The Rachel Cruze Show - 3 Major Money Stressors and What to Do About Them

Episode Date: August 8, 2022

Let’s be real: Anything money-related can be pretty stressful these days, but having a clear plan can really help. We’ll walk through some tips to help you deal with high interest, save money by decluttering, and understand why it’s so important to have a will.   In this episode: ·      5 Things With the Highest Interest Rates Right Now ·      5 Essential Things You Need to Declutter Your Home with Clutterbug ·      5 Things That Happen to Your Money When You Die   Helpful Resources: Christian Healthcare Ministries Financial Peace University EveryDollar    Sponsors pay the producer of this show, The Lampo Group, LLC, advertising fees for mentioning their services or products during programming. Advertising fees are not based upon or otherwise tied to any product sale or business transacted between any consumer or sponsor. The following sponsors have paid for the programming you are viewing: Christian Healthcare Ministries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I think the first thing, the most important thing is changing our mindset. We think of decluttering as like taking stuff from us. So we think of it as scary. And we look at our whole space and think, I have to spend a weekend or a week tackling my house. And that's what was stopping me. So 15 minute chunks are the secret. Hey guys. Welcome to this episode of the Rachel Crew Show podcast.

I'm so glad that you're here. So in this episode, we're going to talk about some major money stressors. we can all have and what to do about them. I'll go over five things that happen to your money after you die, and so many people don't even know what these things are. So we're going to talk about them. Then you'll hear a conversation I had with YouTuber Cassandra, also known as the clutter bug,

and she's amazing at teaching people how to declutter on a budget. You don't want to miss this really fun conversation. But first, let's talk about the high interest rates right now and ways to pay off debt so you can avoid them. Take a listen. So we all know that interest rates just keep going up. And the Fed keeps hacking them up to stop inflation. We're trying to stop inflation,

which we talked about in another recent episode. So, for example, the Federal Reserve raises target federal funds rates by half a point on May of 2022. So we're going to unpack the things that have the highest interest rates here in a minute on loans and debts that a lot of people take out. But first, let's talk about more of the impact of high interest. So people that think it's totally fine to have debts,

they really should look at the rise in interest rates and think again because interest rates continue to go up, which means you're going to end up paying so much more on the debt that you have. So we're going to walk through some of these in more detail. But again, the main thing is to keep in mind is that you want to quickly get out of debt as fast as possible. You want to budget.

and be in control of your money so that you are the one controlling all of your money, not everyone else out there. And this is going to give you way more stability as the economy continues to go up and down, and we kind of experience all the craziness in the world. So here are five things with the highest interest rates right now. The first, mortgages. As of right now, the average interest rate on a $300,000 loan with 20% down payment and a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, which is what we recommend here,

at Ramsey is 5.27% here in Tennessee. For a 30-year fixed rate, it's even higher at 6.36%. And again, this is all going to vary depending on where you live, the amount of mortgage that you're taking on, the size of your down payment, all of that. But when it comes to, again, mortgage rates, they are going up and we're seeing the market soften because of it. Number two, car loans. For most borrowers, APRs are starting. at 3.59% for new vehicles, 3.79% for used, and 4.79% for refinances. So again, these change a lot over the past few months, but we just continue to see them go up and up and up. And mathematically, I would say car loans, oh, they're the ones that hurt my heart the most because you are borrowing

money for something that is going down in value. Obviously, the car market has been crazy, just like everything else, but no time in history does your car actually make money for you? So over time, as supply continues to come in and demand starts to lower, it's going to go back to normal. So when you take out debt on something

that is going in the long term, go down in value, it's not a good plan mathematically. Number three is student loans. As of right now, if you have taken out a loan after July 1, 2020, the interest rate for direct subsidized

and direct unsubsidized undergraduate loans is 4.99%. For direct unsubsidized loans at the graduate or professional level, the interest rate is 6.54%. For direct plus loans for parents and grad or professional students, the interest rate is 7.54%. And again, this is going to vary based on the type of loan that you take out and all of these numbers are just crazy right now, which means you are going to pay thousands and thousands of dollars more for your degree in the long run

versus if you pay it off quickly or you cash flow your degree. And there is a way to go to school debt free today. And we talk about it a lot here at Ramsey, but it is possible. And if you have student loan debt, again, you want to pay it off as quickly as possible. Number four, personal loans. This doesn't mean that you just borrow money from a friend. A personal loan is money that you borrow from my financial institution, like a bank, credit union, or online lender. And right now, personal loan rates range from 4% to 36%.

