The Ramsey Show - App - Debt: The Bad News and The Good News (Hour 2)

Episode Date: September 10, 2018

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Starting point is 00:00:00 🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I am Dave Ramsey, your host. This is your show. Thank you for joining us. Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Amber is with us in Washington, D.C.
Starting point is 00:01:01 Hey, Amber, how are you? Hi, Dave. Hi. Hey, Amber, how are you? Hi, Dave. Hi, what's up? Hi, I hope you're doing well. So here's my dilemma. I live in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. So every year the real estate market is just getting more and more competitive. People are coming here because jobs are here, you know, for global attraction.
Starting point is 00:01:26 So I'm just year over year, I'm watching the real estate market and the prices get higher and higher and higher. So I moved back in with my parents last year to try to pay off a lot of my debt, which is student loan debt. Good. So I can be able to afford, yes, I can afford one of these new construction homes within one of these ideal areas next to the metro. And they're just continuing to build and build and build, and the numbers are going higher and higher and higher. I'm about $50,000 total in debt right now. That's my student loans, car loan, and credit cards, all $50,000. So I'm just trying to figure out, like, if I were to go and jump into, which would probably not be a good idea right now,
Starting point is 00:02:16 but I'm feeling anxious to go get a property because I know that the market is going to continue to go up. Right now I would be house poor if I did that. You need a new job at the Chamber of Commerce for the Washington, D.C. area because you're more sold on it than anybody else on the planet. Okay. You've just gone on and on and on like you're freaking living in Tokyo or something. I mean, yeah, Washington, D.C. is going up, and it's going up in value and in cost,
Starting point is 00:02:48 but so is every other city in America. And so this is not an unusual situation. And buying a home when you live at home with $50,000 in personal debt and you're in your 20s would be insanity. You're going to get yourself in a real set of trouble. And this is happening because you're basing this on this fear of prices going up, and it's making you really start to talk and think illogically. You're going to get yourself in real trouble.
Starting point is 00:03:16 I've been buying real estate a long time. I'm 58 years old. I bought my first piece when I was 20. And so, you know, for 40 years i've seen the same exact thing happen over and over and over real estate goes up real estate goes up real estate goes up and you know what you're still going to be able to buy a house you're still going to get you a house okay but don't let your house get you how much do you owe on your car okay how much do you owe on your car um about twenty thousand yeah and what do you make a year
Starting point is 00:03:46 on my car what do you make a year 70 70 yeah if i were in your shoes i'd get me a three thousand dollar car and get out of debt that much faster half of your debt is a car yes and that's keeping you from getting a house. And I'd a lot rather own a house than a car. If I could live in one of those houses you're describing and I were you and I was debt-free and I had my emergency fund in place and there was a $3,000 car in the driveway, I'd be happy as a bug in a rug. That's a good place to start right there. And then save up and buy you a little better car for cash after you get in there.
Starting point is 00:04:26 But I'm putting my financial energies on things that go up in value and getting towards that by being debt-free, having your emergency fund in place, and then having a good down payment. I don't want to put my financial energies toward paying off that stupid car. It's just a car. And don't tell me how you need a good car. I know you need a good car. $3,000 car will get you there, and it's keeping you from getting your house,
Starting point is 00:04:49 at least doing it intelligently. Nathan's with us in Atlanta, Georgia. Hi, Nathan. How are you? Hey, Dave. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up?
Starting point is 00:05:01 All right. So just listening to your show for about two months now, I'm 30 years old. I've got $19,000 worth of debt ones that are stressing me right now is debt with the IRS, student loan debt, and a credit card debt from Bank of America that I'm getting sued over. Why are you getting sued? Just wasn't working and wasn't able to pay. Oh, are you getting sued? Just wasn't working and wasn't able to pay. Oh, are you working now? Yes, sir. What's your income now, household income?
Starting point is 00:05:54 About $30,000 a year. What do you do? I'm an EMT. Okay, cool, good. Well, that's rewarding work, but it's not financially rewarding. Obviously, you get to help people and save lives and everything else, and that's a good thing. And you're 30 years old.
Starting point is 00:06:14 What can we do to get your income up? I'm going to have to take a second job. After I get out of all this debt, I'd like to go back to school for nursing. Ah, there we go. That's probably for later down the road. Okay, I like that plan. So can an EMT, are there good EMT side jobs that you can use your certification and make good money on a side job? Not good money, but it definitely, you know, extra income.
