The Ramsey Show - App - Everyday Millionaire: Chris Hogan Interviews a Former Serbian Refugee (Hour 1)

Episode Date: June 28, 2019

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is The Dave Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life and your money. Everyone, I'm Chris Hogan, filling in for Dave, and I'm excited to take your calls and to talk about the things that are on the top of your mind. But in order to do that, I need to hear from you. So I want you to give us a call. The number to call is 888-825-5225. Again, that's 888-825-5225. I am here and ready to take your calls. Okay, starting off on the line, I've got Amy in Dallas, Texas. Amy, how are you?

I'm doing great. How are you? Oh, I'm focused and not finished, young lady. How can I help you today? I love it. Hey, called in with a question. My husband and I were about to purchase a property and we have rental properties and I'm just wondering, should we do the down payment, do a 15-year note, or do we go ahead and sell all the rental properties to pay for this property in full? I was kind of attached to the rental properties, but if it's wiser just to cash out and be debt-free moving into a new upsized home. Ah, okay, Amy. So tell me this.

How many rental properties do you all have? We have four. You have four of them. And you say you're attached to them. I kind of like having them, right? It's cash flow for me. Are they all paid off? They're all.

So we owe $200,000 between two properties. One is we owe $80,000 on, and the other one we owe $120,000 on. Okay. And how long have you guys been in the rental investment game? Probably six years. Okay. Six years. And so are you using a property management company? We are. Okay. All right. And so you've been doing this six years. How many headaches have you had in this process? None really besides one AC maybe, but that wasn't really that big of a headache either. Okay. And tell me on the personal side, what baby step are you all on? We're on four, five, and six.

Okay. Except for we kind of did some things backwards. So our primary residence is paid for. Okay. Primary residence is paid for. And so now you guys are thinking about upgrading home. Okay. Closer to family and more expensive neighborhood.

Oh, all right. So what size square foot are you in now? Probably 2,400 square feet. Okay. And a family of how many? There's four. Okay. Two kiddos, me, dad.

All right. And how old are your kiddos? Three and a half and 10 months. Oh, little brand new almost. Little babies. Yeah. You're busy. Okay. So you're living in 2,400 square feet and you're thinking about upgrading. What size are you going to? We're going to 4,000 square feet. Oh, okay. That's a big jump. All right. Your current home is worth how much? Probably around 400. All right. And this new home, are you looking to build or does it exist?

It exists, but we'll have to do some renovations to it. It's very dated. Okay. See, you got the hair on my head twitching. You said renovation. I'm sorry. You know, that's a big money word right there. It is.

All right. Tell me the cost of this home before renovations. It's probably a million dollars. Okay. Uh-huh. And how much are the renovations? We're going to keep it under $200. I have a very good contractor that knows that we're on a tight screw.

Okay. So you think your current home, you can sell it for how much? $400,000. Okay. You think you can sell it for $400,000? Yes, that's the low end, according to my realtor. And if we were doing Monopoly and you sold all these rental properties, what's the best case scenario on that?

Right at $1.2 million. So all the properties are worth about $300 a piece. Okay. Except for one. Yeah. So I have a $300, a $300, a $300, and a $180. Okay. All right.

And you're really sure about this home upgrade? Yes. Because you know kids are little. They don't require much square footage. They're small. I do know that. Amy, they're small. I agree.

I'm with you. I'm not the one pushing the move. Oh. I'll know that. Amy, they're small. I agree. I'm with you. I'm not the one pushing the move. Oh. I'll throw that out a little bit. Oh, okay. Mm-hmm. All right. So what's the house...

Trying to make dreams happen. It is. What's your all's household income? So we're both... I make $214,000, and my husband makes $260,000. Plus, that's not considering bonuses. Okay. And if I were to ask you guys your overall net worth altogether, how much would you say

you're at right now? At $2.6 million. Okay. All right. So let me ask you, if you're going to sell it all, I'd say, are you willing to sell all the rental properties? Yes or no? I'm not.

