The Ramsey Show - App - Don't Keep Putting Money in a Pocket With a Hole in It (Hour 1)

Episode Date: December 29, 2020

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🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, 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. My co-host today on the air, number one best-selling author multiple times and Ramsey personality, the voice of the everyday millionaire, Mr. Chris Hogan joins me. We will be talking to you about your life and your money and how they are intertwined inextricably. The phone number, 888-825-5225.

That's 888-825-5225. Rebecca is with us in Albany, New York. Hi, Rebecca. How are you? Hi, I'm doing well. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up?

I have a question about term life insurance. My husband is 31 years old, but he has a medical condition that when I called Xander, they estimated it to be 75 to 100 a month for a pretty low policy. And so I'm not sure whether we should go ahead with something like that or do a higher priced, no medical questions asked kind of term insurance. We have no debt and we don't have children yet. and we are putting 15% towards retirement. Okay. So why would you pay a higher price?

Because I've heard that if he gets denied because of his medical condition, then you can't get life insurance. Not true. Is that true? Not true. They lie. What is the nature of the medical condition? Bipolar.

Okay. All right. That's very serious in the life insurance world. Yeah. The statistics on it, they don't like. No. But the guaranteed issue, the higher price that you're talking about, they will issue it to anyone whether they've been denied six times or never been denied. Okay. So you don't lose that option by going the other route.

And what you've got to do, and Chris and I have worked with this many, many times over the years, you've got to build the narrative. You've got to tell the story of his particular situation. Where is he in the bipolar journey? In other words, is he, if he's on meds, have they gotten him balanced? Is he staying on them? Is he meeting with a counselor and he's making progress? Because there are people with bipolar that do very, very well when they work the plan. We work with a lot of bipolar.

Yeah, absolutely, Rebecca. As Dave mentioned, that narrative is going to be really, really important. And so does he have a physician and a counselor that he's seeing right now? Yes. Okay. And so you want to document that. You want to talk through and go ahead and formally apply so you can begin to walk through and see it. And that way you're not speculating.

You can start to deal in known facts. because there's a spectrum here it's like saying i have cancer what the flip does that mean okay i mean if you got stage four lung cancer or or did you have a mole removed you know i mean what is what what what do what do we mean and so there's a spectrum here and the insurance company does look if you've got a good one, and Zander can help you walk through the underwriting process and help you get there. But, yeah, I'm going to put some kind of life insurance in place. Absolutely. $75 a month doesn't sound like it's hurting anybody, and that gets you started.

And then, obviously, any kind of health condition that affects insurability, the more distance you get between it time-wise, in other words, if he's been without any episodes of any kind that were dramatic on the bipolar side, and you're seeing, in other words, healing and progress and stability, the longer that's been going on, the more insurable you become. Yep. Just like if you had a cancer diagnosis and it's been five years, it's a different answer at the insurance company than if it's been 15 years. Yep.

Same thing. Yeah. Now, I just want to clarify for everybody out there, remember the goal of life insurance is to replace your income. So it's really important to have that in place. We talk about term life insurance 10 to 12 times now let's break this down so if you're making 50 000 a year you're going to be looking at 500 to 600 000 in term life insurance coverage and if you've got a spouse that's not working you

want a minimum of 350 to 450 on them because if something happens to them you're going to have to pay someone to either help you or you're going to have to move. And you'll find out the economic value of a stay-at-home mom in that moment. Oh, yes, you will. So, again, if you're out there and you don't have term, please get that in place. Reach out to Xander. And don't, Dave, people will tell me this all the time and I get frustrated. They'll say, well, I'm getting it through my job.

It's not enough. It's not enough. And the problem is portability. If you lose or leave that job or get laid off, hello, COVID, now you don't have that coverage anymore. So you want that coverage outside of your job. Yeah, and if while you're working there you had enough insurance and then you got a diabetes diagnosis and then you left that job for whatever reason, you can't get insurance then. So you lost your insurability while you were covered by a company plan that didn't go with you. That's the portability.