Starting point is 00:06:44 But I mean, it'd be better than delivering pizza, right? Yes, sir. Better money, I mean. Yes. Okay. I mean, could you make $1,500 a month as a part-time job? You probably could, couldn't you? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:06:58 How much do you owe Bank of America? Around $3,600. Yeah. So I had... So here's the thing. They'll go away in two months if you made $1,500 a month and gave them everything, right? Right. So I think we get your income up. Are you single?
Starting point is 00:07:16 Yes, sir. Good. You don't have to tell anybody else what to do except you now. And you work all the time now. Nobody gripe about it. So I just want you to work like a maniac. Like, let's double our hours. For a short period of time.
Starting point is 00:07:31 Because here's the thing, man. I mean, $19,000 changes your life. $19,000 changes your whole life, doesn't it? Yes, sir. Because you'd be sitting here making money thinking about nursing school instead of being sued by Bank of America. Ugh. I hate them.
Starting point is 00:07:53 So this is great, man. I mean, the bad news is you've got a problem. The good news is you can fix it fast. I predict you are 100% debt-free in less than a year. But you're going to have no life during that year because all you do is work and pay debt. And you never go out. Yes, sir. And you never buy anything.
Starting point is 00:08:13 And anything you've got that's expensive and nice, if it's not a family heirloom, you sell it. We're getting out of debt fast. Lean into it. Knock it out. Bank of America, ugh. They're first on the list those people i mentioned i don't like them yeah but thirty six hundred dollars makes all this stress go away isn't that neat and nineteen thousand makes it all go away hold on i'm gonna send you a copy of the book the total money makeover it's gonna show you exactly how to do this you call me if
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Starting point is 00:10:22 Mary's with us in Dayton, Ohio. Welcome to The Dave Ramsey Show, Mary. Thank you, Dave, for taking my call. I have some questions. I am 87 years old. I have three rentals. One I just rented for a year. I have one on land contract that will close next year,
Starting point is 00:10:43 and I will net about $30,000 out of it. My question is, I have one that is empty. I can rent it for about $900 a month, and it would take me about 11 years to net what I could sell it for. I can net $120 if I sell it now. Should I sell it or should I keep it and rent it for $900 a month? Mm-hmm. Okay.
Starting point is 00:11:15 Well, if you take the $120 and invest it, can you create $900 a month? Can I do that on investment? I don't know. That's what I'm i'm asking i mean that's what you'd want to do right because we know one way we can get 900 a month and that's keeping it or we could take the 120 and put it in mutual funds if it made 10 on the mutual fund that'd be 10 000 a year i'm sorry 12 000 a year which would be a thousand dollars a month so i'd need to make nine percent ten percent on your mutual funds in order to make the same money that you're making on this house. Well, you've got expenses on the house, so probably not.
Starting point is 00:11:51 But, yeah, I would think you could probably buy a mutual fund, a series of mutual funds, if you went and sat with a broker and do about as well as you're doing on that. Which do you prefer? Do you like having the rental property, or would you prefer to have some mutual funds? I do like the rental property, but at my age, I'm beginning to wonder. The expenses, taxes and insurance, would be about $2,000 a year on it. So you'd be netting about $8,000. Right. If you get $10,000 and some change in and you had $2,000 in expenses,
Starting point is 00:12:32 then you're not counting any other repairs or anything that you had come up, but you'd be netting about $8,000 on a $120,000 investment. And so if you were to put that in mutual funds, you probably could make that if you pick good mutual funds. It's just a question which one you would rather own. And so one way I can answer questions like that for myself sometimes, and you might try this, Mary, is just do it in reverse.
Starting point is 00:12:56 Let's pretend I had $120,000 in cash sitting in the middle of your kitchen table. Would you go buy a rental house like the one we're talking about, or would you go buy mutual funds? Well, I don't know. I lost, years ago, I lost over half of what I had in the stock market, and that's when I took the rest out and started buying rental property. I don't know about the stock market. Well, that's the only place you're going to get a similar rate of return
Starting point is 00:13:29 to what you're getting on the house. And so if you feel more comfortable with real estate, then you keep the real estate and rent it. Or pay somebody a management fee to handle it for you if you don't want to deal with it at 87 years old. I can't blame you for that. Don't want to deal with a hassle or whatever. That's fine.
