The Ramsey Show - App - How Do I Deal With Family Drama Around My Dad’s Estate? (Hour 1)

Episode Date: February 9, 2022

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the 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. George Campbell, Ramsey Personality, and I are here to answer your questions this hour. All about your careers. All about your relationships. Your money. Your life. It all happens right here on the Ramsey Show. It's a free call, and some say the advice is worth exactly what you pay for it.
Starting point is 00:00:56 The phone number is 888-825-5225. If you don't know George's name off the top of your head, I don't know where you've been, but he's the host of the Fine Print podcast here on Ramsey Networks, which the first season is now in the books. You can listen to the whole season, binge it, and it's all about what happens in the fine print. And everybody knows the fine print's what gets you. So George is going to tell you where to not be gotten.
Starting point is 00:01:23 Meantime, we're here to help you. Phone number 888-825-5225. Sarah's in Trenton, New Jersey. Hi, Sarah. Welcome to the Ramsey Show. Hi. How are you? Better than I deserve.
Starting point is 00:01:34 What's up? So I'm calling to see what you think about us selling our rental property. We have a condo that when we moved from the condo to our house, we couldn't get out from under the condo because we were upside down. So we rented it. We now have a Section 8 renter, so we get direct deposit from the state of New Jersey every month. So that's been reliable. But we're trying to chip away at our debt, and we have a big debt right now. So we're wondering's equity in it out of the condo now you can sell it for money there is right now yeah we could make like 30 000 okay all right
Starting point is 00:02:13 well we could also be out of debt still within a few years without selling it yeah but you didn't you didn't start this condo thing to be a landlord you started it because you got stuck in it right yeah so here's the thing to have someone else paying the mortgage yeah but they don't i mean the section eight pays you but you have to go there and manage make sure you don't tear the building down yeah i've had section eight property i mean the the payment is consistent and the tenants some of them are the worst in the world and some of them are the best people in the world uh we have one of the best well so far yeah i mean like i said i've had both i've had them where i had to go over and explain to them we don't do drugs and turn tricks right so um not not in property that i own so i mean you have to have these conversations it's real
Starting point is 00:02:59 and then i've had them that are just the sweetest nicest people in the world that um are getting some help right now and turning their lives around. I've had both. So anyway, all that to say this. George and I use a process. We use it at Ramsey here all the time called a sunk cost analysis. And basically that means reverse engineer the situation. So let's do it like this.
Starting point is 00:03:18 Let's pretend that you had $30,000 less debt and you didn't have the condo, which is what would happen if you sold the condo, right? Right. Would you go borrow money, $30,000 of other debt, to buy this condo today? In this situation? No, not in a million years. So it tells you what today if you wouldn't do it over don't keep it because every day you keep it you did it over again that make any sense you sure i'm saying yeah sarah how how fast would this speed up the process for you guys if you sold
Starting point is 00:03:59 it how much debt do you have um we have about $120,000 without the condo. Without the condo. Okay. Yeah, with the condo. And you said you'd make $30,000 profit if you sold? Yes, we sold it right now. We talked to a realtor. We'd make around $30,000.
Starting point is 00:04:17 Okay. Well, that's a good chunk. That's a quarter of your debt gone. What type of debt do you have, that $120,000? $45,000 is student loans. $30,000 is in our two vehicles. And what's your household income? About $189,000. Very good. Okay. We got a good shovel here. I'm wondering if those cars are worth a pretty penny in this market and you can sell those and speed up this process. I mean, I don't know about you, but I want to get our debt as fast as possible.
Starting point is 00:04:47 Could you sell one of them? Yeah, well, that's what's making us think about selling the condo. Is to not sell the cars? To keep the vehicles? Yeah, we'd sell the condo before the cars. Sure. Okay, I'm selling the condo for sure. You're going to be $189,000 with zero debt in two years,
Starting point is 00:05:02 and you can save up money and buy your rental later. And I suspect you would buy a different rental. No, I mean, we have a great condo and a great location, and we just happen to get set up with a great Section 8 renter. Be careful, because you might – don't be the person who dropped one quarter into the slot machine and think it works every time. Okay?
