The Ramsey Show - App - How Can I Make Money As Fast as Possible so I Can Retire Early? (Hour 3)

Episode Date: January 13, 2023

George Kamel & Ken Coleman answer your questions and discuss: "I'm 25 and live with my parents, what should I do with my money?" "How can I best help my parents with money?" "Should I stay at my part time job if I love it?" "I'm a single mom facing eviction" The practicality of getting solar panels. Have a question for the show? Call 888-825-5225 Weekdays from 2-5pm ET Want a plan for your money? Find out where to start: https://bit.ly/3nInETX Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6 Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy

🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Pod's moving and storage studio, it's The Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life and your money. I'm Ramsey personality, George Campbell, joined by my good friend, Ken Coleman, and we are here for you, America, answering life's biggest questions about money, work, purpose, and everything in between. 888-825-5225 is the number to call. Gus is going to kick us off in Orlando. Gus, welcome to the show. Hey, guys. thank you. Absolutely. How can Ken and I help? I'd like to know what you guys think would be the best for me to do with the money that I have

in my bank account. All right. How much do you have? I have about $20,000 in it right now. And I have a job that it's a full-time job that I contribute to my Roth 401k. And I put about 17% into that. And I've also already contributed to my individual Roth, the max for 2023 as well. Way to go. What's your income? 73 and a half. Great. Do you have any debt? No. Okay. So we're going to call this 20 your emergency fund plus a little bit? Yeah. Okay. Well, what's your next goal? I'm really not sure. Because you're at what we would call baby step four. How old are you?

25. Okay. Are you married? No. Okay. Do you want to be a homeowner? I do, but I'm not in a rush. Okay.

What do you want to do? What do you think about doing 10, 15, 20 years from now? Because I know you're thinking about it, so don't tell me, well, I don't know. No, you may not be sure, but I think you've got some ideas. Hit me. Yeah, basically I just want to have as much money as quickly as possible so I don't have to work until 2070.

Why as quickly as possible? What's the rush when you say as quickly as possible, so I don't have to work until... Why as quickly as possible? What's the rush when you say as quickly as possible? More so I can stop working. Oh, so you're a part of the fire movement. So do you already hate what you do for work? No, I don't hate what I do. I would just prefer to do something other than... So let's say 10 years from now, you got a million dollars, Gus,

and you cannot work anymore. What are you going to do? I would probably just move out west somewhere and go live in the mountains and hang out. Just, like, be a mountain man? Just hanging out with cattle? Yeah, go. No, not cattle, not a farmer.

Probably just go hiking, snowboarding. Okay, and then how... All the outdoor activities. All right. And that sounds... By the way, not a farmer. Probably just go hiking, snowboarding. Okay, and then how— All the outdoor activities. All right. And that sounds—by the way, that's fantastic. And then about 60 to 90 days of that, you're going to be bored out of your skull, and you're going to want to make a contribution to the world. Yeah, maybe.

No, guaranteed. This idea—you've heard of this FIRE movement, Financially Independent Retire Early. Is that what this is? This is the first time I've heard of that. Okay, it's a whole movement, and there's a lot of young people doing it. And it sounds really wise, right? Work really, really hard, make as much money as fast as possible

in a short period of time, and then just stop working. Here's what I'm trying to tell you, young man, and I know you don't believe me yet, but I'm asking you to trust me. We as human beings want to make a contribution. We just want to make the world a better place in some way. Do you agree or disagree? And I don't mind if you disagree. No, I agree.

All right then. So you go in and have fun and all that adventure stuff that's awesome but at some point you're going to wake up and you're going to go I'm ready I need to do something besides play so if you agree with the first statement that humans long to make a difference in the world then at some point we want to do more than play and so so I'm just curious what have you wondered about? George gave you the question. You got a million bucks, and you've gone out west,

and you've played in the mountains and hung out and whatever for who knows how long. And then you get bored, and you really want to do something. What is it that you're thinking about? I have no idea. All right. I think you've got some searching to do. I think you've got to be confident to go, oh, I've thought about this. It doesn't mean that's what you're locking into.