Okay. Is your husband willing to sell all the rental properties? Yes or no? I'm not. Okay. Is your husband willing to sell all the rental properties? Yes or no? Yes. Okay. And see, that to me, it's one of those things, Amy. You guys, right now, you're on four, five, and six. Your home is primarily, you're paid for, so you're saving for college, you're investing.

You're everyday millionaires, right? Yes. And how long have you all had your primary home paid off? Two years. Okay. And so it feels good not making a mortgage payment, doesn't it? You're telling me. That's why I'm kind of hesitant to move up.

But I get the allure of it from my husband. No, no, no. And I think here's the deal. You guys are at the crux. How long have y'all been married? 16 years. Oh, you've been married a long time. Y'all are veterans.

Yeah. Veterans. Yeah. Veterans. Okay. So you guys have an opportunity right now to really kind of make a really informed decision. Correct. And it needs to be done slow. This is not something, Amy, that you rush into because this is a big step. Agreed.

Now, there's a couple of options with this. If it is the selling the rental properties and you're moving in that direction, okay. But is this something that needs to be done now or is this something that's in the future? So if I'm in your shoes, how long have you and your husband been talking about this? We've talked about it on and off for a year and a half, but we're really serious about it probably in the last two months okay all right and then we found an opportunity if if you know someone that was willing to get it's the cheaper house in the neighborhood so i felt like man this is an opportunity so what's more of the lore is it the home or is it the neighborhood it's the lot in the neighborhood and so it's an acre

lot which is pretty rare and then we'll live with a home. I'm okay with a home being not brand new. Okay. Do you all, I mean, right now, to me, I'm going to make a decision. And I'm obviously going into this with cash. And if you just sell your primary residence at $400,000, I'm not going to go backwards, Amy. I'm going to tell you right now. And there's not a deal.

There's not an option out there. I don't care if unicorns were hopping around out there on the lot. I'm not going to go backwards. The home is paid off. You guys have done this. You're everyday millionaires. Now it's a matter of making a decision. Are we that motivated that we're willing to give up some stuff, i.e. rental properties, to put us in a position to be able to do this

thing with cash. And I'm going to be honest. I think that's the way you go that feels the best, that you're going to sleep the best. And now you guys have to talk this through. He's ready to give up the rental properties. You don't want to just yet. And thus, the opportunity to have a discussion. I would go old school with this.

Pros and cons. Get out a sheet of paper. Write it down. Do the pros and cons, but just do me a favor. Don't put an artificial timeframe on this because all that's going to do is raise your stress level. You guys need to walk into this clear headed. And I want you to do me a favor. Think about how you're going to feel two years after. If you do sell the rental properties, how are you going to feel two years after in that home? And so kind of begin to look at the perspective from both sides. You take it from his angle and look at it and understand. And let's get him to take it from yours.

And see, that's how you'll end up walking through and doing something that you all both can agree on. And sometimes, sometimes, America, it's good to agree to sit still and wait. This is The Dave Ramsey show. This is big news, guys. You need to stop and listen. The Fed decided not to raise interest rates. That means you've got a small window of time before rates rise again. Here's the deal. Most people are paying too much interest on their largest expense, their home. So you're freaking crazy if you don't take 10 minutes to call Churchill Mortgage right

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Hello, America. You are listening to The Dave Ramsey Show. I'm Chris Hogan, filling in for Dave. And we're excited to be with you. We've had some fantastic questions thus far, and I want you to reach out and talk. Talk to me. Let me know what question is on your mind. A lot of times there's a lot of financial issues out there that can stand in the way of us making progress. And I think the right information at the right time in the right person's hands, I know without a doubt it leads to progress.

But I want you to call me. The number to call is 888-825-5225. Again, that's 888-825-5225. We're here for you. Also, you can find us on social at Ramsey Show. So we've got a great opportunity to be able to connect with us. And speaking of social, I got a question in from Twitter, and it says, this is from Ray. Ray says, is there an investing product that I should use to save for a down payment on a home or just save outright?