Starting point is 00:05:28 I'm just telling you, I've had a lot of renters over the years. I'm a landlord. I've got a bunch of property, and it just doesn't always work that way. This idea that the renter is going to pay your payments is just a bunch of crap. Okay? You pay the payments, and the renter gives you some money, we hope. And in Section 8 case, the government's giving you the money, so the payment is guaranteed. But I'm telling you, do not let the world that you're sitting in today influence that. You can do it if you want to do it, but you'd better do it with your eyes wide open. Anyway, doesn't matter. Today, I'm selling the condo. Yeah, it's gone. Andrea is with us in San Diego.
Starting point is 00:06:00 Hi, Andrea. Welcome to The Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. Thank you for taking my call. Sure. What's up? Okay, so my dad died 37 years ago, and my mom started, he left properties and assets. So my mom, we have three kids now in the age of 50, around 50. So my mom started managing the properties. Did your mom own them at that time? When your dad died, did he leave all the property to your mom? Okay, we're talking about six properties. Two are jointly owned with my brothers.
Starting point is 00:06:45 My mom, in Argentina, when the spouse dies, 50% is for... It's complicated, Dave. 50 to my mom and the other 50 belongs to the three of us. Two properties are like that. And then two were in an LLC, which are about to be put in a title for my brothers, my two brothers. Dave lives in Argentina. I live here in the U.S my two brothers. They live in Argentina. I live here in the U.S., right? The properties are in Argentina?
Starting point is 00:07:10 Correct, yes. Okay. So, okay, so my mother started managing them first. Then my youngest brother started managing and putting most of the money in his pocket. Then in one of my trips, that was raised to me by my middle brother, and they both started managing the properties, pocketing most of the money themselves, right? I was just getting whatever they thought was fair. Now that years have passed, I have grown children. I started looking into numbers and things like that. And I'm realizing that they have been giving me between 15 and 25% of what was supposed to my part, right? So I would like, I'm trying to divide things to make things clear, transparent,
Starting point is 00:07:59 but they are reluctant. They are lashing out. Juan has completely shut down. He doesn't take my phone calls. And so, and my mom, I mean, in a way, she's a little bit biased, right? I mean, she loves the three of us, but in a way, she's a little bit biased because she's chauvinistic. You know, that's the way she was raised. I'll tell you what, you hang on. When we come back from this break, we'll hear the rest of this sordid story and give you an opinion on it. We're an expert on our opinions. That's right.
Starting point is 00:08:29 This is The Ramsey Show. Let me tell you a story about two families that are very much alike in a lot of ways. Both families have two working parents and a couple of young kids. Each has dead and has struggled to make ends meet, but they're starting to make headway with their budgets and smarter decisions with money. They have dreams and plans, and the only real difference is that one family has the right amount of term life insurance and the other doesn't. Big difference. If one of the parents die, and that does happen, their well-being would be destroyed. Paying for the mortgage, utilities, food, and other bills would be impossible, let alone saving for education or retirement. That's why every day I talk relentlessly about getting term life insurance.
Starting point is 00:09:37 Just go to ZanderInsurance.com or call 800-356-4282 and see how inexpensive it really is. Be the family that takes those deliberate steps to be different and responsible. It really does make you the hero of your story, and it puts you on course for better things ahead. George Campbell Ramsey personality is my co-host. Thank you for joining us, America. We're so glad you're here. We're talking with Andrea in San Diego. She's got brothers and her mother with managing inherited property that she's a partial owner of in Argentina. They've been paying her what they wanted to pay her over the years,
Starting point is 00:10:26 and she just looked up the other day, decided to do some math after 36 years, and discovered that she's not getting her fair share. Now she's trying to separate this and get clarity on it, and she's getting a lot of pushback. Is that a fair summary of what you told us so far, Andrea? Yes. Okay. So what are you going to do?
