What Are You Willing To Sacrifice To Get Out of Debt?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ramsey Show - "What Are You Willing To Sacrifice To Get Out of Debt?"

Date Released: November 21, 2024
Host: Dave Ramsey and Ken Coleman
Description: In this episode of The Ramsey Show, Dave Ramsey and co-host Ken Coleman delve into listeners' financial dilemmas, providing expert advice on overcoming debt and building wealth. The episode tackles various real-life scenarios, offering actionable solutions and emphasizing the importance of financial discipline and integrity.

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1. Introduction and Initial Caller: Liz from Mobile, Alabama (00:15 - 07:40)

Caller's Situation: Liz is in a committed relationship with a partner who hasn't filed taxes for about 20 years. Despite having taxes deducted from his paycheck, his failure to file poses significant legal risks.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Legal Implications:
  Dave Ramsey explains, “Failure to file federal income taxes is a federal crime. 2581 people were incarcerated for that last year.” (01:58)

• Consequences for the Partner:
  Ramsey emphasizes the inevitability of legal repercussions, advising Liz to reconsider her commitment to someone engaging in unlawful behavior.

• Advice to Liz:
  Ramsey strongly suggests ending the relationship unless her partner rectifies his tax situation. He provides a constructive pathway for her partner to come clean, such as consulting tax professionals and potentially avoiding criminal charges by proactively addressing his tax filings.

• Integrity and Trust:
  Liz underlines the importance of trust, stating, “What, pray tell, is he willing to withhold from you?” (03:57), highlighting broader issues beyond just tax evasion.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “If he will not get current on his taxes, that's a deal breaker for me.” (04:10)
• Liz: “This is a money issue. It's not your problem and it shouldn't be your problem.” (06:48)

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2. Caller: Patrick from Denver (10:58 - 16:02)

Caller's Situation: Patrick, a 23-year-old farrier with 25 clients, owes his parents $10,000—$8,000 for a work-related car and $2,400 for rent. Despite requesting loan forgiveness, his parents view him as ungrateful, urging him to secure a more substantial income.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Income Assessment:
  Dave Ramsey evaluates Patrick’s earnings, estimating him to make around $10,000 to $15,000 annually, labeling his current endeavors as a side hustle rather than a viable career.

• Advice to Patrick:
  Ramsey advises seeking higher-paying employment, even suggesting unconventional jobs like working for Amazon or FedEx to quickly eliminate debt. He humorously suggests becoming a farrier stripper to emphasize the need for drastic measures to pay off his debts swiftly.

• Strategic Financial Planning:
  Ramsey stresses the importance of focusing on high-income opportunities to address the debt burden effectively.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “Just go to work for Amazon 40 hours a week and throw boxes... make $10,000 right quick and hand it to your dad.” (15:44)
• Patrick: “I'll probably go be a stripper.” (16:01)

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3. Caller: Ellie from Rockford, Illinois (16:46 - 29:48)

Caller's Situation: Ellie’s husband is relocating their family every two to four years due to his job, which affects their ability to afford homeownership without incurring debt. Ellie seeks advice on whether to buy or rent under these conditions.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Buying vs. Renting Analysis:
  Ramsey advises assessing the real estate market in the new locations by examining the average appreciation rates and days on the market. If the market shows strong appreciation and quick sales turnover, purchasing may be beneficial; otherwise, renting is more prudent.

• Financial Sustainability:
  The importance of not accumulating debt during frequent relocations is emphasized, suggesting that renting is often more financially viable in such scenarios.

• Long-Term Planning:
  Ramsey encourages families to focus on sustainability and adaptability, especially when facing job-related relocations.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “If you hear a 0 or a 2%, you might hear 270 days average on the market. That means it's not going to go up in value and it's going to be hard to sell.” (18:15)
• Liz: “For free tools and resources to help you reach your home goals, go to Ramsaysolutions.com real estate.” (19:37)

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4. Caller: Hayden from Wisconsin (21:46 - 24:47)

Caller's Situation: Hayden, a 27-year-old earning $95,000 with $30,000 in credit card debt, owns a house near the upcoming NFL draft location. Renting out his property during the event could provide significant funds to reduce his debt, but his parents expect to stay rent-free, creating a financial and emotional dilemma.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Maximizing Financial Opportunities:
  Ramsey and Liz advocate for prioritizing debt reduction over accommodating parental expectations that may impede financial progress.

• Setting Boundaries:
  The importance of communicating financial goals to family members and setting clear boundaries to capitalize on unique financial opportunities is highlighted.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “I completely agree.” (22:52)
• Hayden: “My heart is telling me that the money doesn't matter and I will pay off this debt without this opportunity.” (22:00)

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5. Caller: Camille from Spokane (24:54 - 29:48)

Caller's Situation: Camille’s brother co-signed a $55,000 car loan with their late father. Since the father's passing, there have been no payments, and Camille received a settlement offer of $8,400 to release a lien on the vehicle. She seeks advice on whether to accept this offer and navigate the resulting complications.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Loan Settlement Offers:
  Dave Ramsey advises verifying the legitimacy of the settlement offer, ensuring the settlement company holds the loan, and confirming the title status of the car.

• Credit Life Insurance Consideration:
  Ramsey cautions about the possibility of credit life insurance playing a role, which often complicates debt settlements with exorbitant costs.

• Recommendations:
  He encourages verifying the debt holder’s legitimacy and, if possible, settling the debt for as low as $8,400 to avoid long-term financial strain.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “Credit life insurance is ridiculously expensive, a horrible product, never buy it.” (28:17)
• Camille: “I am confused as to why it hasn't been repossessed.” (27:24)

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6. Caller: Sherry from Orlando (31:58 - 37:03)

Caller's Situation: Sherry recently started a clothing business focused on formal dresses for breastfeeding mothers but is struggling with sales despite various marketing efforts. She wonders if she should persist or cut her losses.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Evaluating Business Viability:
  Ramsey recommends determining market demand by analyzing sales data and customer interest. He references "Necessary Endings" by Dr. Henry Cloud to illustrate when it's time to cease operations.

• Market Research Importance:
  Both Ramsey and Liz stress conducting thorough market research to assess demand and competition before launching a product.

• Strategic Business Practices:
  Advice includes starting small with inventory, using cash for marketing, reinvesting profits, and treating the business as a side hustle until proven viable.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “When you sell a dress or two, you can reinvest that cash and put it back into some more inventory.” (38:44)
• Liz: “It's basic researching to see if there is a market supply.” (37:37)

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7. Caller: Kelsey from Lexington, Kentucky (37:03 - 48:01)

Caller's Situation: Kelsey and her husband are contemplating starting a family but are financially constrained. Her husband's job is stable but requires relocation, and they have concerns about their ability to support a child amidst periodic moves and existing debts.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Financial Readiness for Parenthood:
  Ramsey dismisses the notion that one must be wealthy to raise children, emphasizing that financial stability, not wealth, is crucial.

• Debt and Family Planning:
  He clarifies that being debt-free is not a prerequisite for having children, advising couples to manage finances together and align their financial goals.

• Life Insurance Advocacy:
  Highlighting the importance of life insurance, Ramsey recommends securing affordable coverage to protect the family’s financial future.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “The idea that you have to somehow be wealthy to raise children is absolutely asinine.” (40:20)
• Kelsey: “We want to save up money to buy a house. We want to get out of debt.” (39:41)

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8. Caller: Jake from Miami (49:28 - 83:39)

Caller's Situation: Jake seeks advice on maintaining budgeting discipline within his marriage. He finds it challenging for his wife to reduce spending, leading to tensions despite their efforts to manage finances collaboratively.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Shared Financial Vision:
  Ramsey underscores the necessity for both partners to agree on financial goals and the "why" behind budgeting to foster cooperative financial sacrifices.

• Communication and Alignment:
  He advises establishing a mutual understanding and commitment to financial objectives, ensuring both partners are aligned in their financial journey.

• Emotional Impact of Financial Stress:
  Ramsey touches on the emotional challenges couples face when financial discipline causes strain in their relationship, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and shared purpose.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “You need to have something big that you're both agreed to.” (50:24)
• Liz: “More is caught than taught.” (70:26)

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9. Caller: Julia from Tulsa, Oklahoma (83:39 - 82:31)

Caller's Situation: Julia is grappling with significant financial strain after her husband suffered a stroke, rendering him unable to work. With their primary income source gone and debts mounting, she contemplates tapping into her 401(k) to cover monthly expenses.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Debt and Income Analysis:
  Ramsey guides Julia through assessing her monthly burn rate versus her current income from disability, stressing the unsustainability of their financial situation without additional income sources.

• Alternative Income Strategies:
  He encourages exploring remote work opportunities, leveraging her psychology degree and office management experience to supplement their income.

• Financial Prioritization:
  Ramsey advises minimizing expenses, maximizing available resources like disability benefits, and avoiding further debt accumulation by withdrawing from retirement funds only as a last resort.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “You've got to get your outgo within your income because otherwise you're going to burn through the 401k.” (56:03)
• Liz: “You can make 20 to $25 an hour in a remote situation.” (59:08)

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10. Caller: Justin from Des Moines, Iowa (84:04 - 83:39)

Caller's Situation: Justin, a grandfather of six, is attempting to support his grandchildren financially. He seeks advice on how to provide monetary assistance without enabling poor financial habits, particularly regarding their existing debts.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Strategic Financial Gifting:
  Ramsey recommends tying financial gifts to specific financial behaviors, such as debt repayment, to encourage responsible money management among the grandchildren.

