Money Stress Is Real, But So Is The Solution

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ramsey Show
Episode: Money Stress Is Real, But So Is The Solution
Release Date: April 8, 2025

Hosted by the Ramsey Network, "The Ramsey Show" empowers listeners to build wealth, manage their finances, and cultivate strong relationships. In the episode titled "Money Stress Is Real, But So Is The Solution," host Dave Ramsey, along with co-host Dr. John Deloney and guest co-host George Camel, address various financial challenges posed by listeners, offering practical advice and actionable solutions.

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1. Inherited Property and Family LLC Dilemmas

Caller: George Camel
Location: Not Specified
Timestamp: [00:53]

Issue:
George faces complexities in managing his childhood home, which is structured as an LLC shared among family members. With his father in poor health, George and his siblings are uncertain about the process of selling their shares to other family members to ensure fair treatment and peaceful use of the property.

Dave Ramsey’s Advice:

• Legal Consultation: "You need to take a copy of the LLC to an attorney and they can tell you what your rights are." [03:54]
• Understanding Documentation: Ramsey emphasizes the importance of reviewing the LLC's documentation to determine if there's a clause allowing for a buyout at fair market value.
• Tax Implications: "You can’t just write somebody a $400,000 check without creating a gift tax problem." [05:23]

Notable Quote:
"We have to think through the long-term unintended consequences, and how not having an exit strategy for people not getting along can create significant family tension." – Dave Ramsey [08:04]

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2. Balancing Investments Between Countries in Marriage

Caller: Anna
Location: New Delhi, India
Timestamp: [10:13]

Issue:
Anna seeks guidance on understanding and managing investments in the US by her and her husband, who manages their investments in India. She grapples with the question of how much she needs to comprehend about the investments managed by her husband.

Dave Ramsey’s Advice:

• Active Involvement: "You need to know about it." [10:58]
• Collaborative Decision-Making: Ramsey highlights the importance of both spouses understanding and participating in investment decisions to avoid potential future conflicts.
• Accessibility and Transparency: Encourages open communication and access to financial documents.

Notable Quote:
"When you’re married, you need to use all of your brain, which is both of you... you make better decisions together." – Dave Ramsey [13:03]

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3. Struggling with Debt and Seeking Income Increase

Caller: Shelby
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Timestamp: [14:07]

Issue:
Shelby and her husband earn approximately $4,800 to $5,000 monthly but face challenges saving beyond $400 due to a $1,750 mortgage, recent medical bills from a high-risk pregnancy, and student loan debt totaling around $10,000.

Dave Ramsey’s Advice:

• Prioritize Debt Reduction: "If you want to build wealth, the first step is to clear your debt." [17:39]
• Emergency Fund: After debt clearance, focus on building a fully funded emergency fund of $25,000-$30,000.
• Increase Income Responsibly: While Shelby considers starting a small business, Ramsey advises seeking quick income sources over long-term business ventures during financially strained periods.

Notable Quote:
"Your first goal is not saving. Your first goal is to clear these debts." – Dave Ramsey [17:43]

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4. Managing Inheritance and Life Insurance Needs

Caller: Carolyn
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Timestamp: [22:51]

Issue:
At 81 years old and recently widowed, Carolyn plans to invest a $43,000 inheritance but is unsure about appropriate short-term investment options given her age and financial stability.

Dave Ramsey’s Advice:

• High-Yield Savings: "I would put anything above your expenses that you need in that checking account. I would have the rest in a high-yield savings account." [24:28]
• Low-Risk Investments: Given her age and need for security, Ramsey recommends conservative investment strategies to avoid potential losses.
• Tax Considerations: Advises consulting with a tax professional to navigate gift tax implications if inheritance is shared with siblings.

Notable Quote:
"I do not want that money to go down in value three weeks after you put it in there. That would scare me for you." – Dave Ramsey [05:36]

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5. Addressing Foreclosure Risks Amidst Family and Business Debt

Caller: Trevor
Location: Baton Rouge
Timestamp: [37:51]

Issue:
Trevor's wife had to reduce work hours due to pregnancy, leading to falling behind on their $2,100 monthly mortgage payment by $18,000. Additionally, they carry a $10,000 student loan and other debts totaling approximately $25,000.

Dave Ramsey’s Advice:

• Forbearance Agreement: "Request a forbearance where you pay double payments to catch up." [42:10]
• Income Maximization: Utilize upcoming work opportunities (e.g., relocating to Florida for two months) to generate extra income to cover debts.
• Aggressive Debt Repayment: Ramsey emphasizes the necessity of a strict budget and prioritizing debt clearance over additional expenses.

Notable Quote:
"Our conversation stated that we were going to do it together and work as a team to get this debt clean up." – Dave Ramsey [41:07]

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6. Overcoming Business Debt with Inheritance Support

Caller: Jackie
Location: Denver
Timestamp: [56:16]

Issue:
Jackie’s husband operates a small lawn care business incurring $20,000 in debt. The family received a $150,000 inheritance, but there was an agreement to keep personal finances separate from the business, leading to tension over whether to use the inheritance to settle the debt.

Dave Ramsey’s Advice:

• Reset Financial Expectations: Encourage both spouses to reassess their business operations and financial commitments collaboratively.
• Debt Clearance: Use portions of the inheritance strategically to eliminate high-interest debts first, ensuring the business can stabilize and grow without personal financial strain.
• Business Management: Emphasize the importance of proper accounting and financial management in running a profitable business.

Notable Quote:
"You got two options. While you're sitting and talking to a young widow... That's exactly these are the two options." – Dave Ramsey [54:04]

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7. Success Story: Achieving Debt Freedom

Guests: Aaron and Jenna
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Timestamp: [65:14]

Story Overview:
Aaron and Jenna shared their inspiring journey of paying off $75,000 in student loan debt within three years. By adhering strictly to Dave Ramsey’s principles—budgeting, eliminating debt, and staying motivated—they transitioned from earning $79,000 to $109,000 annually and successfully cleared their debts by their third anniversary.

Key Strategies Employed:

• Detailed Budgeting: Utilizing tools like the "EveryDollar" budgeting app to manage and allocate every dollar effectively.
• Debt Snowball Method: Prioritizing debts from smallest to largest to build momentum and reduce financial stress.
• Motivation Through Visual Aids: Creating a $75,000 debt chart with 1,000 squares, each representing $75, to visually track progress.

Notable Quote:
"When you're married, you need to use all of your brain, which is both of you... you make better decisions together." – Dave Ramsey [13:03]

Debt-Free Celebration:
Aaron and Jenna, along with their young daughter Ellie, passionately screamed in jubilation upon clearing their debt, epitomizing the emotional and psychological liberation that comes with financial freedom.

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8. Navigating Stock Market Anxiety

Caller: Preston
Location: St. Louis
Timestamp: [75:24]

Issue:
Preston, a 26-year-old, expressed concerns about investing amid market volatility and fears of a potential stock market crash.

Dave Ramsey’s Advice:

• Long-Term Perspective: "When in doubt, zoom out. Look at the 5-year, 10-year track record of the S&P 500." [79:01]
• Avoid Panic Selling: Emphasizes the importance of holding investments through market dips to avoid locking in losses.
• Consistent Investing: Advocates for regular investments regardless of short-term market fluctuations to capitalize on overall market growth.

Notable Quotes:

• "When in doubt, zoom out." – Dave Ramsey [79:01]
• "Stock market's down 6 or 8%, not exactly a crisis, dude. Mathematics." – Dave Ramsey [76:55]

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Key Takeaways and Insights

• Debt Management: Prioritizing debt elimination is foundational to financial stability and wealth building. Addressing high-interest debts and understanding the implications of financial agreements (like LLC ownership) are crucial steps.

• Budgeting and Planning: Utilizing detailed budgeting tools and maintaining a disciplined approach to spending and saving can significantly reduce financial stress and accelerate debt-free journeys.

• Investment Strategy: Maintaining a long-term perspective on investments, avoiding panicked decisions during market volatility, and consistent investing practices are essential for growing wealth despite short-term fluctuations.

• Family and Communication: Open and honest communication between spouses regarding financial matters ensures mutual understanding and collaborative decision-making, fostering both financial and relational health.

Notable Overall Quote:
"You need to make better decisions together. It’s just better wisdom." – Dave Ramsey [13:03]

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For more financial advice and strategies to conquer money stress, visit www.ramseysolutions.com and join Dave Ramsey’s live tours to gain personalized insights and support.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey guys, Dave Ramsey here. Me and Dr. John Deloney are coming to a city near you on the Money and Relationships tour. It's happening soon, so don't wait. Get your [e-mail] tour live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey show where we help people. People build wealth, do work that they love and create actual amazing relationships. George Camel Ramsey, personality number one best selling author is my co host today. Thanks for hanging out with us, America. Lucy is in New York. Hi Lucy. Welcome to the Ramsey Show. What's up in your world?

[George Camel]

Hi Dave. Hi, George. How are you?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than we deserve. What's up?

[George Camel]

So this is a crazy question, but I'm going to try and keep it brief. My childhood home where my dad still lives is an LLC with three other family member homes. There's five shares on each home to him, his parents and his two siblings. And my dad's in poor health right now and it will get passed down to me and my sisters after. And we just don't know how to even go about dealing with this due to the situation and other things. We just won't have peaceful use of this home. So we would like to sell it, but we have to sell it to one of the other owners and we just don't know what to do.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, well, you have no control. They've structured, they've structured this to where they have the control.

[George Camel]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so it sounds like you're probably at their mercy. Is there anything in the documentation that dictates the price at which one of the other people buy you out at?

[George Camel]

So I believe it's fair market value. But since my sisters and I will only have own 1/5 of the house, does that mean if we can sell it to them that we would only get 1/5 of that?