Starting point is 00:10:43 That's my question to you. And also, let's add that they have lived rent-free for one, at least 18 years, and the other one, seven years. Rent-free, plus receiving all the income from the other properties, right? Yeah. And my mom insists on me being nice. Andrea, be nice. Be nice to them. Being nice means not telling them. I mean, I am frustrated.
Starting point is 00:11:04 Being nice means getting screwed by your brothers mean, I am frustrated. Being nice means getting screwed by your brothers. In a way, yes. No, definitely. They've been screwing you over for years, is what you just told us. Decades, yes. They've been messing you over for a long time, and that's her definition of being nice. No thanks, Mom. I'll pass on being nice.
Starting point is 00:11:21 That's not being nice. That's being a victim. I don't want to be a victim. Well, you are a victim. And if you're either going to continue to be one or you're not, it's up to you. So you've got a couple of options here as far as actually three. One, you just keep going like you are and be nice. Yeah, no.
Starting point is 00:11:43 Okay. The other one is you can just sign over all the property to them and say good luck with it boys i'm done with y'all i don't want any more money i don't want anything else to do with any of you you've messed me over so bad here's the deed to everything i'm just going to walk away from this the family dysfunction is not worth whatever the assets are i'm through with you and just sign it over to him which by the way is not a really bad idea that's not a bad idea at all it's not the idea you were expecting me to give you and of course the third option is to use the argentinian courts to settle this if your brothers don't come to the table peacefully and start signing over properties to you yeah i think they're blind they are blind by rage and fear i don't care
Starting point is 00:12:28 yeah you get it they they have 10 days or they have 30 days from the time i call them regardless of all their screwed up dysfunctions and machoism or whatever it is they're dealing with to you have 30 days for us to work this out. If you do not work this out by this date, my attorney will begin the process in the Argentinian courts of suing all of your pants off. Okay. And by the way, the attorneys are going to get all the money, and the family's going to end up with nothing. That's how this always works, because that's how attorneys work.
Starting point is 00:13:03 Yes. So, Andrea, what was the agreement up front 36, 37 years ago, that you would get a third? I was, when my dad died, I was 14 years old. I was a kid. So, I mean, I had no agreement, right? No, there was a will. There was a direction of what the estate was supposed to be. No, there was a will. There was a direction of what the estate was supposed to be. No, there was no will.
Starting point is 00:13:29 We're talking about six properties. Two were in an LLC. Two were in our name, jointly owned, my two brothers and I. So two are like that, and two are in a succession, right? They're supposed to be in our name. I mean, 50 for my mom and 50 for the three of us. And you said you're getting about 15% to 20%. What would you think would be fair?
Starting point is 00:13:53 What is the mathematically correct amount to get? A year? Well, percentage-wise. You said you're getting 15% to 20. You're saying you should be getting 33? I'm saying 15, 20, 25% of the 33 that I should get.
Starting point is 00:14:16 Yeah. You got a tiny fraction of what you should be getting is what you're trying to say. So here's the thing. You have lost trust in them because they've stolen from you yes and so you either need to walk away from them or you need to separate the properties and if they don't do that uh with reasonableness and voluntarily we'll have a judge make them do that. Okay.
Starting point is 00:14:49 I don't know anything about Argentinean law or courts. In the U.S., this is a partnership, a general partnership, that you're going before civil court and asking the judge to force the disillusionment of the partnership, which means they either buy you out or they sell the property and everybody gets their section, everybody gets their part. Okay. You're going to force the disillusionment of the partnership They sell the property, and everybody gets their section. Everybody gets their part. Okay. You can enforce the disillusionment of the partnership because you no longer trust your partners,
Starting point is 00:15:10 who sadly are your own brothers, funded emotionally by your mother, who is an enabler. Yes, yes. That's true. Yeah. And so it's a sad thing. I'm so sorry. It breaks your heart.
