The Ramsey Show - App - How to Reach Your Business Goals (Hour 2)

Episode Date: September 24, 2018

The show about you

🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, 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 being here. Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Well, on my news feed today, our friends over at SiriusXM have bought Pandora for $3.7 or $3.5 billion, something like that. Not a bad transaction.

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It has gotten a great response. Luke is with us in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Hey, Luke, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Mr. Ramsey, thanks for having me. Sure, what's up? Hey, so my wife and I, we got married four years ago, and we spent the first year of marriage really working down our debt, which was primarily student loans. And since then, three years later and a few promotions, for the first time in our lives, we're finally sitting on some cash, and it's rotting away in a savings account.

So I'm kind of looking for some advice on how to put together a five-year plan, ten-year plan, and get that money working for us. Cool. Well, we've got what we call the baby steps, which is how you work through your financial plan. Are you 100% debt-free? Yes. Yes, sir. Okay.

Do you own a home? We do not, no. Okay. All right. And so the first thing we would do once you're debt-free is have a fully funded emergency fund that you set to the side, a completely separate account. You never touch it except for extreme emergencies, and that would be three to six months of expenses, Grandma's Rainy Day Fund. Okay.

Okay. And so how much cash do you have piled up? About $225,000. My goodness, look at you. Well done, sir. Very well done. Well, we would set a little bit of that aside as your emergency fund. What would you say your monthly expenses are to operate your household?

Oh, all expenses considered about $1,900. Okay. We'll round that to $3,000 because that sounds low to me. But anyway, we'll say $3,900. Okay. We'll round that to $3,000 because that sounds low to me. But anyway, we'll say $3,000. And so three months would be $9,000. Six months would be $18,000. Let's set $20,000 aside to call that emergency fund. That leaves us $205,000 to do something else with.

That brings us to baby steps four, five, and six. Four is start putting 15% of your income into retirement. You don't need to do that out of this 200. And have you thought about buying a home? We have. I'm just a bit skeptical. I think that's where my problems come in. I'm a bit reluctant or conservative as far as, like, the stock market or the housing market goes.

We live in Ann Arbor. It's pretty expensive to get a home worth, you know, something that's nice. It's pretty expensive, so it's quite an investment. We're not sure we're here for the long term, so that makes it a little bit more difficult to invest in a home. Okay. Well, there's a couple things that would help you there. The way you get comfort or more discomfort with an investment, discomfort would lead you away from doing it, comfort would lead you towards doing it It would be to gather more knowledge. Here's a couple pieces of knowledge that I would want to know about the Ann Arbor market if I were you and I was concerned. One is, what's the average days on the

market? Talk to a good real estate agent and ask them in the area that you might be looking in around Ann Arbor, what is the average DOM? It's days on the market. And that tells you how quickly the market will turn for you. And so if the average days on the market is 300 days, well, that's a freaking year. That's reason to be concerned. That's an economy, a local economy that's dragging. Okay?

But you're not going to find that in Ann Arbor. You're probably going to find less than 30 days. Yes, sir. Because that market's pretty fluid. It's a really nice area, and it does really well. College town, obviously, and a lot of cool stuff going on. And, you know, the only issue is pricey. It's a little pricey. But I think you're going to find that to be a very vibrant market.

A second thing I would look at is ask them over the last 10 years or five years or whatever, what's the average rate of appreciation in a home? And so, okay, how much have homes gone up average? And how much did they go up last year? And I think you're going to find a very positive number there in Ann Arbor when you look at it. In other words, I think your fears are pretty well unfounded. Okay. But let's not do that based on my opinion. Let's just actually look at it. In other words, I think your fears are pretty well unfounded. Okay. But let's not do that based on my opinion. Let's just actually look at some facts and get the days on the market

and the rate of increase in value in the area. And then you ask yourself, how long do you think we're going to be in Ann Arbor? How long do you think you're going to be in Ann Arbor? Probably two to three years at least okay then based on those numbers you can look at that and say well house prices go up one percent a year for two years and we resell it and pay a commission we're going to lose money agreed agreed house prices go up ten percent a year for three years that's a 30% increase. You can make some money, pay a commission, and be an owner during that time. Good move in that case.

