The Rachel Cruze Show - What to Do Differently With Your Money in 2023 with Dave Ramsey

Episode Date: January 2, 2023

Happy New Year, friends! To kick off 2023, we’re talking with the one and only Dave Ramsey about the best things to do with your money this year. We’ll also tackle how you can get out of debt even faster (including some great ideas for side hustles).   In this episode: ·      5 Ways to Get Out of Debt Faster ·      12 Things to Do Differently With Your Money in 2023 with Dave Ramsey   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. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

But honestly, make it a habit of being intentional with where your money's going. It gives you peace and it is your choice. No one tells you what you have to put on the paper. You decide and you are now in control. It's an old 90s word. You are empowered. Hey, you guys, happy new year. That's right.

It's 2023 and welcome to this episode of the Rachel Cruise Show podcast. I am so glad that you're here. So in this episode, we're going to hear a conversation I had with my dad, Dave Ramsey on all 12 things that you can do differently with your money this year. But first, let's talk about five ways to pay off debt fast. Take a listen. Today, we're going to talk about something that a lot of you made New Year's goals around, and that is paying off debt. Yes, so many of you are like, I am so tired of paying these payments every single month. I just want to keep that money instead, and you are ready to get rid of it.

it gone and out of here, which is amazing. And I love this because for a lot of people, this is their goal. When the new year comes around, they're like, I'm ready to get my finances in order. And for so many people, it is paying off debt and becoming debt free. So you've come to the right place if that is your goal, because I'm going to share five ways to pay off your debt fast this year. All right. Are you ready? Number one, it's your mindset. Okay, this is huge. Because getting into debt is easy. We always say around here, are you can wander your way into debt, but you cannot wander your way out. And so the idea of when you go into debt, it's like, oh, yeah, I'll just sign that sheet of paper here. It doesn't take a lot of effort.

And so what happens is you get sucked into that black hole of debt and payments and you think debt is a way that I have to live. And then it gets to a point for some people where they think, I don't think I can get out. Like, I don't know how to stop the cycle. I don't believe I can because of your income, the debt level that you have, like, whatever it is, you start to believe, like, I can't do it. So number one, the mindset is you can. And once you have that belief, then I want you to go all in. All in.

And what we say around here is gazelle intensity. Because in Proverbs, it says, if you have signed surety, my son, meaning you've gotten yourself into debt, do this. Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hands of the hunter and a bird from the hand of a fowler. So a gazelle from the hand of a hunter. Well, the hunter of gazelle, hunter of gazelle. is the cheetah. And so there's like this great picture right there in the Bible that talks about

when a cheetah goes after a gazelle, what is that gazelle doing? And that intensity, that running for their life, like you are watching this thing happen. Like think about the Discovery Channel. And when you see that gazelle, the intensity that that gazelle is bringing to get out of the hand of the hunter, to get away from the cheetah, that is the intensity you have to have to get out of debt. If you have gotten yourself into debt, do this. Deliver. yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter. And that's what's powerful about it. And when you have this imagery, you're like, yeah, I can't just be like, oh, yeah, it'd be fun to kind of get out of debt. Maybe I will. I'll put a little here and there, there. You're not going

to feel progress doing that. But when you actually say, okay, I'm going to do this every single day, I'm going to sacrifice, and I'm going all in. That's when you start to see progress. And you can, you know, do things like make a gold tracker for every day. Listen to debt-free screams. Talk to someone in your life that maybe can encourage you. through it all. Look at your budget every single day. Like when you're doing this, like you're tracking transactions from every single day. Where do I spend money today? How much is left here? I mean, you are so intense. So that intensity is what's going to help you get out of debt fast, not just over the course of forever and ever and ever, but out of debt fast.

That gives all intensity. So that mindset is really key. So once you have that mindset, the second thing you want to do is to use the debt snowball. So this is the most efficient way and the fastest way to get out of debt. So when people get out of debt, they kind of look at two options. They look at paying off the highest interest rate first. And well, honestly, that's math. And mathematically, that is correct.

But money is not all about math. And getting out of debt isn't always about math. You really do have to say, I have to change what I've been doing and you have to feel those quick wins. So that's why the debt snowball is the best way. So where you do, the debt snowball is different. You're not looking at the interest rate.

