The Ramsey Show - App - How Can I Go to Medical School Debt Free? (Hour 2)

Episode Date: August 13, 2021

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Thank you. Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is The Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life and your money. I'm Christy Wright, and joining me today is my good friend and multiple New York Times bestselling author Rachel Cruz. We are having a ladies day. I know. I know. I'm funny about ladies. I know. Last time we were on together, we just did an hour. I was like, it's like the ladies theme hour. She was like in the break. She was like, I just don't like the word ladies. I was like, and then on Instagram for we were,

she was like, we're going to be on, it's going to be a women's show. And I was like in the break she was like i just don't like the word ladies i was like and then on instagram for we were she was like we're gonna be on it's gonna be a women's show and i was like a lady show and then you did a poll and you just said how many people prefer ladies or women and what's the what's the percentage christy 74 prefer ladies ladies i like that i was like yes i don't dislike. I don't dislike it. I don't dislike it. I just prefer the term female. Women. I think it's because it feels sorority to me. It feels like, hey, ladies, everyone snap our fingers and circle up, which I was in

a sorority, so I like sororities, too. I don't even know what the problem is with this. Anyways, we're here. We're here for you. I don't know how they trust us, but we're here. We are, and it's too late now. Listen, it's Fun Friday. We're here. We are. And it's too late now. Listen, it's Fun Friday. We're taking your calls.

888-825-5225 about money, life, business. We've got the Business Boutique Conference coming up this October. So if you've got a call about business, marketing, sales, is your idea good? Can it make money? Is now the time for you? I don't know. Let's talk about it. Rachel is really great at helping you with your money.

I'm great at helping you with your time. And let's be honest, we could all use a little more of both. So 888-825-5225. Give us a call and we are here for you. All right, we're going to go to Rhonda in Santa Barbara, California. Hey, Rhonda, how are you? Hi, I am fantastic. And I'm happy to be a part of women or ladies.

Thanks, Rhonda. I love it. I love it. What's going on, Rhonda? Well, I am calling to my husband and I have been dying hard after attending FPU in 2019. We have paid off our car. We are $1,500 away from being out of debt. Awesome.

Congratulations. It's exciting. Our issue is, while we have the typical, you know, our car has 250,000 miles on it, but my husband only has a two-mile drive to work. But I am paralyzed. I have multiple sclerosis, and I am unable to get into our car.

So if there's ever a situation, I go all over our town in my wheelchair. We live right next to the transit center. I use the bus, have no problem with that. But we both feel, I'm 53, he's 60, we both feel that we're at a point where having an accessible van is, is really becoming a necessity. Um, and we're just trying to, trying to find the smartest way to go about getting that. We're not looking at brand new. I mean, those vans are 90 to a hundred thousand dollars brand new. Yeah. I've really researched. We know that we can get a van that will meet all of our needs between $35,000 and $40,000.

The problem is we only bring in $48,000 a year. I have my disability and, um, you know, we live on the central coast of California, which is one of the most expensive places to live. Yeah. And it's, uh, we watch you guys all the time and, and I've never, I've never seen a question like this when it it really isn't a want it has reached a point that it's a need yeah so I'm curious Rhonda and I don't I don't know I haven't done research on this but are there any type of resources, funding, anything for transportation for people with disabilities like this? I mean, not to pay for the whole thing necessarily, but is there any, I mean, have you looked into that? I have done all the research, and unfortunately, we fall into the category of working poor. So we make just too much to get any government assistance,

but we don't make enough to pay for it ourselves. You know, our rent is half of what he brings in each month, but we've done it. We've made it work. I mean, we're going to be out of debt probably about two months earlier than what I calculated when taking SPU. Yeah. And so we've really, I mean,

we literally went on the rice and beans. Yeah, y'all have done it, Rhonda. It's amazing. I'm from the South, soall have done it, Rhonda. It's amazing. I've done this, too. So it's not a big deal. But it's amazing. I mean, the work you guys have done, absolutely. I want you to feel proud of that.

You're doing what most people don't do, right? I mean, like you guys, you guys sacrificed and you did it. So I am curious for you with your story with this. When did you get diagnosed? How long have you been in a wheelchair? How has life been? Yeah, I was diagnosed 18 years ago. I actually only became wheelchair bound in 2012.