And I would do that. So the other thing I would do is I'd consider, since you don't think you're going to be there that long, buying in an area mainly based on its resale value, not based on your dreams of which house you own. In other words, could you buy something for 200 grand cash? That would be pretty cool. In an area that has a good, you know, short days on the market and good increases in price,

man, you'd have almost no risk in that situation then. And then just put it on the market and sell it when you leave. No rush for you to leave, but you've got zero housing costs at that point, which is going to help you pile up cash even more. Same thing goes for the stock market. You know, you study it over what period of time you're going to be invested. You know, for instance, if you're 30 and you're going to be investing for 40 years until you're 60 or 70, then look at what the last 40 years have done.

Or look at the last 100 years and say, okay, what types of funds of funds what has happened what's the actual history of the stock market what what is good what are we going to end up with if we put money into that don't put money in it because everybody else says to or because dave ramsey says to something like that that's a bad idea but for instance i own one particular mutual fund that has an 83-year track record, and its average annual during the 83 years is 12.07. Oh, but volatility. Well, maybe. Out of the 83 years, only 15 years were down. All the other years were up.

That's pretty good. That's pretty stable, pretty predictable, and knowledge gives you a comfort level then. So I'm very comfortable putting money in something like that because I'm going to leave it in there a long time. Not a two-year day or not playing for the weekend. I'm investing for 10, 20, 30, 40 years out. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. You know what I've learned after talking to so many people who have been victims of ID theft? They feel violated and they have a sense of fear and intrusion.

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This is huge. We've been working on this for months. I'm so excited. This is fun. We'll tell them what we're excited about. All right. So my online training group, the Business Boutique Academy is officially open. And this is a big deal, Dave, because we've been closed for months. We've been focusing on serving our current members, but we are opening just for a few days. Now, for anyone that doesn't know what

the Academy is, this is my training group where I get in their business with them. So I'll show them exactly what to focus on every single month, and I walk with them step by step to show them how to reach their goals and grow their business to the next level. And it's incredible. We've been seeing these testimonials come in. I've had crazy success stories even just in the last week. So it's really fun that now we're opening it up to everyone

where they can join our group for the next year, and I'm going to walk with them and help them grow their business. So it's a one-week open enrollment. Yeah, just a few days. And you'll be in for a year. That's right. And you'll be personally able to walk with them. That's right.

As well as having the content walk with them. That's right. So what we're doing, and we serve them and train them in a variety of ways. So every single week, they're getting training lessons that they put into action in their business. And them is who? Who's them? Our academy members. Okay.

And who's the typical academy member? A lady that wants to start and run a business or is running a business? Usually running a business. Yeah. These are women that have been running their business from anywhere from probably maybe a year to even 10 years or more. For example, Amelia is one of our success stories. Amelia just was in a coaching session last week, and she's been running her business for seven years. And she said, what's so amazing is I have a business background and i've been running my business seven years but so much of what you

teach in the academy is stuff that's just basic common sense stuff that i'd missed i never was taught this in business school i wasn't taught the basics of running a business and reaching your target market and how to price and that type of thing and so uh amelia is really cool because she told me actually her husband just quit his job to work with her in her business. Oh, wow. And she exceeded her monthly revenue goal by thousands of dollars. And so I'm looking at this going, oh, my gosh, a year in the academy is $489. And Amelia's an example. She's exceeded her goal by thousands of dollars in one month. So the ROI just makes it a crazy good deal.

Yeah, very cool. And so open enrollment for one week. That's right. Well, just till Friday. And what's really fun is Friday night at 8 p.m. when we close so we can focus on our members for this next year. We're doing a kickoff party. And so I'm going to kind of jumpstart this coaching relationship with them. We've got some fun gifts we're giving away.

So it's just been a really, really exciting week. Our team has been working on this for months. And so it's been fun. It's been really fun to see the response. And all the Academy members that are current members are just welcoming all the new members to the family. So it's been really fun. So when you're in Business Boutique Academy, you get connection with you.

What else do you get? There's lessons, right? Sure. So we have a video training library. And this video training library has over 100 training lessons already in it. But we add to it every week. So every single week, I'm sending out a new lesson saying, here's what I want you to focus on this week.

