The Ramsey Show - App - Big Dreams Require Big Sacrifices

Episode Date: May 5, 2025

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey Show where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create amazing relationships. I'm Rachel Cruz hosting this hour with my good friend, the bestselling author, George Camel, also my co-host on Smart Money Happy Hour. And we are here taking your calls. So we'll chat about your life, your money, your relationships, your career, anything and everything.

So give us a call. At first we have Elizabeth, all the way up in Canada. Hi, Elizabeth, welcome to the show. Elizabeth? Hi. There you are, I was worried sick. Okay. We were so concerned.

How are you? Yes. Hi, I'm good, how are you guys? We're doing great. How can we help? Okay, I'm really nervous. I'm going to pretend like you guys are just my buddies and I'm talking to you. Don't worry, we're extra nice to Canadians.

We love Canada, so you're great. You're in good hands. All right. So I need to know if I'm being a baby and if I have wrongful resentment, I am a Christian, so I want to make sure that I have nothing between God and I, and I'm just going to give you guys a quick snapshot. So I'm wondering, am I wrong to feel resentment? I come from a family of four girls. My husband and I and I'm just going to give you guys a quick snapshot. So I'm wondering, am I wrong to feel resentment? I come from a family of four girls. My husband and I are about to enter baby step number three in about two weeks Lord willing so We're really excited about that. Congratulations.

Thank you. Yeah, so my parents have been renting for my sister and her husband for about nine years. They pay well above market rent for our area and they take care of their kids before and after school. They fix things around their house. They do all their yard work, et cetera. So I've been asked to be the executor of their will. I know the will is gonna be divided equally between my sisters and I, so poor girls,

so divided equally into four. And this is the part it really bugs me. I'm wondering, like, if I feel like in some ways my sister has already gotten her share of the will and it's not even about the money. Like I just, I'm concerned that my parents are being taken advantage of, but my parents are happy to do all these things for them. And it's kind of like they had this agreement a long time ago that they would take care of their kids. And I don't know, I feel like am I wrong to feel in some way that resentful towards my

sister that maybe she is being taken advantage of by my, that they're taking advantage of my parents? No, not necessarily. Where are you? Like from a physical location, are you close to them? I'm about 40, yeah, 40 minutes away from them. Okay, okay. Like, and yeah. So why did they originally rent from her

and not another sibling? You know what? And the thing is they're fine. My parents make over a hundred thousand a year. They could have bought a house even by now, right? Like they, I don't know why they decided to rent from them. I'm not sure. I wasn't part of that conversation

and that kind of deal they made with watching their kids. It almost feels like this is between your sister and your parents. Yes. And you know, if your parents feel taken advantage of, they need to have a conversation with your sister. But they seem fine. Correct.

Yeah, they seem fine with it exactly. The only person upset here is you. I know I'm the baby, aren't I? No, you're not. No. I think your emotions are valid. You feel hurt, probably. Yeah, I would feel the same way.

Yes. So is it bad to be resentful? Is it a sin? No. If you let it eat you alive, you're just drinking your own poison. And so that's the part that worries me more is how do we get you to let go of this and go,

this is between them. And I feel like this is a confession. We're the priest here. She's coming to us with this. But I do think there's a level of this where you go, listen, we're all gonna get our fair share. We're all gonna be fine financially. They're adults, they can make decisions

on their own volition. And yes, it can also hurt that your sister got the long end of the stick and you got the short end. Where, sibling order, Elizabeth, where are you and where is she? So I'm the second oldest and she got the short end. Where, sibling order, Elizabeth, where are you and where is she? So I'm the second oldest and she's the third oldest. So she's right after me in the order. And I know like I've spoken to even my older sister and then the baby of the family and

they've always, they seem like, oh, okay, like that's, they have a pretty good gig happening, right? And I know I have to keep checking my heart. and the thing is like both my husband and I have great jobs we've made great headway in terms of paying off our debt and I know we'll be okay and even my husband always says you know I he's like we're fine like we wouldn't even want my parents to live with us right yeah yeah it's not the it's not the actual help that you're longing for. It's almost more of this connection of feeling like,

man, I feel like we're working so hard over here. And not only has anything never really been extended to us, but also never even asked maybe, right? So there's a level of probably just of hurt feelings, of not feeling cared for and seeing your parents still in that parental role for another sibling and not for you so there's like this like kind of a bad amount like What like hi, I'm over here, you know, I'm not getting attention

Right was that similar growing up for you guys from like just a from like a personality standpoint. Oh that's a good question like I I've always been like more the sister, like I think with even my older sister with all of them. That part's been- Yeah. So you were more independent, you needed less attention in general because you were more self-sustaining. Yeah, maybe. Yeah, and I have four kids and my sisters have two. And it's like, but I'm like, that's what I wanted for me.

I love to be busy and we've done fine. And I don't know. Would you want to trade places with your sister today? No. I think there's our answer. I think that just gives you perspective to know you're only seeing the parts that you're jealous of. You don't see the other parts where they go. Oh my gosh. I just want my own space

I wish they would we don't know what's happening on the other side good or bad And so it feels like you're festering on this Making up stories in a narrative in your head that they've abandoned you and I think it's I think you should have a conversation with Them if you feel that way otherwise I would just let it go and move on with your life and We'll all be friends and you'll get your inheritance. Now, if you were getting zero inheritance

and you put in all this work, I'd go, that is unfair. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But everyone's getting their equal share. They just have a different situation. Yeah, and I think it's less about the right, the money. I think it's the relational aspect in it all for you. The hurt that's there. Yes, a lot, 100%.

So yeah, so I think that's, yeah, I mean, yeah, George is right, I think if there's anything that needs to be said for you to say for yourself that you need something, that's fine. But don't go, if you do have a conversation, I would not go in with the motivation of somehow I'm gonna change the situation or I'm gonna say this so that my parents

will then do X, Y, and Z. You know what I mean? That is, I mean, I feel like that's an issue that happens all the time where we think, okay, I'm gonna go into the conversation and what I say is gonna change what they're thinking or what they're doing. And you just can't control them, right?

They're still gonna do it. But if you, Elizabeth, do have things within you that you're like, I just need to verbally say this for me, regardless of what happens, for my healing, I need to say these things out loud then that is a then maybe that is a conversation you guys need to have or maybe Elizabeth you kind of just like read the cards own that yeah this hurts and this isn't fun but there's also a level of I'm an adult and I and I you know you you just said you would not change your situation you wouldn't trade places with her right so um so no I don't think you're being a baby.

I think that's shameful talk. I wouldn't say that by any means. I think you're hurt. And I think that's totally fine, right? And so what we do with that, I think is what's important. So I don't want the resentment, like George said, that eats away at your life and your happiness. And so there's like this level of acceptance

with our family and dynamics that I think the quicker we can get to the acceptance part. Yeah, it's like five stages of grief. Maybe you write a letter, maybe you give it to them, maybe you just rip it up. But I think just getting it out on paper would help you move through this instead of just wrestle with it.

And that's such a prime example, George, of how with relationships and money and family dynamic, it's really about the actual money, right? It's about the relationship and the people that are handling it that can be hurtful. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call.

So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call.

So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call.

So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call.

So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call.

So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks for the call. So Elizabeth, thanks to the show. Hey Rachel, thanks for having me. Yep, absolutely. How can we help? Hey, so I've got a car problem for you guys. A little bit under two years ago,

I purchased a diesel F250 for around 8,200 bucks that I've been using to run my small handyman business. And this thing has just been giving me so much trouble over those last two years. Over the last two years, I've spent 7,800 on top of that. I know quite a bit and it's kind of been getting out of control more recently, um, to where now I need another probably 1500 bucks to, to fix this thing and get it, get it moving again.

So what I'm asking is how you would kind of handle the situation if you're me, this is starting to now affect my clients to where I'll have to push off my schedule a little bit because I don't have the truck up and running and that's costing me money or there. And I can't continue to keep paying, you know, 325 a month in maintenance. And that number is, you know, kind of growing at this point. So I'm just wondering, I know you guys are against leases. I don't exactly have the money to buy a new car. I also really don't want to go down this road again and put say 10, 15 K into a truck and then just end up buying a truck with all kinds of issues.

I mean, this last time I did take it to a mechanic, have him check it out beforehand and he kind of okayed it, but I don't know much about cars. Cars are not my forte. I've kind of gotten killed over this whole thing, to be honest. Yeah, well it's frustrating that you put almost what the car is worth back into maintenance, right? And it's still breaking down. It hasn't fixed the issue.

So no, your frustration is totally legitimate, but also I don't want, because of our frustration, to make a stupid financial move, especially when it comes to cars, because George and I, we talk about this a lot on our shows in smart money happy hour But how you know cars and car payments car leases all of that is one of the biggest wealth killers in America It's the trap that people get in

So even though your frustration is legitimate, I want to make sure your solution is as well Yeah, what year is this truck? How long have you had it for? So I've had it for probably 22 months. I believe I bought it in July about two years ago The truck had a hundred and thirty nine thousand miles when I bought it. It's right around a hundred and fifty thousand miles now So I live in kind of a small beach town community and most of my jobs are not too far So I don't put crazy miles on this thing each year. Did you do a pre-purchase inspection on the truck? Sort of I took the truck? Sort of. I took the truck while I was on my test drive,

I took it to a mechanic and had him inspect it. And I said, hey, I'm thinking about paying around eight grand for this truck. Do you think that's worth it based on what you see? Is there anything that I should really be aware of? Essentially, I told him, I was like, I don't want to buy it and have a bunch of maintenance. I was like, I just want a truck that's going to run,

give me from point A to point B. It doesn't look pretty. I mean, it's two different colors, but you know, it was getting the job done. So I sort of took it to get a pre-inspection, if that makes sense. Okay. I'm just, I'm trying to figure out what went wrong here where you poured the eight grand into it and it was there anything kind of red flags along the way. What is it worth today if you tried to sell at private party? So I've had it listed out there on the market for four grand and I've had people hit me back between 15 and 2,500. That being said, I've never I haven't met with any of

those people in person like I haven't actually gotten them to come out and take a look at the truck. So I can't imagine this thing's worth more than two grand to be honest with you. How is that possible? Less than two years ago, you paid 8,200 and you fixed it up. Where did you buy it from, Trevor? A private party or a dealership? I did buy it from a dealership. And to your point, I have probably made some mistakes here,

at least in terms of the purchase. I probably should have been more aware. Yeah. Yeah, so you probably overpaid is what you're thinking because of the condition it was in. Obviously, it wasn't in a great condition. It should have been probably a $5,000 truck. Yes.

I mean, I'd 100% agree with you. Mistakes were definitely made here on my end. Sure. Which is also why I'm very hesitant getting back into this game. That's kind of why I'm calling you guys because I don't want to make this mistake again. This has been, you know, I'm not going to say one of the biggest mistakes in my life, but in terms of monetary. It's legit frustrating. Yeah. I mean, every month, if you're pouring money into this thing and it keeps

breaking, it's not dependable and you're using it for your work legitimately, right? Not even just getting to and from work. It is your work. It is my work. Exactly. Yeah. So making sure that this is a sustainable idea. Okay. Do you, yeah, financially, where are you at, Trevor? Do you have any money saved? Anything that's not in retirement? I'd rather not acknowledge that if we don't have to. I have money in retirement and I do have some other money outside of that. We're trying to figure out do you have enough money to go buy a truck in cash? Do you have $10,000? Yeah, I do. Okay.

