When Are You Going To Clean Up Your Financial Mess?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ramsey Show – "When Are You Going To Clean Up Your Financial Mess?"

Release Date: April 24, 2025
Host: Ramsey Network (Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruz)
Description: In this episode, Dave Ramsey and his team address complex financial and personal dilemmas from callers, offering practical advice and strategies to overcome financial struggles and improve personal relationships.

---

1. Caller: Rachel Cruz from Tampa, Florida – Dealing with Mother-in-Law’s Property Dispute

Timestamp: [00:00 - 07:34]

Rachel Cruz reaches out with a decade-long family dispute concerning a property deeded to her and her husband by her in-laws. Initially intended to help her elderly mother-in-law by allowing her to build a tiny house on their acre of land, the arrangement has soured, leading to accusations of elder exploitation and a demand for a $180,000 lump-sum payment.

Key Issues:

• Property Ownership Confusion: The in-laws believed they retained ownership of the land under the tiny house, leading to ongoing conflicts.
• Legal Threats: After the passing of her father-in-law, the mother-in-law intensified her claims, resulting in legal action.
• Emotional Strain: The relationship has deteriorated, culminating in a complete fallout since January.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “You didn’t do anything wrong.” [06:05]
• Dave Ramsey: “You just need to hire an attorney and possibly consider legal financial settlements.” [07:03]

Advice Given:

• Legal Action: Ramsey suggests hiring a lawyer and exploring legal avenues to protect their interests.
• Financial Protection: Recommends securing legal representation to negotiate the $180,000 demand.
• Relationship Boundaries: Emphasizes the importance of setting clear boundaries to prevent further emotional strain.

---

2. Caller: James from Chicago – Jaguar Loan and Engine Replacement Issue

Timestamp: [16:52 - 21:17]

James discusses his predicament with an expensive loan on his 2018 Jaguar XF Sport Break. The car's engine failed unexpectedly, and the dealership quoted a $35,000 replacement cost. With a $38,000 loan and limited insurance coverage, James is seeking guidance on managing this financial burden.

Key Issues:

• High-Interest Loan: Accumulating debt due to an expensive car loan with a 14% interest rate.
• Unexpected Car Failure: Engine failure leading to exorbitant repair costs.
• Limited Insurance Coverage: The failure occurred just beyond his warranty period, leaving him financially vulnerable.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “It’s not worth $180,000. Consider buying a used engine to save costs.” [05:56 - 06:06]
• Dave Ramsey: “Avoid moral guilt. You didn’t do anything wrong; focus on practical solutions.” [06:34 - 06:36]

Advice Given:

• Legal Consultation: Contacting an attorney to challenge the dealership’s high repair costs.
• Alternative Repairs: Exploring the purchase of a used engine from a salvage yard to reduce expenses.
• Financial Strategy: Maintaining discipline in financial planning to manage unexpected expenses without derailing overall financial health.

---

3. Caller: Joey from Ohio – Single Mother Facing Pregnancy and Relationship Breakdown

Timestamp: [22:20 - 31:23]

Joey, a single mother of a 12-year-old, is distressed after her partner left upon learning about her second pregnancy. She seeks advice on balancing saving for her child while managing her car loan debt of $14,000.

Key Issues:

• Unexpected Pregnancy: Emotional and financial stress from an unplanned second child.
• Debt Management: Balancing debt repayment with the need to save for future expenses.
• Single Parenthood: Navigating financial and emotional responsibilities alone.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “Stack cash like you’re paying off debt. Save $3,000 in the next five months.” [24:12 - 25:19]
• Dave Ramsey: “You’re a hero. Stand strong and build your financial safety net.” [26:28 - 26:50]

Advice Given:

• Cash Pile Strategy: Temporarily halt the debt snowball to build up a cash reserve, treating it with the same urgency as debt repayment.
• Child Support: Encourage contacting human services to secure financial support from the child's father.
• Support Systems: Leveraging community and church support to manage emotional and financial challenges.
• Debt Repayment Plan: Continue to pay off car debt once the cash reserve is established, followed by rebuilding financial stability.

---

4. Caller: Catherine from Pittsburgh – Estate and Legal Complications

Timestamp: [46:03 - 53:59]

Catherine seeks assistance with her 74-year-old mother's estate. After inheriting assets, her family is contesting the will, accusing her mother of embezzlement and demanding repayment of $160,000. Additionally, her mother faces significant credit card debt without qualifying for a home loan against her property.

Key Issues:

• Will Contestation: Family disputes leading to legal charges of embezzlement.
• Debt Accumulation: Credit card debt exacerbating the financial strain.
• Property Ownership: Challenges in liquidating or leveraging the family home to cover debts.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “Force the sale of the contested property to secure funds and protect your mother.” [50:05 - 50:10]
• Dave Ramsey: “If she’s being charged criminally, consider selling assets to cover debts and avoid jail.” [51:05 - 51:17]

Advice Given:

• Property Sale: Initiate a partition lawsuit to force the sale of the jointly owned house, aiming to use proceeds to settle debts.
• Legal Strategy: Consult with attorneys to navigate the embezzlement charges and explore the validity of the claims.
• Debt Repayment: Prioritize settling debts to prevent legal repercussions, leveraging the house’s equity where possible.

---

5. Caller: Ian from Louisiana – Partner’s Debt Hindering Savings

Timestamp: [55:41 - 63:54]

Ian shares his frustration over his partner’s significant credit card and student loan debt, which is impeding their ability to save. With a household income approaching $100,000, Ian feels resentful as he's unable to save while supporting his family.

Key Issues:

• Debt Impact on Savings: Partner’s lack of urgency in debt repayment affecting household finances.
• Relationship Strain: Building resentment due to financial disparities and stress.
• Financial Planning: Uncertainty on how to collaboratively manage and eliminate debt.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “Step up, get married, and engage in pre-marriage counseling to align financial goals.” [56:50 - 57:08]
• Dave Ramsey: “Without cooperation, the financial mess will worsen, impacting the entire family.” [57:15 - 57:22]

Advice Given:

• Marriage and Counseling: Encourage formalizing the relationship through marriage and seeking pre-marriage counseling to tackle financial issues together.
• Financial Education: Enroll in Financial Peace University to create a unified plan for budgeting, debt repayment, and saving.
• Joint Responsibility: Foster a team approach to financial management to eliminate resentment and build a stable financial future.

---

6. Caller: Jennifer from Asheville, North Carolina – Business Debt and Operational Challenges

Timestamp: [77:31 - 87:59]

Jennifer discusses her struggles after purchasing a failing pizzeria with her husband. Despite efforts to improve operations and cut costs, they face substantial debt from credit cards, legal penalties, and business contracts. Additionally, unforeseen events like floods and theft have exacerbated their financial woes.

Key Issues:

• Business Debt: Accumulating debt from credit cards, legal penalties, and business contracts.
• Operational Failures: Initial mismanagement leading to persistent financial losses.
• External Challenges: Natural disasters and theft disrupting business continuity and incurring additional costs.
• Personal Trauma: Multiple personal losses affecting their ability to manage finances effectively.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “If there’s no logical path to profitability, consider selling the business to cut losses.” [70:00 - 75:00]
• Dave Ramsey: “Winners quit what’s failing and redirect resources to more viable opportunities.” [74:54 - 75:00]

Advice Given:

• Asset Liquidation: Sell business assets to cover debts and halt further financial decline.
• Debt Prioritization: Focus on clearing high-interest debts and legal obligations before reigniting business prospects.
• Emotional Recovery: Address personal traumas to regain focus and implement effective financial strategies.
• Exit Strategy: Develop a clear plan to exit the failing business, minimizing financial and emotional loss.

---

7. Caller: Krista from Pittsburgh – Combining Finances with Fiance Amid Debt

Timestamp: [77:35 - 87:35]

Krista seeks advice on merging finances with her fiance, who carries significant student loan debt and recently had a loan sent to collections. They are approaching marriage but face financial instability due to debts and unexpected expenses from a flood and car theft.

Key Issues:

• Debt Management: Partner’s student loan debt affecting household financial stability.
• Unexpected Expenses: Costs from property damage and vehicle theft draining resources.
• Financial Integration: Uncertainty on how to combine finances effectively while managing debts.
• Business Operations: Jennifer’s pizzeria facing operational and financial challenges.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “Prioritize financial issues by force-ranking them and addressing the most critical first.” [83:17 - 84:03]
• Dave Ramsey: “Combat financial chaos by systematically tackling debts and operational issues.” [84:10 - 85:00]

Advice Given:

• Priority Setting: Identify and prioritize financial problems, addressing the most urgent issues first (e.g., property repairs, debt repayment).
• Legal Actions: Consider legal steps to challenge insurance claims and rectify contractual obligations.
• Debt Repayment: Allocate available funds strategically to eliminate high-interest debts and secure financial stability.
• Business Evaluation: Reassess the viability of the business and explore options for selling or restructuring to mitigate losses.

---

Concluding Insights and Advice

Throughout the episode, Dave Ramsey and John Deloney emphasize the importance of:

• Legal and Financial Vigilance: Addressing legal challenges promptly and seeking professional assistance to navigate complex financial disputes.
• Debt Prioritization and Management: Implementing structured debt repayment plans, such as the debt snowball or stacking cash reserves to handle emergencies.
• Relationship and Financial Alignment: Ensuring partners are on the same page regarding financial goals and strategies, often advocating for formalizing relationships through marriage and counseling.
• Asset Management: Utilizing assets effectively, whether through liquidation, reassignment, or leveraging property to resolve debts.
• Support Systems: Leveraging community, family, and professional support to manage emotional and financial stressors.
• Practical Financial Tools: Encouraging the use of budgeting apps like EveryDollar and seeking insurance solutions to protect against financial vulnerabilities.