You're looking at your smallest debt versus your largest debt. So I want you to list out every debt that you have, not including your mortgage, and you're going to list it out, smallest to largest, and you're going to pay minimal payments on everything, stay current, and then you're going to attack that smallest debt with that gazelle intensity. So that small set, even if it's a $600 Nordstrom credit card, like whatever it is. And it's like, okay, I'm going to pay it off with everything, every amount of money I can find, every amount of energy I can do to make money, whatever it is, that's going to leave as soon as possible.

And you put all your effort towards that. And then once it's paid off, then you have the minimum payment that you would have been paying on that credit card. Well, all of that, that money can be rolled over to the second smallest debt. And again, the intensity is still going, and you keep going, going. And when it's up happening is you create the snowball effect mathematically. So you free up more money to go towards the next smallest debt. And not only that, but it gives you the win. You're able to say you're knocking stuff out.

If you have a list, you know, you're checking off those debts and you're crossing them out. Like, you're winning. you're making progress. So when you have progress, that allows you to go that much faster. So we have found the people that do the debt snowball in the first 90 days, they pay off $5,300 in debt. Yeah, in the first 90 days, on average, $5,300. And that's not amazing?

And again, it's just that focused intensity and having a plan of the debt snowball. So once you're kind of doing all of that, you're going to feel that traction. All right, the third thing you want to do, to get out of debt quickly is to budget. This is really going to be your plan, you guys. This is going to be the tool that is going to help you probably the most when it comes to getting out of debt in a tactical sense. So, you know, if you have a goal to get out of debt, you can't do that with just this idea

and numbers in your head. You have to have a plan. You have to have a budget. So your budget really is your plan knowing where your money's going. And this is going to help you. So on your budget, you really want to start with your four walls. And that's food, shelter. utilities and transportation. That's your primary, and then everything else underneath is your wants,

and you can kind of list those out. Also, it's going to help you with your $1,000 emergency funds, because your $1,000 you want before you start paying off debt. So that $1,000, you're going to look again at your budget to be able to say, okay, where can I cut some stuff? You know, where can free up some money to get that $1,000? And then in turn, where can I cut to be able to throw money at my debt. So freeing up money, having cash available to throw out your debt is huge. So the budget, yeah, you're able to say, okay, I'm going to cut some things out. The things that I don't necessarily need, I'm going to cut. So whether that's entertainment, whether that's buying, you know, maybe extra clothes, maybe that's subscription services,

whatever it is, you can say, what can I live without for a short season so I can pay off my debt faster? And that's what's key to be able to say, you know, I'm able to control this money that's on the sheet of paper. And for a period of time, again, this is not forever, you guys, but for a period of time, we're not going to go out to eat, we're going to cut the cable,

we're going to do whatever we can. We're going to trim that budget as much as possible and throw money at this debt. All right, the fourth thing that you can do to help pay off debt fast is sell stuff. Listen, we all have crap around their house

that we don't use, that we don't need. Sell it, sell it, sell it, sell it. You can get cash, you know, and use that cash to throw out your debt. I mean, it's amazing. What small things, big things around your house, what this can do. I mean, like, oh, it's amazing too because you start to see, I can live without this stuff. You know, there's some stuff you have that you bought. They're like, I don't need this. And even if it's just going to bring 70 bucks, like, whatever it is, it's like, just, yes, sell it. Free it up. Throw that money at your debt. And then what's great is

once you're debt free, you can say, oh, man, I really do, you know, I don't know, want that TV back in that room that we sold. Guess what? You can go buy the TV. Like, you can go buy stuff you guys again if you really want it. But I'm telling you, once you start selling stuff, decluttering your house, it's going to free you up mentally and give you peace because you don't have as much stuff around the house. It's amazing. And you're making money while doing it. It's a win-win. All right, the last thing that you can do to pay off your debt quickly is to bring in more income. So get a side hustle. And this is a great way to make more money. And I know you're taking, you know, your time away from your day when you're doing this, so it is really hard. But again, it's for a

period of time. I don't want you doing this forever, but to be able to say, okay, for the next six months, you know, between now and June, or whatever it is, I'm going to do this amount of work to make this much money, whether it's driving for a lift or delivering pizzas or babysitting or cleaning houses or dog sitting, like whatever it is, you're going to do that amount of work, figure out, okay, I'll probably make this much if I can, which is going to cause me to get out of debt that much faster. So what? whatever it is, you can just have that formula and be able to see it actually happen. And so I know time is like precious to all of us.

