The Ramsey Show - App - I Can't Get a Job in My Degree Field (Hour 3)

Episode Date: February 26, 2021

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is The Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life and your money. I'm Chris Hogan, and hosting along with me this hour is Anthony O'Neill, and I can't tell you how excited we are to spend the next hour with you talking about your life and your money. Now, the key is, is you've got to pick up the telephone. I mean, A.O. and I, we can't just hunt you down. So call us. The number to call is 888-825-5225.

Again, that's 888-825-5225. We'd love to be able to hear from you. You can also find us on social media, at Ramsey's Show. All right, A.O., you ready for some phone calls? Hey social media, at Ramsey's Show. Alright, A.O., you ready for some phone calls? Hey, man, you know I am. Alright, I am as well. So, guess where we get to go. We're going to Kansas City. We get a chance to talk to Jean. Jean, how are you?

I am good. How are you today? Oh, we're focused and not finished. What's on your mind? I just have a question. We are, praise the Lord, finally in Baby Step 7. Alright a question we are praise the lord finally a baby step seven all right and we are we are piling up cash um because we'd like to buy some rentals um hopefully that's something that you know we can still have an income after um we retire so here's my question. We have been piling up cash, and I don't know which way to turn now.

Should we go ahead and pull the trigger and buy a rental, or should we use some of this cash that's piled up to convert some IRAs into Roth IRAs? Ooh, okay. Now, Jean, tell me, what's this pile of cash? How big is it? Well, it's not that big yet. It's about $60,000. Okay.

And about how much do you all have? How much do you have in 401ks right now? Well, altogether, with our Roth and our realtor, it's about $650. The non-Roth is about $325. Okay. All right. And you guys, you said you're on Baby Step 7, correct? Yes, sir.

Okay. So you paid off your home already, correct? Yes. All right. So what type of rental property are you thinking about buying um just a single family home okay and about how much we'd start with a smaller one and then you know as we build a portfolio excuse me portfolio uh-huh um get nicer ones so you know probably probably around a because where we live i can probably get a decent rental for about $75,000.

Okay, so about $75,000. And so right now, as you look at it, what kind of income do you all have right now each month? Oh, each month, I'm sorry. We make $120,000 a year. What we bring home after taxes is probably about $5,000. Okay, each month. I'm sorry. We make $120,000 a year. What we bring home after taxes is probably about $5,000. Okay. All right. So in looking at this, are you and your husband both excited about rental property, or are

you all just looking for income? Basically just looking for income because, yeah. Okay. We both have a little way. We're a little way out from retirement. I understand. And I asked that question, and I really appreciate you answering it how you did, because you get some people that are very excited and passionate about real estate, and they want

to have some real estate. But you were clear. For you, it's about, no, we're just looking for the income. So in this situation and i want you to sit down with the smart investor pro as well as a tax elp so you can run the numbers but i would say you guys would be best served starting to convert some of the old iras and go ahead and pay in the taxes on it so now this money is shifting and it's going to become tax free growth for you moving forward.

Right. Okay. And so, again, running the numbers. Now, this doesn't mean that you all can't eventually buy some rental property, right? But I want you to only do it when you're passionate. And here's the other thing. Only do real estate with cash. So good. Yeah.

I want you to pay outright cash for it. Like, none of this going back into loans. No more going back into debt. Y'all been there, done that, got the T-shirt, flip-flops, and the sun visor. Right? There's no reason to go back no more. Yeah. No, no.

And so you all, when you're passionate about it, then go that route. If you're not, real estate is too expensive, A.O., to be dabbling in. Hey, you're teaching good, Hogan. I love everything you just said, brother. That was good. Yeah. No, I'm serious. It's just we got to slow down because when you own a property, guess what?

You get to repair it. All the stuff, leak, toilet issue, whatever it is, you get to do it. And A-O, you know you're not good with tools. I know I ain't either. If it goes beyond a screwdriver, I ain't worth a penny. Don't give me no pliers. I don't even know what I'm supposed to do with them things. But when you own it outright, yeah, you get to fix it.

And so you want to be smart. And you've got too many people, Anthony, that are running off and taking out loans for rental properties. And man, oh man, if you get a tenant that doesn't pay, you've got a problem. You've got a huge problem. And a lot of people found that out last year, brother. Yeah. A lot of people. It can be a big issue.