Final Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey: “You have to start telling your money where to go so you can stop wondering where it went.” [65:55 - End]
• Dave Ramsey: “Winners quit all the time, but they quit the right things.” [74:54 - 75:00]

Conclusion: The episode underscores that financial messes, whether personal, familial, or business-related, require decisive action, strategic planning, and often legal intervention. By prioritizing debts, seeking professional advice, and aligning financial goals within relationships, individuals can navigate and eventually overcome their financial challenges.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey guys, this is Dave Ramsey from the Ramsey show podcast. If you're sick of money, stress and tired of living paycheck to paycheck, we're here to help. Check out our latest episode, streaming now on Amazon Music, brought to you by the EveryDollar app. Start budgeting for free 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. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host, Rachel Cruz, number one best selling author, host of the Rachel Cruze show and co host of Smart Money Happy Hour. My daughter is my co host. Today, open phones at 888-825-5225. Jamie is in Tampa, Florida. Hi J. You?

[Rachel Cruz]

I am doing good. How are you?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. What's up?

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, the basic question I have is what I should do with my mother in law's situation.

[Dave Ramsey]

Man, if I could answer that, I'd be rich.

[Rachel Cruz]

My in laws gave us a piece of property in 2006. We couldn't afford to build on it at the time, so we saved and we ended up building our house in 2012 after a couple of visits from my in laws, they ended up asking us if they could build a small home on the back of our property.

[Dave Ramsey]

The property that they get. The property that they gave you.

[Rachel Cruz]

Correct.

[Dave Ramsey]

So it's titled, it's titled to you and your husband.

[Rachel Cruz]

Correct. Okay. They were living in upstate New York. It was a lot. My mother in law taking care of her home and my father in law and she was talking to my husband daily, multiple times a day about what a struggle it was. So we felt like, yes, this was a good idea. We could help them when they lived here. And so they sold their home in New York and used that money to build a house in the back of our property. Well, during the building process, we kind of all realized at the same time that technically they did not own it, that we owned it because it was on property in our name. It caused a huge fight. My father in law like stopped the builder from building and we had a couple of days of discussions.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm sorry, why was this a surprise?

[Rachel Cruz]

I guess because we never really had conversations about it.

[Dave Ramsey]

You don't need a conversation. They deeded the property to you. Did they just forget that they did.

[John Deloney]

That or did they think when they were building on the property that automatically the land under that is is theirs? Like, is that what they thought?

[Rachel Cruz]

Right. That's the assumption, yes. Because they were paying for that house. They didn't think about the land underneath the house.

[John Deloney]

Yes.

[Rachel Cruz]

So this was 10 years ago. Every six months for the past 10 years, we've had a fight about ownership of their home. My father in law passed away about three years ago. My mother in law since then has just become more and more angry about this situation.

[Dave Ramsey]

How old is she?

[Rachel Cruz]

She is 80 and in good, very good health. In January, there was a huge fight where she accused us of doing this on purpose for the sole purpose of taking her home. In essence, taking her money. She wants to be able to leave this home to her kids equally in her will. So we assured her we were never going to deny her access to this home. Like she said, you could kick me out at any time. Well, we're not going to do that. But it's just constant, the fighting. So now we haven't spoken to each other since January, and she got a lawyer to send us a letter accusing us of elder exploitation and demanding $180,000 lump sum payment.

[Dave Ramsey]

And what is your all's net worth?

[Rachel Cruz]

Net worth? Probably over a million. Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

How much land is involved in the total tract?

[Rachel Cruz]

An acre.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, no, no, no. I mean the whole property. Including yours?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. An acre.

[Dave Ramsey]

How do they build on the back of an acre?

[Rachel Cruz]

It's an accessory dwelling. It's just a one bedroom, one bath, 900 square feet. And that's how the county defines it as well. We share all the utilities like it goes through my.

[Dave Ramsey]

She built a tiny house on the back of your acre?

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, yeah, I should have clarified. It's a tiny house. Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, geez. So she's not only not speaking to you, she's in your back window?

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, yeah. Eight feet away.

[John Deloney]

Sorry, Jamie, that's not funny.

[Rachel Cruz]

No, every lawyer I talked to said the same thing.

[John Deloney]

It's terrible.

[Dave Ramsey]

Every lawyer you talked to said the same thing, which was what?

[Rachel Cruz]

Basically that. Yes, she may have improved the property. This is the exact words of 1. The value of those improvements is largely offset by her continued occupancy, meaning that she's gotten $180,000 worth of value out of living.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's not. A tiny house in the back corner of an acre on no planet is worth 180 grand.

[Rachel Cruz]

True.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's just. Oh, my God, the drama of some people. Okay, yeah, so because you're thinking like so many. So many.

[John Deloney]

I thought.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I thought there was a hundred acres and. And she was in the back 40 or something. No, no, she's in the back window. This is bizarre. Oh, my gosh. So what are you gonna do? Jamie, we don't know.

[Rachel Cruz]

That's morally. I feel like I should give her money, but it would.

[Dave Ramsey]

No.

[Rachel Cruz]

Hire me.

[Dave Ramsey]

I don't morally giving her anything.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay, okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, you didn't do anything wrong.

[Rachel Cruz]

I agree.

[Dave Ramsey]

And the son in law, the funny part is the son in law stopped construction on the tiny house. Corner of the other house. Oh, my God. The brother in law, father in law. Her son in law. Her son. Yeah, because he wants his cut of the tiny house.

[John Deloney]

No, no, the husband. The husband. The mother in law. The father in law stopped construction because he's mad at them.

[Dave Ramsey]

The father in law. I thought you said it was a son in law.

[Rachel Cruz]

No, father in law.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, okay.

[John Deloney]

The construction. Yes, yes, Correct. Of the tiny home.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, so what a horrible trying to do something nice that went bad story.

[Rachel Cruz]

Correct.

[Dave Ramsey]

So, no, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm just gonna hire an attorney. You've got the money. Go give somebody 10 grand and keep her tied up till she dies.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, wow.

[Dave Ramsey]

I mean, that's really all you can do here, because she's not. She's not. You're not going. This relationship is not going to be healed. This woman's lost her marbles. And. And we can't find them. They're somewhere in the backyard near a tiny house.

[John Deloney]

Near them, near Jamie.

[Dave Ramsey]

Right next to you, Jamie. Wherever they are, that's where the marbles are. But. Oh, shoot.

[John Deloney]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, I mean, really, there's not, there's not a.

[John Deloney]

Well, you want reconcilia. I mean, the. I, The. The. The perfect world is that there is reconciliation. Is your. Is your. Is your husband, Jamie? Is your husband, like, on the forefront of this emotionally and like, in it? Or do you feel like you are more like holding the pieces together of everything that's happening? Like, do y'all both have emotional ownership in it, or is it more you, more him?

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, no, we're. We're kind of equal in that, but I, I'm kind of the go between right now because he has completely written.

[John Deloney]

Written because that's her son. So I feel like his weight in this.

[Dave Ramsey]

He needs to. He needs to make the decision because the most painful for him. But if it was my situation here, I would just say, you know, you hired a lawyer, so I guess we've got to. And I would just stall and file continuances and do in depth depositions with every expert on the planet and just, you know, just tie it up for five years and, you know, then it won't be there. It's Awful. But I mean, that's all you can do other than try to make an angry old woman that did a crazy bad deal happy. I don't know how you do that. I know how you do it. For the rest of you listening, don't do this ever. You know, one of the first things I discovered working in the financial world is how absolutely devastating it is when the breadwinner of a family dies and there's too little life insurance or none at all. Grieving families are suddenly left behind, scrambling to pay bills and trying to make ends meet. I also discovered that there are a lot of rip offs in the life insurance world like that whole life crap posing as an investment opportunity. What you need is level term life insurance, usually 10 to 12 times your income, which is the smartest, most affordable way to protect your family. The key is finding an independent broker who represents a ton of companies and works for you, not for the insurance company. This is exactly what my friend Jeff Zand and his team at Zander Insurance are all about. They shop the term life companies to find you the best options and they've been around for over 95 years so you know they'll be there when you need them. Zander is the real deal and that's why they've handled all my personal insurance for over 25 years. I trust them and you can too. Visit Zander.com for instant online quotes or for a more personal touch, give them a call at 800-356-4282. Couple of cool things going on around here right quick. Dr. John Deloney and I are in the middle of a six city tour we've been running in and out of Nashville this week because we were in Louisville last night, we were in Durham, North Carolina with several thousand folks. And tomorrow night we'll be in Atlanta. You can still get your tickets to that. And then a week away will be over in Phoenix and then to Fort Worth and then to Kansas City. Kansas City, sold out. Fort Worth is almost sold out, but you can still get a ticket. And Phoenix is a little bigger venue. You can still get a ticket there for sure. Atlanta, if you want to come tomorrow night, you can get tickets. But thank all of you for turning out. It's been a lot of fun. We were in Deepak, the Durham Performing Arts center last night and it was kind of fun. Rachel, I sent you a picture. Rachel, a picture. She and I were on that stage in 11 years ago on 2014 doing the Legacy Journey tour at that time. And some of these venues like this, the Famous people that do the venues. It's very cool because you can go backstage and you got like Ozzy Osbourne signed the Back Wall or Metallica or, you know, John Lennon or something like that. And then there's Dave and Rachel signed the Back Wall, you know, and so, but so I took a picture of it and sent it to Rachel to remind 11 years ago we were on that stage. But thank all of you for turning out for these things. We appreciate it. We're having a good time. John and I are. By the time we get done with six cities, we're going to get good at this. And so we're getting better every night already. So love to have you do that. And all of you that purchased the book build a business you love that was launched last week. My latest book, teaching small businesses the clear path of mastering the five stages of business to grow and run your business properly. Thank you so much for that. The, you know, one week after a book launch, you get the. The lists, the bestseller list, and it came out number one, Number one bestseller. So thank you guys for that. We appreciate you. And, and the New York Times picked it up and ran it on their bestseller list. Their bestseller list is not a. Is not based on number of books sold. It's just based on, I don't know, I think they like it or something. I don't know what they just. They just decide what they're gonna put on there. And so they put it on at number five on New York Times. But it was the number one selling book in the week by numbers. So that, that makes it according to Bookscan. And so it shows up on all the, all the bestseller lists that use the actual sales to categorize the best sellers, which I kind of think thought that's what a bestseller is. But anyway, that's how it works. So thank you guys. We appreciate you very much. And this one is really fun. Rachel. So Ramsey fans tell us all the time that groceries are one of the largest line items. And it's a frustrating line item in your every dollar budget. It's frustrating because, you know, like, you have to get a mortgage for eggs these days or something, right? And so 59%, that's six out of 10 people say it's a challenge to save money on groceries without sacrificing quality. So we've been working on this behind the scenes and going, okay, where how can we help our audience by partnering with someone in that world to get you guys the best possible deals and so forth. And we ended up settling on the folks at Aldi, they've got fresh meat, organic products.