Okay, Ray, I'm going to, I got to preface this because obviously I want you getting a home to be a blessing. And so I want to make sure that you're out of debt, that you have a fully funded emergency fund, and then you want to begin to save. So what I would say is as you're saving, we call that baby step 3B as you're saving a down payment. Minimum 10%, I would love love you to go into a home with 20 down to avoid pmi which is private mortgage insurance it protects the lender not you so i would save it three years or less i'm saving and so just add it in with your emergency fund and your money market account because that's where you should hold that because you want that money

to be liquid which means you can get to it if you have life happen. So you don't have to jump through hoops. In a money market account, that money is liquid, which means you can get to it and transfer it over to your savings account and take care of business, do what you need to do. So under three years, you would save and just outright save. Budget for it, put that money aside, and do what you need to do. Again, don't overbuy.

People tend to get emotional, and you can end up spending too much. So have a budget. Understand, you don't want your mortgage payment to be more than 25% of your take-home pay because you've got other life to live as well. So Ray, thank you for that question, and we appreciate you. All right, I'm going to the phone line. On the line, I've got NJ in Buffalo. NJ, how can I help you? Hi, Chris. Thanks so much for taking my call. Yes, ma'am. I have a sensitive question.

And first, to start off, we love Financial Peace. We've been following it for almost 10 years now. However, my husband has a sexual addiction that I found out about five years ago, and it's gotten progressively worse, even though he tries to do recovery each time we find out. This past January, however, he was tricked by a prostitute saying that she was an undercover cop. And he went to the bank and took out all of our savings. And we were on baby step four. And it wiped out all of our savings, putting us back to baby step one. And what I did that next weekend, because it was so devastating to me, is I separated our accounts and all of the savings were in my name and only our checking was in both of our names.

I'm calling to find out if that was okay and should I do that to protect myself so that we don't go into financial ruin? Because that's the only thing I could think of. And even though I know we're supposed to share our bank accounts, I just can't trust him. And, Jay, I'm so sorry you've had to walk through this. How old are you all? My husband is 37, and I'm 40. Okay.

And you've been married how long? Seven years, but I've known about this for five. Okay. Do you all have any children? No, we don't have children. Okay. This is tough. And so you said he has attempted the recovery process several times?

Yes, and he's in recovery right now as well. Okay. And I'm in a healing group as well. And there's a lot of women that are wondering the same question. Right. Well, I'm glad that you are plugged into a community as well and aren't having to wrestle with this by yourself. Do you have family near you as well? Yes.

And both of our families are aware of it and they've been very supportive. Okay. I'm glad to hear that. You know, we do say, and you know this, having been through Financial Peace University, we want husbands and wives working on this money stuff together. However, in the mindset of self-preservation, I think you did do the right thing to be able to have that where you can protect what you've worked toward. You know, you were on Baby Step 4. So did he pull out money that was emergency fund money as well and go through it?

Yes. Everything. My goodness. Everything was taken out and given to her because he was afraid that he was going, he was in a different compartment in his mind and he was afraid he was going to jail. So he gave her all the money and um we still do a budget together we still look at all of our money together we still make all of our plans together it's just that um i have the savings account separate from

the checking he can get to the checking if we need to pull some money out but i'm aware of every money every cent that comes out of that account. Okay. So you've primarily had to shift into parent role. Yeah, kind of. Which is absolutely, has to be stressful for you. It's scary. Yes, it's, well, I mean, yeah, because you're trying to plan and you're trying to grow forward and to move forward, and then you have someone that's kind of taking steps and actions and pulling the rug out

from under you. Right. And this is the first time it's ever revolved around money. You know, I never thought that money would ever be a problem. I always thought there would be any other thing, but I never suspected that we would lose all of our money. Right. Well, I think you did do the right thing.

I think in the end, like I said, to, to be able to self preserve, uh, and to, to try to give this marriage a chance. Um, and you don't, you can't keep going backwards. Uh, how is your income? Um, well, we make a total of about a hundred thousand a year. Okay. Um, so, um, I'm never giving up on my husband. Right.

I'm never giving up on him. I totally believe that he can recover. Right. And that's just up to God. But we share our finances, and we're committed to each other. It's just, I mean, addiction is addiction. Right. It doesn't matter what it is.