So be cautious, Gene, and thank you for calling in. Again, go to DaveRamsey.com, and you can click on the SmartVestor Pro, and you've got an opportunity to just kind of run the numbers and look at this. But I like the idea of you all spending some of that money converting. It's not impacting your emergency fund, and it's really going to set you up for the future. Speaking of investing, listen to me. We've got a lot of people that are stressed because they didn't have their money in place or didn't feel like they had the right kind of guidance financially.

A lot of people were working side hustles last year and having extra income, or maybe you pulled money out of your 401k. They said close to 62 million people pulled money, which breaks my heart because you can undo many years of deposits and that compound growth that's happening. But again, what's done is done. But for you to be able to work with a conscientious pro, somebody that's not there to judge you, someone that literally wants to sit down with you and understand where you are, and more importantly, where it is you want to go. See, that's where the SmartVestor pros are different. They're not there to judge you.

They're not there to sell you stuff. They're there to help you get to where you want to go. They want to help you reach your destination. So, here's the deal. You don't have to run around looking for the right people. We have found them for you. Yes. You can go to DaveRamsey.com slash SmartVestor. We have found professionals that are going to guide you the right way. Or you can go to ChrisHogan360.com, click on the dream team,

and you can start to build the dream team you need. Tax professional, insurance professional, real estate professional, as well as a SmartVest investor pro. Smart people don't do it alone. You get the right guidance. So here's what you do. Text the word INVEST to 33789. Again, text the word INVEST to 33789, and you can find a pro in your area today. And I'm going to tell you, A.O., when you get the right people on your side, it's a game changer, man.

It's a huge game changer, you know, Hogan. And here's one of the things i was telling dave earlier this week man it's you know i'm looking to build like the ultimate dream home by when i turned 40 right so when i told that to my financial advisor my smart best pro it was like hey instead of putting that money in a savings account you should just open up your mutual fund because i started this you know years ago he was like so you can get a little bit more interest not gonna be a lot but it'd be a little bit more and it's a great place and they educated me on that and i was like yo thank you for educating me giving me the wisdom and the guidance on this journey and that's what

you want your financial advisors to do to not just tell you what to do but educate you on why you're doing it that's a strong smart investor bro no you're absolutely right and getting the right guidance man i I tell you, can make a game-changing difference. All right, people, stay tuned. Don't go away. We're coming right back. This is The important than ever.

While some circumstances can't be controlled, there are items within your budget you can take charge of, such as your health care costs. For nearly 40 years, Christian Health Care Ministries, or CHM, has provided a budget-friendly means of sharing for medical bills when our members need it. Learn more by visiting chministries.org slash budget. That's chministries.org. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Chris Hogan, and co-hosting along with me this hour is Anthony O'Neill, and I can't tell you how much fun we're having. And we appreciate all the phone lines blowing up.

Thank you for calling in. If you've got a question about your life or your money or a financial situation, maybe you're dealing with something with your parents or trying to help them, or maybe you've got a question you've always wondered about. Should you keep the credit card? Is it time for you to buy a home? Or how do you deal with the student loan situation? What I want you to do is pick up the phone.

Let's talk about it. Call us, 888-825-5225. Again, that's 888-825-5225. We'd love to be able to hear from you and what's on your mind. All right, so we're going to go to the phone lines. And I got Adam on the line from Texas. Adam, how are you? Hi, I'm doing good.

How are you all? Oh, we're doing fantastic, buddy. Yeah, we're you? Hi, I'm doing good. How are you all? Oh, we're doing fantastic, buddy. Yeah, we're looking forward to talking to you. What's on your mind? So I'm 23 years old, but I'm trying to get my finances corrected now before I get into anything later on the road. So I had a question. You know, I have a serious girlfriend and I'm looking to get married and soon. She doesn't know that. Wait a minute. How serious,

Adam? How long have you all been dating? Like about a year and a half now. And all right. Fix your face. All right. About a year and a half. Go ahead, Adam.

Yeah, about a year and a half. And so I want to buy a ring cash. But I have a car note. And I have some money saved already. And I just wanted to know, should I buy the ring first? Or should I, like, pay off the car? I mean, I'm trying to save money for a wedding. I have another job offer that might

pay me $6,000 more, you know, or a pending job that might pay me $6,000 more. Did you call in to let Anthea and I decide what you get to do? No. The first pressing thing I should

ask is what should I do about the car? Should I pay the car, buy the ring or what? Yeah, that's what I'm saying. That's the first pressing thing I should ask you. What should I do about the car? Should I pay the car, buy the ring, or what should I do? Yeah, that's what I'm saying. That's what we want to weigh in on. So how much money do you have saved up? About $6,000 just in savings. All right. And how much do you owe on the car?

