The Ramsey Show - App - How Do I Keep My Business Afloat? (Hour 3)

Episode Date: January 17, 2020

Career, Home Selling, Retirement Tools to get you started: Debt Calculator: http://bit.ly/2QIoSPV Insurance Coverage Checkup: http://bit.ly/2BrqEuo Complete Guide to Budgeting: http://bit.ly/2QEyonc Interview Guide: http://bit.ly/2BuGnZE Check out other podcasts in the Ramsey Network: http://bit.ly/2JgzaQR

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host. Thank you for joining us. Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Randy's going to start us off in Charlotte, North Carolina this hour.

Hey, Randy, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Thank you for having me, sir. Sure, what's up? My question is, I'm a small business owner, and I've kind of ran into a problem, and I need to know if I should file for bankruptcy or use a company like Corporate Turnaround to try to salvage the company. Okay. What's wrong? I've just gotten into a situation where I'm having to take out MCAs, which are just killing my cash flow.

You know, they're daily payments that I'm paying back, and they're high-interest loans. Okay. So what happened to your revenue? The revenue is still there. I mean, the revenue is still coming in. It's just a matter of, you know, I think I grew too fast. I went from six employees to 18 employees, and I just don't think, you know, I didn't have an investor to kind of put any capital into the business. I think that was just kind of a... I don't think, you know, I didn't have an investor to kind of put any

capital into the business. I think that was just kind of a... I don't think it's the investor's fault. I think it's yours. Right. No, I agree. Yeah. So lay off half of your employees.

Okay. Suddenly cash flow, won't it? It would help cash flow, yes, sir. Yeah, because your number one expense in your in your pnl is going to be your payroll right correct and the truth is they're all gone anyway if you file bankruptcy and they're all gone anyway if you bring in a turnaround company and you turn around companies don't mess with 18 person companies and if they do they're ripping you off with fees so um no this is something you

got to turn around you're the man on this you're the secret sauce you're the one who grew it to this what's your top line top line you mean as far as what i've made last year gross revenues in the business annually uh last year was 1.3 million how long have you had it uh since 2007 okay cool how long has it been struggling uh i'd say the last uh two to three years when'd you do the hiring spree uh two years ago okay now there's a correlation, isn't it? Yes, sir. So you needed the help because the business was there, and you thought these bodies were going to ROI, and they haven't. And I went through the exact same thing. I didn't get as far down the hole as you have,

but we actually have metrics to watch our hiring around here, and we do not hire faster than we are roi-ing on the existing hires we have to everybody that works here has to make more than they cost or we don't get to stay here right right and that's that's basic business stuff so um you know that that's and it's a challenge man it's a challenge because you everybody you put in place doesn't save you revenue, and all of them don't make you revenue equal to what they cost. But overall, they have to free up people if they're a support team to do that. So, yeah, but you're in crisis mode.

If you're doing NCAAs, man, that's payday lenders. I mean, you're getting hammered. Yes, sir. Yes, sir, most definitely. Yeah, you're running desperate to desperate to desperate to desperate, and it's really getting not fun. Are you married?

Separated. Okay. How old are you? 32? 37. Okay, that's about right all right um when i went through losing everything and i don't think you're going to lose everything i think you caught it in time you're just going to have to make some really painful decisions or they're going to be made for you um one of the things that happened to me was um

it i got a tattoo on my spirit i don't have a tattoo but i have a tattoo on my spirit a wood burning set engraved on my spirit god first sharon second kids third, business fourth. And when you get, with your back against the wall, with bankers pointing their gun at your face, you get that out of whack, and that's why I ask about your marriage. Because there's a high correlation between entrepreneurs going through hell and their marriage going through hell. So if there's anything you can do to work on your marriage aggressively

while cutting your expenses aggressively, and you really do have to cut your payroll in half, even if it means you just call some customers up and go, we're not going to be able to take care of you. I thought we were. I wanted to. I'm really disappointed. I know you're disappointed.