So it is hard to give up. But I'm telling you, if you can do it for that short amount of period, it's going to help you get out of debt that much faster. And there's a lot of people out there that are doing this, you guys. So find some people around you to encourage you while you're paying off your debt, right? If you're talking to people constantly, if your friends are constantly like, oh my gosh, debt has to be around forever. and they're always talking about, you know, living with credit card debt,

and they're doing stuff that they can't afford, and it's constant, constant. Find people in your life that are like, no, I'm actually going to live below my means. I'm going to be smart with my money. I don't want this stuff to own me. Like, find those people in your life and let them encourage you, okay? And so also I would say that anyone can do this. Anyone can do this. We have seen people at every imaginable level who are doing it.

And life doesn't always just happen like this, okay? It's going to go up and down. but don't get discouraged on those downslopes, because just know, you can continue to get up and keep working, keep pushing until you are debt-free. And if you need some extra, extra encouragement, I really would recommend going through Financial Peace University. If you have not done it yet, it is so worth it.

And it's great because there are nine courses that's going to be able to give you the encouragement and the knowledge on how to do this stuff and everything in regards to your money, whether it's insurance, investing, paying off debt, you get the information. It's like the information everyone needs and actually implement it and put this stuff to practice because you're going to be able to see progress. So I'll put a link in the description for Financial Peace University. So make sure to check it out. All right,

you guys, that's it. You can do this. If this was your goal this year, I believe in you. So commit to the plan, remain patient, remain diligent, and it is one step, one day at a time. Make sure to share this with a friend who really, you know, may want to get rid of. of their debt and become debt-free, too. This will be some great encouragement for them. And today's episode, I have my dad, Dave Ramsey, back with us. Thanks for being back.

Good to be back. Time to kick off the year. I know. And we do this video every year. You may not remember, but we've done this three years in a row. I think it's been three. And it's one of the highest viewed episodes that we do, probably because you're here, which I'm thankful for. It's because everybody wants to know what to do at the first of the year.

That's true, too. So we love to talk about, okay, what are things that you can do different, differently this coming year than maybe you did in the past, according to trends and what's going on in the world. So we're going to walk through 12 things that you guys can do different this year.

And last year, specifically, 2020 was nuts with just the markets were up and down, inflation, like all this stuff, the housing market. It just felt like a wild year financially. It did. These things, there's a couple of reasons you need to look at these 12 things. Number one is the old thing,

if you keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result, that is the definition of insanity. So if you don't like where you are, you've got to change something. Number two, there's a lot of stuff out there right now that you can't control. But there are some things you can control,

and if you control and make the changes in the areas that you control the controllables, you're going to see a real positive response in the math, in your numbers, but also in your anxiety level going down. Absolutely. Okay. Let's kick it off.

12 things. Number one, first and foremost, the budget. That's right. We always talk about budgeting on the show. But really, being intentional with your money, if you've not been doing this, it's one of the keys, if not the key, to really building wealth and winning financially.

You know, it's an old thing that's been out there forever in the sense that, you know, like you go to an old sales school back in the 70s or an 80s that I would have gone to, okay? And they say, okay, 5% of the people set goals. and 5% are inordinately more successful in their lives than the other 95%. Well, guess what? 5% of people do a budget.

95% don't. And 5% are inordinately successful with their money. And so this is not something you go, oh, you know, it's just a Ramsey thing, or it's just my grandma said to do a budget, or it's kind of common sense to do a budget. But it actually is financial goal-setting. for the month. Yep.

And it is what the people that win do. It's what winners do. If you want to win with money, and you don't really have a choice on this one. You've got to put it on paper, on purpose, before the month begins. Get your every dollar app out. Do that exact same thing

where you're giving your money an assignment because 95% of the public wanders around has no idea where their money went. And they get to the end of the month, and they have too much month left at the end of the money and stress and anxiety. And they are victims of all the outside, influences and problems that we have right now more so than those who control it.

Totally. And we hear all the time, you guys, that when you actually live on purpose with your money and you do a budget and you know where it's going, it does not feel like this restrictive, like, oh my gosh, you have to live cheap and it's not fun and all of this. That's how it's painted to feel. But after a while, when it becomes a habit in your life, it's actually such freedom. Because you're like, okay, I'm controlling what I can control, which is my income. And I have the ability to, like, have a say over my life versus everything just happening

to me, like what you were saying, it's like, no, you actually have a plan and you're putting actions to your money, to your hardered money as well. So quickly, a zero-based budget is what we teach. It's your income for the month, minus all of your expenses, including giving and saving, should equal zero. So go download every dollar. It's like he said, because there's great tutorials on that. But honestly, make it a habit of being intentional with where your money's going. It gives you peace, and it is your choice. No one tells you what you have to put on the paper. you decide and you are now in control. It's an old 90s word.

