The Ramsey Show - App - From Hungry and Reluctant to Debt Free in 8 Months! (Hour 3)

Episode Date: November 21, 2018

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Dave Ramsey Show. Where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I am Dave Ramsey, your host. Thank you for joining us. Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Welcome to a Thanksgiving Eve edition of the Dave Ramsey Show. One of your tickets onto the show today is to not only get past Laura,
Starting point is 00:01:00 but of course also tell us what you are thankful for. Bethany starts off this hour in Phoenix. Hi, Bethany. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. What are you thankful for? A lot of things. I have my kids and my husband, a roof over my head, and food in my kitchen. So I'm doing well.
Starting point is 00:01:22 Yeah. Amen. I love it. How can I help today? I feel like I'm calling in with a first world problem now. That's okay. It's all good. I'm having a really big dilemma about our car situation because I don't know how to solve it without going into debt and I really don't want to get more debt onto our plate. I just don't see how we're going to do this. So we have a vehicle, and we have to have a vehicle that has a third row
Starting point is 00:01:49 because we have four young kids we have to fit in the back. And right now there's about $3,500 worth of fixes we have to do to it, which is more than what it's worth right now. And so we're trying to figure out... Do you have $3,500? Do we fix it? No, we don't. We've been saving $1,000 about four or five different times this year,
Starting point is 00:02:16 and it's just the year of Murphy's Law for some reason for us. And every time we get that $1,000, it gets wiped out with another emergency. So we're back to saving that $1,000 again right now. So you have how many kids? And so now we're four. And what's your household income? Combined is about, oh, $88,000 to $89,000 before taxes. Gotcha.
Starting point is 00:02:37 Okay. And you have one car or two? We have two cars. Okay. All right. Good. And so the beater with enough room for the four kids, they're saying it's worth $3,500, but they're saying there's $3,500 worth of repairs. No, they're saying if everything was fixed, it'd be worth $3,500.
Starting point is 00:02:58 We wouldn't do that. And it's going to cost us about $3,500. Well, that's absurd. You would never spend $3,500 on a $3,500 car, so we wouldn't fix everything. What's wrong with it? What's keeping it from running? Is it running? It's running, but we were at the point where the water pump is leaking, which is the biggest problem, and that needs to be done right away.
Starting point is 00:03:19 And we were going to fix that because that was just under $1,000. But now it just failed emissions, and I can't even re-register it. So I'm actually driving it on an expired registration right now until we can get the catalytic converter fixed, which is another $1,000. And then the power steering rack and pinion need to be changed as well. Well, that's always gone on a car that's worn out, and that car's worn out. Yeah, and so that one I knew we could wait a couple months on the power steering rack, but the water pump and the catwalk converter.
Starting point is 00:03:47 So I would sell the car as is. I think the car as is will probably bring two or three grand. Okay, because Kelley Blue Book value is telling me like $1,000 is what we could get out of it since it's not passing emissions. Well, I mean, I'm not sure Kelley Blue Book is accurate when we're dealing with a piece of junk like this. Okay. So, I mean, it's a car that's worth anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000.
Starting point is 00:04:10 You've got the emissions, but there are most people that put a catalytic converter on that car are going to do it themselves. That is not a car you take to a mechanic and spend $1,000 on to pass emissions. Okay. Well, and my husband thinks he might be able to figure out the catalytic converter himself. Okay. That would be okay, too. So that's another thing that we're looking at. That would be okay, too.
Starting point is 00:04:32 And so, you know, what I would do, if he could do that for a couple of hundred dollars and you can get this water pump fixed some other way. The water pump for $1,000 sounds a little rich to me. Right. Like, that's a lot for a water pump for $1,000 sounds a little rich to me. Like, that's a lot for a water pump. And they told us it's because they basically have to take out almost the whole engine, so it's mostly labor, not necessarily the part. Because it's the way the engine is fit into the engine compartment.
Starting point is 00:04:57 Right. It's like a van. It's a Honda Pilot. Yeah, yeah, it's a van. Okay. All right. Well, I'm going to get another bid or two and try to get this water pump going and get this catalytic converter going for $1,000 combined instead of $2,000 combined,
Starting point is 00:05:20 and then I'm going to sell it. Okay. And we'll sell it for $3,500, and I'm going to take the $3,500 and buy a different car for $3,500. Because you don't have any money. And no, I'm not going to tell you to go into debt. I know you're frustrated. I know this is driving you crazy.
