Live from Charlotte: The Ramsey Show on Tour

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ramsey Show – Live from Charlotte: The Ramsey Show on Tour

Date: May 5, 2026
Hosts: Ken Coleman, Rachel Cruze, George Campbell
Podcast: The Ramsey Show (Ramsey Network)

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Episode Overview

This dynamic, live episode of The Ramsey Show brings Dave Ramsey’s money-smart principles to Charlotte, North Carolina, in front of an enthusiastic audience. Hosts Ken Coleman, Rachel Cruze, and George Campbell answer candid, often personal audience questions and celebrate financial victories. The evening’s central theme is that regardless of your past money mistakes, you can build wealth, take control, and shape your financial future. The episode is packed with real-life scenarios—from buying luxury handbags and engagement rings to managing burnout and debating combining finances. Not only do the hosts dispense actionable advice, but they also foster community, humor, and vulnerability among participants.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Buying Luxury for Loved Ones: Is It Okay?

• [02:22–08:13] "No judgment here, pal. That's called good husband." – Ken Coleman
  • Scenario: Jeff wants to buy his wife a $3,000–$4,000 Louis Vuitton handbag while in Baby Steps 4, 5, 6.
  • Advice:
    • If you have the cash (not from the emergency fund), spending on luxury is permitted and can be part of enjoying money.
    • Rachel Cruze: "Living life with an open hand and actually enjoying your money, that's a gift… it's not a values, it's not a right or wrong right if you have the money for it." ([04:20])
    • Creative gifting tips: make the unboxing special, maybe use a "misdirection" with a fake-out box for more fun.

The Engagement Ring Dilemma

• [08:27–14:57] "How much should I expect my boyfriend to be paying on an engagement ring?" – Hannah
  • Scenario: A couple debates appropriate spending on a ring, with live Q&A from both.
  • Advice:
    • Marketing has pushed "2–3 months’ salary" as a rule, but this is arbitrary.
    • Instead, spend what you can afford and what feels right for your values and situation.
    • George: "The simplest answer is, how much should you spend? How much you can afford at the time you want to propose." ([12:48])
  • Memorable Moment: Ken pushes for more mystery in proposals: "There needs to be more mystery among this young generation..." ([13:12])

Battling Burnout & Money Vision in Relationships

• [15:43–20:40] “I've already paid $83,000, but I'm exhausted. How can I manage burnout, stay motivated, and help my partner understand why becoming debt free matters to me?” – Nora
  • Scenario: Nora, a nurse, struggles with work/life balance and a skeptical partner.
  • Advice:
    • Give yourself permission to rest and recalibrate; being gazelle intense doesn’t mean "no breaks."
    • Rachel Cruze: “If you kind of put some of those rest periods in... it’s okay…and still continue on your plan.” ([18:41])
    • George: “Release whatever pressure you’ve put on yourself to hit the self-imposed deadline…and that’s coming from a guy who’s probably the nerdiest and most intense.” ([20:13])

When Are You Truly Self-Insured?

• [20:46–23:15]
  • Once you have enough net worth/built up assets that if you died, your loved ones would be financially stable, you’re self-insured.
  • Only keep term life insurance for as long as your family would need your income replaced.

What Does Financial Success Look Like?

• [23:25–24:59]
  • Audience shares answers—highlights include: not caring about prices, being debt-free, having free time, being able to take time off without financial worry.

Parenting & Young Adult Money Choices

• [38:24–47:42]
  • Scenario: Mom asks how to let her nearly grown son (Luke) make money mistakes without micromanaging.
  • Advice:
    • Teach and model, then let experience be the teacher.
    • Discuss contentment and intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation before big purchases ("Would you still want this if no one saw it?" – Rachel Cruze, [43:02]).
    • Leverage the power of investing early: "If you put $250 a month in a Roth IRA from 18 to 60, you’d have almost $2 million." – George ([46:17])

Real Estate: Is Now a Good Time to Buy?

• [47:53–51:59]
  • Ramsey advice: Don’t focus on timing the market; focus on being financially ready (debt-free, healthy emergency fund, retirement investing already underway).
  • Ignore social media “get rich quick” real estate hype.

Combining Money in Relationships (And Tension Points)

• [58:28–66:46]
  • Audience member Raquel shares the challenges of combining finances for a couple from radically different backgrounds (frugal vs. scarcity vs. abundance mindsets).
  • Advice: Start slowly (mock budgets, joint wedding account), remember both personalities bring strengths.

Breaking Out of Frugality After Debt Freedom

• [67:28–75:08] “How to let the gazelle rest? … I've gone too far that way.” – Grace
  • Discussion of the psychological difficulty in shifting from "scrimp and save" to enjoying hard-earned wealth.
  • Hosts encourage setting a new wealth-building goal, but also learning to live with an “open hand” and break the cycle of anxiety.
  • Rachel: “If you’re not careful, that number you’re going to get, you’re going to be like, ‘eh, it’s not enough, I need some more.’ And that finish line moves and you stay in that for the rest of your life.” ([74:57])

Couple’s Debate: Should We Combine All Finances?

• [76:22–86:44]
  • Joel and Jessica, a married couple from Mexico, debate whether to fully combine assets—especially money Jessica wants reserved to help her parents.
  • Clifford advice from all three panelists:
    • Combine assets as a symbol of unity, but make a specific, mutual plan to support parents as a household, with clear boundaries.
    • Rachel: “I think he needs to hear from you that you choose him over your parents because you’ve chosen to get married… together… you get to build a life together.” ([84:00])

Collective Debt-Free Celebration!

• [89:48–93:29]
  • Audience members share how much debt they've collectively paid off in the last year: $2.3 million.
  • Group debt-free scream echoes through the hall—a powerful communal victory ([93:29]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ken Coleman [03:17]: "I got to tell you, nothing makes a woman happier than a Louis. Good to hear. I speak from experience."
• Rachel Cruze [04:20]: "Some people will not understand why you would ever buy a bag that expensive. But that's what she values, and that's great. It's not a moral issue. You have the money. Do it."
• George Campbell [12:48]: "How much should you spend? How much you can afford at the time you want to propose. That's it."
• Rachel Cruze [18:41]: "If you kind of put some of those rest periods in for you... that's okay. And then you press play again."
• Ken Coleman [13:12, on Engagements]: "There needs to be more mystery among this young generation. Why are we even talking about this?"
• Rachel Cruze [43:02]: "Before I make this purchase, I think: if nobody sees this purchase, do I still want it?"
• George Campbell [46:17]: "[If you] put $250 a month into a Roth IRA from age 18 to 60, you’d have almost $2 million."
• Rachel Cruze [74:57]: "If you’re not careful, that number you’re going to get, you’re going to be like, eh, it’s not enough, I need some more. And that finish line moves and you stay in that for the rest of your life."
• Rachel Cruze [84:00]: “I think he needs to hear from you that you choose him over your parents because you’ve chosen to get married…”.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:22 – Buying a luxury bag for spouse debate
• 08:27 – Live engagement ring budget debate
• 15:43 – Burnout and partner skepticism with financial goals
• 20:46 – When are you self-insured after 65?
• 23:25 – Audience sharing definitions of financial success
• 38:24 – Parenting question: letting teens make money mistakes
• 47:53 – Is now a good time for young people to invest in real estate?
• 58:28 – Scarcity vs. abundance mindset in couple finance
• 67:28 – Breaking out of “gazelle intense” frugality after debt freedom
• 76:22 – Settling a couple’s debate: combining finances and supporting family
• 89:48 – Audience debt-free scream ($2.3 million paid off!)

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Tone & Atmosphere

The night is rich with encouragement, laughter, vulnerable admissions, and playfully sharp debate. The hosts keep the proceedings lively and compassionate, frequently affirming audience members and celebrating even the smallest financial victories. There’s real empathy shown for struggles with burnout, family dynamics, and relationships. Humor, especially around frugality and “the cult” of Ramsey methodology, keeps the mood light even during tough topics.

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This episode is an energizing encapsulation of The Ramsey philosophy: be intentional, encourage each other, grow from mistakes, and celebrate wins—big and small. Whether you’re wrestling with luxury spending, engagement budgets, or the next step after paying off debt, there’s wisdom and camaraderie awaiting you.

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Transcript

[Hannah]

How much should I expect my boyfriend to be paying on an engagement ring?

[Ken Coleman]

I'm a little irritated.

[Rachel Cruz]

Why? Ken Coleman.

[Ken Coleman]

Hannah, relax. Single people stand up for a second. You two stay up. If you want to go out, Ramsey Solutions will pay for your first date.

[Luke's Mom]

I feel like he makes purchases that, from my perspective, are excessive.

[Rachel Cruz]

What? Set expense?

[Ken Coleman]

Cologne. He gets it.

[George Campbell]

Yeah.

[Jeff]

If I wanted to get her, say, a luxury handbag.

[Ken Coleman]

What kind of bag? What kind of price?

[Jeff]

3,000 to 4,000.

[Ken Coleman]

Ooh, yikes. Y' all are bringing the fastballs tonight.

[Hannah]

How can I manage burnout and help my partner understand why becoming debt free matters so much to me?

[George Campbell]

Why does he hate me?

[Hannah]

He thinks it's the cult.

[George Campbell]

There we go.

[Rachel Cruz]

I don't want this to be a point of tension for you guys. I want you to feel validated in your decisions.

[Ken Coleman]

Normal is broken. Common sense is weird. So we're here to help you transform your life. From the Ramsey Network, brought to you by the Fair Winds Credit Union. Live from Charlotte, North Carolina, this is the Ramsey Show. Yes. Wow. Ladies and gentlemen, alongside my esteemed colleagues George Campbell and the lovely Rachel Cruz, I'm Ken Coleman, and we're so thrilled to be with you here in the Queen City, Charlotte. And we're gonna have some fun tonight. This is the Ramsey show, but it's live, so we're taking your questions tonight. And I got good news and bad news. The good news is there's no dump button. We can't hang up on you. But, George, tell them the bad news.

[George Campbell]

Bad news is it's your personal brand on the line. So just know we can't stop you from being you.

[Ken Coleman]

That's exactly right. So. So fun. So as you can see, we got our mic back here and we're gonna start it off with Christopher. Christopher, come on down. Give Christopher some love. There we go. Where are you from?

[Jeff]

Hey, guys. Greenville, South Carolina.

[Ken Coleman]

Nice.

[Jeff]

So my question is, my wife and I are in baby steps 4, 5, and 6, and I would like to get her something. To quote cousin Eddie, really nice. And I'm wondering if I wanted to get her, say, a luxury handbag, for instance, does that fit in? And steps four, five, and six obviously pay cash, but I just wanted to get Yalls thoughts. Judgments on that.

[Ken Coleman]

No judgment here, pal. That's called good husband.

[George Campbell]

You know which one she wants? You have one in mind?

[Jeff]

Yes.

[George Campbell]

Cause there's a range of hands.

[Rachel Cruz]

Can you tell us for five?

[Ken Coleman]

Is she here?

[Jeff]

No. Okay, good. I mean, she knows I'm here, but.

[Ken Coleman]

Well, I hope so. I just didn't want to ruin the surprise. So what are you talking about? What kind of bag? What kind of price?

[Jeff]

$3,000 to 4,000.

[George Campbell]

It's a nice bag.

[Rachel Cruz]

What is it?

[Jeff]

It's a Louis.

[Rachel Cruz]

Louis?

[Jeff]

Louis. Louis Vuitton bag.

[Ken Coleman]

I got to tell you, nothing makes a woman happier than a Louis. Good to hear. I speak from experience. I surprised Stacy. I walked her by the Louis store one day, and I was just kind of hemming and hawing. I go, let's just go in here. And she did the whole, we're not going to get a bag. I go, I know, but let's just go look. And I got her the bag.

[Jeff]

Nice, nice.

[Ken Coleman]

All right, let's. All right, George, you're nerding out here. I can feel you right now. What are your numbers? George wants to run through the numbers.

[George Campbell]

Do you have the money?

[Jeff]

Yes.

[George Campbell]

Okay, that's outside of an emergency fund, obviously. And is this a large part of your world or net worth?

[Jeff]

It would not be, no, sir.

[George Campbell]

You could burn three grand on the table and you'd be like, all right, that stinks, but I'm gonna be just fine.

[Jeff]

It would stink, but we would be okay.

[George Campbell]

I mean, that's about as far as I need to go to give you the green light.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, get the bag.

[Jeff]

Rachel, what do you think?

[Rachel Cruz]

What do I think?

[George Campbell]

You're a bag guy.

[Rachel Cruz]

Christopher, what do you think?

[George Campbell]

I think send it, buy it, get it, do it.

