The Ramsey Show - App - Get the Stress of Debt Out of Your Life (Hour 3)

Episode Date: November 5, 2018

The show about you

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'm Dave Ramsey, your host. This is your show. Thank you for joining us. It's all about you. The phone number is 888-825-5225. Devin in Tampa starts off this hour. Hey, Devin, how are you? Hey, good.

How about you, Dave? Better than I deserve. What's up? Awesome. All right, so I'm in a bit of a pickle right now. I'm 22. And so let me just tell you this story. So long story short, I thought I had gap insurance on my previous car.

It was a Lexus size 250. I got completely butchered on my interest rate when I bought it, pretty much valuing it at $21,000. And it was really only a $14,000 car. Anyways, long story short, I didn't have gap. I got into a car accident. I didn't get paid out for the full amount, so I still owe $14,000 car. Anyways, long story short, I didn't have GAAP. I got into a car accident. I didn't get paid out for the full amount, so I still owe $4,500. The issue now is I also have a closed credit card, which affects my credit score significantly, so I can't really get approved for many loans.

So I'm trying to get advice from you on what I should be doing. I think it's awesome that you can't get approved for any more loans because you pretty well suck at this. Yeah. Every time you've touched debt, you really blew it up, didn't you? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so don't do it. Hey, listen, wait a minute.

Seriously, all kidding aside, it ain't working, dude. Stop it. So what do you make? I make around $54,000 a year. Cool. You living with roommates or at home or what? Yeah, so actually when I had good credit, before the credit card closed, I did buy a home about two years ago.

And what I do is I just rent the rooms out and I live there, so I don't pay any mortgage, no utilities or anything. Okay. That's good. Good. Assuming everybody pays, that works out. Good. And you're 22 and you make $54,000.

Yes, correct. And you don't have a dime. I do. I actually have four grand, and I owe four grand on that previous car. Perfect. But do you have a car? No, that's the issue. I don't have a car right now.

Okay. Buy a $4,000 car. I have five days to pay off the Lexus financial, that loan. Or what? To get sent to the credit. Or what? Or it hits my credit. Oh, well.

You ain't getting credit anyway, dude. You ain't getting credit anyway. Your credit sucks. Right. Yeah. So. I believe it's 580. Yeah.

They gave me an option. I was asking you. They gave me an option to do a payment plan with them, which would be over my previous payments. It would be, it has to be over $350 a month. That'd be awesome. On top of that. That'd be great, as long as they don't report on your credit. That'd be great.

All right. Okay. So, I can take that. Stop. Stop. Stop. Listen. Listen. Listen. Let's just follow this through, okay? All right. Let's blow this through carefully. great as long as they don't report on your credit that'd be great all right okay so stop stop stop let's listen listen let's just follow this through okay let's blow this through carefully number one we're going to write a check and buy a car probably really about three thousand because i want you to have at least a thousand dollars in your account right okay then you have one debt to your name is that correct yeah, other than the credit card debt. Oh, I'm sorry.

How much credit card debt is there now? It's $3,000, and I have a payment plan set up with Wells Fargo. Okay, let's stop then. Let's listen to this. You have $4,500, and three is $7,500. You make $54,000 a year. You have zero housing cost. You need to be on a budget and stay out of the bars on the weekend.

Right. Okay? Okay. You're partying and spending all your money, and you're broke. You can clear $7,000 in no time. You're bringing home $4,500, $4,200, $4,300 a month, aren't you? Yeah, $4,300. So how aren't you? Yeah, $4,300. So how much of that can we put on this debt?

Let's say it was $2,000. You'd be debt-free in four months. Credit card and Lexus is out of your life. You've got a paid $4,000, $3,000 car. Then we build an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. You're sitting there with $10,000, $12,000 in the bank at that point only for emergencies because you've seen some emergencies, so you know you need this. Then once that's there, then we're going to save up and move up in car

because you're driving a piece of crap at this point, right? Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're going to do this? Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Four months, you're debt-free. Okay. Six months, you've got money in the bank. Nine months, you're debt-free. Okay. Six months, you've got money in the bank. Nine months, you're paying cash for a better car.