I know you're going to be angry. I just can't do this job. Whatever it is you do. I mean, you notice I haven't asked what you do, but you may not be able to fulfill some of your promises is my point. But you're not going to be able to anyway if you close. So you need to do some heavy pruning to the tree so the tree lives and that's what you're looking at here um and um and you're by yourself aren't you there's not anybody you don't have anybody to talk to do you uh i really not opened up to anyone about it

until you know the last couple. It's gotten really stressful. Yeah. Well, you're about 18 months behind on getting some good advice because somebody could have led you. That's been down the road before. I'm not any smarter than you. I'm just older and have more scars. And so that's why I recognize some of these things so easily in this conversation because I did the same stupid butt stuff. and so that's how I can see it.

And it's normal. What you did was just a normal thing. You didn't do anything evil or bad, and you didn't have any malice in your heart. You weren't trying to screw something up. You were just trying to grow a business, and so you're a good guy. But you're going to go through some more pain at the business and you're going to fight like a wild man to keep your marriage don't let this business failure if it fails or this business struggle if it's straight it's struggle it's going to struggle um take your

marriage because here's what happens when the money gets tight she gets scared and when the thing where you draw your identity is falling apart, you don't feel good about yourself. And when she's scared, she makes you not feel good about yourself. And so you don't want to be around her. Right. I remember Sharon almost killed each other. And her fear feeding off my self-consciousness of not providing and the business not winning and my identity being in the business too much fed off of each other.

And it was a really nasty, crazy cycle. So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to put you in all access, which is $3,000 a year, but I'm going to pay for it. That's our online coaching program for business leaders. And I'm going to get you with one of our business coaches right now. And one of them is going to hold you by the hand and walk with you through this. You're not doing anything anybody else hadn't done before you, but you're going to have to make some really difficult calls.

And I think you can keep this thing. I think it can survive. I think you still got some gas in your tank emotionally, and I know the business does. You've got a million dollars coming in, man. We can fix this. But you're going to have to cut your expenses, and you're going to have to be embarrassed in some places.

It's going to hurt. But you're going to survive. We'll walk with you, brother. Hold on. Madison's going to pick up. We'll get you with our, brother. Hold on. Madison's going to pick up. We'll get you with our coaching team. Are high healthcare costs getting you down? Are you confused trying to navigate your options? Do you wish you could find an affordable, biblical solution to your health care costs? Based on New Testament principles, Christian Health Care Ministries, or CHM, helps Christian families, churches, and ministries join together as the body of Christ

to share their major health care costs. Christian Health Care Ministries is the original health cost-sharing ministry. A Better Business Bureau-accredited organization, CHM members share to pay each other's medical bills. It's not insurance. It's Christians financially and spiritually supporting each other. It's what Christian Healthcare Ministries has done for over 35 years, and our members have shared over $2.5 billion in medical bills. To learn more, visit chministries.org. That's chministries.org. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a proud sponsor of Dave Ramsey Live Events. from Blinds.com.

Find out for yourself why Blinds.com is the number one online retailer of custom window coverings. Site-wide savings happening right now. Plus, take an additional 5% off at Blinds.com. Slash Ramsey. Blinds.com. Slash Ramsey Richards in Arizona. Do you have any tips on getting my significant other on board? We've been together for about 10 years, and for the past four years,

I've been making good money, but nothing to show for it. All she wants to do is take vacations and go out to eat. Richard, you're probably not going to like my advice, but I'll give it to you anyway because you asked. Here's the thing. I answer questions on this show, what would I do if I were in your shoes? And I have read, I don't know, 20, 25 studies with all kinds of data points in them that indicate all of them conclusively that people who are married get along better than people who are shacked up when it comes to

money. And people who are married versus being shacked up actually statistically become wealthier on average. Now, there's exceptions, obviously, but there's a tremendous data out there that talks about the benefits of marriage. Now, I look at that as a Christian through a moral lens as well, but that's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about just the practical data points that say that your relationship functions better in that situation. It's a little different telling your girlfriend what to do than it is your wife.