[Jeff]

Cool.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, for sure, for sure. And she'll have it for a long time, and it's gonna be wonderful. Cause you guys have worked hard. I mean, honestly, a lot of people, when they get to baby steps four through six, it's really hard for them to spend money. And so understanding of living life with an open hand and actually enjoying your money, that's a gift. Like, that is fun. And so some people, again, may roll their eyes at a bag, or they may roll their eyes at what you spend on a vacation, or they'll roll their eyes at whatever it may be. One of the things I roll my eyes at, if I'm being honest, is like kid birthday parties like 2 year olds, where it looks like a wedding reception. I roll my eyes, but it's not a values. It's not a right or wrong right if you have the money for it. Some people will not understand why you would ever buy a bag that expensive. But that's what she values, and that's great. It's not a moral issue. You have the money. Do it. Louie.

[Jeff]

Cool. Thank you, guys.

[Ken Coleman]

Love it. Yes. Great job.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

And I would say this. Like, do it in your way, but, like, don't just show up with it. Put a little effort into it. You know what I mean? Whatever that is.

[George Campbell]

Rachel's got an idea.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, yes. Yes. Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

I love planning a surprise. I'm gonna see where this goes.

[Rachel Cruz]

Because a designer bag that nice. It's gonna have beautiful packaging. Okay. So the bag is gonna be huge. And then the box that it comes in is gonna be fantastic.

[Ken Coleman]

I see that.

[Rachel Cruz]

Then it comes in another sa. It comes in a whole cloth. Let her. Don't just take it out of all that and give it to her. She needs to do the whole experience. If it's a gift, like, let her open it. Open that box. Oh, it's just an Apple product.

[Ken Coleman]

Can I. Yes.

[Rachel Cruz]

Steroids.

[Ken Coleman]

Can I. Yes. In this.

[Rachel Cruz]

It's not an iPhone. It's a Louie.

[Ken Coleman]

Can I. Yes. And this. Cause I think that's great. Everything she said. I'm gonna add one thing. Is there something, like, very household functional, a little bit bigger? Maybe it's something. An antique or something she's been looking at, or something that would be, like, in a large, nondescript bag or box that maybe she wants that you guys have been talking about. We need to get, like, a fridge for the garage or. You know what I'm saying? Do you see where I'm going?

[Jeff]

Yes, sir.

[Ken Coleman]

All right. So the idea is it's a misdirection.

[George Campbell]

I like that.

[Ken Coleman]

And you do everything that Rachel said, except that it's like. Let's say you were talking about a garage freezer just because I gotta give you something tactical. And so you're like, babe, you're not gonna believe this. I went to the Scratch and Dent, and I found a garage freezer for $70. And she goes, oh, get it. You're like, I'm bringing it. You gotta look at this thing. It's unbelievable. She's like, I don't need to open. I said, babe, you gotta check this freezer out. It's unbelievable. She opens what she thinks is a freezer box.

[Rachel Cruz]

It's a Louis box.

[Ken Coleman]

Louis box. Misdirection makes the surprise better.

[George Campbell]

I have a tactical question. How are you gonna spend that money without her knowing?

[Jeff]

So we've talked about it, and it's more of like a. I mean. Cause we do the finances are combined, so she would know. So it's more of a. Hey, don't look at it. This week, I guess.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, yeah.

[George Campbell]

Does she check the savings? Is she, like, very much aware of what's in savings?

[Jeff]

On a constant basis, yes, but she's more of a weekly checker. She doesn't.

[Ken Coleman]

Perfect. So she doesn't get an alert, right?

[Jeff]

No.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, here's my point. You don't just get it and write home.

[George Campbell]

Well, I had an idea and I pitched my idea. You got a Fair Winds Credit union account yet?

[Jeff]

I don't.

[George Campbell]

Okay, here's my idea.

[Ken Coleman]

Nice product placement, George.

[George Campbell]

Just open the. Open the smart bundle. Here it is, though. You open the smart bundle, transfer the money there, and use that Ramsey debit card to purchase it. And then hopefully, she doesn't even know the savings move. Temporarily.

[Rachel Cruz]

Wow. Open a secret account, Big brain.

[Ken Coleman]

I like my approach better. Mine gets you massive hugs and kisses and.

[George Campbell]

Hey, babe, don't look at the account. It works.

[Rachel Cruz]

No, no, no. He doesn't have to sit and look at the account because she's not going to look at it that day. So she's not going to look at it. Go buy it.

[Ken Coleman]

He goes straight to Louis. He's already got the fridge box and the whole thing planned. It's all seamless. She doesn't even know what hit her.

[George Campbell]

Just let us know how it goes.

[Ken Coleman]

People want, hey, listen to me. I know how to do this. Do it that way. Hey, give me some love. Great questions, guys. Way to go. All right, next up is Hannah. Where is Hannah? Give Hannah. She gets down to the mic. Where's Hannah?

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, she's coming from the front. She's coming from the front. Yeah. Make your way up, everyone. Hannah around?

[Ken Coleman]

Hannah.

[Rachel Cruz]

Good job, Hannah.

[Ken Coleman]

Hannah, where are you from?

[Hannah]

I'm from Raleigh, North Carolina.

[Ken Coleman]

Fantastic. Thanks for coming. What's your question?

[Hannah]

My question is, how much should I expect my boyfriend to be paying on an engagement ring?

[Ken Coleman]

Ooh, yikes. Y' all are bringing the fastballs tonight.

[Hannah]

My boyfriend is here, so you can be generous.

[Ken Coleman]

Is this him right here? Oh, my goodness.

[George Campbell]

I think we need him on the mic, too, don't you?

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, I'll do it. I'll do it. I'm a man of the people. I'm gonna come down here.

[George Campbell]

Well, I don't know if you wanted to join her up there.

[Ken Coleman]

Do you want to go with her? I think you should go up there. Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes.

[George Campbell]

This is fantastic.

[Rachel Cruz]

This is what we need.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, Hannah. Hannah, on the mic, real quick. Did he know you were gonna do this?

[Jeff]

I did, yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

Oh, so you're willingly participating.

[George Campbell]

Hey, you got a nice watch there.

[Rachel Cruz]

Y' all communicate so well.

[Jeff]

Didn't expect to be on the mic, but I was willing for her to ask the question.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay.

[George Campbell]

I gotta know what kind of watch you're wearing there.

[Jeff]

It's a T shot.

[George Campbell]

What's that cost?

[Jeff]

It was about a grand.

[George Campbell]

Oh, okay. Just give me a good baseline. Give me a good baseline.

[Ken Coleman]

And are you aware that she's expecting a ring, I hope.

[Jeff]

Yeah, we've definitely discussed it.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. And have you been planning for this financially?

[Jeff]

Yes.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. Are you willing to tell us right here and now how much you've been planning to spend, or would you like to keep that private? Oh, yeah, I've been told.

[Jeff]

Kind of like two to three months salary.

[George Campbell]

Who told you?

[Ken Coleman]

Who told you that? Parents.

[George Campbell]

Every kiss begins with K. No. Okay.

[Jeff]

Just friends and parents.

[Ken Coleman]

I would say De Beers.

[George Campbell]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's a lot of marketing.

[Ken Coleman]

That's a lot. Two to three months.

[Rachel Cruz]

A lot.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. What do you. What do you think?

[Rachel Cruz]

That's the average. That is what they say.

[George Campbell]

What do you.

[Jeff]

I'm in tech sales.

[George Campbell]

Oh, you're gonna get a nice ring, sweetheart.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. Well, do you have any debt?

[Jeff]

No, debt free.

[Hannah]

He has a family friend who works for Diamonds Direct as well. So you're getting debt free and Diamonds Direct connection.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. And have you. I have a sister. She's teeing it up. Yes, she is. Have you two talked about her? You have?

[Rachel Cruz]

I bet not.

[Jeff]

She's talked about the size of the

[Ken Coleman]

ring that she wants, so. Hannah, are you aware of what said size costs?

[Hannah]

Nope.

[George Campbell]

Let's be honest. Do you really think he would give you a ring that you'd be disappointed with?

[Hannah]

No.

[George Campbell]

I think it's a moot point then.

[Ken Coleman]

All right, well, I want to dig a little more. This is too juicy. What is your name, sir?

[Jeff]

Jeff.

[Ken Coleman]

Jeff.

[Rachel Cruz]

Y' all are adorable, by the way.

[George Campbell]

I'm rooting for this couple already.

[Ken Coleman]

They're fantastic. You guys are a handsome couple. Have you went and looked at the size ring that she wants and priced it?

[Jeff]

We've went and looked, but I haven't really priced it now.

[Ken Coleman]

I think you should price it.

[Jeff]

Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

And then George, after he prices it, we don't know what we're dealing with. And we're trying to keep a little bit of mystery here. Although Hannah has put this poor boy on the spot.

[George Campbell]

Yeah, it's a little too late. I mean, he has to put a ring on.

[Ken Coleman]

I would price it. I would price it. And I don't know, George, if I like that two to three months salary business. That feels artificial.

[Rachel Cruz]

That's a very.

[George Campbell]

Well, like. We got a call in the Ramsey show. This guy want to spend $80,000 on a ring. So there is a level where it's, like, out of control.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay, back to our values thing, y'. All. If he made 15 million a year, who I mean, do you know what I'm saying? That's why the salary of what you make per month is a good gauge of it.

[George Campbell]

My heart says a month.

[Jeff]

Make 15 million.

[Ken Coleman]

Trust me.

[George Campbell]

Says a month's salary is plenty.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, well, here's. I think we may have varying opinions. I'll vote and say, I think you need to go price it. And price it multiple times. Talk to your buddy. Say, here's the situation. Hannah's amazing. This is what she wants. This is what I feel comfortable with. Because I think you know in your mind what a comfortable number is, don't you? You're responsible, young man.

[Jeff]

I would say so, yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

All right. If you can't get her what she wants, you get her something close, and we have a fine conversation about it. And, Hannah, you want to marry this man, do you not?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes.

[George Campbell]

All right.

[Ken Coleman]

Are you going to be happy with what beautiful ring he gets you?

[Hannah]

Yes.

[Ken Coleman]

All right, then.

[Hannah]

That's right now.

[Luke's Mom]

No,

[Ken Coleman]

no, you gotta wait. Hannah, let this man come up with a plan.

[George Campbell]

The simplest answer is, how much should you spend? How much you can afford at the time you want to propose. That's it.

[Rachel Cruz]

And then you. And then factor in, depending on your situation, if you guys have to pay for the wedding, the honeymoon, do you want a down payment on a house? I mean, you know, like, the money at Point all is put into a big bowl and saying, how do we want to divvy this up? And you guys need to talk about that, to say, what are our values? What are our goals?

[George Campbell]

What's the priority?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, what's the priority?

[Ken Coleman]

I got to tell you, I'm a little irritated.

[Rachel Cruz]

Why? Ken Coleman.

[Ken Coleman]

I think there needs to be more mystery among this young generation. Why are we even talking about this?

[Rachel Cruz]

You're the one that told him to go up to the mic.

[Ken Coleman]

Because she asked the question in front of everybody. I don't want you two talking about this. Hannah, relax.

[Hannah]

I'm with Rachel. Like, I think you need to put it all in a bucket and then divvy it out. And I would much rather be on a beautiful diamond than maybe a wedding venue or a dress or other things.

[Ken Coleman]

We'll see.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay, A mortgage, that would take priority.

[Ken Coleman]

All right. All I'm saying, I'm having fun. I'm truly not irritated, but I'm slightly irritated, because I do think There needs to be mystery. And I think the young man should get a little information from you. And then you just need to go about your life and let him come up with a plan. Let him buy a nice ring. We got too much planning going on. Where's the romance?

[Rachel Cruz]

How old are you guys? How old are you?

[Jeff]

I'm 26.

[Hannah]

Yeah. 27.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

What does that have to do with.

[Rachel Cruz]

Because they're hardworking, late 20s, they know what they want in life so they can have grown up conversations of where we want our money to go as a couple.

[Ken Coleman]

I didn't say that.

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, you did.

[Ken Coleman]

The mystery around the engagement, the way

[George Campbell]

the engagement happens can be the mystery.

[Rachel Cruz]

That's the mystery. But to decide what I'm talking about. But how much money we want to spend on a ring, that can be talked about. Okay, I'm okay with that. As long as you pay cash. That's my thing. And in two years, you're going to be fine. You know what I mean? Or, Hannah, you may be slightly disappointed with the size. I don't know. But then in 10 years, you can upgrade a ring. Or in 20 years, right. Like, it's great. So it's fine. But I do like the month. I like basing it on what you make per year. I like that. I like that model. Blame it on K's, but I don't like it.

[Ken Coleman]

Who's with me would like to see a little more mystery.

[George Campbell]

I'm trying to rally everyone to get on his side, leave a poor couple alone.

[Ken Coleman]

This is going out to the YouTube millions. I want a good message out there amongst the crowd, loud and clear. Hey, you guys are fun sports. I'm having a little bit of fun, but kind of serious. Give them a big, big hand.

[Rachel Cruz]

Congratulations, you guys. Good job.

[Ken Coleman]

Wow, that was fun.