You are empowered. The budget empowers you. It's overworked, overused word. But we want to empower people. But that's what the budget does. It gives you power. You are empowered over the subject that is such a debilitating, shame-inducing subject.

Absolutely. But give such peace and clarity. All right. Number two, budget for inflation. So inflation is something that we've experienced a lot in 2022. We're experiencing now. And so budgeting is going to help you, period, in your life.

Like what we're talking about, number one, because it's actually going to give you a margin. We find that people will say when I budget, I actually feel like I got a raise. So that, in turn, is going to help you combat inflation. But there probably are going to be things that you're going to have to cut. You know, I feel like we're so used to in our world today,

these things that we think are needs that are actually wants. And I'm not talking about just going and, like, splurging on a new pair of shoes. But I mean, it's everything from like subscriptions, if there's like delivery services, like these things that we have in the rhythm of our lives, that there's times it's like, okay, if the budget is tight, there are things that you will have to cut in order to make the math work and specifically magnified because of inflation. So inflation is something that we've talked about a lot.

It's effective people's budgets and you feel it, and so you do have to adjust for it. I think the way to get your mind around it is the easiest way for me is this, when we first started helping people with their money, We were primarily working with people in extreme distress. They're almost in foreclosure. There's five-pouse payments behind. There are two car payments behind. They have lost a job.

They've got extreme financial stress. Okay? How do you fix that budget? What do you do with that? Well, your budget becomes the on-and-off switch between needs and wants. And you have to take care of your needs first, food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and utilities. We always call it, keep the four walls of your house up, right?

And if you take care of those needs and you go, okay, I'm warm, I'm fed, I have shelter, the car has gas in it, but it does have gas in it, right? You know, all of that, I can kind of relax because I'm not going to be homeless. I'm not going to be, then I can look at the wants and go, well, this is a monopoly game, and it's not going so well. on the ones. I gotta cut some stuff out. So, but if you try to just pile in there,

you know, food as opposed to Netflix, one's a necessity and one's a want, you know? And then you go, ah, your brain just starts to explode with anxiety, with stress, and you start to be overwhelmed, and then you start screaming at the TV and at the politicians to get this fixed, because you're now a victim of the thing.

But when you take control of the necessities, it allows your body, as Dr. John Deloney would say, to relax. Yep, absolutely. and your shoulders to drop, and then the rest of it is like, well, this sucks, but I can still work it through. Yep. All right, speaking of people not waiting on the government

to fix everything. Number three, do not wait on student loan forgiveness. You guys, if you have student loans, be paying on them, okay? And this is kind of a controversial subject because we talk about all the time we're antsy, we want you to be debt-free, but we don't want you waiting on someone else to do it. Because let's be honest,

when you wait on Washington and you're waiting on everything to happen, may not, probably not, could not happen. But 100% sure if you pay off your debt, that will happen. And so this is something that a lot of people, I mean, I've talked to a lot of people, and it's like, I'm going to just wait and see. But here's another thing, too, if you do pay it off

and you want to get in a system and they pass it and it actually goes through and everything, you can get a refund. You can apply for that, maybe. But this idea of waiting, because it sounds good, right? if you are $40,000 in student loan debt, and they're like, yeah, we're going to pay some of that off for you. It's like, well, that sounds great. Instead of me going and getting an extra job,

cutting expenses, that sounds a whole lot better. But the hard thing is, those promises are not usually kept. It's what's hard. Well, they either couldn't keep them or had no intention of keeping them from the start, depending on your political view and your view of the people in office. And so, you know, why are you being played by this subject? Why are you being, you know, for what, four years we've been talking about this? And now it has come down to it as an unkept political promise at this stage.

Well, I understand, I understand. It's still in the air. Everybody's still talking about it. But that's all they're doing is talking. And again, back to our earlier thing. how do you fix your life? You fix your life. You don't wait on someone else to fix it.

It's the best formula. Oh, and by the way, you signed paper that said you were going to pay it back. There's that too. There's that too. All right, number four, pay off your debts. We're talking about student loan debt, but we're going to talk about all the debts.

So being debt-free, I feel like that's one of the cornerstones of Ramsey's Solutions. It's one of the things that I feel like we're known for the most. But you guys, when you have the ability, to pay off your debts when you work the plan and you don't have payments. We say it on the show all the time. But the freedom that comes with that, not just the financial freedom, but also the emotional freedom, the spiritual freedom.