It started 2013, and that was due to a divorce. I was married for 25 years to an addict and an alcoholic who kind of threw me to the side when I got sick. Oh, wow. I'm so sorry. And about, but you know what? I'm going on seven years now of being married to a man who, who met me, saw me in spite of the wheelchair. And we are, like I said, we are almost, he has actually paid off debt that belongs to my ex-husband. Wow.

We are a team. That's awesome. I mean, we've already told our pastor that we want to lead an FPU class. That's amazing. So Rhonda, can I say? He's a value in it. That's incredible. And I'm so thankful, so thankful um that your their story of redemption

and your story of of some hardships for sure and you um aren't i mean this is this is a hard situation so what i i would say you will never call the ramsey show and we will and we encourage going into debt okay so like we can't say just go out and get a loan on the wheelchair or on the i'm sorry the the van um that's wheelchair accessible and take out a loan all the wheelchair or on the, I'm sorry, the, the van, um, that's wheelchair accessible and take out a loan, all that. Like we, we, we can't do that. Right. So what I would say up until this point, what you guys have been doing, um, what you can do to save and research, what's, what is it? What is the starting van? You said 35,000. Is there anything more used? Maybe there's a family and they're replacing theirs and you can go and talk to them and say,

Hey, can we get a better deal on this? Here's our situation. And do what you can to mirror what you've been doing since 2012 for maybe just a little bit longer until you have that cash saved up to pay for that van. Because I know that that will be a huge, huge gift, Rhonda. And you guys are doing it. I believe that you can do this because you've gone this far. With more frequency than you know, I get calls and emails from people dealing with the recent

loss of a spouse or a parent. You can hear the struggle and the heartache that they've been experiencing. And at a time they should be grieving, what breaks my heart the most is the strain and tension that they're going through because of money, especially when it's a situation that could have been avoided. If you have a family, it is your responsibility to have term life insurance. It's one of the things you do to say, I love you. And yes, this is an ad for Zander Insurance. But since this is one of the most effective ways I have to get my point across, so be it. For over 20 years, I've been telling you about the importance of term life insurance

and protecting your family. Listen, you need to check out Zander.com or call 800-356-4282. I can't say it enough. Protect your family. It's what you're supposed to do. Go to Zander.com or call88-825-5225. We're taking your calls about life, money, paying off your debt, starting a business, managing your time, adjusting to a new season of life. Whatever you need, we are here for you.

We are going to go to Isabella in Huntington, West Virginia. Hey, Isabella, how are you? Good. How are you all? Good. What's going on? So me and my husband, I'm 21 and my husband's 22, and we've been following Dave Ramsey for about four years now.

We've been married for two years, and we have no debt except for our house. We've been paying for our schooling out of pocket. Awesome. But I am planning to go to med school here in two years and my husband is currently in his BSN for his nursing and we're paying for that out of pocket and we're planning to pay for his nurse crack out of pocket. But with paying for his nurse crack out-of-pocket,

the same time I'm going to med school, it's going to be very difficult for us to financially swing paying for med school out-of-pocket. But the good thing is I found a local school that I can do for about $80,000 to $90,000 in four years, which isn't crazy for med school. I feel like that's doable. And we could live on his income as a nurse prac after I get out for med school. I feel like that's doable. And we could live on his income as a nurse prac

after I get out of med school. And I've also been looking into loan repayment programs for working for a certain employer for a certain amount of time afterwards. But I didn't know the best way to kind of go forward with this because we do believe that this is an investment and we're trying to do it the smartest way possible. So I just didn't know if you all had any advice on that.

How much time does your husband have left with his schooling? He has a year left of his BSN and then about three years with nurse prac. So he'll be about halfway done with his schooling by the time I go into med school. So he'll have about two years left. So he'll be done when I'm in med school. Okay. What's, I know the answer, but I'm going to ask, what's causing you to go right into med school right now?

Would you pause for three years until he finishes so you guys can cash flow this 80 grand? Oh, the 80 grand over your four years of med school? Yeah. So the kind of rush is, I know this is going to sound really silly, but we were kind of wanting children around 28 years old. And where I would go in at about two years, I'd be about 27 when we graduated. And we were just kind of, we were wanting to start a family sooner.

And so, and get through it sooner. Because I really, I kind of just want to, I've been doing school, I did my undergrad and paid for that and, you know, the high school, like I've done everything back to back and I know I just really want to be out of school. I just want to get it done. I hear that and I totally appreciate that urgency for sure. I mean, I get that. Isabel, are you going to want to, do you know kind of what you want to do after kids?