[John Deloney]

We got some claps, got some Aldi.

[Dave Ramsey]

People out in the audience. Right here in the live studio audience. Yeah, they give you a great selection. They've got fresh meat organic products. They're Aldi exclusive products, are fun. They're sassy with their labels like Ramsey is. So we like them. And they're really good quality and they're really cheap. The lowest prices of any national grocery chain. And shoppers say big. The family of four can say $4,000 a year shopping at Aldi versus some of the others. And so they're a brand new sponsor, a brand new partner here. And Rachel, you know, the young moms that you run around with and that you know and that are in our family. Aldi is a big deal.

[John Deloney]

Well, it is because it's a simple grocery shopping experience. If you've been. And they, they make it quick. There's, it's not overwhelming. Like, I feel like some other of the competitors. You walk in and it's just like this, like acres and acres and acres of land of grocery aisles. It's really simple. And honestly though, it is. It's the prices. After you get done shopping, you look at the total, you're like, oh, my gosh. But it's all good stuff. Like, it really is the quality. Their meats, their produce, all of it. So I know it is one store in all of my content. And for years and years and years, when we talk about groceries, I always mention Aldi, even before they came on as a partner with Ramsey. But because it is true, that is what you get. You save money and you get good quality products, which is what we're looking for. And it is, it's when we talk to families and I know this, having three little kids, it is the number one budget buster is food. Like when we do our every dollar. But even, I hate to say it, or at the end of the month and I went in today and did my transactions and I may have upped our grocery line items. I was like, crap, we have one more week. I got to get stuff. It's just, it's just, you just end up spending a lot. But with Aldi, you're able to do it in all these trips and get good quality stuff and keep it within the budget, which is, well.

[Dave Ramsey]

And we started talking about this, gosh, about 18 months ago with our internal team, our broadcast team, and they're like, okay, go find a partner. And Rachel's like, go get Aldi. Well, yeah, because you were the one. You were like the focus group sitting.

[John Deloney]

In the world, growing, too. And it's like, I think it is the fastest growing grocery train in America right now. So they're popping up even within Nashville. Like, they're popping up everywhere. So there should be one near you guys. And so if you are a family or not a family, like, whoever you are, if you need to save on groceries, when it comes to your budget and your money, Aldi's the place to go.

[Dave Ramsey]

Really proud to have them as a new partner.

[John Deloney]

Yeah, they're amazing.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good quality stuff at a good price and no frills and good sassy labeling. I like it.

[John Deloney]

Their marketing is fun.

[Dave Ramsey]

They're icon of people and all their.

[John Deloney]

I don't know, you're. I'm seeing them more and more on social media and stuff. They're funny.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, that's cool.

[John Deloney]

That's good.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good. So stop overpaying. Start shopping at aldi. Go to aldi.us to find an Aldi store near you. A L D. I dot us. James is in Chicago. Hey, James. How are you? Good.

[Rachel Cruz]

Hey. How you guys doing?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. What's up?

[Rachel Cruz]

I have a situation with my car.

[Dave Ramsey]

I want to get some answers on. So I have a. I have a Jaguar.

[Rachel Cruz]

I owe $38,000 on it. It's a 14 interest on the loan.

[Dave Ramsey]

You really wanted a Jaguar, didn't you? I really did, yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

Things have changed now. The Jaguar doesn't run and the Jaguar dealership quoted me $35,000 to replace the engine.

[Dave Ramsey]

What the flip? What'd you do to this brand new car, dude? Yeah, that's the thing. I'm not really sure.

[Rachel Cruz]

Something happened with cylinders and maybe potentially oil, but the engine shot. It costs a lot of money just to tear down that engine. So I think a lot has to do with the labor cost also. So they, instead of fixing the engine, they suggest replacing the whole thing.

[Dave Ramsey]

What year model is this thing?

[Rachel Cruz]

This is a 2018 Jaguar wagon, the Jaguar XF Sport Break. So it's kind of like a pretty rare Jaguar.

[Dave Ramsey]

So somehow you blew the engine on a relatively new car.

[Rachel Cruz]

I did, yeah. Less than 80, 000 miles.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's weird.

[Rachel Cruz]

But it was 2, 000 miles over my warranty, so I had no warranty. My question, I guess, is I'm really stuck. I was.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wait a minute. Did you. Do you. I mean, that's very strange from a mechanic standpoint.

[John Deloney]

Well, did you get a second opinion, James, or did you just go to the dealership?

[Rachel Cruz]

So the dealership they're the only people that have diagnosed it. I have gotten other quotes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Did they give you a cause? What caused it? Was it your fault or the engine failed?

[Rachel Cruz]

The engine failed.

[Dave Ramsey]

Like you didn't change the oil ever in 80,000 miles? Or you ran the oil out of, forgot to put the plug back in at the Jiffy Lube and it blew. I mean, did something like that happen? Or the stupid engine just failed at 80,000 miles?

[Rachel Cruz]

From my understanding, the engine failed. There is not any signs I failed. The car was not due for an oil change.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

I was not leaking oil, anything like that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so there's two possible ways you go and probably both of them. Number one, I'm contacting an attorney. I would sit down, talk to the general manager at the dealership in person, and I would say, 2,000 miles over warranty. You need to call Jaguar. This ain't cool. This is bogus. This engine should not have failed. Jaguar needs to stand behind this engine even though it's out of warranty. They need to do it as a PR campaign because otherwise we're going to have another PR campaign that's going to be ugly, and you don't want that one. And I'm going to sit down with the general manager, not the people in the shop, the guy running the dealership, and then I'm going to go see an attorney if they won't fix it. Okay? I'm not sure you got anything to stand on, but I'm gonna do that. The second thing I'm gonna do is I'm gonna buy a used Jaguar engine from a salvage yard and have a anybody but this dealership change the engine out. And that will be eight or $10,000. It will not be $35,000. And you need to fix the car. It's too expensive to just let it sit there melted down. Rachel, do you ever get these sketchy text messages that are like, hey, you need to update your address and verify so we can get you the package you didn't order?

[John Deloney]

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

[Dave Ramsey]

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

[John Deloney]

Yeah, they do. Delete Me actually goes in and removes your information from data broker websites. And it is an incredible service that everyone needs.

[Dave Ramsey]

And there's a lot of shady companies out there that solely exist to sell your personal data to bad guys. And that means your info, like your email address, your home address, your kids names, your name, everything is just out there for scammers and spammers to find.

[John Deloney]

So Much.

[Dave Ramsey]

But delete me will delete your data, hence the name. It's gone. They'll wipe it out for you so you can sleep easy.

[John Deloney]

That's right. And then once they remove your information, then they're going to send you a detailed report telling you where they found your information, when they removed it, how many hours they've saved you. I mean, it is incredible. So detailed, and it's beautiful.

[Dave Ramsey]

Get this. So far, they've reviewed 27,000 listings on my behalf, remove me from 240 data broker sites, and save me 77 hours of time. It's incredible.

[John Deloney]

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

[Dave Ramsey]

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

[John Deloney]

Again, that's joins late me.com Ramsey make sure to check it out. You guys.

[Dave Ramsey]

Joey is with us. Joey is in Cincinnati. Hi, Joey. How are you?

[Rachel Cruz]

I'm doing well. How are you both doing?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than we deserve. What's up in your world?

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, I've had a very stressful past week. I found out that I was pregnant with my second child, and my partner was just not ready to take on that responsibility, so he left. The good news is that I don't really have much debt. I just have a car payment. Now I'm just confused on where to go from here. I started out with your debt snowball, and since I only have one thing, I was ready to, you know, attack it. Pay 1600amonth extra and wipe it out by the end of this year. But now, since the baby's coming, I don't know what to do. Do I. Do I still do that? Do I save for the baby? Like, what do I do at this point, I'm just so confused.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm sorry, kiddo. How old are you?

[Rachel Cruz]

32. So I. I feel like I'm too old to be having these problems.

[Dave Ramsey]

Who's the. Who's the dad of the other kid? Same guy.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm sorry. Yes, you're first. So you have two children with the guy that left?

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, yes, one, and then one baking in the other.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's what I mean. Okay. I count baking. Okay. All right.

[Rachel Cruz]

What do you make after taxes with no side hustles? It's 4,500amonth that I take home by myself. I started listening to your show a few months ago, so I started doing side hustles. Now I bring around like 5,500 home. I just don't know if that's sustainable long term as the pregnancy gets.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, it won't be. It won't be. That's not reasonable. You've got to take care of you and the baby as you progress in the early stages. You, you know, you got to work around maybe morning sickness or something, but you can work for a while longer, but then you're going to run into this. So. No. What we teach folks to do when you have a baby on the way or you're facing some. Some kind of a storm of some kind is stop the baby steps, stop your debt snowball and pile up cash. So I want you to stack cash. I want you to get the biggest possible pile of cash you can get between now and baby. Treat it like you're paying off debt.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

You got. Have you got health insurance?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right. So can you save $2,000 a month?

