The Ramsey Show Live From Orlando

Summary

The Ramsey Show Live from Orlando – October 28, 2025

Episode Overview

Broadcasting live from Orlando, this special episode of The Ramsey Show brings hosts Dave Ramsey’s team—George Kamel, Jade Warshaw, and Dr. John Delony—face to face with an enthusiastic crowd. The episode is a lively mix of on-stage financial Q&A, heartfelt advice, candid marriage and life wisdom, lighthearted team banter, and audience engagement. While the core theme remains financial empowerment and hope, the show branches into personal development, relational health, and the joy (and humor) of living intentionally.

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Key Segments & Insights

1. Facing Financial Crisis: Michelle’s Story

• Timestamp: 01:18–05:52
• Summary: Michelle, facing sudden layoff and raising a special needs child, asks what to prioritize when income is uncertain and a small business is not yet profitable.
• Advice from Hosts:
  • Jade: Focus on the “Four Walls”: Shelter, utilities, food, transportation—budget around these needs first. "It gives so much peace to say the first things, the most important things are shelter ... and then after that we’re just going through the line of priority." (03:36, Jade)
  • John: Treat the situation as an “emergency math problem,” not a passion or career moment—husband may need multiple jobs temporarily.
  • George: Emphasizes community support: “Please don’t be afraid to ask for help ... now is the time to lean on your people and they will show up for you.” (05:31, George)

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2. Relationship Dynamics: The “Saver” vs “Spender” Couple

• Timestamp: 06:14–12:15
• Tom (the "Savaholic") and his wife (the "Giveaholic"), a blended family now at Baby Step 7, debate spending on experiences with their children vs. saving.
• Insights:
  • John: A budget is not just about math, it’s about purpose: "Begin to budget joy ... practice exhaling and saying, 'Thank you, God, thank you, hard work.'" (10:00, John)
  • George: “You can’t spend your way into a meaningful life ... and you can’t save your way to a wealthy life. It goes so far beyond that.” (11:51, George)
• Resource: Recommended book – Die With Zero

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3. Family Boundaries & Reconnecting: Caroline’s Question

• Timestamp: 13:17–17:53
• Caroline struggles with her father re-entering her life after childhood absence, torn between obligation and self-protection.
• Advice from John:
  • Explore your true desires vs. ingrained stories of obligation.
  • "When somebody opts out of our lives and they knock on the door ... I always want to ask myself, what do I want my house to feel like?" (14:44, John)
  • Use journaling for introspection, set boundaries from a place of autonomy, and move at your own pace.
• George: “It’s not all or nothing ... let’s test the temperature in the water here. Take one step in.” (17:36, George)

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4. Audience Fishbowl: Lighthearted Ramsey Team Banter

• Timestamp: 18:13–25:46
• Fun team-building questions; each co-host describes the others in three words, debates favorite foods, and who’s most likely to misuse a debit card.
• Highlights:
  • Jade is “truth-teller, most talented, incredibly beautiful” (20:47, John)
  • George is “intentional, OCD, great friend” (20:10, John)
  • Open, warm camaraderie demonstrates the value of being authentic and relational, even about finances.

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5. Marriage & Money: Working With an Unengaged Spouse

• Timestamp: 26:19–32:36
• Anonymous question: "How do I get my uninterested spouse to do the Ramsey plan?"
• Key Points:
  • John: “If your spouse says, ‘I’m not participating’ ... that’s the question beneath the question.”
  • Jade: Sometimes you have to move forward on your own, share the progress, and hope your spouse comes along. “You shouldn’t be rendered completely helpless, right? ... Do what I’m going to do. Share. And then the hope is that they get on board.” (29:51, Jade)
  • George: Money problems often point to deeper marriage issues.

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6. How to Stay Motivated During Baby Step 2

• Timestamp: 32:52–41:10
• Serena admits struggling with the “YOLO” mindset (fear of missing out) on the journey out of debt.
• Jade and John:
  • Reframe enjoyment—prioritize relationships and experiences over spending. There are rich ways to enjoy life that don’t require debt.
  • “There’s a fear if I don’t do these things ... but there’s also a fear if I never get out of this debt.” (37:51, Jade)
  • Emotional Root: John encourages tackling loneliness and intentionally building community as part of financial healing.

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7. Poverty Mindset After Graduation

• Timestamp: 45:07–50:59
• Jean Pierre, a first-generation American, has moved from scarcity to abundance but still feels a “poverty mindset.”
• Jade: Use a mental checklist for financial responsibility (budget, savings, insurance, etc).
• John: "If in your situation, the way you grew up, it's not a mentality, it's wired into your nervous system ... So I'm going to practice. I'm going to put money in the budget that we are gonna just literally go blow." (48:44, John)

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8. Young and Ambitious: How to Prepare to Buy a House at 19

• Timestamp: 51:38–57:08
• Miguel, working since high school in his family’s food truck, wants to buy a house.
• George & John: Suggest delay; invest in career/food truck business first, not just traditional “stability”—especially as a single young person. “I'd love to see you have your own food truck that you own outright ... That feels where I'd direct a 19 year old.” (54:39, John)

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9. Lightning Rounds & Team Games

• Timestamp: 57:41–66:50
• “Two Truths and a Lie” about past wild calls (“Is it okay to work as a stripper to pay off debt?” “My husband's been hiding $15,000 in a closet.”)
• “Most likely to ...” team superlatives (most likely to be late: John; use a coupon: George).
• The hosts’ lightness makes financial transformation feel more accessible.

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10. Combining Finances Before Marriage

• Timestamp: 62:53–67:22
• Doug, newly engaged, asks when (and how) to combine finances—especially with business income.
• Key Advice:
  • Wait to fully combine until married for legal clarity.
  • Once married, move to full transparency and “ours, not mine/yours.”
  • Jade: “There’s really no benefit of doing that (splitting salaries), because when it’s combined, it’s both people’s salary.”

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11. Frugal Habits & “What If I Weren’t on the Ramsey Plan?”

• Timestamp: 67:32–75:14
• Hosts share personal frugal habits (George: “circling for free parking,” Jade: “eating questionable leftovers”).
• Reflections on lives before the Baby Steps:
  • Jade: “We literally could have been homeless...”
  • George: Would have been “finessing credit card points ... secretly stressed out.”
• John: “I would be institutionalized. … My life was so out of control. The most frustrating thing for me as a scientist [...] was to meet this guy named Dave who came up with a neuroscientifically accurate plan.”

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12. Debt Free Scream: Jessica’s Story

• Timestamp: 76:11–83:06
• Jessica paid off $127,000 (grad school, car, medical, credit cards) in just under five years, increasing income from $43k to $72k.
• Key Quotes:
  • Jessica: “Unless you have a bigger ‘why’ of getting out, it’s hard. For me, it was what I wanted my thirties to look like, and I didn’t want to be beholden to the man. I wanted to be free.”
• Jessica receives a premium subscription to EveryDollar—and then audience members do too, in a “you get a car!” moment.

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13. Final Reflections

• Timestamp: 83:31–end
• George: “I’m inspired by you all tonight. The dreams you have ... the people you’ve transformed into already ... It gives me hope for America.”
• John: “Leaving your homes and being around like-minded people that share the same mission as you, that’s how this whole thing changes.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Normal is broken. Common sense is weird. So we're here to help you transform your life." (00:28, George Kamel)
• "You can't spend your way into a meaningful life ... and you can't save your way to a wealthy life." (11:51, George Kamel)
• "When somebody opts out of our lives and they knock on the door to come back in, I always want to ask myself, what do I want my house to feel like?" (14:44, John Delony)
• "Please don’t be afraid to ask for help ... now is the time to lean on your people and they will show up for you." (05:31, George Kamel)
• "Do what I'm going to do. Share. And then the hope is that they get on board. And in the meantime, you're in counseling, but don't do nothing waiting for your spouse to do something." (30:38, Jade Warshaw)
• "This is a season and you'll come out of it." (04:23, Jade Warshaw, on riding out financial storms)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment/Question | Host Primarily Responding | Timestamp | |--------------------------------------------------------- |-------------------------- |------------ | | Prioritizing Amid Job Loss ("Michelle") | Jade, John, George | 01:18–05:52 | | Saver vs. Spender in Marriage (Tom & wife) | John, George, Jade | 06:14–12:15 | | Family Boundaries—Estranged Father ("Caroline") | John, George | 13:17–17:53 | | Anonymous: Spouse not on Board Financially | John, Jade, George | 26:54–32:36 | | Staying Motivated in Baby Step 2—“YOLO Mindset” (Serena) | Jade, John | 32:52–41:10 | | Overcoming Poverty Mindset (Jean Pierre) | Jade, John, George | 45:07–50:59 | | Preparing for Homeownership at 19 (Miguel) | George, John | 51:38–57:08 | | Fun Lightning Rounds/Superlatives | Team | 57:41–66:50 | | Combining Finances When Engaged (Doug) | George, John, Jade | 62:53–67:22 | | Debt Free Scream (Jessica) | Team, Jessica | 76:11–83:06 | | Closing Reflections | John, George | 83:31–end |

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Conclusion

This live Orlando episode showcases what makes The Ramsey Show a staple: Real people, real problems, honest answers, practical wisdom, and humor. Whether it's drilling down on math in a crisis, navigating relational or generational scars, or celebrating the monumental moment of a debt free scream, the show reminds everyone present (and listening) that financial transformation is possible, community matters, and choosing courage—financially and personally—changes lives.

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For more, visit Ramsey Solutions.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. What's up?

[B]

Normal is broken. Common sense is weird. So. So we're here to help you transform your life. From the Ramsey Network live in the Beaucham in Orlando. This is the Ramsey Show. Now we're talking. That's what I imagine everyone does at home when they're listening to the show in their car. Oh, this is so fun. Thank you for being a part of this. We got a lot of people watching this at home and we're just grateful to be out of the house. I got a newborn and let me tell you, I was like, babe, I gotta go to work. I don't know what to tell you. The people need me. Well, let's get to what you guys came here for. This is the Ramsey show live and we are gonna take your questions. Who's our first question? Ah, yeah, there she is. Step right up. We have a little stage for you. Tell us your first name and where you're from. Hello everyone.

[C]

My name's Michelle and my husband and I have been married for five years. And debt is something that we have tried our best to tackle time and time again. And every time it feels we've taken.

[D]

Two steps forward, it feels like we.

[B]

Take three steps back.