There is so much that is unleashed when you don't owe anyone anything. And it is a powerful, powerful financial principle that goes against the grain, because a lot of people are actually saying money's cheap. So why would you not? Why would you not borrow in leverage and use a lot? money to make money. You know, all of that's the culture and always has been. That's nothing new. But there is something about this deeper meaning of being debt-free. If you want to follow your broke financial friends financial advice, you're going to be just

like your broke financial friends. I mean, that's what it comes down to. It's look at who you're listening to and try to find some data points that are actual facts, not mathematical theory, that you discussed while having one too many glasses of wine with someone. You know, it's economic theory, but try to find someone who actually used that theory and became wealthy. You just can't find it. You can't find it. And we've got piles of data of 30 years

and millions and millions of people that have figured out that when you don't have any payments, you have control of your most powerful wealth-building tool. you are much more likely and much easier to bill wealth when you stay out of giving everybody else your money. That's right. So we always talk about getting out of debt using the debt snowball. So simply that's where you list out all of your debts,

smallest to largest, regardless of the interest rate, pay minimal payments on everything, and start with that smallest debt first. And again, there's so much content on this channel as well as we talk about on the Ramsey show all the time to make sure to check it out if you are new to that. All right, number five, beware of buy now, pay later. everywhere. I did all my Black Friday shopping. I usually use Black Friday in Cybermind

Day to do my Christmas shopping because it's just a good deal. So I'm like, all right, I make my list and I do it. And every single time I checked out, it was like, you could actually only pay this, a fourth of what it was. And I'm like, oh my gosh. So it is wild, though, the psychology that they use being able to show you a number, because it's even where they place it when you check out, you're like, oh, I see what you're doing after pay. I see what you're doing. comparing your bill to that and how it's like, oh, yeah, well, that's, that's so easy. That's so easy. And people are doing it.

Buy now, pay later users have increased by 56% just in the last year. So people love the four payment method versus the 100% payment method. And it's for an old guy like me and old boomer, it's kind of humorous that people act like this is something new. You know, we were, your mom and I were moving, as you know, we sold our house and we're cleaning out a whole bunch of junk. found the newspaper from the early 1970s when Richard Nixon resigned. Oh, wow. Look at you keeping archives. Yeah, who knew?

Oh, my gosh. But what was very interesting was not the article on that, but was flipping through. Oh. And these ancient ads for cars, ancient ads for, you know, clothing at castronauts, which is a store that's been gone for a thousand years, right? This kind of thing. And it's the exact same verbiage. Easy payments.

Quick, easy payments. Just come down. We'll take care of you. No down payment. It's the exact, they're still, it's the exact same thing. You're like, Clarnah is not new. It's just got a weird name. It's just not new.

And on life. And 78% of millennials who use after pay missed a payment. And it's everywhere, you guys. And it's kind of, really, it's absurd, really, when you look at it. If you kind of back up from it, you go, this is just very childish. I mean, like, I bought a little t-shirt with a funny saying about golf on it. It was $9.

And it pops up. Do you want four payments on a $9 shirt? Oh my gosh. You probably don't need to buy a golf shirt. Oh, my God. It's not any payments on $9. Four easy payments.

Oh, God. It's everywhere. It's everywhere. And that just tells you the absurdity of how far these companies have gone and how far they've lost their minds. Yeah. So be aware, you guys,

because what ends up happening is you, they get you in to get that lower payment. And then you feel like, oh, well, I can spend more now because I can spend that, and then I'll just have to make it. And so the whole thing, it's debt, it causes you to spend more, not a good plan. So avoid after pay. All right, number six, along those same lines, just pay attention this year to your online spending habits.

Mine are not great, let's be honest. You know, things like Amazon and being able to get to things quickly, it, creates an environment where I'm like, oh, it's so easy. There's no friction. So if you need something, it's like, oh, I can just get it on Amazon now. This is how I am now, and I'm good. Where if I had to wait two or three days to go to Target or Walgreens or actually go to the store to buy it, I may have forgotten about it or not even needed it three days later. But in the moment, when you feel like you need something, how quickly it is. And it's fascinating because studies show that between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. are the peak times for online purchases.

After a long day, you're laying in bed, you're just buying some stuff, buying some stuff. So you have to pay attention. This is, again, this is my weak spot that I have to be really diligent on because it's the convenience for me and then I end up spending more. And I'm like, why did I do that?