It's not portable. It doesn't go with you. So it's okay to have some through the company, but having it all there puts you at a much greater risk. Yes, it does. I would take the company stuff if it's a good price. Free is always a good price. But if they're selling it to you you may want to look at it sometimes the plant plans they sell through a benefit package is

really not they're a bunch of crap in a lot of cases so check that out as well do that you know along these same lines i get this from holly on facebook dave i have a hundred thousand dollar universal life policy now i'm really embarrassed uh well sorry, Holly. We've all done stupid stuff. It's okay. Can I do anything with the money or fund value? Is there a rollover to universal to term, or do I just cancel and start the term policy? Good question. No, there's not a rollover. Whatever your cash value is is what you'll get, and you need to cancel it and get the cash value after you have your term insurance in place. Because when there's a hole in your pocket, meaning you're signed up for a bad deal,

you don't keep in the bad deal because there's a little money over here in the piggy bank. You don't keep putting money in the pocket with a hole in it and wonder where the money went. So you need to get your term insurance in place and cancel this crap. And again, check Zander Insurance, and they'll walk you through the process. And it takes a little time and a little bit of effort to go through this but it's going to save you a lot of money and make you a lot more money with investing in real investments instead of in insurance investing money into a life insurance policy is really the payday lender of the middle class you're just getting screwed there's no other way to say it. The math on it is astronomically horrible.

So not trying to shame you. I bought the same crap you bought, Holly. I was 20-something years old and some goober from college came by, Northwestern Mutual dube, and sold me a policy. And I was a bigger dube because I bought it. So did you ever buy that stuff? I did not. You did not?

That's one version of stupid I didn't do. Yeah. I did a lot of other ones. I never did a timeshare. That one I managed to miss. Yeah, I did that one. I think I've done just about all of them. Yeah, I did the timeshare.

You did do the timeshare? Yes. Oh, okay. Well, we're even now. I'm still in the club. Yeah, you're okay. All right, but listen, one of the things Dave mentioned is if you do have one of these policies and you're hearing us, they've said this twice and I want to reiterate it. Get term in place before you cancel what you have.

You want it full and in effect. Then you can cancel what you have. You don't want to die with no insurance in the middle of this process. That's right. It's a bad plan. The whole thing here is take care of your family. Take care of your family. Address this stuff.

Oh, by the way, you're going to die. You didn't know that? Well, we're here to help you with the obvious. We make good money on the obvious around here. You're going to die. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. You know, so many people have such a negative attitude about life insurance when it's actually one of the most caring and giving things that you can do. Still, 7 out of 10 families either have no life insurance or they don't have enough.

I don't get it. Look around. People die. At all ages. I know it's sad, but that's reality. What's worse is when they leave their family unprotected, creating even more hardship. Yet somehow we find reasons not to get it done. It can't be the price.

Term insurance is just plain cheap. Now, that's why I talk about Zander Insurance so much. Not because they're just an advertiser, but because they offer a crucial service that helps you and me. Call them at 800-356-4282 or check out their rates at zander.com. Listen, in the end, you need to get past the unpleasant images and just make sure your family's protected. Be responsible and feel good about what you've accomplished.

Go to Zander.com or call 800-356-4282. 800-356-4282. Chris Hogan, multiple number one bestselling author and Ramsey personality, is my co-host today here on the air. Chris, we've got a question from a YouTuber. Randall says, this is the first year I'm in a position to give generously. What do I need to consider when it comes to giving to an organization? I've heard about a maximum for a gift tax. Does that apply to all giving?

Yeah. Well, first of all, first and foremost, Randall, congratulations on putting yourself in a position to be able to be a blessing because giving is a two-way blessing. It blesses the place that you're giving to the cause you're supporting, but it also gives you a blessing. And so it is without a shadow of a doubt, the most fun you can have with money. Yeah, it is. And you're going to, you know, we always teach us three things to do with money. You need to enjoy it, meaning lifestyle. Most people don't struggle with that one. You need to give it, and you need to save and invest it so that you can do more of the giving and the enjoying.

That's right. But you will find the further you get in your financial journey, the further down into your everyday millionaire journey that you get, that the more joy, that you do get more joy from properly done giving. Now, improperly done giving would be giving to something that's distant and you have no emotional connection to. You don't get the giver's high. But if you've got a single mom sitting next to you in church and you reach over and pay her rent for half a year because she lost her job for covid that's a giving that connects blesses her blesses you that kind of a thing

now the gift tax only applies if you're not giving to a non-profit now non-profit would be your church a ministry something in the area that's a 501c3 okay and so if it's not a night if it's a 501c3 there's no limit on how much you3, there's no limit on how much you can give. There's a limit on how much you can take as a tax deduction depending on your income, and your accountant can help you with that formula. But the 501c3 is 100% deductible. If you're giving to an individual, like you're just going to give your brother some money or something like that, then you do have a $15,000 gift tax limitation this year.