I owe about, with the payment that I just paid, it's going to be about $9,700. Okay, and how much is this car payment? It's about $265 a month. Okay, all right. What kind of car is it? A Toyota RAV4. Okay, all right. And now tell me this.

This is the big question here. This is going to tell me if you've done your research or not. How much are you anticipating to spend on this ring? About one month's worth of income, so probably about $3,000. Okay. All right. How much do you make a year, man? I make about $40,000 a year base we get over time, and that's before taxes as well.

And I just started an operation at night with some people where I'm also making about $50 an hour just doing some accounting stuff on the side. Gotcha. And Adam, best case scenario in your mind, when is the wedding happening? Well, I spoke to her mother, and she wanted us to at least wait until she's done with her bachelor's. So maybe next year by June, by May. Well, Adam. I'm thinking about a year engagement. Adam, no disrespect.

Your mother-in-law don't have the right to tell you when to get married. So I think once you propose, you're going to talk to your fiance. And y'all two will come up with that date. And it may be after she graduates, which I think is possibly a good idea. But... Yeah, sure. I just wanted to be considerate. No, I agree.

Hey, I think it was a smart play for you to be considerate in that. And it's okay for the mother-in-law to have an opinion. Come on, man. An opinion is not a vote. Y'all got the vote, so you got the opinion. But I'm going to tell you this, Adam.

I like the idea of you attacking the car and getting this thing paid off. Now, I say that, again, this is one of those you looking at it uh and figuring out you seem very intentional uh could you buy the ring uh and propose and still attack and pay off the car yes you could yeah but i'm not sitting on the fence ao is waffling over here yeah what are you gonna do i mean i'm not saying i completely disagree you know what i'm saying you know i'm just saying i kind of like the fat bro of maybe you getting a twenty five hundred dollar ring two thousand dollar ring right you don't have to stretch it to three thousand because it sounds like you listen to our stuff and we say about a month to two months of

your salary so i'm saying you can find a good quality ring for about $2,000 and then I will leave you with $4,000 to put down towards your car and then I would attack your car while you're starting to also think about once you figure out when you all are getting married. So I love

the fact of you paying off the car, but what I do not want to tell you to do is prolong love. Because the debt will be there the fact of you paying off the car but what i do not want to tell you to do is prolong yeah love yeah because that's the debt will be there but you i don't want you to miss out on something amazing and i say that because of a life experience that i've been through um you know i prolonged it and i and i missed out because i wouldn't have my money right i wanted to be this and that and this and that and she walked away because she's like if you love your debt more than you love me then we have an issue and i was was like, I don't.

I was trying to get rid of it. She said, well, we could have did that together. So what I'm saying is, you know, I agree with Hogan. I want you to attack the car, but I also want to make sure you don't miss out on the love of your life in that process. No, that's a good point. And we never tell people that you're going to let a financial decision determine your relationship or you starting or adding to your family. So, you know, that's nothing, Adam, we would ever tell you to do. But, you know, like I said, you have the opportunity to be able to buy the ring, propose, and still be determined and

intentional in attacking the debt. The main thing I would tell you guys is to be very hyper intentional with this wedding. Like this is the financial thing that can get out of control because, unfortunately, people end up trying to have the wedding for all of the family, meaning you're trying to throw a party for both sides of the family, and everybody's got opinions. It's like yesterday's. Everybody has those, too. But not everybody gets an opinion on this.

You and your fiancé will get to determine what's going on with the wedding and the kind of ceremony you want to have. You said it right, man. Thank you for saying that because weddings, man, the average wedding right now is in between $20,000 and $25,000. Unbelievable. And even with our income, what we make, I'm not spending $25,000

on my wedding. I'm going to tell you that right now. My wife listening in the future, don't even ask me because I ain't doing it. You're just going to go there? I'm just going to go there. It's ridiculous. $25,000 so someone else can come eat my food to celebrate me?

No. Well, the main thing to remember is spending that kind of money, this is one day. You got the rest of the life ahead of you. And so, be smart. And I say this because I've heard of people, A.O., I did coaching years ago and worked with a couple that spent around $55,000 on a wedding. And it was ridiculous. You know, it was absurd.

And so it was all a matter of trying to do things for other people. And what we have to do is be really, really smart. All right. I want to take a social question for A.O. Presley asks, I ended up with a degree with no market value. Would it be a good second option to bounce back? Meaning, do they go back to school and get a different degree? No, I'm going to say, well, I can't say yes or no.

