The Ramsey Show - App - Don't Just Talk About a Legacy - Build One! (Hour 2)

Episode Date: September 3, 2020

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is the Dave Ramsey Show. It's where America hangs out. You can have a conversation about your life and your money. I'm Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, host of the Ken Coleman Show on the Ramsey Network, and I'm joined by my co-host, Chris Hogan, Ramsey personality, host of the Chris Hogan Show on the Ramsey Network, and I'm joined by my co-host Chris Hogan, Ramsey personality host of the Chris Hogan Show on the Ramsey Network, and we are here for you. We're taking your money calls.

We're taking your life calls. We'll take your career and work calls. Income and jobs inextricably connected, and so we're thrilled to have you. 888-825-5225. That is the phone number. It is toll-free. 888-825- 5225. That is the phone number. It is toll free. 888-825- 5225. Chris Hogan, always

fun to be with you when Dave lets us hang out. Oh, dude, I always look forward to it. We're going to have a good time. We're going to help some people, Ken, and we're going to help people move forward. So I'm excited about it. We've got some big news coming up next segment. If you know some designers in digital web design, hang tight.

Oh, yes. Big announcement. Yes. Might be some opportunities. We shall see. But first, we get to the phones. Josh is on the line in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Josh, how can we help?

Hi, Ken and Chris. Thanks for taking my call. I'm a big fan of you guys and a big fan of the entire Ramsey personality team. Thank you. My question for you is more about my dad. So I'll try to keep this brief. My dad, he's been a real estate broker for about almost 40 years. He owns rentals, and he's an everyday millionaire at this point.

But he's always done everything with his hands. He's always worked on all his real estate himself. And unfortunately, within the past year, he's encountered a lot of medical issues. And he just recently, this past week, had to go into some emergency surgeries. And it's getting to a point. He's okay, but after talking with him, it's getting to a point where he can't continue to do the work that he needs to anymore. And he never thought he would retire. He was the kind of person that said, I'm going to be doing this forever.

But unfortunately, it's getting to a point where he needs to retire. He's only 60. So what we're trying to figure out, so I guess my question for you, we're trying to figure out, he's incredibly frugal. I mean, he's probably got 20, 30 properties and they're worth several million, but he lives incredibly frugal, drives old cars.

He doesn't want to spend any money. So he wants to sell his office. He wants to sell some of his commercial property and such, and the property that is more high maintenance. So what we're trying to figure out is how, I guess it's a three-part to this. We're trying to figure out how to liquidate without paying a lot of taxes.

I mean, obviously we need to pay taxes, but we're trying to figure out how he can liquidate property in the best way. On top of that, we're trying to figure out how to – I'm an only child, and long-term he does want to hand everything to me, but we're trying to figure out how to reduce taxes with an inheritance. I mean, do we use a trust? And then mainly what we're trying to figure out is he doesn't know what he wants to do now that he's going to retire because work was always his life. And he's the kind of guy that always worked 18-hour days.

So I'm trying to figure out what should he do when he retires? And also, when I was talking to him about this, he was saying, I mean, just for example, he was saying, well, I don't need much to retire on. I can live on $1,000 a month. Well, I mean, he worked all his life. I don't want him to do that. I want him to be able to enjoy his money. Absolutely. Well, Josh, here's the deal. First and foremost, and I'll let Ken speak on the career side and the transition and what he can do, but A, I want to commend you for caring enough about your dad to reach out. This is a very tough spot because as the kid, you now are becoming a person that begins to parent your parent. And what I mean by that is on the financial side, beginning to guide and to help structure some things.

With your dad being an everyday millionaire and the net worth you all are talking about, you definitely want to begin to do a couple of things. Number one, as you talk about liquidating the properties, I would have a conversation with your dad to start to rank them and as far as the ones he's really willing to sell and the ones he really wants to hold on to.