• Modeling Financial Responsibility:
  Emphasizing the importance of leading by example, Ramsey advises that demonstrating good financial practices is more impactful than direct financial support.

• Avoiding Enabling:
  He cautions against handing over money without conditions, as it can inadvertently support ongoing financial irresponsibility.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “The best gift you can give them is for them to follow your financial example.” (66:07)
• Liz: “More is caught than taught.” (70:26)

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Conclusion (83:39 - End)

Dave Ramsey wraps up the show by reiterating the importance of financial discipline, integrity, and strategic planning in overcoming debt and achieving financial stability. He highlights the significance of behaving responsibly with money, both personally and when guiding family members, emphasizing that true financial success stems from consistent, disciplined actions rather than temporary fixes.

Final Takeaways:

• Prioritize paying off debts swiftly to free oneself from financial burdens.
• Conduct thorough market research before launching business ventures.
• Maintain open and honest communication within families regarding financial expectations and boundaries.
• Lead by example to instill responsible financial habits in the next generation.

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Resources Mentioned:

• Books:

  • "Necessary Endings" by Dr. Henry Cloud
  • "Paycheck to Purpose" by Ken Coleman
  • "Smart Money, Smart Kids" by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze

• Websites:

  • Ramsey Solutions: www.ramseysolutions.com

• Applications:

  • Ramsey Network App: Available on the App Store and Google Play
  • EveryDollar Budgeting App: Recommended by Liz for financial planning

• Insurance:

  • Zander Life Insurance: Call 800-356-4282 or visit zander.com for quotes

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Notable Advertisements (Skipped in Summary): The transcript includes several advertisements promoting Fairwinds Credit Union, NetSuite by Oracle, BetterHelp, and special offers like the Ramsey Christmas cash giveaway and upcoming cruises. These segments were excluded from the summary as per the instructions to focus solely on content sections.

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Closing Remarks: Dave Ramsey and his team provide compassionate, no-nonsense advice aimed at empowering listeners to take control of their financial lives. By addressing a wide range of financial issues—from personal debt to business challenges—the show offers valuable insights for anyone seeking to improve their financial situation through discipline, integrity, and informed decision-making.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey show where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create actual amazing relationships. I'm Dave Ramsey. Your host, Ken Coleman, number one bestselling author Ramsey personality, is my co host today. Open phones here at Triple 882-5-5225. Thank you for joining us. Liz starts off this hour in Mobile, Alabama. Hi, Liz. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Ken Coleman]

Hey, how are you doing?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. What's up?

[Ken Coleman]

Me too. So I am with someone very committed that I find out he's not filed tax. He's been having taxes taken out of his checks and things like that, but he hasn't actually filed in about 20 years. And I'm trying to figure out the rest of my life, basically because we're, we're very committed. He's 10 years older than I am and wants to retire. Not where we currently live. And I don't really want to go because this is where my job is and I'm not ready for retirement. I still have about 10, 10 more years before I can retire. And I just know that once I leave there, leave here, then I have to start over. So a little advice, maybe. I don't know.

[Dave Ramsey]

I mean, how do you feel about planning your future with someone that's in jail?

[Ken Coleman]

Not real confident about that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I'm pretty confident that's where he's going.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Failure to, failure to file federal income taxes is a federal crime. 2581 people were incarcerated for that last year.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's go to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200. So, I mean, Mr. Off the Grid or what the ever. The flip is going through his redneck brain is about to have a serious problem. And to the extent you're connected to him, you're going to have a serious problem. They will catch up with him.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

They're not good at a lot at the irs, but they're really good at collecting taxes. Okay, so why has he, why has he, pray tell, not filed his income taxes?

[Ken Coleman]

I am not 100% sure of that answer. I just know that there was a history of no job. And then. So he didn't have to do that, obviously, but then when he did, I don't, I don't really know what the thought process was there. So I can't, I can't answer that one.

[Dave Ramsey]

It sounds like there wasn't a thought process. That's what it sounds like. So. Okay. There's just a lot of red flags there. If you were my Little sister, I would just tell you to rethink whether you're gonna be committed to this guy. If he is going to clean up his act and get caught up on his filings, you know, maybe he. Now, maybe that would entitle him to your attention, but he's not entitled to your attention right now because this is not a good guy. I don't think he's evil, but he's really slothful. This is dangerous. This is dangerous. Liz.

[Liz]

Liz, if he's willing to withhold information from the federal government and Dave's made it really clear what the consequences of that looks like, he's. What, pray tell, is he willing to withhold from you?

[Dave Ramsey]

Just two pray tells in one call.

[Liz]

I know, I'm sorry. That just jumped into me. It's such a great phrase, Liz. I think Dave was really crystal clear with you. I would dump this guy until he cleaned his life up.

[Dave Ramsey]

If he will not get current on his taxes, that's a deal breaker for me. If you're my little sister, I'm going to make you do that. Okay? Now if he wants to get current and not go to jail, I can actually walk him through that and I'll give you a little quick overview because now that I've stirred this up, there's other people sitting out there going, oh God. Yeah. Okay, so here's what he can do. You can go to Ramsaysolutions.com you can get in touch with one of our tax endorsed local providers and if you will proactively go to the irs, you usually can file about three, maybe four years worth and they will call, they will let you get back on the grid and there'll be no criminal charges. The criminal charges do not occur when people come to them. I've never seen anyone get criminal charges that were. We walk them out of the, out of the dark, into the light, into the IRS office with a professional and get them caught up. Okay. He's going to be okay if he does that. But if they find him and he's trying to hide, oh, that's when you get in trouble. So he can get with a tax professional, probably file about three years, maybe four years worth. They will call it even, they'll call it a day. And he's going to have to go back, dig up his W2s and figure out what's been withheld. He may not even owe a lot of taxes. He may have had so much withheld that there's actually money due to him. Well, not with the penalties and interest he's going to get. But anyway, you see what I'm saying, It might not be, it might not be $100,000 problem, but it is a problem. It's like a big deal. Okay, so if he's going to date my little sister Liz and she, and ask her to commit to him long term in the form of marriage or something. Long term. Big brother Dave is going to say, unless you're willing to get current on your taxes and stay current. Because I don't want my, my little sister Liz married to a jailbird. Yeah.

[Liz]

And God only knows what he gets her twisted into too. I mean, I'm not trying to just pour on here, Liz, with the things that could happen, but this is so bad. And I don't like the idea that he wants you to move, start over fresh. I mean there's just this relationship is really jacked up and I think a pause is necessary. I really think this is a relationship issue is all this is. This is a money issue. It's not your problem and it shouldn't be your problem.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. And it's gonna, it's gonna, it's gonna be, it's gonna show up in a whole bunch of places. It's gonna be a problem.

[Liz]

It's funny that you say that, Dave, because the IRS loves when you come knocking on the door. They love to collect your taxes, but boy, oh boy, they get mad if you haven't sent it in. Oh man, they will turn it into.

[Dave Ramsey]

A. Oh, I'm one of their favorite hobbies. They've got their own office here auditing me. They just live with us. But, but, you know, I hate those people. But, but, and I'm not, I'm not like a proponent of, you know, like I think the federal income tax system is a wonderful thing. I don't, I think it's horrible. I think it's an out of control, arcane, horrible process. I'm, I'm not, not any of that. But I'm just saying when you don't file taxes, it's not. You're making a statement about them, you're making a statement about you.

[Liz]

That's correct. Yeah. We love our freedom more than we hate taxes. And so that's the issue here.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, it's a matter of. Matter of integrity to do what the law says, even if you disagree with it.

[Liz]

I agree.

[Dave Ramsey]

You know, so that she should go.

[Liz]

To jail if you break the law.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's. Yeah. Oh, be careful, Liz. Be careful. You've been warned, hun. And now, you know, open phones here at Triple 882-55-5225. By the way that what's tied to that is this Tom Stanley that did the book Millionaire Next Door many years ago. He's passed away since it was 1992. He did a book later on billionaires and the number one character quality he found among the self made billionaires was integrity. Hmm. That's kind of like the opposite of the spectrum of Liz's guy. Yeah. This is the Ramsey Show. Hey, you guys, I'm not a fan of the big banks and you probably already know which ones I mean. But I do like credit unions because they're nonprofit organizations that focus on their members. And I'm proud to endorse Fairwinds Credit union because they share the Ramsey mission of helping people get out of debt and live generously. In fact, they design products to help keep you from going into debt in the first place. Fair Winds has been in business for over 75 years and they serve hundreds of thousands of members worldwide. You can feel secure because your deposits are federal, federally insured by the NCUA up to $250,000. It's easy to join and Fair Winds partners with more than 5,000 credit union locations around the country, so you can bank in person wherever you live. But if you prefer the online experience, you can log on to Fairwinds and do anything you could do at a physical location. So go to Fairwinds.org Ramsey to learn more. And while you're there, look at the combined checking and savings account bundle they created just for Ramsey fans to help you take control of your finances. That's Fair Winds. F A I R W I n d s.org Ramsey Guys, our early Black Friday sale is here. Whether you're shopping for yourself or looking for the perfect gift to help someone get their money in order, now's the time to shop. Get hardcover books, all our books, $12 each. Audio books only, $8. Money's not a Math Problem is on sale right now with Jade. Be sure you check that out. Total money makeovers on sale right now. You can buy a bunch of these right now at a deal and they make great stocking stuffers and. Or just straight up gifts. Ramsaysolutions.com store tis the season, baby. Click the link in the description. If you're a YouTuber or you're on podcast, it'll take you right in there and you can get these deals. There's great deals right now. The best of the year, of course, like everybody does. But these are the. These are great bargains. Patrick is with us in Denver. Hi, Patrick, how are you? What's up, Dave? I'm good. How about you? Better than I deserve, man. How can I help?