[Dave Ramsey]

So your dad owns 1/5?

[George Camel]

Yeah. So like right now six people actually own his house because.

[Dave Ramsey]

But he also owns, he also owns one fifth of all of theirs, right?

[George Camel]

Correct. Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. So it's your 1/5 is 1/5 of the total package of four houses.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

The total value of four houses you own 1/5 of.

[George Camel]

Okay. So that's kind of what we would sell it for then is the 1/5 value of the four.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. That's probably equal to more than one house. Yeah.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Then you and your siblings would split that. You said you have sisters.

[George Camel]

Yes. So our plan is actually to give it to our mom. The profits of it. Her and my dad built this house with their own hands when they were teenagers. And so we Would like to see the money just go to her. But we want to make sure we're treated fairly in the celibate. And the family has not been fair with anything else. But they can't afford. They're very wealthy. They can afford to buy us out.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, you know, I don't know what the documentation says. That's the question is, does the LLC say that you have the right to call them to cause them to purchase, to buy you out? Do you have the right to demand that? And I'm a little shocked, as controlling as they've been on everything else, that they would have that in the documentation. But if it's simply, if it's that simple, that says you can say you sent a certified letter. Do you have copies of the llc?

[George Camel]

Yes, my parents do have them. And then there's a couple other in the family.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, you need to take a copy of the LLC to an attorney and they can tell you what your rights are. But if it states, and I don't know because I haven't read it and you haven't either, but if it does state that you can just send them a certified letter, and in so many days, 30 days, 60 days or whatever, they have to buy you out of your one fifth of the whole thing, then that's what it. You know, the evaluation will have to be placed on all four of the houses. And, you know, one fifth of that, 20% of that comes to you and your sister. They buy you out. And then you've got to decide, you know, your mother and father are divorced.

[George Camel]

Separated, not divorced yet, but she was never put on the deed. None of this?

[Dave Ramsey]

No, that's not the question. I'm just wondering why. Why she's not already in the mix. But. Okay. All right. So that she doesn't live there and you want to give her all of this money.

[George Camel]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right. So what do you think the four houses are worth?

[George Camel]

It's lake frontage property on Lake Ontario. There's a few million, to be honest. Wow.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. There's.

[George Camel]

It's very. It's a huge compound.

[Dave Ramsey]

If it's 2 million, it's 400 grand coming to you.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. And is this Canadian or US Law?

[George Camel]

We're in New York.

[Dave Ramsey]

I know, but. I know you're in New York, but I use. Okay. I'm just making sure. So if that's. So you also need to get tax advice because you can't just Write somebody a $400,000 check without creating a gift tax problem.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you give this if they, if they buy you out and you are the lawful owner, then that money is yours and you just give it to your mom. You're gonna create a big tax problem. So you need to. There's a way to do that called the Unified Estate Tax Credit, but you need to seek good estate planning tax advice in this whole thing as well. So two things. One is get the, get the LLC to an attorney. If your dad's in ill health, go ahead and do it right now.

[Dr. John Deloney]

These just give me heart palpitations. The complexity of this. Where you go, all right, 17 people will eventually own these nine properties. That's not a blessing left to deal with that mess.

[Dave Ramsey]

Not. Not given that they also live there. I mean, if you had, like, I've got 17 properties that will be left to the three Ramsay Ramses, the next generation, and then there's eight following them that it would be less grandchildren. Okay. Called grandkids. So eight of them could be easily managing or owning a whole portfolio of real estate, but they're not living in any of it. Their individual homes are their homes. So. But that's different than a family compound situation, which is a sweet idea until it's not. Yeah. It's a, it's a problem. So.

[George Camel]

Wow.

[Dr. John Deloney]

You have to hope that there is a clause in the LLC that says you can actually force your share to be sold to the remaining parties. And if it's not, she may be out of luck.

[Dave Ramsey]

She just. I don't know. I mean, you gotta ask, have to ask an attorney what your options are. But it doesn't sound like you've got a lot of power here. And that sounds like that was the intent.

[Dr. John Deloney]

They like it that way.

[Dave Ramsey]

They like it where they have the power and not you. Yeah. So be careful what you sign up for. And see, this is one of those things that when all of these people sat down together, her dad and mom were together, they sat with his mom and dad, they sat with his brother and whoever else. Right. There's three other houses. So two siblings and mom and dad, they all sat down and said, hey, let's go buy this lake property and we'll just do a compound and mom and dad will pay for it and get it going and then they'll give us the land and all be in the llc and we all love each other. And that's how it started. But it really wasn't very well thought out because the long term unintended consequences of here now we sit and there's no exit strategy for people not getting along do you have to think through.

[Dr. John Deloney]

All of the what ifs?

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. And if you do, it'll lead you to not do this is what it'd be. So the only one that this worked for was the grandparents. No one else has had fun in this deal. And the grandkids now resent their grandparents. That didn't work out.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Not the intended goal here of leaving a legacy.

[Dave Ramsey]

Why? Because we screwed around with stuff and it got all mixed up in relationships. Instead of just keeping stuff real clean, basic boundaries. Love you. You have a nice life over there. Come over here and eat dinner with us. You got your life over there. Yeah. That's a good idea. Yeah, it's. When it's your personal residence, it's very, very, very sticky. This is the Ramsey Show.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Hey, what's up, guys?

[Dave Ramsey]

It's Jade Warshaw. And look, if there's anybody who knows student loan debt is a problem, it's me. My husband and I had $280,000 of it, but we. We were able to dig ourselves out. And you can, too. If your student loan payment and interest rate are burying you, refinancing could be the solution. Now, I recommend contacting my friends at Laurel Road today through their online application. You can get an initial rate quote in less than five minutes. And if you have a more complex situation, you can schedule 30 minutes to talk to an actual human being. Thank goodness Laurel Road makes it simple. There are no fees involved and you could save thousands over the life of your loan. Remember, you should only refinance if it makes sense in your situation. So if you're looking for a low.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Rate or a shorter term so that.

[Dave Ramsey]

You can pay off these student loans fast, Talk to my friends at Laurel Road about their competitive interest rates and how you could actually get a lower rate by signing up for autopay. Listen, nobody's coming to save you from student loan debt. If you want them gone, you can't mess around. Go to LaurelRoad.com Ramsey to find out more about student loan refinancing. Again, that's LaurelRoad.com Ramsey.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Laurel Road is a brand of Key Bank National Association.

[Dave Ramsey]

All credit products are subject to credit approval. Anna is with us in New Delhi, India. Hi, Anna. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[George Camel]

Hello. Thanks for taking my call.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sure. What's up?

[George Camel]

So my question is, I want to know how much do I need to understand about our investments? You say don't invest if you don't understand. I manage the US Investments for me and my husband. And my husband manages our India investments as he's an Indian citizen. Do I actually need to know about it, or is it okay for me to just be like that? Sounds great, honey. Thanks.

[Dave Ramsey]

You need to know about it.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

The only caveat. The only caveat is I have no idea what part of Indian culture I just stepped in.

[George Camel]

You didn't step into any. Don't worry.

[Dave Ramsey]

But I mean. Well, I mean, I've not got him on the phone. He's Indian. You're obviously American.

[George Camel]

Okay, so every month we sit down and he shows me the spreadsheet. It shows me where.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so he's very open to this idea. You're just trying to figure it out. Okay, so what I found out was I was investing in real estate like crazy. I was really good at it. And I've owned. We. Sharon and I have owned real estate she never saw. So, like, you're saying, she said, whatever you want to do, honey. I trust you. Yeah, well, it turns out I was an idiot. So it would have been better had she actually been helping me by looking at that and saying, you know, it just doesn't feel right. I got a bad feeling about that. And that's how she would have phrased it. And that would have given me pause. Well, it wouldn't have given me pause in those days because I didn't listen to anybody. But now I understand that. Who can find a virtuous wife? Her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her, and. And he will have no lack of gain. So it turns out that when you're married, you need to use all of your brain, which is both of you, okay? And you make better decisions. It's just better wisdom. And I'm not saying he's probably a lot smarter than I was. That'd be a low bar. But he's probably doing good stuff. I mean, he's probably, you know, and he's open to letting you see it. There's no hiding and there's no arrogance or anything like that in the way you've described this, which is really good sign. But. Yeah, but I think if something happened to him, I would want you to know what you had.

[George Camel]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And vice versa. And that when you work together, you make better decisions. Now, George, you and Whitney have been married how long?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Seven years now.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so that's different than an old dog like me been married almost 43. All right, but you guys have used that same principle, because we teach that principle. And George is the nerd by far. I mean, he's deep down in the.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Investment Also the eye candy, but nerd as well.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, brother. Yeah. And humble.

[Dr. John Deloney]

If you're watching on YouTube, you'll know that was a joke.

[Dave Ramsey]

But the. Anyway, Whitney would be, she would, she's sweet. And she would be someone that would normally say, I trust you, George, whatever you want to do.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Exactly. And she also occasionally goes, hey, how are the investment accounts doing? Where are we at with our savings plan? And I go, here you go. She has the access, she knows the.

[Dave Ramsey]

Login, but she understands it.

[Dr. John Deloney]

She understands what we're doing, why we're doing it, the principles.

[Dave Ramsey]

Why did you go to that trouble? Because that's what we teach, I guess. But yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah. And so part of it is just knowing that if you ask questions, he should be able to answer them with honesty and show you the accounts, give you access to the accounts and understand the principles.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good job, Anna. Very cool. Interesting question. Shelby's in Jacksonville, Florida. Hi, Shelby. How are you?

[George Camel]

Good. How are you?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. How can I help?