What I'm going to say is connect with Ken Coleman, figure out what is your sweet spot, and then what are the requirements to land your job? So if you know your job, let's say, for example, you want to be a barber, have your own barbershop. Well, that doesn't require, you know, a four year degree, but there are requirements to get there. I think the main thing people have to do is identify what do they want to do? I agree. What are they strong? Yes. And then figure figure out what's the direction I need to take to go there. Yeah. Don't just go to school just for something to do.

Right. Like, go to work. Yeah. Like, go to work and get some money, and then you can go to school at night at a community college. It's going to be a whole lot cheaper while you knock out the prerequisites, while you're figuring out what it is you want to do. Yeah.

But, you know, don't make being, you know, a full-time in education being your full-time experience when that's not going to pay you. You're paying for it. Yeah. You're talking good, Hope. Yeah. It's just, you know, so I agree. Ken can help you over there, help you to dig in and drill into this and understand.

And there's a good place to go when you're confused, and it's called work. Go to work. Pile up money. That way you can attack debt or avoid debt moving forward. Stay tuned, everybody. We're coming right back. This is The Ramsey Show. Thank you. welcome back everyone this is the ramsey show i'm chris hogan and hosting along with me this hour is anthony o'neill uh we want you to know that we want to talk to you so if you're out

there and you have a question pick that phone up give us a call 888-8 up. Give us a call. 888-825-5225. Again, that's 888-825-5225. And I also want to remind you, if you've been out there and you've been intentional and you've been working this process and you get yourself to debt-free status, we want to know. You've got an opportunity. You can connect with Kelly. You can come in and do your debt-free scream on the stage. I just met some folks out in the lobby a little earlier that chopped down and evicted debt out of their lives, gave themselves a raise. You should have seen the smile on their face, got the happiness and everything going, because it's not an accident. When you make sacrifices,

you can make progress. And so if you've done that, we want to hear from you. And also, if you're on that journey, I want to remind you, listen to these debt-free screams. Listen to this visceral moment where people are claiming back their financial lives. And that will keep you motivated, keep you incentivized to stay on the journey. We can all fall off the wagon. We can all get tired or frustrated or fed up or have some life happen. It doesn't mean you can't try again. You just got to climb back up on that wagon and start moving forward.

All right, we're going to get back to the phones. We got Steve on the line. Steve, what's your question for Anthony and I? Hi, Steve. Thanks for taking my call. Yes, sir. Thank you. I've got an inheritance coming, approximately $170,000. And I want to know if I should

apply that with my mortgage or should I invest that? Ooh. Hey, what do you think? Man, let's ask some follow-up questions here, Steve. Excluding your mortgage, do you have any other debt? I do not. Okay. What's in your savings account right now?

About $20,000. Okay, you got $20,000 in the savings. How much are you investing right now? I have total invested right now between $401K, $457K, stuff like that. Probably about $285,000. $285K.

Okay, what are you making a year? I make about $100,000. Okay, you make about $100,000. Combined income is about $140,000. Okay. What are you making a year? I make about $100,000. Okay. I make about $100,000. Combined income is about $140,000. Okay. And how much is your mortgage? It is... The remaining is $234,000. Okay. $234,000.

Sounds like you already put in a 15% into your investments. You already have a fully funded emergency fund. Man me if i'm in your shoes say it again you're correct okay cool so for me i'm taking that 170 and i'm putting it towards my house dumping it towards the house all of it every single day so i so i keep getting like i'm asking all kinds of different i'm asking everybody so if i can make if i can make 12 or you know 10 or 12 percent in the stock market and the interest rate on my mortgage is 2.8 isn't that counterintuitive uh we me and hogan are both laughing go ahead hogan what um um in looking at this Steve, what we're talking about and I don't want you to we can go down the rate and talk about the rate of return and things of that nature. But I want to hit you with one word that is the word that will really be the difference in that equation.

And that word is risk. And when you owe on a mortgage, you have debt, and debt brings risk. And so what I like is the mindset of you throwing the $170 toward this mortgage balance and you staring down at your statement and now only owing $64,000 on your home. How much is your mortgage payment each month? $1,800. So $1,800. So you're looking at this, and the reality is is by 2022 you could own your home outright right and now you don't have 1800 a month leaving you now you could be investing an extra

1800 a month and what would that bring you you see it's all a matter of perspective now another thing that you could do as you look at this is you could put a large majority of this toward the home. I call this the pie graph approach. I used to do this when I'm working with entertainers and pro athletes. If they were getting a big bonus or a big thing coming in, I would essentially say, okay, let's divvy this up like a pie. How much of this are we going to invest? How much of it are we going to apply to usefulness? And how much of it are we going to enjoy? So looking at this, the enjoyment factor, maybe that's five grand. Maybe you're going to take a trip in honor of that family member that left you this money.