And you want to be really careful with going over that. There's some techniques you can use to go over that if you want to give to individuals. But if you go over that and don't use some kind of a technique, everything over that is going to be taxed upward of 50%. So the gift tax is horrendous. Do not give away a hundred thousand dollars just act like to your to your mother-in-law and just act like that's okay you're gonna wish you had never met your mother-in-law when the tax bill comes so uh you know you gotta do that so here

here's one technique if you're married and you're going to give some money to your kids who are married, your son and daughter-in-law, okay? Then you can give him $15,000 and her $15,000. Your wife can give him $15,000 and her $15,000. Now we've got four $15,000 checks for $60,000 transferred. But I write four separate checks and make sure you've got a real clean paper trail. That would all qualify. But if you're going to go over that over 60 in that scenario you're going to have to figure out some other techniques and you would check out what's called the unified

estate tax credit where you can get some advice from your tax accountant and get this going but the bottom line is if you're giving to a ministry you just don't have to worry about it and you're through a ministry or something like that you're going there's a lot of ways to do this and congratulations on joining the big boy club the big girl club because when you start giving that's when you're officially an adult dave i've never heard you use the term the giving high but there is something about that i tell you when you step into a situation anonymously or or regardless uh it does do something to your spirit it really does it it increases everything.

You're just excited. Well, I'm getting old, and I've got a lot of famous friends now, and one of them is named Santa Claus. And there's a reason Santa Claus is jolly. Yeah. He gets to give to kids all the time. Yeah. And he's always laughing. He's always grinning.

And you never see people that are generous people with a scowl. That's not a generous person. They don't give money. You know, think about it. If you think of the face of a miser. Scrooge. Scrooge. Yeah.

You think of a scowl. Yeah. But when you think of somebody giving, you immediately see this great big smile with all those teeth sticking out and because that's that's a giving a generous person you can see it on their countenance you can see it on their face you can see it in the way they walk when you start to give i'm so excited for you randall because you're going to discover a whole new segment of life when you become outrageously and crazy generous uh because when you start to do this, it affects your personality. And here's the thing. Generous people are highly attractive.

These are attractive individuals. You're going to find out you get promotions at work. You're going to find out that people want to hire you for projects. You're going to be asked to join the club that you never thought. Because all of a sudden, you're just to be asked to join the club that you never thought you know because all of a sudden you're just a likable dude you know because it's not because they want your money no no it's something about you internally you because generosity is not an act it's a character quality integrity is not an act it's a character quality and what you're doing is you're developing this

character quality with the act of physical, literal, monetary generosity. It really is. And I want to remind everybody, giving is not just about money. You've got an opportunity to be able to give with your time as well as your talent. And so that giving aspect is money, time, talent. Look for opportunities or causes that you believe in and engage with them. It is amazing what happens. And I think that's one of the ways we can heal this nation is to get our mindset shifted on being able to give back and engage with people. Yeah, it's that there is something that happens in the human spirit when you do this.

So, you know, if you're going to do over 15,000, you need to investigate the tax issues. And if you're going to be giving to a ministry or a nonprofit, if you're giving the Red Cross, that's a nonprofit for hurricane relief. If you're giving to the homeless shelter, it's usually going to be a nonprofit in your city. Okay. Or if you're giving to a ministry that's an extension of your church and you're giving to a missionary family through the church, that kind of a thing, or giving to a missionary project where a house is being built in a developing country or something for a family, or they're building a schoolhouse. You're directing it through there. That's all 100% deductible.