A year from today, your life is going to look completely different. You're going to be driving a $10,000 paid-for car. You're going to have zero debt and $12,000 in the bank one year from today, if you follow what I'm teaching you. Yep, absolutely. And that will get the stress out of your life, man. But you're going to have to concentrate and focus every one of those dollars on those goals and not on a bunch of other goals.

You got one thing to do, dude. Debt-free, build your emergency fund, pay cash for your car, put stupid Lexus credit on a payment for the gap and then never do that again. Never do it again. Learn your lesson. You will never need gap insurance again. You know why? You will never have a car payment again.

If you get rid of car payments, you have a real shot at building wealth. You're a hustler, man. I'm not in a bad sense. I mean, you know how to hustle and grind. You're out there pushing things around. You got a hustler, man. I'm not in a bad sense. I mean, you know how to hustle and grind. You're out there pushing things around. You got a lot of energy. You got 63 ideas going in this one conversation. You know, you've just been really impulsive and disorganized. So now it's time to just grow up and fine tune this and you can do it. And if you're 52 or you're 22, the advice is the same. It's not an age thing. So you can do this.

You can do this. Hold on. I'm going to give you a copy of the book, The Total Money Makeover, and show you exactly, step by step, point by point, what to do and how to do it. And it will walk you through what we were talking about here. You can do this. Courtney is with us in Spokane, Washington. Hey, Courtney, how are you?

Hi, Courtney. Hi, Courtney. How are you? Good. how are you? Hi, Courtney. Hi, Courtney, how are you? Good, how are you? Better than I deserve. How can I help? Hi, so I'm calling because my husband and I recently got married about two months ago. Congratulations.

Thank you. We are on baby step two, tackling our debt together. Great. And he has talked about potentially getting a second job to help pay for some of that debt. My concern is I'm already working about 60 hours a week while going to graduate school, and I'm concerned about him working so much that we never see each other and sort of tank our marriage before it begins. Oh, you're newlyweds. You'll find a way. Even with him working a second job?

Yeah, you'll be all right. You just schedule time together. You just watch what you're doing. Watch your schedules and overlap. How much debt have you got? $80,000. $80,000. How fast will it be paid off if you guys really get after it?

Well, currently I make $25,000 a year on my own, but I'll be finishing up my degree in a little over a year and a half. Great. And I will have a PhD. Great. In what? Criminal justice. Great.

And what will you be doing with a PhD in criminal justice? Working as a professor at a university teaching engineering research. Great. Good for you. And what does he make? He makes about $35,000 a year. Great. Okay.

So try the part-time job. If your marriage starts struggling because of that one thing, which I doubt, but if it does, he can quit the part-time job. It's not like a big life decision. We're not chiseling this in stone. Go make a little money. See if that doesn't help. Sometimes debt's a bigger stressor than working. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. One question I get asked all the time is, do I need life insurance?

Listen, the whole point of life insurance is to replace your income for someone who counts on you. So if you have a spouse or you have kids, yes, you need term life insurance. It's the only way to protect them until you're out of debt and have built up your wealth. You're only digging a deeper hole if you waste money on cash value plans since it robs you of the ability to make real progress. And that's why I send you to Zander Insurance, and I have for 20 years. That's where I get all my insurance, and they only offer the plans I recommend. It is not expensive.

It's not complicated. And Zander will be there as your guide every step of the way. Visit Zander.com or call 800-356-4282. You need to get this taken care of. I can give you the advice, and I can tell you where to go, but it's really up to you to take that important step to get your family protected. That's Zander.com or 800-356-4282. If you didn't know, we have the Ramsey Baby Steps community on Facebook. And Joanna says, Dave, I've reached Baby Step 4.

I think I'm reading to start investing in a Roth IRA and getting ready for retirement. Does anyone even know where to start? Absolutely. You start with Roth IRAs, Roth 401Ks. If you have a match, you start with the match. That's definitely the way you go. Roth means tax-free growth, and you always invest in good growth stock mutual funds. I personally invest and have recommended for almost 30 years here on the air that you spread your investments across four types. Our everyday millionaires, many of them did something very, very similar to that.