[Ken Coleman]

That's good.

[Dave Ramsey]

So I'm 23 years old and I have a loan. I owe my parents $10,000 right now. For what? It's an interest free loan. About $8,000 is for my car that I use for work. I'm a farrier. And then about $2,400 is for a few previous months of rent that I needed help with. Okay. So I asked them to forgive the loan and they got upset with me. They said I was ungrateful and they. That I needed to work harder. And so I was already kind of on the hunt for a part time job so that I can. A second job so that I can pay off the debt quicker. Good. But. So right now I've got about 25 clients as a farrier. So I trim and shoe horses. Right. So what does a 23 year old farrier with 25 clients make in the, in Colorado? What kind of money you make? Well, so like before gas and tax and supplies and all that good stuff, I'm probably going to make about 15,000 this year. So not very much at all. Probably like closer to 10,000. That sounds more like a side hustle than a job. Right, right. And so I really anticipated just being able to grow my business quicker, which is why I was more comfortable getting these loans. Like they're not huge loans, but. What's your question, Patrick? How can we help you? So I asked my parents to forgive the loan and I. And they got upset with me. You told us that. And like I struggle already with my. How upset did you ask? No, I said, you told us that already.

[Ken Coleman]

Oh, okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm sorry. That's okay. So like how do I. The thing is I. My parents, I didn't go to college. I became a farrier and I'm the youngest of five kids and my parents have given my other siblings help with college and so that's why I was comfortable asking them to forgive the loan.

[Ken Coleman]

But.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, I guess, I mean, you're probably going to tell me, just, just get a second job and pay it off. I'm gonna tell you. Get a real job. You already have the second job. $10,000 is not even survival money, dude. Right.

[Liz]

Do you, are you a farrier because you love horses?

[Ken Coleman]

I do, yeah.

[Liz]

Okay, then how does one make 40,000? How does one make 60,000? How does one make $80,000 working with horses? I don't Know the answer. You probably do. Correct.

[Ken Coleman]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so that's why I asked for them to forgive the loan. We need to quit talking about stop, Patrick. Patrick, stop. When you don't need to talk about forgiving the loan. They're not going to forgive the loan. They told you to go get a life and pay them. So let's go get a life and pay them. Answer Ken's question. Why? What does it take to make 40,000 or 80,000? Screwing around with horses? Well, you can make good money as a farrier if you have a lot of clients. You need like 100 or more clients. No, you have 23. You make 10,000. 100 would be 40,000. And that's gross, not net. That's still not good money.

[Liz]

The answer, Patrick, is not to double down and say, well, I'm not good at marketing my services. Well, that's a lesson that you've now learned. And Dave's right. So what you do have is a decent side hustle. But the answer is, the question is, what must one do to get a 60 or 80 or $100,000 job working with horses? We're creating a ladder here. Also, the answer should be, well, Ken, I would have to go work for a large ranch and I would start out here, and a lower level ranch hand is going to make 32,000. I'm making this up, Patrick, but you know the answer to these questions. Or you could go get the answers. And you have now got to get serious to say, I've got to take care of myself. And I can't even take care of myself on 10 to $15,000. So go get up the next level or the two or three rungs up the ladder in the horse industry. And if you can't do that, get into some other type of thing with a range.

[Dave Ramsey]

While you're thinking about all that, just go to work for Amazon 40 hours a week and throw boxes or FedEx and go work 40 hours a week and throw boxes right now. 20, $25 an hour and go make $10,000 right quick and hand it to your dad. Okay. Yeah, I'll probably go be a stripper.

[Liz]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, that'd be great. Yeah. The fair, a farrier stripper.

[Liz]

Fantastic.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's a novel idea. That's great. A whole different motif for apparently he's.

[Liz]

Got the clothing I get.

[Dave Ramsey]

He's.

[Liz]

I guess he's got the chaps.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, you're killing me here.

[Liz]

I know he did it. This kid's not serious.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, you're not a serious answer to What?

[Liz]

We just were trying.

[Dave Ramsey]

I know why your parents are angry with you, Patrick. I'm kind of getting the understanding now. Well, I'll just go be a stripper. Oh, brother. That's not even funny. Really. I mean, it's just weird. Okay, so go. Go get a job, honey, and make you some money. That's the answer to your question. All right, open phones at 888-825-5225. Ellie is with us in Rockford, Illinois. Hey Ellie, what's up?

[Ken Coleman]

Hi, Dave. How are you guys doing?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. What's up?

[Ken Coleman]

Awesome. So I have to say first of all, our son introduced me to you a while back and we live completely debt free, mortgage and everything. And you have changed our whole family's life. So thank you so much for that.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm proud of you. Way to go.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, but the question is. So my husband's job is relocating us for the next two to four years. And there is potential that we will continue to relocate every two to four years until he retires in 12 years. The house that we are in right now, it is paid off, but we're in an area that really never increased with the market. So it's probably only going to go for 150,000. The houses in the market that we're moving to are going to be more in that 3 to $400,000 range. And that is going to mean that we would have to go back into debt if we choose to buy a house. The job does provide a $3,000 a month stipend, an increase in his wages as well as overtime. So all of that together makes it worth the move. Okay, so we're kind of trying to spend the next 12 years maximizing what we're doing to get to a good spot in retirement. But Dave, I got to say, I've done the beans and rice once already. I don't want to live in a beans and rice apartment. So I don't blame question is, should we buy a house or should we rent when we're moving every two to.

[Dave Ramsey]

Four years probably in most markets you're going to be renting. Here's how you can do the equation. Okay? Ask the real estate agent to run some numbers in a 5 or a 10 mile radius of the neighborhood you're looking in in the new city. Here's the numbers you want. I want to know in the last three years what the average rate of appreciation is. How much your house is going up. 2%? No. Percent. 10%. Okay. The second number I want to know is called Dom average days on the market. Okay. And those numbers will run together. Okay, here's what it'll sound like. If you hear a 0 or a 2%, you might hear 270 days average on the market. That means it's not going to go up in value and it's going to be hard to sell that neighborhood you rent in. If it says we're going up 10% a year for two years or three years or four years and the average days on the market 7, well, you're going to make some money and you can get out of the house. If you get those two statistics, they'll tell you mathematically whether it's worth buying or not. But you don't want a slow market and you don't want a non appreciating market. You're going to lose money on a two year or a three year horizon.

[Liz]

For free tools and resources to help you reach your home goals, go to Ramsaysolutions.com real estate or click the link in the show notes.

[Dave Ramsey]

What does the future hold for business? Ask nine experts and you'll get 10 different answers. Economic growth or a recession? Business taxes will go up or down. AI will help us work or it will replace us all. But there's no such thing as a crystal ball. That's why more than 40,000 businesses have future proofed themselves with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud enterprise resource planning system. Ramsey Solutions uses NetSuite and you should too. Whether your company's earning millions or even hundreds of millions, NetSuite helps you respond to immediate challenges and seize your biggest opportunities with one unified business management suite. There's only one source of truth for the visibility and control you need to make quick decisions. NetSuite's real time insights and forecasting help you see into the future with actionable data. And when you're closing the books in days, not weeks, you can spend less time looking backward and more time focusing on what's next. And speaking of what's Next, download the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at netsuite.com Ramsey it's free at netsuite.com Ramsey Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, is my co host today. Thank you for joining us, America. The Ramsey Show Question of the Day is brought to you by. Why refi? Why refi refinances defaulted private student loans, which are different than federal student loans? Why refi refinances your defaulted private student loan and builds a custom loan based on your ability to pay? So kick your private student Loan debt out of your life by going to yrefi.comramsey. that's the letter Y-R-E-F-Y.com Ramsey might not be in all states.

[Liz]

Today's question comes from Hayden in Wisconsin. The NFL draft is coming to my city next year and I own a house close to where it will all be held. People in my neighborhood are renting their houses out during that time for upwards of $10,000. I have an opportunity to make enough money to make a huge dent in my credit card debt. I'm 27, I earn $95,000 a year and I have about 30,000 in debt and have been working hard to get out of baby step two. It is my stepdad's dream to attend an NFL draft, so he and my mom have already assumed they can stay in my house for free. My heart is telling me that the money doesn't matter and I will pay off this debt without this opportunity. But friends are telling me that I'm foolish for not telling them no and renting the house out. What would you do in this situation? I'll tell you what I would do. I tell mom and dad what's going on and go, I'm renting this house out and it is going to massively change my situation. I would love for you to stay in any other time for any other situation. My house is your house. But I hope you understand and, and hope you guys can get a hotel and maybe it's 30 minutes out. I hope you find something. But I would actually tell mom and dad I'm renting it out for the 10 grand. I wouldn't even blink.

[Dave Ramsey]

I completely agree.

[Liz]

I was wondering what you're gonna say.

[Dave Ramsey]

The only thing I'm wondering with some of this wording is if you have absolutely already decided before they asked that you were gonna do this. Yeah. Then Ken's answer is correct. If they asked and then you thought, you know, I could, I could probably do 10 grand. I'm starting again. You know, it's like, eh. But I, by and large, yes, just tell them they're going to have to stay somewhere else and it doesn't, doesn't crush his dream.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

If he wants to go the NFL draft, go the NFL draft. It's really not, it's not that big a deal. I mean, and I can't believe people are paying that well.

