The Ramsey Show - App - How Do We Pay Off Medical Bills? (Hour 3)

Episode Date: December 16, 2020

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Music Music 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, Chris Hogan. Ramsey personality, number one best-selling author, is my co-host today. We're taking your calls about your life and your money,

common sense for your dollars and cents, teaching you to live on less than you make, a concept Congress can't grasp. Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Jim is in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with our first question of the hour. Hey, Jim, how are you? I am great. Thank you, Dave and Chris, for taking my call.

My wife and I have become Decker millionaires and have been very blessed and fortunate. We have no children. And we have two nieces and a nephew that we're not terribly close to, but they're in their 20s and good people. He's a schoolteacher, manages a restaurant, those sorts of things, but they are certainly not ready to have multiple millions of dollars dumped on them. We've already funded our foundation and things, and we were wondering just what you guys thought regarding whether it's appropriate to reach out to them and say, guys, you want to undergo a little teaching and learning, and I don't want to micromanage.

What would you do if suddenly you got several million dollars? What would be the plan for your life? Because without that, we just feel like it'd be giving them a loaded gun. Well, Jim, you're absolutely right, buddy. Congratulations, first and foremost, on you all working very hard, being intentional and truly building a new legacy. I agree with you. I think you've got every opportunity to be able to use this as a learning lesson for them to go through Financial Peace University, for them to begin to understand

the things that you've learned and really treating it as such. You know, believe it or not, you have the ability to put any kind of criteria on here that you want. You know, as you look at this and the way we view it is, it's the Lord's money. You've been blessed to be a good steward of it. And so being a good steward would be teaching them and guiding them and making sure they're prepared to be able to handle this stuff the right way. Money, when it comes to folks, and you've experienced this, Jim,

and so have I, so has Chris, whether it comes quickly or whether it comes slowly, it magnifies the person. It makes you more of what you already are. If you have a problem with anger, you become a tyrant. If you have integrity, you get extremely concerned about integrity. If you're kind and generous, you become outlandishly generous. And so that will happen to them. The good parts of their character will be magnified the bad parts of their character will be magnified it happens to all of us money's a

magnifier that's what it does money doesn't make you have problems you've already had problems it just magnifies them your marriage is weak you get a big pile of money it'll end your marriage you know and so you're exactly right the loaded gun is a good metaphor here you're handing a loaded gun to someone who's never pulled a trigger before that is a scary thing so they we don't want to micromanage i don't want to tell i don't want to micromanage either i just don't want to get shot yeah exactly so exactly so and uh you know and obviously uh by the time they would inherit this we wouldn't be around and i i do think some kind of a trust may be in order or something absolutely and you know if they aren't comfortable with it or we're not comfortable with

them i'm okay saying uh you know have a great life and do your thing yeah we love you and good luck and hope everything works out well i don't Well, I don't accept your conditions. Well, you don't really have a choice. Right. The only way you get the money is with the conditions. Because I'm concerned for you that this not be a problem for you, but instead is a blessing. Right.

And, Jim, I've talked to people that have laid out some stipulations for their kids, and if the kids don't abide by that, then they've also designated a charity that would be the recipient or multiple charities that would be the recipient or an amount going to the church. And so I think you can have that primary and educate them. But you and your wife also have that backup plan. But you also said something that's crucial. You reserve the right to make changes. And that you do. Yeah, absolutely. plan but you also said something that's crucial you reserve the right to make changes and that you do yeah absolutely and i think it's the it's it's the kindest way to do this and your

your spirit is not one of overt control freak your spirit is just one of concern yeah and if they if they interpret that as overt control freak that could, that alone could be a disqualifier. I mean, I think back of, we're 62 and 61 now. I think back, when I was 20-something, if somebody had given me this amount of money without an extreme amount of guidance, it would have been a train wreck. It would have been, and we never would have accomplished the things we've been blessed to do exactly i mean i always tell folks you know one of the metaphors i use when i'm teaching on this is it's uh you know my son comes in he's 14 years old dad i want to buy a brand new corvette so my first car when i'm 16 and i'm like no i've seen you drive you're incompetent

you're going to get an old chevette with a gerbil under the hood, you know? And then when you are faithful in the little things, then you'll be given more to manage. And that's what Scripture says, right? And so, yeah, I'm going to say, you know, we're getting ready to give you a Corvette, but you're going to kill yourself with the thing if you don't get driving lessons. And they have no idea. I mean, they, I'm guessing our families think we have, you know, a couple of million dollars or a little more than that.