Starting point is 00:13:47 No question. But it's just a matter of which one you would do. I personally do both. I have mutual fund investments and I have real estate investments that I pay cash for. And so it sounds like you're in a really nice place financially. You've done a great job. And so it's just a question of what your preference is at this point. Idalis is with us in Sioux City, Iowa.
Starting point is 00:14:09 Hi, Idalis. How are you? Good. How are you, Dave? Better than I deserve. What's up? Me and my boyfriend need some help. We are $50,000 in debt with just our vehicles, $10,000 in credit card debt, and $3,000 in the medical debt.
Starting point is 00:14:31 Okay. We aren't. One of you is. Whose name is on these cars? Both of our names are on both of the vehicles that we just got in May. Oh, God. Okay. And what about the uh credit cards um some of the credit card debt is mine some of the credit card debt is his um out of the 10 000
Starting point is 00:14:55 probably 3 500 of it is mine and what's your what do you make a year um me and him no there year? Me and him. No, there is no me and him. Legally, you're not married. There's not a me and him. Okay? You have a roommate from a legal standpoint. Okay?
Starting point is 00:15:17 So if he gets up and walks away, you're in a partnership on two cars you can't afford with this guy. And if he gets up and walks away, you have your credit card debt, he has his. That's the way the law looks at it, okay? And so just because you guys want to. Yeah, the reason we do it together is because we have a three-year-old son together, and we've been together for six years. Mm-hmm. That doesn't change the conversation.
Starting point is 00:15:47 You're still not married. And so when you're not married, you have to look at this differently. Now, why are you not married? We would love to get married, but the debt right now is just unbelievable. And marriage changes that? No. Okay. Because, I mean, you're doing all the stuff of being married except being married,
Starting point is 00:16:15 which leaves you unbelievably unprotected from this situation. So let's pretend you were to get married next week, which is what I would recommend. And then let's pretend that you had two cars that you can't afford that you bought that were really dumb. Then we would go sell those immediately. Go sell them immediately. What do you make a year? I probably only make $20,000 a year. And what does he make a year?
Starting point is 00:16:48 His income varies. He works a landscaping job, so in the winter, his hours kind of drop. What does he make in a year? I think he makes probably $40,000 a year. Okay. And you have $50,000 in car debt? Yep. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:17:11 This doesn't work, does it? No. Yeah, the bad news is you guys made a mess. The good news is it woke you up because you weren't stressed before. Now you're stressed, and at least you're paying attention. So hold on i'm going to send you a copy of the book the total money makeover and what i would do if i woke up in your shoes because i've been there too i've done lots of dumb things in my life is i would sell
Starting point is 00:17:35 these two dumb cars as fast as i can and i'd get me two smart cars which aren't the small little cars that look like a skateboard a smart car is a car you can actually pay cash for that is like a $1,000, $2,000 car. And then we work every extra job we can get our hands on. We have a big garage sale to celebrate our new marriage, and we pay off a bunch of debt as fast as we can, working them off smallest to largest. But you guys went and impulsed two cars, very large impulse purchases that you could not afford, you cannot afford situation when you do not have the legal protections that marriage gives you, much less all the other aspects of it. So the idea you can't afford to get married, but we can afford to do all the exact same
Starting point is 00:18:34 things and live in the same house. It's not logical. Not logical at all. Lorenzo is in Fort Myers, Florida, but we're going to come to Lorenzo after the break because I just looked up at the clock and realized that we're heading into a break. So I want to make sure I get this right. Rico is on Facebook. Dave, my wife and I just had our first child.
Starting point is 00:18:53 What do you recommend for life insurance coverage for children? I don't. At the most, a burial policy, which is done as a rider, a $10,000, $15,000 rider on your term policy. Once you've got a fully funded emergency fund, I wouldn't carry a burial policy or anything on a child. Children do not create an income. And if they don't create an income, then you don't have to replace
Starting point is 00:19:15 their income if something happens to them. God forbid, it would be a horrible, horrible thing to go through. But all you've got to do is just cover the burial and the funeral, and that's it. And you can do that out of your emergency fund. And until you have an emergency fund, you might carry a rider on your term policy. Do your investing anywhere except in a life insurance policy.