Starting point is 00:15:24 And honestly, I don't know. What is your financial situation? How wealthy are you? I'm doing well. Well, what is well? I mean, you got $10 million or $2? No, no, no, no, no, no. In about less than 10 years, we're going to pay off my house in San Diego, California,
Starting point is 00:15:41 and we have another. If you never got another dime from this, would it really affect your life? No, not really, but I mean, I feel I'm not standing up for my own family at this point. I know you're not. I know you're not. But let me just tell you, I don't think you're going to fix your family. I think when this is all said and done they're all still going to be pissed don't you probably yeah so you're not gonna get there there's not gonna be
Starting point is 00:16:15 a there's not a version of this story where everybody gets together and smiles and makes a big meal and is so glad to see each other again. That version of this story does not exist. That's not going to happen, is it? If you talk them into it and they deed you your portion, you're still going to feel badly towards them for stealing from you, and they're still going to feel like you forced them into doing something they didn't want to do. If you sue them, we know that they're going to feel that way, and you know you're going to feel that way and you're no you're going to feel that way and now everybody's writing lawyers checks too
Starting point is 00:16:47 so it's there's not a version of this story where everybody gets back together and is all happy again yeah too much misbehavior under the bridge i wish it would happen but i don't think it's going to happen realistically so you've just got to decide what you want to do i think you need to seriously consider from from your standpoint uh the idea of just deeding it over to them and just walking away i don't want to do that okay all right then you got to fight then then you're going to you're getting ready to stir up a ruckus kiddo that's not an argentina phrase that's a hillbilly phrase you're gonna you're gonna stir up a ruckus i don't know how you say that in spanish but you're about to stir i'd love to hear it it'd probably sound really cool but this whole thing is just dripping with resentment on either side and so everybody's
Starting point is 00:17:37 mad and hurt it's just poisoning yourself at some point and there's a lot of night it is there's a lot of times in these situations and it because her giving them the property is not going to make them happy or her happy. There's not a version, not an option that I see on the table where everyone plays patty cake and kissy face after this is done. They're just not going to. This has gone on too long. Mom is too screwed up. The brothers are too big of crooks, and she's too pissed about it.
Starting point is 00:18:01 Yeah, and you're talking international, and so there's not, you can't just show international pissed this is a different level different level i'm not messing with argentina man this is a tough situation she's gonna have to get a backbone here and so regardless of the country this illustrates why you need a will and why you need to read the will while you're alive and tell everyone what's going to happen if everybody's going to be mad after you're gone go ahead and do it while you're live just make them mad now go ahead and show them now this is what's going to happen you're doing cocaine so we're leaving you nothing okay and you can just be pissed about that now okay go ahead and be mad about it or you're dysfunctional and you're disconnected from the family and so we're not leaving you anything let's go ahead and clear the air on that
Starting point is 00:18:48 when i pass if i'm the dad what i don't want is for my kids to bicker and fight for the rest of their lives exactly because of what i left them as a blessing each of them arguing incorrectly what dad's will was when he had a will we all have our own interpretation no yeah daddy always said i don't give let me tell you what daddy always said. Daddy always read the will once a year and said, this is what it is, baby. Mama always said, this is what it is, baby. You need to have a reading of the will while you're alive. That's why they call it a will. What is my will upon my death? My will for you is that you
Starting point is 00:19:23 get this and you get this. That's what the will means. That's what the word means. Your last testament. Your testament as to what you want to have happen. We'll go ahead and cover it while you're alive and write it down in a legal document and everyone then is on the same page. We'll see you next time. George Campbell, Ramsey personality, is my co-host in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the debt-free stage.
Starting point is 00:20:24 Sean and Cassie are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? We're good. How are you? Welcome, welcome. Where do you guys live? Ardmore, Oklahoma. All right, good. Good to have you guys. How much debt have you paid off? $243,000.
Starting point is 00:20:38 Whoa! How long did that take? Five years and ten months. Good for you. And your range of income during that time um we started out about 75 at the peak we made it up to 180 and then when covid and new careers happened we're back down about 75 oh okay wow what do y'all do for a living um so through the debt payoff uh i was a tire builder for michelin i was a tire builder as well.
Starting point is 00:21:06 I now work for a pool cleaning service company. I've been there about five months. And I actually started a brand new job on Monday as a surgical tech. Oh, wow. Cool. Cool. So no more work at the tire place. No more shift work.