Why did I do that? Again, if you pan back and get out of the daily rhythm that has become our lives. 100%. And you look at stuff like Klarna or you look at the thing, the way we purchase things now, it is kind of bizarre in the scope of history. I mean, I remember that movie that was out when you were a little kid,

the Aladdin movie. Robin Williams was the genie, right? You know, the genie would give you three wishes. You rub the lamp, right? And now you walk around with a genie. With a genie in your hand. Who just gives you every wish. And it's unlimited wishes, by the way.

Unlimited stupidity. You can just go on for days and buy things and buy things. and it's like you have this, it's like we've given children a magic wand and no judgment with it. And so don't be a child with a magic wand. I mean, that's the thing. I know, it is so true. I sometimes, I'm like, I'll go through something like on my phone and I'm doing something.

And I will have that moment where I'm like, this is crazy. Like I bought pizza from the Papa John's app. Literally, you click the app, you click the pizza order, and then it's Apple Pay. So I just double click on my face and the pizza shows up. Like, 45 minutes later, I was. I was like, this is so. It's like a magic one. The convenience can be great, but also can make you spend more, so it's nuts.

All right, number seven, make sure your emergency fund is fully funded. So once you are out of debt, we talk about bumping up your starter emergency fund of $1,000 that you get before you get out of debt, and then you bump that up once you're debt-free to three to six months of expenses. And you want to make sure this continues to stay full because some of you, which is great that you had the emergency fund dipped into it in this past year if something came up, but you just always want to make sure that it's full. So if you went into your emergency fund,

then make sure all of your efforts are going to refund it because just having that safety net in life gives you such peace and such comfort, just knowing, okay, I have cash in the bank. Yeah, things are more expensive, and I want to keep spending at a level that is not sustainable is not an emergency. Buying things that you want to buy and just yelling at inflation and going,

it's inflation's fault. it's your fault. You have to stay within your budget. And, you know, it's not an emergency. Now, you're heating and air going out is an emergency. Your tire going flat could be an emergency. But things are now tight, so I'm using my savings to not adjust my behaviors to reflect an inflationary economy is not an emergency. That's a choice and it's a bad one. So stay out of your emergency fund unless it's an emergency. That's right. Yep. And like we talked about earlier, getting out of debt, part of that is cutting up your credit card. So don't use your credit card as an emergency

fund. It needs to be cash in the bank. That's your emergency. All right, number eight, don't stop investing. So if you're on baby step four, which means you're out of debt, you have a fully funded emergency fund. That's when you invest 15% of your income into retirements. And a lot of people would take calls on the Ramsey show, or I feel like I do a lot where they're like, should I still be putting money in? You know, the market is down. It's going crazy. I don't feel comfortable doing it.

And a lot of people are cautious around it. And we're like, no, that's the time to do it. Like, that's the time to do it. I was watching a video on Instagram. Hold your breath. And actually, her advice was great. This girl, because she was like, you know, wealthy people, you know, Warren Buffett said it too.

You know, when people get fearful, that's when you need to get greedy. Greedy's not a great word. But it's like, okay, I'm going to jump in because when you invest when it's low and you put your money in, you get more, right, for it it because it's on sale. And then as it rides up, you get to ride that wave and make more and more money in your investments. Where are people that say, no, I'm fearful, so I'm going to pull out and I just say, I don't want to do anything. Then they try to get in when it's going up,

and then they don't make as much money. So there is this, like, kind of that science of continue to invest. Continue to invest. Up or down because you're going to ride all the waves for the good. and the bad, but also for the good, because we believe in investing enough and the economy enough to believe that it is all going to come back, and it's been doing this a lot. But it's powerful when you do it when it's low and people are fearful. I haven't stopped my investment. Don't stop your investing. The only one that gets hurt on a roller coaster is the one that jumps off in the middle of the ride. And I'm 62, so, you know, that retirement age type of a thing, I'm not going to retire. But, you know, you see the point.

I mean, I'm in that same age bracket. And so, and even I haven't stopped investing. In other words, I don't have as long a window to invest that money as like you would. Right, right. And so, but even in that situation, I'm still investing, because it's on sale, y'all. Rachel's exactly right. Yep. So things like your 401K, Roth IRA, all great places to invest.