Here's the homework that you need to do to implement it into your business. And then I do regular, well, I do monthly coaching sessions, but I also just do pop-up sessions. We have a Facebook group and I'll hop in there and go live on my phone when I've got 30 minutes between meetings and say, hey guys, check it in. How's it going? And answering questions. And some things are very specific to their business. And some things are just basic business practices

that they've never been taught. So it's been really cool to see how they're taking what they're learning, applying it to their business, regardless of the industry, regardless of the stage. And they're growing and reaching their goals. And Dave, they're saying things to me, like I talked about this morning, even in staff meeting, like, I can't believe I'm doing this.

Me, just me. You know, I don't have a business background or I never thought that I'd be able to make this much money or help this many people. And they're surprising themselves, which is really, really fun to get to have a front row seat to watch that happen. Well, sometimes folks, men or women, have been given a message that they're not worthy or that they can't do this. You know, people like me, meaning not the people that aren't successful and people like you. What do you know people like me right meaning not the people that don't aren't successful

and uh people like you what do you mean people like you there's people like you everywhere that right you know you can go do this right we're just going to speak life into you through this and and uh you know that that lady i think you said if i remember she was a single mom she oh so her husband she's married but her husband got paralyzed from the waist down uh this terrible news that she got while she had a nine-month-old, and he gifted her a year to the academy, and she has grown her business, and it's just absolutely taken off providing for her family. And she said that exact thing. She said, me, you know, I was just a teacher, quote, unquote, just a teacher, and she's rocking it in business. So it's really incredible to see people surprise themselves and chase their dream.

And then, of course, you have women that have a business background and women that are growing successful small businesses even more so than they planned. So it's been really, really neat to watch the impact of having that accountability, having the coaching, having the support where someone is walking with you step by step. It's invaluable. So you've got the coaching one-on-one, but you've also got community where they're in there just coaching and encouraging each other. Right. This is a pretty vibrant community. Yes, it is.

Very energetic. I tend to attract people with a lot of energy. I wonder why. I guess that's because of me. But it's fun. Someone said to me last week, she said, I wanted to hang out with other successful Christian businesswomen, and this is the perfect place to do it. And here's the thing, Dave, you know this through finances and entree leadership, but life change, business change doesn't happen overnight. It

happens over time. And that's why I want to walk with them for a year, because you're going to make a lot more progress when you stick with your goals for the long haul. And I'm able to do that through the Academy relationship where I can coach them. Yeah, absolutely. This is how it's done. Wow. Very, very fun. So Business Boutique Academy, you can learn about it at businessboutique.com and it is open enrollment only through Friday and then it will be closed for, I guess, a year. It will be. And here's the thing. So if someone signs up today, they get my social media course totally free. They've got to use the code earlybird2018. But if they use that code only good till tonight at 8 p.m. tonight, but if they sign up today, then they get my entire social media simplified course completely free.

That's almost $200 course. So we just want to celebrate the go-getters out there that are getting started and getting in the academy. So we're really excited. And it's been incredible. The team's worked really hard on this, and we love these women. I mean, this is our why, helping women chase their dreams and do this thing. So it's really fun to watch it actually come to life this week. Equipping women to make money doing what they love.

It's the number one best-selling book called Business Boutique, and it is a website at businessboutique.com, and that's where you sign up for this community, the coaching, the video library, and just the ongoing things that are going to be dumped in there all throughout the year to make sure. We just want to make sure that whoever's in this thing is these ladies are winning like never before, and we want to cheer you on. We want to be your biggest cheerleaders, your biggest coaches, everything along the way, and equipping women to make money doing what they love.

The Business Boutique Academy open enrollment through this Friday. And I was looking at the sales reports this morning. Business Boutique, the three-day event in Nashville coming up on November 1st, is almost sold out. Yeah, we just have a few seats left. And we're five weeks out, six weeks out. So it's going to definitely sold out. Yeah, we just have a few seats left, and we're five weeks out, six weeks out. So it's going to definitely sell out. So if you're on the fence thinking about getting a ticket or thinking about buying one for your wife or sister or mom, you've got to get it now because it's going to be sold out, and you'll miss out if not.

Yeah, you've got to get on there. BusinessBoutique.com for those tickets. You can get those at DaveRamsey.com as well. So lots of good stuff going on there. So talk about some of these other ladies. You had sent me several emails this weekend, several of the team members. You guys have been copying me in on some of the stuff that's going on. These are inspiring stories.

