of Hillary, obviously, too. Right. So we launched it kind of that perfect time. But, yeah, the last. The last hundred years. I mean, it would have been great to be around in the 80s with Reagan. I mean, the Clinton years you got. People had so much fun with on snl. But that's back when SNL used to make fun of both sides. And, you know, they would.

[Ken Coleman]

Back when SNL was fun, back when.

[Jade Warshaw]

The Late Night people would make fun of both sides. You know, George W. Bush obviously was great for humor, just with his mannerisms.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, yeah.

[Jade Warshaw]

So we kind of missed out on a lot of that. But at the time, there were comedians covering it. You know, there was the SNL and the Late Nights that were actually doing that stuff.

[Ken Coleman]

You know, I remember him telling a story when I was interviewing him about Strategic.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

He thought. He actually thought. He. He said, I thought. I did say that. And he was talking to the writer at Saturday Night Live, Lauren, whatever, or the producer. And Lauren said, no, George, I said that. I said, you said that, but you never really said that. And he. He owned it. He thought. He said, I thought I said it. It was the funniest thing ever. And so. Yeah, but that. You got to be able to laugh at yourself in the process. You got to be able to enjoy that ride. No question about it. So how do you determine. You guys put content on almost all the major platforms, from podcasts to posts on Facebook posts? I guess. Are you banned from Facebook? No. Okay.

[Jade Warshaw]

Not banned from Facebook.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. All right. But are you banned from anything right now?

[Jade Warshaw]

We got banned from TikTok, which is, you know, a good thing in some ways.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah.

[Jade Warshaw]

Because then you don't have to be on Tick Tock.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Jade Warshaw]

But I think we got let back on, so I don't know if we're actually banned from anything right now.

[Dave Ramsey]

What got you banned from Tick Tock?

[Jade Warshaw]

You can't joke about anything on TikTok. You know, we'll do jokes about the. The tamest joke you can imagine, and they'll say, you know, community. Community standards.

[Ken Coleman]

Politically sensitive.

[Jade Warshaw]

Politically sensitive.

[Dave Ramsey]

You know, what's crazy about that is they won't let you make fun of anything, but they'll let kids go on and say stupid crap about time, blind blindness, and how she's mad at her boss. This is the latest rage. Oh, this will make Dave's head explode. I'll have to tell him during the commercial break. He can't handle it on the air. It's too much. But they'll let kids rage. Yeah, but you can't make a joke.

[Jade Warshaw]

Yeah, well, that's part of the danger of social media and algorithms. Who's controlling the algorithm and controlling what we see? We already know that with Tick Tock, you know, they, they change the algorithm based on who you are. If you're in America, if you're in China.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah.

[Jade Warshaw]

The algorithm is different based on what produce in the culture. Culture.

[Ken Coleman]

So, so how do you guys with all those different platforms determine which piece of content worked?

[Jade Warshaw]

I mean, there's some, there are some social media platforms where a certain joke will hit a little, little bit better. Like for a long time, Twitter was kind of the political space where politics jokes did well. Yeah, you're a big hit on Facebook and Instagram for us.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, you know, I love it.

[Ken Coleman]

That's good. Okay, good.

[Jade Warshaw]

So, yeah, it just depends on the audience and where they are.

[Ken Coleman]

Well, we're just here to serve. I'm saying, Dave, you're huge on the gram.

[Jade Warshaw]

You're huge on the gram, as the kids say it.

[Ken Coleman]

And huge on the B, baby. That's it. That's what I'm saying. Babylon B. Kyle, man, thanks for stopping by, brother. We love your work. It's a lot of fun, you guys. If you haven't followed it, jump in and follow. You'll get a laugh and you might get offended and that'll be good for you too. Just laugh your way through it. You gotta love it. The Babylon Bee. Check it out. This is the Ramsey show. You spent years trying to get everything just right for your family. Now you need an easy way to make sure your important financial documents are as organized as the rest of your house. Well, good news. Knockbox, that's N O K box as in next of kin box, is a complete system that helps you be sure that you leave happy memories, not a mess when you pass away. Knockbox is a simple way to organize important paper and digital documents, IDs, tax returns, insurance policies, estate plans, accounts and.

[Rachel Cruze]

Other personal history in one manageable place.

[Ken Coleman]

Your family will feel your love in.