The four types are growth, growth and income, aggressive growth, and international. And if you need some help doing all of that because it's new to you, or for that matter, most of us need some help. I have help. I have someone watching mine with me. They're called SmartVestor Pros. I'm not in the investment business. I don't sell investments. None of my people here do.

But we have an endorsement program called SmartVestor. If you click on SmartVestor at DaveRamsey.com, fill in some info, it'll drop down a list of the SmartVestor pros in your area, people that are professional advisors. It's what they do for a living. They'll sit down with you and help you do that. It's very, very easy to do. And, you know, there's a list of them you choose which one you want to work with in

your area, but you're going to find them to be people that give you advice similar to what you'll hear here on the air. And so you're not going to hear anything inconsistent. You're not going to be getting three different directions to go and not know what direction to go. But you're all about learning when you're investing. You don't put money in something you don't understand. You don't put money in something because Dave Ramsey said to.

You don't put money in something because anybody said to. You put money in something because you understand it and not until then. You know what people say right before they lose all their money? Oh, I got a guy who handles mine. That's what they say right before they lose all their money. When someone says that, what that means is they have no freaking idea what's going on with their own money. They just handed it to somebody. It's like dropping your kid off with a stranger.

What kind of parent are you? Really? You're not going to do that. You're going to know what's going on. You're going to know who's in the house, what's happening with your kid, and what's happening with your money. Because I've got to tell you, your money is going to get mistreated if you don't know what's going on with it.

Rhiannon is with us in State College, Pennsylvania. Hi, Rhiannon, how are you? Hi, Dave, I'm doing well. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up? So, just under a year and a half ago, my father passed away and he left me with some beneficiary money. Oh, my goodness. He left me with $100,000. How old are you?

Yeah, about $107,000. How old are you? 22. 22. How old are you? Yeah, about $107,000. How old are you? 22. 22. How old was he? He was 45. Wow, young. What happened?

Yes. He had a heart attack, and they pronounced him brain dead about a week or so later. I'm so sorry. Wow. But it was a year ago, and he left you $100,000, and you're 22. Yes. Wow. So what are you going to do with it?

Well, I've already spent more of it than I wish I had. I paid off my student loans for my bachelor's degree, which is about $7,000, and I also bought a new car for about $27,000, which I regret now. And then also I've been living off of a lot of the rest of it. I was working and making money, too, but it became a little bit too much to be working and full-time at school being, you know, in my junior and senior year. So right now I have about $50,000 and $600 left in the bank. And how much do you need to finish school?

Well, what I plan to do is I plan to become a physician assistant, and I will have to take science prerequisites. The program for that is going to be about $10,000. How much do you need to finish school? I'm sorry? How much do you need to finish school? Oh, I'm about to finish school in two months. My bachelor's is paid for, but in total, $60,000.

And you have $50,000 left? Yes. Okay. I think we know what we're going to do with the money, and then we've got to figure out how you're going to eat during this time, which means you are back to work. Yes. And you're going to be on a tight budget watching what you're doing,

because otherwise you're not going to finish school without debt. Right. You make enough to eat and pay your rent while you're going through school, and you have the money to finish school if you don't screw it up and go buy something else. You paid cash for a $27,000 car. Yeah. You could sell that. I actually recently paid it off.

I took out like a $7,000 loan just to build credit, and I just recently just paid all of it off. Yeah, you could sell that. Yeah, and that's what I was considering. I looked on KBB, and it says that the car's value is about $26,000 now. Yeah, that's good. So it's not, you know, not too much lower. You haven't taken too much of a bath for this mistake. But honestly, a $27,000 car in your situation, as broke as you are with the goals that you have

that are much bigger than car ownership. I mean, your education goals should be your dad's legacy, not a car. Yeah. And, yeah, I realize that now. Okay. You know, my thought process is reliable. Sell it and buy you a $5,000 or $6,000 car and get yourself on a tight budget and make sure you're working and lay out a game plan where your income will cover your housing and food needs and you've got the money then to complete tuition.

