The Ramsey Show - App - Don't Let a Financial Goal Hurt Your Marriage (Hour 1)

Episode Date: September 11, 2020

Relationships, Investing, Home Selling, Debt, Savings Tools to get you started:  Debt Calculator: http://bit.ly/2QIoSPV Insurance Coverage Checkup: http://bit.ly/2BrqEuo Complete Guide to Budgeting: http://bit.ly/2QEyonc Interview Guide: http://bit.ly/2BuGnZE Check out other podcasts in the Ramsey Network: http://bit.ly/2JgzaQR 

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is the Dave Ramsey Show. It's where America is hanging out to have a conversation about life and money. I'm Ken Coleman, host of the Ken Coleman Show, which is a part of the Ramsey Network, and I'm joined by my pal, my co-host, Chris Hogan, who is also the host of the Chris Hogan Show, a part of the Ramsey Network, and I'm joined by my pal, my co-host, Chris Hogan, who is also the host of the Chris Hogan Show, part of the Ramsey Network, two-time number one best-selling author. My goodness, we're all trying to catch up with him.

Chris Hogan, how are you? I'm doing good, brother. I am excited to do the show with you. I can't wait to see what kind of calls we get and what kind of havoc you and I wreak today. Well, let's wreak some havoc on those enemies that our audience is fighting. You're fighting fear. You're fighting doubt.

You're fighting pride. And we're here to take on those nasty enemies because they lie to us every day and they're holding us back from financial freedom or finding your purpose in life and putting that into practice in the workplace. So Chris and I are here. We're going to be helping you out. It's a free phone call, 888-825-5225, 888-825-5225. We're going to start it off, Chris, with Mary, who is in San Diego.

Mary, how can we help? Hi, gentlemen. How are you? We are living the dream. What's going on? I feel like we're living the dream in San Diego in some ways. My husband and I have four kids. We're debt-free. We own our home, and we feel really fortunate right now. Yes, way to go, by the way. Thank you. Yeah, it took a lot of sacrifices. We got total money makeover when I was pregnant

with our first kid about 12 years ago. So we learned a lot. We follow a lot of rules. And then we're at this juncture where we had a conversation last night about investing in property. And my husband has thrown around ideas about investing in property out of state in a southern state like Mississippi, taking out a reverse mortgage to do that. And I said, don't make me call this. Hold on a second. Chris Hogan is getting worked up. I can see it right now. Chris.

Mary, the one hair I have has stood up. Okay, here we go. Let's just get to it. First of all, why are you trying to invest out of state? I am on your team, Chris. Oh, okay. Wait, wait, wait. It's the husband she wants you to be mad at.

Where is he? Yes. Where is he right now? He's at his office. Okay. Well, you need to make sure you play this back. And I want him to hear it. But what is your husband's reason for wanting to invest out of state?

So I think we're, you guys just mentioned as you were going on air about the fear and the different things that are creeping in. And I feel like rather than fear, it's almost like my husband sees this opportunity or this. I mean, I was getting a little caught up in it too about, oh, we should own land and we should be wide open. We don't need to be in a city. And we're not in a city. We're in a suburb. Right.

But just that it's cheaper. There's this way of life that we could have somewhere else eventually or investment. I don't agree with his. Right. Well, here's the thing. You may not agree with his ideology, but you've got to agree with his heart. Meaning what he's looking for is to keep you all secure. You've made sacrifices.

You've worked hard to get where you are. If you all want to brainstorm the potential of moving, that's great. I don't like the idea of a reverse mortgage. Okay. Anytime you see the Fonz on a commercial and it's not happy days, I want you to change the channel. Okay. Because he's going to be pitching to you a reverse mortgage. And this is the thing. You don't want to go backwards. You want to go forward. And I tell people, instead of considering that, look at outright selling or looking to move. But I want you to tap into something. Your husband obviously trusts you enough that you guys are talking and dreaming out loud. What I'd love for you all to do is to further that conversation. Now, I'm sitting with a man that is the most artistic

interviewer that I've met in my life, and that's Coleman. And he can guide you in helping to ask the right questions to dig deeper. Yeah, Mary, I think that what I'm hearing is you agree with the vision or you're intrigued by his vision but not the path to get to the vision right okay yeah yeah so here's the deal so you got to say to him hey we don't need to rush and and this reverse mortgage, in my opinion, in his mind, it's the quickest way from point A to point B. And I think the questions you've got to ask him are, hey, do you agree and do you understand? Number one, does he understand your hesitation?

