The Ramsey Show - App - Be Intentional With Your Time and Your Money (Hour 2)

Episode Date: August 19, 2022

John Delony & Rachel Cruze discuss: Going into debt to buy out your ex, Saving for baby or a house, Managing a larger income, Dealing with loneliness after divorce, Want a plan for your money? Find out where to start: https://bit.ly/3nInETX Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6

Девочка-пай Live from the headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, this is The Ramsey Show, where we talk about your life and your money and your relationships, your friendships, and here's the best part. We talk with you. All right, so give us a call at 888-825-5225. I'm John Deloney, joined here by my good friend Rachel Cruz,

best-selling author and all-around good person, and we are taking your calls on pretty much everything. What did I do? I need that pen over there. Oh, I took your pen, Rachel. I'm sorry. I just took Rachel's pen. I don't know how to say that incognito, but I need a pin. I'm not great at incognito.

Because when numbers happen, I got to write them down. There you go. 888-825-5225. Let's go out to Elijah in Boise, Idaho. What's up, Elijah? Hi. Thanks for having me on. Hey, my question is, so I'm going through a divorce currently.

Oh, sorry. We own a house. So sorry. Yeah. But I own a house and I have quite a bit of equity in the house and she's entitled to half. And my question is if I should sell it and just be done and rent from there or if I should try to refinance my house and cash her out and keep the house. Okay. So how much is the house worth? So the house is worth around $250,000.

Okay. And how much do you owe on it? I owe $120,000 currently. $120,000. Okay. I wouldn't go into debt to pay your wife off. Okay, so adding that to the mortgage. Yeah. Yeah, I'd sell the house. Sell the house, split the equity, and...

Yeah, it kind of feels like the cleanest scenario. Yeah, help me with this, Rachel. And Elijah, I'm going to think about this out loud what i'm thinking of is um two years from now you're still paying on this divorce right right because you're still paying five years from now seven years from now you're still paying on this loan you took out against your home to pay your wife off right i would rather with the end of the divorce be done with my relationship here and move on. Right. Well, kind of what I'm looking at, cause in the Boise area, housing prices are astronomical. And even with the amount that I'd get from the sale,

I don't, it wouldn't be enough to put down on anything that would be suitable and within my price range. No, no, listen. So I'm looking to rent. Everything in your life has exploded. No question. Yeah. It gets people into trouble when they head into a situation where everything's blown up and they pretend part of it hasn't.

Right. Right. So. It's like, so imagine your house burned down and you just went to get some fast food and you sat down at your old dining room table. That's basically ash, right? I'm just going to pretend this thing's not like, man, everything's over. So yes, it's expensive to live where you live. Um, and yes, you're gonna have to change your style of living and what's, what wasn't acceptable might have to be acceptable for a season while you get your feet underneath you or you may have to rent even though you didn't imagine yourself renting in this season of life but man yeah i i would i would sell it and then

within the equity you guys what you get out of the house you know obviously 50 50 and i'd give yourself a year give yourself a year i think rent somewhere um you'll get 65, 65 K out of it. So it's, that's a great down payment for something. Um, but I wouldn't even, I wouldn't rush into a new house even. I would, as John would say, you know, grieve what you're going through, um, sit and, and be sad. And I mean, everything that, that a divorce comes, cause it's, it's really heavy. It's really, really heavy. Um, and be in that and give some time to heal before making any huge money decisions and buying a house would be considered

a huge money decision. So I would rent 12 months. Yeah, my mentor, Dr. Andy Young, he says don't make any major decisions for six to 12 months. Yeah, yeah. Just don't. Don't buy anything.

Don't quit anything. Don't run from anything. Do you all have kids?'t. Don't buy anything. Don't quit anything. Don't run from anything. Do you have kids? Yeah, I have two kids. Two kids. Okay. How old are they? Two and three.

What's the custody arrangement? Currently, I'm kind of going through that, but right now it looks like it will just be 50-50. Okay. Yeah, it's going to be a mess. It's going to be hard across the board. And so I'm with Rachel. I would rent the house and stay put for a while.

Okay. No, I really appreciate that. Thank you. You bet. Yep. That's hard. So sorry. I'm sorry, my brother.