[Rachel Cruze]

Every detail you take care of.

[Ken Coleman]

So start taking care of [e-mail] Ramsey a well organized legacy is a gift to your family. That's nokbox.com Ramsey if you're a small business owner and you feel burned out, then you've got to join us at Entre Leadership Summit this May 1821. This leadership conference will refuel you with fresh vision and connect you to like minded leaders so you can take your business to the next level. But you better hurry because we're running out of seats. We've got less than 200 seats left. If you want to join us in Denver, Colorado, go to ramseysolutions.comsummit right now or if you're listening on YouTube or podcast, just click the link in the description. Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co host today. Today's Ramsey Show Question of the Day is sponsored by why Refi? When you're trapped in a maze of defaulted private student loan debt, it's hard to find your way out. But why Refi can offer you a lifeline with custom refinancing based on your ability to pay and a lump sum payoff option you could qualify for after 24 months. Go to yrefi.com Ramsey that's the letter y r e f y.com Ramsey might not be in all states.

[Dave Ramsey]

Today's question comes from Nikki in Kansas. My husband has been at his current job for over five years. He has received yearly inflationary raises. A new manager position was recently created and my husband considered applying for it, but before he could, it was given to another employee that has no previous experience in the role. This new manager now repeatedly asked my husband for advice and wants him to work extra hours and to cover his lack of competence. I think it's time for him to find a new job, but he wants to make it work here. His annual review is coming up. Should he mention the situation and bring up needing increased compensation or a path to growth? Well, Nikki, when somebody has done me wrong, I found Dave that my wife Stacy has always taken it worse. I don't know if Sharon's that way or not, but it feels like this situation where your husband's griped a little bit about this, Nikki, and you've gotten really upset about it. And I would listen to your husband here. He wants to make it work and based on the facts you've given us, he never raised his hand for the job. And because he didn't raise his hand, whoever hired this other employee is not on the line for that because they can't read minds. So in this situation, I always tell people to never ask directly for a raise. I teach to talk about a growth plan after you talk about a desire to grow. In other words, I think in his annual review he's just sit down and say, hey, listen, you know, I was thinking about raising my hand for this other position. I didn't and that's on me. But what it did show me is that I want more. I want to lead, I want to step up. I want to climb here at Company xyz. So to that end, in my review, whether you got it for me today, but in the future, in the near future, I'd like to meet with you and discuss a growth plan. What tools can I add to my tool belt? In other words, skills and experience? And then what are some shortcomings? What are some areas that may be blind spots for me that I need to be aware of so that I do better and make myself a better employee? And then can we lay that plan out and how do we measure it so that you and I are operating off the same sheet of paper, same sheet of music? And if we measure that, will that lead to opportunity for more responsibility, which should come with more compensation? That's the spirit, the posture that you should have so that you do not put your leader on the defensive because many times they are not the sole decision maker in you getting a promotion in a raise. And so the reason I prescribe it that way, Dave, is it allows them to have some ownership in it. They don't feel put on the spot. They don't feel backed into a corner. And then we have an adult, mature, professional conversation about a path forward.

[Ken Coleman]

The other thing I want you to ask yourself is, who is ambitious here, you or your husband? Because A, he didn't raise his hand for this position, B, his wife wrote us an email, not him. Two indicators. He ain't real fired up and so are not as fired up as you are.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's correct. That's very obvious.

[Ken Coleman]

So I don't want you to want something for him more than he wants it for himself because that's going to come through when he sits down in his review. He needs to be confident, competent. How can I add value to this organization? What do I need to do to make myself more valuable so that I can grow here? Hunger grow, meaning grow in responsibility and in value that I'm adding and hopefully in compensation someday. And that requires a body language, a little swagger.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, you got to share some hunger. I think what they want to see here is I want to get better. I want to do more, be more. And that's attractive.

[Ken Coleman]

And, you know, I think that's a discussion. Maybe your husband doesn't want any of that. Maybe you want.

[Dave Ramsey]

I think it's very possible.

[Ken Coleman]

So you need to talk that through before you send him into the lion's cage. Open phones at Triple 882-55-5225. Matthew is in Houston, Texas. Hi, Matthew, how are you?

[Clayton]

Hey, Guys, thanks for taking my call.

[Ken Coleman]

Sure. What's up?