[George Camel]

So my husband and I make about 4,800 to $5,000 a month, you know, give or take, over time, things like that. But in our mortgage payment is 1750amonth. And I mean, obviously we have other bills. We end up usually being able to save $400 a month, which isn't. I'm, I'm, I'd like to save more than that. So I'm trying to figure out how to increase our income. Should I, I have this idea to start a small business or should I just go get a regular, like part time job?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Are you guys debt free?

[George Camel]

No. So we probably, we just had a daughter, she's eight months old, so we're, you know, obviously getting bills from hospital stays and stuff like that from her. And then I have a $10,000 student loan, so we have about, I don't know, about 20, $25,000 worth of debt.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay, so you need money.

[Dave Ramsey]

You did not have insurance on the delivery?

[George Camel]

We did, but that was after insurance.

[Dave Ramsey]

You didn't have $10,000 over insurance on delivery of medical bills?

[George Camel]

No, I mean, I'm just kind of honestly, that's like a guesstimate. I. That's not just delivery. That's like I had a high risk pregnancy, so I had to go to a lot of different doctors. So I'm getting doctors bills from that and stuff like that. It's not just from delivery, it's just medical bills in general. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. So, yeah. And it's probably not 10, it's probably more like 5 when you get into It. But okay.

[George Camel]

Yeah, Yeah. I kind of tend to, like, over budget and things like that.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So I love the idea of a small business. I don't know that now is the time to do it, depending on what type it is and what kind of investment you're talking about. Because a small business might mean I got to invest 10 grand and I might not make money for two years. Well, that sucks when you're in.

[George Camel]

So I'm thinking more so of. And I mean, I don't know, but I'm thinking more so I'm trying to start, like a photo booth business. And I've done some research. It's minimal startup. We kind of have a lot of the equipment already. I think I could start making money very soon. Obviously, that's. I'm not naturally, like. I'm not like a go getter as far as, like, being my own boss or anything like that. So I don't know exactly what I'm doing in that aspect of it.

[Dave Ramsey]

I think right now what you would concentrate on is with a new baby in the house and cleaning up these bills. I think you want the quick money. So that's gonna be a traditional something that just hands you money right now. Later on, we might try a business idea, but right now, I mean, you're eight months. Y'all aren't even sleeping great, so.

[George Camel]

Well, we actually do have a really easy baby, so we do sleep really good. Yes. Yeah, I understand.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I sleep a lot better. There are no babies in my house. Okay. So I'm just saying. Oh, yeah, it's a hard time. You're carrying a load. Right. Of other things, and it's probably the time just to make it some extra money. And your first goal is not saving. Your first goal is clear these debts.

[George Camel]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

I want you to get a thousand. Do you have any money saved now?

[George Camel]

Yeah, we have. So we bought this house. We had a house previously. So we have some money. We didn't use all of our money into this house. So we have like eight grand right now in our savings account, so.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. And so you could clean up these student loans today. I mean, these medical bills today.

[George Camel]

Yes, I could clean up some of them.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. I want y'all. I want y'all to make a list of all of them tonight and pay them all tonight.

[George Camel]

Yeah, because that's. I mean, we've always. We've never been able to save, like, a significant amount of money. And I've thought about just using that money to pay a lot off.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[George Camel]

But it's like having a security blanket in the.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm telling you, if you want to build wealth, the first step is to clear your debt. Your second step is to build a fully funded emergency fund. And then your third step is to begin investing long term. And you're going to do that by getting on a detailed budget, making every dollar behave and go create some extra income which you were offering to do and that's why you called. So we're going to add some income. We're not going to have any medical bills hanging over our head. After tonight we have a smaller savings and then we need to knock a student loan out by Christmas, be done with it. And then when you've got no payments and you're doing a detailed budget and every dollar is behaving, then you're going to see some serious ability to stack cash and really start to build a good emergency fund. Because you guys probably ought to have a 25 or $30,000 emergency fund when you're done with this. Then you start doing your investing for the kids, college for your retirement and you start to build some wealth. But. Right, but so far you've kind of just wandered along on the money thing. And what I'm telling you to do is get very serious and very detailed and very sacrificial. And like this matters, because it does. You have an eight month old. This really matters. So hang on, we'll get you signed up for every dollar premium, which is our the world's premiere best budgeting app. And it'll show you how to do everything in there. And that'll get you started and get you going. This is the Ramsey Show. Hey, when you're Gazelle intense, you sell so much stuff the kids think they're next. But when you've gotten rid of all, you can save money by switching your cell phone plan to boost mobile. It's just $25 a month for unlimited talk, text and data forever. Boost is a major nationwide network that offers reliable 5G service. And here's my favorite part, transparent pricing. There's no hidden fees, no contracts and there's a 30 day money back guarantee which means no risk. Go to boostmobile.com Ramsey to switch today. That's boostmobile.com Ramsey let me tell you, the guys gonna cut you. It's Holy week in Jerusalem and the city is restless.

[George Camel]

The people of Israel welcome Jesus as king.

[Dave Ramsey]

His followers ready for revolution. But instead of taking the throne, Jesus turns the tables.

[George Camel]

Woe to you scribes and Pharisees.

[Dave Ramsey]

How will you escape being condemned to hell?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Experience Holy Week like never before. What have you done now in theaters?

[Dave Ramsey]

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[George Camel]

Get your tickets now.

[Dave Ramsey]

If you're running a business or you know someone is that is you know one thing for sure, like I do. It's hard when you go to work for yourself. You'll find out that your boss is a jerk. He'll work you like a rented mule. I mean, you just work all the time because you got to get stuff done, man. You got to get started. You got to get the thing moving. If it's to be, it's up to me. You got to do it. And one of the things we found at Ramsey, over the years of building this company from a card table in my living room to where it is today, over the last 35 years and now coaching over 10,000 small businesses, we've discovered that there are five distinct stages that small business goes through. And there are six things that drive you through those five stages. This outlines the clear path, kind of the baby steps for small businesses. It's the entree leadership system and we teach it to small businesses all the time. So we decided to put it into a book. It's called build a business you love. The book will come out next week. It's $29.99. But if you buy it before next week in the presale time, like right now, you'll get over $350 in free bonus items like access to instant access to the entre leadership hiring playbook. Number one, pain point of small business hiring and firing. The ebook, the enhanced audiobook. The audiobook for this is different. We really put a bunch of fun stuff in it and it's more like listening to a podcast than an e book than an audiobook. So check it all out pre [e-mail] store or YouTuber podcasters. You can click in the link, click the link in the description and get going. Carolyn's with us in Cleveland. Hi, Carolyn, how are you?

[George Camel]

Good. How are you doing?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. What's up?

[George Camel]

Well, I'm a widow and I'm 81 years old and I am trying to come up with the best way to take the money I do have and make a short term investment because being at 81, I don't think I'd qualify for the S and P. So I'm looking for suggestions from you as to where to put my $43,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. Are you using the 43,000 for living?

[George Camel]

Well, no. There's $18,000 in my checking account. $17,000 in my savings account, and I have cash on hand of $16,060, and my yearly income is 66,864. So the money that I saved.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you can live on the income you have coming in without touching this money?

[George Camel]

Correct.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, good.

[George Camel]

In fact, I usually take about $2,000 out of it, out of my monthly income, and I keep it to build up on my cash.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, that's how you got all that money, in checking. Yeah. Okay.

[George Camel]

Right. And I really should take some of the money in checking and switch some of that over to my savings. Yeah, you should, but I'm not getting anything on my savings or anything on my checking. And so.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, you're not. You probably just. But. But I don't want you taking a bunch of risk with it. Like you said, the S and P, you know, that's probably. I don't. I don't want that money to go down in value three weeks after you put it in there. That would scare me for you because you don't have a big pile of money. If you had 400,000 or something, we'd have a different conversation. But with 40,000, I would just use a high yield savings. And George, what are you getting on high yield savings these days?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Current rates are about 3, 3.8.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, not great is what I've been seeing.

[Dr. John Deloney]

They've been ticking down over the last few months. But that's still better than your 0%. And so I would put anything above your expenses that you need in that checking account. I would have store the rest in a high yield savings account.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, it's not. It's not making a ton. It's not exactly high yield. It's kind of a misnomer if it's only 3%. That's kind of like a low yield savings account. But it's going to be, you know.

[Dr. John Deloney]

1500 bucks a year.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, you'll make a little bit, but you could lose that much in one week if you had it invested, say in S and P or something along those lines, or even a growth in income. Something calmer than an S and P, but still could go. I mean, could go down. And we've had that experience in the last. Well, the last week with the tariff stuff going on. The stock market's gone bananas. And so, you know, you could have lost $4,000 of your 40 in the last week in value.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So the key is, if you need.

[Dave Ramsey]

It anytime soon, you don't have that margin. I don't want you losing $4,000 in a week. Because the president is playing tariff games. You can't do that. And so I can afford to take that hit. So I'll be in there. But you know, that's not that big a huge nist egg. And so we don't want to lose 10% of your 40,000. So no, I think high yield savings and just hold your nose and you're not making much money on it.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Just keep up with inflation.

[Dave Ramsey]

But such is life and that's how it works, you know, so. Ouch. Candace is in Cleveland, Ohio as well. Hi Candace, how are you?

[George Camel]

I'm good. How are you guys?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than we deserve. What's up?

[George Camel]

So my parents are giving me $60,000. They asked that one thing I do is to put it towards a new car and I don't know what to do with the rest of the money and it makes me very nervous.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. A better car? I hope not a brand new car?

[George Camel]

No, I don't, I don't want a new car at all.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, okay. Okay.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So where are you at financially? What's your income?

[George Camel]

I work for myself and with that I make about 60 and then I have a part time job and I make about 25,000.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Way to go.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you're making 85. Are you single?