[C]

Tomorrow I'm actually going to be laid off from work.

[D]

Sorry.

[A]

You're good. Take your time.

[D]

And it feels very scary. We have a two and a half year old daughter who is special needs and she does various therapies and we have a lot going on with her. I was the full timer to be available for her. My husband is part time right now.

[C]

We also have a small business that we are still growing but it's not.

[D]

Enough yet to pay us full time. So I think there's just so much going on. So I'm just kind of like what do we do? What do we focus on first?

[C]

Because we don't know how long it'll.

[B]

Take for me to either get another.

[D]

Job or for our business to really.

[C]

Take off or anything like that.

[D]

Like what would you focus on? First four walls. And you've probably heard us say that, but it gives so much peace to say the first things, the most important things are shelter. Right? That's your rent or your mortgage. Making sure that's the top thing. Right. And then after that we're just going through the line of priority. Yeah, you gotta make sure the utilities stay on. Right. You need ac, right. All that kind of stuff. You need to make sure there's food and cabinet and you need to make sure there's transportation. Those are the first ones. And then after that there might be other priorities. Maybe there's daycare, maybe there's insurance payments. Right. But you can prioritize those down the list. But when you do that, it kind of puts a stop on everything else. And it's okay to do that. It's okay to tell the other stuff. Talk to the hand like, I don't have it right now. And they'll be strong, they will be fine. I have been where you're at right now, and it feels intimidating to know that you're money, but you also have the power to say, not right now. And that's okay. This is a season and you'll come out of it. But really just dialing in and saying, okay, with the money that we do have coming in, how far does that get us? And sitting down tonight or, you know, first thing in the morning and saying, the money that we have coming in from the small business, from your husband's work, how far does that get us as far as what our actual needs are in the budget and what's that gap? Right. And putting real numbers around this so it doesn't feel like just this cloud of uncertainty. Right. Floating over your head. I think that's going to give you a lot of peace. And then you can get about the work of saying, okay, how can we fill that $700 gap? How can we fill that $1,200 gap? Right. But at least you know exactly what the gap will be. And not only will you know the dollar amount, but you'll know. And that $1,200 gap is these six items or these five items. And that's going to give you peace as well. Yes.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

It's also okay to pause trying to get a business off the ground. It might be husband looking across. This might be the moment that you say, this can't ever happen to us again. Right. This might be the moment that catapults y' all into taking control of your financial life. But it might be like, I love what Jade said about it's real easy to get into dream job or career or small business. Those are all real big passiony things, feeling things. Y' all have a really serious emergency math problem. And so tomorrow he becomes a guy with four part time jobs because he has a math problem to solve. Not a career, not a passion. We have a math problem we have to solve. Right. And we're going to knock on every door we can find because we have a math problem. Right. And it takes some of the smoke out of it and we just start putting out that fire.

[B]

You got a good community around you, people you can lean on.

[D]

Absolutely.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

It's awesome.

[B]

Please don't be afraid to ask for help. Yeah. Thank you.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

My wife went to the ER today. I'm out of town. I'm like scrambling, and next thing I know, there's 17 people texting me, showing up, bringing meals, watching the baby. And so just know that, like, I know you feel like weird asking for it, and there's shame and you just want to be alone. But now is the time to lean on your people and they will show up for you. And we're. We're praying for you to get that job real soon.

[A]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[B]

Praying for that baby. Thank you so much, Michelle. All right. Something we like to do in the show, Jade and John, is we like to help couples out by settling debate. People call and say, can you settle this debate? I think I'm right. Prove me right. And usually the person calling in is wrong.

[D]

Most of the time they're trying to.

[B]

Justify and go, jade, you're on my side, right? And you're like, oh, actually. So we thought it'd be fun to do this live, which is a little scarier. So do we have a dawn in the crowd? Are they here tonight?

[A]

Please tell me that one of them doesn't know this is happening.

[B]

Come on up. Give it up for them. That's nerve wracking. Welcome, guys. Okay, what's the debate in your house?

[A]

So my name's Tom. I'm a savaholic and I haven't heard that term stable. What's my wife doing?

[C]

I'm a. I'm a giveaholic.

[B]

I'm a pleaser, and nobody's spending money in this house. It's just we're saving and we're giving. We're the nicest people on earth.

[A]

That's not true. But we're baby step seven for about a year. And you know, I make low six figures and we do okay. But she likes to give to our kids. You know, we're a blended family.

[C]

He had three children, I had three children. We've been together 10 years.

[B]

It's been a 10 year process of.

[C]

Blending and coming together. And our family trips and our family time has really. That's how I measure our wealth.

[A]

I think it's more about with me. Like we do these Trips, we spend five to $10,000 and they've been great trips, but every single time for me, it's like, oh, it's like every you Know whether we want to go spend a few hundred bucks or supper with all the kids. It's like she's like, let's do this. And I'm like, I'm always glad after, but it always is like every time. So that's a debate. Like I need to figure out how to be okay with spending. You know what I mean? It's like me and money don't.

[C]

How do we budget it? I think that's our biggest problem.

[A]

I don't think that's the biggest problem.

[C]

Now that we. I mean, now where is step eight, nine and 10?

[B]

That's when you give back to Dave. I'll send you his Venmo. There's no struggle here. It's not like you're not going to be able to retire because of this. It's just more that Tom is feeling like we should be doing more over here. We could be doing more over here. And we're just spending willy nilly on the family funding this fun life. Is that kind of what's behind that tomorrow? It really took me, it took a.

[A]

Long time between the two of us to get, you know, I've been at the Same company for 38 years working my ass off. And it's just like we're here now and it's like I want to just keep saving and make sure that there's enough and. But I know there's going.

[C]

But there is enough.

[B]

Yeah. My guess is you guys are probably multimillionaires by now, Tom. Is that right? There is enough. Okay, so on paper, if you sat down with a financial advisor, would they be like, yeah, you could retire, bud?

[C]

Yes, they have.

[D]

And they've said it.

[B]

Yeah, they've said it out loud.

[A]

Yeah. Well, my, my brother in law is a financial advisor and he's like, yeah, you know, by the time you're 75, he said, you'll have.

[B]

Say it.

[C]

But, but we.

[B]

Is it like $25 million or something stupid?

[C]

Okay, we have six children. Hold it down.

[B]

We want to just.

[C]

We want to. We want to make them a priority while we're alive. We want to live and give while we're alive. We want to see the difference made while we're alive.

[A]

Can I throw an alternative?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Is there a chance? It's very common thing when there's blended families. That means that somewhere along the trajectory, the forever plan changed. And there's hurt and there's fear and there's. I want to make sure everybody's okay. And one of the ways I can make sure everybody's okay is to clear the deck of any possible challenge. And if you marry somebody and y' all together, y' all now have resources that maybe you've never had. I want to begin to buy laughter and joy. And it's not a bad impulse. But in a weird way, I end up using that money and those experiences to make me feel less guilty, less sad, less painful for the memories I had when they were little, right when they were asking those hard, hard questions, like, where's this? And why do we have to live those kind of things? And so it's almost a both and which is practicing. I hate to use that word. Cause we turn these into moral issues and character issues. I think it's a practice. And I made a joke earlier. I think this is where a budget can really help. Like, your spiritual exercise, man, is, I'm gonna budget fun money. I'm gonna practice exhaling and saying, thank you, God. Thank you. Hard work. And I'm going to budget joy. And you begin to practice. I'm going to begin to look in the mirror and say, I'm a good mom. I've done a good job, and I'm worth being loved just at a table with a bunch of delivered pizzas, not at some five. The five star. Those are awesome. But also, you're worth being loved. And your kids and their kids and their kids will have tons of fun. They'll have. They'll tell the story at your funeral about the time you ran out in the backyard and sprayed them all with the hose. Not the seventh vacation that y' all spent $20,000 on. And so it's both of y' all practicing. We've done good. Let's practice this next layer, and y' all get to ask yourselves that question. What do you want this to look like? You've worked real hard.

[B]

Just made me think of this quote. You can't spend your way into a meaningful life. And I'll flip it for Tom. You can't save your way to a wealthy life. It just goes so far beyond that. And so I think you both have some homework to do. And so for that reason, I think the judge is gonna preside and say, this is is 50. 50 right here. It is both. Guilty as charged. Congratulations. Welcome to marriage where nobody wins.

[A]

Thank you.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

Great question, guys. Thank you for trusting the great question. Can I petition to be one of the kids? I mean, you already got six. What's seven? I mean, add me to the vacation.

[A]

You all have to understand, though, that when George Camel tells you Y' all.

[D]

Should spend some money. That's something.

[B]

Yeah. Well, what we found, John. There's a great book for you, Tom, by the way. It's called Die with Zero. This is a true book. What'd you think of it?

[D]

Excellent.

[B]

Excellent book. Okay. The premise is that you don't need to leave $5 million to your kids when they're in their 60s. Use the money now to have these experiences. That's what's gonna create more meaning than just like, oh, cool, I inherited $5 million when I didn't really need it. Set your kids up now in their adult life when it matters more. So it's a decent principles in there for guys like Tom. Love it. Let's help the people. Can we do that? We question coming up. We get that lined up, give it up for them, whoever they are. Oh, this is fun. She's running down like a surprise.

[D]

She's right. Yeah.

[B]

Why is that our only reference to someone running down in a game?

[D]

I don't know.

[B]

All right, tell us your name and where you're from.

[C]

I am Caroline Goins and I am from Winter Garden, Florida.

[B]

Lovely.

[C]

So here's a little bit and then I'll tell you my question. So my dad has recently decided to spend time with me after not being there for most of my early childhood. And up to now, I feel like.

[B]

I should spend time with him because.

[C]

It'S the right thing to do. But part of me feels like, why now? Where should I keep my boundaries?

[D]

Good question.

[A]

Tell me about the word should. Who gave you that story?

[C]

He kind of did.

[A]

I feel like, okay, so when somebody opts out of our lives and they knock on the door to come back in, I always want to ask myself, what do I want my house to feel like? And is my body, like, literally not sounding like woo woo, but like, is it excited to open that door or is it scared to open that door? And if it's scared to open that door, I often. This is me personally up in my bag up in the room back here. I have a journal that I keep with me. And it's just a stories journal. When I start telling myself stories, it's all coming down. I need to do this. I should have done this. I'll write it down. And I just ask myself, is this true? Am I scared because he might hurt me again? Do I not want to see him because he hasn't changed? Or am I scared that he. There's still a seven year old in the driveway, watching him drive off, wondering, what did I do? Dad, like, what was so bad about me? And asking yourself those questions and those usually frame your boundaries, which you can open the door and say, I'm not ready yet. Or I can open the door and say, I need you to know I still haven't figured out why you left. And I, I want to have that conversation before you come back. Or if you come back and you've been drinking, you have to go, or you can't come in this door, but I'll meet you at another place for a while. Or thank you for the invitation, but not yet. Right? But it's, it's often when, especially with our parents, when they do something when we were kids, right.