[Clayton]

Hey, so I have a budgeting question. I'm trying to figure out what I should do for an extra 20,000 in income. I'm going to receive three to four times this year from overtime work.

[Ken Coleman]

Sen Dave's Bahama Fund. No, I'm kidding. Okay. All right, so you're gonna make it. You're gonna make an extra 80 grand?

[Clayton]

Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

Sweet. Very nice. Pretty nice. Where are you on the baby steps, bro?

[Clayton]

I'm not sure what baby step exactly.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, so this whole. This whole thing's new to you? Okay, that's cool. That's fine. Okay, we teach a process to use all extra money to achieve wealth as fast as possible. And we apply it in an order, a forced ranking of importance. Okay. And that system is called the baby steps. One baby step at a time and you'll become wealthy. So I'll walk you through them right quick. You ready? Okay, first thing you need to do, save a thousand dollars. I bet you've already done that.

[Clayton]

Yes.

[Ken Coleman]

How much money do you have in savings?

[Clayton]

Just savings. I have about 50k.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, good for you. And how much debt do you have, not counting your home?

[Clayton]

None.

[Ken Coleman]

Good. Okay, baby step one is save $1,000. Baby step two is to become debt free. Everything but the house. Ding, ding. Check those two boxes. Three is to have an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. If we call that 50,000 that emergency fund, you're there. Three, baby step four is start putting 15% of your income towards retirement, not more, not less, in 401ks and Roth IRAs. Are you doing that?

[Clayton]

Yeah, I'm maxing them out. It's more like 25% at the moment.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, baby step five is kids college. Do you have kids?

[Clayton]

No, I'm single.

[Ken Coleman]

Well, that's easy. We skip that one. Baby step six is pay off your house early. How much do you owe on your home?

[Clayton]

Yeah, I owe 200 on my home.

[Ken Coleman]

And right now I'm putting an extra.

[Clayton]

$400 a month towards the principal.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, and what do you make? What's your total income, sir?

[Clayton]

Well, depending what this ot should be close to about 200 this year.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, and you're single and you have no debt payments. If I woke up in your shoes, what would I do? Following those steps I just gave you that I've taught 10 million people. I would tell you to reduce your 401k to 15%. Not maxed out. And I want you to take everything you can squeeze out of your monthly budget. Including this bonuses that are coming in and throw it at the mortgage. Let's pay this house off in two years.

[Clayton]

Okay. Yeah, that's kind of what I've been leaning towards too. I don't like having it hang over my head. But I was also wondering if I should consider a side brokerage account or.

[Ken Coleman]

After the house is paid off.

[Clayton]

Okay, so after the house.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, here's, here's why. Here's why. Okay. This is. I did not. I don't want it hanging over my head. There's actual data. Okay. We did the largest study of millionaires in North America ever done. 10,167 of them. Two primary things caused them to have the first one to $10 million of net worth investing steadily into their 401k and paying their home off. They. And paying the home off is a big part of it, by the way. So a paid for house. How old are you?

[Clayton]

I'm 26.

[Ken Coleman]

And the house is worth what?

[Clayton]

Probably about 260.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. So when the house gets paid off, by the time it's paid off somewhere around 34 years old, 33 years old, you're going to have a net worth of over a million dollars at the track you're on right now. So way to go, dude. You're killing it. Proud of you. Hang on. I'm going to send you a copy of the book Baby Steps Millionaires. It's my latest number one bestseller and it'll show you exactly the stuff I'm talking about. Why, when and where. And it'll help you dial this in. You are a student. Keep it up, man. This is the Ramsey Show. Listen, I know a lot of you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Would rather watch paint dry in slow.

[Ken Coleman]

Motion than file your taxes.

[Dave Ramsey]

But thankfully you don't have to dread filing when you've got Ramsey SmartTax. It comes packed with everything you need to file online before the big deadline. That means all major federal forms and deductions are covered with no hidden fees. Plus, with Ramsey SmartTax you can save up to 70% compared to other tax software out there. It's a no brainer. Just go to ramseysolutions.com smarttax and see how simple tax filing can be. That's ramseysolutions.com smarttax.

[Ken Coleman]

Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co host today. Thank you for joining us, America. We're so glad you're here. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Janet is in Boise, Idaho. Hi Janet. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Clayton]

Hey, Ken. And Dave, it's a pleasure.