Okay, well, you can buy the truck. So I would this time do a bunch of research, do a pre-purchase inspection, maybe go private party. Thanks for the nerf. Maybe go independent, use dealership and make sure that they're well reviewed. So you're going to do your due diligence this time and what you're not going to do is go lease a new, brand new truck because you don't want issues. Yeah, because there are-

That's the dumbest thing you could do. Yes, unlike- Yeah, that was not on the table. Yeah, unlike your experience, there are cars and trucks out there that go way past the mileage that you're in that are in fine condition, right? Like you said, they're not pretty.

It's not like it's like top of the line everything by any means, but it should get you to point A to point B and stay together and hold together. And this is not so we've all had a toxic X. And so this will be your future toxic eggs. It doesn't mean all women are like this. It's just the one that you dated. She was something else. She was something. And you're a lot of work.

Exactly. You look back and laugh. But you've got the money. And so I would just really start doing your research. What are you making from this handyman business what's your income per year? It's close to zero essentially it covers my living expenses. But do you make 50 grand a year or 100 grand a year? I'm gonna go between 24 and 36 thousand a year. Are you you working full time on top of that? No, sir. I'm confused.

You're making like $12 an hour in this business. You could go work retail and make more. Yeah, yeah, I definitely agree with you. So I worked in the corporate world for a while and I made a little bit of money, saved up, and I decided I wanted to go pursue this. So I make pretty good money while I work, but I've only been in business for about a year and a half.

I'm 26 years old and I can live off 24 to 36,000. I really believe that I could grow this to where I'm making around a hundred thousand a year in due time, but I probably only work consistently 20 to 30 hours a week. So I somewhat sacrifice a full work schedule with a little bit more free time to where I'm able to learn and do other things. So yeah, I'm kind of investing in myself long-term. I do understand that this might not be

the most positive economic play right now, but I do believe in myself to be able to make this work more down the road. I'm young, I have a lot of time to put in. And Trevor, you're not going into debt for your living expenses. You're able to cashflow everything. You're not like deep in credit card debt.

Yes, I'm pretty intelligent and savvy when it comes to that. And yes, I do have some credit card debt right now revolving. Not that I've paid any interest on. I know that sounds bad, but I've paid zero interest in credit cards ever. So essentially I run my monthly bills through my credit cards. But you can't pay the bill in full. And then pay them off each month.

No, I can't pay the, yeah, no, I have no issues paying the bills in full. Why haven't you paid it in full? You said as a rule, like, you have a balance you're carrying month to month? For less than 30 days, yes, sir. Okay. Well, that's a call for another day about how we would recommend running your business. But man, I'm telling you, you run that thing with a debit card, you're going to be spending

differently. That's fair. That's a good point. So I would be, you're 26, you're single, I'd be working full time. Because you have goals, right? You have future goals. You want to buy a home one day? You want a nicer truck that's not giving you issues? You have a home?

Yes, sir. Do you own it free and clear? No. Oh, okay. You have a mortgage? No, I have a 30 year mortgage. So what I'm getting from you Trevor is you did well in the corporate world. What was your best year when you were working besides you're doing this? What were you making? Well, okay, not that well, but I made 80,000. That's amazing. So I think I can picture Trevor.

He's in West Palm Beach, working the corporate world. Living his best life. Working 50, 60 hours, making 80 grand. And he's like, what is his life? What am I doing? So you quit, you saved up money is what I heard you say earlier, right? You have savings and retirement.

And you're doing all of that. And you're like, you know what? I'm gonna just pump the brakes. I'm gonna enjoy life a little bit, start my own business, get a $8,000 mechanic truck and start my own business and slowly grow it and all the things. And I don't think anything in and of itself is wrong. I wanna make sure that you're doing all of this

and able to support yourself and your business with cash because long-term that's gonna set you up. And if this business isn't moving faster in the next 12 months, to George's point, you can make more doing something else just from a time perspective too. So some things to think about. But to answer your original question, might call Trevor. Yeah. I'd go buy a truck cache. Yeah, for sure. Get a $10,000, $12,000 great truck and yeah, continue living your beach Florida life, Trevor. Thanks for the call

The question of the day is brought to you by why ReFi if you've got defaulted private student loans and no one else will work with you try why ReFi They help you explore refinancing options with a low fixed rate and a payment plan based on your ability to pay. Go to yrefy.com slash Ramsey. That's the letter Y, R-E-F-Y dot com slash Ramsey. May not be available in all states. Today's question comes from Brianna in Illinois. Is there ever an appropriate time to stop investing? I'm 32 and I'd like to invest up to 150,000 in a 401k with an annual rate of return of

10%. At 60 years old, your calculator says I would have nearly $3 million to retire with without investing anything additional. If I understand correctly, this will generate $300,000 of interest annually to live off of and still be able to leave the original $3 million to my family. This seems more than reasonable to live off of, though I know things will be more expensive due to the cost of living, but I'll have less expenses. My thought was, why would I continue to invest?

I could apply some of the die with zero principles Rachel has mentioned and give more to my children during the times they need it most if I stop when I have 150,000 in my retirement account. Wow, this is very thought through, Brianna. Thank you for this question. Yeah, it is. I gotta really think through this.

Yeah, so, would I, so, the Die With Zero book, I've mentioned that I've read it, and I really like some of the stuff. I mean, some of the things were really interesting that he talks about. I did say I didn't agree with 100%. So I don't think, and when you kinda get to the end of the book, he kind of mentioned,

like there's a little bit of this feeling of like, okay, doesn't mean like you like truly die with zero. Like the goal isn't to like, you can't predict your death, right? So it's not like, oh, we're gonna just like. If you knew exactly when you would die, that would help. That's right. Most people don't.

That would be, yes. So that's not the theory. So if you leave money to your kids, which we talk about, you know, a wise man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, it says that in scripture. So there's something about that legacy that I am not against by any means.

But the idea is if you do this stuff early and you start to build wealth and you pay off your home and you do have a surplus from a high income and you're maxing out investments, like at what point is it just saving to save, right? And so I think that that is a good question to ask. And I don't know, Brianna, kind of, I'm gonna assume you're done with everything

because I would want you to pay off your house before any of this other discussion starts to happen. But for those who have, you can kind of start thinking, okay, yeah, I mean, if I get to the point that I can max out 401ks and all of that, should I maybe shift after that to investing in things that are not tied up till I'm 59 and a half so that you have investments that are growing that you can get Too sooner without penalty to then maybe help your children if there's enough surplus there when they're in there

You know when they're 25 or 26 and you know If you want to help with a down payment or you want to actually use your money in this life To help your kids when they do need it most in their 20s and 30s, I believe, is that a reasonable option? So all that to say, I think there are some ways if you are doing what you're doing and you're maxing out, I mean, she says invest into $150,000.

Oh, oh, maxing it out, okay. Well, she says $150,000 in a 401k. I wouldn't let the number of $150,000 just leaving, just having that in a 401k and leaving it. I wouldn't, I would still be investing 15% of my income and still following that. And, but again, if you want to shift from investing in retirement funds

after you max out a Roth or max out a 401k, if you have that high of an income, to then invest in other things that you can get to before retirement, I would be totally on board with that. Does that make sense? It does. My confusion remains with the invest up to 150,000 on a 401k.

You can't do that at once. You know what I mean? You can't just throw 150k in a 401k. So I wonder if she's saying that, because it's like 22,000, is that it? 23,000 is the max? Yeah, she's saying I do this from 32 to this age and then I stop, what would that happen?

You know, and I haven't crunched the numbers myself to see if this is accurate. And the 10% is just the average. You're not gonna just get that every year. So you're not just gonna see 300,000 show up in that account every year. There might be years where it loses money. There might be times where you get more than that.

And so we don't know what the future holds. And because of that, I'm kind of a glass half full kind of guy and go, well, I'm just gonna invest more. I'd rather have too much than not enough. Right, totally. That's a good problem to have. I can give more, I can spend more. I can bless my kids more with that money.

So I would continue investing because you have the margin to do it. And in the same breath, enjoy your life, spend some of it, give a lot of it. And so I think the balance is important there. Otherwise you get a flat tire. Yeah, I'm held up. Yes, she's gonna put in $150,000 in her 401k

and then stop and then just let it grow. And I would not do that. I don't think that's a wise plan. I would still be putting money in my 401k every single year. And if you have the income again to max it out, that's amazing, right? I would be doing that. And then if you're beyond that, then you can look to say, hey, how can I get creative with this investing and not just stick with a 401k where it's tied up till I'm 59 and a half.

And at 32, you just truly don't know what life is going to throw your way. So I'd rather just keep building for the future, knowing that 32. Yes. Yes. I mean, you still got the future knowing that 32. Yeah. Yeah, I mean you still got Potentially 60 70 years totally. Yes. Yeah, totally agree. Who knows we might have hyperinflation One day. Well, it's gonna be like rent. You're like, oh my gosh, I should have invested whatever doing. What are we doing? All right. Let's go the phones. We got Jeff in Salt Lake City. Hey Jeff. Welcome to the show Hey, thank you so much. It's good to be here.

Yes, we're glad you called. How can we help? So three weeks ago, I'm 46 years old. Three weeks ago, my wife and I paid off our house. Whoa! So congrats. Jeff, congratulations. Thank you.

It's a, honestly, I'm a therapist, so I use these words, but it's a weird, open, vulnerable feeling. It's just one of those things you never thought you'd get, especially the family and finances I came through. My wife's parents were immigrants from Holland post-World War II, so they were very total and smart with their money, so we came from different worlds.

But honestly, how we did it is, if we had a little extra money, we just threw it at it. But then our payment was like $1,254. And for years we've just been paying $1,700. And it's funny how unexciting, unsexy that is, but all of a sudden, you know, about a year and a half ago, I know maybe a year and two months ago, I looked at it and the balance was down to $27. So, wow. Oh my gosh. How much is the house worth? Probably 800 now. That's incredible. Jeff, well done. Incredible. What's your question today? So the 1700 that we've been using, I mean I've been limping the car along for like 20 years. Literally on May 6thth tomorrow it'll be 20 years I've been driving that car we've withheld putting carpet downstairs like we have six hundred thousand invested and saved right now and just letting that grow and

we keep contributing you know 15% or more like with that money that we've been paying towards the mortgage each month what do we do with that now I mean I have some things like could you take care of the house, get another car? But what do you recommend there? Yes, yes, and yes. I would do it all. And you can increase investing at this point, beyond the 15%, you can increase your giving,

and you can increase your spending. And so I would absolutely be now cash flowing all those upgrades you wanted to do to the car, to the house, on top of investing more. You should have the wanted to do to the car, to the house, on top of investing more. You should have the margin to do with that 1,700. Plus you probably have more margin where that came from. Yeah, it's interesting once you start working on that stuff,

how you just feel blessed. Like I can't even tell you how the Lord's just taking care of us. It's an amazing feeling. Well, you guys have been so diligent as well, right? So I mean, that's incredible. But yeah, Jeff incredible but yeah Jeff I would make you know yeah the next goal probably upgrading the car if there's some house stuff around that you guys make a list to make like a three to four year you know by the time we're 50 what

do we want life to kind of look like and and I would be using that mortgage payment for those things and then once you kind of have some of that settled then you can look and be like okay yeah let's, let's invest more, let's be giving more. I mean, all of it, but yeah, there's some upgrades you guys can be doing here in the next couple of years that you've kind of held off is what it sounds like to get this house paid off. Yeah, just sacrifice just to get it done.