[George Camel]

Yes, I have a 13 year old. I'll be 35 in two weeks.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good for you. Okay, and. And you have a 13 year old. All right. And do you have any debt?

[George Camel]

No, I actually just finished your book last week and paid off my credit cards two weeks ago and I don't have any student loans.

[Dave Ramsey]

I love it.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Candace, you got some money in savings?

[George Camel]

I have a thousand in my savings and then my son has about 3,000 right now. I do pay him for my company, so each year I can get up to the maximum of paying him.

[Dave Ramsey]

Cool. So you put in. So. So you read Total Money makeover?

[George Camel]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so a thousand dollars is baby step one being debt free? Other than the houses, baby step two, that's where you are. So you need to move to baby step three and fully fund your emergency fund, don't you?

[George Camel]

Yes, I do.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so that's what we're going to use some of the 64. And what kind of car are you driving currently?

[George Camel]

It's a Nissan Rogue 2015. It has 162,000 miles on it. And I did replace the transmission a year ago which was 6,000. So I'm kind of done with this car.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so you're going to trade cars. How much are we going to spend on a car? Above what this brings right now.

[George Camel]

I looked at the value, it only would give me about 2000, and I was just going to hold on to it so that my son can learn how to drive on it and he can kind of tear it up in, like, the next year.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so what are you going to spend on a car?

[George Camel]

I did not want to go over 30,000 at all.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, no, I wouldn't. I think 20 is your max.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I put 20 on a car, and then I would do the emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. And so you probably need 25 in there. So we about used up big chunk of the money. Then that leaves you 15. And you can move that, some of that towards your son's college fund and some towards your Roth IRAs and start your retirement going right?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yes, it's pretty cool.

[Dave Ramsey]

All I did was follow the baby steps.

[George Camel]

You hear it okay? Yes. So it should be about 15 left to put in the savings, is what you're saying?

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. I mean, if you put 25 on a car or 25 in the emergency fund, 20 on a car, that's 45 of 60, correct?

[George Camel]

Yes.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And seven grand would max out a Roth IRA for the year. And then you got eight left over.

[Dave Ramsey]

If you do it before tax, before you file your. Have you filed your taxes yet?

[George Camel]

Yes, I did already.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, then you could do seven grand, and you could do seven grand next year and so on. But, yeah, you're right on track. Now, your mom and dad just gave you a $60,000 gift. They understand there's gift tax involved.

[George Camel]

So they're giving me some and giving my sister some, too.

[Dave Ramsey]

I know, but there is no but the max. There is a gift tax. Anything over 19,000 has a gift tax. So your mom could give you 19,000, your dad can give you 19,000, but that's only 38, which leaves them taxable above that. So they need to get some tax advice, because there's a way they can do this with the Unified Estate Tax Credit. But if they just write you a check and then they get audited, they're going to get hammered for gift tax. So you need folks be aware. 19,000 is a max. Now, again, you could do four times that if it's couple to couple, but this is a couple to an individual. So double that. Mom gives her 19, dad gives her 19 is your max. There's a time in your life and.

[George Camel]

Did the baby steps for renting, but you don't want to do it forever, because when you rent, you're still Paying.

[Dave Ramsey]

For a mortgage, just somebody else's.

[George Camel]

Plus rent means instability in your budget.

[Dave Ramsey]

Because it always goes up, never down. So when you're ready to buy, make.

[George Camel]

Sure you work with a mortgage partner. You can rely on Churchill Mortgage. Churchill is Ramsey trusted to help you make the move from renting to home ownership wisely. Churchill understands that when you buy a home the Ramsey way, your mortgage payment will be a consistent, manageable part of your monthly budget. Plus, when your home is paid off, that was your largest expense. Now it's extra money in your pocket and an asset towards turning you into a baby steps millionaire. So get started on the American dream of home ownership [e-mail] that's churchillmortgage.com this.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Is a paid advertisement in MLS. ID 1591 and mlsconsumeraccess.org Equal housing lender, 1749 Mallory Lane, Suite 100, Brentwood, Tennessee, 37027.

[George Camel]

All right, Dave, Dave, you have some strong opinions possibly? Yeah, I think so. Because you really prefer credit unions over big banks.

[Dave Ramsey]

So why, why is that? Well, credit unions, for one thing, are nonprofit, which means that the members, the customers, own the credit union. So any profits that the credit union makes goes back into customer pricing. So you get better interest rate on savings, cheaper checking and so on, that kind of thing. And. But what's more important than that though, is the fact that the customer is the owner, changes the spirit on the credit union. So I find very few credit unions that aren't very customer centric. Yes, well, and I think we have found one that is incredible and that's Fairwinds. They are an incredible credit union that.

[George Camel]

Is really out with the heart to help the customer.

[Dave Ramsey]

You know, that's why we're partnering with them, because they've got a scope to be able to handle the Ramsey audience. And they're the right kind of people with the right kind of values and they've done a really, really good job with customer service and the deals that they're offering. The Ramsey Tribe is incredible. Yeah, absolutely.

[George Camel]

And you're right, their customer service is unbelievable. Winston and I just signed up and.

[Dave Ramsey]

We got an account.

[George Camel]

Yeah, and I'm not kidding, it took, it took less than five minutes.

[Dave Ramsey]

It was so user friendly. Like the step by step approach was unbelievable.

[George Camel]

And then the next day my phone rings and it says fair winds on my phone. So I answered it and talked to.

[Dave Ramsey]

Someone there and they said, yeah, they.

[George Camel]

Give calls to every new customer. And so again, they just really care.

[Dave Ramsey]

About your experience and I, I so, so appreciate that. So, again, you guys, I know it.

[George Camel]

Can be a pain to switch banks or to open up new accounts, but Fairwinds, again, they make it so easy. Plus, anything that you can do at a traditional branch, you can do with.

[Dave Ramsey]

[e-mail] or on their app. And you'll have free access to over 33,000 ATMs. You guys know how much I hate banks in general, and so for me to do this is a big deal. Talk to our friends at Fairwinds and check out the combined checking and savings bundle that they created just for the Ramsey tribe. You guys, it's incredible.

[George Camel]

Yeah, you guys, it's so easy to join Fairwinds no matter where you live. So go to Fairwinds.org Ramsey to learn more. That's F A I R W I n d s.org Ramsey.

[Dave Ramsey]

The Ramsey Show Question of the day is brought to you by. Why Refi? Why Refi offers a different approach to paying off your defaulted private student loans. With a low fixed rate, less stress, it's a deal. You can get the loan back moving again and you can get it paid off. Go to yrefi.com Ramsey that's the letter y r e f y.com Ramsey might not be in all states.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Today's question comes from Brooklyn in Maryland. She asks, my husband's pay has increased to 115,000 this year with the possibility of increasing to 200,000 in the next two years. He's 35 and we hope to have children soon. We have a $750,000 and or term life policy for him. Should we increase the life insurance amount based on his income increasing or are we okay to stay with the $750,000 policy? We're on baby step two with about $100,000 of debt. We rent and don't plan to purchase a home until we have a fully funded emergency fund and at least a 20% down payment. Good. A lot of good things happening here. So the question is income increases. We recommend 10 to 12 times your income in a term life policy. And so he's making more than 75. Now it's time to get probably keep the policy you have and add a new one onto there to supplement it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, that's what I would look at. What you can do is price that and say, all right, you don't have kids yet. So if he passed away today and you got 750, you probably are fine.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Your expenses haven't doubled.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, you're probably fine now. If you wanted to replace the income and the lifestyle associated with his income for you and a couple of kids, then you're not fine. And so you, you know, you're going to kick it up to about 2 million, but, you know, price another million if you wanted to. And look at how expensive it is. It's not very expensive if you're, you know, it sounds like. I'm gonna guess, I'm guessing. Say they're in their 20s. Oh, no, he's 35.

[Dr. John Deloney]

He's 35.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. And you know, if you're not overweight and you don't smoke and you're 35 years old, it just doesn't cost that much. But those are the two. Obesity and smoking are the two biggest factors. They'll blow your life insurance through the roof.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Likely less than a hundred bucks a month based on what I've seen from these.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you got 100,000 you're trying to pay off. So you might say, I'm going to price it. And then based on what the price is, if it's really cheap, I'll go ahead and do it. If it feels an ouchy while I'm trying to get out of debt, I might wait a year to do it. It's not the end of the world. You're going to be fine either way. But yeah, you're really wise to be staying up on it and asking the question. George is right. The ideal amount is about 12 times your income. So somewhere around $2 million in this situation, which would be adding 1.25 if we said, if we wanted to be real ticky tacky about it, and if you were out of debt and in your emergency fund, I'd say do it right now, but you don't want to pick up that extra hundred bucks. Maybe not right now. You want to use that towards the debt. So price it out with Zander insurance to see where you land. And that'll kind of tell you if. If you kind of flinch a little, then just wait a little bit. But if it doesn't feel like the cost of a pizza, then go ahead and do it. You know, that kind of thing. And that's really. Term insurance is so inexpensive that it's mind blowing that it really doesn't become a huge budget buster. Trevor is in Baton Rouge. Hi, Trevor. How are you doing?

[George Camel]

Good.

[Dave Ramsey]

Are you Better than I deserve? What's up?

[George Camel]

So I just call him for some advice. I got a. My wife had gotten pregnant and due to her job, she couldn't work while pregnant. So due to that, we End up getting behind our house note. And we have about $20,000 in debt. And I was just wondering where should I go from here?

[Dave Ramsey]

How much is your house payment?

[George Camel]

It's 21amonth. 2100amonth.

[Dave Ramsey]

What do you make?

[George Camel]

I made. Last year. I made about 75k.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so you're taking home about four grand?

[George Camel]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

How many payments are you behind?