Two subgroups there. Because if he's super emotional about holding on to it, there's no chance it's going anywhere. Number two is the financial side of stuff. This is where an estate planning attorney is really going to be able to come into play to help you guys talk about the trust that you could set up. You might be looking at a couple of things. You might be looking at a real estate trust with the properties that you're going to hold on to. You might be looking at a trust and as far as the assets and things that he has.

So you need to do some family and estate planning. One of the first tools I'm going to also advise that you get is a power of attorney. This is going to be crucial for you to be able to open and close and operate business on behalf of your dad. So definitely reach out. SmartVestor Pro, they'll be able to connect you with an estate planning attorney to help you, guide you in that area. Yeah. And Josh, the simple question on what does he do when he retires, I think he does what he has always enjoyed doing, but just a lot less of it and not so strenuously. I don't think it's a, I've got to trade everything I was doing. You said he loved the work, always has loved the work.

I just think, you know, because of the medical issues and health and all that kind of stuff, the time, the strenuous activities, I just think you say, hey, Dad, what do you want to do now? Because he's not working towards a financial goal. That's right. We know that. That could change his perspective some. But this isn't some hard thing to figure out. This is just, what do you want to do?

What do you want to try? You want to try a bunch of different things? Here are your physical limitations or whatever that is. And within those confines, now we come up with what he's going to do. But I will tell you, what I heard that would concern me, if I'm Josh and Josh Josh's dad is that we have somebody like that who really loves the work. I mean, just loves the work. This is a frugal man. So he wasn't working for money.

Right. He stored it up. He's a multi-multi-millionaire. But he really enjoyed the craft, the work. That's love. That's what we talk about on the Ken Coleman Show when we talk about passion. You do it not for the money or the notoriety. All those things are fine. Okay. But the reality is, is you just love the task, the work itself. And so there's got to be a derivative of that

and don't overthink it and just support him with ideas around the things he's always enjoyed. I like that, Kim, because he's definitely earned the right to continue to do this in some capacity. And it might look like he does some mentoring with some other brokers. It might look like that, hey, he's doing it, and maybe he's doing it four hours out of the day. But Josh, I want you to also help your dad have some permission to enjoy. He's worked hard and taken trips, whether your mother wants to go with him or maybe

you go with him and do some stuff. He's going to need taken trips, whether your mother wants to go with him or maybe you go with him, and do some stuff. He's going to need some help with that. It sounds like he's been extremely frugal all his life. And help him to enjoy some. Say, Dad, you've worked really hard. I want you to have a blast now. What's the thing you've always wanted to do? Have him come up with a dream list of 10 places he's always wanted to visit.

That's a start. Yeah, a guy's a multimillionaire going, hey, listen, I can live on $1,000 a month. Good heavens. No need to suffer. No need. Enjoy it. Those are the spoils of a life well lived. He's not done living.

That's right. Really challenge him to keep on living. What a great son. What a great call. Fun stuff. This is what we talk about on The Dave Ramsey Show. Don't move. More coming up. One of the questions I get all the time is,

which life insurance company should I use for my term life policy? A valid question since there are hundreds of companies out there with rates all over the place and riders and add-ons that are simply a waste of money. You need to get this done and make the right decision. That's why the only company I use and have recommended for over 20 years is Zander Insurance. Zander is a broker who shops the top term life companies for you and finds the best rates available from the only plans I recommend. They also save you time. Whether you want to work online, over the phone, or via text,

their team will cater to your needs and help you make the right decision. This is an absolute necessity, and Zander has made the process easy and convenient. Call them at 800-356-4282 or visit zander.com for instant online quotes. Welcome back, America. This is the Dave Ramsey Show, taking you through this hour. I'm Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, host of the Ken Coleman Show on the Ramsey Network, author of the bestselling book, The Proximity Principle, joined by Ramsey Personality, Chris Hogan, host of the Chris Hogan Show on the Ramsey Network,

and he's the number one bestselling author of Retire Inspired and Everyday Millionaires. And we love working here. Many times Ramsey Solutions has been voted best place to work in Nashville. And I've got an announcement for those of you who would like to work here and actually can do this. Uh-oh. Here we go. If you've ever thought about designing for Ramsey Solutions, we're looking for motivated designers who are experts in digital and web design.