No, it's hard. And in this, I would say, you know, I'm probably going to advise that you get copies of both of your credit reports. The TriMerge, all three, Experian, TransUnion, as well as Equifax, just to double check and make sure there's not any debt that's been taken out along the lines of this addiction. This is tough. And NJ, you know, I congratulate you and applaud your focus and your resilience. But at the same time, we also have to make sure we're taking steps to prepare and to keep things safe. And so while I think now with the savings, I don't think there's a problem with him being off of that right now as he's working through recovery. And you're going to have to keep your eye on the checking and stay connected so you don't have to make any kind of change there.

But the fact that you guys are still communicating and you're still doing the budgeting and talking, that is a great sign. And I can hear it in your voice that you're tired and you're frustrated as well as scared. And so I'm glad that you have a community around you that you're plugged in on. I'm going to highly suggest you guys do some marriage counseling as well as you work and he works to be able to build trust back in this. But, yes, stay aware. Keep your hand on the pulse of things financial and really, really be intentional with this. And this is a tough spot. And, you know, there are a lot of addictions out there, America,

and a lot of things that people fall into traps with. And I just want to encourage people to reach out and to get help. Like, talk to someone. Get some guidance so you can understand. You don't want to work hard for your whole financial life and get caught up in something that causes you to lose that progress. And so it's real. And I think in America today, the mindset is, is that we'll just get through it and grin and just push through. And there's nothing wrong with asking for help. There's nothing at all. And I think too often times we paint this picture of

this Western cowboy civilization where you have to be tough and you don't ask for help and you just push through. That's false, right? Getting help is what wise people do when you need some guidance or if you need some support as you're walking through something. Life is not meant to be done alone. That's why we talk so much about community. And I firmly believe that that's why Financial Peace University has been as successful as it has been, is it's that community mindset where people understand I'm not alone and none of us are perfect. All of us make mistakes, but we have an opportunity to be able to grow forward when we make changes and you get the right people around you that believe in you. Hello, America. You are listening to The Dave Ramsey Show.

I'm Chris Hogan, filling in for Dave. And we are excited to be here with you. As always, we love taking your calls. So if you've got a money question, or you've got something on your mind that you want to talk about that relates to money or life, I want you to give us a call. That number to call is

888-825-5225. Again, that's 888-825-5225. Or hunt us down on social, all the social medias. We're at Ramsey Show. Our team, obviously, is always out and about across the country at events. And every once in a while, you run into some great stories. I mean, I do.

As I'm doing speaking engagements or our company events, I love bumping into you all out there. And you tell me about just the real things that you've done, what you've accomplished, and I get excited. I know Dave does and Rachel as well. But we had some team members bump into someone that had a fantastic story. And so we invited him to come join us on the show today. And so he's out in the lobby. I've got Mladen out there.

Mladen, how are you, sir? Hey, Chris. How are you? I am fantastic. Thank you so much for coming in and being on the show. I'm so intrigued and I'm impressed by you. You have dealt with some challenges. So let me give people the back story.

So you immigrated from Serbia slash Croatia as a refugee in 1995. And you arrived here at age 24, and you arrived with two bags and $200, and you didn't speak English. How in the world did that happen? So one correction, I came to the country in 2000, not 95. Gotcha. So 19 years ago, and with the help of Catholic Charities as a resettlement agency, I ended up with the U.S. State Department and United Nations. I landed as a refugee in Tampa Bay, Florida. Wow. And you didn't speak English, correct?

I didn't speak any English. Two bags, $200, no friends and no family. How in the world did you do that? Well, it's kind of easier to think about that now, but 19 years ago, it was about saving lives, right? So I, to be honest with you, I didn't have a full perspective of what's happening. But now looking back and looking at the last 19 years, it's just been a fun ride. And I'm very blessed and very thankful and very grateful for my experience in this country. Right now I understand also you you dealt with some some tragedy and and things back there before you came what happened to you that caused you to to to immigrate here?