And you tell him what Chris said and why a reverse mortgage is an awful idea. You guys have worked so hard to get to a really special place where you're debt-free and your home is paid for. So you don't need to be in a hurry. And I think that the challenge is he wants to make this new vision happen as quickly as possible. And the quickest option is rarely the best option. Oh, I like that. And I would ask him, does he understand why you disagree with this that it is about our vision and i disagree with you and then uh ask him what are some other ways that i can lend to this happening

what can we do differently what are some other strategies to see this vision come to fruition i think that's the conversation i agree and then what's the time frame we're looking at i mean i agree if you're in the city and you say you're not and you're in the suburbs, but if you all are looking for a different kind of quality of life or you're thinking about it, make a list of the three areas you might look to move to, right? And then I would encourage you, take some time and go be there a week. We met some people yesterday that were here out in the lobby that were visiting Tennessee for a week. They live in California.

They're thinking about moving here. But I don't want you to make a knee-jerk decision. I'd rather you have a full-on game plan. And think of your pros and cons, because in San Diego, I'm going to tell you right now, it's the best weather on Earth. No bugs, Chris. There are no bugs in the entire San Diego

area. I've never seen a bug, felt a bug in San Diego. I don't know if I've ever seen one either. No, we've got a bunch of people in the lobby. Can I get a show of hands if you've ever experienced it? You bribe them with cookies. You bribe them with cookies. Here's the deal.

California, they charge you for air. You've got to pay to breathe out there. That's true. But I think brainstorming ideas and options, lay it out, but talk with him. And you guys brainstorm this and think, where do we want to be in two to three years? And make decisions that take you on that path. And I'm going to throw a little wrinkle in here, Chris. I want to see what you think about this. And by the way, I want to confess this before I challenge the audience. I struggle with this as

much as any human being on the planet. But I think this is where we get in trouble, Chris, is when we have a great vision, we see a desired future. And what happens is, is we try to stuff our timeline on that desired future, as opposed to going, if this is the desired future, if this is the vision we long for, then what do we have to do to get there? That determines the timeline. I agree. Not us going, I just want to be there in two years. Well, is that even possible? Yeah.

I remember it may not be. Who is it? Is it Dr. Cloud that says what must be true? Yeah. If this, what must be true? Yeah. And remember it. It may not be. Who is it? Is it Dr. Cloud that says, what must be true? Yeah. If this, what must be true? Yeah. And I think you're right. That determines the timeline.

It does. But I think the hunger is part of that desire. So I think part of it is a good thing that it drives us. When you start to get out of your gears and you have unrealistic expectations or you start trying to get irritated at people, then that's where it can get dangerous. Yeah. See, short-cutting the timeline, trying to make the math work when you know it doesn't

work, oh, that's when stupid shows up and goes, hey, I promise, this is the way that nobody else has ever thought about. Well, here's the problem. Somebody's thought of it and they're pitching you on it. And somebody's done it and got stung with stupid. Oh, that's a good word. I won't add anything more to that. He is Chris Hogan.

I am Ken Coleman. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Don't move. More coming right up. folks i love telling you about well-made well-thought-out products today i'm talking about grip six belts i don't know about you but I'm not a fan of traditional belts. They never fit right, and they're uncomfortable. Grip6 belts are unique. Owner BJ designed a truly modern, minimalist belt made of high-quality materials with no holes, no flap, and no bulk.

