The Ramsey Show - App - How Do I Pay My Medical Bills? (Hour 3)

Episode Date: February 17, 2020

Chris Hogan, Christy Wright, Debt, Career, Home Selling 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 Studio, this is the Dave Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life and your money. Sitting in for Dave, I'm Chris Hogan, and I'm excited to be with you. And I'm joined in studio by national best-selling author and a fantastic speaker, Christy Wright. Hello. This is so fun. I just realized we match. We're both wearing our olive green today.

Got the memo. Those of you that are watching on the YouTube channel, you can see that, yeah, we are in fact coordinated. It's an accident. I will change at the break. Excited to be on with you. You always bring a ball of energy. Oh my goodness.

You've been busy. And for the first time, I get a chance to join the Business Boutique movement. Yeah, we're glad to have you. This fall. And tell them, something special is happening today. So today, this is huge. And people have been asking about this for months. Because every year when we have this awesome event in the fall, they're like, winner.

The tickets go on sale for next year. Today's the day. Today is the day. So for our 2020 Business Boutique Conference, it is here in Nashville this October 22nd through the 24th. And like you just said, you're speaking. It's going to be so fun. Listen, there are always like 3,000 to 4,000 women at this event.

And they're excited women. Very excited. And I always hear people say, Chris, I came out of there with information, not just for my business, but for my life. Yeah. And I think that's the thing that I'm excited to join and to be able to see that. It's a passion for you. Yeah.

It's really incredible to see how I think the idea of business, and you've seen this through Entree Leadership and the people that you've coached one-on-one or in small groups or even speaking, the idea of business can feel overwhelming. You're like, oh, well, I don't have a business background. Well, I don't have my MBA. Well, I don't have a business mind. I hear that all the time. Right.

And I'm like, here's the deal. It is easier than ever before to start a business. You have access to take your idea and put it into action in the marketplace like overnight. The barrier to entry is lower than ever before. You've got more free resources, more free information. You've got more help, support, social media, free marketing. And so it's easier than ever before to make money doing what you love. So whether you want to pay off your debt snowball faster, you need a little bit of extra income.

Dave says have a bigger shovel when you're trying to dig your way out. Creating your own small business or side business or home-based business or freelance business, fill in the blank, small business, is easier than ever before. So I love to help people do that because they think it's overwhelming and I show them just how simple it really can be. But then, of course, we have a lot of fun. So we laugh, we dance, we play. It's awesome. It is fantastic. I can't wait. I got to work on my dance moves before I get there. But listen to me. If you're out there and you have a question on personal growth, you have a question about business or money, as usual, we want you to give us a call. The number to call is 888-825-5225. Again, that's 888-825-5225.

Christy and I are here and we'd love to be able to talk with you. Okay, so we're going to get to the phone here. I've got, looks like I've got Daniel on the phone in Pennsylvania. Daniel, how are you? I am doing good now that I'm out of the hospital. Oh, what happened? Yeah, I got a case

of pneumonia that they had to put me under for like three or four days. My goodness. Oh, wow. I'm glad that you are out and be praying that you're feeling better. I'm sure that was not a cheap visit. No, I'm still waiting for most of the bills yet. Okay. Okay. Do you have insurance?

Yes. Okay. Okay. That's a good thing. That is a good thing. So what's your question for me, sir? I'm basically trying to figure out the best method to get all of those bills together and pay them. I have the money to pay them. I just want to make sure that I got all of them, whether if I should pay them as they come in or if I should wait until I get every one of them and then just write one check. Gotcha, gotcha. Okay, this is a great question, Daniel, because here's what I found with my history with the insurance companies. Not only will they send out multiple bills, but at times it cannot even coincide.

And so what I would encourage that you do is as the bills come in, I might even call your insurance carrier. And what you're wanting to seek is now debt verification. Debt verification is where you're finding out exactly what it is you owe. Okay. And so they're able to tell you looking up your account. But it is debt verification is the phrase that you want to use. And once you have that verified, then you can start to deal with those debts from there.