[Rachel Cruz]

Definitely. I can definitely do that.

[Dave Ramsey]

What could you save? What's the most you could save.

[Rachel Cruz]

With the side hustle? I think maybe like 2,800.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, I'm gonna call it three. I'm gonna call it 3,000 for five months. That's 15 grand.

[John Deloney]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And then it slows down to maybe a thousand a month as you reach towards the delivery date. Okay, so maybe you're gonna have between 15 and $20,000 piled in an account that gives me a lot more peace for you delivering this baby with a smile.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Have you got health insurance?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes. Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good. Okay, so you need to contact them and find out what your out of pocket is going to be for labor and delivery with your health insurance policy.

[John Deloney]

And with appointments, OB appointments and everything. Yeah, the whole thing.

[Dave Ramsey]

I want you to have a baby budget, okay. To get ready for that part of it. So here's what happens at the end of this story, and it's going to be a great story. At the end of the story, you come home with a brand new, beautiful baby and you've got 15 or $20,000 in the bank. You write a check and pay off your debts and you finish. You start your baby steps again and you build your emergency fund. And now you're a mama bear against the world. And you're going to be one of those warrior princesses that goes and makes things happen as a single mom. You're a hero. You're a hero. You suck at picking men, but you're a hero.

[John Deloney]

Or he. Or he sucks.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, he sucks. He sucks. But you picked him Yeah, I mean, he's awful.

[John Deloney]

Oh, my God.

[Dave Ramsey]

And besides that, I don't know that. I don't know the laws in Ohio, but most states have a law that if you make a baby, you get to help pay for it. Men. And so I'm going to go ahead and contact human services in your area and find out what we can do to get this deadbeat jerk to start writing checks for these two children.

[John Deloney]

How old? How old? Your first one, he's 12 now. He's 12 years old.

[Dave Ramsey]

You've been with this guy 12 years?

[Rachel Cruz]

14 years. Wow.

[John Deloney]

Man.

[Dave Ramsey]

Man, you're hard.

[John Deloney]

That's. That's a. That's a grief in of itself, is a relationship. I mean, that's a. That's a divorce.

[Dave Ramsey]

So he did. He mentioned the fact that he needs to start writing checks to you for kids?

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, he asked me how much money I want.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'll tell you how much money I want. I want a third of your salary.

[Rachel Cruz]

To be honest, I. All of my emotions, because this has been so shocking, because I had an iud, so I wasn't planning for this. All of my emotions have just been spent on, like, surviving and not dealing with him. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

But at some point in this process, he gets to be the financial daddy, whether he wanted to be or not, because that's what the law says. And I don't know what child support ratios are in your state, but you need to find that piece of information out and you need to let him know that that piece of information is coming his way. Yeah. Because, I mean, if he. If he started writing you a check right now for three grand a month wouldn't make me mad. It helps these numbers, right?

[Rachel Cruz]

It does. It definitely does.

[John Deloney]

And how much?

[Dave Ramsey]

I don't want responsibility, so I'm leaving. Tough, buddy. You made a baby. The law says you got responsibility. That's how this works.

[John Deloney]

Do you have a good support system around you? Do you have family or anyone?

[Rachel Cruz]

I have a church that I started going to, and I also have, like, an international students group that I volunteer at. And while they're like little kids, they're like. They feel like family to me.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. Now, I want you to go sit down with your pastor at the new church, and with no shame, say, this is where I am. And I just want to let you know I'm here trying to learn about God and start my life fresh spiritually, because this is a new church to me, and I've got this situation with these two kids, and I'm by myself. And I think you'll see if it's a decent church and it probably is. You're going to see some wonderful people start putting their arms around you in a lot of different ways. But they won't do that if you don't tell them. Okay? They're not mind readers.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay. I know.

[Dave Ramsey]

You're gonna be okay. As a matter of fact, you're gonna be better than if this hadn't happened. You're gonna be okay. You're stronger than you think you are right now.

[John Deloney]

Yeah. You're at, you're at the bottom of it emotionally, right? From a. From a relationship breakup, the news of a pregnant. I mean, you're. Yeah, you're at the. It's. It's exhausting. I can only imagine. So it goes up from here. It really does. But yeah, man, we run into single moms all the time on this show and it is incredible, incredible what they do when they rise to the occasion. And you're going to be that. You're a great mom already. I mean, you have a 12 year old, so, man, we are cheering for you. I did want to ask from a financial standpoint, how much do you have left on your car to pay off? You said it's your only debt.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. So I have 14,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, perfect.

[John Deloney]

Okay, that's great. Yeah. Because to the number, like a big.

[Rachel Cruz]

Lump sum in it. No, no, no, no.

[Dave Ramsey]

I want you to pile up cash.

[Rachel Cruz]

I know, but that was two months ago.

[John Deloney]

She already did it. She already did it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, you already put a lump sum on it? Oh, I'm sorry. I thought she said you want to.

[John Deloney]

Yeah, yeah. No, no, no. So, yeah, but, but to the numbers earlier, Joey, you could see that. Yeah. I mean, by the time baby comes and when you come home, everything's good, you'll have this car paid off.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. When baby comes home and you're healthy and the baby's healthy and there. And you don't need this money for anything, you write a check and pay off the car that day. You're free. So you don't really lose any ground net net on your get out of debt plan.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

We're just, we're just doing the. We're just doing the hokey pokey a little bit. We're setting it to the side and then we're going to put the right foot in. Then the left foot in. Right. Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay. Thank you both.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey, Joey, listen, if you need us, we're here. You call anytime, okay, kid?

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

We got you.

[Rachel Cruz]

Have a great day.

[Dave Ramsey]

You call that pastor today? You call Human services and find out what your rights are on child support. Those are two calls you make today. And you start stacking cash. Stacking cash. Stacking cash. You're gonna be fine. You're a lot stronger than your voice sounds right now. I can tell. This is the Ramsey. Hey, guys, what's up? It's Jade Warshaw. And look, if there's anybody who knows about student loan debt, it's me. My husband and I had $280,000 of it, but we were able to dig ourselves out. And you can, too. If your student loan payment and interest rate are burying you, refinancing could be the solution. Now, I recommend contacting my friends at Laurel Road today through their online application. You can get an initial rate quote in less than five minutes. And if you have a more complex situation, you can schedule 30 minutes to talk to an actual human being. Thank goodness Laurel Road makes it simple. There are no fees involved and you could save thousands over the life of your loan. Remember, you should only refinance if it makes sense in your situation. So if you're looking for a low rate or a shorter term so that you can pay off these student loans fast, talk to my friends at Laurel Road about their competitive interest rates and how you could actually get a lower rate by signing up for autopay. Listen, nobody's coming to save you from your student loan debt. If you want it gone, you can't mess around. Go to LaurelRoad.com Ramsey to find out more about student loan refinancing.

[Rachel Cruz]

Again, that's LaurelRoad.com Ramsey.

[Dave Ramsey]

So Dr. John DeLoney and I are on tour. We were in Durham, North Carolina last night. We're in Atlanta tomorrow night, April 25th, doing the money and Relationships tour. We'll also be in Phoenix on May 5, Fort Worth on May 7, Kansas City on May 9. You can still get tickets to these, except Kansas City is sold out. I think there's some singles in the seats available. If you want to sit apart and there's more than one of you, you could come. Or if you want to come as a single, you can get into Kansas City, but they're basically gone there. Ramsey solutions.com tour we'd love to have you. If you're on YouTube or podcast, click the link in the show notes. Rachel Last night, one of the things Dr. John and I talked about was one of the. One of the topics that the audience selected. The audience votes on the topics each night for these was the the marriage advantage. And we were telling them that one piece of research that's been out there, I think it's been done probably five or six times. I've seen it over 30 years. I've seen, you know, fresh versions of the same research has confirmed. The most recent piece confirms what we call the success sequence. And these numbers are statistically mind blowing to me. Okay? The success sequence is this. If you are a millennial or younger and you graduate from high school or higher and have not had a baby yet, and you get a full time job and have not had a baby yet, and you get married at age 20 or older and have not had a baby yet. In other words, if you graduate from high school, get a job, and get married at age 20 before you have children, you have a 97% probability of being outside of poverty in the middle class. Only 3% of the people that follow that basic sequence. That was very standard in 1960. You would be shamed in a neighborhood if you didn't do those things. In 1960, if you had babies out of wedlock, meaning you weren't married when you had babies, you had a 97%.

[John Deloney]

Graduated from high school.

[Dave Ramsey]

You graduated from high school, you got a job. You got a job and you get married at age 20 or later, and then, and only then do you have babies and you're married. You're not shacking up, you're not my partner. We're not. It's not any of that, okay? It's. That's. When you follow that sequence, you have a 97. There's very few things in this life that you have a 97% chance of doing. Very few things. I'm not sure I have a 97% chance of getting home without getting in a car wreck. I mean, really, that's. Those numbers, not the way you drive. Staggering. They're staggering. You're right about that. Point taken.

[John Deloney]

Everyone knows.

[Dave Ramsey]

I was like, everybody in the booth is nodding about Dave's driving. I drive like I'm in a race all the time, and I have my whole life, but aside from my driving, that's not the point. Okay? 97%. I mean, so if you, if you're, if you like Noah, teenager, tell them, here's a 97% chance that you're not in poverty in America, that you're in the middle class. Just do these simple things in freaking order. It changes everything. The audience was sitting there with their mouth open when I was going through this stuff. And then we start pulling out the other numbers, which if you are 35 years old and you're married, Your net worth is on average 15 times higher than a single female and 5 times higher than a single male. Interesting. Single meaning including people you live with that you're not married to. Wow.

[John Deloney]

Well, because it's two incomes coming together.

[Dave Ramsey]

It is two incomes coming in. But guess what, there's two incomes coming in if you're shacking up.