And again, the rates depend on the lender, on the borrower, and so many other factors. But this is why it is just not a good plan. It never is a good plan to go into debt even for personal loan. And number five are bonds. So the initial interest rate on a new series one savings bonds is 9.62. So bonds is a place that you actually can put your money in and quote unquote invest, and that's the return you're going to make. So this is actually interest that you are earning. But over the long course of time, I still recommend avoiding bonds and actually investing in the market.

Now, yes, the stock market is down. But when you are investing low, then interest rates go up and you're going to make more money on what you're investing in today. So in the long term, I will always recommend the stock market over bombs. So the bottom line, any kind of debt out there you want to avoid, and especially the fact that interest rates keep going up. Now, we didn't even touch on some other loans out there like payday lenders, things that have insane 90 days same as cash. I mean, insane, insane interest rates.

But these are the loans that a lot of people take out, and they keep in their lives because it's normal. But mathematically, as you look to see, okay, what extra am I paying in interest because of, debt, it again, not only takes you out financially, but there's something emotional, too, about owing someone something. And remember, interest rates are probably going to keep going up for the foreseeable future. So if you have debt, pay it off as quickly as possible. We recommend paying off the smallest debt first using the debt snowball, cut back expenses, make more income,

throw whatever you can at that smallest debt. I'm really excited about this episode because is decluttering, getting things out of your house, organizing. It just gives a sense of peace. I'm not the best at it, but when I do go through with it, it's wonderful. So I decided to have the expert on when it comes to all of this. And Cassandra from Clutterbug is here. And so Cassandra, thanks for being on. Thanks so much for having me.

I'm so excited to talk about this with you. Oh, I'm so glad. Well, you have social media, YouTube website, so much content dedicated to this idea of decluttering and organizing your home. And so it's really important. So what made you kind of get into this space in general? I'm a recovering super slob, like super slob. So I lived the first 30 years of my life in chaos and mess and stuff.

And I felt like I was just born messy. But when I tried a different approach, I tried, instead of tackling it all in one day, taking little steps and giving myself some grace, my whole life changed. My finances improved, relationships improved, self-confidence improved from like 15 minutes a day of decluttering. So I was so passionate about it. I started sharing it everywhere, anyone who would talk to me and grew this business out of just a love and a passion for helping people. Yeah, I love that. That's so great. Well, one of the, you know, we talk about

getting out of debt or saving up for your emergency fund, there's a big thing of like just sell some stuff around your we all have stuff around that we're not using. And I think it's amazing when you actually challenge someone to do something like that, they stop. And even me, you reassess everything in your home. You're like, okay, why do I have so much stuff? And so getting it out and kind of that purging and organizing, it does. It brings such peace like what you experience.

So I'm not naturally that way. I was probably more like you. And you said for 30 years, I'm like, that's just my natural bent. I'm a little bit more of a free spirit when it comes to all of that, even though I know it's great. But for you, you know, getting into the space, what have you found are some of the habits? A couple of things people can do right off the bat to, you know, really implement this in their lives. I think the first thing, the most important thing, is changing our mindset.

We think of decluttering as like taking stuff from us. So we think of it as scary. And we look at our whole space and think, I have to spend a weekend or a week tackling my house. And that's what was stopping me. So 15 minute chunks are the secret. You don't have to do your whole house. You have to do the junk drawer today or your purse or just expired medications. And the amazing thing that happens is like we can spend 15 minutes on a treadmill and see zero results.