They have no idea that, you know, you put a zero on that. And it's, you know, we have a sizable foundation that does a lot of things. So, Jim, if you work all your life, you get to be the rich uncle that everybody wanted. Yeah, I think so, I guess. I just thought of that. You're the rich uncle everybody wants. Oh, this is great. And we, you know, I just, you know, you only get one chance to handle this right,

and by the time it goes wrong, you're in heaven already, and I just don't want to mess that up. Yeah, I think you sit down with them and you begin the process of discussing this and say, you know, would you like us to show you how to handle money so that we feel comfortable leaving you some. And if you would like that, that's not a control freak thing. I don't want to hand someone who's never driven a car the keys to a brand new Corvette with a 500 horsepower engine under the hood. I just don't want to do that. It's not wise for you.

It would be harmful for everybody, including all of us driving around you. At what point would you reveal the actual numbers uh pretty early if they if they if they are open you know it depends on the if you get a receptive spirit right but if you got somebody that's rebellious and just throws her back up then you know the first you're gonna know that in one conversation or two yeah you know you know they're not going to decide oh i'm not going to be a jerk based on the numbers so they're just going to show you that they're a jerk know, they're not going to decide, oh, I'm not going to be a jerk based on the numbers. So they're just going to show you that they're a jerk. Right.

Or they're going to go, yes, I would be honored to have someone that has built wealth show me how to build wealth and manage wealth. I mean, what a gift. Yeah, it is a gift. And Jim, I hope you and your wife are enjoying it and doing all kinds of things now and giving to some charities now. You said he got a big foundation. Yes. Like, that is amazing, buddy. Enjoy it. Congratulations. Very well done. a big foundation. Yes. Like, that is amazing, buddy. Enjoy it.

Congratulations. Very well done. Very well done. Love it. It's good. Mm-hmm. Live like no one else. So later you can live and give like no one else.

This is The Dave Ramsey Show. This year has been unpredictable. Well, that's an understatement. But make this Christmas and New Year's your time to save money and give your loved ones gifts that will teach them how to make a plan for their money and their future. Our famous $10 sale is ending soon. This is your last chance to choose from over 40 of our most popular books, audio books, and more, all for just $10. Get my number one best-selling book, The Total Money Makeover. It's helped millions get out of debt.

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at our online store at DaveRamsey.com or call Ramsey Concierge Team at 888-22-PEACE 888-227-3223 888-2225-5225. You jump in, we'll talk about your life and your money. We've got about 967 people on our team right now, and over 150 of them are on our creative team alone.

We've got a lot of creatives in the building. And over 150 of them are on our creative team alone. We've got a lot of creatives in the building. We act as actually one big in-house agency that supports all the business units inside Ramsey. And our team is currently looking for some product designers with strong visual design skills and a background in user experience and user research. If you've been impacted by this mission and you want to spread this message of hope with your creative talents, well, apply for a position here. Find out about all the available jobs at DaveRamsey.com slash careers. We'll hire about 250 people in the coming 12 months.

And so all kinds of different positions, but certainly a bunch will be in the creative and in the technology fields. And we're really doing work that matters. We were voted one of the best places to work in the United States by Inc. Magazine last year. So apply today at DaveRamsey.com slash careers. Check out all the jobs, but certainly the creative ones. All right, Courtney is with us in Phoenix. Hi, Corey.

Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hey, Dave. How are you doing today? Better than I deserve, man. What's up? I was going to ask you about cryptocurrency, but I think I kind of got where you stand on that from your last call. The last caller asked about it, but I'm a small business owner. I've been following you guys for you specifically

for, I don't know, five or seven years. I don't have any debt. I'm 32 years old. And I was just curious as far as, like for a business, as far as working with terms with your suppliers or like, you know, net 30, net 60, if you include that as debt or credit or if you see that as a necessary part of doing business, just because I don't want to take on debt necessarily, but sometimes I just struggle to get the materials and stuff like that for certain jobs, you know? Yeah. Well, I mean, depending on how you're doing the job, you can take enough deposit up front to cover materials and keep things moving.