I've thought about this. Can I just tell you this, and I'll give you back to George on the money stuff, but I really want to challenge you on this. The very same pull to go hang out in the mountains and do all that mountainy outdoorsy stuff the same thing that's pulling you there i would suggest to you that you should think about working in that space and getting paid to do that kind of stuff that's what i think but what do i do george well i guess on the money side you you're doing incredibly well. At 25, you're maxing out retirement accounts. You've got the savings and investing muscle down.

Are you renting right now? I currently live at home right now. I've only been working for a year, and I haven't been wanting to buy anything and rent. Where I live is very high, and luckily my parents have been generous enough to allow me to stay home. So what's the long-term plan to keep living with mom and dad? No, I'm planning on moving within this year, but I plan on moving out of state and I'm trying to figure out which city I'd like to live in. Okay. Well, that would be your next move, obviously, financially. And so

preparing for that is important. You can store that 20 grand in a high yield savings account. You'll get about three or 4% right now. And so that's the best thing to do with the money you have currently. I would invest 15%. Right now you're doing 17. I would slim that investing back to 15% right now because we have other goals other than retirement right now. You got a long time till you can even access those retirement funds without penalties so let's start saving up a huge chunk of cash for you know you're going to need a deposit you're going to need furniture you're going to want to put a down payment on a home you're going to want to upgrade the car in the next you know sounds like he's going to need a tent you might need a tent if you're going to be

out west and so they're just He's already got the tent. He's got that covered. All right. But I would go out on your own. I mean, you have a great income, even if you have to get a roommate. I think just getting out on your own, even with a roommate, like moving into that adulting phase, gives you such dignity and independence that I think you're craving right now. Okay. So I don't know.

You don't need to be safe. You're in a great financial position to move out from uh from mom and dad yeah yeah definitely and if it scares you a little bit good because that's gonna be life you're gonna have to start paying all the bills on your own and i think that will give your dollar something to do and give you a little more purpose that i think you're craving right now and can i gift you something my young friend i want and give you a little more purpose that I think you're craving right now. And can I gift you something, my young friend? I want to give you my book, From Paycheck to Purpose. I want you to read it, listen to it. We'll give you whatever format you want. I really want you to just dial into what's pulling you out west and all that and really

think about your long-term contribution that you just go, this is just who I am. This is me. I've always been this way. This came easy to me. I've always liked this kind of stuff. And this kind of thing, this result motivates me. It's really important for young people, all of us, to understand that. But right now, you're set up to actually be able to go do it. And I want you to dream on that. So hang out for a second.

Yeah, you've got a great foundation. And can I just keep coming back to this quote? I don't even know where it's from. But it just, go west, young man. That's Gus. He's doing it. Yeah. And I'm proud of him.

Most 25-year-olds are not doing this kind of stuff. And so you've got a great financial foundation. Now we've just got to put that to use and go, what was I created to do? What should I be contributing to for the next 30 years of my life? Great goal. This is The Ramsey Show. welcome back to the ramsey show i'm george camel joined by ken coleman and we are having a good time if you want to join us call 888-825-5225 it is time now for our question of the day, and it is brought to you by cardigans. A timeless and versatile wardrobe staple that every serious man needs.

Collarless, timeless, cardigans. What's there not to love? Yeah. Man, good stuff. Today's question comes from Jim over in Maryland. He says, I've been practicing your ways since I was in college, and I'm in baby steps 4 and 3B while saving for a big down payment on a house. He says, and stop forever. I offered to put my parents through Financial Peace University, and I explained to them how they can get to a point of never having to ask me or anyone else for money ever again, but only if they were open and honest about all their debts and actually go through it

together. They want to do it. They've accepted it. How do I make sure they do it, and how do I hold them accountable or make them accountable? Should I know about their debts, or is this already embarrassing enough for them? Should I just gift FPU and whatever they do with it, they do? Any help is greatly appreciated. Oh man, the child is parenting the parents. Yeah, and that is kind of a natural progression through life. It really is as the parents get older. You know, George, I'm curious to know what you think on this. As I was listening to that, I think he has the answer to that question. And it comes down to this. What is your existing relationship like with your parents? Like when you got to have real conversations with them, what's that like?