Starting point is 00:05:36 But you've also got a mechanic here that's giving you ridiculous advice. Anybody that seriously suggests. That wire pump was from two different quotes, so they were pretty similar. Anybody that suggests you spend $3,500 on this car is not giving you sincere advice. Okay. That's absurd. I mean, it's asinine, and you knew it, right?
Starting point is 00:05:56 You knew not to do it. Yeah, and that's why we're not going to spend that money on a car that's going to break down again in another month. Well, they might all break down. You never know, but we're not going to spend thirty five hundred dollars on a thirty five hundred dollar car that's just nuts you know not even gonna spend two thousand dollars on thirty five hundred dollar car so let's get her patched up and get her sold because this one's about you've about run out of emotional energy with this car but you're not going to get a whole
Starting point is 00:06:20 lot better car for the same kind of money with a whole four kids. So it's going to still be a struggle for now. The good news is you make $88,000, and this is not a forever issue. Right. But right now, you've just got this piece of junk hovering in the driveway, and you've got to deal with it. Okay. But I think you've run out of energy with this car. It's just enough to sell it, get a better piece of junk, and then save up our money in the meantime, right?
Starting point is 00:06:47 Exactly. And if you want to stop your debt snowball for right now, because this is a household emergency right now, and say, well, we've got to have an extra $1,000 to fix this car, and we really need to pile another $1,000 up and add with the sale of this car and move up a tiny bit in car or save up $2,000 and move up a tiny bit in car and fix it, drive it for a month, you know, and that kind of thing. But real quickly, not a six-month plan, but within the next 60 to 90 days, let's have this thing fixed, have it get get out of here and move up a little bit but always in cash do not let this push you back into car payment land that is not the answer to your long-term plan it is the answer to your short-term pain and your short-term frustration
Starting point is 00:07:38 it absolutely would fix that having a car payment would fix that but it's not the answer to your long-term best interest for your family. So don't cave. Don't let the pressure push you into doing something dumb. And you're very close to that point. Thanks for the call. Folks, while you're traveling or spending time with family and friends on Thanksgiving, get them something meaningful for Christmas.
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Starting point is 00:09:47 and receive 50% off your first month. That's from Blinds.com. Find out for yourself why Blinds.com is the number one online retailer of custom window coverings. You get free samples, free shipping, and with the new promos they run every month, you'll save even more. Use the promo code Ramsey to get the best possible deal. Rules and restrictions apply. Today's question is from Kevin in North Carolina. What are your thoughts on a family reverse mortgage where the family members are buying the equity in a parent's house and providing the parents access to the equity? Is there a company that helps facilitate this? And I
Starting point is 00:10:59 am curious as to your thoughts about it. Listen, what is happening here is you're trying to hold on to a house that somebody can't afford. If you guys simply want to send your parents some money and they agree to deed you the house upon their death, or they can deed it to you now, giving themselves a life estate, meaning they get to stay in the house as long as they're alive, and you already have the house in your name, and then you just send them money, you agree to take care of them, that's fine. But I would not set up a formal reverse mortgage where the family sends them a set amount of
Starting point is 00:11:46 money that is contracted. Um, I don't get into families loaning other family members money. Uh, the borrower is slave to the lender and you are getting ready to create some weird toxic relationship situations. So, but if mom and dad say,
Starting point is 00:12:03 Hey, we're going to gift you that we're going to give you this house at death anyway. So we want to go ahead and deed it to you now and keep a life estate. And in return, you agree to take care of us or you just agree to take care of us and you send us the money. Because the problem with deeding it before death is, is that you get as a gifted property, you inherit their basis, what they paid for it. So you're going to create a capital gains problem when you guys sell it later by doing it early. I'd prefer you wait and receive it upon their death, and then the stepped-up basis is market value at the time of death.
Starting point is 00:12:37 And so that's the best way to do it, but it requires a different level of trust because you're sending money to someone, and they could change the will, and you don't get the house. That could happen. And so there's a lot of different things you can do there. You could meet with an estate planner and try to structure it with a little more teeth in it. But no, I'm not going to tell you to do a family reverse mortgage. There's two things wrong with that, family and reverse mortgage. Just the sentence gives me willies.