All right. Number nine, don't sit on the sidelines if you're ready to buy a home. people have been talking about real estate a lot and you may not know this but one of your voiceovers someone took a voiceover of you from I guess the Ramsey show and put it on Instagram and it became a trending like real, it became a trending audio clip

that people then started putting everywhere on their stuff and there was a lot of realtors that were like yeah this is what Dave Ramsey says, buy the house, buy the house and if you're scared about interest rates and they go back down then you can refinance, yep. But it was trending, so you may not have known that. No, because I don't keep up with that stuff.

I know you don't. You're welcome, you're welcome. Yeah, the point is, though, whether it's on Instagram or not, the point, the point is, is that real estate, you know, we've seen some price adjustments because some of them were overpriced, because they still, some of the sellers asking prices were, kind of still had the mentality of a white, hot, crazy post-COVID market. And that's no longer here. We've got a very calm, almost sedate market right now.

It's really kind of a, everybody's like, if they buy a house, you're kind of sneaking around to do it, you know, kind of a thing. And so it's slowed down, the volume is slowed down. And so you're still going to see these prices maintain. They're not going to see them go down. And the supply of demand curve is there. So we're not going to see this, you're not going to see it go away. The prices have come down, values have not come down.

And so in some markets, in some markets, it's just sitting there steady, and it's just not cray-cray, like 83 offers in one weekend thing. All of that stuff's gone. Thank goodness it needed to go away. But this is a great time to sell a house, and it's a great time. Because there's a lot of buyers. There's more buyers than there is houses. It's a great time to buy a house, and it's a great time to sell a house.

We did that real estate reality check that you and I, and we did it, and millions of people watch that thing on a stream. and the data that we have in there and our predictions have proven months and months later to have been completely accurate. That's what it is. All right, number 10, if you are married, have joint checking accounts. So this is something that we talk about

a lot that we get a lot of pushback for. But listen, here's the deal. When you are married, you become one in every aspect of your life, including your money. And the couples that say, we're a team, we're doing this together, it's not yours and mine,

and we play this whole game, but we are in this whole thing together, and we are working towards the same goal, we're on the same team. Those are the ones, you guys, that honestly, they financially win faster and even greater because they end up doing more and more and more because of that connectedness that they have. And then to the marriage side, which I always think is fascinating, their marriage deepens. I mean, there's this level of intimacy that's created

when you say to your partner, it's everything. Like, when we are married, what's mine is yours. Like, we are in this together, and it does something to the level of your marriage as well. And so it's huge, but we get a lot of pushback on it. We get a lot of pushback on a lot of things because the culture's lost its mind. But the truth is this. Your treasure is where your heart is. It says in the Bible.

So where you spend your money says what's important to you. and when you combine your spending and you combine your investing and you combine your financial decision making, you are agreeing on, and it requires a lot of communication and a little bit of friction and a little bit of give and take, but we're agreeing on our values. We're agreeing on our fears.

We're agreeing on our dreams. And when you just have your little thing, he has his little thing, or you know, back and forth, then you don't have combined dreams. And then look up later in your divorce and you wonder, Well, you didn't have combined dreams. You didn't have a, we weren't going to the same place.

You can't, it's much more efficient to get to the same place if you're both in agreement on what the same place is. It's pretty simple stuff. Absolutely. But it's the way that this thing works. And again, it's data-based, meaning that of the 10,167 millionaires that we interviewed, a high percentage of them, 79% said they work very, very closely with their spouse, not I became wealthy in spite,

of my spouse. Yeah. Or without my spouse's knowledge, and I just went over here and did it over here to the side, and they did their thing. We never hear that for millioners. I mean, never. It never comes up. The number of people that stand on the stage upstairs here at Ramsey Solutions and do their

debt-free scream right outside the Ramsey Show Studios, and they say, you know, I brought my spouse with me to scream, but I really did it all by myself. It's precisely zero. That just does not happen. Yeah, that's right. So it's something powerful, you guys, on a marriage aspect, but also a financial aspect. So work together. All right, number 11, have a bigger why for your money.

So when you are getting out of debt and it's exhausting and you're tired and you're working in the debt snowball, having that why continues to motivate you. When you start to build wealth and you're thinking, okay, what am I going to do with this? How are we going to handle this? That why is still going to motivate you. So having a big why is going to help you through this entire process. I think the thing to think about is what is money good for? And that'll give you your why.

Because money, just to have money, is useless. It's just a tool, though. It's a tool that God gave you. You're supposed to manage it for him and for your family. Okay, so now what are we going to do with this tool? This thing that allows me to lift, this thing that allows me to move things. What's the tool for? And then that'll start to give you your why. And you go, gosh, if I had a big pile of money, what would be the benefit of that? Well, I would have margin. I would have choices. I could help others and be generous.