Are you planning on still? I plan on still working. And my husband, I think we both still want to work. But he is like, he loves kids. And so I could see him potentially staying home to be a stay-at-home dad after I would get settled in and everything like that. But we were planning to probably have kids during residency. The reason I basically called in, too, is because, like, not a lot of people my age are in our predicament.

And everybody that I know that's a doctor around me took out loans, and most of them are still paying on those loans 20 years later. And we also have a house. And so I didn't know. And we have some equity in that. And so I didn't know if we should sell that and use that for med school and try to relocate when I moved to med school, which is about two hours away, and use that to kind of help pay for relocating. Or if we should keep that as a rental property and keep that income flowing in. There's just a lot of different questions that are different from our predicament.

And I love the options you're giving me because it's showing me, yes, you're willing to do all these options because there's ways to get med school paid for. I mean, there are places, like you said, to work to help with that. There are programs to be involved in that help. And we have doctors, dentists, and we have people call in all the time to the with that. There are programs to be involved in that help. And we have doctors,

dentists, we have people call in all the time to the show that's that talk about how they've, how they've been helped financially to go through it. So there are, there are options out there, but, but here's the thing,

Isabella is when you take out debt, this is, this is one of the reasons that we harp against it so much as you add risk to your life. And what I mean by that is the stories of people that say, well, I had good intentions of going, you know, for this med school, we're going to take out some loans, we're going to have kids. And then in the process, you know, maybe you have a child with special needs and you're now wanting to stay home, but, but the forcing of paying off the debt changes your life, right?

I mean, we just, I'm just saying you never know, you never know what life is going to throw at you. And when you don't have payments, it gives you options and freedom and less risk. So my advice to you, Isabella, would be to do whatever you can, even if that means pausing a year and you going out and working and making some money and just banking that money for your first year's tuition, working your way through school, finding creative ways. If you guys do want to sell the house and use some of the equity to pay off school and rent an apartment and you're like,

you know what? We'd rather rent an apartment for four years, cashflow school, and then look at our family. And once we are expecting, maybe we can go buy a house with our emergency. I mean, like you have options here. I just wouldn't settle for the fact that debt has to be your only avenue. And I don't think you feel that way because you're giving me options, which I, which I appreciate. So I would push into those Isabella and do what you can, even though you want to get through school, which I appreciate what's going to be the best. So what's going to be the best, um best use of your money and your time over the long haul, not just the short term. Yeah. And you are in an awesome position because you have taken debt off the table. It has to stay off the table. If debt comes on the table, then you're going to

take it because it's the easier way. Of course, it's easier to sign your name, but then you're going to be calling us back in three years saying, I'm $80,000 in debt. What do I do? Just like the call we just had of someone that had $287,000 in debt. You're in a position right now at this amazing fork in the road where you can avoid that future. And the only difference is you take debt off the table and you say either we're going to sell the house, take that equity, cashflow, rent. Cool. That's totally fine. I would not rent out your house because I think that you guys have a lot of irons in the fire with all this school, possibly starting a family. You don't need to be landlords.

Let's not add complication to your situation. Let's keep it simple. And you get the cash, whether it's because you take a job, you push it off, whatever that looks like, or you sell the house, wherever you get the money from, you're going to pay for it in cash. You're taking debt off the table because that's how you got in this awesome position you're in and you're going to work hard to maintain it. But I will tell you, it is way easier, way easier to maintain this position that you're in

than it is to get back here out of debt if you make the wrong choice and you decide to take out loans for that. So whatever you do, you're going to pay for it in cash, whatever timeframe, even if that pushes back your timeframe a little bit, you'll be setting those future kids up a whole lot better when you're starting a family debt-free versus starting a family in debt. Great question though. And I'm excited for you. I'm excited for this new journey. All right, let's go to Tim in South Bend, Indiana. Hey, Tim, how are you? Hey, pretty good. Thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's your question? I have a small business. It's an ice cream parlor. And like everybody else, we're so short-staffed.

Yeah. And I was looking for some advice because I don't understand kids today. And we normally hire high school or college kids. I was a little bit heavy on college kids this year. Well, they're all in back to school now, and now I can't even hire anybody. The pay scale is pretty decent.

I'm just at a loss, and I've never been through anything like this where I've had a hard time finding people to work. Uncle Joe's money going to everybody. I don't know, Uncle Joe's money going to everybody now. I don't know if that's what it has to do with anything, but I'm at a loss, and I was hoping you could put me in the right way. Yeah.