[B]

They leave.

[A]

They were in a different fate, whatever. When they call, my dad can call me and I go back to being nine like that, right? And I got a good dad. Like my dad's still around, right. And so it's remembering I'm not in the backseat of his car anymore, I'm in the front seat of mine. And that transition can be hard, but it's just spending a little bit of time with yourself. And sometimes a great text message back or an email back is, I'll be in touch in 24 hours. And that's a tiny way that you can reclaim autonomy. I'll answer you tomorrow or I'll answer you later and that'll give me some space. I don't feel like I have to jump back in. But often, I don't know about you, I go right back to people pleasing. It's all going to be okay. Or fear or whatever those things are, right? Why'd he go?

[C]

He cheated on my mom.

[A]

Did she send him away or did he leave? He left out of shame and guilt or he wanted to start a new family with someone else.

[B]

Maybe both, I'm not sure.

[A]

And maybe that's the question to start with. Yeah, that's a scary hard one.

[B]

How much of you wants to reconnect and reconcile and how much of you is like not interested at all?

[C]

I think my heart wants to, but my brain's like, whoa, hold on. So I think it's more of like I have, I feel like I have a very open heart where my, my.

[B]

Brain is like the logical, like might want to put some boundaries there or something there.

[A]

Yeah. And probably both are true and both will lie to you also, right?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

How old are you now?

[C]

28.

[A]

Do you have a dream of 35 year old you having him over for dinner?

[C]

I do.

[A]

That's usually a cool place to start. And slowly Reverse engineering it back to, okay, what must be true tomorrow for that 35, that seven years from now dream to come true. Do you have kids?

[C]

Not yet.

[A]

Not yet. Okay. Do you have a dream of him holding one of your babies one day?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. And by the way, that wasn't fair. That was a hard question I just asked you, and the fact that you answered it quickly like that is awesome. I would listen to that voice.

[B]

I don't think it's all or nothing. I think it's just like John said, just taking that one little step. Let's test the temperature in the water here. Okay. We'll take one step in instead of just rushing in or blocking forever. I think we just need to stair step into it as you feel comfortable, and hopefully that trust and healing starts to happen.

[A]

And remember this always, you're in the driver's seat of the car. You get to choose what happens next. And it's so easy with people that left us to want to go back and please, I get to decide what happens next. That's awesome. I'm proud of you, dude. That's cool.

[C]

Thank you.

[A]

Awesome. Thank you.

[B]

Question, Caroline. All right, we're on the road. We can't travel with the whole crew, but we had to bring arguably the most important person to the show who's behind the scenes, and that is producer James. Would you guys like to meet him? Come on out, James. There he is. This is fun, guys.

[D]

I feel like you need your own music when you come on.

[B]

I should have thought about that.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

What would it be?

[B]

I am glad that John and I wore the same outfit.

[A]

Yeah. I got James texted me, and he's like, hey, bro, you want to twinsy up? And I was like, sure, man.

[B]

James keeps the show on the rails, and we thought it'd be fun to have him come out for a segment that we've never done on the show, which involves a fishbowl. Yeah. So, you know, obviously most of the questions tonight are from you guys about your situations, but we also got a bunch of fun questions that are more for y' all to get a little bit of a peek behind the curtain. Kind of dangerous, but there's some fun questions in here. So we've got maybe 10 or 12. So maybe we can do like five or six of them now, and then we can do some more later. Yeah. But I think this would be fun. They're okay with it. It's their show.

[A]

That's true.

[B]

Okay, let's do it.

[A]

All right.

[B]

Let's do it. Thank you. This Is the biggest fishbowl I've ever seen. Okay, here we go. Jade can do okay.

[D]

Wow. God.

[B]

This very scared of her.

[A]

Let Jade do it.

[D]

You better listen to her.

[B]

I was going to pass it down.

[D]

I was going to say. Do you want me to just get the card out and hand it to him, or.

[A]

No, you read it.

[D]

She wants my.

[A]

The patriarchy's dead. Jade, read it.

[D]

All right.

[B]

She wants you to sing it.

[D]

Describe your co host in three words.

[B]

Oh, that was fun. I actually really enjoyed that.

[D]

That was more like a jingle. Describe your co host in three words. Sorry. You never should have done that.

[B]

Doesn't have to be, like, consecutive.

[D]

I know, I know.

[B]

Okay. Different words is fine.

[D]

Yeah. It doesn't say consecutive. It says, describe your co host in three words.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

And it's just top of mind. Don't think about it too long. John.

[D]

Go, John.

[B]

What do you think of me? Three words.

[A]

Intentional ocd.

[D]

I'll allow it.

[A]

Great friend.

[B]

Aw. That was four words.

[D]

So I was gonna say lost the.

[B]

Game, but that was very kind.

[A]

Hyphen. Very short.

[B]

All right, Jade, wait.

[D]

John has to describe me.

[B]

Oh. Ah, Okay. I thought we were gonna be all about me first.

[D]

Oh, wait, you wanna do it that way?

[B]

No, no, it's fine.

[D]

Let's ask her. What do you think? She'll allow it.

[A]

Describing Jade. This is one word.

[D]

Do I need to come up with another truth teller? Okay.

[A]

Lots of hyphens. The most talented person I know. Incredibly beautiful.

[B]

Aw.

[D]

My dog.

[B]

So nice.

[D]

Okay, George first. I've said this before. I'll say it again. Intellectual. I will go with funny and conscientious.

[B]

Wow, thank you. That's so kind.

[D]

Yeah. George is an extremely hard worker. Anybody who knows him knows that he puts a lot of effort into everything he's doing.

[A]

Oh, I just called that ocd. But, yeah, you can see that. Hard work.

[B]

Yeah. Thank you.

[D]

Okay, John, I'm gonna go with genuine. I wanted to say fun, but that sounds so just, like, trite. Like, you're way more than fun. You're, like, jovial. There we go. How about that? And I'm trying to think of a word that describes how smart you are without just saying smart.

[A]

I was gonna go with.

[B]

I was gonna say academic.

[D]

Academic. But yeah, that doesn't have any cachet. Like, you've got, like.

[A]

I was gonna say, like, savant. Brilliant.

[B]

Prodigy.

[D]

Listen, take one of those. You put your jaundice on everything. And I like that.

[B]

That's good. Okay, Jade, I'm gonna go. I'll go Quick, fierce.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Poised.

[D]

Never do that again, Jade. Okay.

[B]

Infectious. There we go. John. I'm gonna go tardy. You know John. To know John is to know John is tardy. Generous indeed. Hilarious.

[A]

I'll take it.

[B]

That's it. That's all I got.

[D]

I agree.

[B]

I'm gonna do one. Don't be mad at me. We'll pass it around.

[D]

Okay, but you have to sing this one. You have to come up with the jingle.

[B]

So long.

[D]

Get it. Get.

[B]

I'm not gonna listen. The people, they didn't pay to hear me sing. That would cost way more. You can stream my album on Spotify. And I wish that was a joke. If you had to pick one restaurant to spend all your eating out budget on, where would you go?

[D]

Something Italian, right?

[B]

Why are you looking at me?

[D]

I don't know.

[B]

I'm not going out to eat with you. All right.

[D]

That's true.

[B]

Publix. I said a restaurant. I mean, we all love a pub sub, but relax.

[A]

A pub sub?

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

You've never heard of a pub sub? I can't tell if you're elitist or people want to shop at Publix. John. Man at the deli. At Publix, you can order sandwiches and they call them pub sub. Famously. There's one that is technically human food. It's just chicken tenders. Chicken tender inside of a sub.

[D]

That's the one.

[B]

And this is why America is the way it is.

[A]

I'm always gonna have a job. Always.

[D]

All right, what is the restaurant?

[B]

Where would John eat? I've never seen Johnny.

[D]

Yeah. What's your favorite? Even, like, kind of food?

[A]

Without question. Like a low fi shack that does seafood right by the water. Like of any kind. Like any animal that just came from the water. And then we're gonna eat it. That's. That's my favorite. Or straight up, like OG San Antonio Mexican food.

[B]

That's a good answer.

[D]

Italian. Hit me with some kind of pasta, some kind of pizza sauce.

[A]

Just saying those words gives George's special gluten free tummy gas.

[B]

I know, I know. Gosh.

[D]

What about you?

[B]

I'm, you know, of Middle Eastern descent, and that's the food of my people. And so I got. This is not technically accurate, but I'm going with like a tzatziki's kava type. Like I could just eat that all. Yeah.

[D]

Okay.

[B]

There you go. All right, down to John. We got. Let's do one more here. Cause John takes forever.

[A]

Which personality would you trust the least with your debit card? It's Me. It's me. I mean, clearly me.

[D]

I would trust yourself the least.

[B]

You would have more money in your account when I'm done with it.

[A]

That's actually fair. That's probably true. Which personality would you trust the least with your debit card?

[D]

I don't know why I want to say Rachel.

[B]

Oh, we didn't include Rachel. That's true.

[D]

I mean, we can include. She's not here, but we can include her, right?

[B]

Yeah, but she's buying, like, earrings on Amazon. John's buying, like, guitars, and that's also true.

[D]

That's a good point.

[A]

No, but hold on. Rachel posts the Amazon purchases. Y' all don't see her drive up in the $400,000 car and the bags made of a live alligator, like, whatever.

[B]

Like, so I'm still going, John. I'm picturing John, like, finding my debit card. I'm like, dude, we're gonna have some fun. You know what I mean? Whereas Rachel, like, we need to return this to George. He's probably worried about it.

[D]

You know? That's true.

[A]

Rachel, if I found your debit card, there's a hundred percent chance I would buy some of the most gonzo things and have them shipped to your house. That's true. I trust me the least.

[B]

Why am I getting boxes of diarrhea medication? Oh, gosh.

[A]

Could you see Whitney being like, george, there is a pallet of hemorrhoid cream out here. Are you okay? There's. Y' all just. I'm gonna do that.