Starting point is 00:21:18 We get to be home every night with our babies. I'll take it. I'll take it. Okay. Five years and 10 months, 243,000. How old are you guys? 32. And I'm 31. I'll take it. Okay. Five years and 10 months, $243,000. How old are you guys? 32. And I'm 31.
Starting point is 00:21:28 I'll be 32 in March. Wow. I'm going to guess and say you paid off your house? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Woo-hoo! Looking at weird people. Man!
Starting point is 00:21:36 So you did this from 27 to 32 years old. You pay off everything, house and everything, $243,000. What's the house worth? High end, about $240,000 is what we're being told. How's it feel? It's amazing. It's great. You guys are amazing.
Starting point is 00:21:52 You're so young and so rich. So what causes 27-year-olds to just go full throttle on this thing? So Cassie had actually kind of been mentioning some stories about people getting out of debt and i thought oh that's kind of neat but at the time i struggled with our income because it was kind of low she would tell me stories of people that made 240 000 a year and getting out of debt i was like well you shouldn't have been in debt in the first place but um so she'd been hinting at this thing but at the same time what people that make 40 say about you making 75 by the way but anyway yeah never ends and but the thing is we were actually um about a month away from having our first little girl and i was in a place where i
Starting point is 00:22:30 was really struggling with understanding what is what is the purpose of all this i was in a job that was basically dead end that was requiring more hours without more pay but we were also trying to be involved in ministry and because of our job we were having a hard time being able to put the work into the ministry, and I'm just in a place where I'm just frustrated. I'm frustrated because I don't understand life, and then I've got this little girl who's going to look up to me one day and like, hey, dad, what does all this mean? And I don't have an answer, and I'm frustrated in this idea of living paycheck to paycheck for the rest of my life. Why? It's just pointless, and then so my peak frustration, I'm working late one day
Starting point is 00:23:06 my radio show ends and on comes dave ramsey and he starts talking about the baby steps and just almost just right out of the gate you just start listening to the baby steps and start talking about the snowball and i'm like oh this is amazing and what's funny is about three months before that someone had actually sent us financial peace university i had never heard of it never sent it seen it it came from a really weird source which is a odd story so i didn't to be honest when i first saw it i was like this kind of looks like a get rich quick scheme and it does so i just i blew it off she was all about it but i was like yeah i blew it off well i come home i'm like hey we're gonna do this she goes oh that's a great idea i'm glad you thought of it. That'd be your idea. And then about two weeks later, I'm listening to the radio show,
Starting point is 00:23:48 and I hear my second debt-free scream. And it was a couple of nurses. They had about a $170,000 income, but they paid off their house. And you asked them, how long did that take? And they said six years. And you went, yep, our average family pays off their home in about seven years. And I remember immediately going, well, I don't think we we can do that but i'm still excited about the program well i start doing the math and then just that light bulb goes off we can pay our house off in seven
Starting point is 00:24:12 years and then i instantly connected that with my little girl and i was like we could have our house paid for by the time she's seven years old and that was like a shotgun blast to my chest that I still get to this day. Woo! Yes. I like it. That's incredible. I like it. Yeah! Okay. And so Cassidy's coming along the whole time saying, oh, good idea. Genius.
Starting point is 00:24:34 Now that it's yours. Yeah. I'm so glad you're enthused. Yeah. No, it probably wasn't that sarcastic, but not quite. Not quite. Okay. All right.
Starting point is 00:24:43 He's being nice. So you get about the business of knocking out your other debts you walk through the whole baby steps you're 32 years old you have a 250 000 home that is paid for and you've been funding your retirement all along as well very good very good so how much is in your nest egg it's a little low but it's um sitting right at about 100 i think that's not low you're 32 compared i think you're going to be worth tens of millions of dollars that's the goal that's that's our goal yeah yeah you guys are well on your way to baby step millionaire very very quickly it's going to come
Starting point is 00:25:15 so fast now that you got this done and now that you're in control of this whole subject and here's the other thing i think what you pointed out so beautifully, Sean, is that how much you believe and why you believe that it'll work affects whether or not you freaking do it. You know? And it's like, I can't do that. People are like, I can't do that. I can't do that. Wait a minute.