I could change my family tree. My kids wouldn't have to worry about going to college or anything. I mean, you know, my relationships, I'd be a lot less stress. And so money, it's what money does that matters. The money itself is not important. Right, right. That's so good. All right.

Last but not least, have hope for your money. in 2023. So listen, it's been hard. We've talked to so many of you, and it's been a struggle. Some of you have faced things in the last two, two and a half years that you never thought you'd have to face. And it's all come to fruition. And so there's some of you out there that are thriving, and you're doing great, you're doing the plan, you're feeling the traction, and it's awesome. And there's those of you that are thinking, I don't know if I can keep going. I don't know if I can keep going. But I just want to tell you, if you're discouraged, I want you to have hope. Hope that you can do it. And you guys, we've seen every story you can imagine.

from every debt level, every income level, every background of a person, everything. But one characteristic that continues to be consistent in people that we see that win is they believe they can. And that doesn't mean that life is going to do this. It's going to do the stock market. It goes up and down, up and down, and up and down. So you're going to have good times, you're going to have bad times. But the belief, though, that you have the ability to change your life and your money,

that hope and that intentionality is the thing that separates people from actually winning and those that don't. So again, if you're having a hard time, just know, just know that this is a season and continue to press forward. I was talking to a lady, I was traveling, and she came up and just tears, tears, tears, tears. And she just said, you know, I listened to you guys every day.

And she was like, it's been the worst year of my life. And I just don't feel like I can keep going. But seeing you right now, this is giving me like, this is the grace from God. And she gave me a hug and we had to keep passing because I was traveling. But, you know, I'm like, you know, it's just, it's hard.

It's hard. And people are in different parts of their stories. And so if that's you, that's kind of had that moment or that year where you're thinking, man, it's, it is tough. Just know that there's people a building here in Nashville that we work day in and day out to help you and that believe in you and support you.

And that hope is something that is so crucial to have in your money and in your life. The weight of all the bizarre things that have happened in the last 24 to 36 months, politically, racially, pandemics, quarantines, inflation,

the weight of all of that is soul eating. It's discouraging for anyone. And it is interesting to me, having sat in this seat for 30 years, that you can simultaneously acknowledge that there's a reality to that weight, there's a reality to the anxiety

and the stress and the mental wellness effect of all of that, and simultaneously say, and yet, there's a reality that says hope. Hope deferred makes the heart sick. It'll kill you. But when desire comes, it is the tree of life. And so, you know, hope comes from believing that this is not, all this stuff that's out there and the weight of all this stuff. And, you know, you may have to change your inputs.

You may be watching too much TV. You may be doom scrolling too many horrible, negative websites about whatever the subject is that you're obsessed with that's causing that you can't do anything about. But if you sit down and say, you know what, as for me and my house, we're going to live, we're going to live. And we're not only going to live, we're going to live in abundance. And in spite of all of these things that are there,

and in spite of this weight I feel in my soul, I also have simultaneously, and it's not unintelligent, this positive thing, this abundant mentality, this idea that hope is there, that I can really get there, and you can. I promise you you can. I've walked with people individually out of situations, and I've walked with America through all kinds of different crises over the 30 years I've been doing this. Everything from the towers falling after 911 to 2008 to other things, you know, all kinds of things have come at us. This latest round of stuff is really heavy and dark and black. But you know

what? You're going to be okay. Dave, thanks so much for being on. Good to be here. I wish we had a little cheers to the new year, 2023. It's here. An homage to Smart Money Happy Hour. It's here. I know. That's true. That's true. All right, you guys. I hope that gave you some encouragement. I hope it gave you some insight and some direction on looking at your money and your life for 2023. So winning with money, it's not a big secret. It's not. You just have to devote you. yourself to basic common sense money habits and remain patient and diligent. And that's one reason that Financial Peace University continues, continues to be a tool that we use all the time. And we tell people about all the time because it is the thing that's going

to allow you to actually be educated. You're going to start to learn and encourage you through those money habits. So if you want to check out Financial Peace University, it's nine courses. And again, you're going to learn everything from insurance and investing to budgeting. So make sure to go to ramsysolutions.com and click Financial Peace University or click the link in the show notes. All right, I want to thank my dad, Dave Ramsey, for being a guest on today's episode. And thank you guys so much for listening. If you have not hit that follow button to subscribe to the podcast, make sure to do that. And if the spirit leads, you can leave a review.

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