He just inherently knows. And if they're really willing and they're saying, we want to do this, I think he goes to them and says, hey, I'm willing to do this, this, or this. What are you comfortable with? And just see where they're at. He can read them. He can hear them. I would just approach it that way. Throw it all out there as a menu and they can choose which items they want. Yeah, I like that. I mean, we know you can't force anyone. You can't change anyone. What you can do is encourage them. You can coach them, and I think you're on the path to doing that

through gifting them FPU. Maybe you go through it with them. Say, hey, I'll come over once a week. We'll do dinner. We'll watch the next lesson. We'll talk about it. We'll have a discussion about it, and I'll help you guys get out of this mess.

But what you don't want to do is enable them in any way. Clearly, they're at a point where they're – I mean, the fact that the parents are even opening up about their finances to them, they're crying, they're emotional about it. Yeah, I think it's – It tells me they've had their I've had it moment. Yeah, I think you're right. I agree.

I would just be open and honest. They'll tell you what they're comfortable with and what they're not. And if they ask for your advice, give it to them. Yeah. Otherwise, you know, Dave calls it powder butt syndrome. They're not going to listen to the kid who they powder their butt 20 years ago. And so that's a hard thing for a kid to give a parent financial advice. But the fact that you're living this out to the point where they're coming to you because of how you've managed your finances, number one, you're changing

your family tree. And number two, I think it's very honorable to your parents to want to help them in this way. And gifting them FPU is a great, great start. Yeah. So way to go, Jim. Yeah. It's a sad situation. Parents out there, you can do better. You don't have to go to your kids asking them for money. That's not what you want later on in life. And it's part of why we tell people, hey, focus on your own retirement before you try to help your kid get on their feet, because this is what happens. The parents didn't prepare well. They weren't in a good financial spot. Now they're knocking on the kid's door saying, hey, we need five grand. Can we borrow some money? So not what you want. All right, let's go to the phones. Julie joins us up next in Grand Junction, Colorado. Julie, welcome to The Ramsey Show.

Hey, guys. Thanks so much for taking my call. Happy Friday. You as well. I am looking forward to your advice on my situation. So during the pandemic, both Hubby and I lost our jobs. Hubby has been able to find a new job. I've been able to find a new job just by reaching out to

someone else that I knew who was wanting to set up a nonprofit doing what I had been doing 10 years previous to that. And so, of course, during that time when we were looking for jobs and trying to navigate the pandemic, we've got two teenagers and we went about $30,000 into debt. And, um, that didn't feel great. And we never had done FPU before, but now that we both have two jobs, we went through FPU last fall and we finished up, um, in December and we're in baby step two, we've paid off close to eight grand since December. So that's like in a month, which feels great. But the job that I was able to find is a part-time job, setting up a new nonprofit. My pay is being sponsored by the people who run the organization. And the organization doesn't have enough funding just yet in order to pay for

me to be full-time doing the job. It's super fulfilling. It's nonprofit work. It's amazing stuff, feeling good every single day when you come home. And I've recently been contacted by a recruiter in the area who could triple my income if I worked with her, did something not nonprofit and did what I'm doing now, basically, but on a full-time level and in the for-profit sector. It might help to know that I'm 54, hubby is 58. So we got a late start. What are you?

This sounds really great, but you're not sure why. No, I'm really, really struggling because I love what I do so much. But I thought I heard you say, I'm sorry, but I thought I heard you say that the new job offer would be doing what you're doing now. Somewhat, but not for nonprofits. So it would be administrative type work, but not for the you know good of other people all right so that direct i get it so it's the mission of this non-profit it's not the fact that it's not profit it's the missional piece of yes okay and do you mind just telling me very quickly what the what the what the result is for people that this non- nonprofit is producing that you are so connected to?