[John Deloney]

But they don't count to that study. Yeah, correct. Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Because it's not a household.

[John Deloney]

They didn't count that yet.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you can just decide, I'm going to leave. I don't want the responsibility. You can just decide that. And thus you end up with this totally. Men in their 30s and 40s make 26% more income that are married than unmarried males in the same bracket. I think our wives must be whipping us like a rented mule and sending us out the door. That's all I can figure. Get your butt out there and get to work. I mean, you have a reason to work. You've got to pay for stuff.

[John Deloney]

Yeah. Because it's more than you.

[Dave Ramsey]

I mean, yeah, there's a nobility to it. I don't know, there's a lot of reasons for it, but that's the actual data. These are actual facts. And we can supp. We can have, you know, theorize about what causes that.

[John Deloney]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

But it's very interesting. The advantage of a good long lasting marriage. Oh. Men in a good high quality marriage live nine years longer than men that aren't. I know. She's nagging on me about eating that again. Don't tell me I can't eat that again. You're bothering me. And quit trying to make me healthy. You're killing me. As a matter of fact, you're not. You're making me live 10 years longer on average. I mean, that's. Isn't that interesting? Women live five years longer on average.

[John Deloney]

Not as much.

[Dave Ramsey]

We're. No, we're not as much help to you as you are to us.

[John Deloney]

Exactly. I was thinking. You're welcome.

[Dave Ramsey]

You're welcome.

[John Deloney]

Oh, man. You know what? And from not no data, just Rachel's life. I know so many great single women.

[Dave Ramsey]

I do too.

[John Deloney]

So many great single. I don't know where all the dudes. I'm like, guys, come on, come on, guys. Make the first move. Come on. But man, they just, you know, the.

[Dave Ramsey]

First move is become a great single guy. That's a big move right there.

[John Deloney]

I know, I know.

[Dave Ramsey]

But be eligible. Be an eligible bachelor.

[John Deloney]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

There's some old friends.

[John Deloney]

Funny is so many girls on our team like that. We do like, you know, shoots with and content, all of them. The ones that are single are like, literally, if he says, I own a home, they're like, oh, my gosh. Because the amount of guys that just don't, they're just kind of like, I'm good, I'll just like. It's just like there's not this, like, feeling of proactiveness as much. Right. I know it's not true for every guy. So I'm not gonna like, you know.

[Dave Ramsey]

Stereotype paint with too broad a brush, but. Yeah, I know.

[John Deloney]

But I do find that a lot, a lot of girls that are in their, like, late 20s and early 30s that are, you know, they're ready, they're like, I would love to be married, but all these guys that they meet.

[Dave Ramsey]

I gotta find somebody. I gotta find somebody that's up. Yeah.

[John Deloney]

And if they own a home, they're just like, oh, my gosh, this is amazing. He owns a home. Right?

[Dave Ramsey]

So it's just like, man, he's got a job.

[John Deloney]

Yeah, exact. I know. So. Oh, man, that's interesting though. That's good data.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's very interesting.

[John Deloney]

Yeah, it is.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you know, these are things you can control. They're variables, you, choices in your life, which you make choices.

[John Deloney]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you can control your choices and create. When you control the controllables, your path to high quality relationships, to happiness, your path to wealth is you have a higher probability of hitting those. And so that's very interesting. You know, the other one we throw out, and this was a big hit on Instagram, but that the data shows us that couples that can agree on four things have a very high probability of staying together if they agree on these four things. Before marriage, the number one cause of divorce in North America, day money fights and money problems. So when you can agree on money, what we're going to do with it, how we're going to handle it, debt, savings, investing, all that kind of stuff, lifestyle, all that, when you can agree on that ahead of time, not perfectly, but align on the values around it, the principles around it. Number two, agree on religion, be in the same religion, and regularly attend a house of worship of your religion, whatever it is. And number three, agree on kids. Are we going to have them? How many and how they going to be treated? Who's going to run the house, us or them? Are we helicopters or are we in charge of the asylum? And number four, how do we deal with the extended family, how you deal with his mother, her father, whatever, all that stuff. How do we deal with all that. And so extended family, but it tapers off like that. I mean, but if you can be an in depth pre marriage counseling agreement on those four things, your probability of your marriage sticking is very high. I can, I can give you about four other variables that'll get you up in the 90 percentile that you will still be married 25 years later. And so you graduate from school, graduate from college again, regularly attending a house of worship, make $50,000 a year or more household income. You put all these things in there, the numbers just go up, up, up and up on probability of success. And these are controllables. This is the Ramsey show.

[John Deloney]

Okay, you guys. 54% of Americans say it's a challenge to save on groceries without sacrificing quality. That's why I'm thrilled to tell you about Aldi. Aldi gives you simpler, better food choices that can save your family nearly $4,000 a year. From the daily essentials to organic produce, fresh meat and more, Aldi has what you need at prices that won't bust your budget. So stop paying more and start shopping smarter at Aldi, where you'll save with the lowest prices of any national grocery store. Find a store near your today@aldi. That's Aldi US.

[Dave Ramsey]

This show is sponsored by Better Help. All right, you've heard me say it.

[John Deloney]

A thousand times and I'm going to keep saying it. You're worth being well. And listen, therapy can help.

[Rachel Cruz]

I see a therapist and let's be.

[Dave Ramsey]

Honest, a lot of you should too. But let's be real, taking that first.

[John Deloney]

Step to see a therapist can feel overwhelming. Maybe it's the time. Maybe you have some preconceived notions about therapy.

[Dave Ramsey]

Maybe it's the cost. But we spend money on gym memberships, organic groceries, essential oils, Little league practices, tracker watches.

[John Deloney]

But for some reason, when it comes to our mental and emotional well being, we hesitate.

[Dave Ramsey]

Your mental and emotional health are just.

[John Deloney]

As important as your physical health.

[Dave Ramsey]

And the good news, Better Help makes.

[John Deloney]

Therapy more affordable and convenient than ever. It's online so you can talk with.

[Dave Ramsey]

Your therapist when it works for your schedule.

[John Deloney]

No more waiting rooms, no long commutes and no six month waiting lists.

[Dave Ramsey]

You just get online and fill out.

[John Deloney]

A short survey to get matched with a licensed therapist.

[Rachel Cruz]

And if it's not the right fit.

[John Deloney]

You can switch at any time for no extra cost.

[Rachel Cruz]

Your well being is worth it.

[John Deloney]

Visit betterhelp.com DeLoney to get started. That's BetterHelp H E L P.com DeLoney.

[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. Rachel Cruz, number one best selling author, host of the Rachel Cruze show, co host of Smart Money Happy Hour and my daughter is my co host today. Open phones here at Triple 882-55-5225. Catherine is in Pittsburgh. Hey Catherine, how are you?

[Rachel Cruz]

Hi, good afternoon. Thanks for having me.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sure. What's up?

[Rachel Cruz]

Hey. I am getting involved in my mom's estate. She's 74 years old and her husband is 77 years old. They are, and they live on a income between Social Security and retirement of about $47,000 a year. My mom had inherited from her sister on a payable upon death account a fairly decent amount of money that she spent like within a month before a family member contested the will. And 10 years later, my mom is being forced to pay that money back to the tune of $160,000. And my mom is not in the. They own their house free and clear. But I'm not sure exactly how to navigate this next step. They're charging her with embezzlement because she has not paid this money back. So she can either go to jail or somehow, if we can come up with some soluble financial plan. So she's in credit card debt to the tune about 125,000. So she does not qualify to put a loan against her house, which would. It's probably around $250,000 value.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm confused how she lost this.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, exactly.

[Dave Ramsey]

Payable on death is a simple thing. It is, but it, unless she fraudulently did a transaction, she. There shouldn't be any criminal involved. The will, the will does not supersede payable on death.

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, according to the courts and the lawyers that we've had, which I'm not saying they were quality lawyers at this point. I mean, it's just been in the court system for 10 years that it's just been back and forth between that lawyer and this is my aunt's estate. And when she died, she didn't. The lawyer that designed her will three months prior to her passing from cancer was. He left her husband completely out of the will, didn't acknowledge him, didn't recognize him. So that's why part of this reclaimable estate comes into play because they were married over 15 years. So he's entitled to 50% of her reclaimable estate, which she had left the house to my mom, also with her daughter. So they're co owners on that house.

[Dave Ramsey]

And what's the status of that house?

[Rachel Cruz]

He's living there. He's living there. The whole plan was my aunt to.

[Dave Ramsey]

So she's the co owner on it, but nobody's. But there's no ruling against her on that?

[Rachel Cruz]

Correct.

[Dave Ramsey]

Why can you offset that?

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, we offered to give him the house in exchange because he's lived there all these years, but he doesn't want the house because he's in the early stages of dementia and his family just wants the money.

[Dave Ramsey]

Could you sell the house then? Sell the house?

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, the other person that owns the house isn't on board to sell the house. My aunt had given, when she wrote in the deed, like she gave us a dollar amount. Like if we wanted to buy each other out, this would be the dollar amount. So I presented that offer to the other owner and said, hey, you know, I'll buy you out. And she's like, I don't want to sell. And I'm like, okay, what do I do now? Then the lawyer says that I have to do partition lawsuit in order to force the sale, which then goes to public auction instead of market. So you get half the price of what you would.

[Dave Ramsey]

If you don't know it doesn't necessarily go to public auction. The partition sale can just demand the sale within 90 days and you put a real estate agent on it.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay. So that. So I know that that's an option.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's where the money needs to come from because apparently she's got to pay this back. I'm a little shocked. I. I'm not an attorney, but I was under the impression pay on debt superseded any will. And. But I don't know. I'm not an attorney and I'm certainly not an attorney.

[John Deloney]

Why didn't she put her husband in the will? Was she of sound mind? Is that what he came back to and said?