We, I mean, certainly companies, we do a lot of business with all kinds of vendors, and they bill us and we pay them. But we don't sign up for or take product or services off of a vendor if we don't have the money to pay them and hope it works out. That would be debt, even if it is a net 30 now uh we clear our if we have an invoice come in this week during the week and it matches with a po that was already in place in our accounting system we will clear it on tuesday morning so we pay you inside of seven days uh we don't ride people for 30 days and that kind of stuff now it has to match

up and it has to be an accurate invoice and sometimes it takes a little while to get all that stuff done but if it hits our system our accounting system and it matches we pay it almost instantaneously and so but it yeah i technically i owe them money but technically i owe the guy that cuts my grass money after he cuts my grass and he sends me a bill and i pay him you know it's the same thing i pay it i pay it the day i get the bill and uh or within a day or two of getting the bill so it's not it's not different than that uh but i i don't um you know take a a vendor's services or wares and hope it all works out and i can pay them. Yeah.

Because that sets you up for problems then. Then you are using them as a bank. Yeah. And, Corey, I want to invite you to get over to our Entree Leadership. Go to EntreeLeadership.com. Inside of that, that's really where we're walking with business owners and leaders and really helping them not only inside of running the business, but also with the people portion.

And inside of that, we talk about retained earnings, which becomes really the thing that as a business owner, you're wanting to make sure you're setting aside some of the earnings. So later, you become your own bank. You become your own safety net as you're running your business. And Chris, I'll circle back around on the cryptocurrency question again. I don't teach people to invest in volatile investments that are high risk. Right. And so I wouldn't have you invest in the dollar as a currency.

I wouldn't have you invest in the pound, the yen, as a currency, the peso as a currency. You can play currencies like you play commodities. And you can play cryptocurrency like you play commodities. Now, if you play commodities, you can make, you know, you can put in $5,000 and make 50 grand. I mean, you can make 10x in a matter of a few weeks. Or you can put in five thousand dollars and get nothing and that's pretty much the same thing with cryptocurrency or playing playing the currency market i don't play currency markets the people that are doing cryptocurrency are doing it for

one of two reasons they are either trying to get rich quick and they think it's going to go through them to the moon and they think they're going to make a ton of money, and they might. They might, just like if you played a commodity, just like if you put the money on a football game. I mean, you could go to one of the betting services and bet 10 to 1 odds, and you could get rich quick. I mean, you could, but you could lose it all, too. And these are high-risk endeavors. Right. It is truly a gamble more than an investment. Yeah.

And I don't really do gambling with money. It's too hard to come by. I invest when something's steady and predictable. The second reason people do cryptocurrency is they're all enamored with the philosophy of it, that it's outside of regulatory guidelines and there's no nothing no you know it's kind of a a libertarian thing of i can go do what i want to do off the grid so it's rogue except except that you're actually more on the grid than you've ever been in your life when you're doing this stuff but uh but but i mean it's this idea that it's outside the purview of

nations right and governments to control it and it's kind of got its own little thing out here, its own ethos that it can run in, and they love that idea. And that's all fine. I can't believe Dave Ramsey is as libertarian in freedom as you are that you don't support cryptocurrency. I don't support it because it's a high-risk investment. And I don't tell people to put money in something I don't put money in. There it is. And so that's the thing.

I just don't do it. And the problem is when you get to chasing get rich quick, people, they get the fever, and they stop using critical thinking skills, and then they become very defensive as if it's not a high risk investment because in their mind they had to push that that high risk aside in order to make the play that's right to be able to rationalize that to put put it behind a wall yes and so because it's behind the wall then anyone who says cryptocurrency is a bad idea then they're evil and when i you know so all the cryptocurrency guys hate me and And there's websites. Dave Ramsey's wrong.