And that's a good game plan. And you know, in what, three years you'll have the degree, right? Yeah, just about. Yeah, from now. And you'll be a PA. Is that what you said? Yeah, that's what I'd like to be. Yeah.

Well, are you getting the grades? Can you do it? I think so. Yeah, I mean, it's going to be tough work, especially working, too, but I think I can do it. Okay. One of the ways you can always test yourself, and I've used this with myself and with others, too,

on whether you're using an inheritance properly is you visualize standing beside the situation that you use the money for and ask yourself is your dad in heaven smiling and i see you standing on that stage graduating with that pa degree in your hand, driving a $3,000 or $4,000 car, a $5,000 car, a $6,000 car, whatever, and zero debt. And I see your dad smiling, don't you? Yes, I agree. Driving a $27,000 car, not so much. No.

Does that make sense? Yes, it makes sense. I just wasn't sure. I'm always weary of getting a used car because of the expenses that go into it. Well, you're not going to spend $20,000 on a $6,000 car. Okay. So we know you're going to come out ahead. And if you start spending too much on it, sell it and get a different one. And, you know, that's the thing.

So, yeah, that's, you know, that's the thing to think about. It's just some ideas for you. I know you've got some tough decisions to make and you've been through a tough time. I'm sorry that this is left on your plate. But I'm really glad that $100,000 was left on your plate to be able to start your life off. And you have the opportunity to honor your dad's memory by doing this properly. And I think that's something that calls us to more nobility when we say that. I'm not shaming you.

Instead, I'm calling you to nobility. And what's the most noble version of Rhiannon in this case? And it's the one that seeks out something that's great for her future, not for her Friday night. And that's the thing. seeks out something that's great for her future, not for her Friday night. And that's the thing. Don't spend this money. This money is for your future and your education.

And you graduate and you live on a budget and you're responsible and you're careful. Hold on. I'm going to send you a copy of the book, The Total Money Makeover, to walk you through this process. Download that EveryDollar app and get your budget going. Look in where you can work. You can do your undergrad work and work. Most people work while they're doing their undergrad. Most people work while they're doing their undergrad. Hey, America, did you hear that? Most people work while they're doing their undergrad.

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In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions, Brian and Kate from Denver are with us. Hey guys, how are you? Oh, good. How are you? Welcome, good to have you. Welcome to Nashville. Thank you. And here to do a debt-free screen. We are. How much have you paid off? Paid off $210,000 and change in three and a half years. Good for you.

Thank you. Very good. And your range of income during that three and a half? We started at $60,000 and we're a little north of $200,000 last year. Whoa! How'd your income go up so much? Sold a lot of plasma. Not true. So when we started off, we both graduated from veterinary school same year. I took a really low-paying internship to begin with.

Brian started his own business, so he was building that up. And now that we're on our way, then we were able to increase our income. Cooking with gas now. Yeah. Well done. Both of you are vets. Yes, sir. We are. Awesome. Very good our income. Cooking with gas now. Yeah. Well done. Both of you are vets? Yes, sir. We are.

Awesome. Very good. That's a great career field. Yeah. Very good. Very good. So $210,000, how much of that's vet school? All of it.

Every bit of it. Every bit of it. So when did you get married? 2014. And you came out of school about the same time? We got married three months after we graduated. And you immediately started on your debt. We did. We took Financial Peace University right before we graduated, three months before we got married. We wanted to start on the right path. Great. Knowing we were

going to come out with a boatload of debt, we wanted to get started our marriage off right, and it was awesome. Yeah, very good. Good free marriage counseling free marriage counseling good way to set you up and go because a lot of your a lot of your compadres in vet school will be there for 10-15 years paying this off oh they will and you knocked it out in three and a half yes sir so what's the uh what's the secret how do you get out of that what do you got to do for for me it was have a plan. You talk about that. In FPU, I got just giddy excited as you were laying it out for us. Just all of a sudden, because this is kind of my second career, all of a sudden there was going to be purpose to the money. It wasn't just going to easy in, easy out.