Or you're going to buy a new watch or a necklace to remember them by. That's the enjoyment side. But now let's use side. This is where I'm either going to apply it toward debt, apply it toward the house, college savings, things of that nature. And then how do I invest some? And so, again, Steve, you could sit down with your wife and you guys could look at that. I think your holdup is, man, I'm getting this inheritance and I ain't going to get to do nothing with it if I'm using it all toward the house. So that pie graph approach could work. I mean, I like that pie. I mean, it's a great example.

I mean, $5,000, take a nice vacation with the family. You know, he can apply some of that towards the debt and invest it. But me, I'm investing all of it. Oh, no, you're going to use the debt. You're going to use it toward paying off the house. As far as investing into my house. That's right. I'm with you.

Now, you and I are on other levels. Yeah're we're strange yeah because we go oh no we know the value of being gazelle intense absolutely and so but again having that mindset you start to think steve in just about a year later yes eighteen hundred dollars didn't leave in you right so you could use that money toward renovations You could use that toward all kinds of things for the future. And it just requires us thinking a little bit different. True. It really does. All right, let's stay on the phone. Oh, I get to go to the mother state, Kentucky.

I got Eric on the line. Eric, how are you? Doing well, guys. How are you? Oh, focus and not finish. What's on your mind, buddy? Yeah, so quick question. My wife is an occupational

therapist she's a 1099 contract employee she works for a company and she is but she's considered self-employed when we go to file taxes right should we be filing quarterly or as long as we save up uh throughout the year can we pay at the end of the tax season oh okay how much is she making in her job uh 35 to 40 000 oh you definitely want to pay quarterly yeah yeah okay yeah because the irs could actually penalize you all uh because you're not paying quarterly and so if you wait and do it annually you could get hit with a penalty um. I want you to reach out to one of our tax EOPs and clarify because she's making real money. And most of the time, people like your wife or who are realtors or things of that nature, and they're making upwards of $30,000, $40,000 or more, the quarterly is going to be the best way. Now, it's going to require some structure, right, because you've got to be disciplined

enough to make sure you're setting aside the money. But to avoid the penalty, you definitely want to be paying quarterly, my friend. So good. Yeah. So good. And it's, again, you just, you know, you set aside 25% to 28% of all the money she has coming in, and you can figure it out, you know? All right, let's see.

Let's go to the state. We're doing good, A.O. We're doing real good. Jenny, how are you? Hi, sir. How can out, you know? All right, let's see. Let's go to the state. We're doing good, A.O. Jenny, how are you? Hi, sir. How can we help you today? I have a little dilemma. I don't know which one to pay first.

If I have a tax return of $8,000, should I put it towards my mortgage, which I'm at less than $40,000, or should I put it towards my school loan and don't fall off your seat? You're dead. Which I'm at $61,000 on my school loan. You're dead. School loans. Yeah. School loans.

Yeah, school loans. And here's why, real quick, because we're about to go to commercial break. Your house, you're good, okay? You're good there. Your student loans is hitting you with interest left and right well right now you're not paying the interest if they're government right now yeah but what i want you to do is go ahead and get that not down as much as you can before you do start paying uh interest back on it but so take that eight thousand dollars take

any extra money you have coming towards it knock out those student loans. Then go to your mortgage. Okay. All right. Regardless of the balance. Regardless. Yeah. Yeah. And like Ayo was saying,

the house is separate. We want to knock out all consumer debt. Yes. Loans, credit cards, car loans, all of those things, everything except your mortgage. Parent loans.

Want that deleted out of your life. Then build up a fully funded emergency fund. Then you can start working on the house. So that's the order. And again, just, you know, and also talk to your tax professional. You've got to figure out why your refund is so high.