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the path forward to working on purpose, living on purpose, the path forward in healthy relationships. We're talking about life, folks. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by Chris Hogan, as we take your calls. 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. Chris, I don't know if you heard this or if you folks heard this, but yesterday mortgage interest rates dropped again to a new all-time low. So if you're financially ready to buy a home, meaning you know that you can afford it, you've got 10, preferably 20%, to put as a down payment. You've got that saved up, and your income allows for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage. Then it is a fantastically

great time to take advantage and buy a house. So if that's you, you're ready, and you've been looking for a sign to pull the trigger, this is it. Start the home buying process today. Go to DaveRamsey.com slash agents. That's DaveRamsey.com slash agents to find the only agents who we trust who will take care of you in your area. That's DaveRamsey.com slash agents. 888-825-5225 is the number. And I'm going to tell you something, Ken. With people that have been in their homes for three years or more, you have an opportunity to refinance right now and reduce the rate. All you have to do, I want to take away some of the mysticism around this, because people get

intimidated by what they don't understand, so they freeze. All you got to do is reach out to your existing lender. Give them a call. Tell them, hey, I'm interested in refinancing. And they'll say, okay, what are you looking to do? And you can say either lower my rate or shorten your term if you were in a 30 to go down to a 15-year fix. They can kind of give you an overview of what it would take and what it would require. So, you know, nine times out of ten, you'll have to pay for a new appraisal, which could be $500 to $800. But if you can change your rate by 1% or more, this is a win all the way around financially. Yeah, absolutely. So make sure that you take advantage of what we do here, this is a win all the way around financially. Yeah, absolutely. So make sure that you take advantage of what we do here, which is vet these men and women.

We know that they have the heart of a teacher. They agree with Ramsey Solutions and our process. They're not going to try to get you into something that you shouldn't be into. So you do the interviewing, by the way. Chris, I've heard you say this. I've heard Dave say this. When you sit down with these men and women, these real estate professionals, you interview them.

They're working for you. That's right. They're working for you. That's exactly right, Ken. Not the other way around. They work for you. All right. And they're ready to. Yes, they are.

All right, Coleman, I feel like we need to take some calls. Yeah, Andy is standing by in Chicago. Andy, how can we help? Just trying to get some advice. Me and my wife are at a, not a crossroads, but we're at a disagreement on trying to sell the house i feel we should sell the house and my wife wants to keep it because it's her forever home so why do you think you should sell the house i travel 90 of the time for work and in the foreseeable future i don't see myself being home for the next five years i average being home for the next five years. I average being home four days a month. Okay.

Whoa. But what's funny about this is you're – I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at Andy. I'm laughing with Andy. Andy, I've been married 22 years. And, Andy, you're the guy who wants to get rid of it, but you're the guy that's never there.

And so your primary reason for getting rid of it is that you're only home four days a month. Your wife's primary reason for keeping it is because she's the one there by herself most of the time. I don't think you've got a winning argument here on that basis alone, Chris. Yeah. Okay, Andy, why do you want to sell it? Well, she has the opportunity to travel with me. My company pays for all my living expenses when I'm out of town, so we can live pretty much for free

if she travels with me. Does she want to travel with you? It's an option she's willing to take. Willing. Hold on. What level of willing are we talking about? Honestly. Come on, Andy.

All right, so here's the deal. Scale of one to ten. One being you're out of your mind, Andy. Ten being, woo-hoo, let's pack up today. Where is she at on that scale? Only if I would have to. Oh, she's there. Wait a second.

The wife is there. Yes, I like this. First of all, what is your name, ma'am? Shauna. Shauna. This is so exciting. This is amazing. Okay, Shauna, talk to us.

Do you want to travel? No, she said only if she has to. What makes you have to? I'm just fine with traveling with him occasionally, not forever. Okay. And what does occasional look like? Like maybe once a month? Yeah, once a month a couple times.

So we are at an impasse is what we call this. And we've got both of them here. This is very exciting. I've got to get out my referee shirt. Yeah. It's about to be on. Shawna, do you want to keep this house? I do.