We can spend 15 minutes on a junk drawer and feel instantly proud of our accomplishments. And so this builds and it changes from something scary and horrible to something positive. positive and uplifting when we break it into small chunks and we start with trash. Yes. Oh, that's so good. Okay, so what are five things that people need to help declutter? There's like five items that you talk about that really help you in this process. Absolutely. You need a trash bag. So we start with what I call trash bag therapy. You grab it, you run around your house and you look for old receipts, expired food, like actual trash, which isn't scary. It isn't something that feels, you know, overwhelming. And then you also want

clear bags because the biggest thing about decluttering is it can feel wasteful, especially when we want to save money while this is $20. So putting your good things that you want to donate in a trash bag sort of reinforces that. But if you use clear bags and call them gifting bags, and these are gifts that you're giving to others, I don't know. It makes letting go of the clothes that don't fit or your kid's shoes they've outgrown so much easier. And the next thing you want to do is have a donatable donation box. So don't put donations in a laundry hamper or like your nice reusable shopping bags because then you can't just load it into your car and it's just another project for you to sort later.

Yeah. So have those clear bags or a cardboard box on hand and just have fun with it. Go through and see if you can find 21 things in five minutes that can leave your hands. house today. The next thing you want to have is a tidy tote. So I have ADHD and when I declutter, if I find something like, oh, this belongs in the garage. If I leave the room, you know, I forgot what I'm doing. It's going to be there. Yeah, totally. I'm off. So having a tidy tote, this can be a laundry basket or something where this doesn't belong in here, but I still want to keep it. We put it in the tidy tote so we can do it later so we can focus on one space at a time.

And the last thing and the most important thing that you can have is a timer. Because we always, we almost have like time blindness when it comes to declutter. We overestimate how long something is going to take. You can declutter your purse in under two minutes. Set a timer, see if you can do it. And then as soon as you have that information and you know like this is going to take five minutes or this is only going to take two minutes, we're way more likely to actually do it. I love that.

And I actually, my husband, he laughs at me sometimes, because I used to do a timer on our microwave when I would clean the kitchen, like a night when, you know, he was taking kids up and I was like, okay, here's the kitchen. I'm going to set a timer for nine minutes, and I can get a lot done in nine minutes. And now that we have Alexa, I'm always like, Alexa, set timer for 11 minutes, and I'll do this obscure number.

But you're so right, though. I'm like, it's crazy. And then when I have time left over, I feel like I've, accomplished so much. I had four minutes left, and I did it all in this amount of time. but it does something to you because it gives you an end time. That's my problem, I think, is like it just feels like it's this endless thing. I'm like, I don't have time doing this, but I have eight minutes or whatever it is to do it. And so I love that.

And I love the trash bag idea. I had Don from the middle of mom and the minimalist saw in like very close together. So they inspired me. So I went up to my kids, our playroom closet is just like, it's terrible. I mean, it's just crap is everywhere and all these random bins. And it's just, so I emptied. Cassandra, I emptied every single bin, and it was trash. I threw it, I threw it away, because it's old, you know, it's, I mean, it's broken.

It's toys from Sonic and like, like, it's all this stuff that no one wants, so I did. But then my issue, I left the trash bag in the playroom. And I walked out, I was so proud of myself. Amelia, my oldest, were like dumping it out. Oh, she, but Amelia ran back down, I swear, 10 minutes. I was like, Charles dumped the trash bag. And I was like, no. So, always remember to take the trash bag out.

That was well. Take it out. That's why you want that. immediately. You've got to complete the cycle. Take it to your car. When you said that, I was like, take it to the trash. Brilliant. It's brilliant. Yep. So good. Okay. Now, you have a fun quiz about kind of decluttering and what kind of clutter bug are you. So I have not looked at any of these questions. I can be very honest.