[Ken Coleman]

Ours, too. How can we help?

[Clayton]

Yeah. So I'm calling today just to see how we, as we, me and my husband, can get ahead of our bills. It seems like every single month we pay our bills three weeks after the due date, and then a week later, they're due again. So we've tried, you know, budgeting and just trying to get ahead, and we just can't seem to get that curve. So we're just calling to see what tips and tricks he could provide for us.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. What's your household income?

[Clayton]

It's about 75,000 gross.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. And how much debt do you have, not counting your house?

[Clayton]

39,000.

[Ken Coleman]

On what?

[Clayton]

On student loans? Of 24,000. 5,000 in credit cards, and 9,000 or 10,000 on RV travel trailers.

[Ken Coleman]

On a trailer. Okay. And you make 75k a year?

[Clayton]

That's right between the both of us.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. All right. All right. So where do you think your money's going?

[Clayton]

Well, I know that it was going to a lot of eating out. I actually just got my husband on board about two months ago to do, like, the baby step. I've been doing it probably by myself for, like, a whole year ever since, and it seems like actually we've been on this momentum of just being behind for, like, the last year, and we're just sick of it. I'm tired of handling it. So I have him stepping in on the finances as well as just really, you know, being careful where our money is going. And so, you know, I've tried for the last two months, we would just been, you know, paying every single week. Can we get paid every week? So that's kind of.

[Ken Coleman]

So if I sat down with you and your husband with a yellow pad at the kitchen table, and I said, okay, this is what you have coming in this week. Let's map out where every one of those dollars is going. This is what you have coming in the next week. Let's map out where every one of those dollars is going. Let's map out. You should have enough with the numbers you gave me.

[Clayton]

We should. Yeah, we should.

[Ken Coleman]

But you're not doing that.

[Clayton]

Right.

[Ken Coleman]

There it is. Okay, so you need to sit down and you can jump on every dollar. But the first thing is the two of you have to do this together over to him, because he can do it and you can't do it. That's not true. Okay, both of you together need to do this, because what's going to have to happen is you're going to have to decide not to do a bunch of stuff you're doing now that doesn't matter as much as getting in control matters. I want to get in control more than I want to go out to eat. I want to get out of debt and have a life more than I want to go on vacation. I want to get in control more than I like this travel trailer. I want to get in control more than. And I'm sick and tired of living stress to stress to stress to stress to stress with no hope, feeling like a rat in a freaking wheel. And when the both of you, when both of you are saying that and then you put numbers to that and you say, okay, this week, on Friday, we get a check for X. The following Thursday, we get a check for Y. The following Saturday, we get a check for Z. And you write that down and you, you plan out every one of those dollars and where every one of them are going. Because the water bill is due on the second week, the house payment's due on the first week. The student loan payment is due in the third week. And we're going to figure out what's coming out. We're going to take this much for food, this much for food, this much for food in the four different weeks, and we're going to allocate every one of those bills to a certain week and some of them across weeks so that we have enough money to take care of them. And every dollar has an assignment on paper on purpose before the month begins. We agree on it and spit, shake and pinky swear. And then we don't do anything else with money except what we freaking wrote down.

[Clayton]

Right. And it seems like we've been doing that for the last two months, but we can't catch that curve. We can't get out of the moment.

[Ken Coleman]

So you write it all down and you don't have enough?

[Clayton]

No, we do have enough, but it seems like it's done every single week.

[Ken Coleman]

If you wrote it down to have enough and then you did something else other than what you wrote down.

[Clayton]

Well, I guess where we're struggling is just like every time we do try to. We paid. We get our bill every single, you know, whatever a month. We pay it once a week and. But we have so many little ones, it seems like we just don't know.

[Ken Coleman]

Where they're not all written down.

[Clayton]

Yeah, we need to prioritize them better.

[Ken Coleman]

Every one of them on paper, on purpose in a certain week. This is a week one bill. This is a week four bill. This is a week two bill. Different bills have different weeks, and they all go within the income of that week. And then when the check comes in, the check is already spent. So you can't do anything except what you wrote down. You are not managing to the budget. You're writing it out as a hypothetical and then going. Doing what you used to do.

[Clayton]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you're not focusing on it. But listen, I'll tell you how you've got it.