[George Campbell]

Little.

[Ken Coleman]

We. We need a little dissension up here every once in a while, so we cover it from every angle.

[George Campbell]

Yeah, I don't think any of us agreed on exactly what to do there, but I think we got there.

[Ken Coleman]

I think we got there. It was a lovely couple.

[George Campbell]

We left them confused and in love.

[Ken Coleman]

That's it. That's it.

[George Campbell]

As it should be.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, our next question is Nora. Where is Nora? Give her some love as she gets to the mic. There she is.

[Rachel Cruz]

Nora.

[Ken Coleman]

Hi, Nora.

[Hannah]

Hello.

[Ken Coleman]

Where are you from?

[Hannah]

Raleigh, North Carolina.

[Ken Coleman]

Nice.

[Hannah]

I'm a nurse. Feeling burnt out from working so much overtime, even though I'm trying to stay focused on paying my remaining 76. I've already paid 83,000, but I'm exhausted. How can I manage burnout, stay motivated, and help my partner understand why becoming debt free matters so much to me.

[Ken Coleman]

Wow. Good for you. First of all, this is a nurse who's working absolutely herself to the bone to get out of debt. Let's give her some much needed love. That's great. So what's your expected payoff date? If you continue at the pace you're on right now, when would you be debt free?

[Hannah]

December of next year.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. And how much have you paid off so far?

[Hannah]

83,000.

[Rachel Cruz]

Amazing.

[Ken Coleman]

Is there tension with your partner relationally because you're always working. Is that why you brought this up? Like, how do I help my partner? Give me more on that deal.

[George Campbell]

What don't they understand?

[Hannah]

Yeah, I pay obviously a lot towards my student loans. Like, my whole check goes towards it. And he doesn't understand why not just pay the minimum and just save the rest.

[Ken Coleman]

Have you walked him through the why behind the baby steps? Blame it on Ramsay and all of us. You rolled your eyes. That's not good. What happened there?

[George Campbell]

Why does he hate me? Be honest.

[Hannah]

He thinks it's a cult.

[George Campbell]

There we go.

[Ken Coleman]

You know, it's interesting. I've never heard that before. Yeah, well, I get it. And it's not our fault. It's the way you people act. No, I'm kidding. That's terrible. I'm kidding. Okay, well, you're not married, so he doesn't get a vote. You know, we teach separate finances, so that's a relational issue. And I think as you continue to get free, hopefully he begins to catch a vision for it. I think the thing that you have to do, and I want them to weigh in, I would just quickly say, I love the payoff date. I love the goal. I love the gazelle intensity. But you have to listen to your heart and you have to listen to your mind and you have to listen to your body. And you aren't all of a sudden a bad, lazy, fake gazelle, intense person who's not worthy of the baby steps and you're not working on if you have to dial it back a little bit. You know what I mean? Like, it is not about the length of time that we preach. It is about the intentionality that we preach. And we've done so many debt free screens where people have taken six and seven years. So I think if you're starting to get to a place of physical and emotional and maybe spiritual and relationship exhaustion, dial it back a little bit, you know, until you can get back up on your feet. I'm curious to know what you all think.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, well, it's amazing what two months would do. If you're like, okay, I'm not gonna work extra for two months and give myself breathing room and then press play again, right? And you're kind of this off and on, if that's helpful or when you get to a certain dollar amount of debt payoff to say, okay, once I reach this, once I reach 50,000, I'm gonna take a breather and I'm gonna not work extra for 30 days, 60 days, and that's okay. And then you press play again, right? Cause there's a level of a marathon. We always say the average person pays off their consumer debt in 12 to 18 months is what we have found in all of our research. But again, that plugs in people that pay off their consumer debt in eight years. And that's people that just find us randomly and they have the money to pay off their debt and they're done within 30 minutes, right? So that span is really big. So the people on the more marathon side, to Ken's point, it's okay to take a step back and just have a breather and still continue on your plan. But if you kind of put some of those rest periods in for you, for some people, they're like, oh gosh, I need a nice dinner out. And that's like a relief, whatever that looks like for you to have that. And then the relational side is, yes, ideally he would see that and be on board. But I want you to feel validated in your decisions. And so I don't want this to be a point of tension for you guys because you feel like you are working your butt off and no one sees you in it, right? When you have a relationship and you have a man in your life that could look at you and be cheering you on. So that's more of my problem. I wish value wise he lined up with you, but more of how he treats you in the process I hope is great. That's my prayer for you.

[George Campbell]

I mean, you guys nailed it. The one thing I would do is just calculate and go, okay, I'm gonna pay it off April of 28 instead of December of 27 if I slow this down. And I think that'll help you realize, okay, it's an extra few months until I'm debt free. We're still gonna celebrate you no matter what when you come to your debt free scream. So I think release whatever pressure you've put on yourself to hit the self imposed deadline and that's coming from a guy who's probably the nerdiest and most intense. So you're doing amazing. Keep it up.

[Ken Coleman]

Way to go, Nora. Good job.

[Rachel Cruz]

Well done, well done.

[Ken Coleman]

All right, so this is fun. We've got a write in question and this came in from Dwayne. This is Dwayne's question. At what point in our lives, after 65 years of age, do we become self insured?

[George Campbell]

Okay, so let's cover what they're talking about here. For those that aren't aware or those watching at home, when we talk about term life insurance, it's to replace your income if something were to happen to you. For those that rely on your income. So that's a spouse, kids. So what we talk about is getting 15 or 20 years in a term life policy so that after those 20 years are done, you've been following the baby steps, you've paid off your house, you've been investing for two decades, you have enough in your nest egg and savings where you're self insured, meaning the policy could end and you have enough to cover your family if something were to happen. So that's the simplest answer. At what point in your lives are you self insured when you could drop the policy and if you were to croak today, God forbid, your family would be just fine living off of your retirement accounts and savings.

[Ken Coleman]

All right, I love it. And so Zander, by the way, great place for people to go. We had a young guy in the pre show was asking about, he's 34 years of age.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[George Campbell]

You're saying, I'm single, do I need,

[Ken Coleman]

I'm single, do I need insurance?

[George Campbell]

So, and I told him, go get a quote online because you'll find it's much cheaper when you're young and healthy. And a lot of you know that as you get older and there's health conditions, it becomes more difficult and more expensive. And so this is something really affordable, especially compared to a trash insurance we call whole life permanent life insurance. Term life is a fraction of the cost. You want to aim for 10 to 12 times your annual income and then your spouse aim for 10 to 12 times their income. And if they're a stay at home spouse, you need at least a half million dollar policy because you got to hire Mary Poppins, replace everything they do.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes. I would say even more for stay at home spouses, we say half a million, but depending on your kids. Yeah, that's the baseline.

[George Campbell]

And your household expenses.

[Rachel Cruz]

That's right, absolutely. So, and Zander is great because they Go and shop multiple companies. You're not just looking at one. And so that's the one Winston and I use. But it's great because they price it out. You get to see the prices of everything. You get to pick it and it's wonderful. So it is so inexpensive. It's some of the saddest calls that we get on Ramsey Show. If someone has passed away, a spouse has and they call in and that spouse, even if it was a stay at home parent, stay at home mom, and she has to go back into the workforce because they have nothing and the kids and it's just heartbreaking.

[George Campbell]

And some people, they have it through their employer and they go, well, I don't need it on my own. And I go, how much is through your employer? They go, 50,000. Go, well, that'll cover them for a year if they're lucky. You need 10 to 12 times your income and it needs to be outside of your employer because your employment can change. So Xander.com is the place to go.

[Ken Coleman]

That's with a zone for all of you and been around over 99 years. We've been with them for 30 years at Ramsey. Fantastic people. Tell them we sent you. They'll take great care of you.

[George Campbell]

While we're here in Charlotte, I thought I'd get some fresh air and hit the streets to find out how people are handling their money. What does financial success look like for you?

[Ken Coleman]

Not paying attention to the price of things.

[George Campbell]

You look at the steak first, price second. Maybe I'll skip the appetizer and cocktail and just stick to the ribeye.

[Ken Coleman]

I'll skip the appetizer. You've got enough saved for retirement. You've got an emergency fund. Yeah. Short term focus, but also having like a long term vision of you don't want to run out of it and you want to be able to not work for the rest of your life. Having peace of mind, having a retirement fund that will allow me and my family to have some fun at the end of the day and to kind of pass on generational wealth. No debt. Except for maybe the only debt I think you should probably carry is your mortgage.

[George Campbell]

Are you there?

[Ken Coleman]

Yes.

[George Campbell]

How long have you been consumer debt free?

[Ken Coleman]

20 years. Yeah.

[Jessica]

To be able to have free time.

[Hannah]

Not based on my effort.

[George Campbell]

So without you doing anything.

[Luke's Mom]

Yes.

[Hannah]

Free time.

[George Campbell]

You got all the time in the world.

[Luke's Mom]

Yes.

[Grace]

Having enough to feel myself at the end of the month.

[George Campbell]

So just satiated. So low expectations. That's the key to financial success on the floor.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[George Campbell]

Wow.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay.

[George Campbell]

How about you?

[Hannah]

You have to pretend that money isn't real. It's pretty impossible to live by yourself. But I think that success to me is being able to live on your

[Ken Coleman]

own, being able to travel when you want, and being able to raise a family. I think those are two things that I value right now. The freedom to take a day off and not have to worry about, you

[Hannah]

know, do I have enough pto. Do I have enough saved up that

[Ken Coleman]

I don't need to worry anything? Can I go get my nails done?

[Hannah]

Can I have breakfast? That kind of thing.

[George Campbell]

So live your life. Take the day off and not go. I. I can't miss that paycheck.

[Ken Coleman]

Yes.

[Rachel Cruz]

I want to know how many single people are.

[George Campbell]

Oh, that's fun.

[Ken Coleman]

Shut. Okay, okay. Now, I didn't expect this. Single people. Stand up for a second. Oh, by the way. Oh, my goodness.

[George Campbell]

They're looking around.

[Rachel Cruz]

Look around.

[Ken Coleman]

What is happening here? Whole state. Well, I didn't say. Sit down right here. Do you two know each other? Just met tonight. Can I ask you a question, sir? How old are you? Yeah, it was a very clear question.

[Grace]

58.

[Ken Coleman]

58. You look fantastic, by the way. Ma', am. I would never normally do this, but how old are you? 56.

[George Campbell]

That's serendipitous.

[Ken Coleman]

What else would you all like to ask?

[Hannah]

That's it.

[George Campbell]

What baby step are you on? You gotta.

[Ken Coleman]

You know what? The rest of you can sit down. Everybody else, sit down. You two, stay up. This is exciting.

[Hannah]

All right.

[George Campbell]

Are you a baby steps millionaire?

[Ken Coleman]

Just hang with us. You're in baby step seven. You're in seven.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, my gosh.

[George Campbell]

Here's what that means. They don't need each other's money.

[Ken Coleman]

They don't need each other.

[Rachel Cruz]

Just money.

[Ken Coleman]

No gold diggers. This is what we call an even playing ground. How would you. I'm just. This is getting the next level. This is exciting. How would you describe your personality? Be brief, fun and energetic and.

[George Campbell]

Yeah. Easygoing. Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

Excuse me. How would you describe your personality?

[Grace]

Type A boring sudoku.

[Ken Coleman]

Opposites attract.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes.

[Ken Coleman]

Yes.

[George Campbell]

I like that.

[Rachel Cruz]

I like it.

[George Campbell]

Are you.

[Ken Coleman]

Are you okay if I do. Just a couple more fun, prying questions. How long have you been single? Quite a while. How long have you been single?

[Grace]

About 20 years.

[Ken Coleman]

Oh, my gosh. Okay, here's what I'm gonna do. I'll stop because I'm getting. I've been married 28 years, so I'm feeling something here, and I need to obey it. If you guys want to go out, if you want to. I'm not Even gonna make you say anything more. But if you guys, you know, talk amongst yourselves during the show, if you want to go out, Ramsey Solutions will pay for your first date.

[Grace]

Love it.

[Ken Coleman]

All right, you can be seated.

[George Campbell]

This is great.

[Rachel Cruz]

Well done.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. Okay, so you all are asking us questions throughout the night, and we love that, but we thought it would be fun. We were talking with the team. We were talking amongst ourselves. We thought, what if we flipped, flip the script a little bit and we asked you all some questions. So this is like, you know, we're gonna see what you all think about some stuff. You guys up for that? Okay, now this is for the brave people, right? We're looking for the big personalities who are willing to share some stuff with us.

[George Campbell]

Okay, so they're just yelling out from your seat.

[Ken Coleman]

They don't need to go up to the mic. So we're gonna have to be patient with each other as you yell out.

[George Campbell]

So raise your hand, we'll call on you.

[Ken Coleman]

So we're start with a fun one. What's the dumbest thing you have ever done with money? Who wants to share a dumb thing?