These ladies are either really seriously making some coin, or they just have the amazing potential to do so. Right. Well, what's so interesting, and you know this from, you know, especially being on the radio show, it's amazing how you give someone one answer or one piece of advice that can completely change the trajectory of their life. I'll give you an example. Patricia told me that she was on one of my free webinars about a year ago, and I challenged her on the webinar, challenged everyone watching to raise their prices. It was a challenge I gave as part of the teaching for that particular webinar. Well, she did that.

She made extra money, obviously, from raising her prices, used that money to pay for an academy membership, and now her business is taking off from all of the coaching and training. And so it's amazing how a tiny, tiny piece of advice. I did a free webinar last night on five goals to set for your business. And one of those challenges I gave them was to raise your prices. Another one was to create more margin to make time to work on your business, not just in your business. Some of those small tactical things can change everything.

It's just that simple stuff that when they put it into practice, it makes all the difference. Sometimes it's just when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Christy Wright is the teacher. She's the founder of the Business Boutique Academy movement, equipping women to make money doing what they love. Business Boutique Academy has open enrollment through Friday. You heard us loud and clear on that. Don't miss it. Go to businessboutique.com and get signed up. Christy, proud of the work you're doing. Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for having me. Are high health care costs getting you down? Are you confused trying to navigate your options?

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That's chministries.org. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a proud sponsor of Dave Ramsey Live Events. chministries.org In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions, Kyle and Stephanie are where they say, Hey, guys, how are you? Hi, Dave. How are you? Better than I deserve.

Where do you guys live? We live in northern Indiana, Notre Dame country. Love it. And how much debt have you two paid off? We paid off $91,000 in 18 months. Good for you. And your range of income during that 18 months? It was pretty all over the place.

Was it like $40 something? $55 to $125. Whoa! Okay, so how do you double your income or more in 18 months? One of you gets a job that didn't have one? What? I guess it's a complicated story dave but um we actually ended up calling you um we were in a family business we called you asked for some advice and you gave it to us and we followed it and ended up

walking away from that family business and started our started our own and we actually run a couple businesses now okay and god just blessed us and said hey you did the right thing so here you go financially very very good move career very good move your family good move but very tough decisions for sure yes we were looking at um when he left we walked away and we were looking at a hundred dollar deficit a month in our income. And the very first month that we had walked away, our income doubled. Wow. Wow. Well, way to go.

Good for you guys. Well done, well done. Well, it sounded like it was something that needed to happen. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, and honestly, we started the journey like eight years ago,

and we just did not make enough money. We kept struggling. We had two girls and I stayed home and we were working on the businesses and we just, we were like, we didn't know what to do and we got on a budget and we were listening to you the whole time and we were trying to pay off debt, but it's like we didn't make enough money. And then really when we... Some very small family businesses, and I don't know about yours,

but some of them, there's two people or three people trying to eat out of one trough, and there's just not enough to eat out of. Yeah. Yeah. And when we walked away... It wasn't that somebody was trying to rip you off. It's just there wasn't that much money there. Right.

And in a lot of cases, that's what happens. Well, congratulations. Wow. Yeah. I mean, you are booming. Yes. Booming and happens. Well, congratulations. Wow. Yeah. I mean, you are booming. Yes. Booming and zooming. Working on it.

How's it feel? It's good. It's a lot of work, but it's good. So what kind of debt was the $91,000 that you got rid of? Mostly student loans. Okay. Yeah. A couple cars.

And a couple personal loans that were really small. So your journey to get out of debt was more of an income journey than it was some other radical change, and it involved a very emotional career change to cause that to happen then. And that's the big transformative thing with you guys. Absolutely. I mean, it is a very emotional thing. I mean, it's money, and it's there, and it's just a tool. But at the end of the day, it was pretty tough when she would be crying

because we couldn't pay the bills and so forth. Yeah. Well, I mean, my kids work here, and I can't imagine how difficult it would be on them and me if they left and did something else because something was wrong, whether it was income or something else. It would be very, very hard, very hard. It would be a nightmare.