And it feels good, you know, we're still alive, but I want to be totally done with work by the time I'm 60 and do some other things, but you know, almost 47. So hopefully I'm on the track to do that. Yeah, I would be tracking all that. Hey, are we on track for this goal of retiring at 60 with our retirement? Are we on track to upgrade the card in the next year

with the sinking fund in the budget? Are we on track to replace the carpet in the next six months? So start to outline all those goals and make it real in the budget with a line item. That way you don't feel guilty about using that money. You already had the goal that money had a name already. It's not, oh, I feel bad. So the hardest part for you, Jeff, truthfully,

is gonna be reversing this gazelle intensity sacrifice life and going, oh, we can breathe. We can have fun, we can upgrade the car. We don't deserve this car, we've been driving the beater for 20 years. Jeff, drive the nice car, man. Live like no one else so later you can live and give like no one else.

live like no one else. So later you can live and give like no one else. Buying or selling your home. It's a really big deal. It's probably the largest purchase your home that you'll make in your lifetime. And when you're selling it, you want to make sure you get exactly what you can for it. That's why you want an expert in your corner fighting for you to get the best deal with the right price. So the Ramsey Trusted program is the only way to find a top agent that you can trust who will make your home a blessing, not a burden. And it's easy.

You can just compare agent profiles, interview them, and choose the one that you wanna work for or work with. So find a local trusted real estate pro for free at ramsesolutions.com slash agent, or click the link in the description if you are watching on YouTube or listening on podcast. Up next we have Sierra in British Columbia. Hi Sierra, welcome to the show.

Hi there, how are you? Hi, we're doing great, how are you? Hi, we're doing great. How are you? Oh, fantastic. I think it's a day of Canada. So thank you for having me on the phone. We did. We had a Canadian earlier, so it's good that we're back.

That's right. So you know, I understand that you guys promote outrageous giving and I am in a position in my life where I'm able to do so but I you know I also think about cheerfully giving and where do you draw the line so I recently had a niece who reached out to me to help her with her down payment on a new apartment. She did state that she just found out she was pregnant. She hadn't told anyone but just shared that with me. But has a past of asking a lot of family members, including me in the past for money, potentially for drugs and bad boyfriend experiences. And I feel like there's a bit of manipulation in terms of making sure I'm the only one who's

been told about her pregnancy where we don't really have a solid relationship either. But, um, my sister, her, her mom had passed away when she was seven and unfortunately dad and stepmom didn't treat her well. So I feel some sort of an obligation. And like I said, I'm in a position to, but where do you draw the line? Where do you draw the line on being, cheerfully giving and sort of that nagging?

Sure, yeah. Cause you don't want to enable. And that's a little bit of the feeling with this situation. So not every chance we have to give is gonna be the right situation to give. Just because the opportunity's there doesn't mean that we actually have to take it. And I think this would be a situation that,

finding that balance between helping and enabling, on this show, we are always teetering on that line because a lot comes into play, right, to decide that actual boundary. There's not this hard and fast rule, but I think what you have to discern in the situation is how can you best help her? And I think acknowledging, you know, her situation is hard, right? And I mean, I think there is a level of like, yeah, if she's not done any level

of healing or growth, like having, having a parent die at a young age like that. And then being in a toxic situation growing up, it's kind of like, yeah, of course, this is probably her road, right? Unless she decides to do something different. And I think that's would be your hope as her aunt is that she can start to make different choices with her life. Because if she continues to be consistent in these choices, she's going to keep getting what she's been getting. And it's not a fruitful, peaceful life, right? She's not feeling that.

So when it comes to the financial side of it, how can you best love her well and help but not enable is the big question. Right. So one of my thoughts was, hey, happy to help, but I'd like to directly pay your potential landlord. Yes. Yeah. No, when you said down payment, is she trying to buy a house?

To make sure that it's going to the right place. No, it's for an apartment. Oh, like a deposit. So I don't like, you know, how you took first and last month's rent. Oh, yeah. I do think that is one of the best ways to help is to do it directly, because you don't know if she's going to use this for something else. So say, yeah, I'd think that is one of the best ways to help is to do it directly because you don't know

if she's going to use this for something else. So say, yeah, I'd be happy to help. Give me the landlord's name. I'll work with them directly to handle the deposit. Okay. So you could do it that way. You can also say no. That's also an okay answer.

I don't know that anyone's told her no. Yeah. And you know, she has no one else. Like, I think a lot of people have said no, but because of her bad behavior previously. Yeah. And yeah, yeah. She just moves on to the next person

and Bank of Sierra was up next. That's right. What's your relationship like with her? Are you involved in her life at all? Or is it just, you hear from her when she needs money? We kind of go on and off. So, you know, dad had cut us out of their life. We held financial money from when my sister passed that it wasn't to be given until they

were 21. So when we reconnected, when they were both her and her brother were 21 to give them the money, they, you know, they were told that we stole the money. But that wasn't the case. Yeah, it's a horrible, horrible. I mean, I could, it would take me days, but anyways, yeah. And so they did get the money. And at that point we thought we were sort of, you know, kindling, you know, a building of a relationship that was broken. And then from there it just, you know, she spent the money, I guess, within three months and started asking

people for money and we understood that she had a boyfriend in her life that was deep into gangs and drugs. So we, you know, when she asked, I said, I'd love to buy your groceries, but can I take you to the grocery store? And then she wouldn't respond to you. Okay. There you go. I think this is your way out is to start giving directly. And if she says nope, then you know the red flags were there and you did the right thing. Your conscious stays clean. Yeah. And Sierra, what George said earlier too, like I do want you to have permission

that this is your money and you wanna see it being used in the best, wisest way, right? I mean, I think there is a responsibility there. And I'll say with the caveat, just because there's a family member who is in need and is asking does not mean you automatically have to or you're a terrible person, right? So you could have your own conviction

of that you don't want it, right? That you don't wanna give. Or your heart may be, and again, I think this is up to you. This is not a right or wrong. I think it's just two different options. It's either like, I don't feel good about this. I don't, the responsibility doesn't feel right to me. I don't like it.

And I just don't feel good engaging it. So that's, that is one option. And then the other is that you love her and you're like, no, I do want to be able to help. I just want to do it in the right way. So that right way to me would be going straight to the landlord and helping with like, no, I do want to be able to help. I just want to do it in the right way. So that right way to me would be going straight to the landlord and helping with food, shelter, utilities, transportation, like the four walls,

helping her in those ways, not going on vacation or something like that. And then talking to her and saying, because I love you so much, I want to see you do better so you're not having to depend on people for money. So let's look at job opportunities. Let's look at doing a budget. Let's put you through Financial Peace University and go through and learn how to manage money. Like I also want to give you these resources. You know, maybe you pay

for therapy for her, right? I mean, like, seriously, I don't know what what else is out there, but it's like tools to help her become a healthier person. How can we do that and sustain that, right? So that's option B, but option A is okay too, Sierra. I want you to feel that, like that is up to you. But then there's option B if you feel that way. But I think what you're saying is wise, is going straight to the things that you can help. And even, and it's so sad, but it's the reality,

she's pregnant. So I don't know what health insurance looks like for her and all of that. So it's like, there's a part, we need to understand the reality we live in, niece, whatever her name is. But also maybe, Sierra, you say, I feel like I do wanna give,

and maybe it's maybe through the medical baby route and you help pay for medical bills to help with that. So I think there's ways to help her, but also helping her to become a healthier whole person in the process is going to be the best gift that you can give her. Yeah, I really like that. Cause I think I haven't taken time to do that. And I think I was also struggling on kind of in a position in my life where I haven't always that way, way just like given, right? Like I've, you know,

and I've kind of turned the corner where I feel like I have to, Oh, I can help there. I can help. Like I think I was trying to find that balance. And so I think that, um, just even having a, you know, we've kind of chatted back and forth and I've kind of gone a bit, a bit radio silent actually, just to sort of discern and pray about this. Yeah. Um, I think that answer is just having a proper conversation with her and how she can grow and sort of determine from there, but also maybe directly help her

with the four walls. We have pre-health care in Canada, so baby care shouldn't be an issue. Okay, good, yeah, that's great. That's fantastic, yeah. Well, I love your heart, Sierra, and I think, you know, this is the thing about money. It's a tool to help, but we want to help and not enable. And with family members, I think it's sometimes that hard line that can happen.

Giving should be intentional, just like spending or saving. Yep, that's right. You're doing this the right way. Yeah, for sure. Sierra, thanks so much for the call. Well, that puts this hour of The Ramsey Show in the books. We'll be back. Well, that puts this hour of The Ramsey Show in the books. We'll be back. Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's The Ramsey Show. We help people build wealth, do work that they love,

and create amazing relationships. I'm Rachel Cruz, hosting this hour with bestselling author and my co-host of Smart Money Happy Hour, George Campbell. We are answering your questions, so give us a call at 888-825-5225. We'll chat about your life, your money, your career, relationships, anything and everything.

We are here for you. Rachel will get into it, she's not scared. We are here for you. All right, let's have Kevin kick us off this hour in Springfield. Hey, Kevin, welcome to the show. Hi, so I just had some questions trying to figure out how to get us out of doubt here. I mean, we are drowning. I've got some charge offs, credit cards, I've got some rental properties. A couple years ago, kind of took a turn. We were doing well. couple of years ago took a turn. We have seven kids under our roof right now.

My wife's sister had lost two of her children. We ended up having to adopt them, bring them in. So it's been since it's kind of just financially been straining us, as you know, grocery prices going up and all that. So we've got some hard decisions to make. I've got some rental property. It's got three duplexes. Um, there, I owe about 268,000 on them. Um, I could probably sell them around three 60 to 390,000. Um, and then I've got another house. It's a rental property.

I could probably sell those, sell it around 80,000. So I'm just trying to decide whether I should stick with the rental property, you sell the vehicles. What's your total debt outside of the rental properties? Put those aside, what's the total consumer debt? Total debt would be about $520,000. That doesn't include any mortgages? Oh, I'm sorry.

Yes, that does include all the mortgages and credit cards. So I mean consumer debt you're looking at probably around $40,000 between me and my wife both. And that's credit cards, there's multiple car loans? Yeah, so I've got two vehicle loans, I've got my truck, and then my wife's SUV. Then my wife's SUV, we pretty well got to stick to it because it's the biggest one we've got for transportation for the kids. And you could clear $100,000 profit if you sold the duplexes?

Yes. Well, it sounds like you just found your get out of jail free card right there. Yeah, so that's what we're trying to- What's the net income you're making off of all these rentals per year? We're not. So yearly income, we're not making a whole lot. I know we're bringing in about probably after the insurance and taxes and payments are made, probably around 4,000 a year.

So it's not really- Even more reasonable. A year? This is a big hassle and there's really no ROI because you're not even factoring maintenance and repairs and tenant vacancy and all kinds of other risk. Man, I'd get out of this and get a clean slate if I were you. So the one issue with that is we've got my wife's parents

living there right now. We're kind of trading them for babysitting. My wife's not working because the babysitting's kind of so high right now. So it just doesn't make sense for her to be able to work. So we're kind of, we're letting them stay there. They're not in great of health. I know my wife's dad had cancer, he recovered from that,

but he's not able to work. They can't afford anywhere. So we're just kinda like, what are we gonna do with them? So yeah, it's just, it's very stressful. Is that one of the duplexes? Do you have one duplex or three? We've got three on one lot. Okay, so could you sell the other ones?

One of the duplexes. Yeah, probably that would probably basically just, that would, yeah, pretty close to paying them off if I sold the other two. I would do that for now just so you guys can breathe because you said you're drowning. So trying to get your head above water means let's get rid of two of these duplexes,

pay off the debt debt build some emergency fund Then we can reassess the situation with the parents after that Okay Are the cars worth anything? Are you underwater on? We're pretty well in the water the trucks by 42,000 It's probably worth about 30 my wife's car. we owe 27. That's probably worth about 16 or 17. Oh, you told me you had 40 grand in consumer debt. Sounds like there's a lot more.