Well, first of all, Tim, I want you to go ahead and give yourself a little bit of grace that you are running a business during a very difficult time. Okay? So it didn't just happen in 2020. It's still difficult. Everywhere you go, people are understaffed and there's a variety of reasons that contribute to that. But here's what I want to encourage you. I want you to think of reasons, not just one reason, multiple reasons

for people to work for you that are more than money. What is it? Is it because you have such an awesome culture because you have fun Friday where you guys all have a social after hours because you maybe contribute to their college in some small way that just feels like an awesome thank you. Create a culture and brainstorm ideas that are going to draw people to want to work there at your ice cream parlor because it's about more than just money. Money's not enough to help to keep people even in a normal work environment. But in this one, you got to get creative. Think outside the box and think of something. And I hope that encourages you. Stay on the line.

We'll have Kelly send you Entree Leadership to give you a boost of motivation as well. Well, no parent ever wants their child to experience the panic of being unprepared for an emergency. But let's be honest. Teaching your teens how to be smart with money can feel like a big job. Maybe you feel ill-equipped because you haven't always been great with money. Here's the deal. We have got your back. With our digital self-study courses, you can rest assured that your teen will know the right way to handle money. No matter what curveballs, life may throw them down the road. And the best part is there's no instructor needed. If your teen has a tablet or computer, they're all set.

Parents, go ahead and text SELFSTUDY to 33789 to learn more about all of the different courses we have available for your middle or high schooler. That's selfstudy, all one word, to 33789 to learn more about our programs for teens. And then they might just be teaching you something about money, which would be pretty awesome. All right, let's go to Jessica in Washington, D.C. Hey, Jessica, how are you? Hi, I'm doing well. Thank you. Yeah, what's going on?

I just had a quick question about some Parent PLUS loans we're paying for my husband's education. And they're in his mom's name. And it's about $56,000. It's in his parent's name. And a really high interest rate, like 7.9%. We just don't know if we should make this as part of our baby step two. We've paid off our own personal debt and just bought a house and a 15-year mortgage. Like, we're really cruising through the baby steps, but we just don't know if we should put this in our name and consider it our own if

we're going to be paying it. Jessica, how old are you guys? I'm 29 and he's 30. Okay. So is this loan recent? Did he like go back to school or is this from when he was in college, you know, 15 years ago? Yeah, this is from when he was in college.

Yeah. Okay. And for 13, he graduated. And what is his parents' financial situation? You don't think they're going to be able to pay this loan off? Or is it more of a financial obligation that you feel or like an emotional, hey, this is basically his loan and we feel the need to do this emotionally or is it more financial? I would say both. We are in a much better predicament to pay it and emotionally.

I mean, he feels like he owes his mom everything. She was she's an amazing mom. So we just want to do this for them. Yeah. Well, you know, from a legal standpoint, right, it is their loan that they signed to pay. Right. It's that's the parent plus loan formula. But for you guys, I mean, I think that there's a level of dignity you're giving yourselves of saying, hey, you know what? We're adults. And this loan was for him, for his education. And yeah, legally, she's the one that can take it and all of that, right? That's what the deal is. But you guys taking it on in a way is very noble. It's a way of taking care of his mom. And like you said, she probably won't be able to pay it

off. It's putting her in a situation. And if you guys are able to take it on, I think that's kind of a beautiful thing. I think that's a gift to give her. And I don't think your spirit doesn't sound like you're doing it out of obligation. I think you feel like you're doing it because this is the right thing to do, would you say? Yeah, absolutely. So we just don't know if we should put it in our name or continue making payments like through her account. And if we should add this to our baby steps to kind of revert back because we feel like we're ready to move on to maybe step four if we just kind of make monthly payments on this and not make it part of our debt. But it is our debt, essentially. Yeah, it is. I mean, it's just semantics. It's just how you're talking about

it. Because if you're taking emotional ownership and you're taking actual financial payment of it, then yes, it is. Whether or not you want to pretend it's in your debt snowball or not for the step backwards that it feels like. Did you already say this, Jessica? Maybe I missed it, but what are the expectations? Have you all communicated with the parents about who is paying it, who's responsible for it? Yeah, I mean, it was not. We just kind of decided to take it on about two years ago.