Yeah, they get an assistance dog. Okay, so I got an idea. Well, I got one more question. I feel like a lawyer in front of a judge. One more question, Your Honor. how quickly, how dramatically would tripling your income change everything that you want? How much better? I mean, I just want you to describe it to me. How much better would it make things? Yeah, we could get out from underneath this debt like in six months, and then we could start working on the other baby steps because we don't have any of those. Good. And how great would that feel? Amazing. I would be able to completely

change my entire family tree. Okay. I'm so excited. I've got an idea and I hope you like it. Are you ready? Okay. I'm ready. I want you to let me finish and then tell me what you think. Here we go. I think you should take the job offer from the recruiter that triples your income, fast forwards the baby steps, and, and, and, and, and, and one more and, and then you volunteer for the nonprofit that you love so much because they always need volunteers and you still have a connection to placing assistance dogs to help people so you don't lose the connection but you make the money now you can tell me what you think of my idea be gentle no i actually think it sounds amazing because i think as you know when you're working every day helping other people, yes, it's super fulfilling, but it also draws on you, right?

You know, there's a cost emotionally. And I think that sounds like a really great idea, and I hadn't thought of it before. So there's no buts here. You're going to do it? I got to run it by hubby. Trust me. Let me go ahead and speak on behalf of hubby he's gonna like it it's kind of a it's a family decision i mean i've kind of been talking to hubby about this

a little bit and he's like but you haven't given this enough chance and i know how happy this makes you yeah but here's the deal you're not going to lose the happy you're going to volunteer maybe a couple nights of the week or on weekends. You're an administrative whiz. You're already using your administrative talent to make that nonprofit work better for the ultimate result. And so you're going to keep doing it, but you're going to do it as a volunteer, get the fulfillment, that contribution. That's what I'm talking about. You were created to make a difference and and you can do that, plus make triple. Get out of debt and live the life you've always dreamed of.

Heck yeah. Get that financial foundation this year. It's a building year. Yes. And then you're ready to do whatever you want. If you want to work at that nonprofit for very little pay later down the road, you have the ability to do that because you set yourself free financially. I love it. Great advice, Ken.

This is The Ramsey show it's a new year and that means new goals and so many of you have got that new career on the goal list and you got to check out the get clear career assessment by my friend and america's career coach ken coleman this assessment will help you find fulfillment in your current job know the career you were created for and uncover your passions and talents if you're choosing quiet quitting over there because you're uh you're you want to make a change you don't know where to start. I'm telling you, the Get Clear Assessment is a great place to start. The whole thing will take you 15 or 20 minutes, answer some questions. Minutes later, you'll get a custom report that describes what truly drives you, your top strengths and possible careers that would be a great fit for

you. So you can start by getting that Get Clear Assessment at ramsaysolutions.com slash get clear. Yeah, it's honestly my life's work to be able to give people self-awareness really quickly. All we're doing is asking you deep, but very simple, but deep questions about you. And for many people, they just see themselves the way now the world has been seeing them for a long time. And your opportunity to be great is totally based on your ability to know how unique you are. So your uniqueness is where we find greatness, and we want to help you do that. And a lot of derivatives, but simply put, you're going to experience more meaning and make a lot more money. So check it out.

It's a great tool. All right. Let's go to the phones. Carrie joins us up next in Mobile, Alabama. Carrie, welcome to the show. Hey, good afternoon. I just wanted your input as far, and my car isn't working, so my car is down. And I was just served papers for eviction. I'm not currently working. Give me a moment.

It's okay. Take your time, Carrie. You're under it right now. I have really prayed about calling, and I honestly didn't think I would get through. Well, you were supposed to get through. But this is serving note. I'm the enemy because I'm going to come on top. Come on.

And I'm going to get through this. Yeah, you are. I'm going to come on top. Come on. And I'm going to get through this. Yeah, you are. I'm 51. I have two children, and it's a really long story, but their father is not involved. How old are the kids? My youngest two are 11, and he's on the spectrum, and then I have a seven-year-old daughter okay are you so I just see are you able to work um I have some um some uh issues physically um but I have in the past um but I'm home now because I had to retain an attorney for my son for an IEP.