[George Campbell]

Kind of a stupid right here.

[Ken Coleman]

All right, sir, stand up and project. No, no, no, no, no, no. Stay there. You're not coming up here. We have security. You'll get tased. No, just you're going to yell it out.

[George Campbell]

Approach.

[Ken Coleman]

All right, go ahead. Snapple.

[Rachel Cruz]

Snap.

[George Campbell]

Snap on tools. I thought he said Snapple.

[Ken Coleman]

Like, so did I. I was like, that's a rather refreshing beverage.

[George Campbell]

Like, how much money did you blow on Snapple? So.

[Ken Coleman]

So snap on. What was dumb about snap on start? Now, obviously, I had no tools starting out when I was 16, and from 16 to now, I had probably $50,000 in there. How old are you now?

[Joel]

22.

[George Campbell]

So 16 to 22. You dropped 50 grand on these snap on tools and you're still in debt?

[Ken Coleman]

I'm close to being paid off.

[George Campbell]

Nice. Close to being paid off.

[Ken Coleman]

Love to hear that. Thank you, sir, for sharing your dumb. But you're about to pay the tools off.

[Rachel Cruz]

Off.

[Ken Coleman]

And are you making good money with said tools? How much? 31 an hour right now. 31 an hour?

[George Campbell]

It's like 64 grand or so.

[Ken Coleman]

And what do you do? Are you single girlfriend there? She is taken.

[George Campbell]

Ladies, he's taken.

[Ken Coleman]

All right. Okay. Thank you, sir.

[Rachel Cruz]

That's good.

[Ken Coleman]

Who else has got a. Do we want another one of those? We got one.

[George Campbell]

We got one up front.

[Hannah]

I was debt free, and then last year I went into $22,000 worth of debt for Ex boyfriend. Because.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, just dumb for an ex boyfriend.

[Hannah]

Houses that he was trying to.

[Rachel Cruz]

We need a store.

[George Campbell]

This feels like a mic situation.

[Rachel Cruz]

Go to the mic.

[Ken Coleman]

This requires. This requires follow up right here. Ma', am. He's coming to you. We're gonna. We'll figure it out.

[Rachel Cruz]

I'll bring it to you.

[Ken Coleman]

Yes.

[George Campbell]

Such service.

[Ken Coleman]

Do you all mind passing the mic?

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay, tell us.

[Ken Coleman]

Let me set this up. She was debt free, and then she gets with a deadbeat guy.

[Hannah]

I probably got emotional like three times since being here. Cause I'm just thinking about how, like, I don't know, talking to a therapist, they're like, I made a mistake. It was an expensive one. You move forward. But long story short, debt free boyfriend last year had a really good job making like 15,000amonth. And lost my job. And it was because of our relationship. And took out $22,000. So for debt to help him. I mean, I remember the first thing was like, he needed me to buy a refrigerator for one of his homes.

[George Campbell]

One of his homes, plural. But he was too broke to afford him.

[Hannah]

Three of them. And because he has a real bad addiction problem. And I was just trying to help him. Well, not help him with the thing, but help him through the addiction. Because he made so much money, he would make like 14, 20,000 a week and just spend it between, like, drugs, gambling.

[Ken Coleman]

Oh, my God, I'm so sorry.

[Rachel Cruz]

I'm glad you're not with him.

[Hannah]

Yeah. So it's over. Yeah, it's over. And I'm just like, are you working

[Rachel Cruz]

to pay off the debt or do you still have it?

[Hannah]

So, because. So I worked at the casino. I hadn't worked in six months, and I still been knocking out debt and stuff like that. And so hopefully I just talked to my old managers and hopefully for the summer, the kids. When the kids get out of school, I go back. That's my goal. Just to get back on track.

[Rachel Cruz]

Go, girl. We're cheering you on.

[Ken Coleman]

Can I tell you something?

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

You've done it before. How much debt did you pay off? The first.

[Hannah]

First time I paid off. 20,000.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, so what's 2,000 more? You got this.

[Hannah]

It's just like you see guilt and

[George Campbell]

shame in the baggage of it disappoint.

[Hannah]

Yeah. Because I'm like, wow. I was just right there and just ready to just.

[Ken Coleman]

It's okay.

[Hannah]

And I was making, I think, like, decent amount of money. And I loved my job. And so it's just like, hey, listen,

[Ken Coleman]

no more shame tonight. So, hey, look at me. No more Shame. No more shame. You're a good person who loved a guy, and you got sucked into a tough situation, and you've learned from it. You paid off 20 before you can pay off the 22. Everybody in this room is completely behind you. Are you guys behind her?

[George Campbell]

Thank you.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. You got this. Good job.

[Rachel Cruz]

Thank you.

[Ken Coleman]

All right, do we have another fun question? George, do you have a flip the script question? Yeah, I want.

[George Campbell]

There's some crazy people out here, so here's what I want to know. What is the craziest thing you've done to pay off debt? The thing that you would tell someone and they're like, I'm sorry, you did what? Now, now, keep it family friendly. We're a family. Be able to air this on YouTube.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, that's.

[George Campbell]

But I want to know what's something you did that other people would kind of had a. Have a head tilt at? Anyone sell a horse? Could you sell the horse?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, it could be what you sold what you did. Lifestyle wise, Maybe side hustle. Side hustle. Something Sacrifice.

[Ken Coleman]

Raise your hand. Right back here, sir. We have a.

[Rachel Cruz]

Stand up and.

[Ken Coleman]

Just stand up and yell and give us real loud, like, big old voice. I took care of somebody else's horses before and after work. Yeah, let's go.

[George Campbell]

So you are a horse babysitter.

[Ken Coleman]

That's amazing. All right. That's okay. That's pretty good. Anybody any crazy, like, wacky stories of getting out of debt? You did something to pay off debt?

[Rachel Cruz]

There was a girl we talked to, and she would do all of her. She would blow dry her hair in her apartment hallway so she didn't have to pay for utilities, plug it into the hallway like, things like that. Anything crazy?

[George Campbell]

Making your own soaps.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. Okay, I got one. We need to introduce a little more tension into this room. Oh, boy. Give us argument that you had about money with your spouse or your partner. Anybody got the. What's the last argument you had over money? Look at everybody clamming up. Anybody? Right here. We got one. Oh, I like. I see that hand.

[George Campbell]

Sir, is the spouse here?

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, hold on. We're getting the mic. I feel. I got a feeling. Are you guys together? Are you guys together there? What was the argument combining finances and. Did you want to or not to, sir? I'm wanting to, uh.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, wanting.

[George Campbell]

Oh, present tense.

[Ken Coleman]

Sounds like the argument hasn't been settled. Or maybe it has been settled, but. Ma'. Am. Go ahead. Stands to be corrected. Ma', am. What's the story? Ma', am, I see you.

[George Campbell]

You know, we can see you. Right.

[Ken Coleman]

She thinks that the post is hiding her. I'm gonna step out here. Go ahead. Put the mic over there. She said no, no to the mic. Yeah. That is your right, ma'.

[George Campbell]

Am.

[Ken Coleman]

Thank you very much. All right, well, sir, based on that response, I don't like your situation. You're gonna have to keep casting vision. Okay, so let's bring this back. We get this call a lot on the show, and we're having a little fun with you, ma'.

[Luke's Mom]

Am.

[Ken Coleman]

You're a great sport, but this is a real tension. We get to call all the time. Let's talk about the dynamic. What's going on? We don't need to know their situation, but we kind of know what's going on. This is a big deal. Ge Rachel, what's happening here?

[George Campbell]

I found there's several reasons for it. And usually the person who wants to combine hasn't done a good enough job asking questions to dig into those reasons for them to feel seen and heard, to go, oh, I actually understand why you feel that way. The way you grew up, it was scarcity, or there was trauma, or there was a divorce, and my parent or friend wasn't safe because they had combined finances, and it put them in a precarious situation. The more you can ask questions and dig, the more you can get to some empathy and understanding. And then they need to be asking you about, why are you wanting to combine finances? What is the upside here? And there's a give and take there. It's a dance. And it usually takes people a while to get there. It's not a single conversation.

[Rachel Cruz]

And I think what's hard, too, is when people hear combined finances, they're thinking just the numbers. The tactical side of, oh, we're gonna combine accounts and do a budget together, and that's it. And they miss the real benefit of it. Like when you really do, when you combine finances, you are combining on so much of your life, you are saying, ultimately, I am yielding with this person that I've chosen to spend my life with, and I'm gonna choose to do this part of my life that kind of feels vulnerable. And especially if you get married later, which I understand that you're used to paying bills the way you pay em. You do your budget the way you do it. I mean, it's just you have your thing and then this other person comes in, and it's so different. It's so hard. You're like, gosh, it would just be easier if we just were still on two separate tracks. And I still love you and it's fine. But what you miss is that connection point that happens from a vulnerable standpoint to say, no, I really am combining every part of me in this place that feels so scary. I'm actually gonna say, yeah, we are gonna become one. And it's amazing to me how many especially debt free couples we get. And they say constantly how their marriage is better. They're like, you know, you saved our marriage. And we're thinking, we didn't teach a marriage class, right? Like, this wasn't what we were talking about. We're talking about money. But money is a very, very vulnerable place, and it's a very revealing place in our lives. Like, even when you look through scripture, you know, what the Bible says about it, I'm like, it speaks so much to who you are as a person. So not only do you miss out on knowing that part of your spouse when you don't combine money, but also you miss actually grafting together a life where you're like, yeah, this is our household and we're gonna run it together. You miss that when you're running two separate lanes.

[George Campbell]

Tactically, it's a wealth multiplier. When you combine finances and you're going in the same direction instead of going, well, that's her money, and I don't know what she's got going on. That's her business. Well, that's where a lot of this financial infidelity happens versus the transparency, which causes you to feel more connected, which causes you to build trust, which is the foundation of a relationship. And so I would encourage anyone to try it unless you have good reason not to. And we've had those calls.

[Rachel Cruz]

Addiction.

[George Campbell]

Yeah, addiction. Keep it separate.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes. There are some big red flags in a relationship that it is not safe for you to. And we totally understand that. But for the other run of the mill couples. Yeah, do it.

[Ken Coleman]

I'm reminded about how much fun it is to be in the room with people when we're in the show in the studio in Nashville. We don't get to see. And this is so much fun. I just want to take a quick moment. We can't do the Ramsey show live tour without our friends at Fairwinds Credit Union. They're so awesome. Such a great partner for the Ramsey show. So I just want to say thanks to whatever nameless executive gave us the green light for this. We're very thankful for that. So give them some love. Love Fairways. They're an awesome organization. Up next, Roxanne and Luke are coming to the mic. There they are. So, hi, folks. How are you?

[Luke's Mom]

We're doing great. We're from Concord, North Carolina, just north of here.

[Ken Coleman]

The home of nascar.

[Luke's Mom]

That's right.

[Ken Coleman]

I know these things. Rachel, did you know that?

[Rachel Cruz]

I did not, Ken, thank you.

[Ken Coleman]

You know what else she didn't know? That Charlotte's the Queen City. I had to tell her that too.

[Rachel Cruz]

Ken is like our old man with us. He always on the Ramsey show. He's like from the Motor City, Detroit. We've got Allen, Colin from the Big Apple. Jason's. He loves it. So he's like the Queen City.

[Ken Coleman]

I do love a nasty. I do love a little historical reference.

[Rachel Cruz]

And we're going off.

[George Campbell]

We're off track.

[Rachel Cruz]

We are here for you.

[Ken Coleman]

Back to our friends from Concord. What's your, what's your question?

[Luke's Mom]

All right, so this is my 18 year old son, Luke. He'll be graduating high school in just about six weeks.

[Ken Coleman]

All right, Luke. Yeah.

[Luke's Mom]

And my question is, as a parent, how do you steward your growing children? Well, without micromanaging their disposable income and just a tiny bit of context, we are huge Ramsey fans. Luke has been working since he, he was 14. And our rule from Paycheck One was you save 50%, you can spend 40% and you give 10%. So he has a lot of disposable income. And I feel like he makes purchases that from my perspective, are excessive and yet I don't want to micromanage him as his mom.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, well, you kind of sort of answered your question in that last statement. You are a mature, successful adult who happens to be his mom. He is an 18 year old boy with. God bless you, your frontal lobe is still developing. Yeah. And he appreciates that. So I think that from my perspective is the part where you're gonna have to release a little bit. Now I'm gonna tell you how I. I've got three. I've got a 20 year old in college in Chicago who literally can't keep money in his account longer than 17 seconds. Yikes. And then I've got a middle son who has three grand in his account and won't spend it on anything. And then I have a daughter who's 17 who's just like the 20 year old. So one of the things that I've had to just as a dad to learn is I can teach, I can show and model, and then I can console when they're broke. And so my oldest and my youngest, and this is not my wife's natural path. She wants to do what you're doing, how can I help control and do all this kind of stuff? And it's really wonderful. But I have found that my 20 year old is beginning to learn the value of money because of the allocated money he gets versus his job, his part time job. And when he's broke and he calls me, I just go, man, that stinks, buddy. And now it's kind of a joke. And at first it made him mad, now he kind of gets it and now the calls aren't even coming in and he is finding a way. And so I think in some ways you've done a wonderful job and you gotta let that young man figure it out. And I think the best teacher in life is failure.