I'm losing paint on it for a while. So I think it's pretty expected that we'll be paying for it. It was just never an option for me. Totally. But have y'all said that? Have y'all had a conversation like, we're going to take this on and we're going to pay it off? Yes. Okay, great.

Awesome. I just think that's key because sometimes we can have different expectations. Like you guys expected them to take it back or you expected it to be split or something like that. So just if y'all are all on the same page from an expectation standpoint, then yeah, I love that. And if you can, then do it. It sounds to me, and Rachel, you chime in here, it sounds to me that what feels right in your spirit, Jessica, is to pay it. So even if we told you not to pay it for some reason, which we wouldn't, your spirit is what's telling you what you need to do. It's like that's what you feel convicted to do, which is awesome. So you need to do what you feel called to do. And I'll be honest, Jessica, I don't know the process of putting the loan in your name. I know you asked that versus keeping it in hers.

I would say if you guys were able to pay this off quickly, a part of me would say not to mess with it. It doesn't matter. Keep it in her name. Well, it adds to the liability, you the liability of her. If they don't pay it, it is still in her name. I mean, if you pay it off quickly, yeah. Yeah, but you're right. If you pay it off quickly, that's what I'm saying. I don't think

it really matters that much in that way. But I don't know the process even to direct you in that. I would say continue to pay it off, but I would be gazelle intense. I would pause everything. I know you guys haven't moved quite on to baby step four, I don't think you said. So, yeah, I would say continue to pay it off, but I would be gazelle intense. I would pause everything. I know you guys haven't moved quite on to baby step four. I don't think you said so. Yeah, I would continue to pay off this 56

and you can keep it where it is. Rachel, I'm curious because I know you have talked about this a lot. Dave has talked about this a lot, but this is a great question, a great example from Jessica and it sounds like everyone's in a really healthy place. Sometimes we get calls and it's not that and it's why I paid for my mom or you know I paid for my sister xyz and

she didn't pay me back and you know I thought she was going to and we never and there's just these weird family dynamics when someone pays for someone else's something and I I love Jessica's heart because it's very much like we want to we don't have to but we we want to. It's coming out of this joyful heart and it's a gift. It's something that everybody's on the same page. How do you advise people when they're like, should I pay for this thing for a family member? What's the framework you walk them through to ask if that's right for you? I would say the first step is to think, I'm not getting this money back. This is a gift. We're not going to loan back. This is a gift, right? We're

not going to loan it out. It's not a debt. We're going to loan it out. I would say if there's a level of enabling, I would push into it. Because what ends up happening is you could end up harming them more than helping them. Or it's a pattern. That's right. Exactly. But that's the beautiful thing. When we talk about living like no one else, later you can live and give like no one else. And we get calls that people have paid off their parents mortgages right like i mean there's insane gifts that you're able to do for people when you handle your own money right i mean and and jessica's that right like they they're all baby step four now and she's like you know we're gonna take on this debt that technically his mom's

paid for right yeah it took out but we're gonna do that because it was you know my husband's education i'm like that's a gift like what that That is. So so I would just make sure that the enabling part is not in there. But also, I would say from a spiritual aspect, if you feel the Holy Spirit, you feel like God's telling you to do something. Yeah, that's a great that's a great checklist as well. All right. All right. We're going to we're going to engage this opportunity to do it. But I think understanding and the expectation, because like you said, we get so many calls.

I mean, I've even had friends, two different friends that their parents took out a loan for college. They didn't realize it, but it was under their name. And then they're going to go buy a house and they pull. And they go and they're like, Mom and Dad, they're like, yeah, well, you're supposed to pay on this. Like I haven't paying on it because I didn't know it was there. You know, you didn't tell me. I mean, there's just so much miscommunication that can happen in families because of just assuming. Yeah.

Oh, I just assumed you knew. Right. Well, how would you assume we never talked about it? So the over communication part, which is why I liked you pressed Jessica on that. Like that's a key part. Whenever you're dealing with money and family, keeping it clean helps with that communication. Clear communication. To be unclear is to be unkind.

You're not being kind by just dancing around the edges and making everything sweet. Go in there and lay down exactly what's going on because that truth is going to help kind of slice through a lot of the hardship that can be caused by money and family. Yeah. And I love how we quote this all the time, but George Bernard Shaw said, the biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it's occurred. I thought you knew. You thought I knew. But I said, but you meant. And I thought. And that's where so much resentment builds.