[Liz]

We had the NFL draft here in Nashville. I just, I think it was three years ago and I took my boys down. I'm friends with several guys on NFL Network. And they showed my boys the red carpet and they got to go behind the scenes. But Dave, it was unbelievable.

[Dave Ramsey]

But they were paying people $10,000 for the week.

[Liz]

And I don't know what the rental was, but I can tell you that the streets were absolutely packed and it has become a massive event. I believe it was in Kansas City last and we're talking hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people were on the street. The Broadway, Nashville, the main road on actual draft night. It is a massive thing. So it's kind of like a golf tournament.

[Dave Ramsey]

Milwaukee probably.

[Liz]

It'll be in Milwaukee.

[Dave Ramsey]

Milwaukee, that's where he is.

[Liz]

Okay, well, no, that's not true because they do it in NFL city. It'll be in Green Bay. The Green Bay Packers.

[Dave Ramsey]

Now let me help you then. So now be a real shortage of housing and that's why they're getting, that's why they're going to get.

[Liz]

It's like Augusta because everybody in Augusta.

[Dave Ramsey]

Georgia, it's a little town and it's a one time thing. Yeah, yeah, you're going to get. He's going to be driving in.

[Liz]

Yeah, I agree. Or stay 30, 45 minutes out.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's what I mean. He's going to be driving in. Yeah.

[Liz]

Okay, I got you that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Papa, Papa's going to be driving in. And by the way, where are you going, Hayden? No, you're not going to draft. You're leaving town, I guess, huh. And going to Vegas for the weekend. I don't know. But yeah, you know, figure out what you're doing here and don't go blow the 10 grand while you're gone.

[Liz]

I love that he wants to knock this debt out. Love this idea. And if you can get a windfall of cash because of that, that's awesome.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm in. Camille is in St. Louis. Hi, Camille, how are you?

[Ken Coleman]

Hi, how are you, Dave, I'm welcome to the blessings and I'm just, I feel like you're the preacher to my soul for finances and thank you for that.

[Liz]

Amen.

[Dave Ramsey]

Bless your heart. How can we help?

[Ken Coleman]

Yes, my baby brother, God bless him, I love him with all my heart. He co signed on a vehicle with my father and unfortunately our father passed away.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh no.

[Ken Coleman]

He was my best friend. The original loan amount for the car was over 55,000. So there's been no payment since his death. And my brother said, well, when I sat down at signing, they said with anything happened to dad it would be paid. I said, they lie. You didn't read the fine print. I told you not to do this, so on and so forth. A settle company sent him something in the mail saying that they released a lien for a subtle amount of $8,400. But I'm reluctant because I'm like, are these people even legit? How do I. Like, what do I. What do I tell them to do?

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. There's a tiny possibility that these people, while they were ripping your father and your brother off with this car loan, that they put credit life insurance on this loan, that if your dad died, the life insurance would pay off the loan. These are the type. And by the way, credit life insurance is ridiculously expensive, a horrible product, never buy it. But I got a feeling these are the type of people would sell that to your dad and your brother because they sound like people that are an easy mark for a con. And so your brother might have heard them, right? They might have said this. Credit life right here will pay off the loan. So I want. First, I want you to investigate with the lender whether there was credit life insurance on the loan. That's the first thing you do. You call the lender and you ask them that. Or you have your brother do that. They won't talk to you because your name's not on it. And then if it. If it is not, and he can settle it for $8,400. That sounds like a bargain. Where's the car?

[Ken Coleman]

It's in his possession. It's literally right outside the house. It's parked. He starts it once in a while. He's scared to drive it in case he gets pulled over and it gets impounded. He says, I'll have no way of getting it out. So it's literally just sitting there, and I'm confused as to why it hasn't been repossessed.

[Dave Ramsey]

Me too. They probably just don't know where it is.

[Ken Coleman]

I mean, it's 2020, so doesn't have all these newfangled tracking devices. Blah, blah.

[Dave Ramsey]

I know, but they don't know where. I don't know. I mean, sound like they're not hunting it down too hard. If you can settle a $55,000 debt for 8,400, we want to do that. What he would do is call them and get. He want that. Get proof that they are the holder of the loan, who is a settlement company. Are they the actual person I should be negotiating with? And are they. Do they. Do they have the title to the car? Are they, you know, send me proof of the debt. And if he gets proof of the debt and scrape together $8,400 and gets a $55,000 car for that. That's going to not be bad.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

But I got a feeling he's got credit life on this thing.

[Ken Coleman]

So if he did though, why would they even want 8400?

[Dave Ramsey]

Shouldn't it because. Because they didn't look at it. They didn't have. They have. But because they're incompetent.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. Okay. Credit. I'll look into all those things you mentioned. Thank you so much.

[Dave Ramsey]

Thank you, darling. Appreciate you calling. Wow, the co signing thing. People always do this as if everything's going to work out perfectly. And in case you haven't lived long enough, I got a clue for you. Nothing ever works out perfectly. Nothing goes exactly like it's supposed to go ever. And co signing, I've done it and I've had people do it for me and it's stupid. It's just dumb. It's even in the Bible that it's dumb. Proverbs 17:18 says one lacking in sense cosigns for another. God just said you're lacking in sense. That's pretty strong. Yeah, no wiggle room there. Yeah. So don't co sign. You get in situations like this. It's a bizarre one right here. But I mean who co signs and thinks the person is going to die? That's not one you come up with usually, but it happens, obviously. And man, what a deal. What a deal. So do not cosign and do not buy credit life. Don't buy, don't take out a loan of this type, period. But for sure, credit life insurance is somewhere around 200 times more expensive than term life insurance.

[Liz]

Dave, real quick. What would be a default answer to a family member or friend who comes to you and says will you co sign because it's a tough and emotional situation. What would you say to honor them but also keep that common sense?

[Dave Ramsey]

I would say I can't do that because if the bank is not willing to do the loan, then there's all kinds of problems that are going to happen. And I would never want to be crossways with you and you not paying something and I have to pay it would cause me to end up being crossways with you. And I value our relationship more than that.

[Liz]

That's textbook.

[Dave Ramsey]

No.

[Liz]

All that to say no.

[Dave Ramsey]

No. This is the Ramsey Show.

[Liz]

This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. This month is all about gratitude. And most of us have people in our lives who we're grateful for. One of those people for me is the great Jean Noel Thompson. He taught me how to be a dad, a husband, a professional, and how to balance caring for a bunch of people all at the same time. We all know of somebody else we can be grateful for, but there's one person that we often don't take time to thank. Ourselves. We don't always acknowledge that we're surviving, that we're moving forward, and that we're working towards a better life and better relationships. And in a world where everything's gone bonkers, it's not always easy. So here's my reminder to thank the people that you love, thank the people in your life, and thank you. Sometimes we need some professional help to talk to somebody trained to help us discover true gratitude for ourselves and others, especially in the holiday season. That's why I recommend BetterHelp. BetterHelp is 100% online therapy and you can talk with your therapist at any time so it's convenient for your schedule. Just fill out a short online survey to get matched with a licensed therapist. Plus you can switch therapists at any time for no extra cost. Let the gratitude flow with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com DeLoney to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp. H E L P.com DeLoney.

[Dave Ramsey]

Ken Coleman Ramsey, personality number one, best selling author of the book Paycheck to Purpose is my co host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Sherry is in Orlando. Hi Sherry, how are you?

[Ken Coleman]

Hi. Good. How are you Dave?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. What's up?

[Ken Coleman]

So I'll keep the question short and then I'll give you the background. Basically I opened a new business about two, three months ago. I am not really getting any sales. I'm doing like standard advertising through I'm selling on Amazon right now. I'm doing advertising through them social media like WhatsApp, friends family to try to get the word out and I'm still not getting anything. I'm wondering is there something that I should be doing more? When would be the time to say this is just a failed business idea and to just stop and cut my losses?

[Dave Ramsey]

What. What are you selling.

[Ken Coleman]

So specifically right now? It's a clothing brand and right now I'm starting with formal dresses for breastfeeding. I am actually the only one that sells it. There is no one else that sells that. Which makes it very even more difficult to understand why there is no sales really.

[Liz]

Well I can I take a stab at why I think and I'm a guy but I have three kids. I just don't think a lot of women that are in the breastfeeding stage are going to formal events and therefore there's not a lot of.

[Ken Coleman]

So from my, from my personal experience, that's the reason I, I came up with this idea is because I had a very hard time finding this and talking to a lot of people in. So every. The community, friends, family, they seem. There seem to be a demand. There seem to be people that women that are interested in.

[Liz]

Have you done any research to go.

[Dave Ramsey]

What'S the market like who's their sales indicate that's not.

[Liz]

Who's the Walmart of those type addresses. And if there isn't one, we now have a starting to get a clue like who is the dominant player or two in that particular wardrobe sector.

[Dave Ramsey]

Did you develop the product or are you selling someone else's product?