So we're only going to hire truly dedicated, talented people. If you're hungry but humble and you love the mission of Ramsey Solutions and you want to join us in spreading our message of hope, apply today. You can find out about all of the jobs,

not just the designer jobs, at DaveRamsey.com. When you get there, click on Dave's Hiring. Dave's Hiring. It's a button on the right side of the homepage, and you can see all of the jobs that are available. I think Chris Hogan is looking for a sweet tea assistant to make his sweet tea every morning. Is that position filled yet?

No, I'm not. You're not? Come on, man. Okay, that's a rumor. That's a rumor. Hey, listen, we would love for you bright folks to come join us. You didn't know I was going there, did you? I didn't.

All right. Spread the word. Dave is hiring. Visit DaveRamsey.com and click on Dave's hiring and check out all of the opportunities. 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225 is the number to jump in. We're going to go to Atlanta, Georgia next, and Alexandria is there. Alexandria, how can we help?

Hi, Ken. Hi, Chris. How are you guys doing today? We are living the dream. How can we help? So I'm doing well. I'm a 29-year-old lady living here in Atlanta. Basically, I called back in March about selling my home to pay off $100,000

and whopping $10,000 in student loan debt. Well, she basically told me, don't sell my house, wait a year on it, pick up a side job, and I did, to pay off my student loans. Well, I picked up not one, not two, but three jobs at the go and fit. Wow. And I've been able to pay off $65,000 since March. Way to go. Let's just pause for a second here.

That's phenomenal. Way to go. Alexandra, how much are you sleeping? So that's the thing. I'm working seven days a week. Oh. That is focus, young lady. Yeah.

You are absolutely getting after it. I'm going to tell you, fantastic job. Yeah. Because a lot of people will look at their student loan debt and talk about that they wanted to leave. No, no, you've been about making it leave. So great job. All right, so you got 65 of the 110 paid off. You're working three jobs, seven days a week.

What's up? So basically now I have the opportunity to go on a travel assignment and work the same amount of hours. However, I'll be bringing home $10,000 a week, which is basically two months of what I'm paying toward my student loans now. However, on the flip side, my job may not be available upon my return. I've already done it once, and I took vacation time. Okay, so let me make sure I understand. You know, it's very purposeful. I enjoy working with the people I was working with, with the COVID patients. But my main concern is, you know, should I take a leap of faith and just take the assignment, pay off my student loans in five weeks, or should I stay home and pay it off over the next five to nine months?

Of course, it makes more sense to pay it off in five weeks to a logical person. I'm in the health care field where I always can find a job doing traveling or something. And so that was my rationale behind it. So what are the chances, what are they telling you, as specifically as you can tell us, about the chances of this thing not continuing? How do we know? I guess what I'm asking is, you said it's short-term. It could be extended.

What are the circumstances that would allow us to at least assess this opportunity? So as long as COVID is here, that's how long the assignment can last, which is good in my case because my next goal was to move up a baby step and actually start. I don't have any kids, and I'm a homeowner, so I want to start knocking down my home loan and start investing more into my 401K. So my goal was to stay longer than five weeks, make more money,

and then start knocking down and attacking my home loan. Okay. So if it didn't last more than five weeks, you feel very confident that you could get right back in and be making the kind of money that you've been making, not even working seven days a week now because you've got the debt paid off. So you feel really good about being able to step back into something if this short-term thing stays short-term?

Absolutely. I'm a nurse practitioner, but if I couldn't find an NT job because the market here is saturated in Atlanta, I could still travel as a travel nurse and make almost equivalent to what I'm making as a nurse practitioner here. Yeah, I have actually talked to several people that do the travel thing, and it is absolutely lucrative being able to travel for two months or three months stints. And, you know, so it is definitely something that is needed and necessary. A lot of these practitioners are people that will travel, Ken, for the nurses or physicians that are on vacation or on leave.