Starting point is 00:13:08 All right, Tristan is in Lexington, Kentucky. Hi, Tristan. How are you? I'm doing good. How are you doing? Better than I deserve. What's up? I wanted to go ahead and say that I'm thankful for my wife and family.
Starting point is 00:13:22 I had a question. I'm a senior nursing student, and I was wondering the best way to pay for grad school. Okay, cool. And so you're going to graduate LPN or RN? RN. Okay. And so what are you going to grad school for? Nurse and ethicist.
Starting point is 00:13:39 Oh, very nice. Very nice. That's a great career field. Okay. And so how expensive is that? It's going to be about $78,000 to $89,000. Mm-hmm. Okay. And I assume working as a nurse while you're doing that probably won't work, will it?
Starting point is 00:13:57 Correct. Okay. And how old are you? I'm 21, and my wife's 20. Wow. Okay. Good for you. And what is her financial situation, or her career situation?
Starting point is 00:14:15 She's a nursing tech at the University of Kentucky. Okay. What does she make? She makes about $20,000 before taxes. Okay. All right. Well, probably not a popular suggestion, but most of the things I talk about on this show aren't. What I would do in your shoes is either I would find a hospital company that wants a nurse anesthetist to work for them for the next couple of years,
Starting point is 00:14:43 and I would agree to work for them for a few years. In return, they agree to pay your tuition. And that's not that unusual because, as you know, there is a shortage of nurse anesthetists. And so I think that that probably would work. You know, somebody like an HCA type thing or something along those lines, right? And, you know, you might end up agreeing to work in a rural area for a period of time, but you got free school out of it. And you don't want to give up 10 years,
Starting point is 00:15:11 but if you agree to work for them for two years after graduation, then you got free school, then that's a pretty good signing bonus, you know? That's one way to do it. And then you head straight into school. Second way to do it is pretty simple. You just come out and get your RN and go make $80,000, which you could do. I mean, you'd just be working all the time. Just pick up three jobs as a nurse.
Starting point is 00:15:31 You know, pick up ER time on the weekends and overnights, and you can pile up money very, very quickly, a lot of money. RNs, you know, you pick up OT everywhere. You know what I'm talking about. So you take a regular job to get something doing 312s, and that's your full-time, the 36-hour deal, you know what I'm talking about, right? Yes, sir. And then pick up overnights in the ER and that kind of thing,
Starting point is 00:15:56 and you can make your $80,000 in one year and then just stop and then quit and go to work, go to school, pay for it, and live off your wife's income for food at that point but um i think it's a great career track and if i and since you've got a heart for it and it's you know it's in your crosshairs it's what you want to do i i'm gonna push you to do it but i am not gonna push you to borrow money to do it i'm gonna tell you find a way to do it without borrowing money and there's two possible ways i laid on the table. There's probably others, but that's two I came up with off the top of my head. Harry is with us in Virginia.
Starting point is 00:16:29 Hi, Harry. How are you? Good, dude. Thanks for my wife and my two kids. Good. How can I help? Got a question from my mother-in-law. She's debating about paying off a mortgage or not and whether it would be a good decision.
Starting point is 00:16:42 She has $130,000 left on the house. She has $36,000 set aside in the savings account. She has no debt, no car payment, no credit cards, and she has about $240,000 in retirement. And I'm just concerned if she does that, she's going to not leave a whole lot. It doesn't. I'm with you.
Starting point is 00:17:03 I don't like it. How old is she? Okay. She's probably in her early 60s. Is doesn't. I'm with you. I don't like it. How old is she? Okay. She's probably in her early 60s. Is she still working? Not exactly sure. Sorry? Are they still working?
Starting point is 00:17:13 No. In her early 60s? She's retired. In her early 60s? Yeah. Okay. I could be wrong. She might be in her mid-60s.
Starting point is 00:17:23 Okay. So she has retirement. So she has Social Security coming in? Yeah. That's the thing with her budget. It's kind of real tight with Social Security, and it's pretty much nothing left, if not a little bit negative each month. Okay. And your father-in-law's not in the picture? No, he's passed away. Okay. And so she's there by herself. How long has she had this house?