Starting point is 00:19:37 A fruit jar is better. Let me tell you a story about two families that are very much alike in a lot of ways. Both families have two working parents and a couple of young kids. Each has debt and has struggled to make ends meet. But they're starting to make headway with their budgets and smarter decisions with money. They have dreams and plans, and the only real difference is that one family has the right amount of term life insurance and the other doesn't. Big difference. If one of the parents die, and that does happen, their well-being would be destroyed.
Starting point is 00:20:17 Paying for the mortgage, utilities, food, and other bills would be impossible, let alone saving for education or retirement. That's why every day I talk relentlessly about getting term life insurance. Just go to ZanderInsurance.com or call 800-356-4282 and see how inexpensive it really is. Be the family that takes those deliberate steps to be different and responsible. It really does make you the hero of your story, and it puts you on course for better things
Starting point is 00:20:47 ahead. Terrence and Angelise are with us from Tallahassee, Florida. How are you guys? I'm doing good. Good. I see on my screen you're debt-free. Congratulations. Thank you. How much have you guys paid off? Oh, only $104,529 and about 88 cents. Only?
Starting point is 00:21:34 Look at you. Only. And how long did that take? About 26 months. We had two months in between there where we would cash flow some other expenses. So 24 months to be exact as far as payments are concerned. Gotcha. And what was your range of income during that two years?
Starting point is 00:21:51 $85,000 to $100,000. What do you all do for a living? I'm what they call a waymaster, Dave. I work for the county here weighing in trucks and other side jobs. I also work at my local university here, home of the Seminoles. Go Knows. Oh, look at that. Good for you.
Starting point is 00:22:12 Okay, cool. What kind of debt was the $105,000? Well, we had a little bit of everything, Dave. Of course, we had a couple of vehicles and some credit card debts, student loan debts, parent plus loans, and some braces. You were normal. Unfortunately, yeah. So how long have you two been married? 17 years.
Starting point is 00:22:36 Very good. Good for you. Yes, sir. So what happened two years ago that put you on this journey? Because, man, you guys got after it. Congratulations. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:22:47 Well, for me, I think what it was, Dave, your name kept coming up in conversation. I was trying to make some changes professionally and thought that I could make those changes and realized that we had a mountain of debt that wouldn't allow me to do so. So my former boss, shout out to Gil Page, he had a copy of your book he had given away to me the Christmas before. And after hearing your name a few times, I realized the book was at home and I dove right into it and it lit me on fire. And so I went and told my husband, babe, this is the plan. And he easily just jumped on board. And from there there we just got started. All right. Very cool.
Starting point is 00:23:27 Way to go. So you were that easy, Terrence. She just told you the book says this, and you're like, we're getting out of there. I didn't have a problem with it, Dave. I actually tried to implement it 15 years ago, but when she heard it from you, I mean, it worked. Oh, I see how she does you. I'll say this. If I have any other problems or things I need to get started, I it from you, I mean, it worked. Oh, I see how she does you. I'll say this. If I have any other problems or things I need to get started, I'll call you so you can call her. And we can get started ASAP.
Starting point is 00:23:52 We'll have to wait 15 years that way, man. But, Dave, actually, he told me this 17 years ago. Before we got married, he's a country boy, you know, very simple, never had a credit card, no car payments, and he wanted us to live on one income. And I thought he had bumped his head because I was a city girl and we needed good credit and we needed a new car and all of these great things that I thought we needed. And he ended up coming on board with me. And then 15 years later, you said, and rocked my world.
Starting point is 00:24:23 Well, you were ready, though. That's good. Good for you. ready, though. That's good. Good for you. What do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? I think, Dave, first coming to an agreement with each other, we have to get on the same page first. We can't be put in two different directions. And once you do that, to me that's the main key in getting on that one accord first.
Starting point is 00:24:47 I definitely agree. For me, I handled most of our finances the first 15 years of marriage and did make all the best decisions because I guess I made a lot of emotional decisions being a woman. But once we got on the same page and we knew exactly what we had coming in and going out, it was such a relief for me to share that information with him on a monthly basis. So definitely coming together, being on the same page was huge for us. Yeah, that's everything. It changes. I mean, people say this all the time when we're doing debt-free screams,
Starting point is 00:25:19 but I don't know if the typical listener who's not working on it together understands how important that data point is. You know, out of the millions of people that we've done, that we know that have gotten out of debt, and the, I guess, thousands now that we've had do debt-free screams, the data point comes up over and over and over and over again. Being on a budget, working together, communicating, being unified on it. It's just almost impossible to drag a semi-dead spouse through this, isn't it? Oh, yeah, impossible. Well, Dave, I tell you what, we have the privilege of,
Starting point is 00:25:53 we have a marriage ministry, team marriage, and we talk to a lot of different couples, and we have the wife who's on board and the husband who isn't, and the husband's on board and the wife isn't. And that is the most challenging thing that they face is, you know, you have one spouse who's so eager and ready to go and they're on fire, but then the other hasn't bought into the plan. So we were just so blessed and fortunate that we decided to work this thing together.