They'll step in and fill in for them. So it's pretty stable. This is interesting. I have an opinion on this but but as i do on my show i like to know where you're thinking before you called uh because i want to know what your gut was before you called to get our opinion what were you leaning towards my gut was telling me to just stop being a chicken and just take a leap of faith and go because god has been covering me so far throughout this entire year um i really will be honest and say he's really blessed me with many opportunities

to be able to pay this amount of money off in a short period of time. I only start working all three jobs in April, and I'm already halfway there. Yeah, I mean, you're absolutely a force of nature. So here's where I'm at. I think it's a risk-reward question. There's not much risk at all. We've assessed that there's not much risk, Alexandria. Okay. So you're not putting yourself in this. I may never be employed again, or I put myself in an unemployed situation for six months, a year. I don't see much

risk at all, but the reward is what we're focusing on. The reward fast forwards your timeline and fast forwards your gains. So in this situation, I think the risk-reward decides for me. I think you do it. I do too, Alexandria. I think the focus and intentionality that you've had, I think there's no shadow of a doubt in my mind that you are going to stay this path. And you're going to fast forward. You're going to get some life back. You've made some sacrifices, and they're going to be worth it.

I definitely agree. I think this is something you've got a great opportunity ahead of you, young lady. You just got to keep your head on straight. Yep, absolutely. And my thoughts on this are if she comes back to Atlanta and it's a little bit tight there, I would believe in five weeks from now, there are parts of the country that will need her services where COVID is still an issue. Absolutely. And again, starting off with $110,000 in student loan debt, chopping down $65,000. I mean, you have been busting it. So I think it's a great opportunity. Paying it off in five weeks. She is not messing around. No, no. I mean, and listen, for people that are out there that you've got some student loan debt and you go, Chris, I'm tired of this stuff hanging around. I'm tired of it. Here's what I want you to do. We've got an opportunity for you to get plugged into Ramsey Plus. Ramsey Plus is an opportunity to get not only the

knowledge and the tools, but the tracking. This gives you a chance to plug in. We've got a free trial going on right now. And I really want you to plug into this because Ken and I were talking about this earlier. It's not enough just to have the information. You need the camaraderie and the community. So text the word trial to 33789. Again, the word trial to 33789 and start your free trial right now. What do you think, Chris, keeps people from going after it as hard as Alexandria did? Because, I mean, it's one thing to say, you know what? I'm going to commit to this. I'm going to do what Dave teaches, what Ramsey Solutions teaches, and I'm going to get after it.

Then there's people who do what Alexandria did. And get after it. And she gets three jobs. Yes. And she's working seven days a week. What is it, a personality thing for me? Because you've coached a lot of people. Yeah.

I've got a thought, but I'm curious. Is it personality or is it conviction? I think it coached a lot of people. I've got a thought, but I'm curious. Is it personality or is it conviction? I think it is a little bit of both. Because I firmly believe that anybody with whatever personality style can get a conviction about making this happen. It's just a matter of what's your why? What are you striving for? You want to build a legacy? You can talk about it or you can be about it.

By the way,ria represents your famous phrase focused and not finished yes she is i had to make you feel good all right tell you what makes me feel good another debt-free screamer is on the stage you'll meet her you'll hear her story you will be inspired by her that's next she looks focused on. On the Dave Ramsey Show rolls along. I'm Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, host of the Ken Coleman Show on the Ramsey Network. Joined in the studio, my co-host is Chris Hogan, Ramsey personality, host of the Chris Hogan Show on the Ramsey Network.

And this is our favorite part of the show. Yes. So fun. And Rondalyn from San Francisco, California, is on the debt-free state. She has a one-million-gigawatt smile on her face. And I think it might be because she knows she's debt free. She knows how hard she works to get here. She knows something we don't know, Kim.