[George Camel]

I'm behind $18,000. So I don't. I don't know the month. I think around nine. Nine months?

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. When's your baby coming, honey?

[George Camel]

We've had her already. My wife went back to work Thursday.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, good.

[George Camel]

Yeah, she's. She's three months old. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so what's your wife make?

[George Camel]

She brings home, but she's. She's working less hours now, so we're. She's gonna be bringing home about 45 this year.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. She's working less hours because she has a three month old, Correct?

[George Camel]

Yeah. She'll be working part time.

[Dave Ramsey]

Who's the baby staying with?

[George Camel]

Us. Oh, so her. At her work. There's a. They have a playhouse that she pays 180 a week for.

[Dave Ramsey]

Can she work more since there's a playhouse there?

[George Camel]

No, the playhouse is open on Fridays. That's the issue.

[Dave Ramsey]

So she's working all she can four.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Days a week instead of five?

[George Camel]

Correct.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Okay. What's the mortgage company told you?

[George Camel]

I actually just got off the phone with them. They were telling me, you know, that we're not in active foreclosure, but it's going to be coming soon. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yes.

[George Camel]

Do something about it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. You know, is it an fha, a VA Or a conventional fha? Fha. Okay. Yeah, you're due. You're due for them to start coming now. What's the house worth?

[George Camel]

About 250.

[Dave Ramsey]

And what do you owe on it?

[George Camel]

225.

[Dr. John Deloney]

What other debt do you have?

[George Camel]

I have a. A car debt. That's 8,000. Some credit cards. About the total. It's about 3,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

You behind on everything else?

[George Camel]

I'm not behind on anything else, no, sir. Okay.

[Dr. John Deloney]

What's that car worth? You owe 8 on it. What could you sell it for like 5? You're underwater on that?

[George Camel]

Yeah, I got. It's been an accident.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you got anything else? You got anything you can sell to help with this 18k?

[George Camel]

I, I don't, but I am, so I'm going. My job recently asked me if I wanted to go to Florida for two months, which is gonna. I. I should be making around $30,000 for the next two months. It's with per diem and stuff, so that'll definitely help out a lot.

[Dave Ramsey]

You can make an extra 30 or you make $30,000 in two months.

[George Camel]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And she can be at home working and keep bills covered at home.

[George Camel]

Correct.

[Dave Ramsey]

Then you can be current before you get foreclosed on.

[George Camel]

Okay?

[Dave Ramsey]

Right.

[George Camel]

Yes, sir.

[Dave Ramsey]

If you make 30 and it takes 18 now, it takes 20 because we got another month involved. Right. Takes 20 to get your current and you make 30. I think we got it covered because it takes 30 days to foreclose, minimum. And they hadn't even started.

[George Camel]

Yeah, I haven't even received the breach letter. They were saying after the breach letter, it's 65 days before it goes, in fact, to foreclosure or something.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. So you've got 90 days, you got three months, and in two months, you can make 30 grand to catch it up.

[George Camel]

Right. Well, I'm not leaving until the end of this month, so it'll be right at three months that I make the money.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So May and June, you're bringing.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so here's. Here's what you can do then. All right. There's a process with a mortgage company called a forbearance. A forbearance is where you pay payments, double, triple payments, that kind of thing, until you're current, and that stops the foreclosure. Hud, FHA requires that they attempt a forbearance before foreclosure if you request it.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you're going to request it.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I want you to set up a system where you pay double payments until you're current, but you're going to get current in 90 days anyway, you're going to pay it faster than that. Deal. Okay.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

So if you want to call them back and say, I want to do a forbearance of two payments a month beginning at the first of the month.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Then I want you to pay it current as soon as you can, even though you made that deal. Does that make sense? I want you to pay it faster than that because you're going to have the money.

[George Camel]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Is that all making sense to you?

[George Camel]

Yeah, that makes sense.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. You remember the word forbearance?

[George Camel]

Forbearance.

[Dave Ramsey]

Tell them your financial. Your financial coach told you to do a forbearance, because I'm your financial coach and I just told you to.

[George Camel]

Okay?

[Dave Ramsey]

Now, if that does not work, I'm going to put you on hold, and Christian is going to pick up, and we're going to set you up with one of the Ramsey coaches in your area and they can call on your behalf if you're unable to get the mortgage company to do this. Because they can get the mortgage company to do it. I promise you.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

We stop foreclosures all the time. It's one of the things we do around here. Okay. But it requires making substantial payments and what we just learned is that you're not afraid of hard work and you got a way to clean this up. Thank God. I was worried there for a minute and you brought, you brought me that last bit of news there at the end and that was perfect. So hang on, Christian will pick up, we'll hook you up with one of our coaches and you can either call or you can have the coach call or both and get you a forbearance done. If you go to Florida, you can catch this house up before they get it foreclosed. Good job, man. Good job.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Hey guys. I'm super excited to announce that two of the goats of sticking to a budget have finally teamed up. That's right. Ramsey and Aldi are partnering together because, well, groceries cost a lot of money and besides that, most stores are designed to trap you in a maze. A sad, expensive maze. But Aldi is different. Aldi gives you simpler, better food choices that save you money and get you in and out so you can focus on what really matters. From affordable high quality must haves to grass fed meat, organic produce and yes, even name brands, Aldi has what you need at prices that won't steal your joy. So stop paying more and start shopping smarter at Aldi. Find a store near you today at Aldi us. That's a l D. I.

[Dave Ramsey]

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions. It's the Ramsey show. We help people build wealth, do work that they love and create actual amazing relationships. George Camel, Ramsey, personality number one best selling author is my co host. Today Tanner is in Little Rock, Arkansas. Hi Tanner, how are you?

[George Camel]

George, Dave, man. Pleasure. Guys in a little bit of a pickle here. So just real, real briefly, I just realized that I haven't been taking responsibility for my taxes and so I've reached out to a cpa. Prior to me realizing this. Excuse me, I'm emotional. So back three years of taxes turned out to be about 45 grand. I'm in sales. I make about 220 a year. I do have some consumer debt. I'm at the point of being sick and tired of being sick and tired. I just wanted to see what you guys thought on my situation and how I could get out of this as soon as possible with as much aggression as I can.

[Dave Ramsey]

Are you single?

[George Camel]

No, sir, I'm married of six years with two kiddos, two and three.

[Dave Ramsey]

Your wife work outside the home?

[George Camel]

No, sir, she stays at home.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. She have $225,000 income? So you're making about 20 grand a month?

[George Camel]

Well, I'm in the roofing sale, so it fluctuates. I can make a good month of 40 grand and a month of 2000.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[George Camel]

Really just fluctuating.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you have any money involved?

[George Camel]

We got about $8,000 split between a savings account, our emergency fund and a little bit in the crypto market. About a grand in there.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right. Cash that out today and take 7,000 of your 8,000 with it and throw it at the 45 debt. Have the returns been filed?

[George Camel]

They just got filed as of last week.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[George Camel]

Now, of course the 45 is not taking in consideration the penalties.

[Dave Ramsey]

Right.

[George Camel]

And the late fees. Not too sure what to expect on that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Probably another 10.

[George Camel]

Okay. I owe about 38 on my truck. Oh. Another 36 on a dang vacuum and about 31 on a dirt bike. Thinking I was trying to build credit.

[Dave Ramsey]

3100.

[George Camel]

3100, yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sell it.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And yeah, we got to get this mess cleaned up. Why are you on 1099 if you're doing roofing sales?

[George Camel]

I was 1099 up until last November. We then switched to a W2, which helped me in a small portion as far as this year's return.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[George Camel]

Had about 11,000 come back off the holdings, which of course that rolls over.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. Yeah. Because you should not have, you know, you shouldn't have been on 1099 ever. But, but you're there now. Okay. So we've solved the problem. I mean we solved the. You stopped up the hole so it's not leaking anymore. We don't, we're not. Have a recurring tax problem. You're going to stay, you're going to file taxes on time for the rest of your life because it's too stinking expensive and scary. And scary.

[George Camel]

Yes, sir, no doubt.

[Dave Ramsey]

So now if you sell the dirt bike, you owe $3,600 on a vacuum and you owe 38,000 on your car and you owe 45,000, right?

[George Camel]

Correct. Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so about 90 grand, 85 grand gets you out of debt, correct?

[George Camel]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you make 225. What's your house payment?

[George Camel]

Well, and so that's another thing. We're right now renting to own from my mother in law.

[Dave Ramsey]

How much is that $800. Okay, cool. So just keep paying 800 bucks. And you need to pay off $85,000 in debt. Making 225. That sounds like you're doing that in a year.

[George Camel]

Well, and my question is, with the 45,000 in taxes, now that I'm W2 and not changing anything as far as my withholdings, would it be smart to focus on the other debts?

[Dave Ramsey]

No.

[Dr. John Deloney]

That IRS debt goes to the very top of your debt, snowball. Make minimum payments on all of your other debts except the IRS debt. Throw as much as you can every single month towards it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. It's very expensive. Penalties and interest ongoing.

[George Camel]

Sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you want to get rid of it. Plus they have virtually unlimited power to come and screw up your life if you don't do this.

[George Camel]

Yes, sir.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. You want to get them out of your life forever and ever. Amen. And the CPA that did your taxes, have him verify that you have the proper amount being withheld.

[George Camel]

Well, and so this is where I'm getting my knowledge from, or at least my plan there. He said if you keep holding out the way it's holding out, because they're holding out more than they should.

[Dave Ramsey]

No. Offset it. No. I want them to hold out the correct amount and the rest of it comes home. And I want you to pay this off as soon as you possibly can.

[George Camel]

Sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

I want him to calculate what the correct amount of withholding is and you bring everything else home and you give it to the stupid irs.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

As fast as you can. Because I think you're going to have them out of your life by September.