[Rachel Cruz]

Luke, I'm curious, what set expenses, purchases are you buying that your mom would say is excessive?

[Ken Coleman]

Like an iPad or cologne, headphones, pens, anything.

[Rachel Cruz]

Is that within the 40% that's kind of allocated here? Step up to the.

[Ken Coleman]

Can you get closer to the mic, Luke? Yeah, that's in the 40%. Yes, Mom. What do you want him to do with the. Instead of the iPad and the cologne? Those don't seem outrageous to me.

[George Campbell]

No, the iPad, he gets it.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[George Campbell]

Ken loves a cologne.

[Ken Coleman]

I like to smell good, I'm not gonna lie to you.

[Luke's Mom]

Yeah, well, it's like I would not spend as much on perfume or cologne as he did and it brought him great joy. But I was thinking, oh, that's a lot of money. And we had different upbringings. I grew up with very, very little and I've done pretty well for him. I think the deeper concern I have is I don't want him to be purch items to impress others. And what I sometimes hear, and he's such a great kid, is, hey, I just got this clone and here's how much it cost. As he's talking to his friends and I'm like, if you love it and you want it, then purchase it. But not for the praise or the affirmation from others.

[Rachel Cruz]

And I think that's very fair because that is a contentment loop that, that only though can be broken by you, Luke. I mean, honestly, that's something that can't be learned up here. That's something that's gonna have to happen. So I'm a spender like you, so I feel ya. So a question I ask myself a lot is before I make this purchase, I think if nobody sees this purchase, do I still want it? So the idea of how much of my motivation is for others or for affirmation, whatever the thing Is. But if nobody was to see it, how much of this is just for me? Because back to our point of rolling the eyes of the kid's birthday party or whatever it may be, people are gonna value different things. And people are gonna say, oh, my gosh, I would never spend X on a car. I would never spend X on pur. And it's not immoral, but that's people what they value. And that's not necessarily wrong. But if there is a belief that this thing is going to make me happy or what I get from it, if I impress someone with the price tag. Right, with that example she just used. Yeah. You'll be a rat in a wheel for the rest of your life, running and getting nowhere. And if the newness of stuff is what funds your happiness again, there will be deep discontentment for the rest of your life. And you'll be chasing the wrong thing. And the finish line keeps moving. You think, if I just could have this, I can get that? Or if it moves this way, you know, I gotta catch up to this. So that's something, though, that I think is learned through life experience. I hate to say it, but I think that's a spiritual exercise more than anything. But the math side, George, of the investment side, right. If you actually invested some of this money, what that turns into is pretty astronomical. And I know you're already saving a lot, Luke, which is great.

[George Campbell]

Where are you saving exactly? Is it in a savings account?

[Ken Coleman]

Savings account.

[George Campbell]

Okay. What's your end game here? Are you wanting to build wealth and have some autonomy and freedom as a young man?

[Ken Coleman]

Yes, absolutely.

[George Campbell]

And do you see investing as a path to get there?

[Ken Coleman]

Yes, absolutely.

[George Campbell]

Well, let's crunch the numbers for you here. You're a young man, 18. You got all the time in the world on your side, and you have time to fail. You got time to make the mistakes. But if you just went, hey, you know what? What if I, instead of buying that next doodad, I instead put that in a Roth ira? Because you're earning income. Have you done that before?

[Ken Coleman]

I have not, no.

[George Campbell]

All right, I'm going to show you using our investment calculator.

[Rachel Cruz]

Can we do his real numbers?

[George Campbell]

I'm going to use your real number if you're willing to give it to me.

[Ken Coleman]

Me, like savings or what?

[George Campbell]

Yes. You have nothing in retirement now? No investment accounts. How much can you put away a month into investing?

[Ken Coleman]

I don't know the exact number on that.

[George Campbell]

Can you put 500 bucks away?

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, absolutely.

[George Campbell]

That seemed like a low number to you? You Were like, absolutely. That's nothing.

[Ken Coleman]

Well, hold on a second. Hold up. Mom is kind of going, I'm not sure.

[Luke's Mom]

Well, what I would say is the big purchase that will be coming soon is a car. And we're going to do 50, 50. And we've talked about it won't be a brand new car. And there's, you know, there's reason. He has $15,000 saved.

[George Campbell]

Wow.

[Luke's Mom]

He's not.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah.

[Luke's Mom]

But he's not getting, he's not getting a $30,000 car to start. So I think he would need to, I think probably about 200 to $300 a month would be good because it would be coming from his disposable income because he's also going to be going to college.

[George Campbell]

Yeah, he's got short term goals too.

[Ken Coleman]

So George, split the difference. 250.

[George Campbell]

We're going to go 250 from age 18 to age, let's say 60. All right. That's like an early retirement for most of America. 18 to 60, you put 250 bucks away into a Roth IRA and make that on auto to where you never saw the money. It left your account when that paycheck hit. You don't have time to spend it. Here's what you'd have almost $2 million in that one account at 60 if you just did that. That's if you never got a raise, never put in more than that. And that's tax free withdrawals if it's in a Roth side because you used after tax income to invest in. So that's like take home pay. Think about it that way. Yeah, that's a pretty good life. At 60 without really doing much. You sort of had it on auto. And 250 bucks for you is a drop in the bucket with the money you're already making at 18.

[Ken Coleman]

Think about how good you're going to smell then.

[George Campbell]

You could have your own cologne company by then.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. So just rub money all over your face.

[George Campbell]

I think you got to think about the opportunity cost a little bit. And again, you're 18. I spent every one of my paychecks at 18. So he's doing astronomically well. So I think it's less about his spending issues. Yes. We need to dig into the motive and contentment. But I think mom, there's some control issues. There's some scarcity stuff that you might need to unpack too. So I think there's work on both of your parts to sort of get to the consensus that he's fine, he's doing better than Most adults in America, I'm much less worried about him.

[Ken Coleman]

And, mom, you have done a great job with this young man. Give this a listen.

[George Campbell]

You guys are awesome.

[Ken Coleman]

Great job. All right, up next, we've got Bailey. Let's welcome Bailey to the mic. Hi, Bailey.

[Hannah]

Hi.

[Ken Coleman]

Where are you from?

[Rachel Cruz]

Charlotte.

[Ken Coleman]

Charlotte. All right, what's your question?

[Rachel Cruz]

My question is, do you think it's good to invest in real estate now or should I wait until it goes down further?

[Ken Coleman]

Till it goes down further?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, like, if, like, if the market

[Ken Coleman]

goes down further, what evidence are you seeing that that's going to happen?

[Rachel Cruz]

I'm not. I'm just wondering your opinion.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, no, no. And I'm not. Yeah, I'm not trying to hang you up on that. I just wanted to know if, like, you were reading something or what. You're sourcing to feel that way. I don't think that that's going to happen. You know, you might have some bubbles in certain areas, but by and large. How old are you?

[Rachel Cruz]

I'm like student age.

[Ken Coleman]

Great.

[George Campbell]

That's a range.

[Rachel Cruz]

I love that.

[Ken Coleman]

You should run for Congress with that answer. I'll vote for you.

[George Campbell]

Somewhere between 7 and 22.

[Ken Coleman]

I'm student age. Okay. George, what do you thought? Rachel, what do you think? My husband is Mr. Real.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. I want to know from you, where have you heard this? That you think, oh, this is a really good plan and I need to do this.

[Raquel]

My parents and some of my teachers in school.

[George Campbell]

Interesting.

[Rachel Cruz]

You college or high school?

[Raquel]

High school.

[Rachel Cruz]

High school. Okay, good for you.

[George Campbell]

So where is the urgency coming from for you to own real estate?

[Rachel Cruz]

No, I'm just trying to, like, I'm

[Raquel]

just curious about the topic and I'm

[Rachel Cruz]

trying to plan ahead. Okay. I love that. So I'm learning. Okay. So we always say to invest in real estate when you're on baby step seven, which means you are completely debt free, including your primary residence, completely debt free. You're investing into retirement. 401ks, Roth IRAs. You're being smart about retirement. From that perspective, 15%. And then above that, you can be investing more in baby step seven. And some people choose to invest more in the market. They'll have like a brokerage account or index fund or a mutual fund that they'll put their money in. Some people put their money in real estate. And so the key about real estate investing specifically, so there's the flip side and then there's the buy and hold. And the buy and hold strategy is that you want to buy low so you'd find A short sale or a foreclosure, put some cash in it, all with cash. So we are all cash at this point. And then you hold it and you hold it for 20 plus years. And then when your kids are graduating high school and going to college, you gotta fund college. That's when some people cash out. They take that equity fund their life, do what they want with it or they keep it generationally, whatever that looks like. And then there's the flip side. And the flip side is again, you buy something really inexpensive that's really inexpensive and you put some cash into it, fix it up, sell it for a little bit more, that's a little bit more of a job. I would say that's more of a part time job people have versus the holding and the, the hold strategy, if you will. So there's kind of two ways to do it. But that would be after. Yes, I would say after you're out of, if you're going to college or trade school, after all that's paid for, after you have a primary home for yourself. And that's paid off in all of it. But it is a great strategy. It is later in the steps for us, but it's a great.

[George Campbell]

Please ignore all the social media trends that are like you need to own 19 properties by the time you're 25 and here's why, and here's a course to sell you on. Avoid all of that noise out there

[Rachel Cruz]

and the noise that it's just passive income. You don't have to do anything, it's not a big deal, you just do it and then you get money. No, you don't. You deal with people, you deal with renters, you deal with contract. You are in it. It's not just passive. And honestly, you don't make as much as quick as you would sometimes even in the market. The real estate market and the stock market sometimes are at odds with each other. So sometimes you can make as much just investing and not doing anything versus putting all your effort into real estate. But I come from a real estate family. My husband loves it, my dad loves it. So I am, I love, I do love real estate. But sometimes it could just be easier just to invest. To be honest. That's what George loves. George loves.

[George Campbell]

No plans on owning investment property? No, thank you. I can't be a landlord. Look at me. Who's gonna take me seriously?

[Ken Coleman]

You're certainly not gonna be able to kick anybody out of their house.

[George Campbell]

Oh sure, they could take me in a farm fight. But it's a great Question. I love your thinking about this stuff.

[Rachel Cruz]

Well done, Bailey.

[Ken Coleman]

The future's bright. Thank you. Our next question is brought to you by our friends at why Refi. If any of you out there are watching on YouTube and listening, if you've lost control of your private student loan payments, your financial progress is stalled out, we get it. But this is where why Refi comes in. We love our partnership with them because they help borrowers explore refinancing options with payments built around their real life situations. Learn [e-mail] Ramsey George, how do we spell it?

[George Campbell]

That's the letter Y, r, e, f.

[Ken Coleman]

Y.com Ramsey may not be available in all states. How about that? George Camel, everybody.

[George Campbell]

Ladies and gentlemen, it's an alley oop.

[Ken Coleman]

There it is. They don't even want to clap for you. They're so used to you doing it.

[George Campbell]

They're impressed that I can spell a five letter word.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. Cheap applause, Cheap applause, applause. Up next. Our next question is brought to you by Y Refi. Where's Megan? Let's welcome Megan to the mic. There we go. Hi, Megan.

[Hannah]

Hey.

[Ken Coleman]

Where are you from?

[Hannah]

I'm from Shelby, North Carolina.

[Ken Coleman]

Shelby, North Carolina. What's your question?

[Hannah]

So I have an opportunity to pay off $30,000 in debt by working two jobs for like 10 to 12 months and I can get it all paid off. But I am a single mother of two boys, so I'm trying to weigh if it's worth it to pay it off in that short of a span of time or if I should try to spread it out.

[Ken Coleman]

What is your concern? Is it the boys and being with them?

[Hannah]

Yes.

[Ken Coleman]

How old are they?

[George Campbell]

8 and 11. Who would watch them

[Ken Coleman]

when you're working and hustling?

[Hannah]

My mama.

[Ken Coleman]

Your mama?

[Hannah]

Yes.

[Ken Coleman]

So they would be in tremendous care, yes or no?

[Hannah]

Yes.

[George Campbell]

Extra grandma time?

[Hannah]

Yes. They're not concerned with it, but I'm concerned that they won't express that it's bothering them that I'm not around.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. Have you explained to them that you're in a journey to pay off debt? Have you had that conversation, obviously in context with an 8 year old and 11 year old?

[Hannah]

Yes, I have, but I don't really think they understand the gravity of it.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. Well, if you're not around as much, they might start to pay attention to it.