But it's something you go through, and you guys have made grown-up decisions, and congratulations. Very proud of you. Did you have people cheering you along through this, or did you just wonder if you were crazy the whole time? No, we have a few people that we would talk to quite often that were very encouraging to us. Who was your biggest cheerleader?

Maybe the layman's? Yeah, I mean, multiple friends. We have other friends who came and did debt-free screams and who are really our same age but farther along in the journey than us that we could kind of look at and talk to about how we were feeling or what we were seeing around us that made it really hard to make sacrifices. And our families were extremely helpful. And honestly, as I said, we started the journey before when we weren't making enough money, and we sold a car, went down to one vehicle for a while. My parents lent us a car. We ended up selling our house

and moving into my parents' house for a little bit. Wow. I mean, they just were so gracious to us. And so it's like we kept making these sacrifices all along the way, and it felt like God ended up honoring all that. Yeah, yeah. And he's the one who did it.

It was our hearts that needed changed. Yeah, it's tough. Tough decisions along the way. But you're there 18 months after the big decision. Boom. I mean, once you flip the switch, it went fast, didn't it? It's like, we're done. Boom.

Here we go. Game on. And you look back and go, wow. That kind of confirms everything that was in my spirit and my brain, man. I've had a few things like that. You know, you think this is going to be the end of the world, and it ends up being a hot knife through butter in some regards. In other regards, it is tough. But well done, you guys.

Very, very well done. So the key to getting out of debt, if I ask you that, it's got to be income. It's part of it, right? It's got to be part of it yeah and i mean everybody says it but it's living within your means and it's such a simple thing but um so few of us do it yeah and and we were trying but once we were able to get our income up and we can, you know, our income doubled. Like she said, it went, it wasn't quite that crazy right away, but, um, even though our income went up, we still continue to say, okay, let's, you know, let's not go buy the new car. Let's not, you know, let's, let's, let's now we get to do it. Let's do it.

Let's get the debt cleared up. Yeah. It's really happening now. Let's, let's not, let's not fall off the wagon now. It's true. Just cause it started rolling. Yeah. Yeah.

That's good. And I would say it's sacrifice. I mean, you have to deny yourself all the time. And every single week, we would get money in, and I would say, this is what we need for the week. And then I would go, and as soon as the money was coming in, I would be hitting the payment button on our student loans. And we'd be looking at each other, and we're like, okay, we didn't used to make enough money, and now we're paying all this money each week on our student loans or whatever the debt was, and we had money for our bills,

and we still had money in the bank. It was just like God just blew us away. Yeah, that's very fun. Very, very cool. Congratulations. Proud of you guys. Thank you. Well done, and you brought the guys. Thank you. Well done.

And you brought the kiddos with you. What are their names and ages? Abby and Hannah. Uh-huh. And they're seven and five. Seven and five years old. All right. And have they been practicing their debt-free screams? Well, we tried, but they're a little shy.

They said, we're not doing it. You're doing it. Oh, you got instruction, reverse instruction. Yeah. That works for me. I'll go with that. Well, you've changed their family tree. Congratulations.

I'm proud of you. Got a copy of Chris Hogan's book for you, too, Retire Inspired. And, of course, that is the next chapter in your story to be millionaires and outrageously generous along the way. Congratulations. Kyle and Stephanie, Abigail and Hannah, you're in this too. The Indiana, South Bend, Indiana area, $91,000 paid off in 18

months, making $40,000 to $125,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Are you ready? 3, 2, 1, we're debt-free! I love it. Very, very well done, you guys. Very well done. Well, that is how it's done.

You have to decide what you're going to do and you have to take the steps to do it. And sometimes you make really painful decisions. Career change, sometimes you do it with a hallelujah and you run out the door with your hair on decisions. Career change, sometimes you do it with a hallelujah and you run out the door with your hair on fire. Other times,

it's tough. Other times, it's a very emotional decision. And to leave a family business and go out on your own, man, that's really tough. That's really tough. That's harsh. It's hard. But obviously, when you go from $40,000 to $ 40 to 125 on your income and

you're able to pay off 91 000 in 18 months obviously it was the right decision for that family obviously and so uh and all parents we want good things for our kids and so that's that's what that's how it has to be we want good things for our kids. Man, I'll tell you what, though. It is a journey. You think getting out of debt is easy? It's not. You've got to do what she said. It's a sacrifice thing. It's we're going to live like no one else,

so later we can live and give like no one else. Changes everything. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Thank you. Blake is in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show, Blake. How you doing, Dave? Better than I deserve, man. What's up in your world? Not so much.