You don't have to worry about it. I remember you talking years ago when I first started. You said you get all kinds of people coming at you, all kinds of charities and things of that nature. But you said you and Sharon will sit down and talk about what causes you're going to support. And you make a list of those. And you lavishly support that list. And I really like that because you're being as intentional with your giving as you are

with your budgeting. Yeah. And then when someone's mad because I say no, that's okay. Right. I'm okay with that. Yeah yeah because it's not your money you don't get to decide you don't have a vote today we don't do it with sharon and i today we do it through the ramsey family foundation that my daughter runs right and so actually i just got an email a few minutes ago she's setting up the annual meeting where we will go through and establish the list this year and uh and it's not a thing where you're from the outside you can you know do a grant entry to the ramsey family foundation it's just our methodology of pooling

the cash and then uh 100 of the ministries and things that we choose are something that we somehow one of us ramsey kids ramsey in-law kids, me, Sharon, are connected to. And sometimes it's something we've met this year. Right. But sometimes it's one we've supported for 25 years. You know, and we just have continued to do that. So, again, it's a small list. But then that way we're able to keep the gifts where they're meaningful.

Yeah. In other words, we're not doing 500 gifts of $500. That would drive you bananas at tax time you know plus you get everybody coming at you then yeah and you know you're like because once you do that once it's like that guy's over there that guy's over there that guy's over there that guy's over there and all of a sudden you're on six you know six charity boards and and you're on the board just because they want your money and all that kind of stuff so you get you get off into the dark side of this thing really quickly if you're not careful.

So keep it to where it's manageable, where you enjoy it. And go ahead and vet the organization. If you're going to give them what you call a lot of money, then spend a lot of time on it. Go, hey, this place, you know, I'll tell you an example. If they borrow money, well, we can't give to them in our case because that would be a guideline. If you're a Ramsey, duh, we don't borrow money. So why am I going to give money to them so they can give money to the bank? That would be dumb.

Right. Be inconsistent with who I am as a person, right, or our family as a people. So that would be an example at our house. Maybe you've got something at your house that you say, you know, if they do X or do Y, we're not going to do that. So you need to investigate. Make sure they're running the thing well. Make sure it's managed well.

Make sure their operating principles are right. So, hey, Roland. Randall, proud of you, man. You're entering a whole other phase, a whole other gear, baby. Ha-ha! Go, man! Congratulations, brother. Go! Ha-ha! go you're gonna have fun

generosity is the best part of the whole money picture this is the d of Ramsey Solutions on the Dead Free Stage. They're here. Phillip and Lindsay are with us. Hey, guys. How are you? Good. How are you? Welcome.

Where do you guys live? Lakeland, Florida. Awesome. Right between Tampa and Orlando. Right where it is. Been there several times. Well, good to have you visit. Welcome.

And here to do a Debt Free Scream, how much have you paid off? $60,000 in 18 months. Good for you. Range of income during that time? Started out just under $90,000, and by the end, we were making $150,000. Whoa. Nice jump in 18 months. Like somebody got a job or what happened?

Promotion. A big promotion. Right at the very beginning, I went from a co-pilot at work to a captain, and about six months later, I became a check airman, which is the ability to teach at work. Oh, wow. Very cool. Very nice. Well done.

Thank you. Good job, you guys. So what kind of debt was the 60K? Everything but student loans. Everything but. We had a motorcycle, credit card. We had to finish the rest of my car payment. Got that knocked out.

A water machine. A water purification machine right after we got married that we got sucked into. Of course. You don't really want to talk about that. Of course. Yeah. So you guys are kind of normal. Yeah, pretty much.

How long have you been married? Almost three years. Together for nine. Okay. So after a year or so of marriage, you look up and you go, oh, this sucks. We've got to do something. What happened? What broke this? It was about half a year in. We make decent money

and for us to have negative 17 cent in our bank account at one point just didn't add up. Right after I upgraded to captain, actually. We were sitting down doing the math and it's like, this doesn't make sense why, you know, all the bills were paid. We had dinner on the table but there was no money no money in fact we owed money so that was kind of a big wake-up call for us what'd you do well i laid down a bunch of note cards got

our bills figured out timing of them how much money we had left up and told them we're about to say no for a little while. Suck it up. Lindsay grew up in church the same as I did. And so we both had heard of you over the years, but never really applied that to ourselves. And Lindsay had just started watching your YouTube channel and was getting some good information from there. She came home one day and said, look, this is what we're going to do.

So either get on board or get out. Whoa! Whoa! She didn't say that, but no. He knew that, though. She was serious. All right, Captain, here we go. Buckle up, buddy.