She does. So here we go. So we need to dive in and find out what did this young lady do? Here are the details. Tell us, Rondalyn, how much did you pay off? How long did it take? And what was your range of income? So I paid off $46,087 in 27 months.

And I started out at $30,000 and I finished right at087 in 27 months. Wow. And I started out at $30,000 and I finished right at about $40,000. Wow. How'd you increase that income? I hit three jobs. Oh. Like the last caller. Did you? Yeah.

So I worked seven days a week. Wow. Yeah. So I was always at work. If I wasn't at work, I was asleep. Unbelievable. Yeah. Okay.

Tell us, what did you pay off in this $46,000 of debt? I got my list. Come on. Come on. So I paid off $2,000 in credit cards, $4,000 for these braces, $5,000 from old college tuition debt that was outside of student loans, $15,000 on a brand new car because I had to have a brand new car, and then $20,000 in student loans. Wow.

Wow. You had the buffet of debt. I did. All the things. So what happened? Why did you all of a sudden wake up and get fired up about getting out of debt? Yeah, so I had just bought this new car that I needed. I graduated from college, and then I moved to Ohio for a job.

And my dad sent me a text because I got a bill in the mail and it was for $5,000 for this old tuition that was due immediately. And I didn't have $5,000 because I just bought this car. And I just remember being so worried and freaked out. And I thought, there's no way that at 22, I'm going to be able to tackle this $5,000 debt. And so I just decided to do things on my own. And so I started paying $75 a month on this bill and realized after a few months that was not happening. So I Googled how to get out of debt quick and Dave Ramsey came up first. It was not quick, but I was able to do it. And so I started reading the Total Money Makeover, and it was game on. Wow.

Had you heard of Dave before? So I actually had a, in ninth grade, I had a geometry teacher, Mrs. Strasberg. She's probably listening. And she had, her geometry class, she would, like, sprinkle in a little bit of Dave Ramsey. But I didn't remember that until, you know, months into the program, and I realized it. In geometry class? In geometry class, yeah. Okay. I like Mrs. Strasberg.

Well, she's creative. Yeah. That is true. Pythagorean theorem and that snowball. She walked away. Put them all in there together, right? Yeah. So as you're reading the book, how quickly did you start to make total changes?

What was the process like for you as you began to get intense? I applied for a job. I applied for, I had two jobs at the time. That night that I started reading the book, I applied for a job as a pharmacy technician. Had no pharmacy experience, but I thought, you know, this is something I could do. Why not? Yeah, I could do it. And so I was just, I mean, I stopped, you know, eating out. I. Why not? Yeah, I could do it. And so I was just I mean, I'd stopped,

you know, eating out. I was cooking at home all the time. I was like planning my my trip. So I didn't have to spend too much gas. So I would like do all my trips at once and, you know, pick up any extra shifts. And I mean, I was like doing all of the things. Wow. So at one point, you had three jobs. How long how long when you first started, did you think it was going to take you to pay this off? Um, based on my income, I was thinking this, this is going to take four years. I was pretty, I was pretty sold on four years and then I look up and it's like, Oh, like, no, it's actually like, it's going to be a lot less. Yeah. I mean, you did this in 27 months?

27 months. That's a whole lot shorter than 48 months. It's a whole lot shorter. Yes, it is. Who walked with you on this journey? Yeah, so I had a base of cheerleaders at home. Actually, my mom is here. She was my biggest cheerleader at the time.

She was living in California. I was living in Ohio, and so she was cheering me on over the phone. But I also had friends at the pharmacy job that I worked at and friends from college who were cheering me on. I'm so proud of you. I mean, as you look at this, hey, biggest sacrifice you made. Oh, well, I didn't get to go out so much because I was working all the time. And so I remember being in the car one night. Truly, I worked from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at different jobs. And it was 9 o'clock and I was so tired and I had to be at work the next morning. And I just remember like sitting in my car crying and thinking like, this is never, I'm never going to get this paid off. It's just not possible.