I had a question for you. So me and my wife are looking at trying to get out of debt, and we're trying to decide whether we should get rid of one of our cars or both of our cars. Okay. How much do you owe on car number one? All right, car number one, we owe $17,000 on. And what is it worth? And it's worth private sale anywhere from $22,000 to $26,000.

Okay. And car number two, you owe what on? Car number two, we owe $13,800 on, and it's worth anywhere from around $15,000. Around $15,000? Yeah. Okay. So you're right side up on both of them. That's good news.

Okay. And what's your household income? I make $66,000 a year. Mm-hmm. Okay. All right. I make $66,000 a year. Okay. Well, your car values total more than half your annual income, and your debt does not, but we go by value. I don't want more than half your annual income tied up in things that are going down in value. What's the trajectory on your income? If you're making $66,000 this year, what do you think you're going to make next year uh probably about 70 to 72 somewhere around there okay then that gets us there right because that's okay you got 37 000 in values today so you're right on the bubble

you've got you've got the max possible invested in things that are going down in value never do this again even if you keep, even if you keep these. Even if you keep these, okay? Because, I mean, let's say you're making $100,000 and you've got $50,000 tied up in cars. As long as you perpetuate this, those cars go down. You know, they lose about 60% of their value in five years, four years, right in there. And so, you know, you really do lose your butt on them, and you can't. I mean, I don't mind having a nice car, but I want it to be a small percentage of my income or a smaller percentage than you have.

How much other debt do you guys have? We have a mortgage, which we owe $234,000 on. That's it? Yes, sir. So your only debt other than your house is your cars? Yes, sir. No student loans, no credit cards, no medical bills? No student loans, no credit credit cards no medical bills no credit cards no medical bills okay do you like these cars um probably the one that we owe the most on we're probably

looking at getting rid rid of um okay and then we've gone back and forth okay there's things obviously what is what is it what's the 22 000 car,000 car? A 2016 Honda Odyssey. Okay. Nice car. Very nice car. Okay. Well, here's the thing. Here's what I would do.

Number one, don't let the purchase of vehicles, even with cash, things with motors and wheels, total of all things you own with motors and wheels, ever approach half your income again after this because it's going to cause you to struggle to build wealth. You understand the concept, right? Yes, sir. Okay. So if you choose to keep these, that's fine. Can you pay them both off in two years, $31,000 in two years?

The answer is yes. That's $15,000 a year. If you can't pay off $15,000 a year making $60,000, $70,000, something's wrong with you. So set it on a two-year schedule, and, you know, that's like $1,500 a month. I mean, you know, you can do this, and you'll be debt-free in two years or less. You ought to do it quicker than two years, really. But if you're going to keep them, get them paid off in under two years,

preferably 18 months, and never let the purchase of vehicles, even with cash, approach half your annual income again, if you want to keep them. Then you hit the guidelines, but you hit them barely. And the fact that your income trajectory is shooting up, too. That gives us a little bit of leeway here. But it doesn't say we want to repeat this or cause this to be a pattern. But if the pattern breaks here, and this is the last time, and then you're going to drive these cars out a while and you're going to pay cash for whatever you do from this point forward and be a little bit more conservative

in your purchases in the future then you'll be right on track is that logical to you yes sir okay so if you want to keep them i would but under those circumstances skyler's in spokane washington hi skyler how are you hey i'm good dave how are you better Hey, I'm good, Dave. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up? So I recently got introduced to you around June, July of this year, and I've started my debt snowball and been paying off my student loans. And how are you instructed? How old are you? My mom, I'm 28. Good for you.

Okay. Yeah. And my mom, she's noticed that I've been paying off my student loans, and I have one private loan that is on the bottom of my debt snowball, and she disagrees with how I'm going about paying off my debt. I'm confused. You're a 28-year-old man and you pay your own bills, right? Yeah, I do.

Okay, so what business is this of your mother's? None besides that she has access to my bank account. Why? Because when I opened it up, I opened it up when I was in high school. Okay, change that today. You're a man. Right. Your mommy doesn't need to be in your business anymore.