Yeah. All right. Let's go out to Leslie in Mason City. What is up, Leslie? Yes. Got a question for you. I am going to be 44 this fall and recently divorced. I am currently renting. I'm on baby step 3B.

Wanting to know if I should continue. I want to pay cash for a house. So if I should continue just saving everything for the house, or should I at some point start investing? I just don't know what to do. Yeah. How much do you have left to save if you were to pay cash for a house? So I just moved into a new apartment.

So I'm now able to start saving $1,700 a month. Way to go. Yeah. How much do you have saved now? I have nothing saved right now. Oh, okay. I'm just starting. Yeah, that's great.

I had to rebuild my emergency fund. Okay, I got you. And I just finished doing that. Oh, good. Okay. Well, well done. That's amazing. Thank you.

And you said recently divorced, so you've gone through you know even the last caller we were talking about um a really really hard thing and now you're finding stability and you got your emergency fund all of it so that's incredible so congratulations um you know paying i want to have a paid for house i'm 50 so i got like six years yes yes okay so here's the deal though if you're saving up to pay cash for a house, I would still invest. So I would, if I were you, I would say, okay, how much is it going to take to have a down payment on a home? Cause that's baby step three B, you know, like we talk about. So finding that down payment range, saving that amount, pressing pause or pressing play back on investing. Cause I still want you to invest, especially, you know, at your age. So saving up a down payment, then pressing play on investing,

and then look to see where you're at, Leslie, because I mean, we're okay. Debt, you know, obviously 100% down is like amazing. And it's what we would hope for everyone. And we think it's great because we hate debt. But a mortgage is the one type of debt we would not yell at you for. So if you did have a great down payment and there was something you loved, we wouldn't be mad at you for just doing that too, right? To get into the house and then paying it off quickly. But if you really are gung-ho and you're like, I want zero debt, then I would save up that down payment.

Again, start investing after that's saved. And then just keep saving on top of that until you can cash flow home if that's what you decide. Leslie, why are you adamant about paying cash? I don't ever want to go back to debt. I paid off my debt 18 months ago and I don't ever want to go back into that again. Good for you. In the houses where I live, I can actually find, there's plenty of houses for less than

$100,000. Okay. It's actually like super cheap to live where I live, I can actually find plenty of houses for less than $100,000. Okay. It's actually super cheap to live where I live. Awesome. Awesome. I just want something tiny. It's just me. Yes, that's great.

That's fantastic. And if you can, you know, whatever the math ends up being down the line, I mean, if you're saving for two, three years, you could just do that. And then if that's enough to pay cash. But I would start investing, though, at some point. That's usually the rule of thumb. If you think you's enough to pay cash, but I would start investing though. That's usually the rule of thumb. If you think you can do it in two, three years. Yep. Head down, do it. That's right. But I wouldn't go longer than three years without investing. You don't want to look up at 50 and have to pay four houses and zero in retirement.

That's going to be a scary proposition. Great job, Leslie, though. Great job. Congratulations. We'll be right back. blinds.com's 100 satisfaction guarantee means even if you mismeasure or pick the wrong color they'll remake your blinds for free. You get free samples, free shipping, and with the new promos they run every month, you'll save even more. Use promo code RAMSY to get the best deal. Rules and restrictions apply. Today's question comes from Amelia in Colorado. My husband and I have been saving for a house since we got married 18 months ago and need a little direction as we plan for a family. I'd like to stay home with them and go to being self-employed part-time.

Should we base our home purchase around our current dual income and pay it down as quickly as possible, refi when kids arrive, or should we rent a few more years and buy something we can afford on my husband's income, knowing that I will stop working when we have children, even though we don't have a timeline for that yet. Okay. Amelia, I would, I mean, it depends on when you want to have kids. I don't think you said that in the question. I'm really looking at it. But yeah, I mean, you if you're gonna have kids in less than three years then I would rent save up uh down payments and buy based on just your husband's income but if you guys are gonna wait five years or more to have kids then I would uh I would save up a down payment and then do like I would do probably like a split because by the