Dave Ramsey's wrong. Dave Ramsey's wrong. No, I, yeah. No, I'm not. You know, and the same thing with the gold guys. Oh, yeah. You know, we tell people not to buy gold. Gold, silver.

You know, we tell people not to buy whole life. Those guys don't like us. Right. We tell people not to lease cars. Those guys don't like us. But all we're concerned about is you people. We're just trying to help you. And so, you know, you can go and put $100,000 or $15,000 or $10,000 or $2,000 on the table, on the blackjack table, and you can do that. Or you can bet it on a football game if you want.

You can play high-risk stuff if you want to. It's your money. You get to decide but you're listening to me because i have chris has data and decades of experience that show you how to become wealthy yeah and do it the right way and do it in a way that you don't put your family at risk you don't put your future at risk you don't put your health at risk um it is just really one of those this recipe is a plan that works. And in looking at that, you know, people work hard for money. The last thing I'm going to do is put it on something like a cryptocurrency that is decentralized, has no regulations.

If you have convinced yourself that commodities or day trading or cryptocurrency or blackjack is a sure thing because you've got a system, then what you have done is you've put your emotions and your critical thinking skills behind an emotional wall so that you can accept this and do it. But you've screwed yourself in the process. Now, I've got a relative that loves to play poker. And he loses, like everybody does, when you're playing poker. And so he'll go to Vegas and lose $4,000, $5,000, or whatever on a weekend. But he has a great time. And for him, that's recreation, and he just budgeted that to spend.

But he didn't see it as a way to become wealthy. Right. But he enjoys the card game. Right. And he's budgeted for it. I don't get that, but he does. This is the Dave Ramsey Solutions on the debt-free Stage, Marilee is with us. Hi, Marilee. How are you?

Hey, Dave. I'm doing great. How are you doing? Better than I deserve. Where do you live? Actually, we're from Dalton, Georgia. Okay. Well, that's not too bad a run up to Nashville. No. But welcome, and you're here to do a debt-free scream. Yes, sir. How much have you paid off?

$29,000. Wow. How long did this take? 20 months. Good for you. And your range of income during that time? It was $28,000. Okay. What do you do for a living?

I'm actually an analyst at a private university. Okay. Cool. Very good. So what caused this to happen, Marilee? Why did you wake up all of a sudden and say, enough's enough. It's got to get out of here. Well, actually, it was all student loans. And so whenever I graduated,

I looked at how much I owed and I thought, that's a big number. But I didn't think too much about it. And so I moved out on my own and lived there for about a year in an apartment. And one day I was going to go to work, but it was raining outside. And so I decided to turn on the windshield wipers, but they didn't work. and so I took it to a repair shop and it was going to be $300 to get new windshield wiper motors yes wipers have motors yes they do they do yes they do and so $300 was something that I could pay for but it was actually a lot for me and I thought this this is big. If I claim that I can live on my own and be financially stable, then why is $300 such a big deal to me? So that was a big deal. But then shortly after about a year of living on my own, my lease was up in my apartment.

And then I realized I'm living in an unsafe area of town. So I decided to move back to my parents' house for about a month or two. And then I was walking in the woods and just talking to the Lord and walking the dog. And God brought up the idea of just paying off my student loans. And I said, you know, what are you talking about? Like, that's so much money. I don't know if I could do that and still live at my parents' house for a while. And, you know, he said back, you know, Marilee, I know you can do this because you've got grit. And that was the first idea of thinking, like, maybe it is possible.

And so I went home and I talked to my mom about the idea. And, of course, she was on board. She loves me. And so, yeah, once she said it was okay um decided to well that was right whenever everyday millionaire is released and so i read that book cover to cover and that really started lighting the fire yeah and so from there i just created a little timeline and it was going to be august of 2020 and then it ended up being j June with all the momentum that carries up with it. Yeah. Way to go.

Yeah. Thank you. How's it feel? Amazing. It feels like Genie from Aladdin at the very end whenever Aladdin shows the lamp to Genie and he says, Genie, you're free. And then the shackles fall off and he doesn't know what to do. So it feels a lot like that.