But I wouldn't go by just what comes in the mail. No. It's tricky, and it can be very confusing. You know, Hogan, I actually just experienced this recently. We know I just had my third baby, so I was in the hospital having a third baby. This happened with this recent delivery. And then also when my son Conley was in the hospital about a year ago for a few days, I got one bill after I'd already been quoted what the total amount was going to be paid the total amount. I got a bill. I kid you not. It was about

$6,000. It that came out of nowhere. And I called and I started asking questions digging in. And they said, Oh, that was just a mistake. Sorry, we didn't mean to send that. I was like, a $6,000 mistake. We were like, Yeah, just ignore it. So Daniel, my advice to you would be to question everything. Just like you said, dig into it. So often there are discrepancies between different departments, different billing accounts. Question everything before you pay it. It's really important. And listen, and you can imagine, you're talking Daniel's got the money to be able to pay it. Which is great.

You have knowledge of financials. I get worried for people out there that don't have the knowledge, that are mailed a $5,000 or $6,000 bill. That's enough to send someone into just a tailspin financially from fear. And I want you to hear me. Medical debt is not the same as credit card, car loan, and student loan debt. You're talking about incurring medical debt for health reason, for yourself or your child. And so, again, mindset-wise in the debt snowball, we're going to treat it the same and attack it as it goes. But I want you to be calm

because I've seen them charge people $300 for a Tylenol. And then at the same time, a hospital stay to be charged for $300 to $400, which we both know it doesn't make sense. So question everything. Do what I said. Debt verification is absolutely essential so you can know what it is you're dealing with and how to go about it. So thank you very, very much for the phone call. All right, next up, I've got Charles on the line down in Florida. Charles, how can I help you? Hey, Chris. Thanks for taking my call.

Oh, you're welcome, my friend. What's your question for Christy and I? Yeah, yeah. Hey, Christy. What's up, too? Hey, I'll jump right into it. What we just got some news. My wife and I have, you know, we kind of help out my mother-in-law, her mom.

She's a little bit older now. She's diabetic. And, you know, we live close, so we can help out when we can. And recently, she's got her diabetes kind of, you know, she's an older lady. She's having a little bit more trouble as of late. And we think it may be time that she's going to start needing some assistance, you know, just in the day-to-day. Unfortunately, she's not in a great spot, you know, with her finances, you know, in retirement. She was really hit hard by the crash. And what has kind of been bouncing around

for us lately is possibly selling our house. We have some equity. We bought our house pretty cheap and we have about $100,000. We think, well, 80 to 100 in equity. And we were wondering, should we sell our house at the same time, kind of upgrade it to a starter home, upgrade our house so that we can move my mother-in-law in with us, use that equity to pay down, obviously, put a large down payment on a house to get her in with us. So upgrade at the same time, pay down the mortgage, and also have her chip in to help us get it paid down faster. We were wondering if that might be a good idea.

All right, Charles, I'm going to need you to hold on. I've got to collect my thoughts. That's a lot. We're going to have to dig into this. You can't make the wrong decision. This is a big boy, big girl decision. We're going to see what Chrissy thinks, too. Stay tuned.

You're listening to The Dave Ramsey Show. If you do this one simple thing that we all do, you are literally at risk of being hacked and someone stealing what you've worked so hard for. Do you ever use public Wi-Fi? I'm talking about getting online at a coffee shop, a store, the airport, or even at home. Hackers can use a simple $100 device to mimic Wi-Fi, and with just a little bit of skills, they can take over your financial life. This means you may think you're on your bank's site or app or securely making that purchase online, but hackers could see and steal that information. That's why I trust CyberGhost VPN. CyberGhost thinks about cybercrime so you don't have to. You can try it for free for seven days, protect up to

seven internet devices, and keep all of your internet connections secure. That's CyberGhost VPN. Download it today from your app store and be secure in seconds. Welcome back to the Dave Ramsey Show. I am sitting in for Dave this hour, and I'm joined in studio by Christy Wright, national bestselling author. And before we went to break, we were talking to Charles. And Charles was talking about trying to sell his home to be able to allow his mother-in-law to come live with him. Maybe they look to upgrade. He's looking for options. And so,