[Hannah]

Yes.

[Ken Coleman]

I'm gonna say it's your call, but if it were me, I think there's an awesome story in it and I think if those 8 year old boy, that 8 year old boy and 11 year old boy See mama working so hard, and they begin to see that mom is tired. Mama, why are you working so hard for? You explain what I'm doing. And it may not all completely stick, but I think that that intense timeline will take you to another level as a single mom. Cause you're a hero. And I say go for it. The boys are gonna be fine. They don't appreciate time like you do. And I do think your mama heart is gonna be the hardest part of it and being bone tired. But I'd vote for do it for the story. You know what I mean? It's like the things that we press through and the things that shape us are the things that are really hard. But I think whatever you decide to do, you know, I'm in favor of. That's my thought. What do you all think? Rachel, what do you think?

[Rachel Cruz]

I mean, I would say number one. Ken said it, but you're incredible. Any single parents that do this, that is unbelievable what you do day in and day out. So hear us say that. It is such a feat to raise kids. And at those ages. Those are exactly. I have kids the exact ages.

[Hannah]

Nice.

[Rachel Cruz]

And it's just so. I'm exhausted. You know what I mean? And to do it day in and day out by yourself, you're incredible. Absolutely incredible. So they're seeing that. Yes. Give a round of applause. Honestly, it's.

[George Campbell]

I think there's a much higher chance. The story they tell when they're older is my mom worked her tail off for her family and not. My mom wasn't around when we were kids.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. And I would say it's gonna affect you. You already said it. You said it yourself. It's gonna affect you more than it affects them. I mean, honestly, my dad, which I know is a different situation, but I mean, he was gone a lot. I mean, up until I was probably middle school building and doing and teaching and traveling and working. I mean, it was constant. And I remember to a point that he set us all down. Cause he was going on a book tour for the first book, and I remember he set us down, and it was this big family meeting. And it was so heavy, and he was like, I'm gonna be gone. I think it was, like, close to 45 days to do a big book tour, and I'll be on the. I remember thinking, okay. Like, okay, so it's not that they don't care about you, but genuinely, I think if they're with someone that they love, it's gonna just. It's gonna be harder. It's gonna be hardest on you. So I think if you can get through it, I would. For 10 months. If you were saying 10 years, I'd be like, no. For 10 months, I think you can do anything and forever, ever. Amen. The weight of death. Those chains, it's gone. The chains, it's gone completely. And you have changed your family tree. When we talk about changing your family tree, that's it. They're not only watching it, but they're gonna experience a freedom from their mom that you're about to give them, and it's gonna completely affect their life. And I think there's something about that intensity, and you just knock it out. In 10 months, I would say do it. But I also say, as a mom, you make the best call for you in that.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, Meghan, we got a fun little award for you.

[Hannah]

Okay?

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. So you come on down. I'm gonna tell the audience what we're giving you. We're giving you the rice and beans award right here. It's real. This is a glass Tupperware. Real rice, real beans haven't been cooked yet. So you just. You just give those to the boys and you explain what you're doing. It's your favorite.

[Hannah]

Rice and beans.

[Ken Coleman]

Tell us.

[Hannah]

Rice and beans is my favorite.

[George Campbell]

You were made for this.

[Ken Coleman]

I had no idea. Hey, is this a single mama bear who's crushing it? Let her know how we feel about her. Let's go. Yeah. How about that? That's so good. Who knew that the rice and beans award was gonna go to her? And she loved it.

[Rachel Cruz]

I wish I had something better. Something more bougie for you, girl.

[Ken Coleman]

Well, now I wish I had cooked them.

[Rachel Cruz]

I know. So she would have to cook them.

[Ken Coleman]

I didn't cook them. So fun. Okay, next is from Raquel. Raquel, where are you? Come on down. Oh, right over here. Give her some love while she gets to the mic.

[George Campbell]

I gotta say, the ladies are leading the charge tonight.

[Ken Coleman]

Where are the men? Where are the men? Asking questions, by the way, another reminder. Are there any couples that need this esteemed panel of judges to get in the middle of something? Go see Katie. She's waiting. Raquel, hi.

[Hannah]

Hi.

[Ken Coleman]

How are you?

[Raquel]

I'm good.

[Ken Coleman]

Where are you from?

[Raquel]

So me and my fiance are recently engaged, and we just moved up from West Palm Beach, Florida, here to Charlotte.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, fantastic. What's your question?

[Raquel]

So my question is, in this new journey that we have together, moving together, being engaged, the conversation of finances have definitely come up. So we grew up drastically different. Opposites definitely attract and My relationship with money just in return regards to what my family is like is very drastic than what his family's like and what he's used to and was exposed to. And I think that a lot of people that I talk to in my day to day life have the same type of reservations when it comes to money in that talk in general. So I guess my question is layered. What would you say would be something that we can actively do to align our thoughts about money and what would you give, as in advice to new couples trying to start their life together?

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay, so let me ask, how did he grow up? Paint me a picture of him and then you. So we can kind of see what we're working with. Yes.

[Raquel]

So my family, I come from an immigrant household, I grew up in Florida. And you know, my mom was very good with money with what she had, she was very good with budgeting. But on the other side I had a grandma and a family on my dad's side who made a lot of of money but did not do well managing it. So I had really opposite sides of the spectrum when it came to how they handled their finances and a lot of misguidance, I'm not going to lie. His family, however, they grew up in Columbus, Georgia, a stay at home mom with a hard working dad. And he, from what I understand, their family saved a lot of money, always had something in the emergency fund, budgeted really hard, but still gave themselves like those little luxuries of like Thanksgiving vacation and things like that.

[Rachel Cruz]

So.

[Raquel]

But they were always financially conscious.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay, so what's the tension point then? What do you feel like is that point of tension?

[Raquel]

Yeah, there's no tension per se. It's just like a mindset thing for me. Like I guess I had scarcity.

[Rachel Cruz]

Would you say for you?

[Raquel]

Yes, yes, that's exactly what it is. Yes.

[Rachel Cruz]

More scarcity. He's more abundant. You're more probably. I don't want to say stressed. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but you're very aware, know what's going on and he's like, it's going to be okay, we're fine.

[Raquel]

No.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay, so tell me, so give me, give me more.

[Raquel]

He has a scarcity mindset and. Exactly. So because of the way that I grew up, I guess I don't really know like what's a good point, like how much is too much frugality and how much is like too much overspending. So I'm still in my personal finance journey trying to figure out what a happy Medium is.

[Ken Coleman]

So you're kind of an agnostic, and then you're just kind of like, I'm not sure about this whole money thing. And he's just, like, tight. So tight. He squeaks.

[Raquel]

Yes. It's very different, our dynamic. I want to give ourselves a little luxuries in life, but he would definitely least squeal over the $2 chipotle guac. Oh, yeah, Guac.

[Rachel Cruz]

That's a lot.

[Ken Coleman]

I feel like we got to bring the tightest person I know in the conversation. George Campbell.

[George Campbell]

Welcome to the party, my man.

[Ken Coleman]

This guy won't pay two bucks for anything.

[George Campbell]

I just think it's a ripoff. I'd rather go make guacamole at home at that point.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, boo you.

[Ken Coleman]

That was a flex. You just wanted everybody to know that you know how to make guacamole.

[George Campbell]

I don't, but I could if I wanted to, so.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, so sp. Speak to her from his perspective. Cause you get that.

[George Campbell]

Yeah. My wife, to this day is like, hey, man, can we not do this frugal game right now to save a buck? But it's just. I find it enjoyable for me, so I don't bring her into it. It's, you know, none of her business. She's saving money. She should be happy. But I do think there's a level of this is their personality style, and that part won't change. And then there's an alignment on the values and goals, and that's the part you guys need to focus on, not the minutia of, hey, he wants to be frugal in this area now. The more it affects you and the more it's detached from the reality of your financial situation. If you guys are multi millionaires and he's like, we can't afford this, that's a different situation than, hey, I'd rather not spend money on that. That's not a priority for me. But you can get the guac. That's where I'm going. Okay. That's where we need to get to, as you guys step into marriage, is being aligned with the values and the goals. And over time, you will be doing better financially. So right now, he may have good reason to have a scarcity mindset because he doesn't have his family's money.

[Rachel Cruz]

Right.

[George Campbell]

Right. He's starting a new chapter for on his own.

[Ken Coleman]

Here's what I'm feeling. I just want to throw this in there. So I think, because you're. We called you, in a fun way, an agnostic because you're just kind of figuring out what is my money values. Because you love him, because you guys are gonna do life together. I think it'd be great to lean into him a little bit for a while and kind of go, okay, and then. Then the easiest way. And George, I want you to weigh in and Rachel, too. But I'm sitting here listening, going, I think it would be great if you really got serious about budgeting. Because the more clear and disciplined your budget is, if you want the $2 guac and he goes, because of how he's wired in the environment that he grew up in, which is all real and totally okay, then you have a budget and you can remind him it's totally in there. Am I right?

[Rachel Cruz]

I would just say, yes, absolutely. Because I think there's the high level tactical, which may just take care of itself, honestly. So since you guys are engaged, I would open up a checking account together, and I would put some money in for the wedding, Some expenses coming up, and you guys start to practice. What does this feel like? To start doing money together and do a mock budget of both of your salaries, you know, what you make. And you guys are gonna so be like, hey, let's just for fun, let's make a household budget. What this is gonna look like, here's mine, here's yours. And, like, play a game, Bring them both together and be like, how close are we with this? Because that's gonna say, that's gonna. From a high level, honestly. May actually eliminate some of this. When you guys are working together on a plan and you're being very specific about where the income's going. So that's big. And then number two, I would say. Cause opposites attract. And I know this in my marriage, Ken. Same with you and Whitney. I have learned to lean into Winston's strengths, and he's learned to lean into mine. So you're both a gift. You both bring something to the table that the other person needs. So I always say with Winston, if it weren't for Winston, I would probably be broke, because he is. He's so big on the saving and excel sheets. But honestly, I look at that now as a wife, and I'm so thankful. I feel taken care of, honestly, that I'm like, thank you for taking care of that.

[Hannah]

So.

[Rachel Cruz]

Because it does. It gives me a level of peace. And then if it weren't for me, he would have no fun in life. Exactly. I bring the fun. You know what I mean? I bring the fun. And so I feel like we're a

[George Campbell]

lot alike as a Token of friendship to my new friend over here. I have an award for him if you want.

[Rachel Cruz]

I have an award for her.

[George Campbell]

This is perfect.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, my gosh.

[George Campbell]

Ladies first.

[Ken Coleman]

Amazing. Go ahead, Rachel.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay. I'm gonna give you my award as you're a free spirit. You're like me.

[Raquel]

Thank you.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes, it is. I'm gonna give you a little. A little bottle of champs, a little

[Ken Coleman]

champagne bottle, and we're gonna give it to her for both of them. So, George, you give her the same one for her.

[George Campbell]

All right. I have for your fiance the Frugal Camel award. I got this from Goodwill, so, you know, I didn't even spend full price on this, so give this to him.

[Rachel Cruz]

I'll give you a glass tonight as

[George Campbell]

a reminder that it's okay to be a little bit, you know, resourceful with your money.

[Ken Coleman]

As I say, I like how you glammed cheap up.

[George Campbell]

I just. I wanted people to know I like.

[Ken Coleman]

I appreciate that.

[George Campbell]

I wouldn't have bought that on my own volition.

[Ken Coleman]

I know you would not have.

[George Campbell]

Oh, he would have never paid good money for that.

[Ken Coleman]

He would have a tried to barter for it and then asked Ramsey Solutions to pay for it. That's how that went there. Thank you again. Yeah, you're awesome. Give her some love. That's so for sharing.

[Rachel Cruz]

Congrats.

[Ken Coleman]

Now

[Rachel Cruz]

I think we have a couple. Ken, by the way.

[Ken Coleman]

Well, I'm excited. But before we go to our next question, I. One of my favorite things in a of lot, live audiences, I like to scan the crowd, just get a feel what's happening. And I noticed that our single friend next to you, sir, has left her seat. Oh, she's up to ask a question. Rachel's helping me out. I thought, what did you do?

[George Campbell]

Did you, like, swing an arm around? And it got uncomfortable.

[Ken Coleman]

I mean, I practically set the table for you. So. Okay, things are good. There she is. It's Grace, our single friend from the front row. Grace.

[Grace]

Thank you guys for coming to Charlotte to come to us so that we can ask the questions.

[Ken Coleman]

You're such a good support, by the way.

[Grace]

Thank you. My question is how to let the gazelle rest. I started this journey back in 2016 when Dave was here for a Smart Money tour. I was one of the volunteers. And that's when I got really sucked into the cult. I drank the Kool Aid, so I was Gazelle Intense for about five to six years. Finally got out of debt, so I got to zero. I was not in the negative anymore. I finally got to zero. I switched careers and cash flowed a electrical degree. And then now that I am working and having so much fun with what I do as my career, the Gazelle is still running. I do not spend money and I look for coupons. If I go to a 711 and the soda pop is $1.09, I won't pay for it because I won't pay more than 99 cents. I've gone too far that way.