Starting point is 00:26:17 We saw what living check to check looked like and having more month in money, and I think we were just tired. We were sick and tired of being sick and tired, if you would. Yeah. It changes everything when you do that. So how's it feel? It does. I finally got the truck I wanted and I had it maybe a year.
Starting point is 00:26:35 But once I gave it up with no problem. Oh, wow. Sold the truck. No problem. Sold the truck. Yes, sir. Wow. Yes, sir.
Starting point is 00:26:43 How much did that bring? What, $23,000 for the truck? Yeah, we owe $23,000, and we sold it for, what, Dave, about $17,000, I believe it was. So we took a little hit on it, but cash paid the difference because, of course, like everyone, we were upside down in it. We were looking real nice, but we were riding upside down and got rid of it in our van immediately. Those were the big items that we immediately got rid of. Yeah, I think that saved us like
Starting point is 00:27:11 $42,000 and then the vehicle we paid cash for, the two we drive now only cost us like $6,500. Together. Cash, yeah. Wow, that's awesome. Well, and now you can save up, now that you don't have any payments, you can save up and drive whatever you want, right? Oh, that's awesome. Well, and now you can save up. Now that you don't have any payments, you can save up and drive whatever you want, right? Oh, that's right.
Starting point is 00:27:28 That's right. We're driving like no one else, so later we can drive like no one else. Yeah. You got it. You got it dialed in. I'm proud of you. Very, very well done. Thank you, Dave.
Starting point is 00:27:38 Great job. Well, Dave, I tell you what. If I could, this is surreal for us. I've listened to debt-free screams. It's been an emotional experience for me. My kids have listened to you, my husband. When I exercise at work, I've just been motivated by your channel. And to be on with you today is just, I mean, it's just the cherry on top of this process.
Starting point is 00:27:59 It's surreal. I can't believe this is even happening. Yes, we have. It's us four in our house and Dave. Well, I'm honored to be part of the family. Oh, yeah, you in there. It's good stuff, man. Well done.
Starting point is 00:28:15 All right, we've got a copy of Chris Hogan's Retire Inspired book for you. You know that's the next chapter in your story to be millionaires. You are well on your way to doing that. Congratulations and very, very proud of you. All right, Terrence and Angelise. in your story to be millionaires. You are well on your way to doing that. Congratulations. And very, very proud of you. All right. Terrence and Angelise in Tallahassee, Florida. $105,000 paid off in 26 months, making $85,000 to $100,000.
Starting point is 00:28:37 Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Hey, I know you want to do it, Angel. We're going to throw Dave off. This is for Mia, TC, and Trey. We're debt-free. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I love it. Well done, you guys.
Starting point is 00:28:59 Great story. Great family. That's just fun. Blinds.com gives us our question of the day with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you mismeasure, they'll replace your blinds free. Free samples and deals running all the time. Click Ramsey or use Ramsey as your promo code when you go there to get the best deals. Jeffrey's in Texas.
Starting point is 00:29:19 Where in the baby steps should I start saving a college fund for myself? I'm 25 with $7,000 in debt, household income of 52. My wife's 28. I have two children, three and seven. I want to pursue a bachelor's in nursing. It will cost approximately $30,000, take about two and a half years. I would save that after your emergency fund. Make yourself debt-free, Jeffrey, and then start saving.
Starting point is 00:29:42 Then build your emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. And at that point, before you go on with Baby Steps 4, 5, and 6, is when you upgrade in car. You can go on vacation again, because before that you shouldn't be. You can buy a better couch, whatever it is you want to do. And that would be a point where some people save up for a down payment on the first house at that point, and some people do go back to school and pay cash for it at that point. You might do that before you start retirement and before you start your kid's college fund and before you pay extra on the mortgage for sure. So that would be baby step 3B, in other words.