Charles, as we were talking this through, if you were to sell your home, you said you had about how much equity? My best estimate, Will, about $100,000. We think we have, we could probably get $180,000 to $190,000 for it. Okay. And do you all owe on anything else but the home? No, sir. Okay. So, oh, nothing about the home. Okay. And then we had some, some relational type questions. Christy, go ahead. Yeah. Just tell us a little bit about how you came to this being the option you're considering, because, because the thing that concerns me, Charles, is not this option. It's the fact that it's the only one I'm hearing right now. And I always feel Hogan the most in control when I have lots of options. I can pick, pick the best one when I have lots of them. So let's just look at this.

Like, how did you come to this one as the option you're considering right now, or the only one? Sure, sure. Yeah, my wife is going to kill me for not mentioning this up front. But I should say that this was our starter home. When we bought the house, we had two little girls.

And literally the day that we closed on our house, we found out we were pregnant with our, on my son, our third child. So we're, we've been in a two bedroom house basically with three kids now for a few years. So it's something that we were going to eventually do anyway. And with this option presenting itself, knowing that at some point in the future we were going to need to upgrade homes. And then with this happening with her mother, it seemed like the stars may have been aligning for this to happen. Okay, I got you.

But we also... All right, so tell me this, Charles. How big is the home you're in right now? How many square feet? About 1,200. Okay, 1,200 square feet. And how many bedrooms? Two bedrooms.

And how many bathrooms? Two bathrooms. Okay. And so if you all were looking to upgrade, what size home do you think would be the ideal for you? Ideal, I mean, we're frugal people by nature i mean i i um a three two a modest three two maybe you know okay thirteen fourteen hundred square feet is really all we need um okay probably where we would land all right and see and that's important to ask because when i hear people talk about upgrade it's like double right and they're starting to get out there oh yeah and so

i like hearing that you guys are frugal. Here's the other thing I'm going to ask, and I have to ask this for your sake. How's the relationship with the mother-in-law? Oh, you know, she's a mother-in-law, but I love her. She's a very, very nice lady. Couldn't ask for a better mother-in-law. Yeah, that was the flag right there. She's done a lot for a lot of people.

Yeah, I know. I used to play football, and referee would throw the flag when somebody was off sides, and that's a penalty. That answer right there tells me you all need more options. You need to go to Christyville. You need more options to be able to identify this because here's my concern, Charles. Once she moves in, well, it's kind of like luggage. She's probably not leaving.

Okay. And so I don't, I don't, I would much rather you guys talk through and look at it and, and to begin to kind of brainstorm other options. I don't like you selling the home. You guys looking to buy another home for you and your family. Okay. I get it. But I'm talking about the other piece.

And I think what's happened is that's become an add-on. You guys were already talking about upgrading home for you, okay? Your three kids, you and your wife, family of five. And you're not even talking about going, you're in 1,200 square feet right now. You said going to 1,400 or 1,500. So you're not doing anything outlandish. What I don't want is the variable. Now, of the mother-in-law coming in, and I think you and your wife really have to talk about this, and as Christy said, you need some more options. I'm okay identifying that as an option. I don't think it's

a viable option long-term, and the nature of the relationship. And I would want you guys to go speak with your pastor about it. I'd want you to go talk to a marriage counselor. Because what would happen is, is let's say hypothetically, like Christie and I, if we were trying to make a decision, we were on a team and if she's thinking through, okay, what's the best thing for the family? And I'm doing the same thing. Then you make decisions that's best for the family. But if you get one person in the variable, say it's me, if she's thinking what's best for the family and I'm thinking what's best for me, now you got a problem. You're not aligned. And so that out of being out of alignment can cause frustration later. So I want you to consult some people, slow way, way down and start to figure out what's the best move that's next. And you and your wife having that conversation,