[George Campbell]

Wish I had an extra frugal camel for you back here.

[Ken Coleman]

Just getting one question too late. So let me dig on that. So let's just for everybody to know. What's your future look like financially? Your retirement. You're all set. You look beautiful. Don't have anything to worry about. Is that correct?

[Grace]

Yes. I'm retired military, so that's always fun.

[Ken Coleman]

By the way, thank you for your service. You're a great.

[Grace]

Then I have. I'm back to work. Cause I just love it so much. But it all goes 100% goes into the 401k, 457b, HSA, IRA.

[Ken Coleman]

What are you worried about? What are you worried about from your past, financially, that worries you? Because I think at the source of this is fear.

[Grace]

It is.

[Ken Coleman]

I know. What is it? What are you afraid that's gonna happen? Be as specific as you can and there's zero judgment on what you're about to say. Just let it rip. What are you afraid

[Grace]

that I will end up as? My mother.

[Ken Coleman]

Oh, there it is. Describe how your mom ended up.

[Grace]

We grew up on a farm, you know, three channels, no cable. So we thought we were very poor. But then in the 80s and 90s, the advent of housing developments, we kind of realized that we weren't poor. Mom just liked to sew. She liked to cook from scratch. But after my mom and dad divorced, she didn't have a lot of money, but she didn't aspire to a lot either. She was a very simple woman. But when she got cancer, you don't want to send anybody to a facility that takes Medicaid. So I moved in with her to be her caregiver.

[Ken Coleman]

So you don't want to end up as a financial burden to somebody.

[Grace]

Exactly. I don't want to end up like that.

[Ken Coleman]

What would have to be true based on your financial situation right now? What would have to happen for you to be a financial burden in your old age? What would have to happen for me

[Grace]

to be a financial burden?

[Ken Coleman]

You're not right now. You're not going to be. So I'm saying what would have to happen for you to have no money to take care of yourself and someone else. What would you have to do?

[Grace]

I'd have to crypto.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. What are the. And, sure. That's great. And what else would you have to do?

[Grace]

Gamble.

[Ken Coleman]

Gamble. I like that.

[George Campbell]

You have to deplete all of your investment accounts completely.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. You'd have to do that, right?

[George Campbell]

That's what would cost you.

[Ken Coleman]

It's not a trick question. I'm painting you into a corner to see that it's a 0% chance of you squandering what you have saved. True or false?

[Grace]

True.

[Ken Coleman]

So you're free.

[George Campbell]

There's a much higher chance. When you pass, you will have millions and millions sitting there that you can't take with you.

[Grace]

That's the goal.

[George Campbell]

That's what I'm saying. I think we need to readjust our goal here. Now, obviously, you're single. Do you have any family right now?

[Ken Coleman]

She is. Someone's going, hey, I'm doing my best part. I'll tell you that right now. Trying.

[George Campbell]

So, yeah. Are there any people in your life that you would even leave the money to?

[Grace]

I would leave it to organizations, like for disabled veterans.

[George Campbell]

Wow, that's beautiful.

[Ken Coleman]

Do you mind sharing, do you mind sharing right now what you have in retirement? What do you have? What's your nest egg right now?

[Grace]

So for five years, I've managed 275.

[Ken Coleman]

That's fantastic. Way to go. And you have zero debt.

[Grace]

No, zero.

[Ken Coleman]

And you're crushing it. Are you an electrician?

[Grace]

Building inspector.

[Ken Coleman]

Building inspector. Okay, good for you. So you're doing very well. We're always going to need building inspectors, you know, who can't do building inspections. AI, come on, let's go.

[Grace]

Amen.

[Ken Coleman]

Amen to that. So you're in.

[Rachel Cruz]

Great. How old are you, can I ask?

[Grace]

56.

[Rachel Cruz]

That's right. We do. Okay, so 50. Okay. So do you have a specific dollar amount in mind that you're wanting to get to for retirement?

[Grace]

No.

[Rachel Cruz]

You don't. Okay, so I would have somewhat of a goal because you have 200 and. What did you say? 75,275. That's great. Okay. But also, you're going to want to want more for retirement. So I would plan out, sit down with a financial advisor and just say, hey, what's a number I need to show? And all that is is a goal. Okay. This isn't an identity thing. It's just an idea of, hey, I have to get to this place. So that's gonna give you some healthy motivation to know. Am I Being cheap here or there, I don't know. But you have something you're actually shooting for. And then the second thing is once you start to get to that place, you know, money is so funny. It can be such a part of bondage for so many people. And on one end people spend, they go deeply in debt and money becomes an idol to them because it's just like, oh my gosh. It's all they think about. Because they're stressed on one end because they've made bad decisions with money. And then you have people on the other end of the spectrum where money takes up as much mental calories as people over here, but they have it and it's actually stolen their freedom. You're not free. That's what it feels like. Even though mathematically you are. So that's the piece from an emotional standpoint I would wanna start working on of what is causing that fear. I know you said your mom and all of that, but really like from day in, day out, what is going on in me that's causing me to live life like this? Because from a spiritual perspective, there's a level of bondage there that has to be broken. And so I think a goal's gonna help you genuinely. I think shooting for something where you feel safe of like a number, of like, okay, I know this feels good that you get to. But then there's an emotional piece too because if you're not careful, that number you're gonna get, you're gonna be like, eh, it's not enough, I need some more. And that finish line moves and you stay in that for the rest of your life. So yeah, I would be thinking about that and asking yourself some of those questions of what can cause me to be free to live life with an open hand. Cause some people that are. I'm not saying this is you. Cause you're a very generous person, the way you've served in your life and your actions. So I don't wanna paint you in this corner. But some people that live life like this, they tend not to be generous people, they have a harder time giving. So that open hand mentality is so important with money. But I don't think you have that problem because of everything you just laid about your life story.

[Ken Coleman]

And you have a paid for house. Yes.

[Grace]

Oh yeah?

[Ken Coleman]

What's the house worth?

[Grace]

3 maybe out in the county.

[Ken Coleman]

You're gonna be fine. Cause 56 in my book is young, you know what I'm saying? So you're in great shape. And you know what I want to do something for Grace. We got a little something. We never know what we're gonna give.

[George Campbell]

What stuff do you guys have?

[Ken Coleman]

I got a lot of stuff back. I got a lot of champagne. That's my champagne bottle, sir. On the front row. Pay attention to what I'm doing. Grace, come on down. We have some flowers for you. You're so sweet. You're awesome. Give it up for Grace one more time. Okay, James, can I call an audible? Do you trust me? Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

Can Rachel call it?

[Ken Coleman]

Well, let's be honest. Rachel's been.

[George Campbell]

Rachel can do what she wants.

[Ken Coleman]

Rachel, why don't you tell everybody what you were telling me in my ear? I like this.

[Rachel Cruz]

Cuz we love a settled debate. It's one of our favorites. And so I saw a couple's hand over here that said they would volunteer for a couple's debate. Is this true?

[Ken Coleman]

Yes. Okay, where are they?

[Rachel Cruz]

They're right here in the front.

[Ken Coleman]

Stand up and head to the mic.

[Rachel Cruz]

Head to the mic. We're about to settle a debate. It's what we want.

[Ken Coleman]

Thank you, James, our fearless leader.

[Rachel Cruz]

What we want.

[Ken Coleman]

This is what we have come here for.

[Rachel Cruz]

This is our favorite.

[Ken Coleman]

I don't know why you all are here. I know why we're here. It's to settle a debate. No, I kid. Okay. This is fun. We want to know your name, so let's start with ma', am. Your name?

[Jessica]

Jessica.

[Ken Coleman]

Jessica and Joel. And what?

[Joel]

Joel or Joel?

[Ken Coleman]

Joel. Yeah, I'll go with Joel because I'll butcher the other one, you know. Okay. And where are you guys from?

[Joel]

From Mexico.

[Ken Coleman]

Mexico? No way. Thanks for coming. Okay, somebody set it up. What is the debate that you want this esteemed panel of judges to weigh in on?

[Joel]

So we, we have sort of combined our finance since we came here to the U.S. but there's some. Some money that was before or. Or things that just had like a house and. Yes. Some savings or some stocks that we haven't combined. So we were last week in Cozumel and we were having just like some tension and discussions about it.

[Ken Coleman]

So I don't know who wants to do what. Let's give us the two positions. Yes.

[Joel]

So I would like to know, how can I better show her that. That she trusts me maybe.

[Ken Coleman]

Oh. So what do you. So what do you want to do, sir? What is the position? What do you want to do that you would like her to trust you?

[Joel]

Just fully combined finance and everything. Just not finance, but everything.

[Ken Coleman]

Everything.

[George Campbell]

Everything is ours.

[Ken Coleman]

Love your heart.

[George Campbell]

Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. So Jessica, I mean, the guy is Emotional. What a heart. Jessica, what are you concerned about? And by the way, not judging you. What are you concerned about? What are your fears or disagreements on this?

[Jessica]

So my, I, I, I'm not sure like, or what's the best way to bring that money here in the relationship? Because we are thinking maybe to buy a house, but I have like around 150k and we could bring that money into the house, but I, I'm not sure if that's good for the relationship.

[Ken Coleman]

Why okay, let's stop right there. What would be, what do you think that money and combining things. How would it harm your relationship?

[Jessica]

Because probably he will feel like the house is mine or something like that.

[Ken Coleman]

I pause. Sir. Joel, will you feel that way?

[Joel]

No, I mean, I think it's whenever we have these discussions, I hear that she wants to take care of her parents or help them. And this is where I think at some point, I don't know if she feels that I'm not supportive to help her parents. We come from different backgrounds. My parents are retired. They don't need any help. But on her end, more like a scarcity background. And I think this is also like how we get emotional.

[Ken Coleman]

Is he on target in that your fear is if we combine money, I will lose control of my desire to help my mom and dad?

[Jessica]

Yep.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. What do you need to hear from him tonight to alleviate that fear?

[Jessica]

Like, he will be supportive with my desire to help them and we can make a plan or something like that.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. Joel, what have you not told her or what do you want to re emphasize to her right now about that concern?

[Joel]

I would say that as for now, we have maybe supported them the best we knew before just with money, but now I think we can support them with a plan, with experiences, or even saving some that we can manage for us and for them that in the future can help with the diseases that they might have or they are not planning and we are foreseeing it, but I think writing a plan and really align to the that will be helpful. And then in 10, 15 years or whenever the money is needed, we have it and it's better managed than if we just give it to them. And then my fear is that they might not use it in the best way and we can help better with Jessica.

[Ken Coleman]

Do you understand his concern on that piece?

[Jessica]

I get it at some point, but also I'm not sure if maybe just like not like a big amount, but something smaller that we can give them now and then.

[Rachel Cruz]

Are they in need, Jessica, right now, financially?

[Jessica]

Yes. And no.

[Rachel Cruz]

Are they asking for money from you?

[Jessica]

No.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay. So what's causing you to say we have to give some money? I need to be helping them now. What is that?

[Jessica]

I think it's more because I would like them to have experiences or comfort that I have now and they don't have.

[George Campbell]

So you feel guilty because of everything they've done for you, and yet you're living a better life than them, and so you want to sort of pay it back, paid forward in that sense.

[Ken Coleman]

Are you guys ready to settle the debate? Yeah. Yes, I know that I am, but I want to make sure.

[Rachel Cruz]

Are you?

[Ken Coleman]

I am.

[Rachel Cruz]

So I'm ready to be a judge.

[George Campbell]

Get the gavel out.

[Ken Coleman]

Hold on a second.

[George Campbell]

Oh, my.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, my Lord. Oh, my Lord.

[George Campbell]

What is our prop budget? This is wild.

[Ken Coleman]

It's not powdered. All right, Am I going first or last?

[George Campbell]

I feel like you have to go

[Ken Coleman]

first now, not the wig. I feel like I have so much credibility with this and this that it might sway your decision, but I'll go first.

[George Campbell]

We have different definitions of credibility, but continue.

[Ken Coleman]

I did notice that both Jessica and Joel went from crying to laughing, so I think it did its job. Okay. I think it's very simple. I heard his hyper heart immediately. He wants you to trust him, that he's for you, and if he's for you, he's for your parents. I hear your concern as well, but I also hear that Joel saying, I'm not sure that my in laws, your parents, are the best ones to handle a large sum of money. And so if we commit and he's committed to writing a plan out to take care of them, but you use the money. It's your money, and you support them. I think it's a great plan. I think his heart's even better than his plan. So I rule in favor of Joel. Really? That's all I get?

[Rachel Cruz]

Can I have the gavel?

[Ken Coleman]

Oh, yes.

[George Campbell]

Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

Thank you. Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

Do you want the wig?