[Ken Coleman]

That'll get you ahead. That's what I told you. Yeah. If you. You won't write down not getting ahead, you'll get ahead. As soon as you do that, you've got room in this budget.

[Clayton]

Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

You're disorganized and chaotic. Yeah. And when you give every single. If I paid you $100,000 a year to pay these bills exactly on time, and you had no emotional tie to them whatsoever, and you would look at this family, this distant family over in Boise, Idaho, and tell them to quit going to freaking restaurants. I don't care how tired you are. No whining allowed. You're gonna pay the freaking bill on time. If I told you to do that, you could do it for someone else.

[Clayton]

Right?

[Ken Coleman]

It's because it's not right. It's sixth grade math. You can do this. So you have got to get very detailed, very intentional, and then live the detail. Don't write it all down. And then go do what you used to do. And so. Well, I just, I didn't feel like cooking tonight. I don't give a crap. Go home and get some leftovers out of the dadgum refrigerator. That's how you do it. You can. I mean, we all have that. You just got to talk to your whiny self and say, no. Whiny self. I've done that myself. I mean, Sharon and I have done it to each other. We know what it feels like. But you have to go. I want control more than I feel tired tonight. You know, and that's the biggest thing. That's the phrase that comes out of everybody's mouth, by the way, before they go out to eat or before they hit the fast food and get dog food at Taco Bell, you know, or whatever. And so it's just. It's horrible. It's horrible value, it's horrible nutrition and it's out of control spending. And so it's just. Yeah, she. You gotta write it down and get on everydollar, download the app, and I'll tell you what, I'll give you the upgrade. I'll give you the premium everydollar. Where it ties to your bank. And we'll get you started on that, Janet. Because what you all desperately need is a detailed budget. And here's how you do a budget, folks. You give every single penny a name. Every bill has a week allocated in every dollar. It's called paycheck planning. And you plan out each paycheck for the month. And you and your spouse both look at it. Every dollar is assigned to saving, to giving or to a bill. Period. Every single dollar. There is no missile. There is no well, 50% of my budget is non allocated bull crap. Allocate every dime in every dollar on the paycheck planning. Every dollar has a name. Before the month begins, August is coming. Where's your August money gonna be? It's gonna freaking disappear. If you don't tell it what to do, it will leave and go to people's houses who tell it what to do. And then you'll say stuff like, the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. Yes, they do, because the rich tell their money what to do. That's how this works. And so you gotta get on top of this stuff and lean into it. It. Every dollar has an assignment. You stick to it, you agree on it with your spouse and you do not spend a dime unless it's on that page on that EveryDollar app. If it's not on there and it comes up and it's a surprise and you forgot it, you got to take something else off. Because if you put something on there and you're already spend it all, now you're in overdraft and now it doesn't work. And I can't seem to get caught up. Well, you're not getting caught up because you're not living your plan. Do the plan, live the plan, write the plan, live the plan. Do the plan, live the plan, live the plan. And it's your plan by the way. You decide where it's going to go. But I'm telling you what I'm doing. I'm not going out to eat. I'm not going on vacation. I'm selling a stupid travel trailer. Everything else is for sale so much the kids think they're next. We're going to take extra jobs and we're getting control because I'm tired of being stressed out. That's what I'm doing. If I'm in your shooting, and I did it, by the way, this is the Ramsey Show.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey, it's Ken. If you like what you heard in this episode and want to know more about getting started on the Ramsey baby steps. Go to ramseysolutions.com and click on the get started button. We'll help you figure out the best next step for you based on your specific situation. Again, that's ramseysolutions.com and click get started.

[Ken Coleman]

Hey, you're still here.

[Dave Ramsey]

What are you doing?

[Ken Coleman]

You do know that the rest of.

[Dave Ramsey]

Today'S show is playing right now over on the Ramsey Network app, right?

[Ken Coleman]

All you gotta do to finish the.

[Dave Ramsey]

Episode is search Ramsey Network in the app store, Google Play store, or just click the link in the show notes to download the app for free. Yep, you heard me right. For free.

[Ken Coleman]

Then right there on the home screen, you can watch the rest of today's show. Bada bing, bada boom.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, I'm getting out of here.

[Ken Coleman]

Enjoy. We'll see you on the app.