it's important for you guys to have A and B conversations, the two of you, and then, you know, involving the mother-in-law later. You got to navigate this carefully, my friend. There are a lot of emotions and feelings tied into this, and I want you and your family in the best possible situation. Thank you for your call. All right, next up, we got Dylan. Dylan is on the line. Dylan, what's your question for Christy? Hey, how you doing today? Hey, Dylan, how can we help? Hey, my wife really hates her job. We make really good money, but my wife just doesn't like her job. So I'm trying to get her to want to do a business because I know that she can do it, but she doesn't feel confident in doing it.

And we're in steps four, five, and six. So she's now using the excuse of, well, we haven't paid off our house yet. So how can we justify spending money for me to start a business? Well, here's the thing, Doug. Go ahead. I mean, I don't want to push my goals because I don't really like my job. I make a lot of money. I mean, she makes good money.

But I really want that business. I've always kind of wanted my own business. But I don't want to push my business dreams and aspirations on her, and I don't know how to do it without forcing her into something she doesn't want to do. Well, that's good insight. It's good that you're aware of that, that you have that dream, and that's probably playing into your enthusiasm for her. While I love your enthusiasm, if she doesn't want it, she doesn't want it.

But here's the thing. A lot of women would be more open to the idea. A lot of women I work with specifically would be more open to the idea of a side business if you could take the overwhelm out of it. And really, Dylan, that's what I try to do. Chris Hogan and I were just talking about that. The idea of business seems overwhelming. But if you were to say, hey, you're really good at this thing.

What if I just showed you how you could help people with that thing you know how to do? And oh, by the way, they'd pay you. Oh man, that sounds awesome. That sounds so scary, right? So that's actually what we do. Here's what I want to do, Dylan. I want you to stay on the line and I want to give you a ticket for your wife to our business boutique conference. Send her to the conference here in Nashville. Even if she doesn't have a business or an idea, it's just so much fun. And maybe that weekend she'll have a business idea or the enthusiasm, or maybe she'll come home and be like, you know what, Dylan, that's your dream, and if you want to pursue it, that's your thing, but it's not for me.

But at least it will be a really fun weekend for her, and if you'll stay on the line, we'll give you that ticket, and that will give her a good kickstart. Yeah, and Dylan, here's the other side of it. I think with your wife not liking her current job and you all starting to look at a way to really dig in, and how do you begin to start this? She's not leaving her current job and you all starting to look at a way to really dig in and how do you begin to start this? She's not leaving her current job yet. Christy always has the phrase of building kind

of an on-ramp, right? An off-ramp from a job you don't love to a business that you do, but it's all done in degrees. And so I think having that mindset, talking to her about that, but I want you to do less talking and more listening, meaning ask her open-ended questions. That's good. You need to get her to open up and to get excitement. But she's probably going to have fear in the way. And so, again, you're probably – he's wired like you and I. He's got energy and he's ready.

I've got ideas for days. He ain't scared of risk. That's right. I just had an idea as I was sitting here waiting to talk. But that mindset of let your wife talk about it and begin to really look to see how do we start this thing. And what is exciting to her? I love that question of the open-ended questions. Business may not be exciting, but this particular thing that she loves, that might really get her excited. And then you could show her how that thing could become a business.

Well, then she's in. But the idea of business might not be exciting, and that's okay. Well, and you said that. She may want to serve people, right? And serving is business, but it's a semantic. It's a thing that people don't think about. So I like this idea, and it's very nice of you to invite him. Hey, we're celebrating.

We're celebrating the kickoff. So we'll see your wife. That is fantastic. That's awesome. Okay, here, I got a social question for you. Let's have it. It says, my wife and I are opening a new hair salon, and it will have eight booths to be rented out.