It's a little different telling your husband what to do than your boyfriend. Or when something's important to you. I think we should do this, but there's not really a we. I think we need to get on a budget and we need to save for retirement, but there's not really a we, not legally speaking. And for that matter, not spiritually speaking. And data says not relationally speaking. So you leave yourself at a disadvantage there.

So you asked, you know, so I'll just tell you. I think part of the problem is marriage. So I think you get married, and part of your pre-marriage counseling, even though you've been together for a bazillion years, you ought to sit down with a good pastor, a good marriage counseling, even though you've been together for a bazillion years, you ought to sit down with a good pastor, a good marriage coach, a good marriage counselor, and get pre-marriage counseling should include, let's get on the same page with money. And, you know, we need to be on the same page with money.

We need to say, okay, we're going to live on a written plan that we both agree to and that we both have a vote on. So it's not me telling you what to do, not you telling me what to do, but we're going to live on a written plan that we both agree to and that we both have a vote on. So it's not me telling you what to do, not you telling me what to do, but we're going to get on a plan and we're going to work towards being debt-free. Why? Because that leads us to be able to be more generous and to be able to go on vacations or go out to eat and that kind of stuff. But, I mean, if you will just step back and say, it's tough for me to get my roommate to not want to go out to eat

that's a different discussion than i want to talk to my wife about we eat out too much because when we're 80 years old we're going to be broke if we don't straighten this out. It's a different discussion. It really is. And I know some of you don't think it is, but you're wrong. Again, I've read 20, 25 studies on this, and there's all kinds of socioeconomic, psychological, relational data out there that matches up with my faith belief as well, which happens to be handy. But it's not just this blind thing of, with my faith belief as well, which happens to be handy. But it's not just this blind thing of,

oh, Dave Ramsey's one of those guys that believes in God. Well, yeah, he is one of those guys that believes in God. And so I believe you ought to be married before you're sleeping together. I know. Duh. But that's just that. I know some of you don't like that. And you know how much I care?

Not at all. So that's what I believe. And so you asked, you're going to get that. That's what you're going to get. So, by the way, those of you that are getting engaged or thinking about getting married, one of the best pieces of research that I ever saw, and I've read it in probably similar conclusions in several different locations, says that before you get married, if you want a highly successful marriage and a very low probability of a future of divorce,

I mean, it takes your divorce rate well under 10% if you do this. It's amazing. These four things, be in agreement on these four things. Money is the big one. Number one thing people fight about in marriage, in relationships, is money. So be in agreement on it. Finding agreement on money is everything. Because where you spend your money says what you think is important.

And when you think two different things are important all the time, you're never going to have fun. Now, if you can get to both of them, that's fine. But you're never going to have a great relationship when one of you wants to spend like you're in Congress and the other wants to save everything and live in a cave and only come out on triple coupon Thursday and collects Lent, you know. And so you have to get on this. You have to have this discussion, this meeting of the minds on your value system on money. And that's a budget that's

getting out of debt. That's building wealth. It's putting money in the 401k because we want to be an everyday millionaire, all those kinds of things, right? Being in agreement on money is one of the things. Number two is being in agreement on kids. How many to have, if we're going to have them, and how we're going to treat them. Ramseys are old-fashioned people, as you can already tell. The inmates do not run the asylum at our place. We are in charge. You're smaller than me. I can take you out and make another one that looks

just like you that was my theory and so you're going to behave and my grandkids are being raised the same way thank you jesus so there you go we're not mean we're just don't raise little hellions that think they're in charge they're respectful and as the three-year-old said the other day, they have consequences if they're not. What three-year-old says consequences? Rachel Cruises. That's a vocabulary. Unbelievable. So I have consequences.

You get your butt busted. It's a good thing, you know. So how you're going to treat your kids, how many you're going to have if you're going to have them. The third one is in-laws. How you're going to deal with the crazy people in each other's family. And every family has crazy in it. If you don't think there's crazy in your family, it's you.