[Rachel Cruz]

No, she was of sound mind. He doesn't read or he doesn't write. And she was afraid that his family would take advantage of him because they've always just been like that. So she put my mom in charge so that my mom would always make sure that he had a place to live. The taxes and insurance were always paid and yada, yada, yada. So that was the ultimate plan. But of course, he. We can't talk to him or anything because of this case that's been happening.

[Dave Ramsey]

So, yeah, I'm gonna force the sale of the other house and find the money to pay this back. Your mom and dad's house, what's it worth?

[Rachel Cruz]

Around 250.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. And the balance on this judgment is how much?

[Rachel Cruz]

160.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[John Deloney]

And she's got 120 in credit card debt.

[Rachel Cruz]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

So I don't like these. I don't like anything in this conversation. And you don't either. It's not fun. But before I go to jail, I'm selling my house.

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, that, and they live in Ohio, so I wasn't sure that. I don't. I. My lawyer's checking in to see what those laws are. If they can force that sale or that lien on that sale.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, I'm talking about your mom and dad's house.

[Rachel Cruz]

Right, but yeah, that's what I'm saying. It's in Ohio. This property and this happening in West.

[Dave Ramsey]

Virginia, they have changed this. What I'm, what I'm also confused about is, are they saying because it was a federally insured bank that she wrongly took the money on a pod account on a paid on death account and they're calling that a federal crime? Well, she's actually been charged with a federal crime, correct?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

You're sure?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes, yes, most definitely.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, then they had. They had to. Then they had to because it's a federally insured an FDIC bank that, that, you know, monkeying with them makes it a federal crime is the problem. But I don't understand how she monkeyed with them. I thought it was a civil matter, but I'm. Again, I'm not an attorney. I'm just aghast at this whole story.

[Rachel Cruz]

So that's what our. We went from our paid. Because he doesn't do our paid lawyer, he doesn't do criminal law. And again, it's this, it's my uncle's family that's forcing the state to file these charges against.

[Dave Ramsey]

Not the state, it's the fed. Yeah. Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay, so.

[Dave Ramsey]

So that's FBI.

[Rachel Cruz]

And that's what saying that if you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Monkey with a federal bank, it's the FBI that files the charges.

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, that's what we don't understand, the embezzlement charges because technically she was entitled to this money.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's what I mean. I don't understand them either. It doesn't make sense at all. If you were, if you did a fraudulent transaction and stole the money out of the account, I can imagine that the feds would get down on your head. That makes sense. But this was not fraudulent in any way. It was simply functioning off of the pod, the paid on death. I don't know. Again, I'm just, I'm practicing law here on the Air. Which is really dumb because I'm not any good at it. So. All right. So, yeah, I'm forcing the sale of the other house with a petition. If I can't pull that off, your mom and dad have to sell their personal home. If there's no other way to stop these criminal charges, because I'm not putting a 74 year old in jail, I will sell my home before I do that. I'll sell her home before I do that. So I. But I can't even imagine how we got here. But you don't sound like someone that's blowing this out. It sounds like you actually know what you're talking about. And so that makes me think I don't because I don't know how we got here. Wow. Scary man. People do your will. Tell everybody in the will how it's working and then tell the rest of them to shut up up before you die. If you're going to piss people off, do it before you die.

[John Deloney]

One last hurrah.

[Rachel Cruz]

Foreign.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey, George Camel here. So you're thinking about buying or selling your home? It's exciting, but there's a lot to think about and all those decisions can feel overwhelming. Well, here's the good news. You don't have to tackle the process alone. Ramsey's real estate home base is the place to find all of your free tools and resources for help to get prepared to buy or sell your home with confidence. You'll find calculators, start to finish guides, a podcast, and even an in depth video course hosted by yours truly. What's not to love? So if you're ready to take the next steps toward your home goals, go to ramseysolutions.com realestate that's ramseysolutions.com realestate our question of the day is brought to you by. Why refi if you've got default halted private student loans, that means you don't have any momentum. Well, we get that. No judgment. But also, nobody's coming to bail you out. So take charge. @yrefi.com Ramsey they offer refinancing to a low fixed rate built just for you. You can get back on schedule and then get them paid off. It's cool. Private student loans that are in default, that's the letter Y r e f y.com Ramsey might not be in all states.

[John Deloney]

Today's question comes from Ian in Louisiana. My partner. My partner and I recently had our first kid. Before we were together, I used to. I used to save money like crazy. Fast forward to now and I realized she has a massive amount of credit card debt and student loan debt. She also has a mortgage on her house that's very high. She has a job, makes her payments fairly regularly, but there's no sense of urgency to pay anything off. For the first time in my life, I feel like I can't save any money because I'm trying to keep her and our household afloat. I don't know if there's a situation. I don't know if there's a solution, but there's resentment building in me, and I don't know what to do. Well, this goes back to what we were talking about in an earlier segment, last hour, of playing house and just trying to do life together. And it's not working. Yep, it's not working because, I mean, I don't know if there's a solution. Well, you guys are living together and you have a baby.

[Dave Ramsey]

Maybe you get married about seven marriage.

[John Deloney]

Seminars or a lot of therapy.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. And. Or.

[John Deloney]

Yeah, yeah. And start working together as a team, and all of a sudden stuff starts moving and happening. But this whole idea of just trying to play like we are married and we're doing life together, but we're not really. And because of that, she has these over here. I have this. You can't build a life together. You just can't.

[Dave Ramsey]

You can make a human together, but you can't seem to pay your bills together.

[John Deloney]

Well, once.

[Dave Ramsey]

I mean, seriously, it's. That means this. This way, she has a house. You don't.

[John Deloney]

That's a good point. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

You know, so. I mean, so what would I do if I were in your shoes? I'll stop all the sarcasm. It's hard for me, but I will stop it for. For a moment. It's a. It's a spiritual gift, but I'll stop it for a moment. Okay. What would I actually do if I sat down with you and was not just poking fun at you? I would say, young man, the best thing you can do for this young lady, for you and for this baby, for your future, the highest probability of you being able to have a quality life and build wealth is for you to get married as a part of getting married. Sit down with a good marriage counselor and act like you're doing pre marriage counseling. It's too late, but you need to do pre marriage counseling and start learning to work together. I would put you into our class, Financial Peace University, where you both have a point of discussion about debt, about budgeting, about living on a plan for our future. But you're hovering around the fringes of this, throwing grenades back at her. And she's been doing the best she knows how to do while you stand on the outside looking in. And it's time for you to step up. You've made a baby. So step up, take care of business, be a man and the two of you sit down together, get married and start planning a future together. And then you have footing to have a discussion about. Honey, I need to be in. It's very important that for the future of our child and the future of our marriage that we are on the same page on getting out of debt, on the same page on spending, on the same page on saving money and investing for the future of this child, on the same page with money in general. And we've got to spend some time and effort on that. It's time for us both to do adulting stuff. And I've let you down to this point, but I'm not going to anymore. And I would be very proactive in that discussion and in that part of your relationship. And then, and only then do you have the footing relationally, legally, everything else to bring her to the table and have a discussion, a serious adult discussion about let's, let's both be grown ups and let's get this mess cleaned up. So, but, but yeah, that's what I would do now. I don't know if you're going to do any of that. I kind of doubt it actually. And so I think this is going to. If you don't, I'll go ahead and tell you what's going to happen. You're both going to struggle and this kid is in a world of hurt because its parents are nuts. That's what's really going to happen if you don't fix this. So it's going to be a long, hard life. And so, but you can turn it around. Lots of people turn it around. They just make a decision. Today I'm going to change. And you. That's the beautiful thing about human behavior. You can just look at it and decide that stuff. That's simple. Dave is in Phoenix. Hey Dave. How are you doing?

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, thanks. How about yourself?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. How can I help?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, so my wife and I were hoping to gain perspective around our financial situation and whether it's reasonable for us to start thinking about scaling back from a traditional 9 to 5 situation.

[Dave Ramsey]

How old are you?

[Rachel Cruz]

39. Yeah, we're both late 30s.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. And what's your net worth?

[Rachel Cruz]

It's around 2.8 million.

[Dave Ramsey]

Way to Go.

[John Deloney]

Great job.

[Dave Ramsey]

What is it you want to do with your life?

[Rachel Cruz]

Well, you know, maybe.

[Dave Ramsey]

I hope you're not gonna tell me to sit on your butt.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. You know, do nothing. No. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we've been, you know, we. We put off traveling. We've been together for about eight years, and, you know, that's something that we wanted to do. And so I know that you can travel and still work and stuff, and, and, and, and we would still want to work and, and earn an income.

[Dave Ramsey]

And what do y'all do? What do y'all do for a living now?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, so she does hair, you know, kind of like, you know, hair and makeup stuff. And then I do online stuff, like e commerce stuff.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you don't have a nine to five?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, that's it. That's the nine to five. It's nine to five.

[Dave Ramsey]

You do E. Commerce in your living room.

[John Deloney]

Is it. Is it flexible or you have to like, be on the clock at nine with your, with your job.

[Dave Ramsey]

You work for somebody else? I do, yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

I work for a company, so I'm employed.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, I misunderstand.

[John Deloney]

Is she on her own? Does she freelance or is she working, like, for an agency?

[Rachel Cruz]

So she, she does a chair rental, but.

[John Deloney]

Oh, okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

I mean, she's still a regular. Yeah, she's a regular client. So she services.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[John Deloney]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right. So where'd the 2.8 million come from?

[Rachel Cruz]

Just like 20 years of being frugal and working hard.

[Dave Ramsey]

But you said you were 30.

[John Deloney]

39.

[Dave Ramsey]

39. Oh, okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

39.

[Dave Ramsey]

So, yeah, basically 40. Okay. Yep.

[Rachel Cruz]

And then there was some liquidation of some, you know, stocks and that sort of stuff.

[John Deloney]

Is your house.