So I am a refugee from the civil war in former Yugoslavia that started back in 91, in 91 in Croatia, and ended in 99 in Kosovo. So that's the kind of the civil war was the origination of my story or how I ended up here. Let me ask you, prior to coming to America, what was your perception of the American way of life? I will tell you, I grew up in a communist country, right? So the best or the only connection was, you know, watching some of the American movies. That was the extent of what I understood or knew about this society. Okay. Now, once you got here, okay, and I can't imagine coming here, not speaking the language,

leaving civil war, right? You get here. What was your perception of America once you were here on the soil? So I will tell you, you know, watching the media for me some days is really difficult because dealing with the real people, real society, communities, it's something completely different. I will tell you that I have been given so many chances and so much help, guidance, and support from every person that I met in the last 19 years. Wow.

And that is truly inspiring about, I would argue, about the future of this country and this society. So I would say only support and guidance is everything that I receive from anybody. I had a case manager from Catholic Charities assigned to me, and that was my beginning to help me with the driver license, get the first apartment, get the first job, and actually teach me and give me the perspective about the life in this country. Because when you come from the place where I came from, you simply don't have a concept or construct of how the society works. Wow. So you get here, you get help, and you're absolutely right. None of us get anywhere by

ourselves. So you run into some great people along the way. How did you begin to pursue your education? I mean, you went on to get a master's degree, correct? Correct. So I was in Kosovo, and I got my bachelor's degree there. And when I came here, I knew education was very important to me from early ages. And that's how, you know, my parents raised me to value of education and contribution to the society. So I knew that my first order of business is to provide for me and my wife in terms of, you know, living. But the long term is about, you know, gaining more education. And through that education, also to learn about society and become part of

this society. So my first order of business was to learn English so that I can go back to school and get my degree. So I did exactly that. And I got my master's degree in business economics from University of South Florida. Gotcha. And you just didn't go to school. You were working a couple of jobs, weren't you? Yeah, so I was actually working two jobs for the first six, seven years in this country, and got my master's degree in record amount of time with 3.8 GPA.

Oh, that's pretty good. That's showing off, Maladon, right there. That's good. Now, listen, you were working at night, right, in a kitchen? I was working actually weekends in the kitchen. In the kitchen. And I was going to the school night. Wow.

How did you get connected with Dave Ramsey's information? So I will tell you, I was searching online as I was learning about society, economy, and business in this country, and I stumbled right to Dave Ramsey. And I read a couple of books, and then I discovered the show. And I will tell you, even to this day, as I'm getting ready to work, I listen for 10, 15 minutes, and it just helps me, and it connects, right? And it kind of validates every single morning for me that I chose the right path, and I believe that this is the right path. Well, I will also, if I can, sorry, Chris, just one more comment.

I think it's important, right? So I don't have, I have wife and two kids now that were born in this country, and that's my family here. I don't have, I have a wife and two kids now that were born in this country and that's my family here. I don't have family here. All of my family is throughout the world now is a refugee situation and in Europe. And I think about this show and people on the show, right? His whole team is kind of extended part of my family. That is fantastic, my friend. You come here under tough situations and circumstances with little money, no family, don't speak the language, yet you make some

decisions for yourself and not only for you, but for your family. For all the people listening, would you please let people know what your net worth is, Malad? $2.1 million now. You, my friend, are an everyday millionaire. You are the kind of person that I talk about in the book. You exemplify that, my friend, to come here with $200, not speaking the language, and you work. It's not an accident. You sacrificed. You's not an accident. You sacrificed.

You gave up a lot. And you made a statement about your family and your legacy. And you're now an everyday millionaire. I'm very, very proud of you for what you've done. And, Mladen, when people ask, is the American dream still alive and available, what do you tell them? I would say that I am, in a way, a living testimony that American Dream is alive and well. And one of the reasons why I wanted to come and talk to you guys is really to send a message to everybody out there that if you work hard, if you follow the rules, if you believe and have some fun along the way, you can make it happen.

Absolutely. Mladen, thank you for joining me. That is absolutely a testament to the whole theory of an everyday millionaire. Comes here under dire circumstances, $200 in his pocket, not speaking the language, but gets plugged in, has some help along the way. Don't miss that part of the story, America. Has some help along the way, but he keeps making some choices, making some sacrifices and doing things, as he said, following things the right way, having a plan, being focused, being committed. And you go from

$200 in your pocket to $2.2 million as a net worth. America, when you hear that the American dream is no longer available, I want you to say that that's a lie because it's available and it's alive and you can have it as well. This is the Dave Ramsey show. Thank you. Hello, America. You are listening to The Dave Ramsey Show. I'm Chris Hogan, filling in for Dave. And if you missed it, we just had Maladon on. A gentleman immigrated here from Serbia slash Croatia and went from $200 in his pocket to a net worth of $2.2 million. And it's not an accident.