Every family has crazy in it somewhere. How are you going to deal with some kind of someone who's going to violate a boundary at some point? And if you don't have that set up, you're going to get to experience it, and it's going to be a strain on your relationship. And the last one is being in agreement on religion. It's very unusual for people to have long, long, long, happy, high-quality relationships that have two different spiritual

beliefs. Now, I'm not talking about Baptist or Methodist. I'm talking about, you know, one of you doesn't believe there's a God, one of you does, so on, that kind of thing. Because it changes, well, your value system gives you your beliefs, and your beliefs give you your attitudes, and those give you your actions. And so your actions are always going to be in conflict with each other when you don't have basic belief systems in harmony.

That's what it comes down to. So you need to be in agreement on religion, in-laws, kids, and money. If you do that prior to marriage, I'm telling you, you could almost wipe out the probability of divorce. If you want to add to it a couple of things, here's a couple of the data points. If the household income stays over $50,000, you did not have a child prior to marriage, out of wedlock in other words, you both graduate from college, these are all variables you control. If you do that with the four things I'm talking about, your divorce rate drops below 5%.

52% of Americans end up in divorce. Yeah, but it's messed up situations most of the time. You can control a lot of these variables. It's the quality of your character, the quality of your life, and the quality of your decisions, and being in harmony intentionally. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Okay, I need you to listen to this. When you're on Wi-Fi anywhere in public or at home, you're at risk of hackers easily seeing every site you visit and search that you're doing online.

It doesn't matter if you're on your cell or laptop. Public Wi-Fi is a hacker's paradise. They can see you visiting websites, streaming, downloading, or uploading photos, uploading files, and more. I'm not telling you this to scare you. I don't operate in fear, but I want you to be aware and take action. You need to download an app called CyberGhost VPN on any device you access the Internet with. CyberGhost VPN helps you keep your connection on your own Wi-Fi and any public Wi-Fi secure and private. Over 34 million people worldwide have downloaded CyberGhost VPN. Download it now. Just search CyberGhost on iTunes or Google Play or go to CyberGhost.com.

In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions, Rolando and Carmina are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? Hi, Dave. Welcome, welcome. Where do you guys live? Provo, Utah. Oh, fun. And all the way to Nashville to do a debt-free screen.

Yes, sir. Congratulations. So how much have you paid off? $86,054.31, Dave. Love it. How long did that take? It took us two years, nine months, ten days, 1,538 pizza deliveries. Oh, look at that.

I love it. And your range of income during that two years and nine months and ten days? It started around $50,000. It went upwards to the $90,000s. And now that we're past baby step two, it dropped down again to thousand good what do you guys do for a living i work for an early intervention program for easter seals goodwill oh good and i work as a job coach trainer for a desert industry thrift store so we use our employee discounts at the thrift stores fun good. Good for you. Good for you. So what kind of debt was the $86,000? I have it all here. It was $4,418 on a car loan, $6,400 on an unsecured loan, $17,400 on a 401k loan. And $19,230 that we owed our parents.

And lastly, $19,000 on a home equity. And you had every kind of debt possible. Yeah. You had the whole potpourri, man. You had just the whole cornucopia of debt. Oh, my gosh. Look at you. Well done.

Well done. So what happened? How long have you all been been married 15 years so 15 years you're bopping along you're normal got yourself in debt all you do is just work and pay bills just work and pay bills and uh so something happens two years and nine months ago and you went no no no no something's about to change here what happened well it was two things dave um first uh we got a house it was the first time that we got a house. It was the first time that we had a house and having a mortgage, you know, that's, I scared me. So I, you know, I

looked up what I can do and I found the Total Money Makeover book. So I read that, was real embarrassed because you wrote it for me. And when we were going to California, I got the audio book from the library and I told Carmina, look, while we're on the road, I have this audio book we should listen to, and I just looked straight, Dave, because I couldn't look at her. I thought, gosh, she's just going to point at me. She's going to scowl,

but no, she was very supportive, so we decided to take FPU, and while we started FPU, my father passed away. Oh, my gosh. And just when he passed, we weren't ready for it. Emotionally, obviously, and financially. And, you know, my dad was a great man, worked hard all his life, but he wasn't ready. And we weren't ready. So when we experienced that, I said, I'm going to make sure that my kids don't have to go through that. So in FPU, we learned about life insurance.