[Rachel Cruz]

It's broken up between.

[John Deloney]

I'm sorry, is the 2. The 2.8 include your home?

[Dave Ramsey]

No.

[Rachel Cruz]

So we actually rent, funny enough, but the 2.8 is broken down between. There's about 1.8 in cash that sits in like, CDs and high interest savings accounts. Why there's about a million in.

[Dave Ramsey]

You have 1.8 in high yield savings.

[Rachel Cruz]

I don't know.

[Dave Ramsey]

I don't either.

[John Deloney]

Maybe you go buy a house, Stace.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. No, I'm serious. I mean, let's say you made 3% on that and you could have made 12. 9% of million is 90,000 bucks a year you're losing. So, yeah, you need to get that invested. That's a sidebar, though. So you need to get with a smartvestor pro and sit down and start laying out an investment game plan. But, yes, you could start doing freelance with your Skills from the road, from your laptop. And you guys can travel and your wife could go to two weeks a month and you guys could travel and your income wouldn't drop that much. What I don't want you to do is do nothing because it's not good for the soul. Yeah, your soul. Your soul is better when you were serving. You're happier when you find some way to add value to someone else's life. And just going around the world and collecting margaritas doesn't do that.

[John Deloney]

Might for a year.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, it does not. It does not do that. It. Somewhere around the. Somewhere around the 11th day, it starts to go away.

[John Deloney]

I'll tell Cabo Dave that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I'm just telling you. Cabo Dave. Cabo. I'm speaking from experience. Somewhere around the 11th day. But I'm still. I'm still plugged in when I'm in Cabo. You are the. Anyway, that this idea that we completely retire and kick back at 39 years old and have no gainful anything is not a good plan.

[John Deloney]

But you guys can, can shift what you've been doing.

[Dave Ramsey]

You can change how you're doing it, though, for sure. And I would, I would get a house, Dave, and get a house and get that money invested. Yeah.

[John Deloney]

Great job, though. Well done to both you and your wife.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. Incredible.

[John Deloney]

Great job.

[Dave Ramsey]

Incredible. Young millionaire. Wow.

[John Deloney]

It's amazing. There's a time in your life and at the baby steps for renting, but you don't want to do it forever because when you rent, you're still paying for a mortgage, just somebody else's. Plus rent means instability in your budgets because it always goes up, never down. So when you're ready to buy, make sure you work with a mortgage partner. You can rely on Churchill Mortgage. Churchill is Ramsey trusted to help you make the move from renting to home ownership. Wisely, Churchill understands that when you buy a home the Ramsey way, your mortgage payment will be a consistent, manageable part of your monthly budget. Plus, when your home is paid off, that was your largest, largest expense. Now it's extra money in your pocket and an asset towards turning you into a baby steps millionaire. Get started on the American dream of home ownership [e-mail] that's churchillmortgage.com.

[Dave Ramsey]

Listen, guys, I've heard just about every excuse for why folks think they can't get ahead with money. So let's go ahead and settle this right now. You get the final say on what happens with your money. That's why you have to start telling Your money where to go so you can stop wondering where it went. So if you're gonna start winning with money, you have to get on a budget. The easiest way to get started and stick to it is with the EveryDollar budget app. It'll help you make a plan for every single dollar coming in and every single dollar going out every single month. And guess what? It's free. So no excuses. Download every dollar in the app store or Google Play today. Our every dollar team has multiple free trainings for you this month. Every dollar is about more than just budgeting. It's about how to handle money. And it is expanding and growing and the services built inside of it are new every week. And so we're constantly growing. This team is doing an incredible job. So if you want to learn how to handle money, get in the every dollar app and you can join live to learn how to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle. In just 90 days, we're going to give you a step by step walkthrough of the EveryDollar app and you get your biggest budgeting questions answered live in the Q and a. Almost 200,000 people have done this. They just done these trainings. I mean, millions of people have downloaded the app, but a couple hundred thousand have done these trainings. So spots are limited. Sign up now. It's a free training. Go to everydollar.com webinar Jennifer is in Seattle. Hi, Jennifer. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Rachel Cruz]

Hi. Thank you.

[Dave Ramsey]

What's up?

[Rachel Cruz]

So my husband and I moved back to my hometown about a year and a half ago with our four kids. We purchased a pizzeria that was failing. We basically purchased assets because no processes employees. We had to change everything. And my question is, do we continue or do we close? We are currently. We have cut all costs. You know, cost of goods are down, all of that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Why was it failing and why is it failing?

[Rachel Cruz]

Great question. It was failing because it was. The previous owner was using expired products. The culture of the employees was toxic. So we were able to turn all that. We turned the culture and we're slowly going upward. But we made mistakes in the beginning that are basically have us by the throat. My husband and I are not taking a wage, so we're basically off tips. We almost lost our house last year. We can't pay our taxes, but I don't know what to do. We don't feel like this is forever. I'm ready to move on, to be honest, but I don't know what the wise decision would be in the, the one person that I wanted wisdom from was you. In this arena, it's been rough, scary.

[Dave Ramsey]

You work your, you work your fingers to the bone, then you got bony fingers.

[Rachel Cruz]

100%.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. It's no fun. Okay, here's what you need to do. You need to have. Okay, you guys need to have a logical reason to chart an increase in profits forecasted over the coming 12 months. Okay, so like for instance, what were your profits three months ago for the month? Profits?

[Rachel Cruz]

We haven't been, to be honest. We've been just slowly going backwards.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you're not, you're not, you're not moving up, up. We're.

[Rachel Cruz]

No, no, no. We're not in the profit arena. I think. I guess my, my statement about moving forward is, you know, you're losing less. So I guess we are not. We are month to month. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you're not profitable.

[Rachel Cruz]

We're not, no. And we took advice from a business owner we trusted. We've never been in business. We were debt free when we moved here and we didn't know, you know, what? You don't know, you don't know.

[Dave Ramsey]

So how much debt do you have?

[Rachel Cruz]

All sorts of. We have a lot. Personal credit cards. We have 37,000. We were slapped with an $8,000 penalty from L and I, from an employee that we inherited. We didn't know we had to fire our accountant. So, you know, that gets all put on me. And we owe like 15,000 to the DoR and then we purchased the business by an owner contract. So we owe him about 115,000.

[John Deloney]

115 or 50.

[Rachel Cruz]

Sorry. 1151-151151-15000. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you didn't, you didn't have any cash? You didn't have any cash when you started?

[Rachel Cruz]

We had a little bit from the sale of our house in the. Where we came from. And we put everything here.

[Dave Ramsey]

What did you guys, what did you used to do for a living before you moved there?

[Rachel Cruz]

We were pastors. We did fine. Wait, we took your class, we taught it. It was great. And we've actually encountered three personal traumas within like a six month period after everything started to fall apart. So our mind space is not in a good spot and, you know, so word for sex.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. There's, there's, there's two things that determine when you walk away. Number one thing you determine is when you're out of gas. And I don't know where your husband is, but you're out of gas. Yeah. You ain't Getting fight left. Your fight all left.

[Rachel Cruz]

No. And I'm super strong.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's not a matter of. I didn't say about. I didn't say you're not strong. I said you're out of gas. There's a different thing. You can have a car that is very powerful, but when it's out of gas, it sits. Doesn't matter how strong, it doesn't matter how many horsepower the engine generates. It's out of gas. So, yeah. The second thing is Henry Cloud wrote a wonderful book called Necessary Endings. Henry is a good friend and one of the best writers, I think, on the planet on these kinds of things. And he says in anything, whether it's a job, a business, a relationship, whatever, you have a necessary ending when you lose hope, logically, that the future is getting better. A crazy example, in other words, that has nothing to do with your story would be like if you're married to an alcoholic and they promise they're going to get better. They promise they're going to go to rehab, they crash, they go to rehab, they crash, they go to rehab, and you finally go, I don't think this is going to get better. This has to end. And you end the relationship with the alcoholic. Okay, that's an example. In business, it would be. I can't see logically, a business way out. I don't see how this is going to turn a profit before we all starve to death over here.

[Rachel Cruz]

Right. We're close.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. And. And I don't hear the profits coming. I mean, if you told me there's some kind of a chart with the prophets, and it was hockey stick up and to the right, and we were just at the bottom of the hockey stick, but we're heading up. That's a plausible hopeful thing that we could reach and get a hold of. But so far, I haven't heard that you guys even know how to make a profit with a pizzeria. So what are. Can you sell the assets like they were sold to you?

[Rachel Cruz]

I think so. Yeah. We for sure have a contract. And we thought about that. We actually reached out to a business broker, a real estate agent.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

Just. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

If they would just take over your contract with the. If they would just take over your contract with the former owner, that would be a win.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And then you go clean up the credit card debt. You go clean up the 8K, the 15K. You can do that when you get jobs again.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, right.

[John Deloney]

But that 115, if someone else can take that over, is what you're Saying.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[John Deloney]

Contracted the business.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. If the former owner that you owe money, the 115 to, would agree to let someone else take over and release you from liability on that contract and that's all you get for the business, I'm going to call that a win.

[Rachel Cruz]

Me too.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. And then you go have to fight through the rest of the debt.

[John Deloney]

How hard is that to sell?

[Dave Ramsey]

It's not that hard at all. I don't know what assets are here, but you got a pizza oven, you got restaurant goods, you've got somewhat of leasehold improvements. I assume you're leasing the building, correct?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. We're in a big grocery store on a popular highway to the beach.

[Dave Ramsey]

But you don't own the real estate.

[Rachel Cruz]

No. No.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. But you've got this location and the lease would be assignable as a part of this too, and you could get out of that. Yeah. So if you can assign the debt to the former owner and assign the lease and call that a day, I'm probably taking it because I think you're out of gas and I don't think you see your way to sunshine.

[Rachel Cruz]

I don't.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. I don't. I don't hear it.