All right. How much do you owe on it? We currently owe $252,000. And what's your household income? $250,000 to $270,000 a year. And do you have any other debt? We are on Baby Step 6. Are you investing for retirement?

Answer carefully. Yes, we are fully invested. Okay, so what's the house worth? $420,000. And if you sell it, Andy, what are you going to live in? Are you getting like a mini house, a hut? Like what are you wanting to do? I would turn around and I would buy a condo that is less maintenance,

and we would only have maybe an $80,000 mortgage on that condo then. I could pay that off in two to three years. All right, I got a question, Andy, because I heard what you said earlier, and it's not that I'm doubting you. I just wonder if it's the, it's the highest level of motivation is what you gave us. I don't think it is. This isn't because you're not there enough. I think you just want to knock this house out and go ahead and get, you know, the baby step seven. I'm guessing that's what this is really about. It is the truth. I want to get rid of all that. Like I, I, uh, found Dave Ramsey two years ago and we paid almost a hundred, $210,000 off in debt. I just want to be done with it.

That's incredible. And I, and listen, and I, and I, I really, really am trying to honor what you're trying to do, but you're going about it the wrong way. Here's my point. Your wife, it's your, it's her forever home. you're traveling all the time she doesn't want to travel with you and so your math works out but it's all math brother it's all brain and you're not engaging your heart you got to hear your wife because here's the deal how long before you guys pay that house off if you don't move forward with this current plan which is completely not good for your marriage so how long before you pay it off, staying as is? Probably eight to nine years.

Okay. Could you juice that a little bit and cut that in half? Could you do some things maybe aggressively and maybe get it paid off sooner? Potentially. We're already paying double payment. Good. Not triple payment a month. Okay.

Here's my point, Chris. If he does it in eight years, you've got a paid for forever home for your life. Hold on. I'm about to go to my inner Ken Coleman. Oh, boy. Watch. Here it goes. If I had hair, I'd toss it right now, but I don't. Andy, do you like, do you love, like,

or tolerate your career? I love my career. Okay. This is important. So the sacrifice of travel for you is a good thing. Listen, I'm going to engage my vote. Shauna, Andy, here it is. Keep the house. Yep.

Pay the thing off. Let's accelerate this thing and get on it. But I want you all to make sure you're doing some stuff together. Shauna, I would ask that you travel a couple of times a month with your husband. You guys be together. You can go sightsee while he's working. Go to the spa. Go do some stuff.

But I want you guys to make sure you're staying connected throughout this. But this is the forever home, Andy. I want you to hear that. That's a massive word from your wife, meaning once you pay this thing off, you can go get a motorcycle, a boat. You can go do some stuff, brother. So keep the house. Shauna, you travel more.

Hogan's voted. Yeah, and I absolutely vote with the gentleman here to my right. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed, we put you on hold. That's a wrap. We don't even hear you.

Because we know Shauna's on our side, so we have what we call a majority, three votes to one vote. Now, here's the deal. Now, Andy, we're having some fun right but but i want andy and i want anybody else out to hear this we're not beating up on andy but what we are saying is you got to be careful to not let this this this goal this very worthy goal become a problem in your relationships and and actually have it hurt areas of your life because you're like i'm so focused on paying this house off that I'm going to do something that would hurt my marriage. Yeah.

Or you have, you're so in, like he drank all the Kool-Aid, right? Like they paid off $210,000. That's not an accident. You don't tiptoe and do that. You do that intentionally. Just slow down and hear your wife. Take her with you on this journey. Loosen up, man.

Yeah. He's got to loosen up. He guzzled all the Dave Ramsey Kool-Aid. Put that Kool-Aid down. He needs to burp. That's what you do when you feed a baby, right? The baby's got all that in him, and you're all fired up, and he's so intense. You know what we do with the baby?