We learned about increasing coverage, getting the right kind of coverage. I was all for it. I had to do it. Wow. How old was your dad? 72, sir. And he died of cancer. So you guys had to help chip in for the funeral

and that kind of stuff and you didn't have anything to do that with? We did, my sisters and I. So we all pitched in. We were able to pay it, but it was really sad, more scared than anything, especially for my mom.

We would have preferred for her not to worry about that, but because we were not ready, she had to suffer needlessly. Nothing like that kind of wake-up call to keep things, to get you really, really serious about something. Oh, yes. Yeah, it hurts your heart. Yes.

Wow. So, Carmina, you are driving towards California. This guy has put in, this man of yours has put this audio book on the radio, on the whatever, the cassette or whatever it is. It's not cassette, but it's coming on the radio. So you're having to listen to this guy tell you everything y'all have been doing wrong. What were you thinking? Well, everything that you explain, it just clicks.

It's the right thing to do so it wasn't hard for me to to follow and and go along with it it was it was the right choice it just felt like it was the right choice okay so you were like okay game on yeah it was bring it bring on the pain yeah we're gonna live like no one else so later we can live and give like no one else so that we're not in that position. You know, we're not in that position when we pass, yeah. Wow, wow. Very cool. What was the hardest part of this journey for you all?

Well, on my part, it was not having him at home. He had two jobs. I was working. I was going to school, and I had to take care of the kids. So it was really hard. But we have been blessed throughout the whole process. Even before we even heard of you, I got offered a job. I wasn't looking for a job. I got offered a job.

And throughout the whole process, I've had a raise. So we've had blessings that have come to help us out through this journey. Yeah, amazing. You guys are holding stuff in your hands. Tell me what these are and what this is about. Well, this was all our credit cards that we shredded up during our FPU classes, and we put a map of the world in the back to remind us that one day we'll travel around the world. Oh, I love it.

So those are all your personal credit cards? Yes. How many credit cards did you have? Like a lot. Let's not talk about that. That box is full. Wow. Okay.

The good news is the world is right there behind them. That's good. Okay. And what about you, Rolando? I'm holding a little gazelle it's a car ornament uh whenever i had to deliver a pizza and you know maybe i drove five miles and got a quarter out of it look at the gazelle and say it's all right i'll get it on the next one just keep working hard keep going keep going you know you'll win so thousand pizzas

who are you delivering pizza for which Which company? Papa John's Pizza. Papa John's. Yeah. And how many nights a week did you do that? In the beginning, I was doing it, I think, five nights a week. And then with Carmina going to school, it became a little harder, so I scaled it back to three. But there were some days where I'd go to my first job in the morning at 7, be done there at 4.30, be at Papa John's at 4.45, and work all the way to 1 o'clock. And then on weekends, I started my company.

I called it iWow. I work on weekends. Very original. And if somebody said they needed something, oh, I'll do it. I'll clean your backyard. Dog poopy. What was the best paying IWOW job you got? Clearing out a backyard of debris.

It took a while, but it paid very well. It was actually my mom. So part of me is like, Mom, I don't want to charge you because as your son, I should be doing this for free. But I owed her some money. So I said said you pay me whatever you think is fair and when she paid paid me I take out the money for the tithing and I just gave it right back to her and she said what's this I said you're my last debt mom so I'm gonna pay you off and she my mom bless her heart she wanted to forgive the debt.

But part of what I owed her was my dad when he retired, they gave him a bonus. So he never got to enjoy his retirement bonus because they lent it to me. So I just, you know, I said, Mom, you can't forgive this because I'll never forgive myself. Just let me pay you back. And whatever you choose to do with it. You know, you want to buy my kids some presents awesome you know but let me let me have the satisfaction of giving this back to you and when i did it was a joyful moment i love it well done well done and you brought the kiddos with you and their names and ages or what yes so we have sit my big. He's 14 years old. Danielle, my princess.

Here they are. She's 11. And Jared Jedi, my little guy with the curly hair. I love it. He's nine years old. All right. Very cool. Eight years old.