I don't have to pay for that. It's free to children with IEPs. So I'm in the process of that. But if I were to call you an hour from hour from now and say hey i got a job for you are you able to go do the job assuming that it does not have all the physical limitations but could you work my car isn't working like it's been down since before christmas i get that i had the battery i'm sorry i get it but can you work? Do you have child, like who would watch the kids? That's what I'm trying to say. I mean, we got to figure out. You don't. It's just me. Correct. So you couldn't work out of the house, theoretically, right? Correct. You have no friends and family that could watch the kids?

No, I do not. Okay. So the only work that you you could do because we've got to get some income in here right is is when you're working remotely right correct okay because then you don't have to have transportation so because we got to get some income in here because you're getting evicted you got a lot coming your way yeah have you have you looked into do you have a bankruptcy trustee that you're working with? I called him today, and he recommended filing Chapter 13 because I have a payment each month. And the only reason I went that way was to keep my vehicle. But he suggested filing Chapter 13 and getting rid of that $100,000 debt. What's the $100,000 debt?

Medical bills. That's why I filed bankruptcy, because I was so overwhelmed with the payments and I just couldn't do it. Now, when you say you're in the middle of bankruptcy, how far are you in the process? I've already appeared in court. Okay. And I missed, like, two payments, and the judge said that he wanted to see, like, consistency as far as the payments before it got, like, totally signed off. Was this while you had no income?

Yes. I mean, I get SSI. My son gets SSI. So I do have a little income. Is that even enough to cover your rent? I live in subsidized housing. It's based off my income. Okay.

So how much is your rent? Currently, it's $93. Okay. But you're getting evicted from that housing? Correct, from being behind... And why is that? Just from being behind the $93 payment? And last month, yes.

That's what the papers say. So are you going to be able to get other subsidized housing now? I've been in contact with them, and they stated in the papers that they notified me to pay the rent before the 5th, and they did not. I mean, I knew the rent was due by the 5th, and I understand that. And I've always paid my bills or I've made arrangements. So, I mean, it was either... So, could you fix this by saying, all right, I'm going to come up with the $93 for last month and the $93 for this month and get you back current, or are they just saying... Have you tried to negotiate with them? I have. And what

did they say? I've been up there, and I've called them, and he referred me to the courthouse. Okay. I would work with your bankruptcy trustee to figure out what your options are, what the laws are. I don't want anyone bullying you around with this, but your A1 right now is food, utilities, shelter, and transportation. That's it. That's all I want Carrie focused on and making sure those kids have food on the table and a roof over their heads. And whatever you have to do to do that, even if it's a work from home job or you borrow a car, are you part of a local church community in Mobile? I am not. Okay. I used to live there. There are so many great churches there. You got

to get plugged in with a church. Let them know your situation. Do you have any family or friends that would be able to help to cover your bills for a month? That would help me financially? No. I'm on my own. Okay. Well, you've got to have community here. You can't do this alone right now. And your next step is to get that income up, as Ken said, because we don't need a lot to survive right now. And we're just in survival mode. But that's what we need to focus on is where are we going to live next? Can we make sure we're not evicted? Can we negotiate with them? Can we scrape by 200 bucks? Can we get in touch with a local church community or a ministry out there that can help me right now? It's not can we, it's we will.

Carrie, can I just speak to your mama heart right now? Yes. I don't know a stronger human being on the planet than a single mom. I just don't. You're a warrior. You're a mama bear. Would you let anybody harm those kiddos? Absolutely not. bear would you let anybody harm those kiddos absolutely not no then i want you to harness

that and i know you have been through unbelievable unbelievable storms but you better summon your mama bear right now and if somebody came to harm those babies, you would die protecting them. And right now, what is harming those babies and harming you is your financial instability. You can work. You must work. You go back to that deadbeat government employee and say, I'm going to come up with $186. You find a way. You fight. You go get a remote job.