It's just that moment of true freedom. Yeah. Wow. Very cool. Very cool of true freedom. Yeah. Wow. Very cool. Very cool. All right. So we've got, how old are you? I am 29 today.

Hey, well, happy birthday. Thank you. Good. So 27-year-old is listening to us right now. Yeah. You do this in 20 months, and they're saying, I wonder if I you do this in 20 months and they're saying i wonder if i should do this what do you tell them and how do you tell them that you got out of debt what's the secrets oh yeah um the biggest thing is just start with your foundation you know why do you want to get out of debt uh do you want to reduce stress do you want to start building a legacy are there

people coming up behind you uh that you want to be able to support and then also um don't be afraid to get your hands dirty you know just take on whatever side job you can i i worked every side hustle i could think of that uh would just give me a little bit of extra cash over time well what was your most productive the side hustle that made you the most money uh definitely cleaning the chiropractic office twice a month. Ah, okay. That'll work. Yeah.

Oh, yeah. And then also helping teach dance in the evenings at a local dance studio. Okay. Very good. Yeah. Yeah. And then the last thing is just making sure that you have a community-driven outlet, you know, because setting a goal like this is just not, for me, it's not attainable by myself. So I needed a community

and that's what i would encourage for anybody else i mean i had um unity dance troupe in cleveland and we would go there and rehearse weekly for fall and spring productions and uh i had people walking uh through the debt-free journey with me starting day one and carried all the way through to the finish line and i'm super thankful for every single one of them there. Isn't it amazing what happens when you get some people around you? Yeah. You know, it just helps you stay motivated. And you can look to them even when you get tired, right?

And get your momentum back. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. They were definitely with me whenever life happened. And then they were also with me whenever the highs happened as well. The really joyous moments. Yeah. Way to go. Proud of you. Thank well. So they're really joyous moments. Yeah. Way to go.

Proud of you. Thank you. So you brought mom with you to cheer you on. I did, yeah. All right. Very good. Very good. Mom was obviously a cheerleader.

Yes. And they were obviously cheerleaders. You've got to have cheerleaders in your corner. It's not good that men be alone. Exactly. You know, we're not designed for that. We're designed to be in community. That's why we've got it tied into Ramsey Plus and into Financial Peace University to make it all part of that.

And the YouTube chat. Yeah. Yeah. There's nobody alone there. Most people will follow you home. Oh, my gosh. Way to go. I'm so proud of you.

Thank you. Well done, hero. You took control of your life, and on your birthday, you're doing your debt-free scream. Yes. There's a lot of dignity in this. Well done. Very, very well control of your life, and on your birthday, you're doing your debt-free scream. Yes. There's a lot of dignity in this. Well done. Very, very well done.

How does it feel? Amazing. Good for you. All right, Marilee, we got a copy. You've already got Chris's book. She read it, Dave, cover to cover. There you go. This woman is smart. How to be a millionaire.

She's smart. All right, we'll give you another book. You just tell Kat what you want. Whatever you want out there, you can have one of them. It's all good be a millionaire. She's smart. All right, we'll give you another book. You just tell Kat what you want. Whatever you want out there. You can have one of them. It's all good. Very cool. Well, thank you for coming all the way to Nashville to share with us.

Very good job. I was so excited to come. Marilee from Dalton, Georgia. $29,000 paid off in 20 months, making $28,000 a year. Man, it's impressive. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. hear a debt-free scream three two one i'm dead i love it well done our question of the day comes from blinds.com you can find out why blinds.com is the number

one online retailer of custom window coverings you get free samples free shipping new promos all the time always use the promo code ramsey to get the best deal all right today's question comes from andrew in north dakota he says i'm 20 years old and i'm working on baby step three i was wondering if it would be smart to pull money from a non-retirement account, which is invested in mutual funds. Its current value is 4,000. I have 2,500 saved up so far and my goal is 8,000. Well, in looking at this, Andrew, you don't tell me what your income is. So a couple of schools of thought thought here you could cash flow it right and leave the mutual funds alone and get there and get your emergency fund built up or based on income if it's too tight

then you could cash it out uh and looking at this it would depend on income flow uh i'd like to leave those mutual funds there and let them grow if at all possible yeah i think he's not going to be able to because he's got a small emergency fund goal, $8,000. So that tells me his income is low. It's tight. Yeah. So I'm thinking you use it. Besides that, Andrew, you should have already cashed it out when you started the process.