We put the baby on our shoulder, and we get that baby a burp. He's too uptight, man. Loosen up. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman, a Ramsey personality, host of the Ken Coleman Show on the Ramsey Network. And I'm joined by Chris Hogan, a Ramsey personality and host of the Chris Hogan Show, also part of the Ramsey Network. And we are here for you. The phone number to jump in is free.

It's 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. We'll talk about your money. Chris has got you there. We'll talk about your money. Chris has got you there. We'll talk about your work and your career. Are you working on purpose? Do you know what the dream job is? Or do you know what it is?

You don't know how to get there? I'll help you on that. We'll both weigh in on all of those things. And we just took a true marriage call, disguised as a money call, Chris. It was a marriage call. And so we'll jump in on all of that. It is your show. What do you want to talk about?

We are here to help. 888-825-5225. Let's go to Anchorage, Alaska. Tony is there. Tony, how can we help? Hi. Long-time listener. First-time caller.

Thank you. Thank you. I'm in a peculiar, I've been working the baby steps for a couple of years, and I'm on baby step two, and I am down to two debts that I call mountain one and mountain two. And those debts are my student loan and my mortgage. And my mortgage is actually a little bit lower than my student loan. And it has a lower interest rate because it's not a traditional mortgage. I'm in an owner financing situation, which is managed through an escrow account. And so I'm wondering if I should pay off my mortgage first because the order of the baby steps would indicate that.

Or, I mean, right now student loans are at 0%, and everything that I pay towards my student loan is all towards principal, and I could get it a little bit lower than my mortgage. And I've also thought about paying $2,000 apiece on both of them, and then I would be done with both of them in five years. Okay, let's talk about numbers. How much do you owe on the student loans? $115,900.

Okay. About $116,000. All right, and how much on the mortgage? About $112,000. Okay, and what's your household income? It's a little variable, but I should go home with $120,000. Not go home gross. Yes, ma'am. Okay. So looking at this, and I know as you look and you go, boy, oh boy, this mortgage, it's smaller. I'd love to be able to get it. But I'm going to tell you, Tony,

you know, sticking to the essence of the baby steps, you're still going to attack that student loan debt first. Okay. Now, you hit the nail on the head. You said right now it's in forbearance. That's true. But I told people, if your income hasn't changed, then I want you to keep stepping. That means you keep making the payment. You keep pushing forward.

You sound like you've pushed through some stuff. How much have you paid off so far? I'm a hustler. I have paid off about $110,000 in three years. Wow. I've increased my income from 50 to 60 to 80 to 120. Whoa. And I am pretty close to the top of earning potential in my career. What do you do?

Yeah. I do independent contracting as a speech-language therapist. Okay. And I work in rural areas in Alaska. So have you been to Homer, Alaska? Oh, yeah. I was there two weeks ago. Yeah.

I did a speaking gig there. I did a total money makeover in Homer about five years ago. Oh, you should have told me. Beautiful area. Absolutely. Flew into Anchorage and then from there took a small plane, almost too small for me and this body. And we went over to Homer. It was a shaky ride, but I made it. And it was beautiful. Was it one of those planes that could land on water?

Coleman, it was a very small plane. If you're going to fly Hogan in a small plane, you better be able to land on water. I was with the pilot. We flew together. But Tony, listen, I love your hustle. Okay. The fact that you've grown your income from 50 to 60 to 80 to now 120. Listen to me, you are going to pay all of this off and put it in your rear view. Okay. And I want to give you some advice in the midst of the battle and the struggle. There's a couple of things that can pop up. You can start to feel like you deserve some stuff, right? And that deserve Island deserve Island will pop up. You can start to feel like you deserve some stuff, right? And the deserve island

will pop up, so you've got to be careful. Okay? And the other thing is you get tired. And that's where it's important for you to stay connected to your why. What has motivated you so much? Fear and

just going deeper and deeper in the hole. Yeah. I've watching my, my family struggle with money and I'm not wanting to walk that same path. I'm just like, it's, it's gotta be different than this. I've listened,

I've listened to Dave Ramsey for a long time before I started to really get serious. And I think for the last three years I've been Dave Ramsey-ish. But when the pandemic hit, I've gotten as serious as a gazelle. Yes, ma'am. But it's also really, really, like, heartbreaking to think about paying, like, $4,000 a month to my student loan. Right. Right. Because I'm not a princess, but I do like nice things.