Do we need to have an LLC? Okay. Let's talk about this, because I get this question a lot, Hogan. A lot of times, it comes down to fear. It's fear of, this is what somebody told me I have to do. Really, an LLC is if you have a high-risk business, a high-liability business, you want to have an LLC. Or if you've got a target on your back, you have a lot of wealth or the appearance of it, people might want to try to sue you. Otherwise, you're probably good as a sole proprietorship.

Very good. Oh, got the answers. So if you're out there, you've got a question, we want to hear from you. You can hunt us down at Ramsey Show or at Chris Hogan 360 or at Christy Wright. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Are high health care 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 Healthcare 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.

chministries.org Hello, everyone. You are listening to The Dave Ramsey Show. I'm Chris Hogan, filling in for Dave. And joined in studio this hour by national bestselling author and amazing speaker, Christy Wright. We're here. We're having fun. And I misspoke with her social media handle earlier. It's at Christy B. Wright.

So make sure you make that adjustment, and you can send her questions or me at ChrisHogan360. All right. I got that fixed. I'm off the hook. I didn't even catch that, so that's impressive that you did. You gave me the look, and I know the feeling. Let's get back to the phones. I've got Yoshi on the line in California.

Yoshi, how are you? I'm great. How are you? Oh, I'm focused and not finished. What's on your mind today? So me and my husband have a combined debt of $63,000. About 30 of it is cars, and the other half of it63,000. About $30,000 of it is cards and the other half of it

is student loans. During my debt snowball, I'm on step two. My question is, should I put $1,800 a month to my debt snowball and be out of debt in 36 months or, because I have kids

and kids are hectic, should I do $1,500 and be out of debt in 36 months? Or because I have kids and kids are hectic, should I do $1,500 and be out of debt in 42 months? Okay. All right, Yoshi, hold on a second. Do me a favor. Take a deep breath. There you go. There you go.

No, it's okay. You're okay. You're all right. And so let's back up a little bit. So you're in baby step two, and you're wanting to know, okay, about timing. So tell me the two timeframes one more time. Okay. So if I do $1,800 payments per month, according to my calculations, I'll be out of

debt in 36 months. Um, and that's 1800 bare minimum pains and rice. We're doing nothing. Right. Um, if I do $1,500 a month, it's a little bit easier to work a room with kids and just little things that come up every now and then. So my question is, I know Dave and you say to try to get out of debt as fast as possible. In that situation, should I go a little bit lower or should I'm, or should I just go down the hall $1,800? Well, tell me this. How many kids do you have?

Five. Oh, five. What are their age ranges? I have a 15 year old, a nine year old, a seven year old, a five year old, and a one year old. Can I jump in here real quick? I don't even want to answer it yet. I just want to jump in here.

Yoshi, you are doing a good job. Can I just tell you that? You have five children. You're paying off your debt. You are so dedicated to this dream and changing your family tree that you're calling the Dave Ramsey Show to ask how fast you should. I just want to stop, just like Hogan said, to take a deep breath. I just want to say you're doing a good job.

I just want you to know that. Whether you pay it off in one year, two year, or 12 years, you are doing a good job. Now carry on, Hogan. I just needed her to know that. You've got five children, Yoshi. That's amazing. Yeah, no, that's amazing. And Yoshi, my question to you would be is, why are you trying to get out of debt at all?

I'm trying to get out of debt for my kids. That's right. That's exactly right. And I had a feeling that was going to be. I just don't want them to struggle. That's right. And I knew that was going to be your answer, and I could hear it in your voice. And I think your level of focus, I think that's something you have the ability to decide.

And, you know, obviously with that number of kids, you are going to have some life that's going to come up. That's why it's imperative that you budget. Very, very important. And not look at bringing on any extra debt. And you're going to have to talk with them, especially, you know, the 15-year-old, 9-year-old, and let them know mom's trying to clean up some mess. And the beauty of it is, is that for the younger ones, they'll never know about it. Because I have a feeling you're going to get this done. And it's going to be important for you to have the right people around you.