Starting point is 00:30:21 Hope that helps you. Thank you for checking in with us and for being Blinds.com's question of the day. We need to talk about something you've been hiding. It's your smile. Your teeth aren't straight and you think you don't have the money or the time to get them fixed. You think your only option is to go on covering your teeth every time you laugh. Well, here's some good news. With Smile Love, you can have a completely confident smile,
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Starting point is 00:31:21 Smile Love's proven streamlined method is the most affordable option for straightening your teeth. We're talking about saving you thousands. Order today at SmilingLove.com and use the promo code Dave to receive $100 off. SmilingLove.com. Promo code Dave. Thanks for joining us. Lorenzo is in Fort Myers, Florida. Hey, Lorenzo, how are you? Hey, how's it going? Mr. Ramsey, I appreciate you taking my call. I appreciate everything you do. Thank you. How can I help? I'm 28 years old. I don't have
Starting point is 00:32:14 any debt. And basically, I wanted to try and become a millionaire in 12 years. I was wondering, I was wondering, is there a smarter way to get there other than using gross stock mutual funds? I just don't want to be looking in hindsight and thinking, man, I should have done this, or I could have did it a little bit more efficiently. So I wanted to know what you had to say. The best way to get rich quick is get rich slow. Okay. People that get in a hurry are always the ones that get burned.
Starting point is 00:32:47 That's how I went broke in my 20s. I got in a hurry. And I had a million-dollar net worth by the time I was 26, but I'd borrowed my way into it. So I had $4 million worth of real estate, $3 million worth of debt. The difference in the two is a million-dollar net worth. But the banks got sold to another bank, called my notes. I spent the next two and a half years of my life losing everything I owned as that house of cards I had built fell.
Starting point is 00:33:12 And so from experience, I'll tell you to get rich slow. Don't be in a hurry. And so how old did you say you are again? 28 years old. Okay. What's your household income? My base is $60,000 dollars i'm a paramedic i do an awful lot of overtime like so for instance this year i'll make over a little over a hundred grand are you single and i've spoken with uh one of your recommended financial advisors,
Starting point is 00:33:48 and he said, you know, basically we can do the Roth IRA, and that seems to be the slower route. He said, but if you want to get, you know, more aggressive, you can do, I think he called it an individual taxable account, which there's pretty much no limitation on. Yeah, you're just buying mutual funds. You're just buying mutual funds. Are you single? Yes mutual funds. You're just buying mutual funds. Are you single?
Starting point is 00:34:07 Yes, sir. Okay. I mean, if you save $40,000 a year at 10% to 12%, in 12 years you'll have right at a million dollars. That's where you would be. Can you say that one more time? I'm sorry. If you save about $40,000 to $45,000 a year invested in good mutual funds like he's talking about, you would have a net worth of $1 million. And you can do that starting now.
Starting point is 00:34:32 We did the math together, and I was going to put $50,000 in as a lump sum, and that is individual account. And then I think it was going to be right at $3,300, just under $3,300 a month. And I believe I have the wherewithal to do that. I'm very focused and methodical with things that I do. I just, you know, again, I just wanted to bounce the idea off your head to see if there's anything else that I might be missing before I go all in on this plan. Beverly Sills said there's no shortcut to any place worth going, and I think you have a good, solid tortoise-in-the-hair type plan.
Starting point is 00:35:07 And the tortoise always wins the race every time I read the book. So that's how I did it the second time and how I want you to do it. If you do this, you will be there in 10 years probably because you are so focused. And the numbers you just gave me match with what I just gave you. $50,000 up front 3300 a month that's another 40 000 a year i'm saying 45 000 you know 46 000 a year something like that will put you there in 12 years if you just did per year but you gotta you gotta love some up front to throw at it that helps the equation and then just load it up and do you have a 401k
Starting point is 00:35:41 available at work? Well, I'm in the Florida retirement system. I don't think they have a 401K that does matching. I could be wrong. I've got to look into it further. Yeah, if you've got a match, that helps a little. But the big thing is just steady, slow and steady wins the race. Steady time and consistency, just continually investing over and over and over and over and over again for 12 whole years, and you'll be there at your rate.
Starting point is 00:36:08 But here's the thing. You're going to end up making more money over that 12 years than you're projecting, and you'll probably end up saving more than you're projecting. So I'm projecting you'll get there in about a decade the way you're going. And I think that's wonderful. Congratulations. Great goal. I want to be one of our everyday millionaires by the time you're 40.