Well, here's the thing. You can make progress and live, okay? And so you can be a gazelle and run fast, but even the gazelle slows down a little bit to breathe. And so you making sure that, hey, I want you to reward yourself a little bit. I don't mean anything crazy, but have that mindset that you can have a nice dinner. You're making progress.

And I want you to hear me. You are not going to be what your family has been. That's absolutely right. You've already made the change, Tony. You've already made the adjustment and the commitment. It's not going to be you. And I want you to tell yourself that and remind yourself of that. And I love the motivation, but let's not change it to fear. Let's shift it to

drive, right? Because you're driven, you're driven towards something, young lady. And I want you to keep that in mind. You have done an amazing job to this point. Now, what I want you to do is keep pushing. I'm proud of you. Tony, you are not in a desperate situation. Yeah. And yet the fear is driving you to the point where you're emotional right now because it is so hard. You feel almost heartbroken, and that will end up hurting you in this journey. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel. So Chris is absolutely right.

I hope you heard what he said. Back off of that a little bit. It doesn't have to be $4,000 a month. I think that is actually going to become a detriment to you, and you shouldn't be emotionally broken when talking about that, because in this situation, you're not desperate. This is an emergency situation. That's right. You can ease up a little bit. Yeah, you really can, and I'm proud of her, and she hit the nail on the head. This pandemic, Ken, has caused a lot of people to wake up, look at their careers totally different, to look at their money situation. And they realize, you know what? I have been ish. I have been doing the baby steps ish here and there.

And you go, wait a minute. No, no, no. Life can happen. And so it is necessary for us to get intentional and more focused right now. And some of you have been pushing a little bit. And you it is necessary for us to get intentional and more focused right now. And some of you have been pushing a little bit, and you need to push a little harder. You see, we've got to be intentional about what it is we're trying to reach. And that's why I tell you, don't be interested in your goals.

Be committed to them. You know, Chris, tonight I'll go to my son's varsity football game, and I look forward to Friday Night Lights about as much as anything during the week. I love the game of football. I love sports. You played college football. You and I both love football and I can't help but think of a football analogy that I just need to share with this audience. Because when you hear Tony and she's overwhelmed by the, she said two mountains, and what's really overwhelming her is that she sees those two mountains as continuing a legacy in her family of poor money management and debt. And she's so fearful of that. And this thing has become really big.

And then she goes, what do I do? How do I focus? And so whatever you're trying to knock out, let me tell you what works on the football field. You've got 11 players playing 11 players. And each of those 11 players, Chris, has to win that play. It's one-on-one, but they're part of a collective unit. But for this debt journey, folks, to get out of it, you've got to win one play at a time. One snap at a time, I've got to win that play. Whatever my job is, so you work the baby steps,

and you do what you're supposed to do to get that next baby step done and just focus on that next play we're not focusing on the interception or the fumble or the offsides penalty what are we going to do we're going to get back up and we're going to focus on the next play that's good win the play in other words folks to get through this journey and not get overwhelmed you have to focus on winning the play in front of you right now. What do I have to do today? And all of those wins, those daily wins, Chris, that daily discipline, eventually you get there.

But if all you're focused on is, oh, my gosh, how in the world would we ever get to the Super Bowl, you don't focus on winning that play. And it is the series of wins daily weekly monthly yearly that gets you the true financial peace win today don't move more of the dave ramsey show coming right up This is the Dave Ramsey Show. I'm Ramsey Personality and host of the Ken Coleman Show on the Ramsey Network. And I'm joined by Chris Hogan, Ramsey Personality and host of the Chris Hogan Show on the Ramsey Network. And you need to know about what Chris Hogan is doing.