[George Camel]

Well, that would be the hopes. Yes, sir.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, it's a mathematical fact, not a hope.

[George Camel]

Sure. Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

But you're. You're not going out to eat and you're not going on vacation.

[Dr. John Deloney]

These big commissions have been disappearing into toys.

[George Camel]

Absolutely. Yes, sir. And eating out and just blowing money.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. No more. You're on beans and rice. Rice and beans.

[George Camel]

Yes.

[Dr. John Deloney]

What's that truck worth?

[George Camel]

If I was a private seller, I would probably get maybe right at what it's worth. Maybe 40.

[Dave Ramsey]

If you like it, you can pay it off in a year. But if you're not willing to sacrifice and cut your budget and your wife's not and you all get down and get this, start being grown ups and clean up this freaking mess, then you need to sell the truck. But if you're willing to do what I'm telling you to do and be done in a year with the whole stinking thing debt free, everything in one year. And you get your withholding to be the proper amount. Throw everything at the irs, then throw everything at the vacuum, which is one month, and then throw everything at the truck. Then you keep the truck if you're going to do it that way. But if you're going to drag this out for the next three or four years, then we really can't help you, number one. But number two, you should sell the truck in that case. But, Tanner, you know, two and a quarter minus 85 is still over $100,000 for you all to live on.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And your rent to own is only 800 bucks.

[Dave Ramsey]

800 bucks. And so you can live on $100,000 and still be debt free in a year. Oh, you're killing me. Wah. You know, so let's do this, and let's roll up our sleeves and punch this in the nose. But y'all are going to have to get on tight budget. You know, hold on. We'll set you up with the EveryDollar premium budgeting app and the whole thing and help you build all this out. But that's the math is two and a quarter minus 85, and you're living on 100. Where I think you can do this.

[Dr. John Deloney]

That budget will show you.

[Dave Ramsey]

This is not like we cut you to 30 and you got debt free in a year, so you really ought to be done faster than a year. And when you don't have this IRS shame hanging over you and you don't have a stupid vacuum payment, which is really shaming. That's like stupid steroids. Who gets a vacuum industrial? Yeah. I mean, when you get that stuff out of your life, you're going to feel so much better about you. You're going to feel, like, clean, you know, because this is. You just look at that stuff and you go, I don't like me right now. I didn't pay my taxes, and I bought a vacuum on payments, you know, and when you get rid of that, man, I'm telling you, it's. You're going to love it. It's. You're going to feel so much better, but you're going to have to bust your butt for a whole year here, like, going crazy. You can do this, man. I've looked at stuff, I've done. I go, dave, you are an idiot. And I want that stuff that reminds me, and I'm an idiot. I want it out of my life because I don't like being reminded you.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Don'T want to do it twice.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's for sure. I don't like it. It's not fun. This is the Ramsey Show. Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? You can take control of your money and your relationships, and it starts with just one night. Join me and Dr. John DeLoney live in a city near you on the Money and Relationships Tour. We're covering the real life stuff that matters so you can break the cycles that have left you stuck. It's coming up fast, so get your tickets for Louisville, Durham, Atlanta, Phoenix, Fort Worth or Kansas City at ramseysolutions.com tour today, statistics show that half of Americans don't have enough life insurance or they don't have any at all. I don't understand this, John. Why don't people want to take care of their family? They think they're not going to die or something. Well, I used to be one of those guys. I didn't even think about it.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And one of my buddies said, hey, the only reason to not have life insurance is if you hate your wife and kids.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I immediately went and got term life insurance. That's a gut punch.

[Dr. John Deloney]

For decades, Dave, I've sat across people.

[George Camel]

Who'Ve lost a spouse, they've lost somebody important to them.

[Dave Ramsey]

Me, too.

[Dr. John Deloney]

They don't know what to do next.

[Dave Ramsey]

You're going to have a crisis here. You know, you got two options. While you're sitting and talking to a young widow, she's concerned about how she's going to invest all this money properly and not mess this up or she's concerned how she's going to eat tomorrow. That's exactly these are the two options. It's saying I love you to your family. Term life insurance. Jeff Zander and the team at Zander Insurance makes it easy and affordable. I've used them personally for 25 years. They're the only people I trust. Go to Zander.com or call 800-356-4282. Tax Day is only a week away. Don't put yourself through the stress of waiting until the last minute. Or worse than that, wait three years, like that guy a minute ago. Don't do that stuff. Get your taxes filed on time. None of us like taxes. But you know, this makes your life worse when you don't take care of stuff. So you're gonna be fined. You're gonna be fined big time. And you're gonna see all kinds of late charges and interest like you've never seen. So you don't go to jail for not paying your taxes, but you can go to jail for nothing, filing your taxes. Failure to file is criminal. Failure to pay is not technically speaking. And 2578 people did go to jail last year for failure to file. So it's very real. So I'm not trying to scare you. I'm just saying it is the law. And you need to file your taxes. Hello. And if you want some help doing that, go to ramseysolutions.com smarttax get everything you need to file your taxes. Doesn't cost for hardly anything, especially if you've got a simple return. Our current price offer expires on April 11th. So if you'll go ahead and do it like this week before waiting to the last minute, you can get the best possible deal on the Ramsey Smart Tech software. And it's very, very accurate, and it will help you get this done in a quick and easy manner. Do not put this stuff off, boys and girls. Do not put this stuff off. Jackie's in Denver. Hi, Jackie. How are you?

[George Camel]

I'm doing well. How about you, Dave?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. What's up?

[George Camel]

Well, we have a little situation here that I need some advice with. My husband has a small business that he's been operating for a year and it's currently running at $20,000 in debt. And we have recently found out that we will be receiving an inheritance from one of my family members who passed away last summer. When we set this whole business up, the understanding was that we wouldn't be mixing any of our personal money, personal finances with the and that there would be a hard line drawn there.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm sorry, what's the who's understanding? What do you mean?

[George Camel]

The two of us, my husband and I had that conversation.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, too late, because the $20,000 debt is a personal debt.

[George Camel]

I agree with you 100%.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, I promise you, that's what the law will tell you. They didn't run this broke business money. They loaned you money.

[George Camel]

My fear is, am I going to feel resentful when we use the inheritance to pay off that loan?

[Dave Ramsey]

I guess you should have decided that before you took out the loan.

[George Camel]

And I know it was a verbal agreement between the two of us as husband and wife, and he totally was on board that the business would have to pay for itself and that we wouldn't be using any retirement money, any of our personal money to pay that loan.

[Dave Ramsey]

But that was mythology. You don't have the power to do that. You understand that if you don't pay this bill that they're going to come take the stuff you're talking about. They're going to sue you. Oh, yeah.

[George Camel]

I totally. Oh yeah, I totally understand that.

[Dave Ramsey]

So, I mean, you already have mixed it. You've already made that commitment when you all took out the loan.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I think you're already resentful.

[Dave Ramsey]

You have some kind of mythology that you somehow kept this separate. It's not separate at all, hon. You're on the hook for it, so I understand that.

[George Camel]

I know. 100%. We're on the hook for it. I guess maybe it's a relational question, a relationship question. He hasn't. He.

[Dave Ramsey]

How much is the inheritance?

[George Camel]

It will be close to 150.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. And you didn't want him to open the business?

[George Camel]

No, I did. I wanted him to succeed at the business. Totally.

[Dave Ramsey]

Is it succeeding?

[George Camel]

Not at the. Not. Not one year in.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Is it losing money still?

[George Camel]

Let me go back and say that last year it was. It's a very small lawn care business and it's only last year grossed 50,000, netted about 20, and put all of that right back into the business. Unfortunately, it wasn't to pay the loan. It was to buy more equipment. And that I didn't necessarily agree with, but I went along with it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[George Camel]

And then there was also an agreement he would be working in the off season to be paying off that loan. And that didn't happen either. So that's why maybe, perhaps this is more of a relational question.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I think those two. Deal. Those are the two problems. Not the inheritance. It's. He didn't follow through on what he promised as a part of this process.

[George Camel]

Right. I would agree with that statement.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I think. I think we've got to address that.

[George Camel]

And how do I address that?

[Dave Ramsey]

Like the moment it happened, you should have addressed it. No, we're not putting money back into this. We're going to pay off the debt. Yes, you are going to get off your butt in the off season and work. This is what we said we were going to do. Now you can be a little less mean than that, but you still need to have that conversation. Right?

[George Camel]

I agree. I agree. I just want to make sure that. That what I'm thinking is correct.

[Dave Ramsey]

I think what you're thinking about those two things is absolutely correct. I think you didn't address it when it happened and so now it's lingering and that's where the resentment's coming from. And I kind of don't blame you, by the way. I think you're right. I'd be a little pissed too about that. So I think we got to reset our expectations on the operations of this business and the Paying back of this loan and then let's let that run a little bit and then I'm going to write a check and pay off the loan. But he's going to have to. I mean, he's going to. Number one, a lawn care business should be making more than that in one year.

[George Camel]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

He's not working much.

[George Camel]

Well, well, part of it was the, the initial investment into the business. That was part of the 50,000. I mean, it was an already established business and he bought it from another gentleman and so.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Doesn't sound like it was very established.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, it didn't. Wasn't making much money. $20,000. And you were. And you run the mower yourself. You, you own a bad job, you don't even own a good business.

[George Camel]

Is that the question? Or was there too much being spent on the budget? I don't, I don't believe the budget was followed very well either.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I think we need to learn how to run a business and I think you're right. So I think there's several things going on there that, that he actually does need your help with. Okay. I'm not sure how he ended up. How old is he?

[George Camel]

56.

[Dave Ramsey]

How do you end up in the lawn care business making $20,000 a year at 56 years old? What happened to his career?