[Rachel Cruz]

I think no. No.

[George Campbell]

You don't think she's good. She's good.

[Rachel Cruz]

I'm fine.

[Hannah]

I'm fine.

[George Campbell]

Burn that.

[Rachel Cruz]

My vote is I would combine everything. Shocker. I know. But I would. I would combine everything. I think he needs to hear from you that you choose him over your parents because you've chosen to get married. And that man loves you a lot. Loves you a lot. And he's gonna take good care of you. You guys are together, gonna make a really great team. And I think out of the teamwork, we get to build a life together. And that looks like whatever you guys want. That's the beauty about being adults, is you get to make decisions so. So together. Do we want to buy a home together? Do we want to take her parents on a trip every year with us and include them and fly them where they need to be for the kids? If you guys have kids in the future, what does that all look like with the money that we have together? So on that basis, I think I'm more in favor with Joel.

[George Campbell]

Wow.

[Ken Coleman]

All right. Oh, no.

[Rachel Cruz]

Sorry, Kate.

[Ken Coleman]

Hold on.

[George Campbell]

It's not real. It's not real.

[Joel]

George.

[Ken Coleman]

George, I want to make sure you're seeing the object is to hit this with that.

[George Campbell]

I missed it. Okay, I'll end with this. I definitely agree with what they've said, but I think that the heart of this Joel is he's rightfully so worried that this is going to turn into entitlement from your parents and even enabling. And he truly wants to help. He loves these people, and I think he wants a plan to make them independent, not because he doesn't want to support them, but because he actually believes in their autonomy to live their lives without needing you. And I think that is a noble goal. So I do think you should combine finances, but I think you should create boundaries around what this looks like to support your parents, maybe even a deadline. And not just that forever. We're gonna write checks to them, and that's gonna be the priority of our relationship. Cause at the heart of the. Of this, the lack of combining finances has created a chasm in your marriage. There is a gap right now where you guys can't be fully together. And it's not a money thing. It's an emotional thing. It's an intimacy thing. And I think that supersedes the help to your parents. And I think you guys are an amazing couple. You will figure out the boundaries and how to do this the right way. But I think combining those finances will actually free you, Jess, more than you think. So I rule in favor of Joel, but.

[Ken Coleman]

But, hey, hold on.

[George Campbell]

Oh, a parting gift.

[Ken Coleman]

I like the gifts. Compliment alcohol. We got a nice bottle of Josh Sobra. You two need to crack this bottle tonight and start the written plan. All right, here it is. There you go. You guys are awesome. Thank you, guys. You're great.

[George Campbell]

What's the dumbest thing you've ever done with money?

[Ken Coleman]

Money? A car I probably shouldn't have.

[George Campbell]

What car was that?

[Ken Coleman]

It was a Chevrolet Camaro. Whenever I first started investing, I definitely just threw money at, like, some meme stocks that didn't pay off. So I learned pretty quick. Bought a car, and then the car went bad. I got frustrated and sold it. And then me and my wife were with one car for seven years.

[George Campbell]

If you had to cover a thousand dollar emergency, how would you do it right now?

[Rachel Cruz]

Credit card.

[Hannah]

I would pull it out of savings

[Rachel Cruz]

or phone a friend.

[George Campbell]

Okay, so you have the money in savings. That's good.

[Raquel]

Get money out of emergency fund.

[Ken Coleman]

You have one.

[George Campbell]

Okay. How many months of expenses do you have stored away? Three months of expenses.

[Hannah]

Honestly, I have a really good village, so I can lean on that if

[Rachel Cruz]

I don't have it.

[Ken Coleman]

Speaking of drinks, you guys know a little something about drinks?

[George Campbell]

Smart Money happy.

[Ken Coleman]

Smart Money Happy.

[George Campbell]

Yeah. Rachel created a whole show where she gets to drink on the clock. Pretty genius.

[Rachel Cruz]

I know Smart Money Happy Hour was created. Cause I was like, wouldn't it be fun if me and George got to sit down and chat like we do as friends, have a cocktail, talk about things going on? It's great. But part of Smart Money Happy Hour and one of our partners there is Fairwinds Credit Union. So we're gonna give them another shout out because they are amazing. And I know we've talked about them tonight, but Fairwinds is such a great partner with Ramsey because when you are using your money and you are having to interact with bank banks and banking institutions, having someone on the other side of that that is so helpful that knows that, you know they are for you in your journey with the baby steps. That's everything.

[George Campbell]

Absolutely. And I mentioned that Smart bundle earlier. It's got a fee, free checking account, High yield savings account that Ramsey branded debt as normal, beware debit card. And you can have up to 10 savings accounts. They created this just for our fans because we know that y' all are nerdy and you like to have sinking funds for the trip and for the car and for all these different things. So they actually change their product to serve you guys better. And that's why we've loved this partnership. They even cut international transaction fees on their cards after they saw one of my videos where I said, make sure your debit card doesn't do this. So they said, let's adjust everything to serve the Ramsey fans in an incredible way. So if you want to check that out, just go to Fairwinds.org Ramsey to open up that Smart Bundle and start to introduce this new bank to the mix. And I think you'll quickly find you want to start start doing more and more with them.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, their app is easy to use their interface is easy. Their customer service is incredible. When you open it, they call you the next day on the phone just to make sure everything. So I mean, it really is. They are incredible people and they have an incredible product when it comes to us that you have to use your debit card every single day. And so having Fairwinds on your side is so huge. So Again, go to fairwinds.org Ramsey insured by the NCUA.

[Ken Coleman]

I love it. By the way, real quick question. How's my hair look after having the wig on? Is it all right?

[Rachel Cruz]

It looks good still. Yay.

[Ken Coleman]

Just want to make sure. I don't want to be distracted.

[George Campbell]

I'll remain silent.

[Ken Coleman]

Thank you, George. This is really, really fun. George, you got your calculator ready?

[George Campbell]

Why do you assume that I have my calculator ready? And yes, I do?

[Ken Coleman]

Because we talked about it earlier.

[George Campbell]

It's ready.

[Rachel Cruz]

It says in Yes, I do.

[Ken Coleman]

It's ready. So here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna have a fun group debt free scream. How does that sound? Does that sound fun? But we're gonna do something kind of neat. So here's what we want you to do. If you have become debt free in the last 12 months, would you stand? Just stand wherever you are, that's consumer debt free.

[George Campbell]

If you did the mortgage too, that's great.

[Ken Coleman]

That's fine. But it does not have to be the house. Right, George?

[George Campbell]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ken Coleman]

So they're standing up there. That's exciting. We got a few more. Okay, keep count.

[Luke's Mom]

Yes.

[Ken Coleman]

This is great. Everybody stand. I want to make sure everybody's up because this is a key part of the thing. Is everybody up?

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, look out. They keep coming. Okay, great.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, now here's what we're going to do. So I'm going to assist George and I'm going to start on the right side of the room and work my way over. And what I want you to do is yell out how much you paid off. George is going to add it all up and we're going to see what has happened collectively to pay off debt in the last 12 months. And then we'll do a group debt free scheme.

[George Campbell]

Love it. All right, I'm at the ready.

[Ken Coleman]

Let's start up here because I saw. Ma', am, how much?

[Hannah]

265,000.

[Ken Coleman]

265. Strong start.

[George Campbell]

Juice the numbers right there.

[Ken Coleman]

Wow. Amazing. Anybody else up there? Yes, sir. 175,000.

[Rachel Cruz]

It's our man again.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, fantastic. And after you give me your number, you can sit down if you want, but we're going to ask you stand back up. But you can rest right here with the Clemson shirt on. Yes. $1,500.

[Rachel Cruz]

That's great. We love it.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, right here. 27,000.

[Rachel Cruz]

Nice job.

[Ken Coleman]

I tell you what we're going to do. Let's hold applause so we can move a little quicker. I love your spirit, but we got to move quickly. Want to get 12,000? Okay, great. 290,000 in the back, right here. The couple right here. 250,000 behind them. 150. Okay, excellent, ma'. Am. All the way in the back row. How much? 3,000. I love it. Okay, are you all three together? Just you two. Okay, yell it out. 380ish. Okay, George, I don't know how you're going to calculate that.

[George Campbell]

My phone can handle it.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, next to them. Yes, ma'. Am. 233,000. Okay. And anybody on this? Okay, now this couple right back here. Yes, sir. What? 66,000 right here. 75,000. Right here.

[Rachel Cruz]

Here.

[Ken Coleman]

150,000. Right here. 168,000 and 39,000. Did I miss anybody? Okay, all those people, stand back up.

[Rachel Cruz]

Ken, can I add?

[Ken Coleman]

You can. Before we do that, let's get a total. George, what do you have?

[George Campbell]

About $2.3 million.

[Hannah]

Wow.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. And you got a fun idea?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes. That's a lot of hard work. Okay. I want everyone who is debt free, consumer debt or mortgage, regardless of when you paid it off, to stand up so you can be part of this.

[Ken Coleman]

You join this amazing group if you

[Rachel Cruz]

are debt free in the room.

[Ken Coleman]

Look at this.

[Rachel Cruz]

Stand up.

[Ken Coleman]

Everybody up. Okay. This is fun.

[Rachel Cruz]

Amazing.

[Ken Coleman]

George, would you like to do the honors to count them down?

[George Campbell]

It would be an honor.

[Ken Coleman]

You guys know what we're doing? George will count you down. And I mean, this is from your guts because you worked hard and we're so proud to be in the room with all of you. You all are heroes. You've changed your family tree, George. Count them down. Let's hear a group debt free scream.

[George Campbell]

All right, we've got $2.3 million paid off in the last 12 months in this room alone in Charlotte, North Carolina. And dozens more have become debt free standing up, following this plan. Count it down, guys. I'll see your debt free scream.

[Rachel Cruz]

Three, two, one.

[George Campbell]

That is incredible. That'll put a little pep in your step.

[Ken Coleman]

And we don't have time to go around and get everybody else's amount. But 2.3 million is just a drop

[George Campbell]

in the buck just in the year.

[Ken Coleman]

Done. So Great. Hey, listen, y' all are great. Before we sign off, I just want my colleagues a word of encouragement. What would you share with people? No matter what baby step they're in, they're here for a reason. Tonight, they're here to be intentional. George, what would you share?

[George Campbell]

Well, you know, I see a lot of headlines. I see a lot of scary stuff. I see a lot of doom and gloom out there. And yet in this room, there is just a beacon of hope. And you guys are not immune to it. You've lived through it, you've sacrificed, you've had trials and tribulations, and yet you're on the other side of it. And that, I think, is one of the most inspiring stories America needs to hear right now. And you guys are living it, and I'm so proud of all of you. So thank you for being here.

[Rachel Cruz]

So good. Amen.

[Ken Coleman]

George.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. I would say regardless of where you are in the baby steps, and some of you are maybe starting baby step one right in all of this, and then you just saw everyone who's paid off debt, and the numbers are just outstanding of those of you that just stood up. But I would say, regardless of where you are, the secret is you. And I think you know that. And you know what you want different in your life, you get to make decisions to change that. What you don't like about your life, you get to make decisions to change that. And I feel like we're in a room of people who are willing to do that and willing to face one of the hardest subjects in life, which is money from a tactical side, an emotional side, a spiritual side. And you guys are so engaged, and you are not letting this topic ruin your life. You're getting ahead of it, and you're saying, you know what? I'm gonna be in control, and we're gonna change the things we need to change. And that takes a lot of courage. So we love you guys so much. We love doing this show, and we love being able to see the faces tonight of those of you that listen. So we love y'.

[Ken Coleman]

All. Yeah, that's. I'll just dovetail off of Rachel. I think she said it. You all did it. You know, we talk about controlling the controllables, and I'm looking at a room full of people. No matter what their story, no matter what their circumstances, no matter what their background, no matter what their environment was, at some point, you made a decision to control what only you could control, and you changed your life. Some of you are in the process of changing your life. And you are the answer. We aren't the answer. We're just cheerleading you on, coaching you up. But you are the difference. And I want to share that. No matter what happens later tonight or in the days or years ahead, whatever comes your way, you've won in a major area. And you control what you can control. Don't worry about D.C. don't worry about your governor's office. Don't worry about what your neighbors are doing. You live the life that you want to live, and you can, because you've done it to this point. So we're so honored to be with you all. I do want to do one thing. I do want you all to join me. We have an incredible crew that came from Nashville, our headquarters, an amazing team. From James Childs to our live event team to our Ramsey network leadership, Ramsey Network crew. If you're on the crew, would you stand up for just a second? Because I would love. We can't do this. It's going to change so many lives. Lives. And we can't do this without them. So would you all join us in thanking them? Hey, you guys are great. On behalf of our entire team, Dave Ramsey, George Campbell, Rachel Cruz, thank you all for being with us. We love you so much. Good night, Charlotte. Thanks, guys.

[George Campbell]

Have a great night.