I got excited that there was suddenly a future we had. That's neat. I like that. Well done. Well done. And a game plan to attack, a plan of attack. Yes, sir. A treatment procedure, right?

Yes, sir. Yeah, very good. Good. What about you, Kate? What do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? Well, I think for me it was just a lot of patience. We graduated, got married, and we wanted what everyone wants, a house. We wanted to buy, upgrade our cars, things like that.

But knowing that this was going to be important to pay off all that debt first, it really, you kind of have to swallow those things, those dreams that you want to start off right away, knowing that in the end, it'll all pay off. So patience was the biggest thing for me. Yeah. Good job. Well done.

Well done. Well done. Well, who was your biggest cheerleaders? They're sitting in the lobby with us, my parents. All right. Yeah. So I just, you know, I grew up watching them kind of live out the principles that you teach. You know, never having debt, paying cash for everything,

never buying a new car. They were very diligent to save for retirement and kids college. So they passed down that legacy to me and I brought him along. Good, good. So how did you end up taking Financial Peace University? What made you decide to do that? Somebody recommend it or where did that come from right before you graduate, right before you get married? They offered it at our church. Brian kind of had been listening to your radio show before, but when we were attending church,

they were offering that class. And so we decided, yeah, it's great premarital counseling. Let's get on the same page before we get married. And then we've since actually led an FPU class at our own church a couple years ago. Oh, very cool. Well, thank you for doing that. You're welcome. Very cool.

To which mom and dad said, we already knew all that stuff. Exactly. You're learning from this guy the stuff I already taught you. Yeah, pretty much. My dad would say that, I'm certain. Absolutely. Well done. Good.

Great job. Well, we're proud of you here, too. Way to go. You got a great income. You got no debt. Most of all, as a young married couple, you've got the idea that you can control this. The destiny is your responsibility. You're not a victim to chance or happenstance. at most of all as a young married couple you've got the idea that you can control this it is the destiny is your responsibility you're not a victim to chance or happenstance you can do this winning

is not a lightning in the bottle action it is an intentional act and you are on the road baby you've got this i'm so proud of y'all thank you you're on fire if it's all right and actually you you segue perfectly there's one other thing i'd kind of like to talk about on our journey, if that's all right. Sure. Awesome. Awesome. So as we were kind of going over the questions, you'd likely ask one of them was what was the hardest thing? Okay.

And just kind of our path through this. The biggest thing for me was maintaining hope. Like you said, I listened to you years ago, made a lot of money, didn't actually listen to you, uh, and spend it all. Didn't save anything, had no intentionality, no plan, uh, whatsoever to, uh, to my life. Uh, so when it came down to, uh, to pay, uh, the, the student loans off, it was all one big pile of loans. That was my dowry to other marriage.

And for some reason her parents let me marry their daughter um but because of the nature of it there was really no time for a debt snowball no real time for a momentum right we just ran smack into the pile of stupid that i'd made for us uh with a very little shovel. That first year when we got married and started this journey, we knew it was going to be tough. It's reasonable. First year marriage, no money, building

a practice. She was surviving her internship and a mortgage sized student loan payment on the minimum on top of everything else. There were multiple times where we had to do a good gut check and a heart check, make sure we were still on board for this,

knowing that we will get out of debt, but it will take years and years to slog this thing out. There's a guy I know who gave a pretty good math formula. I'm not real solid on my math, but this one works for me. Focused intensity over time multiplied by god equals unstoppable momentum that became our mantra we we fought this thing together uh supported each other encouraged each other um and we're able to celebrate with each other along the way. We set big goals, and we just kept chewing up ground and getting rid of it.

This last year, we paid off. We knew we had to set a big goal to be done and celebrate Independence Day right. We had to average over $10,000 a month to get that done, and we knocked it out. The biggest thing for me, I want to talk to the people like me know that you don't have to wallow in your own stupidity and your own weaknesses from the past you can win you just have to, as you say, choose. We chose to do the hard things. We chose to climb this mountain of stupid together.