And so I started, I turned on the Dave Ramsey show to listen to someone else's debt-free scream to think like, I just need encouragement and motivation right now. What did that scream do for you? I mean, it gave me, I mean, I stopped crying. It gave me so much peace and hope. And I was like, okay, I can do this. I'm going to go to work tomorrow and I'm going to like, I'm just going to keep working at this, keep chipping away at it. And Rondalyn, guess what you're about to do? Yeah.

Guess what you're about to do? She did it. You are about, I get the goosebumps. He does have them. I can see it. You are about to give that shot in the arm. There's a single lady somewhere sitting in a car or some people sitting somewhere crying right now because they're tired.

They don't believe that it's possible. And I want you to know that you made the sacrifice. You were extremely intentional and you're about to give them that very motivation you received that day. That's why it's such a big deal for people to come and to share your story. So congratulations, young lady. Yes. What is something you learned about yourself through this incredibly disciplined journey? You know, I think the biggest thing is that I'm capable of saying no to things. I'm capable.

You know, I'm thinking like, you know, I graduated from college and now I'm actually in grad school again. And I'm thinking like, oh, you know, I started this journey at 22. I'm like, at 22, you're not supposed to pay off debt. You're supposed to have fun. You're supposed to go on vacations and do, you know, your own thing. Live. You're supposed to live. Yeah. In debt. And I thought, you know, I'll pay this off later. And I realized that, you know, I have all of the tools I need, especially like listening to the show and reading the book and things like I have all the tools that I need to do this work. And even at, you. And even at 22. So what are you dreaming about right now?

Ooh, well, I want to buy a house. That's my next step. There we go. Yeah. I did Baby Step 3. I'm on Baby Step 3B now. So I am working toward the house. Now tell people out there that aren't familiar with the Baby Steps, Baby Step 3B means what?

I'm saving for a down payment on a house. There you go. There you go. That is fantastic. Fun stuff. What did you go to school for? Or what are you going to grad school for? I'm getting a PhD in psychology at Stanford right now. Whoa! Hey, you know, Stanford's impressive.

You know what I'm saying? I'm going to need you to try harder. Set your sights a little higher. We'll play a game of Scrabble after this death-free scream. We're going to need you to try harder set your sights a little higher we'll play a game of Scrabble after this we're going to see what goes down but proud of you dreaming big proud of you working hard and I know that your mom has got to be

absolutely proud of you of the sacrifices you've made and I can't wait you're about to give motivation to people that are in need this is all cash flow my PhD program actually is paid for. So no new debt. Unbelievable.

Oh, we didn't question that at all. You are going to take over the world, young lady. You work three jobs. You know. Yeah. I think there's a 0% chance you allow debt to creep back into your life unless it's a 15-year fixed rate mortgage that you're going to pay off in 11 years. I think that's right.

I have no doubt. Uncle Chris is laying it down. All right, the time has come. You have earned this moment. This is your moment. Here we go. Rondalyn paid off $46,000 in 27 months with a range of income from $30,000 to $40,000. Rondalyn, let's hear your debt-free scream.

I've been waiting to do this forever. Three, two, one. I'm debt-free! Yeah! All right. Yes, Rondalyn. Now I got goosebumps. That one reverberated through the studio.

It's a good thing this glass is strong. I'm telling you. Because she went opera. I'm telling you. And let that out. That came from the toes. You work three jobs. I'm telling you. Because she went opera. I'm telling you. And let that out. That came from the toes. You work three jobs. You work three jobs, and you make those kinds of sacrifices.

Yeah. It means something. You get that out of your life. I'm so proud of her. If you're not watching the Dave Ramsey Show video channel on YouTube or on the website, you need to, because you should see Mom right now. Mom is sitting out just to the left of the debt-free stage, and she's so proud. She doesn't want to be looked at.