Yeah. Any non-retirement money you've got of any kind should have been used for Baby Steps 1 through 3 from the first moment you started on this process. And so, yeah, I see a couple of reasons there to go ahead and cash it out. I love investing. Like Chris was saying, keep leaving it alone. I think that would be wonderful. But I kind of smell in these numbers that you need to do this. And it needs to be in an emergency fund, not in a mutual fund.

You'll get to your mutual fund investing later. And you don't use mutual funds for your emergency fund because... That's right. Here's the thing. Emergency funds are not investments. They're insurance. And insurance costs you money to protect the things that make you money.

And that's what this is. So the emergency fund is not designed to make you rich. Nope. It's designed to protect the things that are going to make you rich, like not cashing out your 401k to fix your transmission because you had an emergency fund. That's right. And you want to keep it liquid and just in a money market account so you can get to it. But here's job one, you guys. If you end up using it, thank goodness you had it.

But job one becomes to replace it. Yep. You always want to keep that amount in there. Yep. Very well done. Yes. Good always want to keep that amount in there. Yep. Very well done. Yes. Good stuff. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. Our scripture today, Hebrews 10, 35, 36.

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised. Helen Keller said, never bend your head, always hold it high, look the world straight in the eye. Open phones at 888-825-5225. You jump in. We'll talk about your life and your money right in front of you.

Tracy is with us next in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Hi, Tracy. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi. How are you? Great. How can we help? So I have about $100,000 in student loans that I've had on an IBR, income-based repayment plan, for the last 13 years.

Translation, you're getting nowhere. Right. And the reason why, well, I was raising four children by myself, and now I have one, I have paid off about $42,000 in the last three years of debt, and I was wondering now where I should fit the student loans in, and it is one fully consolidated student loan. It's not a bunch of multiple little ones. What's your income? About $56,000. Okay. All right. And the last one's leaving the nest.

Yes. Okay. Well, if I woke up in your shoes, how old are you? 43. Okay. If I woke up in your shoes and it was me knowing what I know now, here's what I would do. I would increase the intensity with which you're budgeting.

Really tight budget. On paper, in great detail. I want your budget super detailed. Every month, every dollar has a name before the month begins, and then squeeze it. And I'm going to increase my income. I'm going to pick up some extra income from somewhere, doing something, tutoring, whatever it is. I don't care what it is. And then I'm going to pay this off in about three years. Okay.

$33,000 a year for three years, and you're done. Okay. You're a survivor, Mama Bear. Yeah. It just feels like I've been on this road for so long. Yeah, and it's time to get off of it. It's time to finish it now. Yeah, you have.

You focused on everything else but this. That's right. Because you had to raise kids, and you did everything else. Now it's time to but this. That's right. Because you had to raise kids and you did everything else. Now it's time to punch this thing in the nose. Yeah. Okay. And Tracy, you did this as a single mom of four. You've walked it.

You have given those kids what they needed. And now it's time to focus on your financial future. Yeah, you need to get free. You do. And I want to tell you, job well done on your kids. But now it's your turn. I mean, they're all doing well. They're all successful, you need to get free. You do. And I want to tell you, job well done. Yeah. Your kids. But now it's your job. I mean, they're all doing well. They're all successful, you know.

Right. So none of them have student loan debt. I have to say that. The point is, it's time for you to give yourself the gift of freedom. Yes. And that's going to require deep, deep sacrifice. And you're going to go crazy. And you're going to sacrifice.

And you're going to go nuts. But for the first time in a long, long time, it's going to go crazy and you're going to sacrifice and you're going to go nuts but for the first time in a long long time it's going to be all about you yes and dave i'm going to tell you you know there's something else she needs boundaries she's going to have to with these kids to not make sure that they're not trying to reach back and trying to ask for something else to really have a finally clear boundary on you focusing on this student loan debt and you focusing on self. Tracy, hold on. I'm going to have Kelly put you into Ramsey Plus and sign you up for Financial Peace University and the EveryDollar app and the Baby Steps Tracker app. We're going to give you all the tools you need to do this.