Yeah, sir, yes there is. Okay. And I've got a student loan. I want the school to be a cop and of course they don't pay very well. What's the household income? Really just my income right now. We're at 63,000 a year. I thought the kids were helping,

I thought the parents were helping with the kids so your wife could work. Well, they do, but we're kind of, we're in a mess right now where everywhere she goes, it's just been a nightmare because all the appointments and stuff, mom can't take them everywhere. So she plans on going back into it. But yeah, we're kind of, we're trying to find something.

She's wanting to go to school and do all that. And yeah, I just, we're like said, we don't know if school should hold off. She should just go back to full time really quick. So I was she doing, she was a nursing assistant at a nursing home okay and how much was she making if she worked full-time oh probably 32 to 36 thousand a year okay well so you got truck 42 SUV 27 how much is in credit card debt how much credit card debt is it? Between me and her both, we're right about 20,000 in credit cards.

Okay. And then how much in your student loan? Student loan, it's not very much, it's almost 2000. Okay. Yeah, well, I mean, yeah, y'all are bumping up to, you know, 92,000 in consumer debt, making 63. So yeah, you can't, so all this rental stuff, Kevin, you guys can't afford it.

So you have a rental house too, is that what you said? Yes. Okay, I would sell everything from a real estate perspective. And if the parents, but you told us that, well, the parents have to live here because there's an exchange for babysitting and all, you know what I mean?

Like all of that, I would put them in an apartment, you know what I mean? Like I, all of that, I would put them in an apartment. You know what I mean? And do what you can. Cause you guys can't keep saving everyone's situation while you're drowning. And so you got, if I were you, from a real estate perspective, you would make, you just say you would clear 80K from the house?

So we, yeah, we would get about So we yeah we would get about well we would get we could sell for 80 by 060 on one of the rental house 10 15 on that not 100 off the other one. Yeah, so this is Yeah, this is my second problem. So on my other house. I've got right now. We got solar and We do not know a whole lot about solar. Yeah, is that the $20,000 one or is that the $80,000 house or is that another house? That's the current house we're in right now. Oh, that you're living in. What are you rolling the solar?

Yes, the solar's at 60,000 right now. Oh my goodness. Okay. I know. All right, so. This is everything must go. Yeah, yeah, 100%. Yeah, so I mean, I would sell these duplexes. You guys can't afford to keep them.

So that gives you a hundred grand. That clears basically all of your other debt with about 8,000 left. And then you're gonna have to work to pay off these solars. Or if you sold the other house and maybe made 20, that would give you guys close to what? Is that $35,000 left? And consumer that for $35,000 left and consumer debt $35,000 for the solar and that's it

I would do that I would do all of that today Kevin and the problem is though what I'm worried about is that you're selling all these rental properties And you're gonna pay off all of this and not feel much So you can't you guys have to cut up the credit cards. You guys have to just tell yourself We're not doing this anymore because this isn't going to fix Kevin and your wife. What we're saying is going to fix the money situation. It's not fixing you guys and you guys need to be fixed to stop making some of these decisions or you're going to continue.

Yeah, the real estate transaction doesn't fix the behavior. That's the route you need to get to. But right now, the transactions are a good start. One way we have found that this show continues to grow, get more listeners and viewers is because you guys have been telling your friends, your family, sharing these episodes on social media, all the things which we are so grateful for. We love to see the show grow because we know that means more people are listening and hopefully more people are finding hope when it comes to their money.

So honestly, you guys are the best marketing we have out there. Trusted people that trust you in your life are listening to your recommendations. And when you talk about the show, it's huge. It really is and it helps us so much. So we wanna thank you for doing that. So again, subscribe, leave a review, share an episode or two with a friend, and we'll keep getting the word out about taking control of your money, George.

You never know. One day they're going to say, fine, I'll watch the clip. And they go, oh my gosh, this is actually pretty good. Look at this. Look what I could do with my money. I love it. All right. Let's go to the phones. We have Ryan in Atlanta, Georgia up next. Hi Ryan, welcome to the show. Hey, Rachel, hey Georgia. Hope you guys are doing good and stoked to talk to y'all today. Oh, well, thank you.

Thanks for calling. How can we help? Yeah, so I'm 27 years old. I'm an aircraft mechanic. I make about 70,000 a year, give or take. We get overtime and stuff, but I just had a year, give or take. We get overtime and stuff. But I just had a baby about 30 days ago.

Oh, congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. So me and my fiancee, we're getting married in October. We're not currently married. So I bought a house back in 2023 and she has a house and her house is bigger. So we moved into our house. And in the meantime, I have my house being rented.

And I just wanted to know, like, it was always the goal of ours to get into real estate. We just, I just wanted to get a clear picture if we're doing this the right way and get a little advice on what you guys will do as far as my situation. Are they both in the Atlanta area? Are they nearby each other?

Yes, sir. They're about probably like 10, 15 minutes apart. That's great. What kind of debt do you guys have consumer debt wise? You and your fiancee, if you, we'll just say, you know, wife for the scenario. Once you guys get married, how much consumer debt will you guys have? Yeah. So luckily we have no consumer debt, just our mortgages.

Oh, that's great. Okay, how much do you owe on your primary? So on my home, I owe $177, and on her home, she owes $270. Okay. How much is your home worth? My home is worth about $225,000 to $230,000. Okay. Honestly, Ryan, if I were you, and you're making $80,000 a year, how much does she make? She makes $80,000 as well. She'll be getting a promotion next year. She'll be making,

I'm sorry, she'll be making $80,000 next year, and it'll creep up from there. She'll be making 150 together come October. Yes. Are you guys gonna combine finances completely? Yes, sir. And how much are you making on the rental property, yours? So it's running out for 1750, and the mortgage is 1160. Okay. About 7,000 a year, give or take.

Yeah. I'll tell you what I would do, Ryan and year, give or take. Yeah. I'll tell you what I would do, Ryan and George, I'd be curious your opinion. I don't know where you would stand with this. So if I were you guys, Ryan, I'd probably just sell your house and I would take the equity in it, which will be... It'd be $40,000 or so? Yeah, ish.

Yeah. After fees? Fees and taxes and stuff, yeah. And I mean, you put it towards your mortgage now and you guys would have about two 10 left on your primary mortgage. And then I would work just to pay it off and that be your single goal.

I mean, you know, cause again, you're making seven grand on the rental. It's not a ton, right? Like you're not, it's not life-changing. So if I were you, I would focus on the primary home, get that sold off, and that will take you guys, I mean, depending on how hard you're willing to work and focus, maybe five, five-ish years, maybe.

And then from there, reevaluate and say, okay, now what do we wanna do? Because real estate investing will be beyond baby steps. It's baby step seven, really really is where I would put it. So once your primary home was paid off then save up, pay cash for an investment property. Yep, and I say that Ryan, because in five years, you guys could have two more kids.

You know what I mean? You could have three kids. The way life looks, your priorities could shift then when you actually say, hey, we have the ability, you know, your income's gonna go up. You guys will have a great income, no house payment, nothing, and if you wanted to save, you know,

a hundred grand to buy, you know, a fixer upper and let it be your first rental, have had it and do it. You know what I mean? Like the, absolutely. Or you could see, I don't know, that, man, once you're juggling life and there's, you know, kids running around and everything, you're like, you know, just a good mutual fund

feels like really easy at life right now and go simple with investing and then maybe get into it later, right? So it's the idea that it's not a never and I come from a real estate family. I mean, my family loves real estate and so I am all about it, but I do want the priorities to be in the correct order

just for peace and for you guys to have as much autonomy as possible. So that's what I would probably sell it and then throw any equity you have at your primary home. You guys get married. I would probably do this after the wedding, by the way. I would probably just like, hold still. Nothing's on fire here.

Nothing's on fire. After you guys get married, all of that from a legal standpoint is there. Then, you know, make this move to, to sell your home, put the equity into her home, which you should be on the, you know, the title DL things. That's what I was gonna ask. Are you gonna get added to the deed and the mortgage?

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. That's, that was the goal after we get married. We were gonna combine everything. I love the idea of throwing that lump sum from the proceeds at her mortgage and then you can recast it or refinance it, but probably you should be able to recast it and just add your name to it with that lump sum

and that'll make that payment so low, you guys will knock that mortgage out so fast. Making 150 grand, the mortgage is now down to 230 at that point. Right. That was actually a segue into, so I have like 80 grand in a high yield savings. And so I didn't know if it would have been smart to like throw it at my mortgage now and then recast it towards a smaller payment. But so based off what y'all

are saying, it would make sense to sell and then just throw that entire lump. Yeah. Anything beyond your six month emergency fund. I assume that includes your, that's all your savings? Yes sir, yeah. Okay, so anything beyond the six month emergency expenses, yeah, once you guys are married, throw that on top of the lump sum from the proceeds, use the extra savings, you'll knock that thing down, maybe closer to 200.

Okay. That'd be amazing. And you guys still have time? You're gonna cash flow a wedding, I assume, by October? Well, luckily, yeah. We're blessed in that area. Her dad is in a position to help us out with that. That's great. Awesome. That's great. Yeah, I mean, this sets you guys up, Ryan, really well. I mean, to get the primary mortgage down that low. And how much is the house worth? The house is... So she just bought it, like, not too long ago. It's worth like three, three oh eight or something like that.

Okay, that's great. But to think that you guys could have a paid off house in what four-ish years maybe even? I mean like it's just wild to think. And then what you guys can do from there is amazing. So if real estate is still what you guys are wanting, then we'd be all about that. Just cash flowing in and going slow. We always say move at the speed of cash. So it's not going to be fancy and big and great. But my husband's flipping houses right now, George, and there are some nasty houses that

are going from not a lot. I talk about it. I always say, Hey, Winston, how's it going? He's like, man, there's some good days. There's some bad days. I know. Yeah. So you can find some not great, you know, get a contractor in there, you know, figure

it out. But real estate's fun. I think it's a great way to diversify money eventually. You know, we're not, I'm not just like, oh, just invest in a mutual fund and sit there. I do like the idea of, you know, you're making money on term. I don't know, it's fun.

Real estate is fun, but I just want you to do it the right way. We'll have more peace about it. Yeah, for sure. And if a deal doesn't go well, George, you know, you just say, well, that happens. That one didn't take. That one happens.

But when you do it with cash, it just changes the desperation involved. It really does. It is wild. Like he had one that, and it sat. I mean, it was painful and it was a larger one than a deal we would normally do. But we had no mortgage payment, right?

So it's like, you know, you can afford just to let it kind of sit there. You're not like bleeding money. Yes, yes. Like you would have. I'm like, seriously know, you can afford just to let it kind of sit there. You're not like bleeding money. Yes. Yes. Like you would have. I'm like, seriously, there is something so powerful about it. And but yeah, there's some nasty houses, George. Well, if you just watch TikTok, you don't see that.

All you see is buy my course and I'll show you how amazing this is. And I worked one hour a week to make all this money. But the reality of it is it's a lot of pain and turmoil to get the reward on the other side. Yeah, for sure. It's a lot of work. Yes. Oh, no. And that's the interesting thing. That's flipping versus holding, right? So the investment real estate where you hold and yeah. And that's the thing too, is you don't make a ton of money on the rents always, but it's what you make at the buy, right? If you get a good deal. Appreciation kicks in at the time. Which is beautiful too. So yeah, so

there's some fun stuff there that is great. Not everyone does it the wisest, smart, peaceful way. So we are slower with it. But it gives you more peace, which is way more of an enjoyable life, George. Amen. It is time for one of our favorite segments on the Ramsey show in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the debt-free stage. Joining us are Micah and Jessica, which can only mean one thing. You guys are debt-free.

Can you confirm or deny? I can confirm. Yes! We love it. Where are you guys from? So, we're from Smith Station, which is close to Auburn, Alabama. Awesome. And how much debt did you pay off?