And I just I love that story. I love the motivation. I love the encouragement. Because if you're out there, right, and you speak the language, right, and you have more than $200 in your pocket and you have opportunity, then that means that you're available. You can do this. And that's the kind of stuff that I talk about in my most recent book, Everyday Millionaires, how ordinary people built extraordinary wealth, but how you can too.

And that's the thing that I want people to not only hear, but get it in your heart, in your spirit and believe it. Because I think there are three things that happen. If you can believe that you can, regardless of where you went to school, regardless of where you were born or the family you were born into, if you believe that you can and you gain your knowledge, right, you grow your knowledge and you gain it and then you take the right actions, you too can become an everyday millionaire. And you could be the very first one in your family.

You could be the one that is the trailblazer that begins that. But what you have to do is to think different. Because if you don't think that it's available to you, then a lot of people won't try. And that's what I love about this book. The stories in there, the information, the stories are the most amazing thing thing because it's telling you about real life people and what they've done so if you've not read it pick it up dig into it it's an opportunity for you to learn and you can get it at my website chrishogan360.com and learn more about the book all right i'm back on the phones because i have people with questions and i need to talk to them. I've got Megan in Louisville, Kentucky. Megan, how are you?

I'm good. How are you? I am good, young lady. How can I help you today? I have a 403B from where I was employed at a church before me and my husband moved. Yes, ma'am. And I'm no longer able to contribute to it, so it's just sitting there right now. Uh-huh. no longer able to contribute to it. So it's just sitting there right now. And we are in the process of paying down debt.

We have our house payment and a car payment and some medical debt from the birth of our son. So the 403B, if we took it out after penalties and taxes, would pay off our car. But it is the only retirement that I have because I am now part-time and watching my son. So I wanted to know, should we take it out and pay off the car, or should we roll it over into another retirement account? Okay. How much do you owe on this car? Around $8,500. Okay. And what's the payment on that? It is $200,500. Okay. And what's the payment on that? It is $200 a month.

Okay. And how much do you have in this 403B? Around $13,000, $13,300. Okay. Now, let me answer your question directly, Megan. I love the fact that you guys are wanting to get out of debt, that you understand that interest that you pay is a penalty, right? The interest that you earn is a reward, but I don't want you to pull money out of the 403B. Okay. I don't. And the reason why is a couple of things. Number one, it stops it from growing, right? And what's your age?

I'm 33. Okay. 33 years young. You've got time. I want this money to keep growing for you. So the step I would take is I would roll that over into an IRA. You can reach out to a SmartVestor Pro and walk through that process. Because we're saying roll it over because you don't ever want to cash it out. All right? Okay. And let me tell you this.

A lot of people won't walk through this. If you have $13,000 in there and let's say you decided to pull that money out, do you know in reality you would probably end up with around $6,500? Yeah, we talked to someone already, and they told us how much we would end up with. Isn't that crazy? That's how much you end up losing in penalties and fees? Not to mention that you tap Uncle Sam on the shoulder. So, no. I want you guys to get focused.

What's your household income? We make about $4,700 a month. Okay, and how much do you owe on the home? We just bought it, so we owe about $140, maybe $135. All right, and do you know the payment for that home? Yeah, it's $900 a month. Okay. So, see, with where you are and how much in medical debt do you guys have?

Oh, I couldn't tell you that off the top of my head. We're on payment plans. Okay. Well, the mindset is leave that money alone in the 403B. Roll it over into an IRA. You guys, from a budgeting standpoint, you get focused on attacking this car and then I want you to drive this car, Megan. Like, don't think about upgrading or anything. We're going to attack car and then you guys are going to move on and build up your fully funded

emergency fund at baby step three. Then you can start investing again. Okay, so you've got some options in front of you, but I'm glad you called me. I'm glad you called before you pulled that money out because that would have been a situation, right? You don't want a situation. We want progress. Thank you for your call. And Megan, I'm going to send you my new book, Everyday Millionaires, how ordinary people built extraordinary wealth and how you can too. Because on the path, you and your husband, you can do this.