Lindsey needs that security hand. Yeah, seat tables in their upright positions. Buckle in. Here we go. That's right. Wow. Amazing. Well done.

So once you decide, once the switch flipped, it was just game on, huh? Yep. We both got really serious about it. Our friends and family, they were like, you guys are kind of weird, but you're doing it, actually. And so slowly, as the months went by, they were like, wow, this is working for you. And then all of a sudden, the support started rolling in. They wanted to see if you were for real before they backed you, huh? Right you huh pretty much our success led to a bunch of our other friends looking more into it we've got them sat down almost till midnight got all their bills and stuff figured out now they're

on the train that we were just on so now we get coaching people so lindsey's a financial coach yeah she is and she's good at it too i'm really good at telling people to say no and i'm really good at telling them no i'm just really good me telling people to say no, and I'm really good at telling them no. I'm just really good at it. Me, too. I've been doing it for 30 years. Just say no. That's all you got to do.

What would you tell other young people out there, though, that are finding themselves where they're not able to make the ends meet, but they want change? Is it possible? Absolutely. With God, all things are possible. That's her favorite verse. And having our people around us to tell us to keep going. Yeah.

Community is certainly key. You are the people you surround yourselves with. So when we got serious about finances, we started surrounding ourselves with people that were on the same page as us. And that served as motivation and kept us moving in the right direction. And it was hard because a lot of our friends, I mean the younger crowd, they don't really understand, I feel like. And so they think that we're crazy saying no and missing out on things. But the small sacrifice now will pay off in the long run. And we've figured that out in 18 months of doing it.

Yeah. So when you had that moment, there's a moment right there, 17 cents. Negative 17. Negative 17. Excuse me. Negative 17. Negative 17. Excuse me. Off by 34. Okay. Missed it by a nickel.

A quarter. And so when you're looking at that, I remember those types of moments in my life. What was the emotion that you felt when you saw that? I was upset. i was confused i'm big on security and having the extra fluff for things and we did not have that and i remember sitting there crying honestly and telling we've got to do something and then so it's fear right and then once we took away that fear and we started putting the money towards debt and then i'm i'm very much so in the moment i looked at that went this is freaking stupid yeah yours was a little bit of anger right i looked at the income and then i looked at what we had

and i'm like disgust yeah exactly yeah why we make too much money this broke yeah exactly yeah yeah and you were afraid yep, because usually associated with life transformation, there's a moment where there's a visceral emotional experience. And I remember, I mean, the sweat in my palm, my hands on my upper lip, I'm trying to balance the checking account, and that was in the old days when there wasn't an Internet and I was doing it with a calculator and a checkbook register, and I realized that I hadn't posted a check. And we were negative several hundred dollars.

And I'm getting ready to bounce checks if I don't find it really quick. Scratch some money together from the corner of the couches. And I remember going. It was a combination of both of those things. Being afraid. But you can feel the sweat on your upper lip. You can feel it coming out. You know, your heart rate changes.

And you feel like there's shame that goes with it. But all of that works for your good when you go, that's it. I've had it. Never again. Never again. And when you have that never again moment, that's what you had. That's so cool, y'all. I'm so proud of you.

Thank you. Well done. Well done. So I'm guessing that you had some cheerleaders along the way, you said. Who were those? Well, at first, our family and friends thought we were crazy. And then, like I said, once they figured out it works is when they were like, okay, y'all are killing it. Keep it going.

And so every... Family, mom and dad. Yeah. Okay. How old are you guys? 25 and 27. Okay. Wow.

Wow. Impressive. Very impressive. Yes, you are. So, again, what is the key for the 24-year-old, 25-year-old just got married out there listening and they had that moment, they're afraid, they're disgusted, they feel like they've done something wrong or somebody didn't teach them something they should have known, you know? What should they do?