[George Camel]

He had always worked for farmers, which is a pretty low, low paying job. He just kind of always wanted to be his own business owner. And we actually live in a very rural area. Okay. The options are pretty limited.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you have, you have, you have some business or accounting acumen? It sounds like.

[George Camel]

Yes. I grew up. My father owned his own business.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I tell you, let's, let's reset this whole thing then. Okay. Because I think I hear a guy who knows how to work hard but doesn't know anything about business.

[George Camel]

Oh, you are exactly right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. And he's a sweet guy and he's not afraid of hard work, but he's clueless on what he's doing here. And so he went and bought a bunch of equipment because he's a gadget boy. When he actually thought he made some money, but he wasn't sure he made some money because he doesn't even know how to do accounting. So I think the two of you need to be running this together and you need to run the office and he needs to run the mower.

[George Camel]

I think you're right.

[Dave Ramsey]

And then the budget will be followed and we make decisions together about when we're working, where we're working, and what we're buying and we're going to get this stinking thing profitable. And if he's willing to help, if you're willing to help him and he's willing to let you, then, yeah, I'm going to write a check and pay off the loan because all this resentment is going to go away. Because now we're going to be both horses in the harness pulling. You're going to pull the front office stuff because you're good at that. I can hear it talking to you. You already know what is supposed to happen here, and you're just standing back and watching. And he doesn't have that skill. But yet this guy is not afraid of hard work. He'll go out there and work himself to death if you point him at the right thing. He ain't afraid of hard work.

[George Camel]

No, he's not. And that actually was one of the reasons I married him. One of the attractions I had to him.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So look at it this way.

[Dave Ramsey]

He liked marrying a smart woman. So that was his attraction to you. So let's use both these things.

[George Camel]

I think it's a good idea.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So you're spending 10% of this inheritance to reset the business and your marriage. I think that's a worthy investment.

[George Camel]

That's a good way to put it. George.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Once in a while you should do.

[Dave Ramsey]

This talk radio thing.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I'll leave it to Dave, but I think putting it that way just helps me loosen the resentment and go, all right, I'm gonna drop it.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's a really good discussion and the way you approach the discussion was very healthy. Jackie. Thank you. I like that. That was a good. It was a good analysis.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Can we send them your new book?

[Dave Ramsey]

Yes.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Are we capable of that?

[Dave Ramsey]

Yes, we are. Build a business you love. We will ship it to you on April 15th next week when it goes. When it goes public. So read it together. Hang on. And Christian will get your name and address and I will send you Build a business you love. It actually does address some of this. That's a good point.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Perfect.

[Dave Ramsey]

Ta da. Who knew?

[Dr. John Deloney]

Two in a row.

[Dave Ramsey]

The treadmill stage. Yeah, you're two for two and one line zingers. There we go. Man. Man. Yeah, man. George is pretty valuable today. This is the Ramsey show. All right, business owners, last call. The pre sale for the brand new book build a business You Love ends April 15th. Pre order now and get over $350 worth of free bonus items to help you hire smarter, lead stronger and grow faster. This is not theory. It's a system I use to Grow my company from nothing. And the same framework we've coached thousands of business owners through. You can only get the [e-mail] store, so don't wait. Pre order now in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the debt free stage. Aaron and Jenna are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? Very good. Welcome. Where do y'all live? Apex, North Carolina. Sorry. That's okay. You're doing it together. We know you're united. Anyway, that's good. So what do you guys do for a living? I'm a director of music education for a music store and I am an HR manager and catering manager for an ice cream company. Oh, that's fun. Good. Good for you guys. How much debt did you pay off? 75k in exactly three years to the day. Oh, I love it. Okay, and your range of income during that time? So it went from 79,000 to 109,000. Excellent. Cool. Good for you guys. What kind of Debt was the 75? All student loans. Oh, wow. Okay. All right, cool. And how long you all been married? So three years. Yeah, we paid it off on our third anniversary. So we've been married three and a half years. Okay, so you got married and looked up and said probably in the pre marriage. You're looking at it going, we're going to attack this. Tell us the story, what happened. Yeah, so actually In December of 2018, we listened to nine straight hours of the show. We are originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and we moved to North Carolina. So on the Christmas journey home, we were looking for a podcast and we.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Came on Your stumbled upon it?

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I think that Christmas I was on YouTube and saw one of those clips. It was like a young kid from your show like made 20 grand or something. And I like watched it. You know, it was like a kid who sold Pokemon cards or something. And then when she was looking for a podcast, you guys were on the top ones. And so that's why she saw it. I was like, oh, let's listen to that. And it was like the first time we've ever heard people talk about that. And then it was just, okay, put on another one, put on another one. And we'd listen to like 9 hours from Pittsburgh all the way down to North Carolina. Yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

And he said, wait, we could do this.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. And so we were just dating at the time. So we were, we had some of our own debt. So I actually paid off my car that following September in 2019, and I started paying off some of my loans. And then, yeah, 2020 happened and we like, you know, the interest stopped on our loans, so we were able to make a lot of progress. We got engaged in October of 2020. When we got engaged, we paused because listening to your show, there's just so much wisdom that we heard. And we were dating for a while, and we wanted to have a good wedding. And so we cash flowed. A wedding for the next year. Got married in October of 2021. And that's when we said, okay, now it's us against the world. We. We have 75k of debt. And yeah, we were just chugging away. And then. And in 2024, in January 2024, we found out that we were pregnant with our first kid. Yay, she's over here. I think she might be crying off stage somewhere. And then. Yeah, so we paused and paying off our debt, stacked up cash. Felt really comfortable. I mean, that was just great advice from you guys, because we're having a baby. And so it felt great to have more than $1,000. And then she was born in September of. Of last year, 2024. And two and a half weeks later was our third anniversary. And we were looking at the numbers. We're like, wait, we could pay it off on our third anniversary. So we're at home with a two and a half year old or two and a half week old. And yeah, we made our, like, last payment. We actually have a big chart we wanted to show you guys. I think one time you mentioned, be weird, make a chart. Yeah. So we bought this chart. There's a thousand squares, and we said, okay, 75k. Each square is 75 bucks. Bucks. And it just made you think about $75 way differently. Wow.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Yeah, every little bit adds up.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

You got a fully colored in chart there.

[George Camel]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And we're the marker. We didn't want to buy another marker. So we would like as you stay in the lines.

[Dr. John Deloney]

That's impressive. Some of the best coloring work I've seen on this show.

[George Camel]

Thank you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Thank you.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Oh, my goodness, you guys are incredible.

[Dave Ramsey]

So it is worth noting for the casual listener that they followed exactly what we say today. I mean, they didn't deviate even a little bit. Okay. They stopped cash flow to wedding, came back, stopped. When the baby's on and baby mama come home from the hospital, everybody's healthy. Boom, push play. And the money was in there, and it paid off everything on the third anniversary. So everything they did, they followed. Exactly. It wasn't an ish. It wasn't Ramsey ish. They were listening to way too much YouTube of us and completely did it exactly the way we teach. And guys, I gotta tell you, that matters because it changes the speed at which these things happen. And it also lowers your stress level all the way through the whole process.

[George Camel]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, yeah. I mean, we've never ever thought about money or thought, you know, there's never been any contention over money. It's just been, that's the plan. You know, this is what we're doing. And it just made allowed us to focus on everything else in life.

[Dr. John Deloney]

You guys are in your 20s, from what I can tell.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, thank you, Joy.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I mean, just a young couple who goes, we can do this plan because people, here's the thing.

[Dave Ramsey]

How old are you? I'm 33. I'm 32.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Amazing. Because Dave gets a lot of flack. And they say, Dave's plan, it's so out of touch, it doesn't work in today's America. And here you guys are, smiling, relaxed, peaceful, going, no, we did exactly what they said to do because they said it would work if we did it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. Yeah. And amazing. We even bought a car during that time because he had gotten into a car accident and his car was totaled. Yeah, we cash flowed a car with 240,000 miles on it. So we bought a used car. But yeah, we were able to cash flow it. And once again, it was just very quick, painless, and stress stress free. Wow. Way to go. What do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is, I would say, staying motivated and dreaming about the future. And we would always talk about what we want our future to look like and, you know, having this baby and what we want her future to look like and just planning and really daydreaming about, like, what life could be. Wow. Congratulations. How's it feel now that you're free?

[George Camel]

Great.

[Dave Ramsey]

Amazing. Yeah. And what's her name? Eloise. Ellie. She goes by Ellie. Yeah, Ellie. Okay. All right, perfect. Because we can hear her. Do you want to? Do you want to? I don't care. It doesn't bother me a bit. I've got grandbabies. She's already doing the debt free screen. Or do you want to let her stay over? It's up to you. What do you want the picture to look like? Because that's. Yeah, we can bring her over. Okay, guys, let's bring the crime back on for the debt free scream on YouTube one day. That's fabulous. Hey. That she's. While you did the whole thing. I mean, come on. This is changing your family tree. And if she wants to scream about it. We'll let her. I don't care. That's good.

[Dr. John Deloney]

What a cutie.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, yeah. Oh, really mad. She's mad. I love it. That's so great. So fun. All right, Aaron and Jenna and Ellie, you join in too. From Raleigh, North Carolina, 75,000 paid off in three years, making 79 to 109. Count it down. Let's hear a debt free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt free. You did it, Ellie. You did it. I love it.

[Dr. John Deloney]

She elevated that debt free scream.

[Dave Ramsey]

She calmed right down.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I think she just needed some pop on mama time.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's all she needed.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Oh, my goodness. That's fun.

[Dave Ramsey]

How fun. Hey, guys, that's pretty random that we show up because the YouTube numbers are ridiculous for the show. They're wonderful because so many of you watch and listen there. Thank you. We appreciate that. But that drove it up to pop up on the landing page, right?