[B]

That was fun. We had a good time. Hope you guys did, too. We're gonna do an anonymous question Now. One of you in the room submitted this, but you wanted to, you know, not put your name on it. And we actually had two that are really similar. So this is. This is one of the questions that hits it hard. I have been married for going on a decade, and we're on baby step one. I love my husband, but he is not engaged in our finances. And whenever I ask him to work with me on it, we get into an argument. Our finances aren't combined, and we aren't working together on a team to pay off our debt. I don't want to give up hope and pursue a divorce, but I'm so tired of always pushing him.

[D]

I mean, my first question would be, have you had any form of counseling? Like, have you sat down with a counselor at any point to discuss this with a third party? Right. That'd be my first question.

[A]

Yeah. What I found that was unique to, like, coming from the world I came from to this, to the Ramsey world is a lot of people watch the Ramsey stuff and they get inspired by the plan. And one of two things is true. They are. I've always been a plan person. Like, they used. They brought home a bunch of Avon one time and now they're like, heard that essential oils can cure liver cancer. So now they got a bunch of, like, it's always another plan and their partner just checks out, like another scheme. It's another scheme. Or they come at somebody with a spreadsheet like, here's the numbers and here's the debt. And we always find ourselves challenging people on air with that question beneath that, which. Or that conversation beneath that, which is sitting down with your spouse and saying, I don't feel safe in my house. I can't breathe in my own house. And I need you to help, like, participate in helping me feel safe. And if your spouse says, I'm out on that, that's a question. Like, that to me is the question beneath the question. And if a spouse says I'm not participating, then that. Then you're going to end up in one office or another, either a divorce office or in a therapist's office. But you're going to have to involve professionals because that's somebody that's completely unplugged. Most of the time when somebody says, I don't feel safe on my own house, their spouse is like, oh, my gosh, I didn't get it right. That was me. Like, that was me. My wife was so, like, I'm just an out of control person. But it was when she said, like, when I said, I feel like you're creating a life without me. And she said, I have to. That sentence I have to was like, oh, like, I'm so erratic. I don't keep a budget. I don't. I don't have any sort of stability. She's having to carve stability out of nothing because. So that was the line that's like, I gotta go get help for me so that I can be more stable in my own house.

[D]

All right, I'm gonna play devil's advocate on this. This is a real conversation. You guys can handle it. So the truth is yes to all of that. And the truth is because I'm talking from a personal experience of a best friend of mine. The truth also is you can have a spouse who you've said those things to and say, well, well, what makes me feel safe is being able to spend money on these things. I want to be able to live my Life. The truth is you can have a situation where one spouse wants to do the Ramsey plan and the other spouse is like, I'm all for doing certain things with our money, but I don't want to go to, quote these extremes, right? And the truth is you can't make anybody change, right? You just can't make. You could tell them everything in the book. And she was like, jade, what do I do? And I'm a firm believer. I'm like, there's always something you can do to better your situation.

[C]

And.

[D]

And you can't make this person change. And I told her, I was like, listen, if I were in your shoes, I would keep having the conversation, but I would do what I'm going to do. And I would share. I would share what I'm going to do. I would do it, and then I would share again. And so for the next decade, she did that, and she paid off $90,000 of debt without her husband's true help. He was around, but he wasn't really helping. And when the last $10,000 was to be paid, they went to some conference and somebody mentioned the Ramsey plan over the stage, and the light clicked on for him. And for the last $10,000, he helped and was on board. And so there's part of this where there's. You shouldn't be rendered completely helpless, right?

[A]

You still have to go do the next right thing.

[D]

You still have to go do the next right thing. So I would hate for somebody to feel like, well, they said, you know, we have to do it together. You do. That is the best possible way to do this plan together. Aligned on one accord. But at the same time, it could take a decade, right? It could take whatever your marriage situation is. And just because somebody doesn't want to do the Ramsey plan, you're not necessarily going to divorce them, right. And move on and go do your own money. So what can you do in the meantime? And I think that's the question that people really want to know is if this takes five years, am I rendered helpless for five years? No, you're not. Share. Do you share? And then the hope is that they get on board, and in the meantime, you're in counseling, but don't do nothing waiting for your spouse to do something.

[A]

That's a good line. On my show especially, I always ask when somebody says this or that, one of my first questions is always, are you going to leave them?

[D]

Right?

[A]

And if they. They're instant, no, it's okay. Then you've made. You've made that choice. And so then what are you gonna do inside that? Inside that choice you've made? But if I ask that question, are you gonna leave them? And there's that long pause.

[D]

Right.

[A]

That tells me there's a deeper issue.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. I found that there's such a wide spectrum for this question of basically, how do I get my spouse on board? You've been married a decade, and they've made it clear they're not gonna opt into this. You kind of have your answer. If you've been married a day, there's probably some hope that we can do this. Did you just hear about the Ramsey plan? Are you just excited and they don't get the vision yet? That's one thing versus someone who's actively dragging you down as you're trying to get out of debt. Because they're going further into it.

[D]

Right, right, right.

[B]

So it's so personal to your situation. But at the crux of this is a couple who has marriage issues for a decade, and money's just the symptom.

[D]

That's true.

[B]

And so that's the hard part. When we say, well, this is a marriage problem, not a money problem, we mean it. Because until you get the marriage under control and they respect that person and what their dream and vision is and what their feelings are, then they're not going to change. Why would you.

[D]

That's true.

[B]

So that's a tough one. Whoever submitted that, I appreciate that. I know that there are probably dozens more couples in here who have been there or maybe are sitting in this season right now. All right, let's get to another live question. Tell us your first name and where you're from.

[C]

My name is Serena, and I'm from St. Augustine.

[B]

All right, what's your question?

[C]

What are some tips to stay focused on pushing through baby step two?

[D]

Two.

[C]

I'm finding it difficult to get out of the YOLO mindset when I'm confronted with the tomorrow isn't guaranteed internal voice.

[B]

So good.

[D]

That is good.

[A]

So, like, a YOLO thing would be like, you're in baby step two, and you buy tickets to come to a club and watch the Ramsey show.

[C]

Yes, precisely. So all cash paid, but instead of, you know, sticking with baby step two, and you think, okay, I really should save for this over here and pay this off, but, you know, I really want to. I have the opportunity, so this is what I want to do. And it's hard to stay focused on the right thing.

[B]

How long is this journey for you? Like, what are we looking at? Is this Seven years, or is it one?

[C]

So I started with you guys. I say, you guys. I started listening to Dave Ramsey in 2021. So we are four years in and still in the same spot.

[B]

What percentage are you done because you haven't moved? You're saying we haven't made progress in four years?

[D]

Little progress.

[C]

Little progress.

[D]

I mean, I can tell you from my perspective. So for Sam and I, it took seven and a half years to pay off our debt. And I think for us, the mindset had to shift from there's more ways to enjoy life and there's more ways to get the most out of life. And generally that has to do with the people that you're around and the relationships that you're investing in more. So, like, don't get me wrong, experiences are a way to enjoy life. Going on a trip is a way to enjoy life. But at the end of the day, I'm still coming home to Sam Warshaw. Whether we went to Paris or we sat at home and made a pizza and it was delicious, and we watched Sister Act. Right. Either way, that's a really great experience. And there's ways to create memories, and there's ways to truly enjoy and get the most out of life, and it doesn't require spending a bunch of money. And that's the truth. So I think it really is a mindset shift that you're gonna have to make. And it sounds like you spent four years not seeing. You know, it's like you're doing all this toil but no traction. And I think that's probably what's got you feeling some type of way more so than the YOLO part of it. Right, right.

[A]

What's the thing you've tried in the past that you've been really successful at.

[C]

As far as athletics?

[A]

Academics, like. Give me a. Give me an example.

[D]

Ath.

[C]

Well, both.

[D]

I'm seeing athletics looking at your guns right now. And listen, gun show.

[C]

Don't embarrass me.

[D]

Don't embarrass me.

[C]

Yeah. So a healthy lifestyle, definitely.

[A]

What does a healthy lifestyle get you?

[C]

No pain in my bones. The ability to live life and not have to depend on other people.

[A]

So how does it translate to, I'm going to take autonomy and ownership of my body, my health, but I want to depend on a bank and a car dealership.

[C]

That is true. That is true.

[A]

What is it about this journey that's. That's harder than this one because they both seem rooted in freedom, autonomy?

[C]

I think it's the being independent, being single, being Responsible for yourself. When you think, okay, I'm gonna take all of this extra and pay it on this debt, then it takes it out. And I've heard this before, too, but it takes it away from being available for groceries for. Because I depend on myself for all of those things. So it is that shift of using the cash that you have to pay off the debt, but then you may not have what you need for your necessities.

[B]

Oh, well.

[C]

So budget oriented.

[D]

That's a budget question. Yeah. I love that you framed it up that way because I feel like now we're getting to the nitty gritty. If we're budgeting properly, you're doing the other things out of excess. Right. So if you. If you're starting with those four walls and you're like, hey, when I get paid, I know I'm paying for my rent. I know I'm paying for my utilities, my transportation, my food, and then on down that list of priorities. Right. And then if there's money left, okay, now I can do. Yeah, now I'm going to go to the movies. I'm going to go, you know, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came out. I'm going to go see that, you know, and now you're able to do those things that actually feels a level of peace about it. Or you're able to say, I'm going to take this extra money and I'm going to throw it at this extra debt. And. And I know I budgeted to do that and it's written on paper and I've done the math and I can feel good about that. So I think it's a little bit of both. And I just want to hit this because I think it's worth noting. And John was getting at this too. I feel like your fear is based on what if I don't do these things I want to do? What if I live my life and I don't take that trip? But there's also a fear that should be considered of what if I don't do this plan? What happens when I wake up at 50 and I still have the same debt, only now it's higher because the interest, you know, stacked up. So allow yourself to play that out on both sides. And I think that's going to inform what really matters to you and what truly the greater fear is.

[A]

Are you lonely?

[C]

I am single. I do have a German shepherd dog, so that's an outstanding reflection.

[A]

Are you? It is, isn't it?

[B]

It's great.

[C]

It's so great.

[A]

You don't have to answer that, I.

[C]

Think it's a lot there.

[A]

It's a heart.

[D]

That's okay.

[C]

It is a hard question.