What's the key to getting out of debt? You know, obviously obviously your principles are absolutely the the path but uh i would say that um at least for me knowing there's an end in sight i mean it may not be in sight yet but there's an end this this too shall come to pass right so amen we're sitting at the table i'm taking a test and i'm i've got this entire college class in front of me i just keep telling myself you myself tomorrow morning this is going to be over with. So there is an end to this and that's for 18 months I just kept saying

there's an end to this and if we keep on it and keep on it, we're going to get through it. Was it worth it? Absolutely. We went to Disney World and celebrated. Hit the final payment at Disney World as the castle fireworks were going off. We were serious about it i like it i do too that's how you keep yourself motivated that's it

the final payment when the fireworks go off at cinderella's castle that's really cool submit baby that's really cool exactly i love it i love that the word is submit it was if you don't think the borrower is slave to the lender just look at the word submit that's correct wow good for you guys very very well done we got a copy of chris's book for you everyday millionaires without a doubt that's the journey they're on yes it is and you all will get there just that same kind of intensity and focus that you've had get that moving as you go to baby step number three build up that emergency fund start intensity and focus that you've had. Get that moving as you go to baby step number three. Build up that emergency fund.

Start investing and then stay clear. Right? Avoid stupid because it's around every corner. Just waiting on you to let your guard down a little bit. And so just stay focused, you guys, like you have been. You can do this. This is very cool. I'm proud of you.

Thank you. All right. Phillip and Lindsey, Tampa, Florida. Lakeland, Florida. Paid off $60,000 in 18 months, making $90,000 to $150,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one.

We're debt-free! Yeah! Woo-hoo! I love it! Boom, man! 25 and 27. Sharp. Game changers.

Yes. They are on. You don't think we've got a future in this country? Those people are out there running around. I'm going to tell you, young and focused. And smart. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Our question of the day comes from Blinds.com. They're 100% satisfaction guarantee, which means even if you goof up,

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Use the promo code Ramsey to get the best deal. Blinds.com. All right. Today's question comes from Justin in North Carolina. He says, I received $1.1 million in insurance money this year when my wife died of cancer. Oh, my gosh. I've paid off all my debt and have about $750,000 in savings left over. I would like to invest $500,000 so it can be growing for me.

I've spoken with an investment company and they have a program that will manage and move the money around as needed in the long run so it'll grow money and help me with my taxes and they will also help me with my taxes when I decide to use the money. It all sounds good, but the fees for this account will be 1.5% per year, about $7,500. Is this too costly or is this a good rate? Well, Justin, first of all, my heart goes out to you for the loss of your wife, first and foremost. But I'm so grateful that you all took the step to get life insurance and that you had that in place for the sake of the family. Looking at this, it is important to work with a company

that can help you. To me, it sounds like these people are trying to do a bunch of stuff for you, moving it around and helping you with your taxes. First and foremost, I want a reputable company that's going to help me grow the money. I'm going to reach out and get a tax professional to help me with my taxes. So you don't need the all-in-one, we got your back for you, don't worry about it, that kind of attitude. You want people that are going to walk alongside you. That's what a SmartVestor Pro will do in a tax ELP.

Some of the SmartVestor Pros are doing managed accounts just like this. And most of them are in the one to one and a quarter, some are one and a half range. It's not outlandish. Right. It's not an outlandish fee. It's just called a managed account. And that means the mutual funds in it can be moved around without any commissions by moving from fund to fund and so either one's fine you can do what we call a shares which is what i do which i just buy mutual funds if i sell it i buy another one i pay another commission

but i don't pay an annual i only pay if i buy a mutual fund and that's what i do but the el lots of our smart investor pros the majority of them are moving towards the managed account version where they charge one to one and a half is the range if you told me two i would have had my eyebrows yeah but uh you know what you're outlining here would not be something unusual you would hear from a smart investor pro where they line you up with a tax professional they're not actually doing your taxes uh and they're going to charge you a managed fee to manage the account. And it's just a matter of whether you want to do it monthly or not, or annually or not.

Let's kind of do the math for a second, because I get a lot of pushback on this from the investment professional world. Dave, you should always do managed accounts. Well, let's say that I had a million dollars in an account, and I was charged 1%. And the million dollars, just for simplification of this discussion purposes, never went up. So every year I was charged 1% of a million dollars. For 10 years, that'd be 10%. That's right.

I had been charged over 10 years. If I bought mutual funds, a million dollars worth, and I paid full commission on A shares, it's typically 5.75%, right, for A shares. Yep. And so that would be 5.75%. So in year six, if it's 1% a year, I'm coming out. Yeah. If I don't do. Yeah. Yeah. If I don't do managed accounts.