[Ken Coleman]

No, I developed a product. There is no one else that sells the type of product that I am selling.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right. The short answer to your question is there's a wonderful book and you want to pick it up by Dr. Henry Cloud called Necessary Endings. Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And the way we ascertain whether to end anything, a relationship, a job, an employee in their job with working for you, close a business, move a tenant out, is when we lose hope that there is an actual way to success. When we've tried everything and we cannot see a way to success, we can't see our way to success. So let me give you a weird example. Has nothing to do with your question. Okay? A lady is married to a guy who has an alcohol problem. He's been in and out of the rehab three times. She loses hope that he's ever going to quit drinking. She doesn't see a way to success, so she ends their marriage. You follow me? And so you've tried. Once you've tried everything that you know how to do to get this product out and it's not selling, then yes, we declare that amiss. We declare that a failed business. And it doesn't mean you are a failure. It means that idea didn't work. And I'm, I've been running Ramsey Solutions for 32 years. And the number of ideas that we have launched that didn't work are too numerous to count. We have sucked. We have sucked so many times, it's unbelievable. Okay, now you guys all, you guys all know us for the things we're successful at, but we have tried and failed at so many things. So this is, this might be just one of those things that your heart told you this was going to work. But your, but your statement of there is an actual demand for this product has not. The marketplace is not telling you that. If you are getting the message to ladies that are breastfeeding and they are not buying this dress, then if you're actually targeting them with your marketing and you're getting the message to them, the message is in front of them on Facebook or it's in front of them on Amazon feed or LinkedIn or whatever it is you're doing. However you're getting the message to them and they're not buying it, then the marketplace is telling you there's not as much demand as your heart thought there was. And this is the end of the program. Now you might say, okay, I think I could do this or this. Okay, good. Then try those two things. And if you still don't get it moving, then you just, you don't want to get delusional and just go, I'm going to keep going no matter what. No, no, no. There's. Sometimes the marketplace is looking at you and saying, you missed it.

[Liz]

Yeah, I agree. Before you launch anything, quick little lesson to anybody out there. It's worth doing research to see who's in the space that you want to be in and how many are in the space, who's winning, why are they winning? And those are just basic things that you want to look into so that you don't get into something that your heart's totally engaged in, but you didn't do the head work. And that's the logical research to see if there is a market supply. Demand is economics 101. If there's no demand, then there's not a supply of customers is the way you want to look at that.

[Dave Ramsey]

And then the other thing is, if you're starting something like that with the way she's. She's selling it on Amazon, you know, that's her distribution methodology. So just, just buy a very, very small run. I agree. And set up a manufacturer that can turn them real fast if you get a bunch of orders. But don't. Don't fill up your basement with something that's not proven. And don't spend a bunch of money on a credit card to run the marketing with some Amazon marketing program crap. Okay. Use real cash to pay for your marketing. And when you sell a dress or two, you can reinvest that cash and back into some more inventory and some more. And do this as a side hustle. Don't go all in on something that you've not proven. It's proven when People actually give you money for it. I was in a meeting this morning here at Ramsey, and they were. You know, the leadership team was presenting me with this thing, this prototype thing we've been working on, and they're like, all the customers are just eating it up. And I went, so how much money we collected on it? And they said, well, we haven't gone to that stage yet. And I said, oh, so you figured out we can give it away.

[Liz]

Right?

[Dave Ramsey]

Right. Next stage is, can we get money for it? Oh, there's that.

[Liz]

That's right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, then we'll find out if this crap's real. Okay, that's funny, because it's real when you people give you money for it.

[Liz]

We've seen what people do at NFL games when the cheerleaders come around with free T shirts. It's like they're handing out gold bullion. Yeah, grown adults are acting crazy for anything free. That's a very good point.

[Dave Ramsey]

You're very interested. And, you know, if you. If you thought you had a demand, you got to prove it by collecting money from the customer. That's your. That's. That's your social proof that the product is doable and is going to make sense. Lexington, Kentucky. Kelsey's on the line. Hi, Kelsey. What's up?

[Ken Coleman]

Hi, Dave. How are you doing?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. How can I help?

[Ken Coleman]

But I was calling because I wanted to know when an okay time would be for my husband and I to start trying to have a baby now and make sure that we're financially stable.

[Dave Ramsey]

Now. Right now.

[Ken Coleman]

Right now. That's what I'm saying. But he wants to pay off the house.

[Dave Ramsey]

No.

[Ken Coleman]

That we have no dad.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, no.

[Liz]

Dave, would you be more clear with her, please?

[Dave Ramsey]

No. You need to have babies. You need to have them right now.

[Liz]

Well, not after the call.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, right now.

[Ken Coleman]

I'll go work on that. Thank you.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, seriously, the. The thing is, people have this thing in their head because the media has told them that children are so expensive. They're not that expensive. The first couple years, you buy some formula and diapers, and you have to pay the pediatrician's Porsche payment, but other than that, after that, they start eating your food and stuff, and they're really. They're really not. It's this idea that you have to somehow be wealthy to raise children is absolutely asinine. Poor people have raised lots of children and functional ones, too. They learn to work, they learn to clean house. They learn to be good kids. And so. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. They are Not. Those two things are not connected. Same thing with getting married. You're ready to get married. Get married. As long as you're both on the same team and you're in agreement about what we're going to do with money. It's time to get married. Okay. We're going to get out of debt. You don't have to get out of debt before you get married. We don't tell people that. Never have in 30 years on this show. And we don't tell people to not have babies. Now, I would say the rare exception. The exception of that would be. Okay, you're four months behind on your house and he hasn't worked in two years. Well, that's. Yeah. Okay, now we gotta fix some stuff. We're in crisis mode. But I have to pay off my home before I have babies. Nah, nah. Nope. Not from this show. We never said that. No.

[Liz]

He's gonna be thrilled with that answer.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, he's gonna love us.

[Liz]

Can't wait to see.

[Dave Ramsey]

He's gonna love us. This is the Ramsey Show. Do you ever feel like you're finally making progress towards your goals only to get quickly distracted. Distracted by something else in your feed? Well, that's why we created the Ramsey Network app. Your single source for content that keeps you motivated. The Ramsey Network app is designed to keep you laser focused on reaching your goals. Loaded with over 7,000 hours of Ramsey shows, this free app is the best place for uninterrupted content and no distractions. Plus, you can search specific questions to get more personalized content in seconds. So for the days you need some extra motivation, you'll have proven advice at your fingertips. It's time to get serious about your goals and shut out the distractions for good. Simply search Ramsey Network in the App Store or Google Play. If you're listening on a podcast, just click the link in the show notes to download our free Ramsey Network app. Today, live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey show, where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create actual amazing relationships. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality number one. Best selling author of the book Paycheck to Purpose and host of the Ken Coleman Show. He's my co host today. Melinda is with us. Melinda is in Spokane. Hi, Melinda. How are you?

[Ken Coleman]

Hi. I'm healthy and well, thank you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good. How can we help?

[Ken Coleman]

I am my question, it's about estate and inheritance. We on our property. We. I call her my mother in love. Someone she Put ADU manufactured home on our property and we love her and she wants to leave that home to my daughters adult, young adult daughters eventually. And it has a DMV title and looking into. She wants it to just be a very simple probate avoiding kind of a thing. So if we, if she adds the girls names to the title, I just want to make sure that there's no unintended consequences. Would she lose her homeowner's exemption? Is there any risk to adding names to the title ahead of time?

[Dave Ramsey]

I don't know because I don't know the law in the state of Washington and that's what you'd need to find out. You won't. I'm not worried about the insurance, but because this is a DMV title, Department of Motor Vehicles title. It's more like a car. We're dealing with title than we are a house. And so. And car titles are sometimes dramatically different from state to state as to how they're handled. What I would tell you to investigate with the DMV is is there a mechanism there in the state of Washington that allows a pod paid on death is what that stands for. And so you could put it. It's almost like the beneficiary of a policy that can you put that upon death? This transfers to your daughter automatically. And it may be, it may be. For instance, some states allow you to do that on a bank account. That a simple savings account at your bank can have a pod on it a paid on death to someone and it goes directly to them. Then it's not an issue of the will or probate at that point. The. But I mean the mechanics of it is that there shouldn't be any tax issues. Does she owe money on the property on the. On the mobile home?

[Ken Coleman]

No, it's paid in full.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, that's good.

[Ken Coleman]

What's confusing to me is that I'm nearest Spokane in Idaho. If she pays property tax for the same, you know, she gets the same kind of a tax bill that we do for our home.

[Dave Ramsey]

So she pays a personal property tax on it. She doesn't own the dirt under it. Right? You do?

[Ken Coleman]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so she's not paying property tax. There might be a personal property tax on a mobile home in that area. That wouldn't be unusual at all. But she does not get a. She does not get a real estate because she doesn't own any real estate right now. Can I interfere in your situation?

[Ken Coleman]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Don't do this.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Your grown daughters are going to own a mobile home. Sitting on dirt you own. This is going to cause a conflict.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

She needs to leave it to you because it's sitting on your property. And then you're going to promise her you're going to leave everything to your kids. And so whatever wealth this represents will ultimately go to your kids. But it's going to. Cause all. I mean, your daughters can't do anything with it. It's sitting on your land.

[Ken Coleman]

Exactly. Yeah. And I think what I appreciate about what you're saying is we are in a situation where everybody is so amicable and there's no conflict right now that it just wouldn't open up opportunity.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. But let's say your daughter wants to sell this thing. Okay. Now she's got to hook up to it and haul it somewhere and sell it, or she, or she's going to come to you and want a piece of dirt under it given to her. And then you're going to have a next door neighbor. There's nothing to do with anything because your daughter wanted to take this money and go buy or whatever. And everybody's still happy and amicable, but it's just really awkward. You're. You're just begging. You're begging for conflict in this.

[Ken Coleman]

That's so interesting. I love hearing an outside perspective on that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. It's up to you. You all do whatever you want to do. And I think your mother, sweet mother in law, sweet as she can be, and she's trying to do a sweet thing here. But I, I personally wouldn't do that. And I. If I were your mother in law, I wouldn't do it because I don't want to cause potential trouble between my grandbabies and their parents. You know, I want to keep this thing clean. The cleanliness of it is a big deal.