Starting point is 00:36:26 That would be awesome. Kate is with us in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hi, Kate. How are you? Hey, Dave. I'm doing well. It's really good to talk to you. You too.
Starting point is 00:36:36 What's up? So I have a question. My fiance and I have about $375,000 in debt. Oh, my gosh. We're both lawyers. Well, I'm an attorney. We're waiting on his bar exam results to come out. He just took it this summer.
Starting point is 00:36:53 We're getting married in three weeks, and we've budgeted $2,500 for a honeymoon. We've cashed out our wedding. The whole thing, including honeymoon, is going to be $9,500. My mom, who's a big proponent of you, is kind of making us feel bad about taking a honeymoon, and I'm sort of wondering, like, is it? Okay. Well, I'm sorry that got done to you. I'm sorry that got done to you in my name. name um i assume the um uh your household income when you return and he passes the bar within a year will be uh 200 plus hopefully yeah right now we're sitting at about 75 000 um hopefully he's going to get an associate job that's going to make about 90 000 and then i'm
Starting point is 00:37:42 hoping to get bumped up in job in the spring. So you have $375,000 worth of debt. You've had a $9,000 wedding. You want to do a $2,500 honeymoon. No, no, no. $9,500 is wedding and honeymoon. Oh, the whole thing. And that includes $2,500 for the honeymoon
Starting point is 00:38:05 yeah okay i'm making sure i got the numbers right um let me tell you what i would do if i were in your shoes i would go on the honeymoon okay your mom is wrong okay now here here we haven't yeah let's vacation in four and a half years and That's okay, but let's talk this through for a second, okay? If you want to spend $25,000 on the honeymoon, yeah, I'd probably smack you around a little. Right. You know what I'm saying? Because that would actually make a dent on the $375,000. But what makes a dent on the $375,000 is not your honeymoon.
Starting point is 00:38:42 It's your income when you get back. Yeah, absolutely. And that's my reasoning, too. Out of your numbers, this honeymoon is like buying a biscuit. Right. If it was like buying a car, we'd not buy the car. I would agree with your mom at that point. But I think your mom's got her Dave Ramsey knob up about one notch too high okay okay so i get blamed i get blamed for a lot of crap that i didn't do but you know so yeah dave ramsey dave ramsey what what how do you know you know but no i mean she's listen she just wants what's good for you and she wants you to get out of that she's
Starting point is 00:39:22 she's scared to death that you have this much death that's all it is so we'll cut her we'll cut her a little slack but if i woke up in your shoes i would go on the honeymoon okay cool well and you'll be happy to know that dave ramsey is certainly not a cuss word in my in my new household my fiance and i have been doing fpu for the past seven weeks we're almost done well especially now that you get to go on a honeymoon. Right. So when's the marriage again? So we're getting married October 2nd. It's on a Tuesday. Good for you. Well, congratulations.
Starting point is 00:39:58 Thank you very much. We're very excited. You should be. Your future's so bright. Thanks. We think so, too. We're really going to attack this debt and hopefully be out of it within five years. That's the goal. You are. You absolutely are. You're going to make it.
Starting point is 00:40:11 I'm proud of you. Go get it. Not proud of the debt, but I'm proud of you, the way you're thinking, the fact that you do think and can think. You're excited. You've got a future. You've got a game plan. You're cleaning up the mess.
Starting point is 00:40:21 You're going to be great. You guys are just going to be great. That debt is going to go away so fast because you're cleaning up the mess, you're going to be great. You guys are just going to be great. That debt is going to go away so fast because you're so concentrating. So well done. Well done. And we won't pick on mom too bad. She means well, but I think she's just got it dialed up a little too hot. We'll turn the heat down one notch there and actually put a honeymoon back in the budget
Starting point is 00:40:41 at that level anyway you know i've worked really really hard to um to help a whole lot of people and in the process i've gotten well known and that's a blessing um but my name is used as a verb sometimes that it's not should not be used as such dave ramsey this or that oh i'm pretty hardcore but i'm not nearly as hardcore as my reputation of me is Dave Ramsey, this or that. I'm pretty hardcore, but I'm not nearly as hardcore as my reputation of me is. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Did you know that in 2017, Dave Ramsey Show listeners paid off $50 million of debt?
Starting point is 00:41:44 That's pretty impressive. And it could be you this year. Keep listening for more inspiration.

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