Starting point is 00:17:46 Yep. A couple years. She had sold another property and moved down and just got another mortgage, paid probably about half the house and got a mortgage for the rest of it. Mm-hmm. Okay. Hi. Does she have any other income?
Starting point is 00:18:02 She doesn't. That's it. Social Security and the income off her nest egg. Yep, that's it. Okay. I'm just wondering if she should keep it and just try to, you know, go off to whatever the nest egg makes and just pay that down as she goes. I mean, she's in good health.
Starting point is 00:18:16 Yeah. I mean, that's an okay thing to do. Moving down again is an okay thing to do to where it's within striking distance. It only leaves her $100,000, and I'm with you. It scares me. She's awfully young to only have $100,000 and really no income potential. Yeah. That's bothersome.
Starting point is 00:18:35 I mean, if she was still making bank, you know, and she had a few years to recover, she told me, I talked to a guy yesterday, he's like 68, he's making $200,000, right? Yeah. And he was going to work two more years. And yeah, you can do a lot with that, right? But right now, she's not got any money coming in. And to leave her with only 100 grand but a paid-for house means she really can't afford that house is what that means. So I might sit there for a couple years.
Starting point is 00:18:58 I also might move down. I don't think I want to end up with only 100 grand, though. I don't think I want to end up with only $100,000, though. I don't think so. I want her to have that house paid off as bad as anybody, but not at the point of that. It may be that she's bid off more house than she can chew, given that she has no income, she's not working anymore, and so forth. No more nest egg than she's got. So, basically what we're saying is that 70% of her net worth would be tied up in her home if she paid this off. That's where it would leave her. That's pretty dangerous.
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Starting point is 00:20:43 Go to Zander.com In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions, Christopher and Marilyn are with us. Hey, guys. How are you? Happy Thanksgiving. Hi. What are you thankful for? Really, your program. You.
Starting point is 00:21:21 Oh, now. What are you guys thankful for, really? Being able to see our family this holiday. There you go. It's been pretty. Oh, now. What are you guys thankful for, really? Being able to see our family this holiday. There you go. It's been pretty busy. Very cool. Well, welcome. Welcome to Nashville.
Starting point is 00:21:30 Where are you from? Fort Worth, Texas. Very good. Good to have you. And how much debt have you paid off? $42,361. $61. Love it.
Starting point is 00:21:39 And how long did this take? Ten months. Ten months. And what was your range of income during that time? I started at under $30,000 and went to $120,000. Whoa! Explain that. Like you didn't have jobs and you got them?
Starting point is 00:21:51 Well, we actually both had jobs. They weren't very good jobs, but we had jobs. So I was working part-time as a reading interventionist, and then I drove for a lift, like supplemental income, and then he was working. I was working at a rail yard painting railroad cars pretty much. And then I went back to my old profession, went back as an environmental site safety consulting for a drilling company. Okay. Yeah, and then I got my job as a teacher back again, an art teacher. Ah, okay.
Starting point is 00:22:18 So boom, boom. Here we go. Big careers. Okay. Very cool. So how long have you two been married? Two and a half years. Good, good. And what kind of how long have you two been married? Two and a half years. Good.
Starting point is 00:22:25 Good. And what kind of debt was the $42,000? We had student loans, credit cards, medical bills. What else was there? Family loans. Family loans. We had financed our cell phones. Man, you were like normal. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:22:39 Yeah, pretty much. So what happened 10 months ago? Well, it happened a little bit further back. We had gotten married, and then right after we got married, we were living in Oklahoma, and I said, I want to go back to Texas. And so we took a family loan. We got there. We got a rent house, even though neither one of us had jobs yet.