You fight. You go to a church and say i'll come to church every sunday morning with these kids i need a battery in my car you fight for those kids you fight for you now amen well gary hang on the line we are going to connect you with a financial coach and we are going to pay for that session so they can dig into the details and walk with you through this. We are here for you. Please call us back. This is The Ramsey Show. Our scripture of the day comes from Romans 12.10. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. The great Fred Rogers once said, love and success always in that order. It's that simple and that difficult. Well, folks, do you know how much you're going to

need in retirement? Do you know where you should be investing? In today's economy, it may sound more of a pipe dream than a real possibility, but it is possible to retire early with some hard work and intentional planning. We've got eight steps on how to retire early in this weekend's edition of the Ramsey Newsletter. It's completely free, and you can sign up for it at ramsaysolutions.com slash newsletter, and you'll get it every Sunday and find out those eight steps to retire early. George, I want to point out that our quote of the day was from none other than Mr. Rogers, the ultimate cardigan icon.

I mean, legendary. The zip-up cardigan. I don't know that anybody's ever done it better than he did. He innovated in the cardigan space with the zip-up cardigan. Well, what I like is he walked in, he pulled it out of the closet, put it on while he was walking down the stairs, showed the kids how to neatly put that cardigan sweater zipper together, and just, he was flawless.

I wish I could say we planned that, but you can't produce that kind of magic. We couldn't have planned that. Wow. Oh, man. We're having too good of a time is there like a national cardigan sweater makers association i should be their keynote i would pay good money to see you do that yeah it probably doesn't exist they're all wearing cardigans in the crowd yeah oh all right let's go to the phones will is in burlington virgin Will, welcome to the show.

How's it going? Good. Actually, it's Vermont, but I'm doing pretty well. Sorry, the abbreviation was wrong on my screen. No problem. Someone's getting fired over that. I'm just kidding. No, I'm filming. It's all right.

I thought, I was like, I didn't know there was a Burlington, Virginia, but it's all right. How are we doing, Will? What can I help with today? We're doing pretty well. I'm actually pretty new to your guys' show here. I've been listening for about a month now. A buddy of mine turned me on to it. Made a lot of stupid decisions financially over the years.

Once I started making, you know, really good money, I just did stupid stuff. It's called lifestyle creep. Yeah, yeah. I just did stupid stuff. It's called lifestyle creep. Yeah, yeah. So before I found you guys, I was in the process of getting solar put on my house. And in doing that, I was taking out a whole equity loan. So everything came back. I've been listening to you guys.

I'm on baby step two, hammering down as much as I can. And I'm kind of at a point where I don't know if I should go through with the solar loan and get the solar put on because I'll be saving money on utilities. Or if I should just cancel it. Well, you're too smart for this, buddy. You know too much now. You're saying it's not too late to back out of this nightmare no i'll lose 300 bucks but it's it's not a big deal i'll pay that stupid tax to not pay a much bigger stupid tax by taking out this heloc to pay for solar what's your utility bill

well um i'm an hvac guy so i put heat pumps in this year this month was 512 dollars give me the average if you divided it out over 12 months. It's not $500 a month. No, if I average it out, it's probably $300. Okay. That is $3,600 a year. What are you saving? It would be $30 a month.

You're saving $30 a month? Yeah, it would be $270. Okay. This hurts my brain. You're saving $30 a month, which is $360 a year you're saving? Well, right, but then when the loan's paid off, I won't have to pay for electricity at all. Okay, what's the HELOC you were going to take out? Like total amount?

Yeah. It was $37,000, I believe. What's the interest rate? Variable, probably? No, it was fixed at $3.99. So you were going to take out a $37,000 loan at 4% interest to save $360 a year. Well, long term, I'm not going to have an electric bill. You're not going to be alive by the time you ROI on this thing. True.

Look, I'm doing the math for you, which I wish the guy trying to sell you the HELOC did or the guy selling you the solar, $37,000, right? This is not even counting interest. It would take you 102 years to break even, Will. Okay. How old are you? I kind of figured, but I'm 34. Do you plan on living to be 136 years old to see the light of day when you ROI on this?