Of course, if you've been listening to the Dave Ramsey Show, he's on here all the time. But I do want to make sure that you know that his website is ChrisHogan360.com. You can get the net worth calculator, the retirement calculator. Connect with him on social media. Buy his two number one bestselling books, Everyday Millionaires and Retire Inspired, and connect with his show. You can listen to it wherever podcasts are available. He's on YouTube and SiriusXM.

Check him out, ChrisHogan360.com. And if you're looking for resources to get clear on what it is that you were created to do or get that day job or get into the dream job, go to KenColeman.com. We have a bunch of free resources there. You can connect with The Ken Coleman Show and social media as well. Hold on, because I didn't know you had a new self-study out. I mean, this is something, I mean, helping young people. Listen, we have foundations where we're helping young people know about money, learn about money so they adults through how to land their first job in the real world.

This is very practical and tactical for people to know how. So, Coleman, how much is it and where do they find it? It's only $29.99, KenColeman.com. Just click on the store. And this is designed for the 13- to 19-year-old. Okay. It's video teaching, so I'm teaching quick because they have the attention span of a gnat on sugar. So you've got to get to it quick and you've got to give them the details.

Check it all out, KenColeman.com and then ChrisHogan360.com. Some great resources for you. 888-825-5225 is the number to jump in. We're having a blast here today. 888-825-5225. Let's go to Andrews, Indiana. Nick is there. Nick, how can we help? All right. So I recently just purchased a house, and when I purchased it, one of the inspections came up that my septic system is problematic, and in the negotiations, they gave us a check to fix that. So I've now lived here for a month and I've had

any problems with it. And another person said that it should be fine and I shouldn't fix it. So I got $20,000. Should I pay off my student debt and be done with it? Or should I fix it or hold it in case? How much is the student loan debt? It is $23,000, and from the money I made selling my house, I'll be able to pay it off completely. How much is the repair for the septic system, at least the one person's opinion? Anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000. Did they give you any kind of time frame, Nick,

on like how long do you have? Is it a couple years or is it a couple months? So it's worked for the last 80 years, and they said it could last for the next 80 or it could be a month. So like they were not helpful on a time frame. Okay, gotcha. Well, hold on a second. Both opinions? Because one said don't fix it.

The other one said fix it. Right. So the inspector said it needs to be fixed i had it come looked at by someone else to get another opinion and they said it should be fine are they septic are they septic professionals yes they both are if that's a thing hogan's laughing yeah yeah coleman the man called a septic professional he didn't say that he could have called his Uncle Larry. He knows what he's doing. Well, he could have called Uncle Larry, and I'm not sure I trust Uncle Larry. I'm just saying.

All right, Nick, how much do you owe in student loans? $23,000. $23,000. And how much are you paying on student loans right now? So the monthly payment is $350,000, but I'm doing around $1,000 a month. Okay. So here's what I would do. Let's get one more septic professional out.

Yeah. Okay? Well, now you call them a septic professional. Well, I know the title since you told me. Let's get one more of them out. Let's have them review the situation. If they're saying it might be okay for five to ten years, I say pay off the student loan, take what you were paying, the $350 or $1,000, then start to pay that back into savings, almost like a sinking fund, ready to attack this septic if and when it goes bad. That's what I'd do, Nick.

Yep, yep. I don't disagree with that. I think that's a good strategy. I want a couple of opinions, though, on that, because I'll tell you something. Septic system goes bad, whoo. Yeah, you. Yep. Yep. I don't disagree with that. I think that's a good strategy. I want a couple of opinions, though, on that because I'll tell you something. Septic system goes bad. Woo. Yeah, you've got a problem. Big problems.

And so, you know, I don't know. He's making a lot of progress on this. He's making – I'm just saying, we don't want septic problems. No, we don't. And he's got the check in the bank. That's right. All right. And you've got to be smart, right? Okay. Go to the next caller because I want septic problems. No, we don't. And he's got the check in the bag. That's right. All right. And you've got to be smart, right?