You need the right network of people that you can lean on when you get tired, because you are going to be tired. And you need people to encourage you. And so, you know, being plugged in, whether you're with the Baby Steps community, that community is absolutely fired up and growing or over in my everyday millionaire community as well. But you need to be plugged in to get people around you. Of course, I want you out of debt as soon as possible. Why? Because when you get out of debt, you give yourself a raise. And that's my mindset behind it. So I know the other side, what it's like. But also, I don't have five kids. I've got three boys. And so you've got to be aware of what you are, what you can stand, and really be prayerful

and careful, as my grandmother would tell me, about how you make that decision. But get the right people around you. I have no doubt that you're going to get this debt paid off. And you're probably going to go faster than you thought you could, but I want you to be smart enough to be able to drive that car like a stick shift, right? We all want to redline and go 150 miles an hour. Sometimes you have to downshift. Sometimes you need to breathe for a mental break. And then you get right back on the plan. Just don't have those stop gaps be too long. But you being emotional like that about wanting to do it for your kids, you're going to get it done. I'm proud of you,

too. I appreciate you calling in. This is really a value decision, too, when you think about it more than financial. Because, Hogan, I remember what it was like when I was paying off my debt, and there were people that were not having cable, not having a cell phone. They were doing nothing, and they got out of debt faster than me. I wasn't willing to make all those sacrifices. So I went a little bit slower. I didn't go on vacations. I didn't buy new clothes.

Here's what I'm willing to sacrifice, and it might take me a tiny bit longer, but that was my values. And so I love how you said she's focused enough to figure it out for herself. And maybe there's some grace in there. Maybe some months it's $1,500. Some months it's $1,800. 1800 some months you only put 300 towards it but you're doing the best you can with five kids and the the curveballs that life may throw you but i love how you gave her that freedom to there's some grace in there yeah but you're gonna get it done well you have

to you're gonna get there's not a cookie cutter because life is different and it is definitely five kids there's a whole lot of different minds so So anyway, let's get back to the phone. I've got Ellen on the line. Ellen, what's your question for Christy? Yes. Hi, Christy. Hey, Ellen. I read your book that you were kind enough to send me about a year ago.

And I did try to do some, well, I tried one time and got shot down, and I guess I got scared to make some Cajun food and take it to a local business, but I didn't get any orders. So I'm trying to, I love gardening, and I'm recovering from breast cancer. So what I'm trying to do is I raise heirloom tomatoes and different vegetables like cucumbers and so forth. And I thought, well, why don't you try to like make pickles and things like that and sell them like at your house, like a garage sale type event where I have a table with homemade goods on it and then try again with another dish and take it to another, samples to another local business and just keep trying. Yeah. Does that sound good?

Well, sure. Or is my idea too broad? No, I just have a few questions for you, Ellen. First of all, you're going through a tough season. Like, let's acknowledge that. I tell people all the time, Tom Hogan, and you see this too, but you don't have a work life and a home life. You just have one life. And so what you're going through with your health will affect anything you do, from your relationships to a career to a business or anything.

So just know that and give yourself, like we were talking about just now, just give yourself a little bit of grace in this season as you're recovering. But I have a question that's backing out of a little bit of your ideas here. Let's just back it up. Why do you want a business? Like, why do you – before we even talk about the idea. Okay. A, I'm a very independent person. Two, I want to work for me.

And two, I love cooking and growing things, and I would like to – I think that's my it's my passion and my love uh and I just love cooking for people I've entertained naval officers before when we were in the navy when I was young and you know my house for dinner parties was very popular and I just you know so you're good you you're good. You're a good cook. You've cooked before and people like your food? Yes. Oh, yeah.

So one person? One person. One person not liking your Cajun dish is going to make you completely change courses to heirloom tomatoes? One person? Just one person? Not Ellen. Ellen. Hogan, how many times have you failed business?