I've done good. Just staying away from it. But I want to take the quiz with you. I want you to take the quiz. I feel like I'm already getting a real macro sense. to like a laid-back approach. So I'm really curious what your cluttered bug style is. Me too. It's so important to know because if you felt messy your whole life, it's probably that you just don't organize in a traditional way. And just having this information can make you feel so much better about yourself

and really have that self-confidence to try again. Yes. Oh, I love it. Okay, I'm ready. I'm so excited. I'm going to guess. I think I know in my head, When you are done using something, you usually put it wherever you used it last. You struggle to remember to put things away. Where it belongs immediately or in a neat pile for later, wherever you can fit it,

you tend to hide things everywhere or somewhere where it's easy to see and you can quickly find it. So do you hide things or do you like it out where you can see it? I'm a hider. No, you hideer. You hideer. You're a hider. And so many parts I have my emotions in my stuff.

Do you want to pile it to later or just shove it out of the way? I just want to shove it out of the way. I just want to, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Your biggest clutter issue is you have stuff everywhere. Paper and important things inside closets, cabinets, and spare rooms. Or you hold on to too many things.

Your biggest clutter issue. The first one. The first one. You have stuff everywhere? But use your stuff everywhere. Hidden. No, wait. I already know what you are.

It's my second. I already know. I think I'm the second, actually. It's not that the stuff is everywhere. Okay. Read the second line again, the second. Okay, so you have stuff everywhere, or it's mostly just paper inside closets, or is it inside closets in all your hidden areas or a jumbled mess?

Yes, absolutely. I already know what you are. I already know, but we're going to keep going. Just this is so fun. Your home usually looks a bit clutter. with things on display, really tidy, but you have piles of paper. Pretty clean and tidy, but behind closed doors are a hot mess sandwich. A bit cluttered with projects on the go.

The third. It looks great until you open a drawer or open a closet. And then it's scary. So again, your bedroom usually looks. I already know what's going to be pretty clutter-free. but closets and drawers hidden everywhere. Yes. I don't even have a few.

The top drawer in my nightstands. I don't even know what's in there. I literally just enclose the drawer. I love it. So are you a crafter? Even if you aren't, I want you to imagine you do. Your ideal craft room is bright and colorful. You can see everything, or everything is perfectly organized behind closed doors.

Or you want everything hidden. accept a few pretty accessories and things you find beautiful, or you want every tool out and really, really visual on a pegboard? I'd say the second. You don't want to see your stuff to you. I'd say the second. Yeah, I don't like to see. I like a clean surface area. Last one, before I go. Yes. You would like your home to be bright and fun, functional and minimal, beautiful and minimal, practical and efficient.

Beautiful and minimal. Beautiful. Yeah. So you are 100% a ladybug. Which is the same as me. It's the same as me. And here's why I call it a ladybug. Have you ever seen a ladybug shell on the outside?

And it's like beautiful and shiny and perfect. And then they open their wings. And it's like a hot mess under there. Yeah. That's our homes. That is our homes. We want it pretty and beautiful, but our hidden spaces are like, stop it. And they have a weird sense.

Ladybugs have a weird sense. So we're great from a distance. And then that drawer, you open it, and it's like, that's off. There's something off. But here's why. So here's why you have felt messy and disorganized your whole life, because you are not a detailed person. That is correct.

When it comes to managing your stuff. You are a free spirit. You're laid back. You need less structure. You need less organization. So what works for us is big baskets, big categories. Instead of filing your paper in a filing cabinet, you just have paid bills 22. And that's okay. Yes. Right? Instead of sorting everything into lots of categories, your medicine, you just have one basket for medication. We'll hunt for the aspirin, never try sorting like pain reliever, antacid. That doesn't work for us to put things away. We have to put things away so fast. So lots of baskets, lots of drawer dividers, and giving yourself permission to say, I don't have to be a detailed person to still be very organized.

I love this. Yes, and amen, because I will tell you, Cassandra, my makeup area is very organized because years ago I had the home edit on the show and they gave me these dividers for my jewelry and my makeup. And still to this day, I'm like, oh, I know exactly where that. It's quick and efficient, but if there are no dividers at a drawer, everything goes in and the door shuts. It closes that drawer. And you know what doesn't work for you is lids.