No. Okay. I got a trade-off. I got a trade-off. I got a trade-off. I'm so riled up, Ken. I know. It's ridiculous. Will, did you hear what George said?

I mean, if there's only one thing you heard by calling into the show today, and I'm glad you did and glad you're a new listener, is the amount of time it would take you to ROI on that $37,000. 100 plus years, he said. I mean, do you need to know anything else? But the sales guy didn't tell you that okay but i got an idea no i was just thinking i wouldn't have a electric or heating bill but that's not but that's 10 years from now but that's not true you would still have

a bill uh there was a national news program that did a whole story on this because it doesn't completely remove your there's still a caught like it doesn't completely wipe your energy out you need to do the research on it. Actually, you don't because we already explained why you should eat the 300 bucks and not worry about it, right? I'm sure the solar panel salesman told you otherwise. Yeah. But I just did some third grade napkin math to show you that you won't live to see the

day you ROI on this. But I have an idea. Right. I have an idea to lessen the sting of eating the $300. You're going to eat the three hundred dollars you're not gonna go into debt for it but uh you're gonna cash flow some solar walking lights along the front path of your house at lowes or home depot go get you some of those yeah now you got some solar energy you feel good about that sorry i'm just telling this whole solar panel thing is the next great scam. It really is.

Yeah, and people are falling for it because they're going, Yeah, utility bills are high. I could save a quick buck if I do this by going $40,000 into debt and ROI-ing 100 years from now. Right, and I was taking into consideration my heating bill because now I've got heat pumps in the house, heat pump water here. So I was taking that consideration my heating bill because now I've got heat pumps in the house heat pump water here so I was like taking that into consideration as well you know my heating bill during the winter's three four hundred dollars a month so I was like well maybe this will work out but then like I said I found you guys I'm like rethinking everything I'm so glad

well here's the deal you could save up $37,000 and pay cash for it, and then you got what you want without the 100-year ROI. Right. I'm going to get rid of the $60,000 in debt first. There we go. Of course. We're just kind of helping. Is that all of your debt is $60,000?

That's it. I had $72,000 before I started listening to you guys. I sold a car that I wasn't really using. Good. Hammered off two things, and now I've got a – and the other question is I've got a new vehicle for my wife, and I have a company vehicle, so I don't have to pay for those. But, like, I'm even at the point where I'm like,

well, maybe I should just sell this and then get a cheaper vehicle. What's the loan on that vehicle? Now we're talking. Now we're making progress. What's the loan amount on that new vehicle? We owe $45,000 on it, and it's $820 a month. Is that on top of your $60,000? No, that's included in the $60,000.

What's the car worth? About $45,000. I'm getting rid of that thing. Sell it. What's your household worth? About $45,000. I'm getting rid of that thing. Sell it. What's your household income? The thing is, I don't have the cash to go and buy another vehicle, and we need one for her. What do you have in savings? $1,000.

Okay. And what's your household income? $200,000. Good gracious. You make $200,000. Save up $6,000. Like I said, make $200,000. Save up six grand. Like I said, I spent a lot of money. Take your next paycheck.

I was stupid. Get mama an Uber for a month or two. Good grief, at $800 a month payment, you're still coming out. I mean, you realize how ridiculous an $800 car payment is for a depreciating asset? Oh, yeah. I had three car payments at one point in time. What are you trying to outdo me? No, I just, you know, I'm stupid.

And I started making money. No, you're not stupid. You're not stupid. People who make 200 grand aren't stupid. You're a smart guy. That's right. You're just falling for the traps of these scummy salespeople. You're falling for the traps of a toxic money culture.

And the good news is you know too much now. You're a dangerous man with some money in your pocket and you are about to pay off all this debt, be completely debt free. And we are rooting for you, my man. Thanks for the call. That puts this hour of the Ramsey Show in the books. My thanks to my cardigan wearing co-host, Ken Coleman. He rocks it like no one else. My thanks to all the folks in the booth, Will, James, Austin, Zach, Andrew, they're all in there keeping the show afloat. And you, America, thanks for tuning in. Until next time, spend wisely, save intentionally, and give generously.

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