time in five years, your husband's income should be going up, but I would do it where it's still that kind of 25, 30% of your take home pay. Yeah. Here's the question I would ask. So one thing, I think this is good advice for all families. If you ever back yourself into a corner between an either or decision, I would stop the decision-making process and give it 30 days and just chill. Because there's always more variables than just this one or that one, right? And you've backed yourself into, do we buy a huge house with dual incomes and try to pay it down and put all these variables out here? Or do we just live in a tent and we're just gonna you know plug along into it doesn't have to be either or um and there's also rachel i mean my wife and i mean we had some we're gonna

start having kids and it was looked up and it was three or four years later i was gonna say three or four years later before you know or five or six million years till josephine came along so yeah um we have all the plans in the world and who knows. And you might get pregnant the first week. You might get pregnant next week. So I love to loop back and ask yourself, why would you need a house for just two of you that you're going to max out your dual income purchasing capacity?

You don't need a house like that. Get a one bedroom apartment, enjoy your life. Or get a small, right? So let's reimagine what we're even doing here and why we're doing it and what we want versus what we actually need yes yes and let's i don't know i like playing a long-term game here but that's just me it's good no i think so too yeah all right let's go to mike in richmond virginia what's up mike hey how you doing? Outstanding, brother. How are you? I'm good. Excellent.

What's up? So basically, I'd like to do some advice on how I should be managing my money. I'm coming into a big income change with my new job and just how I should be managing it. That's a great question. What are you making now? What will you make? I'm sorry, what was that? How much money is a big raise? How much do you make now versus what are you going to be making?

So I'm 71,000 base. Raise is 15%. So that's 10,600. And then I'm getting a thousand dollars a month per diem. Um, uh, also don't have a, a lease or a mortgage, um, living at the job site, uh, the hotel country club, uh, things. So I'm living there, there uh no food expenses either i get vouchers for food um i also get paid to drive home uh every weekend uh to my dad's house um so basically uh monthly income uh for the next year and a half i'm looking at 9200 a month. Yeah. And I was going to ask you, when does this job finish? A year and a half from now.

Okay. So this isn't a long-term raise for the rest of your life. This is a single project. It's a pretty cool setup for the next 18 months. Yeah. But the thing is, I'm in construction management. So after this one's done, I could sign up for the next out-of- how people end up buying $100,000 trucks and getting them all jacked up and getting campers and things like that. You see what I'm saying?

It's easy to get way ahead of yourself. And I got buddies on construction sites and oil field sites that have a lot of cool toys, and then suddenly they don't have any work, right? Yeah, no, there's a lot of stuff coming down the pipe that uh keep my company pretty busy so um i i see you know don't see an issue with uh work coming anytime soon uh do you what kind of debts you have mike uh zero i'm very fortunate um parents you know put together college savings, so zero there. Truck is owned. My dad, fortunate enough, my dad purchased it for me while I was in college. That's great. How old are you?

No debt at all. 23. 23. Okay. Great job. Incredible. Are you saving any money for retirement? Are you investing anything right now? Yeah, 20% total into 401k. And so 20 into the 401k and then, or sorry, 10 into the 401k and then 10 into the Roth. Nice. That's great. Are you maxing out your Roth?

I believe so, yes. Okay, I believe so. Yes. Cause it'll be, my company also is, um, putting in, uh, 8% I think into that, into your Roth IRA or your 401k. Is it the match? I believe it's the 401k dollar for dollar. I mean, after it's weird the way they do it, but it's 8% dollar for dollar, basically. Okay. Gosh, Mike. Well, I mean, fantastic job.

Fantastic job. So, yeah. So, if I woke up in your shoes, that's what I say around the show. But I'm like, if I woke up in your shoes, you're single, young, got a great job, no debts, you're funding retirement, and you're doing exactly what you should be doing. So really, when it comes down to it, there's three really basic things you do with money. You can give it, you can save it, and you can spend it. And so I would allocate percentages now on your paycheck for what you're doing. So you have that 20% retirement. You could back that down to 15%.

You know, you recommend 15%, that'd be plenty, which would free up some more cash for you throughout the month. Especially with an 8% match, right? Yes, yep. And then I would be giving some and then I would look long-term too to think, okay, where do I want to be in the next five years?