We took it down. And now we get to look back behind us and see that the mountain we're standing on is actually a big pile of victories that we get to launch forward going from here on out. You said it well. Well done. It's the scratching and the clawing and the unity. Yes, sir. You guys, that's why you're so set up to win. It's not just that you're debt-free.

It's not just that you have a household income of a couple hundred grand. It's not just that you both have great educations and a great career field. It's not any of that. It's the fact that you've learned how to do something with all that. Yes, sir. And you've learned how to do it together. And that means there's no stopping you. So, very proud of y'all.

Well done. Got a copy of Chris Hogan's retire-inspired book for you. That is the next chapter. Thank you. And that's being millionaires, everyday millionaires, and, of course, outrageously generous as you go along. Absolutely. Well done, you two. Very, very well done.

We're proud of you. Kate and Brian, Denver, Colorado. $210,000 paid off in three and a half years, making $60,000 to $200,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt-free! We're debt-free! Touchdown, baby!

Woo! I love it! That's how it's done. If you don't have that thing happening in your throat, you're probably not going to get out. You can wander into death, but you can't wander out. If your throat doesn't get tight when you're talking about this from emotion, if that doesn't choke you up listening to that,

you're probably just listening for entertainment. You're welcome. We're glad you're here, but you're not going to get out of debt. What you get out of debt is you get that head thing going. Yeah, baby. Yeah, baby. I'm not going to be stopped. Touchdown!

This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Our Our scripture of the day, Psalms 5110, Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Albert Einstein said, Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character. Thank you for joining us, America. Nellie's with us in Napa, California. Hi, Nellie.

How are you? Better than I deserve, Mr. Rensi. Honored to have you. Is Crush over? Yeah, how are you? Good. Is Crush over? Excuse me?

What was that? I said, is Crush over? Is the harvest in? Oh, almost done. Yeah, yeah. Okay. A little bit late this year because it wasn't as hot as usual. Right. Cool. Cool. How can I help?

Okay, so I have a question. My husband and I have been following the baby steps. We were curling baby step six. We were not saving for our kids' college because we just had a baby, actually, last year. So we were doing fine, and then three months ago, we lost our house. It's still a wildfire here in California. And so we received some money from insurance, but it's not enough to rebuild because it's really expensive right now. And to get a new house here in Napa, we'll be talking about $650,000 for a house. And we were actually working towards being debt-free. We had $120 left in our house.

So we paid that off. We are debt-free, yay, but we don't have a house. So we paid that off. We are debt free, yay, but we don't have a house. And husband and I are thinking about moving from California. We're thinking about moving to a cheaper state. We visit Texas and it looks great, family friendly, and it's a place that we would like to grow our family but we're scared mostly because we have really good jobs here in Napa and we make together around $130,000 a year but we will have to ask for a huge loan to afford a house here so is it a wise decision to quit our job and move to another state and pay our house cash and have money left to kind of live more than a year

while looking for a job? Is that a wise decision? I don't know. What do you do for a living? We work in the agriculture, but actually my husband wants to move, switch careers. He wants to work with HVAC. I am an agricultural inspector in Texas. People doing that job, and they make around $40,000 a year.

I make $80,000 a year. So why can you not line up jobs before you leave? $40,000 a year. I make $80,000 a year. So why can you not line up jobs before you leave? I have been applying and I didn't get any interviews yet. I'm wondering if it's more difficult to do it from here. And that's why maybe

I'm not getting any interviews. Husband also got a phone call and the guy said, well, when you're here, then you visit me. I don't know why people are currently not very willing to give opportunities to someone that is not yet in this state. Probably they think we're not serious about it. Call the guy back that says he wants to talk to you when you're there. Fly down there and meet with him and say,

we can be there in a few weeks if you hire me. Yeah, my husband could do that. Yeah, he could. And, you know, you start hunting for a job like you mean it. Right. And if you need to jump on a plane and fly down there to do an interview, you do it. Okay. Right. Okay, so we shouldn't quit our jobs and move without a job. I would at least have one of the two jobs lined up and have a good lead on the second one. Okay.