That's where conflict occurs. That's where you miss each other. You had an expectation. They had an expectation. There were different expectations and you never talked about them. And so, so much can be resolved. So much conflict, so many resentment that's building up could be resolved if you would just communicate.

If you would just say, what are your expectations here? Here are my expectations here. Let's get on the same page before we move forward in anything. By the way, that's not just a money principle. That's a life principle. This is The Ramsey Show. I'm Christy Ray and Rachel Cruz and I are taking your call today. Triple A 825-5225. If you have a question about money, about paying off your debt, about starting your business, about life, we're here.

We're here for you. Taking your calls. We're having life. We're here. We're here for you. Taking your calls. We're having fun. It's Friday. We're in a great mood, and we love hanging out with you. So let's go to Audrey in Joplin, Missouri. Hey, Audrey, how are you? I'm good.

How are you? Good. What's going on? Yeah, so let me give you just a little bit of preface. So I'm 19. I'm currently going to college. I'm actually getting paid back to go to college. My scholarships are covering everything.

Wow. You're one of those, Audrey. I knew those people. They'd go to the financial aid office and they'd get a check. And I'm like, yeah, you're the smart ones. That's awesome. That's awesome. Yeah.

So just in the last month, I pretty much binge-watched Financial Peace University. And my question really is, since I, I mean, I've never gone into debt, I'm looking to start that emergency fund and opening like a Roth IRA to start on all that stuff. And I just don't, I've never done any of that stuff before. So I didn't know if it's best to do it at just like my local bank where I have my free checking account or where's the best place to go to do those things. Well, you're amazing, Audrey, number one. I mean, absolutely incredible. Not many 19-year-olds binge watch Financial Peace University, though they should. Yes. I mean, you already are going to be in an incredible situation. So here's what I would say to you. While those charts that are in Financial Peace University, you see the compound interest.

If you start at 19 and you end at 22, you have $4 million, all of this. So that, for me, is an illustration to show, maybe not literal right now at 19, but to show the power of when you start early, how far your money can go. So with that being said, with you being in school, even though you're being paid and you're so smart, I'm sure that that's still how it's going to be in four years. The best investment you can make right now is in you. And so by putting money away right now that you're not able to get, in fact, you have to earn an income to a point to even open up a Roth IRA, which is an investment. So you'd have to meet with an investment professional to do that. That money is away. So the best plan, and this is what

we encourage always college students, smart college students that are people like you, Audrey, is to start saving and just save, save, save, save, save, save, save, because here's the deal. Number one, you're going to have plenty of time to catch up when it comes to investing in retirement. Time is on your side. You're going to be in an incredible position to do that. And number two, to be able just to have that cash because if something were to happen with scholarships or education, you have that money there to supplement to continue to be debt-free while going through school, which is a great investment for you. But also you just have a chunk of money there at the end of school,

and you're being paid to go to school, all of that, right? So you save up this big emergency fund and more cash. You leave at 21 with a pile of cash that you can use for not just an emergency fund, but beyond that, for a down payment, maybe on a home. Maybe that's a big chunk that you write into a big mutual fund to start out. But having that money liquid, meaning you can get to it quickly.

With a Roth IRA, you can't get to it quickly. It is stuck in there because if you pull it out, there's penalty. So having cash available at your age is going to be the smartest move, Audrey. So what I would say is to go down. You can go down to your local bank. You can go online. And I would open up a money market account. So this is basically a savings account.

You can write, it usually comes with a debit card, so you can take money out or write a check out of it, usually on average about six times a month. So it's not going to be your primary checking, but this can be an account that you just start saving cash for. It's your emergency fund, but it might be even just more stuff. So just having that one account that you are focused on putting as much money away as possible. Again, if you need it for school at some point, you can pull some of that money out. Or the beautiful thing is you graduate with maybe $10,000. I don't know, you know, and you're like,

oh, okay, well, from here, we got some options. We can do some stuff because that transition out of college to the real world can be expensive. So having that money on hand. But again, Audrey, amazing. I mean, you're incredible. Absolutely incredible. The fact that you're even calling. The fact that you watched Financial Peace University as a 19-year-old and then called the Ramsey Show for that kind of question just shows what a go-getter.