Because you can enjoy some of this, right? Spending is part of the equation. But I mean, I would love for you to own a home at some point. I don't think it's needed right this minute. But I think home ownership is just a good investment long term. And so if there's something that you see down the line in the next four or five years, who knows where you'll be with your job and life and everything but if you just had some money set aside um that you were just stockpiling for the next big transition again whether that's marriage or changing jobs or whatever it may be uh is just going to help you so i would um really control your spending you have you have a great income again to be able to enjoy life so i want you to

enjoy some of it uh because i think that you're just in a great spot but i would just be really um specific with my percentages i would say i'm going to be giving you know 10 15 20 i'm going to be investing 15 i'm going to save extra just for like a future funds you know with another 10 15 i'm going to spend this amount like i mean i would just be really specific because you don't need a lot to spend because your basics are covered. But have some permission to say, hey, you can enjoy life. But I would assign percentages, Mike,

if I were you. And Mike, let me tell you this. This is just going to sound like I'm a guy who's walking uphill in the snow on the way to school. I'm going to sound like an old man. In the construction business, there will be a season when this slows way, way down for you. And you're 22 or 23 and you don't see it yet. It will come. And there's going to be somebody that

you meet and you want to get married and doesn't want you on the road for the rest of your life. So Rachel's wisdom is so wise. Why don't you decide at 30, I want to pay for a house in cash. I want to do that. So I'm gonna start putting money away in an account and hold on to it and live as frugally as possible because there's going to come a rainy day and there's going to come some excitement that I don't even know is on its way. Right. This is the Ramsey show, 888-825-5225. And we have two wonderful people on the debt-free stage, Jordan and Rachel. So I'm assuming you're here to do your debt-free scream.

Yes, we are. Fantastic. So how much have you paid off? We have paid off exactly $95,629.58. Wow. Amazing. Wow. Amazing. Not that we're being exact. And where are y'all in from?

Jamestown, New York. Jamestown. New York. How long did it take you? 19 months. Woo, y'all were cooking. Oh, yeah. What was your salary here?

We started off at $84,000 and went up to $110,000. Nice. What do y'all do? I'm a nurse. Okay. And I work in the office at a heating and air company. Okay. So great. You guys, congratulations. Thank you. So what happened 19 months ago that made you jump on board? We got married. There you go. So it actually started about four years ago when my parents wanted me to go to a FPU class that our church was teaching. And I had that mentality, that prideful mentality that I knew what I was doing and I clearly didn't. So it was a very mind opening experience.

And then about four lessons in or so, that's when I met Rachel and we started dating and I think about two months in I was I just got her going on a budget and was questioning her like crazy so so you jumped in hardcore you were like I don't want to do this FPU thing and then you're like I'm I'm all in yeah yep and uh yep basically how that went yeah what was your what was the date like when you're like hi um if this is going to go any further you're going to do a budget right pretty much not the hottest way to introduce yourself no i did it very subtly because i didn't want to scare her off or anything he introduced me very slowly and he brought he invited you over to watch netflix and he's like i can't find it how about we watch fpu videos yeah, that's basically how that happens.

Well played, my man. Okay, so you guys, but you, it took you 19 months though, but you were saying four years ago. So what happened in between all of that? You guys start dating, you get married, and then you say, okay, we're going to hit this debt. Yeah, basically after we got married.

So when we looked at Rachel's budget, all of that was her student loans. And that's when we kind of had a game plan. And when we got engaged, then we also had to cash flow our wedding. So we had a pretty good size wedding that we cash flowed. And then we said right after that, we're just going to go crazy on the debt. Okay. So all 95 was from nursing school. Yes. I was very grateful to find somebody who was like, you know what? You have all of this debt. It's now going to be my debt too. So to have someone to like really work with me and, you know, take care of me. Yeah. It was amazing.