She is proud. She's like, stop talking about me, Ken. So I will. We don't want to make mama mad because she's a happy, happy woman. Rondalyn may have done the debt-free scream of the year thus far for me in 2020. Nominated by Chris Hogan. I'm telling you that right now. All right. Don't move. More'm telling you that right now. Alright, don't move.

More Dave Ramsey Show right around the corner. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. I'm Ramsey Personality, Ken Coleman, joined by Ramsey Personality, Chris Hogan. As we take your calls about your life and your money, it is a free call, toll-free, 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225 825-5225 825-5225 You want to talk about your money?

You want to talk about your life? You want to talk about your job? The career path? Chris and I are taking your calls And we'd love for you to join in We really want Hold on Ken I know right now

In the news we are hearing about how There's the unemployment rate That people are in need of guidance. And I think throughout this COVID pandemic, we've had people wake up and really look at what they're doing in their career. And they're having this moment of it's time. It is time for me to start to pursue what I'm meant to do, to find out and how to navigate that. Well, I want to let you know, my friend Ken Coleman here does his show every weekday. You can find him on SiriusXM, your local radio station.

How many stations are you on now? We are approaching 60. Absolutely amazing. And so you can find his show. You can look at KenColeman.com, at Ken Coleman Show on Facebook. But here's the thing that I like. People are out there trying to get jobs, trying to get notice, and I'm going to tell you, unless you have some insider secrets, unless you have some insider guidance, you are just

throwing a dart on a windy day to see if it'll hit the target. And I want you to get rid of the wind and get a plan. The unemployment rate skyrocketed, job market is more competitive than ever. Ken launched a course that's called the Get Hired Digital Course that will give you the tools and strategy to not only help you stand out, but to stand up in that application and hiring process. It's 11 videos taught by Ken to help you get clear, get connected to the right people, how to write a perfect resume. Now, this is something not only for you if you're in a career transition, but if you've got some young people that you care about, that you're trying to help in their career, I'm going to tell you right now, this is something that they can use to start to understand what they're going to have to do and what they need to do.

It's a limited time sale right now. Ken has given this thing away for $19.99. I told him to charge more. Should I raise the price? You should, but based on value. But here's the deal. $19.99. Grab this deal while you can.

Get over to KenColeman.com. This is a gift that you not only will continue to give to you, but you can share with young and the not-so-young. Thank you, buddy. It is helping a lot of people. So if that fits you, jump on that offer. All right, 888-825-5225 is the number. Donna is up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Donna, how can we help?

I'm so excited to get to talk to you. Thank you so much for taking my call. Sure. I am almost 64 years old, and I discovered Dave Ramsey and started the baby steps in January of this year and I was working and then in March they had us start working from home. I was perfectly happy doing that and I had paid off already one of my debts following the baby steps. I had a plan to get everything else paid off by the end of the year,

and then I got laid off in June. So I should be more worried about that than I am. I think that I'm unusually calm about it, but I do have faith that God will send me another job. But in the meantime, the company sent me an email saying that I needed to move the money from my 401k. So it's not very much. I had only been contributing to it for about five years. Mm-hmm.

So I had an IRA within an investment group here in my town. And so I just put it in that IRA just because I don't know what else to do with it. Yes, ma'am. And so you did the exact right thing by rolling that old 401k over into the IRA. Okay. Yes, ma'am. Well, my advisor says he thinks that I should put about $6,300 or so in something where I can get to it easily if I need it in case I don't get another job soon. And then the rest of it, he wants to put it with an investment group. His selling point was that there are like three levels of people looking at

this money and investing it properly for you. You know, the first ones, they'll look at it, you know, like on a daily, then the next group looks at it monthly, and then he himself will be looking at it on a monthly basis. Donna, here's, the three-level thing is the thing that makes my red radar go off. What was the total dollar amount of this IRA you rolled over? Well, with the money that I had already in the IRA, I have about $39,000. Okay. Well, here's the deal.