Starting point is 00:25:37 Oh, my God. I can do that. It changes everything. Yeah. And it took math for you. It definitely helps. He is the nerd. Yes.
Starting point is 00:25:44 If we do this. He is the nerd. So do this is the nerd so that definitely helps wow yeah math numbers give me hope i mean i get hope from numbers when i lay them out and it shows me that the thing can be done you know well we can do that really oh here's how oh look at that oh my gosh yeah well way to go you guys way to go very very cool okay now that you're there you've got people listening maybe for the first time ever maybe this is their first debt-free scream they're watching or they're listening uh they're watching on youtube or listening somewhere on a podcast or on the radio
Starting point is 00:26:12 um you're 32 the paid for house that is very weird you are weird people without a doubt because normal's broke normal's out of control normal s Sally Mae has her own bedroom because she's been with us so long. And you're 100% free. Tell people what the key to getting out of debt is. What do you guys say that you did that caused this to happen? I definitely think the budget for me was, you know, we could see exactly how much. And we're like, oh, we spent hundred dollars eating out this time when we could have paid 150 and went out one time to eat you know um that and just the uh just being on the same page
Starting point is 00:26:53 like what where do we want to be in five years from now for me your why has to be louder than your excuses oh that's tweetable back Back when Twitter mattered. Oh my gosh. That shotgun to my chest. I'd think about it constantly and every time it had the same effect. Say it again for us. Your why. Your why has to be louder than your excuses.
Starting point is 00:27:18 Man, and you've got that little girl and you've got the girl dad shirt on. I can tell how proud you are and the legacy that you want to leave for that girl. Man, that changes things. You're willing to make sacrifices, aren't you? Yes, sir. When you get that face staring back at you and you want different for her. We actually have two little girls now. Oh, my goodness. That's incredible.
Starting point is 00:27:33 That's amazing. Yeah, the loud part is excellent. I like the loud. Yeah. Your why has to be louder than your excuses. Because the excuses are pretty loud. And they actually have to be louder than the excuses of your broke friends telling you you can't do it exactly right yeah you can't do that people like us don't do that my critics are actually um some of my favorite people in this
Starting point is 00:27:54 journey because when it's three o'clock in the morning your hands hurt your bones hurt and you're staring at this stupid tire and you're like i'm just i'm done i i don't i don't want to work this hard i don't want to be here and then I'd hear that voice of the critic that says, why this is a stupid idea or you can't do this. And all of a sudden, I've got a new burst of energy. And it's like, nope, I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of giving me that. Well, I told you so. We have to have that Toby Keith moment, how you like me now.
Starting point is 00:28:19 I love it. Well done, you guys. Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop. All right, bring the kiddos in. Let's introduce them. What are the ages of the girls and their names? Riley is six, and Parker will be one in just a couple of weeks. All right.
Starting point is 00:28:34 Way to go, guys. Very cool. We've got a copy of Baby Steps Millionaires for you, number one bestseller, and we know that'll be the next chapter in your story, so way to go, guys. You're rock stars, man. You're amazing. It's an honor to speak with you. Great, great thoughts, great lines, great everything here.
Starting point is 00:28:50 Very, very well done. All right. It's Sean and Cassie, Riley and Parker from Ardmore, Oklahoma. 32 years old with a paid-for house and everything. $243,000 paid off five years and 10 months, making $75,000 to $182,000, $75,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. You ready?
Starting point is 00:29:08 Ready. Three, two, one. We're debt-free! Yay! Woo! George, you know how rich they're going to be? Unbelievably so. Oh, my.
Starting point is 00:29:25 That baby doesn't know what's coming. Millions and millions and millions. That's a family tree that's changed. Sharp couple. This is The Ramsey Show. Hey, just a reminder, we have our show done on the glass in the lobby of our Ramsey Solutions headquarters. And so if you visit the headquarters, there's all kinds of things to do here and bookstore, and there's a wonderful coffee shop with homemade cookies. All of that is complimentary, free in other words.