You can't have a lid on a container because if something's hard to put away, you won't. That's right. You're just going to set it down. I agree. I agree. It causes more issues than it does good. It does. So you just need to embrace this laid-back-free spirit approach to your organization.

And you're going to see, like, your house is going to stay tidy because you're adapting to your style, not trying to fit yourself in, I call them crickets and bees who are like really meticulous. Yeah, who are the other bugs? A cricket is a hidden organizer that's really detailed and meticulous. A bee is a visual. organizer, so it's out of sight, out of mind. They want to see their stuff, but they're very detailed and meticulous. And a butterfly is visual, but not detailed, way back. And almost

every small child is a butterfly. Until about the age of 10, then you start to see their organizing personality come out, which is why little kids, they like to spread their stuff, and they don't, they're never going to sort their Legos by color. Yep. But that's okay. That's so great. I love this. Because there's a little bit, too, you're like, you can white knuckle your way through life and force yourself to do things, right? That you're just like, it's just not me, but like, but after a while that's exhausting and it's not fun. It's not a good quality of life.

So there's a level of like, yes, Rachel, I'm an adult and I pay taxes in life and I have children. So like I need to have some humanness of being mature and an adult. Some of that has to be there. But you can't, yeah, I'm never going to be a grasshopper. Cassandra, I will never be a grasshopper. And I do this for living and I'll never, I'll never be that either. And that's okay.

It's embracing it. So, yeah, it's embracing it. We can vacuum and not wrap the cord. We can just throw the cord at the vacuum. And that's okay. And that is okay. I'm in like a therapy session right now. Oh, so great.

Yes, that that is okay. So nice. Okay, so people listening that are like, oh, this is good. Okay, okay, I'm going to go and I'm going to figure out who I am and how to do this best. You talked about the things that you need to declutter. But there's also the things that you're like, no, but to organize so that we can have the piece that we all need in our lives, what are some of the things that we can do to organize and to help us? We need a family command center where we put important bills that need to be paid, reminders, all the sort of papery stuff, even if we have to sign something for our kids, we're in school, or they've unpacked their backpack and there's artwork we have to deal with later. we need a spot that we can put it until we deal with it later that isn't a pile.

So if you're visual, this should be up on the wall. It should be like wire baskets on the wall, something that's really obvious. And if you're hidden, it can be just a little filing system or a basket on your counter. But the secret is to contain it into something so it doesn't spread and to make a date with yourself once a week to empty it. That's the hard part. Yes, that's so good. We have that in our house.

And I did get a basket for all the kids. The papers that they bring home from school, it's artwork and it's just academic papers. So I literally throw everything in there. And then it piles up to about that high. And then I'll go through and throw away most of it. But yeah, it feels good because you're like, okay, it's there. So the Family Command Center.

I love that. What other areas do we need to help feel that piece? A landing zone. So if your kids are coming home and they are never putting their shoes in the closet or on a shoe shelf or like hanging the coat in the closet, we need to adapt our landing zone to work with their organizing styles. So take the closet doors off or install hooks. Just get baskets for people to kick their shoes into instead of trying to force people to organize that isn't the way they naturally do. So if you like, your key should go in the drawer

hubby, but they're always leaving them out, install a hook right above. So it's really visual. It's adapting your system to work with your family and making sure that you have an actual landing zone to catch clutter at the door. That's good. The landing zone. Okay. Love that one. Anything else? Yes. Yeah. Household management binder. So I want you to think, oh my gosh, there's a flood or something. We always keep these important documents in our filing cabinet. We're not going to run and carry our filing cabinet out. So we shouldn't have important documents like insurance policies or even your medical information. That should be stored in a binder. So if anything, God forbid, happens and you have to run to the hospital, you can grab your binder and it has all the information that you need in it. So a household