[A]

There is a depth to. I want to hold on for this. Just in case. This just in case. What if they call. What if there's an opportunity and spending or another workout or another protein powder or I have a supplement, not a. Not a cabinet. I've got a supplement like clot. Like it's embarrassing. Right. But that can all serve as a Xanax to. And so I wonder if you became with the same intentionality you are about fitness, about taking care of yourself, if you were that intentional about. I'm going to put myself in positions where I'm going to meet other people and I can become a driver relationally. And that will free up this what if. What if. I'm going to take the what if off the table and I'm going to start inviting people over. I'm going to get weird and awkward and ask people from work to come over. I'm going to find people in my neighborhood and have Taco Tuesday. Whatever weird thing like, whatever the thing is that begins to heal all the way at the root of that, which is I need to hang on to some. I'm not going to pay off this debt. I'm going to try to get as much fun as I can out of each moment because kind of all I've got and I've got to make manufacture my own fun through spending, through cars, whatever.

[C]

Well, and with even the world that we live in right now, it's so hard to know, am I going to be here tomorrow?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So it's like, if I have the opportunity to go on trips with, you know, with friends and do all of these things, it's hard to say no to that, to sitting at home and let me, you know, add this extra to this debt because I may not be here tomorrow.

[B]

I think at the root of this, there's this like, FOMO versus Jomo, which is the joy of missing out. And when you're very clear in your goals, you're not like, oh, man, I could have eaten seven pizzas tonight. Instead you're like, man, I'm glad I took care of myself tonight. I'm going to feel so good tomorrow. And so to John's point, the chances of you dying tomorrow, slim to none. The chances of you staying the same in this sort of like, mediocrity, not making financial progress, There's a high chance of that because that's how most of America lives. And so You've got to kind of choose your heart here. And you're going to have to say no to the big trips. But we can redefine what the fun looks like in this stage of our life and knowing that two years from now, it's going to look very different. And you get to define that later on, too, if you have that delayed gratification now. So beautiful question.

[A]

Thanks for being brave.

[D]

I gotta flip this on its head for one second, and I'm nervous. Listen, hold on. I'm just gonna go for it. Can I just state the obvious? Because here's what I'm thinking. The truth is, if you die tomorrow, you're gonna be in heaven eating a sandwich. You're not gonna be thinking you got a sandwich.

[B]

Oh, my gosh.

[D]

I didn't climb that mountain when I was on Earth. You're gonna be in heaven, like, living it up.

[C]

Be meeting Jesus.

[B]

So ready?

[D]

So you're saying, like, if anything, the other folks are gonna be like, oh, man, we miss her. Do you see what I'm saying? Like, you're thinking that when you get to heaven, you're gonna be thinking about all the things you missed out on earth. That's not what's gonna be happening. And I think that's really worth you taking some time and thinking about. This is not the home. You know what I'm saying? Like, this is the temporary.

[C]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

Beautifully said. Thank you for the question.

[D]

Serena.

[B]

Thank you for being here. Give it up for her. All right. We thought it'd be fun to play a little superlatives because, as you guys know, we all have our personal brand.

[A]

What's that mean?

[B]

Listen to the show. That's a fancy word for most likely to. You know, when you were in high school, senior superlatives, most likely to. I don't know. For you, it was probably run a marathon. Slot slash, drop out of college. And you are. You've never ran a marathon. And you have, like, three master's degrees.

[A]

Booyah. See, it worked out good.

[B]

Two PhDs. So we're gonna have you guys vote. And this will also include Ken Coleman and Rachel Cruz, who are not with us right now. But you're gonna shout out who you think is most likely to do this thing. You with me? All right, lightning round. Here we go. Who is most likely to show up late to the studio? That was too easy. Most likely to use a coupon at a restaurant or order a kid's meal. That's hurtful. But true.

[A]

Whoever wrote, I've been with you when Both things have happened.

[B]

All right, Most likely to make a caller cry in a good way. All right, I'm hearing a lot of John, a little bit of Rachel. Most likely to make a caller cry in a bad way. Dave. All right, shout out to Dave. Just glad I wasn't in the running for that one. All right. Jay, will you read a few of these off?

[D]

Sure.

[B]

I want to see what.

[D]

Let's see. Where'd you leave off here?

[B]

Number.

[D]

All right. Oh, boy. Number four. Get the giggles and not be able to recover.

[A]

Rachel.

[D]

That's an easy one. Leave their mic muted accidentally at the start of a segment. Ken. Wow.

[A]

No, that's 100% me.

[D]

I was gonna say I thought it was me. That's great. I'm glad you didn't notice. All right. Tell an 86 year old to get a job.

[A]

Who would do that?

[B]

Who would heartless. Whoever would do that?

[A]

That's not even.

[D]

That's a hypothetical.

[A]

Use the word hemorrhoids on a call with a 52 year old mom.

[D]

Oh, boy. Oh, this one's good. Ask for a bottle of Tums.

[B]

Coleman. He loves. He gets a little heartburn after an intense call. I got to get a bottle of Tums, huh?

[D]

Yeah, that was a good. That was good.

[B]

I've been working on my canon. Thank you. That was good. Oh, gosh.

[D]

Innocently dropped the worst innuendos on air without realizing it.

[B]

Ken Coleman.

[D]

Oh, I was going to say Dave.

[B]

Oh, Dave has done that.

[A]

Listen, we call him Kenuendos. Here's the thing you got. Ken is like the most thoughtful person and the most compassionate, and he's the most, like, decorum. Right. There's a way you talk to people, especially when you're being a professional, and it just comes out.

[D]

Yeah, it does.

[A]

That's awesome. That's a good one. And what's awesome about James and his team, literally, you can say something and you can watch the show. The co host will just look over at the booth and by the time this segment is over, our phones are already buzzing. Someone's turned it into a meme and the whole company has it.

[B]

It's awesome.

[D]

Oh, yeah. That's my favorite thing to do is when somebody says something sideways. I love just looking at James like, did you hear what I heard?

[B]

That's half my job now is just keeping track of a quote book of what you guys say. It's going to be a memoir one day.

[D]

I love it.

[B]

All right, let's get to some more live questions. Let's see who we have next We've got. Is there a Jean Pierre in the crowd? Hey, Jean Pierre, you in for coolest, fanciest name today so far.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

All right. Where are you from?

[A]

I live here in Orlando, Florida.

[B]

Wonderful. Thanks for being here. What's your question?

[A]

Thank you. It's a privilege to be here. Just a little context. So I've heard of Ramsey when I first graduated from college, like, seven years ago. So I didn't know anything about finances until a buddy told me about Ramsey. And like, wow, this is actually something. You don't learn this stuff in high school. And fast forward several years in the future now, I guess. I recently graduated from grad school in May. And in that time leading up to grad school, you know, we didn't have a lot of money. We were saving up so I could go to grad school, my wife and I. And now it's done. And now that we are done, you know, we're on baby step six. I have. We're very blessed, my wife and I. We have two kids. How do we grapple with the poverty mindset now that we are out of that now?

[D]

I love that question.

[B]

Well, Jade, you've been writing about this, haven't you? I mean, you got.

[D]

Yeah, you know. Yes, I have been writing. Not specifically about this, though, but I do like this question because I feel like I understand it, and I feel like it's relying on. I kind of have, like, this checklist that I go through mentally because I feel that, like, there's times where Sam will want to do something, and I'm, like, freaking out. Like, why would he want to spend this money or vice versa? And it is. It's like your mind goes back to a mode from the past that's no longer the case. Right?

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And it's like, if I do this, it could throw everything off the rails. Right. And so I kind of go through this checklist where I'm like, okay, am I. It's what I call a financially responsible adult checklist. So it's five questions to ask yourself, and it's based on the baby steps, right? So you're asking yourself, okay, wait a minute, am I on a budget? Like, am I utilizing my budget every single month? I'm still doing my thing on that green light. Right? Then the next question is, am I out of debt? And is what I'm wanting to do gonna put me in debt? No, it's not gonna put me in debt. I'm still out of debt. Okay. Yeah, that's great. All right. Am I a Person who values saving. Am I saving in all the right ways? Right? Do I have my emergency fund? Is this gonna affect my emergency fund? Is it going to affect my 15% that I'm investing? Is it going to affect me, you know, putting more money on my house, which is a forced savings account? If the answer is no, that's a green light, right? Like, okay, I can spend this money. Then you're asking yourself, am I carrying the proper insurances? Right? Is this, did I do everything that I was taught? Do I carry my term life policy? All, you know, do I have the right coverage on my home and my auto? Green light, Yes, I do. And then finally, am I still a person who's valuing and prioritizing generosity? And is this gonna affect where that stands in my life? And if the answer is no, you've got five green lights that are showing you. I have proven that I am a financially responsible adult. And this is the guiding principle. I'm not sacrificing that in any way. And if that's true, listen, get into it, get involved, go ahead and spend the money. And I think when you do that, it reminds you of what's kind of what John was saying earlier. It reminds me. It reminds you of what's actually true about the situation. Everything's not on fire. You're not going to screw up your life. You're not going to go back to, you know, the hard place you were in before. And that's really good to remind yourself of that from time to time.

[A]

What was childhood like for you financially? I didn't come from any money. My parents are two immigrants that came here with two suitcases, and I was born here and I got to live out the American dream.

[D]

I love that.

[A]

That's cool.

[B]

That's amazing.

[A]

Awesome.

[B]

What's a practical way you feel like you're still in that poverty mindset? Like, what's something recent that's happened where you're like, man, why can't I. I can't click out of this mode.

[A]

I think it's you. You guys always say there's a spender and a saver. I always have that saver mentality. And I probably comes back from childhood, that scarcity mentality and just, I don't know, fighting against that, I want to challenge you on that. If in your situation, the way you grew up, it's not a mentality, it's wired into your nervous system. It's life or death, right? You grew up in a home where two people said, we're gonna make A run of it. We got two suitcases and that's all we got, Right? So it's easy to beat yourself up. Like, I just need to change my mentality. This is in you, and so it's gotta be something that you're gonna have to feel. Like I feel my body trying to take care of me. It's been to the other side where we got nothing. Right? And I have to know that's not true. And so I'm gonna. I'm gonna not just, like, try to think my way through it or change my mentality. I'm gonna practice. I'm gonna put, like we talked earlier, Like, I'm gonna put money in the budget that we are gonna just literally go blow. We're gonna go have fun, we're gonna go dancing. And before we go, I'm gonna feel uncomfortable, and that's okay. And then I'm going to go do it anyway. And what you'll teach your body over time? It's like the Instagram memes. Like, how do I get more confident? Like, you just got to feel confident. No, that's so stupid. You got to go do things and be successful and teach your body confidence. Right. And so I'm going to teach my body. It used to be, and now it is. We weren't safe, and now we are. And a lot of first gen folks who find the follow this Ramsey plan. I hear there's also this quiet, sometimes loud, often quiet voice of guilt. Yes. Why me? And it's not fair. It's like joy is some zero. If I have joy, it somehow takes from somebody else. And that's not how joy works, man. Joy lifts everybody. Right? And so it's being really grateful about what happened. And then I'm gonna go practice. We're gonna be super generous and it's, practice this and come back in five years, man, you're gonna have like a feather boa and you're gonna be like, what up? It's gonna be awesome, man.