Starting point is 00:22:58 They gave us a rent house, which was nice, but probably not the best decision on their part. We got our jobs that we had, and then we couldn't make ends meet. It got to a point to where we were paying our bills instead of buying groceries. And we had gotten to a point to where we were like, Something's got to change. Yeah, two meals a day will work, and three meals, we'll just do that when we have more money. Wow. And so it got to a point, so we were forced out of that one rent home and we
Starting point is 00:23:25 found a 900 or 900 square foot teeny tiny little house and that's where it all started okay and so what what prompted you to actually start paying off the debt i i hear the pain and i hear the story and being broke but then what what was the day that the light switch flipped well i think well one day when we were in our bigger rent house uh we came i came home and we were gonna get something to eat and i looked at our bank account and it was negative and i had always had something like extra in a savings account that i could just transfer over and bump us up from negative and this time we didn't have anything and so like you know when you have no money and it's dinner time and there's nothing to do that was one of like the scariest moments it's like this can't work and so it was
Starting point is 00:24:11 like a sink or swim kind of thing yeah okay and so how'd you get connected to us i mean i've always heard your name uh and a lot of faith i don't know why, but you started popping up on my Facebook feed. And I was like, well, maybe that's a sign. Okay. All right. And so you just jumped online and learned how to do the budget or what? Tell me what happened. I mean, kind of. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:24:35 I got your financial peace university. I went through that. We went through that. I actually couldn't get him on board at first. I was reluctant. He was very reluctant. Very set in my ways. Hungry, but reluctant. Right, exactly. I bought the audio book and I said, hey, just listen to the first chapter. That's all I'm asking.
Starting point is 00:24:56 And then after that, it was easy. Everything made sense and I just kind of fell in line with everything else. The less I fought it, the easier it became. And after that, it, the easier it became. After that, it was game over. I was set and hooked on it. Very cool. Once you started that, then, it's a hot knife through butter because the careers start kicking in, the income shoots up, and that day with negative checking balance seems like it's a long time ago.
Starting point is 00:25:22 Yeah, it does. Well done. What do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? Don't fight the system because it works. Follow the system. Be able to tell yourself no. Have some self-control. It goes a long ways.
Starting point is 00:25:36 Yeah, and then probably just educating yourself because if you don't know any better you don't do any better. Once I got Financial Peace and I read the Total Money Makeover, I read Chris Hogan's book, Retired Inspired, your daughter's book. I'm looking forward to Chris Hogan's book coming out in January because I'm going to read that too. Yeah, you'll be an everyday millionaire soon. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:56 Way to go. Way to go, you guys. Outside of the two of you, who was your biggest cheerleaders as you were doing this? Our parents. Yeah, well, and they didn't really know what we were doing but like my parents for like last christmas um my stepmom convinced my dad that for a good christmas gift he should forgive our personal loan he'd given us so he didn't know that we were doing this really but he helped us and then uh my mom at the end of our debt-free snowball she sent me a text one day saying, hey, I paid off the rest of your student loans just randomly.
Starting point is 00:26:26 And I was like, oh, my gosh. Okay. Wow. So they helped us quite a bit. Oh, that's neat. That helps with attraction, too. Very good. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:26:33 Well, congratulations. Well, we're proud of you. So you're going to get another copy of Chris's book, Retire Inspired. This one will be signed by him. Oh, cool. And keep that in the bookshelf and give the other one away. Yeah. Perfect stuff. And because we want this bookshelf and give the other one away. Yeah. Perfect stuff.
Starting point is 00:26:46 And because we want this chapter, this debt chapter is closed forever. Never reopen it. And the next chapter is the wealth building chapter. And you will become everyday millionaires now. And outrageously generous as you go along. So, very well done. Well, we are very proud of y'all. How old are you?
Starting point is 00:27:03 27? I'm 28. I'm fixing to be 31. Okay. All right. Perfect. Good. Way to go.
Starting point is 00:27:10 Well done, well done. All right, it's Christopher and Marilyn. $42,000 paid off in 10 months, making $30,000 to $120,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt-free! Oh, I love it.
Starting point is 00:27:34 Love it, love it, love it. Well done, you two. Very, very well done. You know, I have run into that a few times. And their story is really inspiring. What they've done in a very short period of time. Once you change your thinking, everything changes, she said. That's really brilliant.