Okay, go to the next caller because I want to – yeah, I don't want to do it. Listen, all I'm saying is if you have septic problems, that really stinks. Okay? And so here's the deal. He's making progress on the loan. Yeah, he is. So I had a question with your strategy. No, the strategy will work it will help him make progress it's too much fun yeah but in all

seriousness he's killing so much of the student loan what if the septic tank goes bad three months from now right that's why i said let's get that one more opinion right and that way if they're if the guy is being honest with him and says hey it's bad you're only being lucky right now that it's continuing to work yeah then let's repair the septic yeah and continue making progress on the student because he's making such good progress right you just that emergency fund is pretty nice got a twenty thousand dollar check and that's really nice well that was the for the repair yeah and so you know i like that he's been mindful. He's not frittered away the money.

He's not been silly with it. And Nick, again, if you go ahead and repair it, then go ahead and start to save up that stint, continue to attack the student loans as you have been. But if you decide that the septic can wait, this third opinion tells you you're okay for five to six years, then pay off the student loan and take what you were paying on the been. But if you decide that the septic can wait, this third opinion tells you you're okay for five to six years, then pay off the student loan and take what you were paying on the student loan and start to pay it back in the savings so you're ready for the repair when the time comes. You know, this brings up a bigger point, and I don't want to knock home inspectors. I actually

think home inspectors are tremendously valuable. However, you realize that they get paid pretty well to be thorough. And so home inspectors will come in and you you and i've bought homes before and here's what'll happen and and i'm i'm making a bigger point this is bigger than home inspection all right let's talk about we take a car to the mechanic right we just took our suburban in three days ago had an issue we knew it was an issue well they come back with a laundry list of things okay so stacy calls and she's like hey you you got to get on the phone with this guy because I mean they got a it's like a laundry list yeah we're gonna buy a new car for this yeah and and so you get on the phone and I say all right listen I got the list how much of this is

what you would call urgent and I find that I found the guy to be very honest very reputable and he told me these are the things that are super important. This can wait a while. But we've got to have the courage to ask that. Yeah, we do. Because you can get scared into a really bad financial decision like this septic tank. So the inspector is doing his job. Right. And what the inspector sees is, clearly there's some type of issue here.

Maybe there's some history with this type of tank or whatever. And over time, there's a high probability that it goes bad. But what happens is that feels really scary and i think what you said was great and i was thinking the same thing get two extra opinions yeah because there's something about fear like oh my gosh we got to do this and and we react to that as opposed to going wait a second is this really urgent is it truly an emergency right or am i creating it right in my own head? And I think you're right, Ken.

It is important. I know when I take my car in and the mechanic, they always have a habit of asking me to come out to look. And I know what they want me to do. They want me to come out and look at all the things that are wrong. I don't understand what they're talking about. Of course not. So when they ask me to come out, I say, no.

Right. I don't want to come out there. Right. Yeah. What is a have to fix right right and then i put on my girl face yeah well you have that advantage look at it yeah yeah right and so then they see i do that and they wonder if i have indigestion you know what i mean you can do that and people go oh i'm gonna back off a little bit but you're right this fear is

real so get opinions get some guidance information. Information will always help you settle your fear because you're dealing in facts, not feelings. That's good. Facts, not feelings. Fun stuff. 888-825-5225 is the phone number to jump in. Man, we've had fun this hour. We really have. Maybe too much fun, but that remains to be seen.

Hopefully they'll let us come back sometime. Yeah, hopefully so. But before we go, I want to thank our producer, Zach Bennett, and our associate producer, Kelly Daniel. I want to thank Chris Hogan. Thank you, my friend. Always fun to hang out with you. I want to thank Dave Ramsey for letting us play in his sandbox. And we want to thank you, America.

Thank you for listening. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. This is James Childs, producer of The Dave Ramsey Show. Once again, you made The Dave Ramsey Show one of the top four most popular podcasts last year. To get your daily dose of motivation and inspiration from the Ramsey Network, subscribe or follow today wherever you listen to podcasts.