There's no reason to just jump off the dock and hope the boat drives by. Let's pull the boat up the dock and step in. And regarding the pay cut. Why is it a pay cut? Because I know that what I do, I will make what I'm making here. I will make $40,000 tops. And what do you make now? $80,000 a year in all benefits pay.

But it's great, you know, but we are not very excited or happy living here. And now that the house is like, we don't have anything left here. We don't have family here. I think you want to move, and I think you need to talk about how you're going to move, not if you should move. I think you need to talk about it. I want to, but I think. I think you move, but I think you also got to think about how we can make more money in the move. This idea that you have to accept less just because you haven't found more yet doesn't make sense.

It's confusing to me that an ag inspector in California makes double what they do in Texas. Yeah, at least working for the government. Well, that would be an ag inspector. Otherwise, you wouldn't be an ag inspector if you weren't working for the government. But that's just, I'm wondering about the information you're dealing with, how accurate it is, or is there some seniority, or is there some education? What steps would it take instead of 40 for you? If you start at 40 at two years, what would it take to be at 65? And that kind of a thing.

And investigate what you've got to do to reset your career, but I don't think it's a permanent decision to go from 80 to 40. And his, you know, his heat and air business could be anything he could go all the way up and down the line on that people make all kinds of different money in that space all the way from being broke to making serious bank and owning a company with six heat and air trucks running around doing work for people so you got all kinds of things you can do i think you're moving i think you just need to do it in a smart way and not just go we i hope we can land no that's dumb go get something lined up and go take it as your starting point and then go from there but don't accept that our income has to cut in half

just because we move from california to texas how about our income doubles if we move from california to texas oh and by the way, your taxes go way down, and your cost of living from Napa goes way down. All right, Ben is with us in Boston, Mass. Hey, Ben, how are you? I'm doing well, Dave. How are you doing? Better than I deserve.

What's up? Hey, so I got a question for you. To give you a little background, I'm 22. I just graduated from college with a degree in mechanical engineering very good first job um but i have my student loan debt okay my grandmother co-signed on those loans to get me through college but now that i have a job i want to take her off the co-sign and uh consolidate my student loans and pay for them. Do it. My question is, do you have advice with a company I should go with?

No, but I'll tell you what to look for. You need to do it because it gets Grandma off. I want Grandma off the hook. I want her off real bad. I would like for you to get an interest rate that is the equivalent that you have now or less. So I have Sally Mae, and I have a variable Sally Mae with her, and it's right around 10% right now. Okay. So if you could get a fixed and not a variable and get it at 10 or less, this is known as a home run. So my research, I've found that, just to say, Discover has a fixed rate for close to five and a half.

Oh, wow. I go with them, that's a home run. Yeah, that's a home run, right? I mean, you're cutting your interest rate in half, and we got grandma off. And we got fixed. Yeah. Yeah. Got rid of variable.

If you can get that, that's kind of a no-brainer. It's a win on every box. We're checking every box here. Yeah. Hey, good thinking, man. Your critical thinking skills came out with that whole mechanical engineering degree. Well done. Good job.

Your own game. Now, interest rate's not your salvation, and getting grandma off's not your salvation. Your salvation on the money part is to get in attack mode now and knock it out as fast as you possibly can i mean i want you to get in gear at a rate you've never thought of before so how much student loan debt do you have um well with sally may it's right around 115 and then the government unsubsidized, is probably close to, I think it's like $30,000. Okay, and what is your income? Right now, take-home is between $60,000 and $65,000.

Okay. I'm picking up all the OT and side gigs you can get, and a single guy, you can clean this up in about three years. This is doable. And you just lean into it. It's your main job. It's job one, as they say. So, hey, good thinking, man. You're right on track. Yes, do every bit of that.

That puts us out 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, this is James Childs, producer of The Dave Ramsey Show. I'm excited to announce that we're now carried on 600 radio stations across the country.

To find one near you, head to DaveRamsey.com slash show.