Now, the advantage of managed accounts is if the markets shift or you want to move some funds around to different funds, you don't like the funds you've got or whatever, then you don't get charged any commission. So my example is a pure example where I bought, hold, and never move it. Which, by the way, is what I have done. Right. Bought, hold, and never move it. Which, by the way, is what I have done. I hardly ever move a mutual fund unless it's just stinking up the place at a time when the rest of the market is doing great. So after year six, the managed accounts have become more expensive. Correct. And if the account goes up in value, which it should be, it won't take six years.

That's right. It'll happen in about four. And so everything after that, you're paying more to have your money managed than if you just paid the commission only up front. Either one is okay because neither one is that expensive. Right. So it's $57,500 on a million dollars. And that doesn't kill your investment. No.

It wasn't a 50 commission it's a five percent right and i heard you say years ago and this was the light bulb moment for me you said there's a such thing as a fair nickel and an unfair dime you don't want to pay the unfair dime so my friend thank you for reaching out justin uh that dollar range that percent range is within range doesn't raise questions but more, do you trust them and can they help you? That's the biggest thing. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Good stuff. And a good question. Adam's with us in Boston, Massachusetts. Hey, Adam, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Thank you. I appreciate your advice for this question. So I have a nine-year-old Shih Tzu that is getting medical care for an ulcer in her eye. I've already invested about $400 going to two separate

emergency care vets for her. And at this point, she's going to need a surgery, which will probably be about a thousand dollars i'm trying to decide um at what point do i say no no more surgery um no more cost going into this dog well i've uh i'm old and i've raised a bunch of dogs or had a bunch of dogs raised me however you want to look at it and i've had the unbelievable crying day where i've had to put them down and i always cry like i'm 12 years old um because i love dogs i'm a dog guy i've always had a dog and i've always you know we talk baby talk to our dogs where you know it's ridiculous right so I'm a huge animal nut. So the given that the rules that Sharon and I have used over the years is the first thing I want to do is I want to make sure that this is about the dog, not about me. Because sometimes people will pay a whole bunch of money to prolong an animal's life three months, and that's selfish on your part. Because the animal is hurting, suffering, because you can't be a grown-up and let go. And that's me.

I have to watch myself because I will do that. The problem is I got the money, too, right? And so I can make a choice that's not good for the poor animal um you know and um i can use examples in our own life but i won't get into them but uh where i've had one where i just i don't want i don't want to make that trip to the vet you know and not come home with my dog i don't i just i can't do it but on the other hand it's not fair to the dog. So that's the first question you ask yourself is, are these surgeries and the pain for 11? I mean, a nine-year-old Shih Tzu, I've got one that's 11 right now. And, you know, that's about their lifespan.

And so is this dog going to be okay and live a pain-free life for another three or four years? And you want to spend a grand? Then that would be okay, assuming you've got the grand right does that make sense it does and i actually went down the road with that conversation with the vet to see if maybe euthanasia would be an option and because the surgery would correct the issue and cure her in essence um they are unwilling to do euthanasia so i guess my only option would be either to relinquish the pet or to go ahead with the surgery at this point. Okay.

And do you have the money? I do. I do, I guess. But it's just a lot of money for an eye. And I love my dog. I love him and stuff, but I just didn't know at what point you just draw the line. Well, I had a lady when I was in college. I was selling real estate in college, and this woman gave me a Dalmatian with papers.

Now, I grew up redneck, and we never had a dog that had papers. We had ones that went on the papers, but we didn't have a dog that had papers, right? And so I was so proud I had a dog that was actually certified or whatever. This dog was meaner than snot, by the way. It's the only mean dog I've ever owned. And the dog had been hit by a car or something when it was young. I ended up spending $1,200. I'm a broke college kid.

I don't have a dollar. And I ended up spending $1,200 on this dog's leg that I didn't have. And so that's the thing you've got to go through. And, you know, if that vet won't euthanize the dog, it needs to be euthanized. There's other vets or there's – I'm from the country, there's other ways to handle this. So, but I don't want you to have to do that. If you've got the money and the dog's not going to be in pain, I personally would go ahead and do it if you're not broke.

That's exactly right. I'd fix the puppy. Yep. If it was mine, that's probably what I'd do. But, again, I have to go through those particular filters when I'm making these decisions because it's a dog. It's not a human. 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.

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