So it was my debt, but Jordan's my partner and he really helped me. So can I ask you a hard question there? Oh, sure. I hear this often, especially when we're off air, that when, when, when a couple is paying off debt, especially a newlywed couple, they're paying off debt. And most of it, or all of it is one of yours. That it's easy for you to feel seven months in that blanket of shame just starts to sit on you. Like, it's my fault we're not going on vacations. If it wasn't for me, he would be able to. And it's easy on the other side

to start slipping into the ash of resentment, right? Like, man, good grief. I make a great salary. It'd be so cool to have a real car that I didn't have to start with a rope. Right. So how did y'all manage that? Oh, that's a really good question. And I would say that there has been times that we, you know, me, especially, I was like, man, I really should be picking up even more shifts at the hospital, like pulling more of the weight just because it's all of the debt is mine. Um, I,

all I can say is Jordan's like a hundred percent in to like the Ramsey steps and he was just like the best supporter in it. So I really don't know how to answer your question because he's one of a kind. No, but I think you guys chose early on, even, you know, you chose early on that to be unified in it and it kind of, you share the weight early on, even, you know, you chose early on that to be unified in it. And it kind of, you share the weight in it, even though what John said totally happens, right? For a lot of couples, those emotions and all of that can play in because we hear it all

the time too. But there is something beautiful about both just going a hundred percent in. So people listening to right now to this call and they're thinking, oh man, like, you know, I have all this debt and I, I'm fearful that my, you know, my husband's going to resent me or all this. Right. But there's something to be said with you guys that, yeah, but when you go a hundred percent in together, there's such a stronger, uh, more motivating factor that happens. Absolutely.

Because it lifts some of that weight off your shoulders and it's not on yours. So what encouragement would you give people listening that think, oh, I have $95,000 in student loan debt. We're young, you know, we're newlyweds as well. There's no way we can do it. What would you say to them? It's not as bad as it always, I think it's not as bad as you think at first, because when we first sat down, when we got married, we looked at it and our actual first projection was about three years that it would take us. And I was kind of like rolling my eyes, not in a really good mood about it. But you just have to have that mentality of like, you just got to push. You got to fight with everything you got and sacrifice to say no to

things. To like think about the end game. Like we just, it just made us want to work even harder to pay it off even faster. So yeah, I just think not losing sight of that. So how did y'all get from three years to a year and a half? How did that, when you did it, when you said, well, it's going to take us three years, you guys did it in 19 months. How'd you do that? Yeah. Well, she's a nurse at a, at a hospital. And so they were offering a lot of incentive pay. So she would take a lot of extra shifts on. And she worked days and nights, like two weeks on, two weeks off. So it was very sporadic and we didn't see each other a whole lot, but it was worth it in the end. And I did a lot of, I did a couple of odd jobs. Like I did, I did a lot of, or I did a couple of odd jobs. Like I did, I did a secret shopper job and then I did car detailing on the side.

My dad and I also rent a tent out. So it was just a lot of little things that I did. So that's just kept going and going so good. So what would you say the key to getting out of debt is? Oh man, I think just really just having a budget. I don't think we could have done it at all without really organizing where we're putting everything. And, you know, like Jordan said, having that projection, it really like puts things into perspective. So with the budget, we were able to project, okay, we're going to have this much in this, you know, amount of time. And I really think I know everyone says the budget, but for us, I'd be lost without it. Yes. It's the roadmap. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I almost say the budget. And then also I kind of had this thing I started saying, like, ignore society and follow the truth because society kind of just tells you everything wrong to do with your finances.

And it's just, it's kind of, it's almost, it gets to me a lot because I'm a little passionate about it. So I get a little upset, but I just go back on the truth and the truth hasn't let me down. So I'll just keep going. You're passionate.

You had a budget template in your Tinder profile, man. So yeah, he's super passionate about it for sure. He has a whole spreadsheet. That's what we did for like hours,

made a huge spreadsheet. I love that. Ignore society. This is like a good punk band name, man. I just love it. I love it. Well, hey, we have a copy of Dave's bestselling book, Total Money Makeover, that you can take and give to somebody. We're also going to give you a year of financial peace, right? So you can hand that off to somebody else that you work with, that you know, and you think, I think it's time for them, right? We're also going to give you a copy of Baby Steps Millionaire because that is your next step.

So we have Jordan and Rachel from Jamestown, New York, who paid off $95,629.58 in 19 months, making $84,000 up to $110,000. Nursing, doing administrative work, cleaning cars, moving tents, whatever it took to get this thing done in 19 months. We're so proud of you. Count it down. Let's hear your debt-free scream.