You're a 28-year-old man. Right. Go down there and change it right now. Okay. Okay. And then just, Mom, I appreciate your concern. I love you, but this is what I'm doing. Right. Go down there and change it right now. Okay. Okay. And then just, Mom, I appreciate your concern. I love you, but this is what I'm doing. Right.

And she's helped me out in the past before when things have been tight. They're not going to be tight anymore. Now you're getting out of debt. Right. Exactly. If she supports you and you live in her household, then that's one thing. But if you're a free moral agent, a 28-year-old stand-alone independent man, then this is just mom who's concerned, who is overstepping her boundaries.

That's all it is. That's all it is. And she loves you. She means well, but she's just nosier than crap. Right. Right? Yeah. I mean, she's not a bad person.

She loves her little boy. But to you, to her, she's the little boy that used to do whatever when you were eight, right? But now you're 28 and she missed that point. Right. And this is normal for mommies, by the way. Sometimes I have to remind my wife that my son is a grown man, 26, and he's married. And this is what's known as none of your business. You know, I have to remind my wife of that sometimes.

I don't do it very often, but she's pretty good about it. But mommies love their boys. And sometimes it's hard for them to grow up, hard to let them grow up. But it's your stance as a man to handle this, and you just lovingly put a boundary up, and, Mom, I'm going to pay off my debts. And I've got a plan, and I'm working it hard. I think you're going to be proud of it someday, Mom, I'm going to pay off my debts. And I've got a plan, and I'm working it hard. I think you're going to be proud of it someday, Mom. And you just move on, just like a friend who disagrees with the way you vote.

Right. You got any friends that vote different than you? I'm sure I do. I try to stay out of it, too, because it's a dadgum minefield. But, I mean, you know, point being that I love them anyway, and they're going to vote how they're going to vote, and I'm going to vote how I'm going to vote, and I still like them. I don't disqualify you from friendship due to the way you vote, right?

Right. I mean, I'm not that narrow-minded. I've got a little more intellect than that. So, anyway, that's the way I would look at it, is just look at it that way. She just doesn't agree with, you know, what if you bought a blue car and she didn't like blue cars? I mean, it's the same thing. Okay. You get to decide.

You bought the car. It's your money, your life, your 28, and that kind of stuff. I'm glad she loves you. I'm glad she's concerned. I'm not being mean to her, but she's just poking around with stuff that she doesn't need to be poking around, and you need to stop her from doing it so you can have a life. Gently and kindly. I'm not suggesting you be rude to your mother.

That's against the rules around here. Never be rude to mom. But we can put boundaries up and gently, kindly, firmly remind her how things work. And that's what you do here. Hey, thanks for the call. Open phones at 888-825-5225. I don't know. I'm going to have to ask Meg Meeker about that one.

That's an interesting thing that just popped into my head. I don't know. I wonder if there is... I'll go ahead and stir some of you up on Twitter. Are you ready? I kind of think... I'm not positive. I'm not really going to take a stand on this.

I'm going to ask her that it's harder for moms to let go of their sons than it for moms to let go of their sons than it is dads to let go of their daughters. I kind of think that. Because, well, I've just observed that with some of my buddies, too. They marry off their daughters, and they still love their daughters, and they're a special place in our heart. The little girl's always got you wrapped around their little finger.

But the need for me to go interrupt my daughter's life is very minimal, except to the extent she works for me. But I mean, in terms of her personal life, to go over trodding around in my muddy boots through her house, so to speak, is very minimal. I think, maybe it's a southern thing. I don't know. I'll have to ask Meg Meeker about that. She's the parenting expert, and she can tell us how that works. She's wrote Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters, and Strong Mothers, Strong Sons, and all that kind of stuff. So, interesting.

Interesting stuff. Well, that puts this hour of The Dave Ramsey Show in the books. Our thanks to James Childs, our producer, and Kelly Daniel, our associate producer and phone screener. I am Dave Ramsey, your host, and we'll be back. Hey guys, it's Blake Thompson, Chief Production Officer for The Dave Ramsey Show. This hour's up, but you'll find more

on our YouTube channel, where we have over six million YouTube views each month. You can find debt-free screens, millionaire hour clips, Dave rants, and so much more. Go check it out.