So, we paid off $163,427. Oh my gosh. How long did it take? 29 months. 29 months, yeah. Okay, so great. That is wild. Okay.

What kind of debt was it? It was an aircraft. Whoa, we got a plane. We got an owner of a plane. You know he's serious, he calls it an aircraft. Yeah, an aircraft versus an airplane. Makes it feel like a business expense.

What is the difference, airplane versus aircraft? Aircraft is anything that flies. Airplane is specifically what we think about planes. So it could be like a helicopter would be considered an aircraft. Okay, but you have an aircraft. Are you a pilot? I am.

Okay, amazing. So now you have your own aircraft paid off? Actually, we sold it. Oh, you got rid of it after we paid it off. After we paid it off. After we paid it off. Oh my gosh. Okay. So, so it was an aircraft. What else? A truck. Yeah. And a vacuum. And a vacuum.

Wow. And our house. And our house. Wait, what? Oh, your house? You should have led with that. Way to bury the lead. Oh, just the house, the afterthought. The house has paid off. The bigger question, how much was this vacuum that it required going into debt? Yeah, it was about $4,000. Okay, I've heard of these, what are these vacuums?

Are they like miracle workers compared to a Dyson? Oh yeah. They're pretty great. It's gotta be to go $4,000. Not worth the debt, but. They're pretty good. That is wild. Is it for your home, vacuum for your home?

Yeah. Y'all have never heard of this. How have you heard of a $4,000 vacuum? Because someone else was like, yeah, we have vacuum, it's $4,000. I don't even know where to buy a $4,000 vacuum. So funny. I don't have access to those.

I told him I wanted it. So, yeah. So you got it. He said, yes ma'am, put it on the card. Oh gosh. Okay, so 29 months. So what happened 29 months ago that caused you guys to change what you've been doing?

So I had gotten a new job several months before that and it was considerably more than I've ever made in my life. Okay. But several months did goes by and nothing's changed. Still living basically paycheck to paycheck and I was like this isn't okay something's got to change. So I remembered from high school the Dave Ramsey. Wow. And I was like, hey, we need to do this. And so we did. Oh my gosh. Okay, so how much money were you guys making during this debt payoff?

So at the beginning it was about 160,000 together. Uh huh. And then towards the end it was about 140. Of course now, because of promotions and stuff, we're back up to about 160. Awesome. Okay, okay, so great you guys. Oh my gosh.

So you were like, okay, we are making great money, but we're literally living paycheck to paycheck. So what would be, because I'm actually was brainstorming with the team, this exact type video content of like, you know, why wealthy people, people making 200,000, which was basically you guys, are still living paycheck to paycheck.

Because what did it look like for you guys? Was it just payments? Was it just not budgeting? Like, what was life like? So he's the spender. So it's mostly him. Okay. I love how quickly she threw you under the bus.

It's okay. I'm also the nerd. So it's my own fault. It was a lot of things. It was, yeah, I mean, obviously aircraft truck. I mean, vacuum, just payments that we had coming through. We didn't do credit cards. I never touched credit cards,

but kind of the big thing was we were just buying stuff that just really didn't matter. Eating out a lot. Eating out a lot, yeah. All the subscriptions. Yep, just not really saying no. Correct. Basically if you wanted it,

you were gonna figure out a way to do it. Yeah. Correct. You were like a toddler with a richie, rich blank check situation. Yes. I love it. So what was your life like during that 29 months? Show us the other side of the sacrifice

What did you do? So the first about six months, which is when we paid off all our consumer debt Before we got into the mortgage It was rice and beans, you know, I mean like we weren't we weren't eating out Harley doll we have date night. That was a required thing that we would do. But we cut all the subscriptions up, we didn't buy anything, it was bare bones, only if we need it did we buy it. Yeah, we started making a list of stuff we wanted to buy after.

Yeah, that's fun, I want a wish list. Yeah. Wow. That's great. And did you say for the first six months that was it, that was the mentality? Right, the first six months was that, and then we got through baby step three,

so we hit four, five, and six. Yes. And so that slowed down that kind of mentality a little bit. Yep. Loaned us to grow a little bit. But towards the end, I was like, man, this mortgage just really stinks. And so that's when I started talking to her about,

hey, maybe we should sell the aircraft that we've paid off. And that's- That sped the whole thing up. That was you. My baby. Yeah, I told him, I said, I'm not telling you to do that. That's gonna be your decision. Yeah.

How did it feel when you sold it? I was sad. I teared up. Did you kiss it goodbye? Like what is the process? I didn't kiss it, but it was close to that. Yeah. Okay.

How much did you get for it? How much was it that fled? So we bought it for 39, but we sold it for 65. Whoa. Wow. Did you get it fixed it up? We got it, yes. So we got it right before COVID-19.

The market. Oh my gosh. And so gosh market went crazy high in general aviation and then unturned that we put 24,000 into it Wow new paint job new stuff inside all kinds of stuff Wow, so you got no aircraft now. No air. Well, not mine No, you fly professionally, but you don't have your hobby. Well, it's actually not what I do for a living Oh, wow, it's just not what I do for a living. Oh, wow. It's just what I do on the side. I do stuff with Civil Air Patrol. So I fly with them, but on primary side of my actually IT.

Oh, nice. So this was a hobby of yours. Correct. That's amazing. It's a very expensive hobby. So now what do you do when you wanna go fly? Well, it depends on what I wanna do. If it's with Civil Air Patrol,

then I have to get a certain mission set for that. And there's all kinds of training requirements and what I want to do. If it's with Civil Air Patrol, then I have to get a certain mission set for that. And there's all kinds of training requirements and stuff I have to maintain. So there has to be some purpose behind it. Versus a joy ride. Correct. That's probably for the best. Oh my gosh. I'm so proud of you guys.

That's a big sacrifice. I mean, you think about it, trying to convince the guy to sell his truck. He sold his aircraft. Oh, he sold his truck too. I sold my truck too. Whoa. Did it all. You were just like all the way.

Okay. So how, how do you convince another guy listening out there who's going, no one's taking my truck away from me? It may not be a truck tour. It's always a truck. Always? Always takes a truck. No one's ever like, no one takes my Prius away from me.

No one's ever said that in history. Yeah, I would say the number one thing, you're living now, you're not thinking seven years from now. So start thinking about what your life's going to be like and then make the sacrifices now so it can be that. And so it's more of a mature mentality. Micah said it's so much nicer than I could have.

That was good. That was good. Oh man. Okay, were there people cheering you guys on during this process? Did you talk about it or did you kind of just keep it between y'all? Oh, we definitely talked about it.

Oh, did you? Oh, good. I love it. We actually led several financial piece university classes as coordinators. And so we had our parents and stuff who were happy for us. They weren't necessarily on board with everything we were doing, but they were happy that we were going down

this path. So, but really it was each other and just keeping our nose to the grindstone, so to speak. Amazing. And just doing it. Anybody make fun of you during it? Oh yes. Yeah, mainly for the credit card situation, yeah.

Cause everyone thinks it's crazy you don't have a credit card. I'm like, we didn't have one to begin the process. Yeah, that's what, that was interesting too. What was your retort? What was your big comeback when they would come at you with this? With the credit cards, just in general.

Credit cards, I would point out something that's been brought up several times is obviously statistics, right? I'm a big statistics guy, being IT, right? Very numbers oriented, being the nerd. But on top of that, I would bring up, you know, what these credit card companies do and who they target with their advertising

and who they're going after. It's the sliminess of it all. The predatory nature. Oh, I love that. So good. Wow, what's the house worth? It's about 242,000 this morning. Awesome. Amazing.

So you guys are well on your way to Baby Steps Millionaire now. We are. In Baby Steps 7, that's incredible. What do you tell people the key is to getting out of debt, if there was one thing? So we were talking about this on the way here, what we would say if you asked us,

and my take was invite people into your journey because you get to minister to people that way, tell them why you're doing what you're doing and what's so different about Ramsey compared to all these other financial institutions. That was my takeaway with it. Invite people in. Just keep them updated on what you're doing and keeps you motivated. It keeps you motivated, definitely. And then you can bring other people in

because they'll start asking questions like, oh, how'd you do this? You get to tell them all about it. That's beautiful. And there's some accountability. It's like, oh Chris, they're gonna ask about this. We were teaching the classes while we were in baby step three and we were like,

we just sold the truck that we had paid off. Everyone thought we were crazy for it. You're walking the talk. I love it. Oh my goodness. Well, we have a parting gift for you guys. We have two every dollar premium subscriptions good for a year.

So you can use those, pass it on to the naysayers or the cheerleaders to help them on their debt-free journey as well. All right, here we go. You ready? Let's do it. All right, we got Micah, we got Jessica. 163,000 paid off in 29 months, making 160.

And they sold the aircraft, the truck to do it. Count it down, let's hear a debt free scream. 3, 2, 1. WE'RE DEBT FREE! Woo! I love it! That'll do it. Man!

I felt that. House and everything. Golly, so good. No words. So good. No words. So good. So good. So good. So good.

George, you know when you open your phone and you're like in an app and you don't realize you're there because subconsciously you just end up, do you ever do that? You've never said anything more relatable. Okay, okay. So I looked up the other day.

No joke. Judge me if you want. I was in EveryDollar and I literally was like subconsciously my the budgeting app subconsciously and I literally was like, I don't even remember opening my phone. I don't even know how I got here or what I was thinking to get here. But EveryDollar is an app that I use on the daily Instagram and EveryDollar. Just muscle memory muscle memory. It is like I don't know because I love this budgeting app.

I really do, and as a spender and as a free spirit, it is the thing that like, it just keeps me in line, it gives me peace. I even did an experiment where I tried not to budget for like two weeks to like see like, what how you know, and I just, I don't like it. That's Rachel living on the edge. I know, and I'm a spender y'all, like I like,

I'm, you know, I'm not one of these like y'all. Like I, like, I'm, you know, I'm not one of these like cheap people in life that I'm like, I love to budget, but I do. I love to budget. And I give EveryDollar a lot of credit because it helps. And it's just like, I just love this app so much. So here's the ad. If your muscle memory is leading you to DoorDash

and Uber Eats and Amazon, download the EveryDollar app instead. Yes, so you can get a whole new rhythm on your phone. So you can be looking at your budget more and more. But it is, if you are living paycheck to paycheck or wherever you are, budgeting is something that is going to help you. It really is.

It is a tool, it is a habit to get in and EveryDollar helps. And our team's actually hosting a free budgeting training this month, George. So you're actually gonna learn step by step how to use EveryDollar, how to create a budget, how to stick to it. So spots are limited, but you can sign up for free at EveryDollar.com slash webinar. And there'll be a Q&A as well.

So a lot of things just to kind of get started, but it is, it is a, it is a habit. I'm glad I have George for my free spirits, spending self. It's very helpful. It is a good humble brag. Thanks. You said thanks too late. proud of you. Spending self, it's very helpful, it is. That's a good humble brag. Thanks, humble brag. You said thanks, it's too late. Like in a job interview where they're like. It's your worst trait.

You're like, I just care too much, you know? I just care too much. I budget too much. I just budget too much. All right, let's go to Elijah in New York City, one of my favorite cities in America. Hey Elijah, welcome to the show. Rachel, George, how you guys doing?

We're doing great. How can we help today? Excellent, excellent. All right, so my wife and I are preparing to start a new chapter in our lives. We're gonna be taking over her mom's business. It's a children's consignment shop. We're just kind of curious about

what are the logistics behind moving the business over to us? Wondering things like should the business be in one of our names, keeping one of us as an employee, is there tax benefits behind that? And also when it does get passed over to us, is there going to be a cost to us as far as taxes go? Yeah. When is that?