[Liz]

Yeah, I agree. I just think whatever it's worth, I'd sell it and then just keep the money and then eventually put it. I just keep it super simple.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, or if she does do that, go ahead and have an agreement with your daughter that immediately upon mother in law's death, she's just going to hook up to the thing and sell it. Yeah. We're going to get rid of it and turned into money. And you take that money and that was a blessing from your grandmother and that's good. But we're not going to leave it there and rent it sitting on having a rental property in a mobile home next door to you, Melinda, because my guess, land that you own, that's just starting to get awkward.

[Liz]

It wouldn't be on their land if it wasn't the mother in law.

[Dave Ramsey]

Exactly.

[Liz]

So it's like they don't want it there when she's gone.

[Dave Ramsey]

Exactly. Well, I mean, unless one of the daughters moved into it. But then you've. Now we've, you know, we've, we've continued this. So it's, it's just. There's all kinds of. You'll end up being a caller on the show later, I'm afraid. Open phones at Triple 882-55-5225. Jake is with us in Miami. Hi, Jake. What's up?

[Ken Coleman]

Hey, Dave.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good. Thanks for having me on. Certainly. How can we help? So I just wanted to get some guidance.

[Ken Coleman]

My wife and I recently got married about two years ago. We're doing the budget, you know, month to month, every dollar.

[Dave Ramsey]

We're doing great.

[Ken Coleman]

It's just, it's harder for her sometimes to cut back. And I've been doing that a little bit before we got married. So I'm a little bit more used to it and I'm a little less materialistic. I don't really spend a lot of money on myself and, you know, all that stuff.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. You don't have children yet?

[Ken Coleman]

No, no, no children yet.

[Dave Ramsey]

So. Okay. The reason is she feels like she's having to cut back to. There's no vision in this. Meaning the two of you need to agree that we're trying to get somewhere with the management of this money and whatever that somewhere is. We want to save up money to buy a house. We want to get out of debt. We want to do this or we want to do that. You need to have something big that you're both agreed to. A why? Why are we doing this right now? The only why is you put her on a budget that don't work. All right? If she agrees with the why, she will want to sacrifice to get to the why, and you won't have to talk to her about it. I'm a spender, but it's easy for me to cut when I have a good reason because I'm going somewhere. This is the Ramsey show. I've been doing this show for over 30 years. And some of the saddest calls I have taken are from situations that are completely prevent. Yeah. And what's so hard is I feel like one of those, especially the ones that I'm like, oh, it's terrible air. People that call in and their spouse has passed away suddenly and they don't have life insurance. When you have to think through how.

[Ken Coleman]

Am I going to pay My bills.

[Dave Ramsey]

In the middle next week. Yeah, in the middle of all that grief. Like, it's just, it is, it's terrible.

[Ken Coleman]

So life insurance is the one thing, especially as a mom with three little.

[Dave Ramsey]

Kids that I'm like so big on for people to get because it's inexpensive.

[Ken Coleman]

Xander is the place that Winston and.

[Dave Ramsey]

I actually get all of our life insurance. And it doesn't cost much because Zander shops among a gazillion different companies. It doesn't cost much. You just have to admit that someday you're not going to be here. You got to say it out loud and you got to say, I'm going to say I love you to my family by taking care of them and taking the time to put this stuff in place. The cost of stinking pizza. To get a free quote, call 800-356-4282. That's 800-356-4282 or go to zander.com folks, the Ramsey Christmas cash giveaway is here and you could win big. We're giving away $500 prizes each week and one grand prize of $5,000. Enter daily for your chance to win at ramseysolutions.com giveaway. It's that easy. Plus, our 50 Days of Christmas deals is on right now. Get up to 30% off bestsellers and life changing gifts that won't break the holiday budget. Ramsaysolutions.com store Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co host today. Julia is in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hi, Julia. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Ken Coleman]

Hi.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hi.

[Ken Coleman]

Hello, Dave. So my husband had a stroke a year ago and he hasn't been able to work and I had to quit also to be able to care for him. And so we've gone through savings this last year. And so I'm at a point now I need to dip into our 401k and I don't know whether I should just do like a three month chunk. Should I do a six month chunk? He probably will not be going back to work. Maybe, hopefully six months, maybe a year down the road. I don't know. I didn't know what financially I should do about that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wow. Sorry. How old is he?

[Ken Coleman]

Well, he'll be 50 in January.

[Dave Ramsey]

Whoa. What a devastating thing.

[Ken Coleman]

I'm so, so definitely he was definitely our, the breadwinner of the family. And so it has been difficult.

[Dave Ramsey]

I can imagine. Wow. I'm so sorry. Well, what we always want to do is to get what's going to get us to sustainability. And sustainability is not going to come from draining the 401k. It's going to come from you all someone creating an income there. So what were you making at your old job before?

[Ken Coleman]

Maybe 10,000 a year.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, you weren't working much?

[Ken Coleman]

No, no, it was. I mostly was pretty much taking care of the kids. I have a college age daughter, a high schooler and an middle schooler and so I just kind of worked here and there. Well, I worked an office job around their schedules, kind of a thing.

[Liz]

What was he making and what did he do?

[Ken Coleman]

He was a computer programmer. He was a senior software computer programmer. Made well over 100,000.

[Liz]

And what you were kind of saying, six months, 12 months. I mean, what are the doctors telling you about his recovery?

[Ken Coleman]

Well, we just got approved for disability, so they definitely see that he's not going to be going back anytime soon. He feels like. He keeps saying that he would like to go back and he'll say three months or six months. I don't know. I mean, we would love for him to be able to go back in six months, but.

[Dave Ramsey]

How long ago was the stroke?

[Ken Coleman]

Almost a year ago.

[Dave Ramsey]

How is he progressing as far as his healing goes?

[Ken Coleman]

So he's still paralyzed on one side of his body. He has a little bit of movement in one of his legs. His one arm doesn't have movement yet. He mentally he's there. He has difficulty getting things out. Like he can't type on a typewriter. He can talk or typewriter that's so old, a computer. So he has trouble. He can check emails. He can't respond. It's just not there yet. He has been able to do a few little things. Like he has picked up his phone sometimes and been able to text.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, if you were at work all day. Can he care for himself?

[Ken Coleman]

No, no, no. I have to be with him at least every couple hours. He has to go to the bathroom and I have to help him.

[Dave Ramsey]

Mm.

[Ken Coleman]

So we have.

[Dave Ramsey]

How much is the disability? How much is the disability?

[Ken Coleman]

It's thirty five hundred dollars a month.

[Dave Ramsey]

What does it take for you all to survive monthly?

[Ken Coleman]

I've cut back as much as I possibly can. And you know, we're like six or eight thousand a month.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

But we just got approved. This is our first. Last month was our first check that we were able to get from Social Security. And so this next month will be the second month.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so where is the 8,000 going? Help me with. You got a huge house payment.

[Ken Coleman]

No, we have $1,300 of a house payment. I have a car payment.

[Dave Ramsey]

How much?

[Ken Coleman]

430 food. Kids are expensive, you know, Internet.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, no, none of that adds up to $8,000.

[Ken Coleman]

Well, we have.

[Dave Ramsey]

I got 1700 plus food and the kids don't get expenses. Their dad had a stroke.

[Ken Coleman]

I know. I have a daughter in college.

[Dave Ramsey]

Mm.

[Ken Coleman]

So we.

[Liz]

What's the tuition on that?

[Ken Coleman]

Monthly tuition? Actually, we just got it approved for FAFSA gave us a fafsa. The government gave her enough to cover this month, this semester's tuition. So I'm not out any more money now. We had to prove a bunch of stuff and.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, then we're not at $8,000 because she gets a job while she's in school. Yeah, to cover her expenses. Is she living room?

[Ken Coleman]

No, no, she's in an apartment. She had worked all summer.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. She's gonna have to self support. She's gonna have to have self support yet she didn't have a choice. She have a choice. That's where you are. Okay, because here's the thing, all right? You've guys have got to get your. Your outgo within your income because otherwise you're going to burn through the 401k and then you don't have a plan.

[Ken Coleman]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

There's nothing you can do then. Okay. So we've got to do something to get incomes coming in in addition to the disability. I don't know what that is or how that is.

[Liz]

Yeah, I was going to ask really quick.

[Dave Ramsey]

What.

[Liz]

What kind of. And what kind of work did you do before Julia?

[Ken Coleman]

I. So I have a psychology degree.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

And I was an office manager.

[Liz]

Okay, great. Great answer. Because I'm just going to say this really quickly. Yes, you have to be anchored at home. But it sounds like to me you could put in a pretty good day there with some slight interruptions.

[Dave Ramsey]

Remote work.

[Liz]

Remote work.

[Ken Coleman]

Right now he goes, we have physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy that I take into. I probably could do well.

[Liz]

But Julia, Julia, you're in a desperate situation and I want to be very sensitive to this, but this is where friends and family come in. You are the breadwinner now. And so we got to have friends and family that we rely on and maybe the kids. One of the kids can drive. And they tell me, we got to figure this out to get him to this therapy. But you can do remote work.

[Dave Ramsey]

You can't be in a burn rate of $5,000 a month and survive.

[Liz]

You can be making 20 to $25 an hour in a remote situation doing office the same kind of work you did as an office manager. Organizational in nature. You could be A remote assistant. I want you to do the research on the type of work you can do because I think you'd be surprised the kind of income you can make. You have to make that right now.