I'm sorry. Well, we've got a copy of Chris Hogan's retire-inspired book for you. That's the next chapter in your story for sure, and that's to be millionaires. Yes. And outrageously generous along the way. You'll be calling in on an everyday millionaire's hour one of these days. Dave, can I say one more thing? Yes, sir. It's just along with learning how to talk about finances, you also help us communicate

about other things. Because I was so far away, I wasn't communicating with my wife. And just talking about money helped us be able to talk to each other, take counseling where we could communicate better. And now our marriage is a lot stronger, and I want to thank you for that. Praise God. Count it down right quick. Let's hear a debt-free scream.

Three, two, one. We're debt-free! 86,000 paid off in two years and nine months making 50 to 80 with a thousand pizzas delivered that's a mic drop this is the dave ramsey show one of my favorite parts of this show is hearing your debt-free screams. You guys are our heroes. You've kicked debt to the curb and you've saved for the future. Now we want to celebrate with you.

If you have lived like no one else and are currently in baby steps four through seven, well, it's time to enjoy some money. And the perfect place to do that is on board our first ever Live Like No One Else cruise in March in march that's right just a couple of months away but get this it's not too late to book your cabin so don't miss your chance this caribbean cruise is going to be an incredible seven days at sea on a stunning new ship with amazing experiences i'm talking all of our Ramsey personalities and other world-class entertainers. We're stopping in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and Turks and Caicos.

It's going to be an amazing, debt-free celebration designed just for you. Don't miss the boat. Head over to ramseycruise.com today to reserve your room. Our scripture of the day, Proverbs 14, 23, All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Paul Meyer said, Productivity is never an accident. It's always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort. There you go. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Isabel is with us in Virginia.

Hi, Isabel. How are you? Wonderful. Glad. Thank you. Good. How can I help? So my question today is about my husband and I own a rental property in our area and we've been renting it out for the last 12 years plus years.

We've lived there for a year and a half. So we spoke to our account. We do have capital gain on it. It's doubled since we purchased it. So we have always net pretty much about between $300 plus every month. So we do have debts that I'm looking into going through this, you know, financial university and be debt-free in the next couple years here. The other hand tool where we have talked about keeping it for the kids education. So I'm not sure if we should sell it and take the, you know, plunge with the capital gain, which is pretty hefty amount looking at $55,000 to $60,000. Or should we just keep it and figure it out later? And I'm not sure what to do.

Okay. How much debt do you have? $50,000, and that's due to loans and just credit cards. And what's your household income? Close to $300,000. Okay. Well, you don't have to sell the rental to pay off $50,000 making $300,000, do you? No, no, no.

And we have plenty. I mean, we have investments in 401K and stocks. This is just that I just hate owning money. I just hate. Well, you make $300,000. Stop your 401Ks, stop your investments, stop everything, and pay the $50,000 off in, what, six months? Okay.

You'd be debt-free in six months. Okay. That can be done. However, my main thing is the profit or gain that we can't seem to avoid. Is there a way to get around it? No. You're going to pay capital gains if you take the cash out of the rental property. You don't need to take the cash out to pay the debt, though.

We established that, didn't we? Correct. So why are you selling the rental property now? Well, at some point, we need to start a kids' college fund. You make $300,000 a year. Correct. I think you need to get on a budget and quit spending money like you're in Congress. Well, the thing, well, I happen, we live in a very expensive area.

Oh, come on. You make $300,000 a year. Really? Really? you're spoiled rotten you're i mean unbelievable you can hit your college goals and you can hit this debt free in a heartbeat you need to cut up your freaking credit cards and stay home quit traveling quit buying, and quit going out to eat every night. You make $300,000 a year. And you can hit your investment goals. You can hit your college savings goals. You start living on a written plan and doing this stuff on purpose.

You and your husband need to sit down and really get serious about facing this stuff. I mean, the fact that you all are this broke making this kind of money is what's known as pitiful. You really have to address this. It's really sad. And then if you want to sell the rental, you may have some capital gains on it. If you want to have a different rental, you can do what's called a 1031 tax-deferred exchange and sell that rental and use the money to buy a different rental, and you do what's called a 1031 tax-deferred exchange and sell that rental and use the money to buy a different rental, and you won't have any taxes on it.