You're going to have a lot of money. You're going to build wealth in your life. You're going to be just fine. What I love about your situation and like so many college students is because you have such a great position right now, you're not in debt, then you do have options. It's like we've been talking about all day today. Money is not just about money. It's about options. It's about you having the option to do what you want to do, whether that is move across the country or travel or buy a house or go to grad school or whatever. You don't know what you don't know, Audrey, like all college students, by the way. You don't know what you don't know.

You don't know what you're going to want in two years, three years, five years. But if you have money, then you've got the options to make any of those things happen, even if you change your mind or it goes different than you expect. Great question and great job. Way to go. All right, let's talk to Andy in Boise. Hey, Andy, how are you? I'm doing good.

Thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's going on? So my wife and I are at a bit of a disagreement that we can't seem to get past, and that is where we should live. Just a small thing. We live where I grew up. That's where I've had my job for 17 years.

We've been married for 12. And recently there's been some stuff that's just kind of gone bad with relationships for her. And she's kind of saying, we just need to move closer to my family. And her family lives 2,000 miles away. So that would mean selling our house, finding another house. I'd have to find another job. And it's just kind of gotten to the point where I'm saying, I just don't see that smart. And she's saying, well, that's the smartest thing we can do.

And we're just kind of stuck. Okay. I have so many follow-up questions. Number one, do you all have kids? We have four kids, and number five is on the way. Okay. Congratulations. What are their ages?

The oldest is 10, and next one will be 8. The middle one is 4, about to turn 5, and the youngest is 1 1⁄2. Okay. Okay. So as much as you can tell us that you're comfortable with, what went down? What went bad with relationships here? There's just been several relationships with friends that they just basically kind of just abandoned her um kind of left her high and dry and she's she's kind of get the point around she's just saying i'm tired of reaching out to people to be friends and then just kind of just just

just leaving me and then i feel like i have nothing here she's like you've got your family here you've got everything here but all everything that's that's my family that I love is a whole country away. Yeah. Okay. Let me tell you what I hear is going on, and I'm going to show you both sides of it. Andy, one side of it is as a mom, and I can only relate to this from the motherhood perspective, but I love being close to my mom and my dad. Having that help, having that support that's my people, not Matt's people, my people, my mom's three miles away. There's a very real piece of that. If she's pregnant, you've got number five on the way that I could totally see why she would want to be closer to her family with the fifth baby on the way. That in and of itself to me makes sense.

So I get that. If that was the only reason, I would get it. I'm not saying you should do it, but I understand the desire. The piece of it that's a check for me is reason, I would get it. I'm not saying you should do it, but I understand the desire. The piece of it that's a check for me is I feel like she's running. I feel like she's running from these relationships that hurt her. And if she was fine before those relationships burned that bridge, then I don't know why she couldn't be fine after that. She might need some community. She might need new relationships. She might need a different type of support. She definitely does need things that are hers. If it feels like that all she does is take care of the kids and you've got this awesome life with work and golf clubs and all the friends and interests and she doesn't have that, then man, of course she needs that. But the only place it's

possible is not 2,000 miles away. It's possible there, but it's going to take some effort on her part. So I think that the advice I would give you, and I want Rachel to jump in here, but just seeing both sides and hearing both sides, I think it would be really important for you all to dig into her motivation to leave. If her motivation to leave is family and support with a fifth baby, that's a very different conversation than I had some friends that hurt my feelings here because this is a very expensive decision. You're talking about your job of 17 years, selling your house, uprooting your kids out of their schools. That is a major lifetime.

There better be an amazing reason for y'all to do that, to put your whole family through it. I would just press into that conversation and really, in love, Andy, ask questions like, what's going on? Why can't we find that here? What's different today than was different six months ago or before this happened? Let's really ask lots of open-ended questions to lead to the conversation, to get to the root of what's going on so that you can make the decision that's right for you.

But I would just say from my perspective, it would need to be a very good reason to uproot your whole family, take all that cost. Rachel, you feel like the same? Oh, absolutely. You don't want to make decisions that are emotional and out of pain and hurt. We want to make these big life decisions when we're in a healthy spot. It doesn't sound like that. And for good reason.

She was hurt. She's hurt. And do not do it. Do not make any decision until you're on the same page. Okay? You will build resentment if you do. Keep working through it until you get on the same page. Great call.

Good luck. This is The Ramsey Show. This is James Childs, producer of The Ramsey Show. You can listen to all our shows with the Ramsey Network app on your smartphone. Browse by topic or even send clips to your friends. Download the Ramsey Network app in your favorite app store today.