Three, two, one. We're debt-free! Yeah! Oh, I love it. Here's my favorite thing. They planned the debt payoff. They planned their debt-free scream together. They've got the cadence.

I know, did you get that? That's awesome. That is so good. So good. Congratulations, you guys. America, if you're listening, you can too. We'll be right back. សូវាប់ពីបានប់ពីបានប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពី The last couple of years in the real estate market have been tough. We've all felt it. Home prices skyrocketed in a way we haven't seen before and interest rates are up.

And now no one knows what's happening next or how to handle it. If you're scared, you don't have to be. Even though the market seems crazy right now, it's not going to crash. If you're ready to buy or sell, now's a good time to do it. All it takes is navigating the market with knowledge and skill. Unless you're a rockstar real estate agent yourself, you need an agent who's experienced in difficult markets and can help you avoid costly mistakes. One who's at the top of the industry, like one of our endorsed local providers. These are top performing agents who are experts in their local market, have spent multiple years in the industry and have the transactions and success to back it up.

They've earned the right to be called Ramsey Trusted because we know they'll serve you well and help you make decisions based on facts and actual experience. You need the best of the best when you're buying or selling a home. Find a Ramsey Trusted agent by going to RamseySolutions.com slash agent. That's RamseySolutions.com slash agent. That's ramseysolutions.com slash agent. Let's go to Zach in Huntsville. What's up, Zach? Am I there? Yeah, you're here.

Okay, it blipped out first. What's up, man? Not much. Talked to you and Dave about four months ago dealing with anger after a divorce i followed up with you and george two months after that and now i'm here for part three all right what's up maybe i'll give you the actual real answer of life exactly you've needed rachel this whole time man sorry sorry zach i haven't been there for you but i'm here i'm just kidding i appreciate that rachel john is giving me terrible advice right now

you're gonna have to get in line i think so i think so zach so what's up but I'm here. I'm just kidding. I appreciate that, Rachel. John is giving me terrible advice right now. You're going to have to get in line. I think so. I think so, Zach. So what's up? I'm just kidding. No, so recently the loneliness

has actually just gotten to a bad point because I mentioned the other two times I drive a truck over the road. Got to the point I made the really

tough decision. I need to get out of this at least for a season. However, I had two things coming up that I got to deal with first. I got to get moved, and I found a couple options that will pay decent, but I also need to get my hazmat tanker endorsements before I can actually do those. So I was seeing if you have any advice to help deal with the loneliness until I get out of this.

It's going to be about two or three months to accomplish all of these things. I think people can do most of anything for two or three months. I mean, you're talking 60 or 90 days. Is that to get your endorsement and it's going to allow you to what? What are you moving towards professionally?

I'm going to go haul a fuel tanker and just deliver to gas stations because it's home daily and I can – sorry, my husky is over here. I wanted to talk to you guys. Yeah, that will allow me to go home daily and be around some friends and have a chance to relax and get my head straight after this divorce is over with. Okay. So what is this training? What's your schedule going to look like the next 60, 90 days?

Staying on the road. I'm going to go home on the weekend of the 17th next month for my niece's birthday. And then aside from that, I don't know exactly how often I'll go home. I'm going to try to stay out enough to maximize the money that I need to get moved. And then it costs about $61 to get the Hazmat endorsement. I'm actually going to do

that on the same weekend as my niece's birthday as long as I can get the appointment set up at the DMV. So let's do this. Let's do this. Let's put a big star on the calendar for 75 days from now. And that's the day after you take your exams. And you're going to invite people to your house. And you're going to have a good time. You're going to celebrate people. People are going to celebrate you.

You're coming out of a dark season, man. The trucking almost kills you. The marriage mess, the divorce, all that stuff's been just piling up and piling up. Let this be a moment of celebration, a moment of peace, right? And then we're going to head into some highly intentional. I'm going to choose to have people into my life. And for you, who's been on the road for a while, it's going to feel awkward. It's going to feel weird and you're going to feel stuck and it's going to feel boring.