I want you, this money needs to be invested to grow for you. You want an emergency fund to be the money you get to. So here's what I'm going to suggest. I want you to get proactive and get some money coming in, okay? Do you have any other debt outside of your home right now? I do have about $22,000 in debt. I had breast cancer a couple of years ago, so that was a little expensive. Yeah.

So I'm still paying on that. Is that all medical debt? Yes. Okay. There's one dental bill in there. Okay. Well, and so around that, and I'm sorry to hear about that, but I'm glad to hear you sound strong and you sound focused.

But here's what I want you to do. It's always good to get a second opinion. I'm not questioning the people that you're working with before, but I want you to reach out to a smart investor pro and just talk with them about, A, the growth plan for this money, and just get a feel for how they work with you versus what you're dealing with. And ultimately, you're going to have to make the decision, but you want to be intentional. The job of this money is to grow. And it sounds like this person is trying to put you in a phase and level thing where I feel like the fees are going to be phased and level two. Yeah, it doesn't need to be that complex. When that got complex, we started going. Yeah, the radar.

That was me. I love it. All right, let's go to Columbus, Ohio next where Melissa joins us. Melissa, how can we help? I just have a quick question. I'm in a scenario where I had to get a vehicle. I was in the process of going through a divorce. I was having an issue getting the vehicle because the debt-to-income ratio because I was on the mortgage.

I found a company that gave me a loan, but it's at 21.99%. Goodness gracious. Whoa. Exactly. So I've had a loan for about a year. My divorce is final. My divorce paperwork outlines I have no financial obligation to the home, but that doesn't help you when you're trying to refi. So I don't know right now.

I have an all-in. I'm about $20,000 in debt. I have enough money in my savings account to pay off my debt consolidation, and then I can double down on my car payments. Or should I take that money from my savings, put it all on the car to reduce the amount that I owe on the vehicle, and then work with the debt management on the back end because there's no interest and no fees for the debt management company. How much money is in savings? I have $5,200 right now.

Okay. And how much do you owe the debt consolidation? I owe them, it's just at five grand. Okay. And how much is on the vehicle? I owe 13 on the vehicle. Okay. So you know the debt snowball approach, right?

I have read about it. Okay, so what we do around it is it's less about the interest rate. It's about the size of the debt. Getting out of debt is about not math, it's momentum. So looking at this, what you would do is you always want to keep $1,000 in there in the bank. Okay, but anything over and above that you want to throw toward the debt. So you would throw that four grand toward the $5,000 consolidation loan. Okay. And then you would make minimum payments on the, on the 13,000 until that, that 5,000 is gone.

Once that debt's gone, you take everything, Melissa, that you were paying toward it, and now move it toward the $13,000. And so that's the mindset around that, of you're working down smallest to biggest. So that's what I do. Real quick, how much is the car worth, Melissa? The car is worth $17,000, so I'm not upside down on it. Okay, Chris, I kind of like her, too. If she's willing to sacrifice, let's sell the car. We get rid of the car on top of Chris's advice,

and now you go buy a $4,000. It ain't going to be pretty necessarily, but if it gets you from A to B, then now you are where you need to be. Hey, that's another way to wipe out another payment, right? And it's about sacrifice. Now, people, don't be resistant., right? And it's about sacrifice. Yeah. Now, people, don't be resistant. Listen to the options and think about it.

Yeah. So, Chris's debt snowball, what he's saying, Dave's debt snowball plan is going to work. But I'd knock the car out right now. I really would. You'd buy selling it. Yeah, by selling it. Absolutely. You get a $4,000 car, that'll work.

All right. More of the Dave Ramsey Show show coming up one of the exact bennett kelly daniels chris hogan for being with me this is the dave ramsey show this is james childs producer of the dave ramsey show on your smart speaker you can add our skill by saying alexa open the ramsey network skill from there you can listen to all our shows. Ask Dave money questions like, how do I invest my money? Or what is the debt snowball? Find out more at DaveRamsey.com.