management binder is a simple way of just taking or even photocopies of all those important documents and having them in a portable way. That's so smart to grab if you need it. Yes, that's great. That's a great one. And in a meal planning binder saves me so much money, so much money. I have a binder where I just have all our favorite recipes. I have like meal ideas. I keep coupons in there. And every week I meal plan. Now, I know you don't like structure. I don't like structure. It's a loosey-goosey meal plan. But I do that too. I do it every Sunday night because it does help me because I'm like, I have to know, yes, what's going on. So much. And then I can take like a freezer inventory. I can write my grocery list and everything is contained into one place that keeps me organized and

saves me a ton of money. So a meal planning binder is amazing. And the last thing is a homeless clutter catcher. We all have random stuff that we don't know where to put it, or you buy something new and you haven't put it away yet, or you have to return something, or just it's your husband's stuff piled and you don't know what to do with it, but you don't want to look at it. Dedicating a space in your home for that clutter to go that everyone knows, like, where's my mom probably put it in that drawer or in that cabinet or in that basket is such a lifesaver, especially for us as ladybugs, because we tend to hide everybody else's stuff when cleaning. And we don't, we have no clue where it goes.

I know. I don't know. Let's play this fun game. Let's hunt for your keys. Yes. You know that I hid. But having this homeless clutter catcher for things that don't have a designated home yet just keeps the house and everyone sane.

So great. Cassandra, these are such good tips. Thank you so much. I really do. I appreciate it because everyone's life is going, you know, 100 miles an hour. like and you're trying to do, you know, different goals and you're talking about different stuff, you know, at night with your friends or your spouse. And it's like, life is just crazy. And so when you can

have a level of predictability and peace that goes along with your personality, it just gives your home a little bit more of that, that resting place is what it should be. So I love that. That's absolutely incredible. So one question I ask all my guests is what is one thing you are doing with money that is creating a life that you love? So every time, we get paid, we put 10% away, not only into our emergency savings, but now that it's grown, that's kind of our fun fund too. So we're traveling, we're going to Europe. That 10% is how not only got out of debt, but now we're living a life that we're loving because we're paying ourselves first. Yeah, for sure. I love fun money. It's the best. It's so great. So great.

It is. It took a while to get there, but man, is it worth it. It's just like decluttering a little bit. Every day is the secret to success. That's so great. So where can everyone find you, Cassandra? You can take the free Clutterbug quiz and find out your organizing style at clutterbug.com. Yeah, you guys, go take the quiz, find out what you are because it is. It's so insightful and it gives you a level of like, okay, I'm okay.

I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. Cassandra, thanks for coming on. I so appreciate you guys. Check out everything that she's doing when you need tips for organizing and decluttering. that's so great. So according to a recent Gallup poll, only about 46% of American adults have a will

that says how they want their money and estate to be handled when they die. The stuff is not fun to talk about, okay? In this episode, we're going to go deep, y'all. We're like going to get into the nitty-gritty of this because it's really important. My team and I, we were thinking about the subject, and I'm like, you know, I want people to be educated.

I want you guys to know exactly what happens and why it is so important to get something like a will. A will does not take a long time. It does not take a lot of effort to create and to get one because you're about to see, oh, the tangled mess that happens when you don't, but I want you to be aware. So, in general, when you go to make a will, you name an executor or a personal representative. So this person is going to read your will and make sure that everything is carried out the exact way you want it to be. Now, this can be a lawyer, this could be a trusted family member. And then in the will, you also name beneficiaries or the people that you want to get

your stuff. There's also a part called gifts, which is where you spell out specifically what each beneficiary will get. Then finally, you will name guardians who will take care of any children that you have in the home. But if you don't decide on any of that ahead of time, things get very complicated. So here's what happens to your finances after you die without a will. bank accounts. So a savings account is an example of an asset along with everything else that you own, like a car, your house, and when you die without a will and you didn't name a beneficiary for your bank accounts, and you never named an executor, then the state will appoint an executor based on local law. So until the courts decide who will distribute your assets, they are frozen, no one can touch them,

even if you told them before, oh, yeah, you get X amount of dollars. and you die without a will, that person gets nothing. Again, it is frozen. So usually the job of the executor is assigning to the surviving spouse or another family member, but if nobody's willing to take the job, then the courts will name a public trustee as the executor. The executor will use the funds in the account to pay off any of the estate's creditors.