[B]

Have you used the word sub? I don't deserve that.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

So a way that I fought against that is to literally put it in the budget and use my accountability partner, my wife, to force me to go, hey, do you actually spend the money on that thing that you were scared to spend it on, that hobby that you want to invest in, that purchase the experience? Do you have a thing in mind that you're like, that just takes my breath away a little bit to put the money there.

[A]

Nothing at the top of my mind right now. But yeah, instances like that come up.

[B]

Does your wife have those things? And you've said, I don't think we can do that right now.

[A]

A lot less now, now that I'm out of school. But yes, it was definitely a lot over the years. Absolutely. I'm really, really proud of you. Thank you. That's awesome.

[B]

You changed your family tree.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

I'm so proud of you, man. Thank you for being here.

[A]

Thank you, guys.

[B]

All right, we got another question here from Miguel. How can I Prepare myself at 19 years old to buy a house? You're 19? Yes, sir. You got a full beard, bro.

[D]

Listen, sticker them, George.

[A]

Puberty is coming. Just keep praying.

[B]

They keep saying that. Hang in there. Hang in there, George. Oh, my goodness. Okay, so you're 19, you've got some goals. Yes. Are you working full time? What's your situation? You in school? No, I'm not in school. So my, My family owns a food truck for a long time, and I've always worked with them since I got out of high school. And so he pays me a salary. And I also do, like, I guess, hobbies that I get some good money from weekly, some side hustles. Yes. Okay, what do you want to be doing long term? I'd really like to open up my own food truck and eventually a restaurant and just be my own boss. And I've always liked customer service and serving people food, so that's my passion.

[D]

You're 19?

[B]

Yes, sir. I'm just.

[A]

I was just trying to get somebody to go on a date with me when I was 19.

[B]

Hold on. Did you have a childhood or was it like, I'm 12 and working in the food truck? Like, you grew up fast, didn't you? Okay, so your next goal is to buy a house? I think about, you know, long term goal, and I think I'd love to, you know, get into a marriage with a house or getting into a house like that. That's my goal, you know, before. Before I get married or, you know, a couple years after I get married, I'd like to have a. A house.

[D]

Can I ask why that is for you? Is it a security thing? Is it a wealth building thing? Is it a nobody in my family ever owned a house thing?

[B]

It's a, it's a security thing and, and also wealth building because I just, I really like the. The idea of having something that's mine.

[D]

I love that. Do you have any debt? Did you.

[B]

No, no, no. I got a credit card when I was like 18, and then I cut it up after I Watched your videos. You cut it up when you write up. And I was 18 yesterday. All right, that's fantastic. You're doing great. How much you have in savings? I have like $5,000 in savings right now. Fantastic.

[D]

Good job.

[B]

Okay, so you're working on the emergency fund. That's great. That's baby step three. And then beyond that you could be in baby step 3B or 4. It's kind of a. Choose your own adventure. If you want to stack up cash, I would say at 19, there's no reason you should go get a four bedroom house tomorrow. But I would work towards that and just stacking cash. Like keep living on less than you make. Do you have any fun hobbies that aren't side hustles that bring in income? I'm working on it. Hobbies that don't include making money. Yeah, well, in the hospitality world, you're just like, I'm working 14 hour days, then I go to bed and wake up and redo. So I'm just trying to make sure that you live life as a 19 year old too. Because it's hard to meet a lady other than, you know, a customer at the food truck when you're in the food truck for 14 hours a day. Right? Yeah, I'm working on that. I'm doing like, you know, kayaking. I like riding four wheelers, stuff like that. Cool.

[A]

Good gosh. If there's any single people here, he'll be outside in the parking lot when the show's over. Okay. So my temptation to tell him this is the moment he found somebody. The moment they got married. They're gonna want their place and she's gonna want input on that place. Like a wife. Someday I would love to see you have your own food truck that you own outright. Like, so I'm gonna start investing in this. Not so. I have stability. Like, I wanna have roots and this is mine. But I have found buying a house with my wife is a thing that we do together. It's a tree that we plant. Whereas. And not to say if you're single, you shouldn't buy a house. That's not what I'm saying at all. But like at 19, right? But man, if you have that degree in whatever, or in your case, I've got my food truck, I own it outright. Nobody owns Miguel. And I'm a provider, I'm here. And that to me feels where I would direct a 19 year old.

[B]

Yeah, I guess I'm not worried that you're gonna get a house. It's like, dude, you're so incredible that I'm like, sure, we'll save up and get you a good down payment, get a 15 year mortgage, 25% your take, home pay. I have all the faith you're going to do that. And so to John's point, I would be focusing on how am I going to build a sustainable career for myself where I own it. And man, that food truck's going to cost a pretty penny because I know you're paying cash. Yes. What's that going to cost to get your own food truck up and running? The whole thing, I mean the physical truck, the marketing supplies, what's that going to cost if I build it myself and use like my father's business name and just make like a part two, it's like 15,000, $16,000 if I want to buy it from a dealer, like 22, 25,000 DOL. Brand new.

[A]

I like investing in like a 401 Miguel for the next three years.

[B]

Yes. Thank you.

[A]

You know what I'm saying?

[B]

Like, yeah, compound growth. You have all the time on your side. If you didn't start till 25 investing and working on the house, you'd still retire a multi, multi, multi million millionaire. So what I don't want you to do is get the house and you're tied up and you're working on maintenance, repairs and you don't have the money for the food truck. And so you're going to take on a loan because you think it'll pay off and work out. I think it's just going to add stress to your life. And so to John's point, I always love when young people just invest in themselves, especially people as sharp as you, that I'm like, I'm not worried about the income and the money. Like you have an amazing work ethic. You're living on less than you make, you're staying out of debt. And so I would focus on career at this point. And this is your college, except instead of paying money to a college, you're making money and using it to invest in yourself. So man, I'm so proud of you.

[D]

Thank you.

[B]

This guy's incredible. Give it up for him.

[D]

Thank you.

[B]

All right, man, I'm inspired. You guys are incredible. All right.

[A]

Such a bum at 19.

[D]

I know, that's right.

[B]

Yeah. I'm just like, dude, what were we doing at 19?

[A]

Hey, I was staring in the mirror wondering, will I ever get a beard? No.

[D]

I was taking out student loans.

[B]

I was in an indie band and working at the Apple store. So yeah. Miguel's crushing all of us.

[D]

He is. He is. Good job, Miguel.

[B]

All right, if you listen to the radio show for some time, you know that we've had some great moments on air, some hilarious calls, some crazy calls, some heartbreaking calls. And so we're going to play a little game. We're going to play two truths and a lie, but with Ramsey show calls. So we're going to tell you the headline of the call that we actually took on air, but one of them was not a real call. Okay, you ready to play? So I'm going to do A, B, C, Tell me which one is the lie? A, is it okay to work as a stripper if I'm making good money to put toward my debt? Snowball. B, I'm allergic to budgeting. I break out in hives. Or is it c, I have 35 credit cards. I'm hearing a lot of B. Is that fair?

[D]

I break out in hives.

[B]

That's the lie.

[D]

That was a lie.

[B]

I don't think we've taken that call where someone has a physical reaction.

[D]

Interesting.

[B]

But the. The stripper call was you and John.

[A]

That was one of the calls that on the way home, I was like, I think we actually helped somebody today.

[B]

All right, next one. Which one is the lie? A, my husband's been hiding $15,000 in the closet. B, my husband is having sleepovers at his ex girlfriend's house. Or is it C, My twin sister stole my identity.

[D]

Oh.

[B]

Very mixed crowd on this one. I heard a lot of A's. Make some noise if you think it's A. Is the lie. Okay, make some noise if you think B is the lie about the sleepovers at ex girlfriends. Make some noise if you think it's C. Twin sister stole the identity.

[D]

That's pretty split.

[B]

Okay, it's C, My twin sister stole my identity. We did not take that call, unfortunately.

[D]

That would be a great call, but Deloney took the.

[B]

My husband's been hiding 15 grand in the closet.

[A]

I remember that.

[B]

I guess there's worse problems to have. Like, I just found out there's only savings lying around. I'm like, all right, there's tons of.

[A]

Wives that were like, really?

[B]

Do you like better than finding you get 15 grand in debt? You know, the question is, what was he using the money for or going to use the money for?

[A]

Listen, George, that's where the call. It's all coming down. We got to have 15,000.

[B]

Yeah, the cash. Who was the.

[A]

Who took the call about the ex girlfriend?

[B]

That was Dave. I Was going to say that was an old one. Old school Dave call when he was solo. My husband's having got to watch that. His ex girlfriends. Yeah, we got to go Google that. By the way, you can literally just type all of these into YouTube and find them later for your own enjoyment. All right, next one. Which one's the lie? A, I make $700,000 a year, but I'm miserable. B, I was scammed by a NASCAR impersonator, or C, my daughter embezzled $80,000 from our business. B, I was scammed by a NASCAR impersonator. Happy to tell you, that was a real.

[A]

I was on that call.

[B]

I remember that were on that call.

[D]

I believe that it was a lot.

[B]

Of money he gave this guy. No, the lie was a, I make $700,000 a year, but I'm miserable.

[D]

Oh, interesting.

[B]

A very believable call. It is over the NASCAR impersonator. So if you ever get a Facebook message from a NASCAR driver, just know you're about to get scammed. All right, next one. My ex wife and baby mama are now friends. Our kids sports are costing us 20 grand a year, and we're 150 grand in debt.

[D]

I believe that.

[B]

Or C, we haven't paid our bills in six years. Which one is the lie? You guys could not be more wrong. A and C are real calls. B, our kids sports are costing us 20 grand a year. We're 150 grand a day.