Are you guys doing like an official purchase? Her mom doesn't want to sell it to us. She just wants to give it to us. Just gift it. Okay. Oh yeah, that's great. That's nice. So it doesn't cost you anything.

And this is a physical brick and mortar location, just one? Correct. And what's the real estate there? Does she rent out of somewhere or does she own the real estate? She rents. She rents out of it, okay. And we just signed a 10 year lease.

So we're gonna be there for a of it. Okay. And we just signed a 10 year lease. So we're going to be there for a little while. Okay, that's great. What's the structure right now as it stands? Do you mean like like a strip mall sort of thing or like whose name is on what? Got it. So right now it's in my wife's name because we had to update the the lease. So my my mother-in-law said, alright, we'll put it in her name. So it's now my wife's name. Okay. And is there an operating agreement? Is there something in paper,

like a buy-sell agreement? What have you guys outlined so far? My wife signed a lease contract. That's about it for now. But nothing with the original owners, your family? Correct. Okay. All right. But there's nothing, is there anything in writing saying that they gifted this to you? I guess that's what I'm trying to get after is this transfer.

It was just a handshake deal? Pretty much, yeah. She wants to, my mother-in-law wants to retire and wants to hand it over to my wife and I. Wow. And does your wife have any other siblings? No. Okay, so it's just her, okay.

So there's not like a issue of- No issues there. Yeah, dividing assets and all of that at her parents, death, that won't be an issue. Luckily not, luckily not. Have you contacted like a small business attorney to help with this? I have not, I didn't even know that was a thing,

but that's something that I will look into. We have no idea where to start with this. Yeah, there's attorneys that will specialize in small business or even an estate planning attorney can help with this. And the things I would wanna look into is just making sure that there is some sort of ownership transfer agreement in place

and something that is guiding the legal structure. Like, is this an LLC, is it a sole proprietorship? There's so many options out there. It is an LLC? Yeah. And so has the LLC been transferred into your names? Not yet. So there would be one piece of homework there,

filing the right paperwork with the IRS and your state, licensing transfers, the lease agreement, that part's done, which is good. Any liabilities, is there any debt attached to this business? Yeah. No debt at all. Oh, good. Okay.

And then on the tax side, I'd be working with a good tax pro to figure out, are there gift tax returns? Do they, does your mom need to file any forms to make sure she doesn't get hit with a gift tax for the sale of this business? Yeah, what's the business estimated at Elijah, do you know? As far as like yearly profits? Sure, yeah.

Yeah, so last year protected around, it was around 740,000. Wow. Gosh, is this like a high end? More or less, yeah. Yes, consignment-wide things. I never realized how much it actually brought in until I started asking more questions. Yeah, so that was top line.

How much is after everything's paid? The net. That is not entirely the net. She said between the two of us, it would probably be around 350, 300. Okay. And she just isn't around 350, 300. Okay. And she just isn't needing that money anymore. Like she doesn't need any level of stock. She doesn't need any stock or anything like.

No, she wants to pay the woman and babysit the grandkids. Okay. Wow. That's amazing. What a great situation. What, I know that what a gift. Phenomenal family. I've married into a phenomenal family. Oh my gosh.

And you guys obviously want the business, correct? Like this is exciting to her. There's not like a burden or like a, gosh, we have to take this just from an emotional level. Not at all, no. My wife loves it on multiple levels. That's great. About two years ago, I got hurt on the job.

I was on a friction, so I can't do that anymore. So this is kind of my fallback and it's something I enjoy. It's amazing. So great. So just to recap, there's three people I would reach out to if I was in your shoes. Number one is that attorney who can specialize in this and help you make sure the T's are crossed,

the I's are dotted. Number two is a CPA to help on the tax side. And lastly, I would make sure you have a good insurance pro in your corner to help with liability insurance and you know, workers comp and whatever other pieces that the business needs. And make sure that it's all in your corner to help with liability insurance and you know workers comp and whatever other pieces that the business needs and make sure it's all in your name and you have the right coverages. Beautiful, beautiful. Yeah, but it sounds like it's as simple as it gets. Yeah for sure yeah thanks Elijah. Yeah and I would say too you know it doesn't have to be necessarily in both names of making sure that your family

Elijah, you and your wife, your will states that the business is put you know in your name if in the event that your wife passes away will states that the business is put, you know, in your name, if in the event that your wife passes away or something, you know what I mean? Like if there's clear communication on that end. Yeah, that'll bleed into your personal estate planning with this business of what's going to happen with this business one day. That's what I'm thinking. Yep. 100%. So that's great. And that is a, you don't hear that often. It's usually much messier than with the financial perspective,

right, of a lot of parents that build a business, you know, they need that, the sale of that business for retirement, right? That's the retirement plan for a lot of these business owners. They didn't invest. They just went, I'm gonna build a business and one day I need the cash.

And now it's on the kid to pay or go into debt for this business. And they call in saying, well, my dad said it's a great opportunity. It's valued at at a million should I take out a million in debt to buy the business and we're like no don't do this Do that don't do that. Yeah, this is this is what it looks like when you do it. Well, I know a hundred percent Yeah, so Elijah is yeah in a very oh, you know what I should do for Elijah send him up You think he's still on the line. Hang on Elijah. Kelly's gonna pick up We're gonna send you the book from Dave, the newest one,

Build a Business You Love. That's gonna walk you through the stages of business, the drivers that move through the stages, and I think you're gonna find it really helpful as you take on this new endeavor to do it with a lot of wisdom, which Dave will outline in that book. 30 plus years of running this thing. Yeah, and it sounds like you guys have a great relationship

with her mom, who's gifting you all this this business and there's probably a lot of ins and outs of running it as successfully as she has. I mean she's done this without debt. She makes you know I mean a great return. It's amazing. Close to seven figures in this business. Yeah so that's amazing. I mean she's really done a great job. Selling used kids stuff. I'm in the wrong business Rachel. But luxury. They're in New York. High end. This is the kind of place my wife would love to shop at. I know. I thought I should go. Wherever in New York. I'm going to find Elijah. Elijah will find you and shop for our kids. That's a store. So great. Well, that puts this hour of the Ramsey Show in the books.

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's The Ramsey Show where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create amazing relationships. I'm Rachel Cruz hosting this hour of The Ramsey Show with my good friend and best-selling author George Camel. We also co-host Smart Money Happy Hour together. It comes out every Thursday, so you can check that out at the Miriam Z Network. And we are here to answer your questions.

So give us a call at 888-825-5225. We're answering your questions about life and money. All right. First up, we have Sharon in Chicago. Hi, Sharon. Welcome to the show. Hi, how are you guys? We're doing great. How can we help?

Okay, so my question is I've been doing the baby steps and I find myself in a dilemma with my husband because he doesn't want to be on board with it. He our finances are not combined and Because he just spins spins spins and he doesn't take into consideration like hey we need to do this, that you know, you know the things that we need to pay. He's on the road majority of the time. We have a toddler which is special needs and I take her to all her appointments, her therapy sessions and plus I work overnights between 40 to 60 hours a week.

And plus I have a couple of side gigs as well. Um, it just gets hard to get out of bed. Oh, it's like, I'm the only one doing it. Like I'm the only one working the baby steps and trying to get out of debt, trying to make payments. Like I did $1,000. And then I was so proud of myself because I paid off like two credit cards. But then again, I had to go into the thousand dollars because his income is so inconsistent.

He didn't have his part of the rent. And I'm not gonna, you know, like I said, we have a special needs kid, so we have to have a place to live. Yeah, sure, sure. And it's your four walls, you're not gonna just, yeah. You're not gonna let that go. And you shouldn't, and you shouldn't.

And you shouldn't have to do this alone. Let's just call out this is not normal, it's not healthy. And I hope there's some resolution to this. Yeah, because- Because at this point, you guys need some marriage counseling to go, is this gonna work? Well, and it sounds like Sharon,

you guys from a marriage perspective, and correct me if I'm wrong, that you guys, I mean, it doesn't feel like a team sport right now. It feels like Sharon is pulling the weight from the kid's perspective, from the logistics perspective, the financial perspective. I mean, a lot.

What does he do for work? Why is he gone? He drives trucks. He drives trucks, but in the case is I know, because I do the dispatching. And so that's another part of the income because I get a percentage of each loan that I book. So he gets paid through his employer.

But me, his boss and I have a relationship to where he allows me to book the load and pays me a percentage of each load that I book for him. So it's like, but I'm restricted to what I can do for him because he doesn't wanna go there. He doesn't wanna go here. He doesn't wanna do that. So he's turning down gigs

Yes, yes. Yes Yeah, cuz we're already limited because his boss is just freshly new over the road So we're not booking loads right away. We've had a trucking company a few years ago, and it was pretty successful until We get We paid a lot of stupid tax in your language. How long have you guys been married, Sharon? Six years. Okay. Because what I hear-

And I stopped working, you know, I started working from 2020 to 2023. But I just, I went back to work in 2023. Yeah. And I have not stopped. Yeah, and the life you're living, you're exhausted. I mean, I can hear you. You're absolutely exhausted.

And anyone would be if they were in your shoes from the mental load that you're carrying to the physical, the parental, all of it. And so, what we say a lot on this show, Sharon, is that it's usually not a money problem. It's a relational marriage problem. And I think that you guys would be in that category for me because the fact that he isn't willing to talk to you

about it, be curious about it, try something with you, wanna be on your team and want to even shift careers because of the family situation you guys are in that you have a special needs child and you can't be on the road, right? Like there are certain things in life that that disqualify what we want to do to what we need to do and have to do and it doesn't sound like he has stepped up to that at all. Right and I even expressed to him I'm like okay I'm handling it it made me a lot but if it's a sacrifice that we need to do and you kind of bring in the consistent money we can do it I'm been doing it for a last year so that's what I'm saying like yeah like the money

has to come in so we can get out of debt there's no way like this month alone I covered every bill in this house every bill alone it because he's choosing not to do certain jobs. Yeah. And work full time. Yeah. And I don't know where the money is going. Like I think he paid our phone bill and that was it.

But yeah, I'm able to in this fight. How much debt do you guys have total? Total, I don't know. But me, I had 80. And you don't know what his situation is. Is that all in your name, the 80, or is that cosigned? Yeah, that's all me It's all me. It's um, what kind of dad is I bring home? It's gonna be student loans a car that was repossessed

credit cards And just other like consumer debt and I have a car I currently have a car know which is only ten grand and I've been already paid like $2,000 off already. Yeah. I mean, I make around 60,000 a year, you know, and I, you know, I do with the loads with dispatching and also do crafting on the side. I make additional maybe like 1500 a month that I'm putting towards the debt and stuff. So I do like, I literally work all day, every day and I sleep,

I don't even sleep when my daughter takes a nap and that's when she comes home from school. So when I get off stage and speak to her in the morning, I don't go to sleep until she goes to sleep at noon. And that's like maybe a two or three hour nap and I'll write between eight to 12 hours a night. Yeah. Okay. So yeah, so Sharon, I'm doing my sacrifices. Yeah, a hundred percent. And even maybe too much from just a mental health perspective I physically you can't survive on three to four hours of sleep a night or a day. We reached out to a counselor

I did reach out to better help that I couldn't physically afford it So I reached out through my insurance and I have my first Counseling session on the 16th. Okay, that's great. And is he willing to go with you? I have not brought that up to him. Okay, okay. And maybe some individual sessions is good for you and then, because the goal would be to repair

what is broken in the relationship and it is that you feel like, and you are holding everything up, because how much does he make a year? Roughly between, on a good year, 40. Yeah. On a good year, but it's like, I don't know where his money goes. We have separate accounts, I don't know.