I'm not business savvy, so I just got scared. I know. Here's what I want you to do. I want you to go back to Business Boutique and read Chapter 2, because that whole chapter, which you know, Ellen, is all about fear. And fear is a normal part of the journey, and failure is a stepping stone on the ability to be successful. I love how Michael Jordan said, I have failed over and over and over, and that is why I

succeeded. I know. I read that when I was teaching, and over and over. And that is why I succeed. I learned that when I was teaching and I fell in love with that. Ellen, before you change courses, I want you to try again. Promise me that. Try again before you change courses. I think you've got something there. That is fantastic advice. You're listening to The Dave Ramsey Show. Hello, everyone.

You are listening to The Dave Ramsey Show. I'm Chris Hogan, filling in for Dave. And joining me this hour is National's bestselling author, Christy Wright. And we are taking your questions about life, about money, about business. And we're excited to keep this thing moving. So we're going to get back to the phone. And if you have a question, I want to hear from you. The number to call is 888-825-5225.

Again, that's 888-825-5225. We're going to go to the line here. I've got Megan on the phone. Megan, how are you? I'm okay. How are you? Oh, I'm focused and not finished, young lady. What's on your mind?

So I have a question, and I feel really overwhelmed, so I need some advice. So I inherited about $150,000, and I'm married. I have two kids. I put $10,000 in two separate money accounts for both my little boys for their safety net for their future. Okay. And then I have the remaining part, like, in a money market account. I'm kind of wrestling on what to do here because my husband is $104,000 in student loans. And then I, so I'm wondering like, what, what, how should I go about paying off those student loans? How, you know, I don't know what to do. I've taken the

class twice, but it was a long time ago before children and things changed a lot since then. And I'm actually going back tonight. Our church is hosting FPU, and we're just going to go right in and do it again. Gotcha. You know, to help us out. But I wanted to make the phone call because I just feel like this is a lot of money, and I don't know what to do. No, absolutely. How old are your kids?

I have a six-year-old and a three-year-old. Okay. And you guys have been married how long? 11 years. 11 years. Okay, so 11 years. And let me ask you this. This $150,000, where did this come from?

This came from my dad passing away. It was a life insurance policy. Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. How long ago did he pass? It was September of 2018. Okay. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Yeah, it's okay. And obviously, he was very intentional about this money, right? And that's why it was left to you. Mm-hmm. And so what you're trying to do now is to be very intentional with this money, correct? Correct, yes. Okay. So tell me this.

What else do you all owe on? What debt do you have outside of the student loans? Nothing. Okay, not the home? Is it paid for? We rent. You rent, okay. And yes, and I own a home in Virginia that I rent out as well, but the mortgage is paid off on that. Okay. All right. And so you look at this, and so let me be direct and go here, and I want Christy to jump in. What is your hesitation about attacking the student loans? I guess I'm just afraid I'm never going to have that kind of money again. Okay. All right.

I know that's crazy, but it's just... Well, hold on. Yeah, I don't know. Have you ever had a $150,000 check before? No. Right. Okay. So this is a brand new thing for you. Right.

And so, okay. All right. So let's face that. What's your all's household income? It's about $32,000. Okay. And are you both working outside of the home? No, I am.

He is a professional artist, and he's actually been very successful with it. There's been a little bit of a dry spell, but it's like a contracted worker when you are working as an actor. Okay, gotcha. Yeah. All right, Chrissy, what's your thought? You know, this reminds me actually of a time I had a conversation similar with my friend and her husband, I think it was Flip though,

she had debt and he had a little bit of savings. It wasn't $150,000. But the struggle was that they were trying to manage it separately. And I said, when you put this together, when it's your, as in both of you, debt and your savings is in both of you, you would make decisions differently. And so that would just be my encouragement for you megan is don't look at

it as his loans in your inheritance though it's definitely your inheritance if you're a team as a married couple how can you all make decisions as a family with your finances together and i think that will change and probably answer your own question um when look at it that you've got this inheritance over here and still have the savings for your kids and that type of thing your home is paid for. But when you put your finances together truly and it becomes a team, you make decisions a little bit more clearly, I feel like. Yeah, I agree with that. And I think this is, it's one of those things where I typically tell people, once you get a life insurance policy or come into money in that way where someone passed and you have to go through some timing,

I like to park that money in a money market account and let it sit for six to nine months so your brain gets clear. The last thing you want to do is to have that money pass through your hands very, very quickly, and you're not able to handle it the right way. But I agree with Christy. I think when you fix your pronouns, you're saying his student loans. No, no. When you said I do, that means we do. And that's the stuff now that you're looking at the debts are you all's. And so it's the time frame.