And you're going to have to practice having people over in your life because you know, if you don't, the end result's not great. Right. So we're going to be intentional about it, but let's put a star on the calendar and let's just run hard for the next 60, 75 days, okay? Because when you put that thing on the calendar and get it ready, your body can get there, okay? Your body can get there. I like the idea of having a little bit of celebration. That actually might help.

Listen, not a little bit. I don't want you to have two buddies over, and you're all going to play Dungeons & Dragons and eat pizza. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Will over here in the booth. He's like, I like Dungeons & Dragons. I want you to have something that you and your body will look forward to, a celebration of a new chapter in my life.

Okay? A big deal. Let's do something big because you're going to shift everything after this. You're going to have to learn new skills. The skills of I come home every day and then I'm not going to sit down and just let Netflix run the next show and the next show and the next series. I'm going to create a life worth living and that's one where I get outside. create a life worth living. And that's one where I get outside. That's one where I exercise. That's one where I hang out with people. That's one where I date again. It's one where me and my dog go out

and we go on adventures and we go on hikes. I'm going to build a life. I'm not going to just accept whatever life I have left after I get done working a job that I hate. See the difference? Yeah, I see it. That's honestly what i was aiming for that's it was kind of like the epiphany that happened when i decided i need to get out of otr i will admit i love my job but i but your job is killing me i know this might just be a season where i'm

out and then i get back in it after things have cooled off but i don't overthink it man it got hard yeah and't overthink it. And as excited as that celebration is, that star on the calendar, like John said, also take what he said and put other things on the calendar and say, hey, in six months, I want to take a road trip to see a friend from high school that I hadn't seen in forever. I'm going to hike two days a week this week. I'm going to actually plan out because as intentional as we talk about money on this show and budgeting and all that,

the same is true with your time. And if you're not careful, Zach, that whole idea of coming home, Netflix, just going to bed early, you can get back into another rut even with your life change. Oh, yeah, man. So being intentional with your time, too, Zach, is huge for this next season. So go ahead and plan it out and just have fun with it. You know, it's not a burden. Just say, what are fun things that I want to do

that I've wanted to do for a while and I haven't been able to, and write them out and put them on the calendar. What she's talking about is, let's budget for our life, not financially, but let's build a non-anxious life. Let's build a life worth living, right? And it's going to be step-by-step, piece-by-piece. We're going to practice it,

and it's going to be weird and awkward, but let's go do that. Is that cool? Yeah, it's actually a good idea that I didn't think about. I know a couple of things that I want to do in the next little while, but I think that might actually work. For example, I want to go skiing again. I haven't been skiing since I was 18. Put it on the calendar. I've been trying to do that for the last 10 years. See, Zach, I'm here for you. You should have called Rachel a long time ago. You should have called me. I could have given you all this thought, all these practices. John's over here just... Just running, yammering, yammering. All right, Zach, so you're going to call back in February, okay? You're going to call back in February.

When I'm on. When Rachel's on. And John. On your way home from your ski trip, okay? And you're going to talk to us about being 60 days in at home. You're going to talk about your workout program. You're going to talk about the group of guys that you're hanging out with, whether y'all go throw darts once a week or y'all all go mow each other's lawns on the way i don't care what

you're doing we're going fishing or hunting i don't care what it is you're going to tell us about these things that you are intentionally doing to create a life worth living a life full of joy is that is that a deal i can do that all right deal we'll be here cool cool all right man congratulations for you zach yeah on your whole man see if everybody in america knew just ask rachel just ask rachel i should be on the show dave doesn't know what he's talking about i sure don't know what i'm talking about ken nah george sometimes he does actually george is the smartest one of all of us except for old Rachel. Oh, Zach.

Well, hey, everybody. That's another hour in the book. I want to thank Kelly, James, Ben, Zach, Andrew, Austin. And you know what? I'm going to thank Kelly again. I'm even going to thank Will. And I'm going to thank you, America. Thanks for joining us.

We'll be right back. This is The Ramsey Show. If you want to do your debt-free scream live on the show, visit ramseysolutions.com slash debt-free scream. We'd love for you to come to Nashville and tell Dave your story. That's ramsaysolutions.com slash debt-free scream.