[A]

It's 50,000. Come on, y'.

[B]

All. Yeah, it's way more than that for kids sports. All right, our next lineup. Which one's the lie? A, my friend wants me to spend three grand for her bachelorette trip. How do I tell her no? B, should I give my misbehaving spouse an allowance? And C, we're homeless and it's my wife's fault. Once again, you guys could not. We really planted these. Well, it's A, my friend wants me to spend three grand for a bachelor, but I feel like we've taken very similar.

[D]

I feel like I took that call.

[B]

James did us dirty on that one.

[D]

James, Wait a second.

[B]

Yeah, Deloney was on the. Should I give my misbehaving spouse an allowance? I just don't like the word allowance. I don't even like it on kids.

[A]

I don't like the phrase my misbehaving adult.

[B]

Yeah, that's how they titled it. It may not be their words, but there we go. That's literally what they said. Oh.

[D]

Oh, gosh, we got problems.

[B]

I think of Austin Powers like The O. Behave.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Next one. Which one's the lie? A, I inherited $1.25 million from my boss. B, I spent almost $500,000 on med school and didn't pass the boards, or C, I have rats living in my walls and my landlord won't do anything about it? C. That's right.

[D]

What was. What was.

[B]

B, I spent almost 500 grand on Med school. Didn't pass.

[D]

I remember that. I was on that.

[B]

Well, Dave took that one. I think it's an old school Dave call. Oh, I took. I inherited 1.25 million from my boss. I had questions.

[D]

Yeah, that's.

[B]

I got a relationship. Like, huh? With the boss. Makes you wonder, what do you think.

[A]

We'Ll inherit from our boss?

[B]

Precisely. $0.

[A]

Precisely.

[B]

Yeah. He's like, you are inheriting. It's called a salary.

[D]

It's a job. Yeah.

[B]

You get congratulations on the inheritance. Rachel's not here to defend herself. Okay. All right, let's get to another live question. What's your first name? Where are you from?

[A]

I'm Doug and I'm from New York, but I moved to Florida, like, 10 years ago.

[B]

Cool.

[A]

My question is, I'm engaged. Me and my fiance are going to.

[B]

Be married, hopefully by September.

[A]

I just opened up an llc, and we want to know how the best method for combining finances. We have shared goals. We're already in premarital counseling. So if you could give me some tips on stuff maybe we wouldn't get from practical or traditional advice, that'd be great. September of next year. Yes. Like 20, 26. Is she here? I plead the fifth. I'm just telling you right now. I'll perform the ceremony right now. If you want to. Just do it.

[B]

Love that he's done it.

[A]

No, we're huge fans of your show. Every Monday, Wednesday, we get married today. I would love it, Ari. Would you? I don't think it's going to happen. All right.

[B]

I was going to say you did roll right here.

[A]

You did roll in here in shorts. No.

[D]

Y' all do the plan you had planned. Do the plan you had planned.

[B]

That would have been epic. So you want. You want untraditional advice on how to combine finances?

[A]

Yes, please.

[B]

Or, like, the best. You know how untraditional it is to combine finances?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We get so much hate for telling people, hey, what if you had, like, a joint checking account? No independence. So I'll just tell you what my wife and I did. I had a checking account. She had a checking account. We moved the money into mine and made it A joint account. Kept my account number and she shut hers down. We have a joint high Yield savings account, and that's it. Now, as far as the business goes, is she part of the business?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Okay, then she should be on the business accounts as well. You have a business checking, business savings. We gotta open that up.

[A]

And I'm doing the work. She's just, like, helping me with all the admin stuff, which sounds horrible.

[B]

I just realized.

[A]

No, I said do all the work.

[B]

I'm doing all the work. Yes. No, I get it.

[A]

Yeah. This lady over here is going to come after you if you're not careful. So.

[B]

But I heard. I think it was.

[A]

I'm sorry. I was going to say, here's some untraditional advice. Yeah. Don't combine money until you're married. Okay. And here's why. It's not like a church answer. I can make a case for that. But this is a. And again, I'm only saying this. I think y' all are going to go be married for 75 years. You're going to live and be 140 years old. It's going to be awesome. But if you're married and you end up not making it, there is a legal process for dividing assets. If you're just dating or you're engaged and you all start mixing stuff up, it is a nightmare to untangle it. Can we do a pre prenup on that? I wouldn't. Okay. What's a pre prenup? I don't know.

[B]

I thought there'd be something. Just making up new legal tools.

[A]

Yeah. I would have an LLC in your name and you 1099 her and you pay her.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

As an employee. Well, I heard Dave Ramsey. Or it was you, John. One caller didn't know where her husband was spending the money. And immediately I was like, ari, you got to know. I want you to know every dollar that comes in, which isn't a lot right now, so it's easy.

[B]

But, like.

[D]

No, you can tell her, though.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

So. All right, so I'll tell her.

[A]

And then once we're married, then we do it. But, like.

[B]

Because we heard a lot of different.

[A]

Ones where, like, we live off one person's salary and invest the other. Like, is there a way. Have you guys ever heard of that? Is there a way to ease into that?

[D]

There's really no benefit of doing that because when it's combined, it's both people's salary. So then the question is, well, what are we trying to accomplish? Are we trying to invest and Then if we are, then, yeah, we're taking 15% of our money and doing it like that. Now, mathematically, it could work out to end up being. Oh, that happens to be the amount of money that you make, but that's just kind of a coincidence at that point. So it's really looking at the whole. And saying, what baby step are we on? And then what amount of our money does it require to accomplish that baby step?

[A]

Okay, thank you very much. I can't tell you the importance of changing from mine and yours to ours.

[B]

Oh, we're all about that.

[A]

I got debt free because of you guys. I got my. You got debt free because of you, brother. Thank you. It's awesome. It's awesome. I had one line you said that stuck with me. My. We were just dating then, and she was going through a lot, and I just said, what can I do to help you feel supported? Game changer.

[B]

We're engaged now. Put a ring on it. That made me feel supported. And he did. Way to go, man. That's awesome.

[A]

Thank you very much, guys.

[B]

Yeah, we're rooting for you. Congrats, brother. All right, let's get to some more fishbowl questions. James, where's the fishbowl go? John has it. Okay, let's pull a few more out.

[A]

John, if you weren't doing this job, what career would you want instead?

[D]

I know mine.

[A]

What's that?

[B]

The singing chef.

[D]

Well, I already did the entertainment thing. I'd be a chef. I'd open a restaurant.

[B]

You got a name for it yet or you not want to leak it?

[A]

Miguel's Food Truck Incorporated.

[D]

I have some ideas, but I'm not ready to share them tonight.

[B]

Okay, so we got Chef George.

[A]

What would you. And I like the way it says that. What would you want instead?

[B]

Well, what I want instead of. I mean, I think right now there's probably some gaps in the late night show host field, so I'd probably put my hat in the ring. You know, it just feels fun. You did, like, the writers write, and I do the monologue. I interview some celebrities. We have a good time. Sneak in some personal finance advice in there. You know, just give people some hope. And part of that is comedy, and part of it is encouragement and fighting against cynicism and nihilism, which is what we're up against with young people today. So that's what I think I would attempt to do. I probably it really, really be a YouTube channel. TV doesn't exist anymore.

[A]

What would you do, man, walking into this room, like, into this. This is like an old. Like a rock club, right? Like, walking into this room reminded me, like, when I was 19, I so badly wanted to be the lead singer of, like, a punk rock band that would fill out rooms like this and just have chaotic evenings and then just go to the next town. So I'd want to do that. But after the last year or two, if I could make a living, travel in the country as a standup comic, that'd be fun. That's just a. That's a super fun time. It's a blast.

[B]

Fantastic. Okay.

[A]

Do you have a frugal habit you'll never give up? George's entire life. Oh, man.

[B]

So I mean, all of them, but namely, after being in Chicago two days ago, now Orlando, I will circle for parking for a good 15 minutes if I'm with my wife, 10. If it's just me, 15, and I'm willing to walk at least a half mile to get free parking over a paid lot. That's my frugal habit.

[D]

That's good.

[B]

I stand by that. I will not be bullied by the parking lots.

[D]

Oh, man.

[B]

Deloney's like, I've never been frugal.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

I can think of one. I hate throwing away food. I mean, I've been known to eat some questionable food in the refrigerator just to make sure it doesn't go in the garbage. I am the garbage disposal. Listen, 11 days doesn't faze me.

[B]

I will get into it.

[A]

What'd you say?

[D]

I said, 11 days doesn't faze me. Like lasagna. Come on. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

[A]

George is changing color right next to you, dude.

[B]

I'm like, three days. I'm like, no, most things are good.

[D]

Like, seven to 10 days.

[B]

Three days to rise from the dead. I think we can throw away the food now.

[D]

Like, no, man.

[A]

George throws it away 48 hours before the expiration date.

[D]

That's what the microwaves are for.

[B]

They need food poisoning once to go. Never again. Never again.

[A]

A frugal habit. I will never give up, I guess. Oh, man. I have a thing where cars and trucks and clothes and shoes. The price of those things is frozen in my head at the age of 20. And I remember buying a truck that I could not afford for $17,000 when I was 20, and I went to get a truck a few months ago, and I looked at the guy and I was like, you need to go out in the parking lot and set yourself on fire for just like. And so it's stuck in my head. And I think the habit I would give up. I went ahead and bought the truck because I'm insecure. But the habit I'll never give up is like, dramatic, exasperated dad anger over the cost of everything. That's my habit.

[B]

That's strong. All right, pass it down to Jade because I don't want this lady to yell at us.

[D]

All right, here we go. What do you think your life would look like if you weren't following the baby steps? What a great question. I've thought about this, actually, many times. So. Because of COVID Specifically because when Covid happened, I remember looking at Sam being like, I'm so grateful that we did the baby steps. And I'm so grateful we're debt free and we don't owe. You know, everything is safe, like, we can. Cause I told you, entertainment shut down. So without it. Listen, I don't even know number one. I hate to say this, but we may have gone through a time where we literally would have been, like, homeless and had to live with our parents, but neither of us can live with our parents, so we might have chosen, like, that street life.

[B]

Mom, dad, homeless.

[A]

We'll take seats.

[D]

Yeah, listen, it wouldn't have been good. Terrible.