And I want you to talk about it and be very upfront and honest with him. You said he's been successful before. And so with his work schedule, what's coming, what's on the horizon, what's in the pipeline, and talk about your fears. Be open and honest. But I think evicting that $104,000 out of your life is going to change your household budget. And maybe you redirect the money you were paying toward the student loan now to a money market account or a mutual fund that becomes the home down payment. And so it's really, again, it's semantics. But you want to see it and be clear and be open and honest. Thank you very much for your call, young lady. That fear is real

of not having that much money again, but we're missing out on the benefit of not having that debt payment either because you're getting a raise there. So I love how you pointed that out. And I love that she called in just to get a different perspective, right? Because she obviously has had this in her mind. And you can imagine the husband who's feeling the weight of his student loan debt is feeling it. And so you can just kind of feel there's probably a weirdness in the room. And so be open and honest and put the cards on the table and let's have a conversation about it.

All right, we're going to try to get one more call in. I've got John on the line in Pennsylvania. John, what's your question really quick? Really quick. I am in baby step two and I'm looking to start a used car dealership while in baby step two. I'm unhappy with my job, and I want to try and start this dealership up or start that. What will Chrissy recommend to try and start it up while still in baby step two? Here's the thing, John.

If you're going to start a business, any type of business in baby step two. Here's the thing, John, if you're going to start a business, any type of business in baby step two, what I always recommend is starting a type of business that can turn a profit almost immediately. And the reason is, is because you already have this debt you're trying to pay off. We're not trying to take on more debt. I can't see, and correct me if I'm wrong here, Chris or John, I can't see how you could start a used car dealership with cash when you're in baby step two, unless I'm missing a puzzle piece of the equation. So here's what I want you to do, John. I'm not saying you have to give up on your business dream. Your business dream actually could help you pay off your debt faster in baby step two. I just want you to think of a different type of business. What's the heart and why behind the used car dealership and how can you still meet that

of your why and serving people in something, some different type of business where it's little to no overhead, it turns a profit quicker, and that money is then the business is funding itself, and all that profit is going to paying off your debt. I don't want you to take out more debt. That's the key here. Yeah. John, how much debt would you have to take on to open this dealership? To open a dealership, probably around $5,000 or $6,000 of debt.

Okay, and what about the inventory? Well, that's just opening the dealership, getting the building together, and then having one or two cars to first start with. I got you. I got you. And you can see, and how much debt do you have personally right now? Me and my wife, we have $22,000 left. What kind of? Is that credit card or student loans?

That's one personal loan, one vehicle loan, and a home. Okay. And what's your household income right now? $83,000. Okay. Let me ask you, John, are you passionate about a dealership, or are you passionate about making money? I am passionate about making money. Okay. Let me ask you, John, are you passionate about a dealership? Are you passionate about making money? I am passionate about making money.

Okay. All right. And you can imagine, I give you that very direct question because Christy's right. The last thing you want to do is add debt when you're trying to get out of debt. And again, people will try to rationalize it. I get people do it to me all the time. They're like, Hogan, I got this business idea I want to tell you. And as soon as they say the word debt, I just want to grab them by the lips and go, stop that. Okay. I'm allergic to debt. I get hives when you say debt to me. I'm not going backwards. I was stupid before people. And I shake it off. Cause why? Cause I know how to read. I know how to do math. Well, listen, Christy, thank you for taking the time to join us. It's fun as always. Christy, be right, you guys on social media. I want to thank all the callers for calling in, all the listeners for tuning in, and our

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