I just say, hey, I need this money for this bill, and he's like, okay, I got it. I'll send it to you. Yeah. I mean, and what's hard, Sharon, is I want you to keep working the baby steps, but you just can't. I mean, there gets to be a point. You can't sustain this. You can't sustain it. And it's going to look different for you. You got to move slower. It might take instead of two years, it might take three, three and a half. And that's okay. It's not fun to do this alone. And I hope that it speeds up as time goes on. I hope this marriage can find some healing and that he gets on board with this.

But for now, you've got to give yourself some grace. OK, I appreciate it. You're doing really hard things and you're doing it all at once. And that's going to take time. OK, thank you, guys. Yeah, we're cheering for you. Let us know if we can help in any other way. And you know what? Kelly's going to pick up and we'll get you with a financial coach on us, Sharon, that you don't have to pay for from the financial side. And they're incredible people that will give you a session or two.

So Kelly will pick up and get you connected to them. Next up we have Jason in Fort Riley, Kansas. Hi, Jason. Welcome to the show. Riley, Kansas. Hi, Jason. Welcome to the show. Hi, Rachel. Hi, George. We're an army family here at Fort Riley, currently preparing to move to Fort Knox. But our question regards our Tennessee home that recently flooded during a historic rain after the county pumped eight and a half million gallons into our neighborhood to try to save a highway. So with no flood insurance, $186,000 in damage, and only $100,000 saved, we plan to move in, try to work on repairing it ourselves while I work three hours away at Fort Knox. So we're debt free except for two mortgages, including one nearly paid off in North Carolina,

but our band's dying and with an inevitable lawsuit coming legal fees, we see potentially piling up. And so how do we stay afloat and make smart decisions in the midst of all this? My gosh, Jason. Wow. Okay. So your primary home in North Carolina, you said is almost paid off? Well, what happens is we pick up two rental properties along the way, moving from post to

post. Sure. And so, yes, we owe $29,000 on that home. And how much is it worth? that home. And how much is it worth? It's a prox, well the Zillow estimate says it's worth two hundred and forty thousand dollars on the low estimate. Okay. And then what's your other rental property? So our other rental property is the one that's flooded. We owe 197,000 on that. It's estimated worth before the flood was 410,000. Okay. Man. Have you appealed the denial from insurance?

So we didn't have flood insurance. Yes, I kicked and screamed, but the home never would have flooded if it wasn't for eight million gallons artificially being pushed into the neighborhood. How many other homes were affected? There was 120 homes. And what's everyone else doing? In the community.

They're getting together and filing individual lawsuits. Okay. And you're going to be part of that is what you're saying? We're going to be,. And you're going to be part of that is what you're saying. We're going to be. Yes, we're going to be. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Which I would do. I mean, for sure. And then you guys will be where full time you said you're moving again. Is that correct? Yes. We're right in the middle of a mood just to make everything more complicated. Right. Do you own a home in Kansas?

Are you guys renting right now? No, we're renting right now. Okay. And then you're going to move in this house that flooded was going to be your full-time home? Is that what you're saying? Are you guys going to move and rent somewhere else? Well, we were going to move and continue to rent this place out.

But the plan right now, since it's only three hours away from where I'll be working, is to move into the flooded house. My wife, who is very handy, is planning on working on the house during the week and I'll come back on the weekends to work on it while I commute back and forth from where my job's going to be in three hours away. How long will you be at this new post, do you know? At least a year, probably two. Okay, do you guys have kids?

Yeah, we have one that's flowing the coop, one that's getting ready to do a gap year program, and then one freshman in high school. Okay, because I'm just thinking just like a quality of life perspective. Are you guys? Yeah. So they are going to, I'm sorry, I don't know why I wasn't following.

Are they going to move to where the house that was flooded that area and your wife's going to work on the home or are they going to move with you? Where are you going? No, they're going to work. They're going to be at the home and stay with mom. If they're homeschool work. They're going to be at the home and stay with mom. If they're homeschooled and do... Okay. Why do they not move where you're moving? Just to keep the family together?

Well that's a good idea. There is cheaper housing on post for me where I would only be paying $500 a month for a furnished apartments on posts and commute back and forth. Okay. I mean, do you want to do that for two years? Live somewhere three hours away for two years because of a house that flooded and she wants to do repairs. Like, do you know what I mean? I'm just trying to make sure the priorities are in check for you guys as a family. Because I wouldn't want to be away.

I don't know. I'm probably just speaking out of my own story of what I would want, but I don't know. I just don't want this flooded house and this whole drama with the house, split the family just to redo the house. Do you know what I'm saying? Because if anything, I'd sell the North Carolina house,

pay down this other one, and you guys like live as a family and keep house. Do you know what I'm saying? Because if anything, I'd sell the North Carolina house, pay down this other one and you guys like live as a family and keep on moving, you know? So that- I guess the sticking issue is we can't afford to pay rent, pay the mortgage and then pay others to fix the property. Right, so I probably would be on hold, I think. I could be wrong, George, you can decide, you could give me your thoughts too. I probably would pause on the home that was flooded to

see if this lawsuit, if there's any grounds to it, to see what happens and wait. I don't know from an architectural standpoint if that's terrible to wait with a flooded home, you know, a certain amount of time. But I would not be a long distant landlord regardless of a flood or anything. So I would sell that North Carolina home. There's some great equity in there. Use that to, you know, build somewhat of a life, even if it's helping with rent or something

to where you're currently now stationed so the family stays together. And then give it a few months to see if this lawsuit, any traction happens with it and then you guys can decide what to do with the flooded property. Aren't we going to lose most of our equity and profit in capital gains if we sell that North Carolina property? Yeah, I mean, you'll pay some, yeah. It'll be long-term capital gains, right?

And only on the amount beyond what you put into it. So it's not going to be hundreds of thousands. And eventually you're going to have to pay capital gains anyways. And so I would just pay that to give yourselves a better life in the meantime. And to Rachel's point, I would get out of this long distance real estate game of picking up properties anywhere you go. And it's due to that chaos of being a long distance landlord and not having your eyes on it. And it'll give you guys more peace. Cause you guys, you work really hard and to have this level of chaos in your life

where one thing falls apart and the dominoes come crashing, I would just want a little less risk and a little more stability at this stage of life. And I would also be fighting with, you know, the city. Have you filed a claim with the city before this whole- That's on the process of it. We started with one lawyer and then he had to resign due to a conflict of interest that came up.

Oh boy. So, everything's moving really slowly. I anticipate a lawsuit's going to take years, not months to resolve. So, left to your own devices, what would you do with this Tennessee property? Well I would. Are you going to repair it or are you going to sell it as is? Well that's, well we were going to repair it and live out of it for a while until we could sell it because we don't know how long

until we can recoup the money that's been lost into it. But it's going to take $186,000 to do these repairs? Like they're basically gutting the house? Yes. That was the restoration estimate by a major renovation contractor. Can you get a few other bids? We can. Okay.

So we have another contractor take a look at it and we think it will probably turn out to about $100,000. Okay. And you said you have a hundred thousand saved? Yes. Okay. That's all of our savings. So you could cash flow this.

You'll just have to rebuild your savings. And in the meantime, until this happens, keep stacking cash so that you guys will still have an emergency fund on top of cash flowing the repairs. But that's probably what I would do. And then I would repair it and then look to recoup the costs through this ongoing lawsuit. And then have some cushion if you sell the North Carolina property. Exactly. I would sell it just to have that cushion for my family. I wouldn't want to be in a lurch like that running so tight. And this the real estate estate mogul game I would let go of this dream for now until we were in a better position and then we can get back into it later and I would do it all cash to again reduce your risk

and increase your peace. Yeah there's just a lot of things kind of moving along in this and yeah and that's part of when we talk about taking control of your money and doing all of this, it is to get a level of peace so you sleep good at night, right? So like, life is not worth trying to juggle 80 different things to somewhat like just have rental properties. Like, you know what I mean? It strips your piece away when you go into debt and do all of this.

Just simplify. Yeah, there's a level of simplification that happens. And I did forget that you guys did have the savings to help repair the home. So if you guys wanted to do that, yeah, absolutely with cash. But I would simplify and sell that North Carolina property. Well, two of our favorite men, George, are on the road. Dr. John Delaney and Dave Ramsey, they are on the west side of America. I picture them like road tripping in a car like, you know, John's running the playlist and Dave's like, change it, this sucks. But that's not what happens.

Just put on Eagles. Exactly. It's all Dave wants. Yeah. But they are on the road with the money and relationships tour. They have three cities left. Tonight is in Phoenix. You can still get your tickets.

And then Wednesday night, they're gonna be in Fort Worth, Texas. And then on Friday night, they'll be in Kansas City. So Kansas City is sold out. Fort Worth is almost sold out. I think Phoenix has a couple of tickets left. But if you guys wanna check that out, you can go to ramsesolutions.com slash tour

to get your tickets. And we'll put a link in the show notes as well. So you can check it out if you're any in or around any of those cities and you wanna join old David Dron. I've heard great things. I've heard it's been a lot of fun. Yeah, they've said it's been a great time. Very great.

Prouds have been electric. Electric, around America, so great. All right, let's go to Elizabeth in Birmingham. Hey Elizabeth, welcome to the show. Hi, thank you for having me. Absolutely, how can we help? So I am 24 years old, I turned 24 in January. I was, my father was in the military

and he never used the GI bill that was given to him during that time. So he passed it down to me and my brothers. There's three of us total. Oh wow. We split three ways and then I got a tiny bit extra than my brothers, but just a tiny bit extra. That's great. It should get me through about two years and I didn't go to college after high

school because I didn't know what I wanted to do. I now know exactly what I want to go to school for and what I want to do after school. Um, I know that Dave Ramsey says that he doesn't believe I've heard him say more times that he doesn't agree in going into debt for student loans. I know that most of my schooling would be covered, but I don't know that I can do this without going into debt. And I was wondering what does that mean when he says,

don't go into debt for school? If that was the accurate understanding, how do I go going into debt? And I was wondering, what does that mean when you say, don't go into debt for school, if that was the accurate understanding, how do I go about doing that? Well, it's a great question. So it basically, yeah, I mean, it kind of is self-explanatory in one way that you just don't take out loans. So if you take loans off the table,

not going into debt for school, what are your other options? And that would be using the GI bill, that would be choosing a school that you could cash flow eventually when the time comes. That could be applying for other scholarships and grants, that could be working in the meantime, maybe for the next year and saving up

for what you'll have to owe when tuition comes after the GI Bill is used. But it really is gonna be running those numbers, Elizabeth, and looking at different schools and tuition and what you're going to get in the GI bill. So what do you want to do? What major are you looking at? I really want to go into interior design. I don't know if I want to go into more private or if I want to go into a public area like

the buildings of hospitals and stuff like that, but I know interior design is where I would be very, very happy. Great. Okay. Well, and you live in Birmingham? At the moment I don't want to stay in Birmingham so my residence is still in North Carolina at the moment. I don't want to stay in Birmingham but I'm with my parents at the moment.

There's just a bunch of medical debt. Okay so I know I don't want to go to school in Alabama either. Why? I just don't feel like I belong here at all. I've since I came here I just I belong here either. Why? I just don't feel like I belong here at all. I've since I came here, I just, I have no friends here. I tried making friends. I just, I don't feel like this is what I'm supposed to be.

Okay. Well, staying in state is going to be one of the best bets for you to just get through school. And there's tons of schools, right? I mean, like in Alabama, you went to school in Alabama, George. Yeah. Mobile. But you're saying your residence is North Carolina.

So you could do in statestate program in North Carolina? Oh, you could do that too? And get in? Yes, but again, it's... I was there for a really long time. I don't want to go back. Where do you want to go? I'm confused.