Then they'll distribute the money according to local inheritance laws. Now, if you're single and you die without a will, your parents will probably inherit your whole estate, including any money that's left in your bank account after your debts are paid. If you are married and you die without a will, your estate will probably go to your spouse if you both own it. But if you have a separate property, it would be split among your surviving spouse, kids, siblings, and parents. Now, this can get very messy, especially if you've had multiple marriages. All right, real estate. Real estate is another example of an asset. And if you die without a will and you own real estate,

the laws of your specific states where you live will determine how your property will be divided. Most likely it will be distributed in shares to family members, which could include spouse, kids, adopted kids, parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins, and even distant relatives. The only people who are not eligible to get shares of your property are stepchildren, long-time partners, and loved ones who are not family. If no relatives can be found, then the entire estate usually goes to the state. If you own real estate in a different state than where you live, then the laws of that state will determine what happens to your property.

If your property has a mortgage, the person or people who inherit your property will be responsible for paying the mortgage. All right. Investments. If you don't have a will, you usually are asked to name a beneficiary when you enroll with your employer's retirement plan. you start putting money into an IRA. So if you die without a will, the money will go to those beneficiaries. Now, if you never named a beneficiary and you didn't have a will, then just like your bank accounts,

the money will be paid to your estate. All right. Staying with me, guys, you got this. Okay. Next up, student loans. If you have federal student loans at the time of your death, they will be forgiven. But if you have private student loans when you die, the lender is not required to forgive them. And the way they handle that can be very different depending on who you're dealing with. So some lenders might seize every asset that's in your name, like bank accounts, cars, everything. And if that's not enough to cover your debts, then the rest will just remain unpaid. Now, if someone co-signed your loan, that person will be responsible for that loan. All right, any other debt.

So in general, any debt that is in your name gets paid by your estate. again, all the assets that you own at the time of your death. Your executor will be in charge of making all those decisions and making sure that everything is taken care of. If you have more debt than assets, there are instances where your debt can become your family's responsibility. If anyone ever co-signed a bill or a loan for you, or you live in a community property state,

or you live in one of the states that has filial responsibility laws, which are only related to children being held responsible for health care and long-term care, then the person who co-signed your spouse or your kids could be responsible. Creditors usually have about three to six months after your death to submit a claim against your estate, which are family members or executor will then have to deal with that. Creditors cannot access any life insurance benefits that you leave, most retirement accounts, and the contents of a living trust.

but that rule doesn't apply if there are no living beneficiaries listed in your will. It's a lot, you guys. I know. It gets complicated. It gets so technical. But I want you to understand that. Like, it's a big deal. Like if you, again, have debts, if you have assets, if you have an estate, if you have stuff, you need to get a will, y'all, so you can be responsible that when something happens to you, because it's a win, not an if, then everything is protected that people that you love know, exactly what is happening. A will is a level of communication that actually is a lot of love to your family. So when you create a will, you get to choose, again, how your state will be distributed, who will take care of your children, instead of all of those decisions being made by other people

or even the government. And legally, your choices should be honored. You have the ability to make those choices now. And so do it. Do not wait. You can create your own will online, less than 20 minutes with Ramsey trusted provider, Mama Bear legal forms. And make it so easy, you guys. You just plug in your information. I'll put the link in the description. But it is, it's so, so important.

So get a will if you do not have one. And also share this with a friend. You may be like, oh my gosh, this is the most depressing. But it is. It's one of these things that's like, if you're an adult, you need to be responsible. Again, it's loving your family well.

Thank you so much, Cassandra, for being on the show. she's so fun, so fun. The quiz, everything loved it. And thank you guys so much for listening to this podcast. If you have not hit the follow button to subscribe, make sure to do that. And if the spirit leads, you can leave a review.

As always, make sure to take control of your money and create a life you love.