[B]

Yeah. I'm trying to picture, like, going through it, like, I probably have bought too much house too soon. 30 year mortgage, gone. Well, I guess I'll be, you know, 60 when that's paid off. Probably would, like, be leasing, like, the newest Tesla. Like, it's an iPhone upgrade. I'd be finessing credit card points and convincing myself that I'm the smartest one that you're winning. Bragging about, like, the hotel I got for free, not realizing that I spent 60 grand to get that free hotel. So I'd probably be like, just that insufferable bro who.

[A]

You'd have a mustache.

[B]

Just a mustache.

[A]

Really Tighter jeans than you have on right now.

[B]

Yeah. Probably still single. I think fiscal responsibility is one of my only attractive traits at this point. So I think that helped get my wife. See, I would just be an insufferable guy bragging about how I'm like, I'm finessing the system, but secretly, I'd be stressed out.

[A]

I would be. No question. I would be institutionalized. I'd be insane. That's not me making a joke. I'd be insane.

[D]

I hear you.

[A]

Like, I owed so much, and every second, there were these hounds that were coming after me, and I was such an insane, anxious mess, and my life was so out of control. The most frustrating thing for me As a scientist, as a guy who did research for years, and as a professor was to meet this guy named Dave who came up with a neuroscientifically accurate plan to pay off your debt but also reclaim stability in your nervous system. And so, like, following that plan also got me into a gym, and it also got me into a therapist, and it also got me, like, sitting down across from my wife saying, like, we can choose a better marriage. Like, all of those things, because it gave me. It gave me freedom. And that allowed me to take a deep breath and then think about what was next. So, yeah, I'd definitely be not allowed out in public.

[B]

I love that. Yeah. I found, like, when people do their debt free scream, one of my favorite things is, like, they're like, oh, and I lost 50 pounds and my marriage got better. Like, there's something where discipline begets discipline. And what I love about the debt free scream is, yes, you got out of debt. That's great. But it makes you realize how much agency you have over your life.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And once you have that, you're like, what else can't. Why can't I have a better marriage? Why can't I have a better career? And so that's one of my favorite things about the baby steps is it's really just like a little hack to realize that you have more control than you think. Well said. All right, what do you guys talk about during the commercial breaks of the show?

[A]

Tell them about the game.

[B]

The game.

[A]

It's time they can know what game.

[B]

You guys play a game without me?

[A]

No, you and Ken taught me the game.

[B]

Oh, like the Ramsey After Dark.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

Okay.

[A]

What we would have said.

[B]

Oh, oh, oh.

[D]

Okay.

[B]

What we wanted to say, what you muttered under your breath in the car that you couldn't say to your kids, that's kind of what we do during the breaks is the real talk. They're like just the frustration, the anger, the hilarious thing that we could have said but may have been inappropriate. Well, I thought it'd be fun to end the night with something that is one of our favorite moments on the show, and that is the debt free scream. Can we end with that? All right. We have someone that we've hand selected who we think would be a wonderful way to end the night. Would you help us welcome Jessica to the debt free stage? Give it up for Jessica. All right, Jessica, this is a different debt free scream.

[C]

Yes. Yes, it is.

[A]

You look like you're having an out of body experience.

[B]

How much debt did you pay off?

[C]

I paid off $127,611.

[B]

Let's go. Okay. What kind of debt was that?

[C]

Oh, most of it was graduate school loans. I also had a car loan, medical debt, and credit cards.

[D]

Wow.

[B]

Little potpourri.

[C]

Yep. Oh, and I cash flowed. An emergency appendectomy.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. Nothing stopping you now.

[C]

Not anymore.

[B]

What was your. What was the grad degree for?

[C]

I got my master's in international affairs.

[B]

Wonderful. What do you do for work?

[C]

Right now I work for Grantson Research for a local law enforcement agency in Tampa.

[B]

Very cool.

[D]

Thank you.

[B]

Okay. How long did it take to pay off? Was it 127 grand?

[C]

You said 127,000?

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

It took me just shy of five years.

[D]

Wow.

[B]

Holy smokes. Okay, and what was your range of income during that time?

[C]

Started at 43 and ended at 72 at that time.

[B]

Wow.

[D]

You're amazing.

[B]

That is impressive.

[D]

You're amazing. Wow.

[B]

How did you.

[D]

Lived on nothing.

[B]

Were you selling stuff? Were there side hustles?

[A]

How much did you sell that appendix for?

[C]

Listen, if I could have. No, I did do a couple side hustles. There was a limited option for overtime at my work, so I did tap into that. I did do a side gig of grant writing. I also did a lot of dog sitting over the course of that time. I did get a promotion, and that's why it jumped up. That was about two years ago, so about halfway through. Yes. Yeah. But honestly, living way below my means. Like, honestly, all that budget is key. If you're not on it, get on it. But living below my means was incredible. Having really understanding family and friends that when I said I couldn't go out to eat, but can we do a potluck? You know, that sort of thing.

[B]

What got you on the Ramsey plan to begin with?

[C]

So around Covid, I hadn't heard of y' all quite yet, but we started getting these checks from the government for different things, and people were buying pelotons and water coolers, and I didn't want any of that. I had a lot of anxiety for my school loans, and I just started to, you know, Pinterest getting out of debt, because that's my generation.

[B]

That's fantastic. Okay, so you get on a plan and you're making 43 grand, and you're like, all right, let's start cleaning up a six figure mess here.

[C]

Yep. I started with the checks with my car, and then I snowballed my credit card, my medical debt, and then I had three different student loans. Two of them were federal and Then. So I tried to take as much advantage of that pause in the interest rate as I could. And then the last one was my federal. Excuse me, my private loan, which was about 60,000. And that did not have a pause on it. So I just had to flow that through.

[B]

You just plowed through that thing. So five years is a long journey, man. And Jade and her husband Sam, it was like seven years. Because with a whole bunch of debt, almost half a million. Like, speak to the person who has that longer journey ahead of them who's like two years. Sure. But five, I can't stick it out that long.

[C]

Yeah, it was just shy. It was three months shy of five years. So I completely understand that mentality. It was hard, but I had. I think it maybe was you, Jade, on the call. You're going to be somewhere in five years. Where do you want to be? And I really wanted to be debt free. I did not want to live the life that I was living. So I was like, what needs to be true for me to get there?

[D]

I love that. Listen, you've got the mindset. I'm curious because, like, we're kindred spirits on this. What was the craziest thing that you did that you were like, I don't care, I'll do it if I have to get out of debt. Was it something you cut from your budget? Was it a job you did? Yes.

[C]

Okay. So it does have to do with the appendectomy. So I was dog sitting at the time and I was at work at my day job and I went to the gym and I was like, something doesn't feel right. I think I ate too many chips. Not that it turned out that I needed to go to the hospital, but I was dog sitting and I was like, if this is what I think it is, I'm not coming home. And I really don't want to lose this money, this tip. So I went back, walked the dog, figured out everything with the dog, and then drove myself to the hospital to walk the dog. Well, I didn't go to the hospital first. I went, you know.

[B]

You waited.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Knowing that this was like exploding inside of you and you gotta walk the dog.

[D]

I need to walk the dog so the dog doesn't explode inside my house.

[C]

I wasn't gonna get the full amount. Cause I wasn't gonna stay, you know, for the agreed upon time. But I really, I really wanted that tip.

[B]

I got it. I'd call that gazelle intensity.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Any chance you're around 19 or 20 years old?

[D]

Me?

[C]

No.

[A]

Sorry, Miguel. I tried, brother.

[B]

Dang it.

[A]

This was feeling like perfect.

[B]

Set you up, brother. So you had some cheerleaders, you said, Friends, family?

[C]

Yeah, yeah, my family was really supportive, specifically my parents and my siblings and their families. And then I got connected to a really good group at my church. Some of my work family supported me as well.

[B]

So I love it. So what do you tell people? The key to getting out of debt is out of all that stuff you did, man.

[C]

I mean, aside from the budget, you have to know your why. Unless you have a bigger why of getting out. And for me, it was just I knew what I wanted to. I knew what I wanted in my 30s to look like. And it didn't want to be beholden to the man. It wanted to be free for the generosity that we've talked about and just the bigger planes of doing whatever I want. So I kept that in mind when the times were hard.

[B]

Wow. You're an inspiration.

[D]

I love it.

[B]

Let's get to the moment we've all been waiting for. You ready? This is a special debt free scream because usually the person doing the scream has like seven people in the lobby. You get 300 new best friends to cheer you on. All right, it's Jessica from Florida. $127,000 paid off in five years. Three months. Less than five years to be exact. Making 43 to 72. Count it down. Let's hear a debt free scream.

[C]

Three, two, one. God provides.

[B]

I'm debt free. We got the disco lights out here for you. That's something different. Okay. Thank you so much. Jessica. We've got a parting gift for you. We're gonna gift you a year of every dollar premium, the all new one that coaches you along this baby steps journey that was a key to your debt free journey. And I feel bad doing that in front of all these people, so I feel like we should give it to more people. Don't you think we should give it to a few more people? Okay, look under your seat. We've got a year of every dollar premium for everybody in here tonight.

[D]

Yay.

[B]

No, that's for real. Look under your seat. It's seriously there. This is our Oprah moment. Congratulations. You get taped under your chairs, guys. You're all getting one year of our all new every dollar. It's more than just a budgeting app now. We just released the newest version.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

That will coach you guys along the journey. It's got a digital coach experience, recommendations. You got group coaching. So that's our gift to you to say thank you for being a part of our live audience.

[D]

Give it to someone if you already have it.

[B]

Guys, this has been so fun. Did you guys have a good time being a part of Ramsey show live? I'm inspired by you all tonight. The way you're living out the Ramsey plan, the dreams you have, the visions you have for your life, the people you want to become, the people you've transformed into already. Like, it's just, it gives me hope for America that we're going to be okay because of people like you who decided I have agency over my life. That's what this represents tonight. So thank you guys so much for being here.

[A]

And hey, I'm just going to say this as directly as I can. I'm not trying to be silly, but like, right now, leaving your house, enjoying a room full of strangers on a shared mission is an act of courage. And I want to thank everybody who came out and who said, I'm going to go into a room and meet a bunch of new people and hang out with a group of people that we listen to and we're going to get to see them and experience them. Thank you all for being brave. Thank you for being courageous. This right here, leaving your homes and being around like minded people that share the same mission as you, that's how this whole thing changes. And so thank y' all for leaving your homes and coming and being a part of this tonight. It's awesome.

[B]

You guys are incredible. Thank you, Orlando. We love you guys. Have a great night.