I looked at originally SCAD and... No, no, no, no, no. I don't know how expensive it was. That's a great way to go $100,000 into student loan debt. Ask me how I know. Half the people that work here are still paying off their SCAD degrees years later. And it's a great school,

but you don't need to go to SCAD to become a great interior designer. I just looked up some options for you, can I tell you? Appalachian State, 7,500. Annually. That means 30 grand gets you through school. How much is the GI bill, Elizabeth? I'm not entirely sure. My brother's is using it. I know he had to still apply for FAFSA when he

did it, but I do know that it'll cover a decent chunk. My concern is more- Well, a decent chunk though. A decent chunk with SCAD or a decent chunk at Appalachian State? In state with public, in the public school. Yes. It covers the whole thing if that's the case? It would cover most of everything for the first two years. I would obviously work hard as well, like pick up a job as well.

Sure. Yeah. So Elizabeth, listen, I'm going to be, I'm going to be your, your 30s. BFF. Yeah. Your late 30s BFF here. Okay. I've been overwhelmed. I need it straight. Yeah. So here, yeah. So you have to make smart decisions and wise decisions and mature decisions, which means we don't get everything we want. And I understand this. You know, you said, I feel like I don't belong here. All this. Alabama is a real big state. North Carolina is a real big state. And so the mature decision would be, I'm gonna be what's most economically wise.

And that is that I have a GI bill that's gonna be able to pay for most of my schooling and I'm gonna go there. Even though my heart dreams of something else, you're not a child, Elizabeth, you're an adult. You're a grown woman and you have to make wise grownup decisions. And it would not be wise for

you to go out of state pay three times as much for the same exact degree that you can get somewhere else and then graduate you're going to graduate with 60 grand in debt if you go the other route and then you're going to call us you know two years later and be like, Holly I can't invest, I can't find a house, I don't have enough money. I mean, I'm so tied down. Like you limit so much of your future when you choose to go into debt. And so you have to say, Elizabeth, I'm not going into debt. And so what does that mean? That means I have to find a school that I get extra scholarships and grants for. That means I have to go to a school that I can afford, which is in state.

And there's a part of this mature decision making that you do things you don't always want to do. And that's part of being an adult, but you're being wise. There's wisdom, wisdom in that. And I'm telling you, Elizabeth, 28-year-old Elizabeth is gonna be so thankful that 24-year-old Elizabeth did this. Because when you graduate without debt

and you go get your first job, like you are financially above ground and building on top of that. You're not having to start from digging in from hole, from a hole that you've dug into with debt. And that's not the norm. The norm is just, I feel like this is where I really want to go and I love it. And you just go deeply in debt and you stunt your financial future because of that.

Well, so the first two years will be majority should be majority debt free. But then what about the other two years? Cause that's- No, it's all debt-free. We agreed. We did a spit-sharing. Well, how you do it though, is you start working and maybe you delay for a year or something,

but you work and you cashflow the last two years. So if you go to, you know, 7,500, is that what you said per semester, George, or per year? That's per year. Okay. So you need $14,000 to get through to make it. So between now and whenever you apply for school or you go, you know, you have two and a half, three years to get $14,000. So you got to- Which you could make with a part-time job. Right, I agree. And I want to work a full-time job when I'm in school with Unable to. Yes,

that's great. And intern at an interior design place, have you shadowed anybody that's been doing this or talked to a lot of interior designers that are actually in the space that you wanna work? I haven't totally talked to people necessarily, but I've done a lot of looking at people online who are like, here's what I do, here's what my average day of work looks like,

well, here's what this job entails, and it looks like exactly what I would love. Okay, so is it all on Instagram? I mean, different sources, so like, looking at- Okay, Elizabeth, this is your homework. Girl, this is your homework. Yeah. You need to go find a real life interior designer

in your area, residential and commercial. And I want you to follow them because the glamorous life that you probably saw with all the edits and all the cute music. A day in the life of interior designer. Yeah, it's not real. It's not real. And I'm so scared that you're saw with all the edits and all the cute music. A day in the life of an interior designer. Yeah, it's not real, it's not real. And I'm so scared that you're getting set up for a fantasy life because it looks so great on Instagram,

but that's probably not reality. So please just hear me say that. And maybe the people you follow, they are being very honest and very real and good for them. And I pray that's the case. But I just want expectations like fully in line with reality and comparing on, oh my gosh. And the only reason I say this is that literally George,

just last week I saw this girl, she's in Chicago. She's probably 24 and she's like day in the life of me as a business girly. She's like, I go and I work out and then I go and I get my coffee and I do this and I do that and then we go to the park for lunch and then we go and then we leave at three because we have yoga and we do and I'm like, that's not real.

That's not real. That's not real. And dear God, an entire generation is looking at that thinking, oh, that's that's that's the world. That's what a fun job to work. And here's the TLDR. Nobody gives a rip where you got your degree. They just go, are you good at interior design? That's all I care about.

What's your portfolio look like? Yep. You got this, Elizabeth. I believe in you. I really do. I think you're going to do great. Our scripture of the day comes from 2 Corinthians 4, 8 through 9. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed.

Perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not abandoned. Struck down, but not destroyed. C.S. Lewis said, hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny. So beautiful. Love C.S. Lewis. It's a good one.

It is a good one. All right, let's go. Ah, you're right here in Nashville, George. Let's keep it local. Yeah, we're gonna talk to Hannah. Hi Hannah, welcome to the show. Hi, thank you for having me. Absolutely, how can we help?

So I am 29 years old. I'm a single mom and I need help finances. I do not have child, I don't have money from the child, sorry, from the father of my child who doesn't pay me any money. I have rheumatoid arthritis and shortly after I gave birth about a year ago I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. So all of my money that I'm, I'm making right now is going to my treatments and then some, I work two part-time jobs remotely, so I'm not paying for childcare.

Um, my parent, I live with my parents. I'm on food stamps, but I spend average about $850 a month on supplements and then just to see a doctor every two months is about three to $400 just to see them. So all my money, I can't even save for my child. It's going for his formula, um, which he's almost done with, but then all of my extra money is going towards my treatment. So I know Dave Ramsey said that, you know, put money aside for emergency fund for things like this, but how can I save when all of my money and resources are going towards my

own treatment and getting better? For sure. Well, I'm so sorry. I mean, that's, that is terrible. I have a friend with Lyme disease and it's absolutely miserable and I'm really, really sorry. How much are you making per month? What are you bringing in with these part-time jobs after taxes?

What's hitting your account? Around $13.50. One job I have is maximum 15 hours and then the other job I have is I can work as many hours. So I do that in the evenings but I also have to prioritize my sleep to get better so I can really only withstand maybe an hour or two for that job in the evenings but then I also want to keep my faith strong and I do like online sermons in the

evening because I need to be grounded in faith during this time too. Is there something that's remote that's more of a nine to five that you could find that could pay more? You know, I've worked for that, but then putting my child in daycare, the costs are so much that it's like, if I at least do, I've done the math, if I at least do 20 to 25 hours of work with what I'm doing right now, I would be making the same exact amount. So to put my child in childcare, it's also physically taxing to drive them to daycare, pick them up, and then do all the mom duties that I have to do. Is there a legal requirement from the father to pay and he's just not paying?

I did not put him on the birth certificate. He just is choosing not to be in our lives. He has his own story that I do not trust him around my child, so I did not put him on the birth certificate. Okay, so you can't go after him legally to pay. No, because then I would have to go to court to put him on the birth certificate. And I, I know the court wouldn't have custody for him at all for what he's exhibited. But future, I, if he does shape his life up and then does get some custody back,

that's also more money just to go to court. Sure. You know? And on top of food stamps, are you seeking out any other assistance for an additional income? Like, are you eligible for any kind of disability income? Disability I'm not.

I just moved to Tennessee when I was eight months pregnant. My son will be one year old at the end of this month. So disability, I would have to be out of work for a whole year is what I understood to then just apply for something but I'm I'm working you know I've been working since November but I've drained my 401k money all of my savings. Do you have any debt? A credit card debt right now I have about $500 and that's it. And I just had to start putting money on my credit card. Okay, I'm gonna tell you something wild

and that is to cut up the credit card and only use your debit card because this slippery slope is just starting and I don't want you calling back saying, hey, I'm now 5,000 in credit card debt and my income has stayed the same. I can't make these payments. People are coming after me trying to sue me.

So I would use your own money and cover your four walls with that money. So that's food, utility, shelter, transportation. Obviously you have these health costs. And right now, truthfully, you're in survival mode. So I don't expect you to make wild strides and progress with your finances. I hope that this is a season,

I hope that the medical costs come down. Your son or your child will eventually, be out of that daycare phase and be in school and hopefully that will help. But this might be a few years where you're just trying to get your health in order and survive. Yeah, so I think that's it Hannah. I think prioritizing your health and just keeping,

thank God that you're able to stay with your parents. And I would have that be the plan for the foreseeable future because of your health situation. And just knowing that, yeah, if you can just get the basics and not go in debt and get your health covered, do what you can, the expenses with your son. And that's it. Like that would, that's, you're a rock star at that point.

Like if you can just do that. And then I do, I really do believe as the years go on, you're gonna get more skillset. I think there's gonna be definitely a time that you're gonna be able to step in and do more work, even if it is still remote, but a 40 hour week job, even where you make, you know, 35, $40,000 a year, because upping your income, Hannah,

is gonna be your best bet. And you may not be able to do that right now because of the state of your health. So give yourself some grace in that. But just know in the future, have some goals to look out and say, okay, we're in May. By next January, after the new year,

I'm really gonna see kind of where I'm at and reevaluate. So give yourself some six month timelines. But I think upping your income is gonna be your best bet instead of kind of pushing those two part-time jobs together. If you have the ability to work something more full-time, that's really really gonna help. So thanks for the call. Up next we have Sabrina in Dallas, Texas. Hi Sabrina, welcome to the show. Hi, how are you? We're doing great, how can we help? Hi, I am unemployed due to the recent federal budget cuts. I have 30,000 in savings that I would like to invest in.

And I don't really have any debt by the grace of God as Mr. Ramsey would say I'm really doing better than I deserve. So for that 30K, it's the truth. I love it. For that 30,000 I wanted to know what investment strategies can I use for my little 30K? For that 30K, do you have a job right now Sabrina? Are you working? No, I'm not working right now, but I have a prospect.

Okay. So I probably would pause on investing. I would keep this as an emergency fund. Is this your only savings you have? No, I have about 60 to be honest. I'm just not touching the other 30. Oh, okay. That's great. Yeah, have you? Yeah, I honestly probably Sabrina would just wait until you get a job in place to make sure that you have an income coming in. And then

if that's the case, then hopefully that new job may have, you know, a retirement benefit of a 401k. And then you can apply for a Roth IRA and I would start there. I would fund and max those out with that 30k. That's where I would personally start is just throwing some at retirement, which would be a Roth IRA and a 401k. And then from there, if you want to invest in something that's non-retirement, you can look at index funds,

even just like a Vanguard account, you could do a mutual fund, but I would sit down with a SmartVestor Pro, and you can find them on rancysolutions.com and sit down, there are investment professionals in your area to kind of look at a game plan for you, because I wanna make sure that you have a good retirement stability for the future,

but you also have the ability to save and use that money for what's best for you coming up in the near future. Yeah, just park it in a high yield savings account. I would not invest it right now. You need some stability first. We'll get back to investing later on. That's great. Great job, Sabrina.

Well done. Well, George, great hour. You did it. Appreciate you. We did it. We did it. We're proud of you. Great calls today. Thank you. We did it. We did it. Great calls today. Thank you all for calling in.

Absolutely, yep. Thanks to everyone in the booth for making this happen. Our great studio audience that's been kind of in and out today. We appreciate you guys. And remember to take control of your money and create a life you love.