I predict you're out of debt in two and a half years if you do what I'm talking about. And for the first time in a long time, you're going to feel free. Well done. You're going to get there. We're going to help you we'll walk with you claire is in greenville south carolina hi claire welcome to the dave ramsey show hi dave thanks for taking my call sure what's up um so i'm a little nervous uh i've listened to you for years and this is the first time I've ever called in. My husband and I have about $4,000 of medical bills that we've accrued this year, and we've paid off $5,000 already. Good. So we're trying to pay off the remaining $4,000, and we can't seem to get ahead on it.

So we wanted to call in and see what you suggest. You can't seem to get what? We can't seem to pay off our medical bills. Oh, you can't find the money. You haven't been able to pull it off. I see. But you already paid off $5,000. How did you do that?

So we're putting a max amount that we can into our HSAs, and we're doing that monthly. And so then we'll pay, you know, down a little bit at a time. So we've been putting about $400 per month into our HSA accounts. Well, if you clean that right back out in 10 months, you'd be done. Yeah. So we have a fully stocked emergency plan, but should we leave that alone and just keep working this plan?

There's nothing to keep you from moving some of that money into the HSA and then pay the bill out of the HSA. Yeah. So move $4,000 out of your emergency fund. This is an emergency. You have a medical bill. Move $4,000 out of your emergency fund this is an emergency you have a medical bill move four thousand out of it into your are you out of debt except this yes okay yeah move four thousand out of your emergency fund into your hsa and write the check out of your hsa and be done with it all right and then rebuild your emergency fund

then slow down your hsa at that point and use that money to rebuild the emergency fund. Right. You can do this, Claire. All right. You can do it. Thanks, guys. Yeah. Yeah, way to go.

Good stuff. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Brittany's in Cleveland, Ohio. Hi, Brittany. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. How are you? Great.

How can we help? Oh, my gosh. I'm a little nervous. Just a little bit of information. I'm a first-generation college student. I'm 25 years old. I finished my bachelor's and my master's degree. In what?

I studied sport and event management in my bachelor's. And then for my master's, I studied organizational leadership and nonprofit. Okay. So I was really fortunate to get my dream job, which is in the sport industry. I'm an event planner on national sporting events that come to the city and just the industry is so competitive and I moved out of state alone for this opportunity but unfortunately I only make $32,000 a year and I have $60,000 in student loan debt. So my schedule makes it really hard to get a consistent second job because I don't work a typical nine to five. Sometimes I'll work evening. Sometimes I'll work weekend.

Sometimes I'll work the whole week from morning to night. And so I'm debating on if I should leave my dream job to get a bigger shovel and try to get back in. But I just worked really, really hard to get here. But I'm also tired of being like so financially stressed. Yeah. Well, you just need a part-time job that's flexible, like delivering pizzas or something.

You can turn that on and turn it off. You can turn Uber on, turn Uber off. Whenever you're able to work, you work. But when you're working your day job, you don't. But you're not prohibited from doing a part-time job. You're prohibited from doing one that you can't turn on and turn off. Right. I guess whenever I've tried applying to a couple part-time jobs um like if i only want to work weekends a lot of them haven't been flexible with my schedule because i'll have 15 to 20 events a year and so it's not very consistent so it's been kind of hard you're having events right now

well not right now because of the pandemic i'm really lucky to even have um yeah so you're not you're not working a bunch of events right now get a job yeah you got a whole lot of flexibility right now well our events technically start in february no they don't i'm just trying to not this february in the moment we're planning as things should yeah that's fine so go work january and february and make you some money. And depending on how much they gear back up, gear back up with them.

You cannot use this as an excuse to not get a second job. You've got to go get one. And that's the only way you're going to do this. That puts us out of the day. 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. On your smart speaker, you can add our skill by saying, Alexa, open the Ramsey Network skill.

From there, you can listen to all our shows. Ask Dave money questions like, how do I invest my money? Or what is the debt snowball? Find out more at DaveRamsey.com slash smart speaker.