[Dave Ramsey]

He's not going to be doing coding anytime soon. The guy you described to me.

[Ken Coleman]

No, no, he's. He tells me he is.

[Dave Ramsey]

I know, but the guy you described to me is not. No, he's not even sending an email back, so not yet. I hope he is. I hope he heals. I hope the therapy kicks in. But I'm saying If this takes 12 months and you're 3,000 coming in with disability and 8,000 going out, that's a $5,000 burn rate. You see what I'm doing? That doesn't work. You've got to get the burn rate down and get the incomes up a little bit. It doesn't have to be. You don't have to make $100,000 a year, but you've got to get to survival level mathematically where you're breaking even. And when you do that, then if you need to take a little out of the 401k for one little short period of time, fine. But do you want to just burn and burn and burn and burn and burn this 401k because you didn't make those other two adjustments? No, you do not. Yeah, no, you do not. That's not going to be at the end of a 10 year discussion on this. Where are you? You don't want to have done that. You can, but you don't want to. You want, you want to begin to make the life adjustments to the finances, to the math that fit with this tragedy that you guys are going through. Man, you got a tough sled here, girl. Yeah, I'm sorry. And yeah, friends and family helping your church, helping people coming around you, put their arms around you and helping with different things. It can be financially helping, but it can also be taking him to speech therapy so you can work that week, that day. It can be something like that. The 17 year old can step in and do some of that too. But you can't just be the provider to two grown girls anymore. You do not have that option, at least for the next 12 months. It doesn't sound like, sounds like they're going to have very limited lives and that's going to be part of their story when they're 30. That when I was 17, my dad had a stroke. It's part of our story. If you're like most people, your financial and personal documents are scattered all over, making it hard to find a specific account number or password when you need it, and even harder for our loved ones when we pass away. One key to having a healthy financial life is being able to access your information, and Knockbox makes that simple. Knockbox, in ok, as in next of kin, is a complete system that helps you organize your important documents, accounts, IDs, tax returns, insurance policies, estate plans, and other personal history in one secure place. Knockbox saves your family the trouble of tracking down random scraps of paper or hacking into your laptop. So don't add headaches to their heartache. Start getting organized today by visiting knockbox.com Ramsay that's n o kbox.com Ramsey well, it's decision time again. Every year during open enrollment, you have the chance to check in on your insurance and make sure it's right for you and your family. Whether you have health coverage through your job, a private company, or a government program like Medicare, you don't have to figure this out alone. We have reliable folks we trust to help you get the right coverage for whatever stage you're in. Go to Ramsaysolutions.com health coverage thank you for joining us, America. Guys, time is running out to book your cabin on the Live like no One Else Cruise setting sale March 22 through 29. More than 96% of our cabins are full. This is not your average cruise. This is a premium Caribbean cruise. Destinations in Turks and caicos, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, the Bahamas. All the Ramsey personalities, including me and my wife, will be there the entire week. We're going to be doing events every evening. We've got all these wonderful stops and all these cities. It's going to be absolutely incredible. This is, of course, all inclusive. This is, this is Holland America. It's a top cruise line. If you want to do the Live like no One Else cruise, I suggest this. You get on this one. Yeah, that's the plan. All the Ramsey personalities. We got Stephen Kurtz Chapman, comedian Trey Kennedy, who I'm paying to make fun of me, apparently. Deana Carter, Monet Shohan from the Food Channel, celebrity chef. All these folks are going to be with us all week. Book your cabin [e-mail] Cruise got just a moment before they're all gone, boys and girls. Justin's in Des Moines, Iowa. Hi, Justin. How are you? Yeah, I'm doing great, Dave. Thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's up? Well, yeah, I'm a grandfather of six, so not, not quite up to your level yet, Dave.

[Ken Coleman]

But I'm catching you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, good. Well, I have two of them actually.

[Ken Coleman]

Have graduated high school within the last three years.

[Dave Ramsey]

And, you know, I gave them a book. I gave them your total money makeover book when they graduated as a graduation gift. And kind of inscribed in there some things that I learned from the book.

[Ken Coleman]

That I found really interesting and really helpful through life. Just basically winning with money makes life a heck of a lot easier.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I'm now at the point where I actually have a little bit more money and would like to give them to them now rather than wait until, you know, I'm dead and gone and try to help them pay down on some of the debt that they do have. They do have. Both of them have car loans. One of them has some credit card debt. And what I don't want to do is become an enabler. I don't want to be.

[Ken Coleman]

Grandpa will give me, you know, two, $3,000 a year if I go ask him. You know, it's just right now I'm.

[Dave Ramsey]

Working and, you know, I'd like to.

[Ken Coleman]

Set him up to succeed.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I thought maybe of opening a Roth IRA for them and putting a.

[Ken Coleman]

Little bit towards that in there.

[Dave Ramsey]

But I do know they have this debt out there. And your principles would say pay down the debt first. So wanted to get your thoughts. The best gift you can give them is for them to follow your financial example. That's a bigger gift than money. You can give someone who misbehaves with money money and it will leave. Obviously you give someone knowledge and they'll always have money. So if I were in your shoes, I would tie the gift to a behavior that I want. So, you know, I'm willing to give you a gift of up to X number of dollars. You said 2000 or 3000, right?

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, about.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I'm willing to give you a $3,000 gift. And the way I'm going to do it is that's a match on you paying down your debt on your car. So if you pay down your car by $3,000, I'll put another 3,000 with it and we'll knock 6 off your car. If you pay down your car nothing other than pay the monthly payment, I'm going to give you nothing. You're right.

[Ken Coleman]

Gotcha.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's what I would do.

[Ken Coleman]

No, that's.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's great.

[Ken Coleman]

No, I was thinking of something along that line.

[Dave Ramsey]

I just. What I hate is I don't want them to come to, you know, Thanksgiving.

[Ken Coleman]

As you always say, when it's not alone.

[Dave Ramsey]

But no, no, no, I don't. Yeah. I don't want them to think Grandpa's gonna lecture me again about. About paying down my debt this time. No, I'm not sure at all. I'm just not gonna give you anything. Right. I like it. You know, I would wrap this in a. Like a cup of coffee in a. And a discussion and say, here, I know that if I get. If I give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If I teach him to fish, he eats for a lifetime. Right?

[Ken Coleman]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, that's what I was trying to.

[Ken Coleman]

Do with your book.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. So what? This is me talking to my grandson. If I'm you, I'm telling him that. And so what I want to do is, your grandpa, because I love you more than life itself, is I want to make sure you learn some of the principles that will cause you to become very successful. Not because I lectured you, but if you learn those things, you're going to make a lot of money. And one of those is getting out of debt. And so what I'm going to do is I'm going to help you get your car paid off. And what I'm going to offer you is if you want to pay extra on your car, every time you pay extra on your car, I'll pay extra. That same amount. You just send me the receipt, and I'll send it right into the bank, up to $3,000. Because I want to teach you to get out of debt. And that's why I'm doing this, honey, because I love you and this is wisdom. And I'm not going to pester you about it. If you don't do it, I just won't send you any money. I'm not going to send you any money anyway. I'm going to send it to your bank.

[Ken Coleman]

Right? Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, I love that idea. Thanks, Dave. Yeah, but just couch it in a loving, teachable cup of coffee, right?

[Liz]

Yeah, I think that's right. And I would also say model it, and you said it best, they watch it. So instead of sitting them down at Thanksgiving and Christmas and being the grandfather, that's teaching and harping, they're not ready for it. And you know the old phrase, when the student is ready, the teacher appears? That's kind of true. But in this case, you know what I do? I'd be talking in earshot so they could hear you talking about your investments. And, you know, it's one of those deals. I do that with my kids on certain things. I talk to my friends about certain things that I want them to hear, you know, and so I'm not telling them this. I'm just going, well, you know, I thought about this the other day, talking about the election and politics in my house. One of my kids doesn't. Doesn't see things the way I see things. And we've never. We've never had an ill word about it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, no.

[Liz]

Yeah, I know, right? I know. But you know what I do? I'll talk about things in earshot, and then they know what I think, and I'm not telling them what to think. They know what I think. And I've never sat down and said, you got to think this way, you got to this. But they know. And I think the same thing, what Dave is saying. I think modeling the way and letting them see it and it's a part of everything that they come in contact with you, they'll pick it up. And they may not agree with it at first, but I just think that that truth, which is what we teach, is, I think, the best model on finances. But that would be the approach that.

[Dave Ramsey]

I would take as the grandfather Rachel says, more is caught than taught.

[Liz]

Yeah. Classic.

[Dave Ramsey]

And that's a great line. That's a good line. It's from the old book, smart money, smart kids that she and I did about teaching her kids how to handle money. I mean, I think about that with my grandpa. Yeah. My grandpa Ramsey was. I mean, he saved every penny.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

I mean, you're there, you pull a nail out of the board, you straighten the nail out, you put it in, you knew it.

[Liz]

You just saw it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. And, you know, he had the garden out there, and we go work the garden was. Because that's why we get vegetables. And they're, you know, they're better to start with, but they're also cheaper. And so, you know, everything, you know, everything was a lesson built into everything. And he was head cost accountant. Alcohol, Aluminum. Right.

[Liz]

Wow.

[Dave Ramsey]

And always drove a used car and always had money in the bank. Always, you know, always in great shape, very conservative and. But I. I was a. I was. I was a cool dude. So I went and bought a Jaguar, making all this money in real estate, and I went and bought a Jaguar that I couldn't afford, and I wheel up in the yard down there with a Jaguar and he comes out and he goes, what is that? So, grandpa, that's a Jaguar. He goes, really? He goes, what'd that cost? I told him, he goes, dad, come. That's awful. I said, awful. It's a. One of the finest automobiles out there. And he goes, yeah, well, that car be worth in 10 years. And I said, well, it probably worth, you know. And he said, but it's a great investment. He goes, honey, my investments go up.