[John Deloney]

Would your husband agree, Jennifer? Does he feel this too?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[John Deloney]

Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. And we are. We're loyal. We don't quit.

[Dave Ramsey]

We just knowing. But listen, winners quit all the time. We quit doing stuff that's stupid and. And beating your head against the wall, you know. You quit doing stupid stuff. I quit doing stupid stuff all the time. I quit all the time. It's called experimenting. I found something that didn't work. The hypothesis didn't play. And your hypothesis in this didn't play. You guys go get some jobs and get. Get your emotional sanity back, your spiritual sanity back. And you can actually relax and lay your head on the pillow again. You've been through hell. I can hear it. I'm letting this thing go. If you can get it sold, I'm gonna work real hard to get it sold in the next 90 days to get my life back and then go back into the pasture or go back into something else. What if one night could change your future? You don't have to stay trapped in the same old patterns that have left you stuck in your money, relationships and your life. You can break the cycles that have kept you from moving forward. Dr. John DeLoney and I will show you how Live the Money and Relationships tour is starting this week. Join us in Louisville, Durham, Atlanta, Phoenix, Fort Worth or Kansas City. It's down to the Wire. So grab your [e-mail] tour. That's ramseysolutions.com tour.

[John Deloney]

Foreign.

[Dave Ramsey]

Asheville, North Carolina. Hi, Krista. Welcome to the Ramsey show.

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, my gosh.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hi. Hi. What's up?

[Rachel Cruz]

So I was calling because I have some questions about how to combine my finances with my fiance. We're getting married in 12 days.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yay.

[Rachel Cruz]

I. I know you guys really preach, you know, combining your and finances, and I really want to do that. Unfortunately, my fiance is really just kind of crushed by student debt, and he recently had a loan go to collections last week, and so that kind of turned our world upside down. And now I'm not sure how to move forward with combining our assets.

[Dave Ramsey]

How much student loan debt does he have?

[Rachel Cruz]

Oh, he has around 80,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

And what does he make? Make?

[Rachel Cruz]

He makes $22 an hour.

[Dave Ramsey]

Why?

[Rachel Cruz]

So he's a physical therapist assistant, and he went to a private university outside out of state. So he really just collected quite a bit during that time. And the loan that went to collections was.

[Dave Ramsey]

You can make $25 an hour at Target.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes, we are. He actually just sent an application yesterday. He's moving on to a different job and has.

[Dave Ramsey]

Is his degree in physical therapy?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes.

[John Deloney]

So how much are he making?

[Dave Ramsey]

Did he get his PT?

[Rachel Cruz]

He has his PTA.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, for assistance only.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And PT assistants don't make but $22. Or he just has the world's worst job. I don't know what they make. A PT generally makes in 70 or 80 grand.

[Rachel Cruz]

No, he makes an average of about. After taxes, he makes about 42,000 a year.

[Dave Ramsey]

But I mean, that's the market for a PT assistant with a PT assistant certification. That sucks.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Pay money to get that degree.

[Rachel Cruz]

I know. And I mean, we've moved on from that. He's looking at new jobs with great prospects. We're excited about that.

[John Deloney]

What are those gonna pay, do you know? More than 42.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah. So the first year he'll be making around $26 an hour, but after the first year, he'll bump up to about 39.

[John Deloney]

Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

Working? What do you mean? Okay, I'm self employed, so I make my. My monthly amount kind of ranges every month, but I average about 4 to 5,000amonth.

[Dave Ramsey]

Profit, Taxable income after everything, it really.

[Rachel Cruz]

Kind of drops down to about 38amonth.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you're not making any money either? Yeah. How long have you had this business?

[Rachel Cruz]

I. This is my second year in business.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. Is it growing?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good. It needs to. Okay, good, good. Because I mean, if you're going to run your own business, it's hard work, as you've noticed. You want to make more than minimum freaking wage.

[Rachel Cruz]

Absolutely.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. Okay, good. Because, I mean, you're. You're pouring on the coals, girl, to do what you're doing. I can tell. All right, so. All right, so you're gonna have a household income of approaching a hundred thousand. Why can we not pay off $80,000 in debt?

[John Deloney]

A hundred thousand? Where are you getting that?

[Dave Ramsey]

He's going to 39 an hour. In a year, she's making 40.

[John Deloney]

Yeah, that's where I got that in a year, though.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, but I mean, why can you not pay off? You can. First you could not be in collections and get current on the payments, and then you could just pay the stinking thing off in the next year and a half, two years.

[Rachel Cruz]

So that's kind of what I'm asking, advice wise. I really want to set up our first year of marriage for success, you know, I really want to tackle this debt.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Rachel Cruz]

Unfortunately, I have for this to make sense. I kind of have to give you a really quick, quick backstory about our past year and why we're in this situation. I live in Swannanoa, North Carolina, and I live in one of the neighborhoods that was completely wiped out in the flood. Our home is still standing, but it needs some repairs. And shortly after that, about three months later, we had both of our cars converters stolen out of them, rendering us with no cars to get to and from work. So I had to take out two additional cars.

[Dave Ramsey]

Why did you not put converters? Just. Why don't you get a converter and put in it.

[Rachel Cruz]

It's. It's illegal for a California emissions Prius to have an aftermarket pardon. So insurance wrote them off as total losses, gave us $800 and said sorry. And obviously $800 is not enough money to buy a car. So I bought my.

[Dave Ramsey]

If they write it off as a total loss, they have to give you the entire value of the car.

[Rachel Cruz]

Right. Which they deemed at $800.

[Dave Ramsey]

I don't care what they deem it to be. It wasn't $800 before the converter got stolen.

[Rachel Cruz]

I agree.

[Dave Ramsey]

You have to go back and fight your insurance claim. You got screwed.

[Rachel Cruz]

I know, I.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you own the house that got gutted?

[Rachel Cruz]

Yes, and our house is not gutted. It's still standing and it's completely paid off.

[Dave Ramsey]

So we're living in it.

[Rachel Cruz]

We just. Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. But it still has damage from the floods.

[Rachel Cruz]

It does have some damage. It needs about. It needs a new roof on our property. It has our house and it has my trailer in the backyard, which is where I hold all my inventory for my business. And it needs a new roof because things are leaking all over my merchandise.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

Which is going to cost around 8,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Rachel Cruz]

So honestly, I'm trying to figure out what do I tackle first? Do I pay off these car loans, the trailer roof, or do I immediately start tackling.

[Dave Ramsey]

What is your. Are you doing your business online?

[Rachel Cruz]

I have a storefront and I have business online, but one of my stores got completely wiped out in the flood as well. So that's kind of.

[Dave Ramsey]

Where's the bulk of your business coming from? Online or storefront?

[Rachel Cruz]

Storefront.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. Rent a storage, a mini storage, even if it's inconvenient because you don't have $8,000 for roof and you can't let your inventory get ruined. So move your junk. Move your junk.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And then start saving money. And then what you've got to do is you have to prioritize the. You have to prioritize these issues. Okay? We have a roof, we have car issues, we have a roof on the house issue and we have $80,000. Okay. This has nothing to do with why you called, by the way. You still are going to combine your finances because you've combined your life and you got as much mess as he's got when your roof is leaking all over your inventory. That's probably worse than being behind on your student loans. So, you know, you got. You guys are sitting. You both are walking into crisis upon crisis. So you just got to prioritize. How do you eat an elephant a bite at a time. So let's force rank what we're doing with these things. Let's work our butts off. And every dollar we can squeeze goes to force rank number one. Every dollar we squeeze goes to force rank number two after that. And so I'll help you get current on the student loans. One, move the stuff to mini storage. Then number two, build the roof and bring the stuff back out of mini storage. Number three, upgrade your cars and get moving again on those. Just do something like that and you lay it down and you guys have got enough money combined. If you both get in gear and both work 27 hours a day, I mean, you're just going to have to be working like maniacs to clean this mess up. And how much you guys own the cars? As much as is an actual mess.

[John Deloney]

How much do you guys have on the cars?

[Rachel Cruz]

I have a $12,000 loan on my car, and he has a $7,000 loan on his.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, those cars were worth more than $800. I don't understand how you accepted $800. I would not have accepted that. If you're going to total my car, the policy says you have to pay the whole bill, the value of the car. And so you may need to contact an attorney and go back and fight this insurance company on this. But what they're doing is they're trying to dodge anything in your area on claims because they've gotten slaughtered on claims in your area, and so they're screwing people. It's a State Farm.

[Rachel Cruz]

Yeah, I appealed it and I reported it to the state agency. Unfortunately, my claim was just kind of denied. So I was given a final offer of $800 again, and they said that.

[Dave Ramsey]

Was the best I can give you a final offer. I'm gonna sue your butt. State Farm. Is that. Is that who it is?

[Rachel Cruz]

It's. No. It's a local company based in Asheville.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. Yeah. I'm gonna file suit on them for 15 or 20,000 bucks. I'm gonna give them a hard time. So you've just got some things like this. You've got to line out some stress points and decide, okay, this month we're going to attack this one. This month we're going to attack. Attack this one. The other possibility is load up everything and leave and go somewhere else and rent a. Rent a house and start your lives with careers and your storefront in a new location and sell the property, and that'll clean up a bunch of the death. That's a possibility, too. Hey, what are you still doing here? You know the rest of the show is happening on the Ramsey network app, right? So you got to jump over there to continue watching. You can download it for free. Just go to your app store, type in Ramsey network. It's completely free, and I'll drop a link in the show notes to make.

[Rachel Cruz]

It easy for you.

[Dave Ramsey]

So if you're watching on the app, you're in luck. But if you're watching anywhere else, this show is over for you. So jump onto the app and let the fun continue. All right, Go on now. Don't make it weird. Okay, I. I got nowhere to go, so you need to go.

[Rachel Cruz]

Okay, bye bye now.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, this is. It's getting weird over there, guys.

[Rachel Cruz]

What do we.