Starting point is 00:30:30 You can hang out, watch the show, which sometimes is like watching ugly paint dry. But sometimes it's entertaining too. So we'd love to have you. There's usually 50 to 100 people out here hanging out. And depending on the time of year, the time of day, season, and all that kind of stuff. But plenty of room. And we'd love to have you come and hang out with us. The lobby is beautiful. And the headquarters is something to see and a lot of you while you're on your journey can uh you get inspiration mid-journey from seeing other people do their
Starting point is 00:30:55 debt-free scrim seeing other people in the lobby just having conversations we know of many people who've met watching the show from different cities and maintain contact it's incredible as i was hosting the video channel years ago, I got to meet so many people in the lobby and just hear their stories. And whoever's hosting that day, we'll go out there twice an hour. So it's a great time to meet folks, get your book signed. You get an awesome Ramsey Show mug on your way out as well. And so there's a lot of perks of it.
Starting point is 00:31:21 And Nashville's not the worst place to visit. Make a weekend out of it. Now, I mean, downtown's a bit of a redneck Riviera i'm not going there i mean redneck mardi gras actually redneck mardi gras it's like out of control yeah on broadway but it's fun it's fun to watch if you like watching drunk people do crazy things there's a lot of good people watching so um there's some good but if you entertain clowns you join the circus so just be careful down there don't get don't become part of it oh it's a lot of fun though and there's a lot of fun things to do here that aren't that so uh come visit us in nashville
Starting point is 00:31:50 franklin we're just south of nashville in a wonderful town called franklin tennessee it's an old civil war town and uh just picturesque the downtown area there's worth walking around and it's a walking area beautiful beautiful i could throw a rock and hit a few cows just from here it's amazing and from scenery yeah from from the building not from frank sure there's no there's no cows in downtown frank just just to clarify but um the mayor's gonna get really upset i don't want him upset with me he's gonna be upset you're messing up his tourism right now okay folks married folks listen up imagine never having another money argument with your spouse imagine what it would feel like how much better your marriage would be what about your whole family get on the same page well let me tell you what happens when you go through financial peace
Starting point is 00:32:31 university and you're married you do it together it changes everything you learn how to budget together you're on the same page and you often hear people say that when they're doing their debt-free screams they follow a proven money plan. There's no reason to fight. We have a shared goal, a shared dream. Our last debt-free screamer said that, right? It can be done. To join a Financial Peace University class and even get a free trial,
Starting point is 00:32:56 just visit RamseySolutions.com slash FPU. RamseySolutions.com slash FPU. Our question today comes from Blinds.com. Find out for yourself why blinds.com is the number one online retailer of custom window coverings. They got free samples, free shipping, new promos all the time. It's a great company. They will take great care of you for your window blinds. Always use the promo code, the magic word Ramsey. Today's question comes from Jason in Alabama. He says, short period of time and then sell the vehicle to claim the retail profits. We've always made more than we've paid on or for the vehicle. I'm new to your show and I need you to tell me if I'm
Starting point is 00:33:49 being irresponsible or is my ability to buy and sell for profits on vehicles a quote unique position to use to my advantage. I'm aware that I'm likely to get the rough talk for having dumb debt and maybe that is what I need. That's interesting. Well, at least he's self-aware. That helps. He's Dave-aware. Dave-aware. That's a whole new level of self-awareness. Wow.
Starting point is 00:34:12 Interesting situation here. So they're $90,000 in debt, but he's saying, well, Dave, I'm just flipping. I'm just flipping. It's like flipping houses. What's wrong with that? Very interesting. Well, I can tell you there's better ways to make money than on these depreciating assets. And the fact that he's a finance manager for a car dealership tells me that he is used to going into debt, helping people go into debt. And he thinks he's
Starting point is 00:34:39 above the system because he's figured it out. He's making money off the system. But I don't think that will last long. And if I'm in his position, I'm not doing it. But that's one man's opinion who does not like debt. Yeah. Well, I mean, obviously, we're going to tell you not to do debt, son. Here's the thing you're not calculating. You have over-calculated the profits and under-calculated the risks. That's what you've done. And time will prove me to be true when you get your freaking head taken off. And I don't know what form it will take.