But that is not your problem. Your problem is called lifestyle. That's what you're facing. And if you don't deal with that, you're going to wake up broke at retirement with a lot of this really bad taste in the back of your mouth called regret. John is with us in Kansas City. Hey, John, how are you? Hi, Dave.

How are you doing? Better than I deserve. What's up? Well, I'm a pretty short-time listener. I wish I'd heard about you a long time ago. But anyway, I'm 67 and retired in 2006. I'm just kind retired in 2006. I'm just kind of wanting to run by my figures here. I'm kind of wondering, am I going to be all right as I get older?

Okay. How much have you got in estate? Anyway, I've got in my credit union cash, I've got $64,000. And I have, in a Morgan Stanley account, I've got $94,000. And I've got $150,000 in an IRA and $100,000 in a regular. And a couple of years ago, this is kind of what worries me, is I took that out of those two things out of the American funds and put them in this annuity.

Why? Well, I was talking with my brother and this and that and the other, and he was going to do that. And I thought, well, you know, we decided, well, maybe I should do that myself to make sure that that's there and doesn't get lost somewhere along the line. But I'm kind of thinking, wow, you know, I'm missing out here on that. I didn't know if I should do something.

Do you have any income coming in? Yeah, I have. My income is Social Security, and I've got two pensions. And that's about $3,100 a month. And then one of my pensions, that's another question, one of my pensions in the last about six years has been cut two times. So I picked up just a part-time job a couple of days a week, and I make about $600 a month on that, which...

Is your home paid for? My home is paid for. I'm debt-free. I don't have any debt. What's your house worth? About maybe $160,000, somewhere around there. You're single? Yes.

Okay. All right. Yeah. I kind of wanted to quit this part-time job and then maybe draw, just take the $600,000 out of some cash I got on hand until I get to where I can draw my IRA. Well, you are where you can draw your IRA. So what I would do is sit down with a good financial advisor. If you want to know who we recommend in your area, you click SmartVestor at DaveRamsey.com,

fill in a little bit of stuff on you, and it will drop down a list of the SmartVestor at DaveRamsey.com, fill in a little bit of stuff on you, and it will drop down a list of the SmartVestor pros in your area we recommend. Here's what I would tell you when you sat down with me to do that. Those guys don't work for me, and I'm not in the investment business. But if I woke up in your shoes is how I answer questions here on this show, and what I would do is simply this. I would take the Morgan Stanley, I would take the IRA, and I'd take the other $100,000. It looks to me like you've got about $350,000 there, not counting the $64,000 in your simple cash account.

$350,000, I would invest that as a group, combine it, put it into, if it's in IRAs or whatever it is, put it into some stuff like those American funds you were in before, some good growth stock mutual funds. And I spread my investments across, I'm 57, across four types, growth, growth and income, aggressive growth, and international. If you want to go a little bit more conservative, the SmartVestor Pro will coach you on that. They'll teach you.

You decide what you want to do you could do instead of the aggressive you could substitute that out for a balanced but either way let's say you made 10 on that money okay 350 times 10 is 35 000 that's three thousand dollars a month if you never touch anything except the income that the goose is, the golden eggs is laying, all you take is the eggs. You don't touch the goose. The $350 is the goose. You easily could pull $1,000 to $2,000 a month in income off of that $350 if it's invested properly for the rest of your life and never touch the $350.

And it would run in perpetuation. It would run out past your death, in other words. And so that's why you need to have somebody sit down and help you put this together. You have enough money to live the life you want to live. You've done a good job. You're a good man. That puts us out of the Dave Ramsey Show in the books. We'll be back with you before you know it.

In the meantime, remember, there's ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus. This is James Childs, producer of The Dave Ramsey Show. Once again, you made The Dave Ramsey Show one of the top five most downloaded podcasts last year. To get your daily dose of motivation and inspiration, subscribe today.