Starting point is 00:27:54 You have to have new information plugged into the system, right? And you have to plug, and he said you have to then submit yourself to the proven system. You don't do it-ish. And I've run into that a bunch of times. I will tell you this. If you're out there and you're listening to me maybe today for the very first time, or you know someone that is where they were when they said they had no food in the house and a negative balance, you should never allow yourself to get there. And that's not to beat on them,
Starting point is 00:28:26 but I just want you to be real clear. Food is the first thing on your budget. Before you buy anything else, before you pay anyone else, you buy food. Before you pay the rent, before you pay the lights and the water, before you pay the student loans, before you worry about your FICO score, before you worry about something going into collections, before you worry about the person calling you and yelling at you on the phone, before you worry about anything, before you prioritize something wrong,
Starting point is 00:29:05 food is first. As long as you have $10 coming into your house, buy food. Food is first. Then you pay your utilities, lights and water. Then you pay your rent. Then you cover your transportation costs, whether that's car payment or just car gas and car insurance. Food, utilities, shelter, transportation.
Starting point is 00:29:45 I'm old. When I was in the seventh grade, we took a class called civics. And they taught us about the necessities. What are the necessities? Food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and utilities. You start with those. Then you work through the rest of this. The rest of this stuff is just a Monopoly game, and you're either winning or you're behind.
Starting point is 00:30:09 But you eat first. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. Our scripture of the day, Psalm 118.1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Frank Clark said, If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get. Well, that would be the truth. That's a contentment issue, isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get. Well, that would be the truth. That's a contentment issue, isn't it?
Starting point is 00:31:08 But it's interesting how gratitude, being thankful, is tied to contentment. The more grateful you are, the more you have a tendency to be content. And contentment is not lack of ambition. It is not lack of initiative. It is not lack of wanting to better yourself. Contentment is, I'm just thankful. This is good. I'm very content, but I'm very driven simultaneously.
Starting point is 00:31:33 Those are not on the same spectrum. They're not opposite ends of some kind of an equation. Jessica is with us in Boca Raton. Hi, Jessica. What are you thankful for? Hi, Dave. I are you thankful for? Hi, Dave. I'm thankful God brought me my husband.
Starting point is 00:31:48 Amen. How can I help? Recently, within the last year, I became power of attorney for my grandmother and my father. It's very overwhelming. My dad is 61, and he has early stages of dementia. And I'm just worried that he's going to run out of money. He lived his whole life basically by your program debt free. He has about $108,000 in a Roth IRA and his house is paid for. I put him in assisted living about two days ago and my husband and I were just discussing how we can best honor his dream.
Starting point is 00:32:26 I would hate to sell his property and use all of his money to just give it away to an assisted living. We don't know if it would be, you know, best to do that, or if we could just possibly buy a big property and, you know, basically take care of him, or if there's any other suggestions that you might have. Mm-hmm. Okay. Well, let me first correct you on one thing, and that is that assisted living is not wasted money any more than going to a restaurant and buying food. If you buy food at a restaurant, you pay them because they provided you a service.
Starting point is 00:33:02 And when you get a nurse and a doc and a staff taking care of him, his dream was to be able to take care of himself, and he has done that. What's the property worth? It's probably about $180,000. I only got one quote from a real estate agent. It could be worth a little bit more if we fix it up a little bit. Okay. And he's 61?
Starting point is 00:33:30 Yes. So this is early onset. Yes. He took care of his parents for 10 years. My grandfather's passed, but I now take care of his mother as well. Okay. Well, her finances are a separate equation, correct? Yes. Okay. Well, her finances are a separate equation, correct? Yes.
Starting point is 00:33:45 Okay. Sticking with his, I don't think he's going to outlive his money. You? Okay. I'm not sure. What's the assisted living cost? It's about $4,000 a month, and then it goes up from there. If he needs to be put in a memory care, it could be over $5,000. Okay. And so $50,000 a year, and you have $300.
Starting point is 00:34:18 Six years. That's six years. Yes. And that's what his assets are for us to take care of him correct now if you guys want to bring him home if you guys want to bring him myself i'm sorry he always wanted to give me and my husband the house yeah um and the money so we didn't know if it would be best to live together um and bring in some help or to keep him where he is well fifty thousand dollars you might can pull that off you know um if you want to take on that extra emotional burden um and so
Starting point is 00:34:54 forth but the um uh i mean the day-to-day care of him being in the home even with help would cost less than fifty thousand but it would cost it would be a drain on you guys emotionally and on your family, right? Yes, it would. And we have three small kids. We have to take them into account. Yeah. Do you have a room?