Starting point is 00:35:13 It could be a pandemic. It could be you just lose your job. And now you've got $90,000 in cars. Debt. That's scary. Now, are you buying cars and making a profit on them? I don't doubt that at all. I think that's scary now are you buying cars and making a profit on them i don't doubt that at all i think that's very possible lots of people around the car business do that especially right now um it's very possible to do that so um but but we're not going to use debt to finance that if you're asking dave ramsey and george camel because we don't like the risk associated with
Starting point is 00:35:42 it that puts your family in peril for the few dollars that you're making on it and yes you're right you have rationalized your butt off son i mean you figured out every way that this works in no way that it doesn't work and the you know that's what it means by your risk meter is not working so the uh the deal so if he wants to do this pay cash for the car then flip it you keep all the profits absolutely so i would i would get rid of these and i would save up money and buy a car for cash that i can flip and if you want to roll in and out of cars with cash and make a profit on them that's cool let me tell you what will happen when you do that you're going to do fewer deals
Starting point is 00:36:18 because when you buy something with borrowed money, you do not analyze it as careful because it doesn't feel real. When you're buying it with your money out of your savings account, it's like, oh, I'm not sure about this. And it's a different feeling, right? And so what amounts to is you're emotionally accepting the risk when you pay cash for it yeah and when you when you borrow money into anything you don't think about it as much it's too easy quote easy payments it's easy to purchase press hard with that pen as you're
Starting point is 00:36:56 signing there's three copies you have to get through all the carbon i mean that's the way you're thinking it's the only stress involved And when this market calms down, there may not be much profits to be had at that point. I think if you buy a $50,000 car for $40,000, you're probably always going to be able to turn it for a $10,000 profit. I mean, you know, and the market's not going to suddenly change and catch you there. I'm more afraid of a major change in something else where just people quit buying cars all of a sudden for some reason. I mean, like, I i mean pandemic is an extreme example i don't think we're going to see that again i hope we don't i've never seen in my lifetime anything where it just shut everything no one's driving anywhere but the point being what that did was what the pandemic did for all of us was is it it validated
Starting point is 00:37:40 that what we've been teaching and so the big deal jason is this what we teach you about money works it's the only system for money that works in good times and bad times there are some systems that work only in bad times and some systems like yours that work only in good times see debt only works when debt works when everything works out the way it's supposed to perfect that's when it works but but what it does do is is when you're stupid is stress tested and when things aren't going good and stress comes along to your stupid it'll you'll go oh my god that's stupid and you were it didn't look stupid when everything's going good stupid can feel smart because you're not measuring risk and i know i've done it i've done it with big zeros on the end so um i mean how can it go wrong to buy a rental property if the renter pays your rent?
Starting point is 00:38:28 Until the renter doesn't pay the rent. And then you still have the rental property. Oh, by the way, not only do they not pay the rent, they go into Chapter 13. Oh, worse than that. They go into Chapter 7. So it's four months before the federal injunction about you contacting your debtor as a creditor. It's illegal for you to contact your tenant in any way while they're in Chapter 7 until the court gives you permission.
Starting point is 00:38:51 And it can be three, four months before you can even contact them. So now where's your renter that pays the rent? Say you're stupid, just got stress tested. And it was revealed. The cracks, the fissures in the in the the earthquake in the plate tectonic plates shifted and boom you get caught and you're like one of those dinosaur movies you fall into the volcanic crater the volcanic crater you know so beware of that so jason we would tell you yes i would keep flipping cars but only with cash and means you've got to get rid of these two.
Starting point is 00:39:25 Wow. We weren't unclear with that. We weren't too rough. That wasn't too rough. Right there. It could have been rougher. He's Dave Aware, though. Since he was ducking about rough, I thought it would be nicer-ish.
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