[Liz]

That's great. Yeah. Just such a classic way of confronting that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Just ask questions.

[Liz]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

My investments go up.

[Liz]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you know, that's 35 years ago that story happened. And I can see it and feel it right now. It's fresh. Yeah. So that. That's the power. Grandpa's half. You got to be careful with it.

[Liz]

That's right. You get the opportunity to kind of say things that. Or do things that they're sick of their parents doing. They'll put up with you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Liz]

There's a little extra kind of.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. You know, so model it.

[Liz]

Talk about it all the time to everybody, not to them. Don't preach it this.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I'm thinking to myself, what do you know? You're driving a 10 year old truck. Yeah. And he had more money.

[Liz]

Oh, yeah. Buried the backyard.

[Dave Ramsey]

Right. Than I had. For sure. I didn't have two nickels rubbed together by looking good. Right. Yeah. What an idiot. This is the Ramsey show.

[Liz]

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[Dave Ramsey]

Thank you for joining us, America. After we finish this segment, if you want to hear the next segment of the show, jump over to the Ramsey network app. It is a free app that you can download and you get the what is the third hour on talk radio. If you're there and you can catch. It's all video and audio and everything, everything you want. You could search the show. You get all kinds of stuff there and you can ask questions there as well. You can send us emails on the app. So the Ramsey network app is a free download. There is no subscription and you get all kinds of behind the scenes, extra interviews, early access to things like we put the Donald Trump interview on there the day before, we put it on everything else, that kind of stuff. And you get the third hour, the third segment of the show here, which comes up after we finish right now. So Ramsey Network app, it's a free download of course, and Apple and Google Play and all that. Be sure you go check it out. A question there comes from eddie. I have $1,000,000 in my 401k but after I pay taxes, when I withdraw funds, I will only pocket about 600. Am I still considered a 401k millionaire? Yes. Today your net worth what you own minus what you owe equals over a million dollars. So yes, you're a millionaire. That is the definition of millionaire. And people say net worth millionaire, well that's redundant. That's like saying your car is blue. Blue? No, it's just blue. That's it. I mean that's it. So that, that's the whole thing. So there is, you know, if you, what you own minus what you owe now it doesn't mean that you won't have those taxes and doesn't mean that doesn't affect it. But today you have a million dollars. Now if you took it out, you only had 600 after paying taxes, then you wouldn't have a million dollars anymore. Tada. That's how this works. Wow, that was good. It reminded me of the old Steve Martin thing. How to be a millionaire, first get a million dollars. How to be a millionaire, not pay taxes. First get a million dollars, then don't pay taxes. That was a great comedy bit, but yeah, that's back from the 70s. Yeah, that's it though. And, and the good news is this, Eddie, you're using the Ramsey Network app, so I'm guessing you're under 80 and I'm guessing this money is going to continue to grow. And that net of taxes, when you take it out, someday soon you'll have more than a million dollars anyway. So it's a, it's a redundant, I mean it's a question that really doesn't matter at this stage of the game. John is in Vancouver, Washington. Hi John, welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Ken Coleman]

I'm really glad to hear your guys's voice. I was worried that I'd get somebody who wouldn't understand this question.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so I got, I got night.

[Ken Coleman]

Hunting equipment, so a thermal scope, nods, night observation device, helmets, lasers, I got all the gadgets. But I owe 20,000 on my car. I could get right around that if I sell that Equipment, But I'm. I really don't want to sell it. I'm not gonna lie about it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Mm. Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

I have other stuff.

[Dave Ramsey]

What are you hunting at night that you're so amped up about? This.

[Ken Coleman]

Coyotes.

[Liz]

I was thinking hogs or something.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, Okay. I know. I knew it was something legal. I didn't. I wasn't gonna accuse you of poaching, but yeah. Okay. Let's see. And you're in Washington state, so. Yeah. Yeah. You got some.

[Liz]

What's your income?

[Ken Coleman]

So my base wage is 99,000. Right now I'm on track for 150,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Liz]

What's the car worth?

[Ken Coleman]

I believe it's worth, like, 32.

[Dave Ramsey]

Are you single?

[Ken Coleman]

I like the marketplace. No, I'm engaged, but.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Ken Coleman]

Not married yet.

[Dave Ramsey]

It really hasn't got anything to do with the fact that I empathize with the equipment. I think it's cool. It hasn't got anything to do with that. Okay. The principle is, can you become debt free very, very quickly without selling this equipment or without selling this car? You're making 150. You're a single guy. You have one debt of 20,000. Yeah, yeah. You. You know what. What would you. How much of your lifestyle will you sacrifice to keep the hunting equipment and get the car paid off in three months?

[Ken Coleman]

Well, and that's the thing. I'm still going to work the same amount of overtime because my phone's ringing like crazy right now.

[Dave Ramsey]

That wasn't what I said.

[Ken Coleman]

I would likely make. I would likely make that in three months. Three, four, five.

[Dave Ramsey]

I know. You make enough to pay the car off in three months. You told me that you make 150 grand, you could pay the car off in three months and have absolutely no life during that three months and keep your stuff.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

So there's a third thing we can sacrifice here. We can either sacrifice the hunting gear, we can sacrifice the car, or we can sacrifice the next three months of your life.

[Ken Coleman]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm going with C. The next three months of your life, keep your car and keep your hunting gear. But if it's going to take you three years to get out of debt, we're selling all your crap.

[Ken Coleman]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

But it doesn't take you three years.

[Ken Coleman]

And if the game changed and I lost my job, that stuff would go right out the door. I'm not worried about that. I just feel like I make enough to not sell it and then end up rebuying it, if that makes sense.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Did somebody tell you to sell it, or is this just your Idea.

[Dave Ramsey]

You know, if it took you a long time to get out of debt, I would sell it, but I don't. Regardless of whether you buy it back later, all that crap. But the bottom line is you could do this really, really quick. And while you're really tired from working all the time and you're pissed because you can't go out to eat and your girlfriend's pissed because you won't take her out to eat because you're not doing nothing but getting a stinking car paid off in the next 90 days. I'm talking February 1st. You're done.

[Ken Coleman]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. You got no life if you're willing to do that. Yeah, that's what I do. That's what I personally would do. Because I don't think you. The same thing's true of your car. You sell it, you're going to get another one later. Same stuff.

[Ken Coleman]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

So now part of that also entails that you raise your right hand and quit buying crap for hunting. You got enough. Right. Forever. I mean, you don't need anything for a long time. The outfit you just described to me is world class, right? Yeah. Okay.

[Liz]

And here's the benefit. When everybody's mad at him, he's mad at himself, he goes out late at night and shoots a coyote. It's good therapy.

[Dave Ramsey]

Or six of them. Okay.

[Liz]

It's like a video game.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. They don't have. They don't have a bounty on those hides in Washington, do they?

[Ken Coleman]

No, they don't.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, darn. Thought we could make this into a side hustle. Okay.

[Liz]

We're going there. I like that. That's a good call.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right. Just open season because the dad gum things are eating everything.

[Liz]

You would change your advice to rice.

[Dave Ramsey]

And beans, living in a tree and shooting coyote skins.

[Liz]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

But the. Yeah, have some fun with this. But the principle is not the hunting gear stuff, John. The principle is you quit buying things you can't afford. And you have been because you had a car debt. You shouldn't have been this invested in this hunting gear. You. You got that out of order. You're admitting that. And the principle is that you can pay all this stuff off very, very quickly by working like a crazy man. And that's what I would do. And then you're going to go into the marriage with zero debt and a well equipped or well equipped gun safe. And so that was this nice slip there. Clipped. Clipped.

[Liz]

I see what you did there.

[Dave Ramsey]

See what I did there? Yeah. Lots of clips, lots of mags there. But the fun, that's fun. Yeah. I mean, the same's true with your boat. Same's true with your collection of coach purses, ladies. Same's true with whatever it is we're dealing with. I mean, what. At what point do we have sell off all this junk? It's. If we can't get out of debt super quick without doing it, then the junk has to go. You sell so much stuff, the kids think they're next. He put the dog on ebay, the cat on craigslist.

[Liz]

You've said this for years, and I think you're right. And this applies here. If he were to sell all that equipment, fine. But it doesn't really necessarily curb the behavior that this discipline will. And it's that quick fix doesn't really help stop the problem that got him there.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. If you gotta go do nothing, nothing but work for 90 days. And you go, okay, next time changes things. Next time I'm not buying stuff while I got and have a car debt. Because, you know, in a sense, we financed a bunch of hunting gear against a car. In one.

[Liz]

In a sense, I think you could make the case.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. That's kind of what happened here. Yeah. And so the way we're gonna undo that's just go crazy for a short period of time. See, none of the above. That puts us out the Ramsey show in the book.

[Liz]

Hey, you're still here. What are you doing? You do know that the rest of today's show is playing right now over on the Ramsey network app, right?

[Dave Ramsey]

All you gotta do to finish the.

[Liz]

Episode is search Ramsey network in the app store, Google play store, or just click the link in the show notes to download the app for free. Yep, you heard me right. For free. Then there on the home screen, you can watch the rest of today's show. Bada bing, bada boom. All right, I'm getting out of here. Enjoy.

[Dave Ramsey]

We'll see you on the app.