The American dream is alive and it's available. Next up, I've got Brandon out in Utah. Brandon, how are you? Great, and yourself? I am focused and not finished, my friend. How can I help you? Good. Just a quick question.

I've got a great problem on my hands. All right. I recently inherited from a grandfather enough money to pay my mortgage off. Okay. But where I'm at right now, I have no debt other than my home. And the issue I've got now is I've got kids that are now getting into college age years. I've got a 20-year-old, I've got a 16-year-old, a 13-year-old, and a 6-year-old. But I have no funds put away for them for college.

I guess my question is, do I treat that inheritance as income and just put 15% towards retirement, some of it towards college, or do I just pay the mortgage off and go forward and then just cash flow everything else? Okay. All right. You're right. You do have a good problem. So tell me this.

How much do you owe on the home? $93,000. Okay. And how much did you inherit? About $90,000. Okay. It home? $93,000. Okay. And how much did you inherit? About $90,000. Okay. It's about $3,000. And I've got my emergency fund so I could take out a little bit to pay it off,

but I could be completely debt-free tomorrow if I wanted to, and then just from here on out start paying for schooling. That's right. Okay. So how much is your mortgage payment? It's only $680 a month. Okay, how much have you been paying? I haven't been paying any extra at all.

You haven't? Okay. No. How old are you, Brandon? 45. 45 years young. And I have about $245 in retirement. So I always feel like I'm behind on retirement. So do I put a bigger chunk of that towards retirement? Or, you know, I always feel like I said, I always feel like I'm behind on retirement, so do I put a bigger chunk of that towards retirement?

Or, you know, I always feel like I said, I always feel like I'm behind on retirement. Right. Well, I mean, looking at this, it's that mindset. Remember, retirement's not an age, it's a financial number, and you're moving in that direction. You've got $245,000. What's your household income? A combined of about $105,000. Okay, $105,000. Brandon, your household income? A combined of about $105,000. Okay. $105,000. Brandon, I'm going to pay that house off.

Oh, sweet. I want to be weird. Yes. I want you to be weird, too. It's been a lifelong dream. Yes. I would pay off that house like you said and then start to cash flow, saving toward college. Because remember, there's not a law that says you've got to pay for college.

No, no, no. Kids have got to do their part with their grades and their scholarships and there's grants and there's community college and so yes you've got an incredible opportunity uh to be a hundred percent debt free then you start cash flowing and and redirecting the 680 dollars that was going to the mortgage now towards saving for college right and? And you're already investing. And at that 15% mark, you've got an opportunity to be super weird, my friend, and put yourself on a pace to become an everyday millionaire. So yes, definitely pay off that house and be able to move forward. And then you don't have any debt, right? All you're paying then is taxes and property

insurance, right? And you're different. And at and property insurance, right? And you're different. And at 45 years old, you own your home. You see, people tell me all the time, the American dream is home ownership. Yeah, it's right. Not home buyership, people. Home ownership. It's to own that bad boy, right? Where they send you the deed and everything, and it's yours. There's a different mindset with that. And so I want people to be, I want more weird people in America walking around, doing what they want to do, living the kind of life they want, where they're able to help and give to others and make an impact on people's lives. I like this. Brandon, thank you for reaching out, my friend. And I want you to definitely reach out and let us know once you've paid off that home.

I'd love a picture of you out in the grass with your shoes off, just feeling it, right? Because it's different. It's a different mindset. Well, listen, I want to thank James Childs, our producer, associate producer Kelly Daniel, and, of course, you, America. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for your calls. This has been The Dave Ramsey Show. Hey, it's Kelly,

associate producer and phone screener for The Dave Ramsey Show. If you would like to do your debt-free scream live on the show, make sure you visit DaveRamsey.com slash show and register. We would love for you to come to Nashville and tell Dave your story.