Starting point is 00:35:14 We don't. We would have to sell our property and most likely buy something bigger. What's your household income? We own a small business, and so it, you know, basically it shifts around a little bit, but I would say we bring in, the business brings in about $200,000. Okay, all right, and that's your profit? Yes. Okay. No, no, no, I'm sorry, that's the business. Okay, so what's your household income? What do you make? What's your taxable income? It's about $60,000. Okay. All right. And what's Grandma's finances?
Starting point is 00:35:49 She has $80,000. And she's in a nursing home? She is. Okay. And hers is about $41.50 a month. Okay. And so that $80,000 is burning pretty quick. Very quick.
Starting point is 00:36:04 Yeah, she's got about two years burn time. Yeah. Okay. And then she'll be on Medicaid. Yes. I assume. Okay. And how old is she?
Starting point is 00:36:16 She's 88. Okay. All right. Well, the average nursing home stay is less than two years average. And so I think you're wise to watch their money very, very carefully on their behalf. And that's a very kind thing for you to do. I would not panic today. And no, I wouldn't move my family today.
Starting point is 00:36:48 So if I'm in your shoes, what would I do? And that's why I'll answer questions here. I would use his $108,000 first, then I'd put his house on the market. And at that point, I would decide if I wanted to move and bring him into my house. But let's watch the progress of his dementia for two years. Because you've got two plus years of money here. Because he's also got Social Security coming in. That's how much?
Starting point is 00:37:13 $1,500? He gets just less. He's on disability, and he gets just under $2,000. Okay. So that's half of it. So our burn rate is not six years. You've got about an eight- or a nine-year burn rate. Okay.
Starting point is 00:37:28 Now, is his house sufficient to house everybody, you and him too? No, it's just a small condo, and we tried letting him live at home, and we brought in private paid nurses, but unfortunately he stopped letting in the nurses, and he was about an hour and a half away from me. Yeah, okay. All right. And so what are you going to do with that condo for the next two years? We would still have to pay an HOA of about $250 just to keep it, plus taxes, which I'm not sure what that amount is. So let me ask you this. If you sold it now and you put that money in an account
Starting point is 00:38:07 and he passed away the next month, would that money not go to you? It would. I'm his only child. Yeah. And if he were to pass away while he's still on the condo, you're not going to keep that condo anyway. Correct. I can't rent it out.
Starting point is 00:38:22 Right. And so you need to go ahead and sell it now. Okay. Because no one rent it out. Right. And so you need to go ahead and sell it now. Okay. Because no one's going to use it. He's not going to use it. You're not going to use it. So you might as well go ahead and turn that into money, right? Yes.
Starting point is 00:38:38 Now let's do that now. And then let's turn. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Oh, my apologies. I was just going to ask if you think it would be wise to basically put his money into a trust. No, there's no value of that. Because you can't move it into a trust and hide it from a nursing home.
Starting point is 00:38:55 You cannot act like you're broke when you're not in order to get on welfare. Medicaid is welfare. It's for broke people. And so when your grandmother is broke, all of her money has been extinguished for her care. Then and only then does the government step in. And if you hide the money, that's Medicaid or welfare fraud. And so you can't move it around. There's no trust at this stage of the game.
Starting point is 00:39:20 Now, could you have moved it 10 years ago? Maybe. I mean, there's some elder law things you can do there. But don't be angry about it. don't you're not angry but i mean don't be disappointed about having to pay a nursing home they're taking care of your daddy i mean that's your pay the assisted living is what it's for and the ones that do a good job in that world do a great job and um and they're a blessing and so it's not wasted money it's not how he envisioned his money being used but with first goals to take care of him you and your
Starting point is 00:39:51 husband are making money you're going to be okay you're going to have a good life whether or not you end up with money from either one of these things or not so sorry you guys are facing that and if you need some more help you call me back anytime and we'll talk through it together. Well, Happy Thanksgiving, America! Thank you for being with us. That puts this hour of the Dave Ramsey Show in the books. We will be back with you before you know it. In the meantime, remember, there's ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus. Hey guys, it's Blake Thompson, Chief Production Officer for The Dave Ramsey Show.
Starting point is 00:40:40 This hour's up, but you'll find more on our YouTube channel, where we have over 6 million YouTube views each month. You can find debt-free screens, millionaire hour clips, Dave rants, and so much more. Go check it out.

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