[Dr. John Deloney]

They went to their podcast page or whatever and went, oh, there's Dave's face.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I remember him laughing about some Pokemon thing or something, which I vaguely.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Remember saw an old clip on YouTube.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I vaguely remember some kid doing a Pokemon thing or something.

[Dr. John Deloney]

But see, social media is not all bad, Dave. Well, it helps people change their life.

[Dave Ramsey]

There you go.

[Dr. John Deloney]

It's a rare moment.

[Dave Ramsey]

It led people to the full show, which has nothing to do with social media. But yeah, if it's a feeder, I'll take it. Right. And so they get somewhat randomly. We'll call God's finger dialing that in there. And then we were good enough to engage them for nine hours. Wow. And something we were doing was. That would give me a headache, but yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I thought only Joe Rogan could hold you for three hours.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's a lot. He can. He can. Joe's the. Joe's the king. He does a good job. But yeah, I mean, yeah, I guess that's true. I guess I have listened to. I haven't binged.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Well, we can hold a millennial attention span. That's something to celebrate today. Well, take the win.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well. And they won. Congratulations. What heroes, man.

[Dr. John Deloney]

They're invincible.

[Dave Ramsey]

They took control, man, and they can do anything. It's pretty amazing. This is the Ramsay show.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Lets play a game. Raise your hand if you've already filed your tax return. Ready? Go. Okay, I can't actually see any of you, but I can feel it in my bones that not enough of you are raising your hands. Y'all need to get on over to Ramsey Smarttax and file your dang taxes. Ramsey Smart tax is a 100% accurate tax software that won't pilfer your wallet or surprise you with garbage hidden fees. Plus, it's powered by Taxslayer, who's been trusted in this industry for more than 50 years. Go to ramseysolutions.com smarttax and file with tax software you can trust. That's ramseysolutions.com smarttax.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey, guys, if you want to help us out, you can subscribe to this show, click the Follow button, click the share button, or cut out the link and send it to somebody to share. Let people know this is happening. When you do that, it changes everything and more people learn about this information and it helps them change their lives. That last couple was pretty impressive. Very, very well done. Preston's in St. Louis. Hi, Preston. How are you?

[George Camel]

I'm doing good.

[Dave Ramsey]

How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up?

[George Camel]

Real quick? I just want to say I've grown up listening to you. My mom, every day when she'd pick me up from school, she pick a. Pick me and my brother up and we'd be listening to you. So I wanted to give a quick shout out to her and a shout out to you.

[Dave Ramsey]

How old are you?

[George Camel]

I'm 26.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so you're like 10 years old or something. Listening. Okay. Wow.

[George Camel]

I know, I know. I was a child. I grew up listening to you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wow. How can we help today, sir?

[George Camel]

So my question was, was with everything going on within the market and everything like that, how is it that you're supposed to grow well throughout everything with the stock market supposedly crash and everything like that? Got my cat jumping on me. Sorry.

[Dave Ramsey]

You remember that part where you were listening to me before?

[George Camel]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And if you've. If you. You met, you might have been too young to hear it. Okay. But this is not the first time the stock market has gone down.

[George Camel]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And there's nothing to indicate that this is a crash. Nothing. Okay? Nothing. The US Economy is not. Not imploding and falling in. Not even close.

[George Camel]

Got you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Stock market's having a bit of a temper tantrum over tariffs because they're trying. The stock market does not like an unpredictable environment. And this is unpredictable as crud right now because people don't know what's gonna happen. Exactly. Because I think Trump makes it up every morning. So who knows what he's going to do next. Right. And so. And he kind of likes it that way. He's messing with the stock market and he's messing with these countries beyond belief. No question about it. It's almost entertaining to watch, but it's not a crash. Preston, would you. You understand that, right?

[George Camel]

No, I got you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so in 2023, you were 24 years old.

[George Camel]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

The S&P went up 23% or 26% in 2024. Last year, it went up 23%. So the stock market has gone up 50 plus percent in two years. In the last seven days, it's down 6 or 8%.

[George Camel]

It.

[Dave Ramsey]

Not exactly a crisis, dude. Mathematics.

[George Camel]

I got you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Mathematically, no. So what you can't do is you can't listen to the news to give you input for investing decisions, because the news is full of drama queens. Their job is to make your heart rate change, your eyes dilate and sweat to appear in your palms. That's their job. Then you get addicted to the fear porn that they peddle, and then they peddle more fear porn. That's why 73 apps go off. When a tornado is 60 miles away. That's fear porn. A tornado that's 60 miles away is not going to hit you, but your app is going off and waking you up in the middle of the night. Your heart rate spikes, adrenaline is released in your body, and you're in freakout mode. And that's exact same crap that's happening right now. The stock market. It's false evidence appearing real. It's not real. And so you're fine. And I'm. Let me tell you what I'm doing. I'm scratching around for some extra money to throw it in right now because I think the stock market's on sale. I think it's a great time to buy. How's that sound?

[George Camel]

No, I got you. I was just wondering.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Here's two quotes for you, Preston. Etch these in your brain. Number one, when in doubt, zoom out. When you zoom out, go look at the 5 year, 10 year, all time track record of the s and P500. And you'll go, ooh, up into the right with a few little dips in there. Oh, yeah, let's zoom in.

[Dave Ramsey]

Ah, it's a crash.

[Dr. John Deloney]

No, just a little dip. We'll be all right. It's a bump in the road. And the other one is this time in the market beats timing the market. And so what you're saying is, is now the time to sell?

[Dave Ramsey]

I don't know.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I don't want to lose money. You didn't lose money. You have the same exact amount of shares that you had before. The value is temporarily taken a dip. It will come back. And a month from now, six months from now, a year from now, we'll be back to all time highs and the news will not be covering it because that doesn't get clicks and views.

[Dave Ramsey]

So for you, those of you listening out there, I've got one particular account that I've got sitting up waiting to buy some real estate with and I've got about $5 million in an S and P and it's actually about just right at $5 million. And so I clicked on it just to see what this did to it and I think it lost like it's down like 200 grand, something like that. Okay, so which is a lot of money, but you've lost $200,000. I haven't lost anything. I didn't sell. If you sell, you take the loss.

[Dr. John Deloney]

You lock it in.

[Dave Ramsey]

I didn't lose anything. I'm just sitting here watching with great amusement the roller coaster ride. And I'm going to try to throw some in while it's down and because it's going to ride up as soon as some of this bizarre crap clears the air. And I don't know whether that's a month or six or six months and I don't really care because I don't have to do anything with that money. I'm just going to let it sit there and ride it out. Ride it out.

[Dr. John Deloney]

You're not desperate.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wave up, wave down, wave up. And you don't lose anything until you sell. It's just a, it's a, it's a paper loss. I mean it's just a, it's a chart is all it is right now. And, and that same account, by the way, has gone up freaking 23 and 26% in the last two years. Now that's not normal up either. It shouldn't be that much. Your average on the S and P since it began is 11.8. And so that's about what the stock market has averaged since it began. And so, you know, 11, 12, somewhere in there is the average annual rate of return. So 23 and 26 aren't normal. Those are unusually like double of normal. Like a twice as good as normal back to back. But did you hear anyone when the, you had two consecutive years twice as good as normal. Did you hear a single person on Fox News or CNN go, look how great the market is.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Wow.

[Dave Ramsey]

Not one, not a one. But are they all screaming and like there's blood in the streets and there's a crisis and the entire US economy has collapsed and they're, you know, we're going to have an upheaval and a revolution or something. Good lord, you would think that these people. But nope. Nope. So I'll get to be on there again tonight. I'll be on one of them tonight. Tell them everybody calm down. Calm your butt down. Calm your butt down. When. What'd you say that was? Zoom in, zoom out. I might try. I'll try to quote that.

[Dr. John Deloney]

I didn't come up with it, but when in doubt, zoom out.

[Dave Ramsey]

When in doubt, zoom out.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So if you got all this fear, you just pan back and go, oh, it's actually up 80% over the last five years. When you look at it a different way.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Instead of zooming into the one little dip that's over a five day period. Freaking out.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So perspective definitely helps. And you have the benefit of that having invest for 30 plus.

[Dave Ramsey]

You were sitting here at the same desk you and I were when the Fauci pandemic hit and the market went down like 50% or something. 57 dove. Right. We had this two month chart that just dove off the cliff for two months and everybody's like, oh, the pandemic's ruined the economy. The economy will never do y'all. I mean, is the economy ruined? No. Hello.

[Dr. John Deloney]

We were back to record highs.

[Dave Ramsey]

Does anybody remember predicting the end of the world during. I remember people predicting the end of the world. It's the US Will never recover from. Fauci will never make it. He killed it. No. Not even Fauci could kill it. So there you go.

[Dr. John Deloney]

It's too strong. Can't hold us down.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sorry. I mean, it's just. It was disappointing for those of you that wanted the end of the world to come and it didn't happen.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Well, it's important to note the stock market does not actually represent the economy one for one. It's a part of.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's true. 54% of the gross domestic product is small business. Has absolutely nothing to do with the stock market.

[Dr. John Deloney]

You're not going to find it on.

[Dave Ramsey]

The S P. Thank God. But yeah.

[Dr. John Deloney]

So Dave likes it.

[Dave Ramsey]

We're gonna. We're gonna invest and we're gonna invest. When it's up, we're gonna invest. When it's down, we're gonna invest and we're gonna invest. We're gonna invest and then we're gonna look up and we're going to be worth millions of dollars. Hello. This is how we do it, boys and girls.

[Dr. John Deloney]

Don't jump off the roller coaster, please.

[Dave Ramsey]

Not in the middle of the ride. Oh, my goodness. This is the Ramsey.