You can get more of that money each month as opposed to letting the government have a tax-free loan. But I'm not going to get started on that right now because we're going to commercial break. This is The Ramsey Show. I'm Chris Hogan, and hosting along with me this hour is Anthony O'Neill. We're excited to be with you. But I want to start off, and I want to do today's scripture is coming from Proverbs 9.9. Give instruction to a wise man and he will be wiser. Teach a righteous man and he will increase

in learning. Today's quote, tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I forget teach me and I remember involve me and I learn that's from Benjamin Franklin alright we're having a blast hanging out today taking your calls we have hit many topics and we want to keep talking to you keep connecting with you right where you are so we're going back to the lines and we have

Jessica on the line Jessica how are you I'm okay how are you I'm doing alright. How are you? I'm doing all right, young lady. What's on your mind? The reason I'm calling is because I am 36 years old, and my husband passed away three weeks ago unexpectedly. Oh, Jessica. It's very awful. I'm so sorry. Well, thank you. We've been following the Dave Ramsey steps since about 2018, and so we have no debt. And I did get life insurance, and it's for $1.15 million. Okay.

And so I'm not, of course I have people giving me financial advice, but I know because of the steps that I need to pay my mortgage off and top up my emergency fund. Yes, ma'am. But I'm just wondering beyond that, do I need to keep contributing the 15% every year for my retirement? Okay. Jessica, there are many steps that you're going to be facing, decisions to make. But right now, it's all a matter of the timing of those things. And young lady, I'm so glad to hear that you all were plugged into the plan and you got life insurance in place. What happened to your husband? Well, it's pretty crazy, but they don't know.

Basically, I found him collapsed in the bathroom in the morning, and he was fine the day before. Okay. So they did an autopsy, but they still don't know, and they think maybe he had a heart arrhythmia. That's very rare. Right. I'm so sorry. Do you all have any children? We have no children. Okay. Do you have family near you?

I do, yes. Okay. I'm glad. And that support network is really important. Here's what I say, Jessica. Whenever I bump into somebody, and unfortunately I have encountered many people going through different phases of life in my 20 years of doing this. But typically, what I advise people to do is, when you have life insurance come in, I want you to park that money into a money market account. I just want you to park it right over there. It's not a time to try to make decisions. It's not a time to be moving forward. And just let it sit there for two to three months while you gather yourself. You're going through so many things, walking through so many, trying to make decisions

and dealing with all these things coming at you. You need a clarity of mind and a peace of mind as much as possible while your heart hurts. And so parking that over in a money market account, like you said, you've got a lot of people coming at you. And unfortunately, you've got a lot of salespeople coming at you. And you can also have some people that have the right heart to guide you. But you want people to come alongside you and be able to point you in the right direction. And so, yes, you do want to keep

working the steps. One of the things I would ask you to also to be really, as my grandmother would say, be prayerful and careful about is what's the future of this home look like for you? And I say that because it may not be a place you want to be. It may be too painful of a reminder for you. And so putting that home on the market might be something you consider doing, or you may want to stay there and pay it off. So you're going to go through and make some decisions for yourself moving forward. But I want those decisions to be on your terms. I don't want you to feel rushed or feeling like you have to hurry up and do something just because you've had the thought. You may want to get a notebook and start to jot some things down, some ideas and questions. And if you want, Kelly will get your information. I will get you connected to one of our financial coaches, someone that can walk alongside you and help you kind of begin to make the list of questions,

not do anything just yet, but somebody you can talk to about the thoughts and ideas you have so you can begin to kind of make a game plan for yourself. And so I'm going to take care of the first three meetings with that financial coach for you. And just know I'm praying for you. I want you to make sure that you get connected to a therapist and a counselor. You've got some grief that you're going to have to walk through and get people around you. Just don't isolate. That's what I want to tell you. As a former master isolator, when you isolate yourself, you're only with your own thoughts and your own feelings. And it's so good to have somebody to be able to bounce that off of.

That is so good, man. I'm trying not to be emotional, man, because, you know, two weeks ago, we just lost my cousin. Yeah, they're dead as well. And one of the things I want America to hear is life insurance is so important. She was a she was a steward and an avid listener of me. And she had a very healthy life insurance policy in place and it felt so good to see my aunt and my my cousins her siblings to be able to bury her in peace not be frustrated with how we're going to provide for things um how we're going to pay for things and to hear her that now she can pay off her mortgage she She can mourn in a joyful way, not in a how am I going to survive way.

And I just want to hear America. I can't remember our information on how to get life insurance checkups and stuff like that, man. But this is so important. My cousin was 28 years old, Hogan. You don't know what tomorrow promises. But if you have a family, if you have loved ones,

just make sure that you do the hard work today. Get the life insurance policy. Make sure you have a will in place. Make sure you have your things in place. So if the Lord does call you home, at least your family can celebrate your transition and not just be hurting down here. No, you're absolutely right.

It adds not having life insurance adds headache and heartache to already a hurting heart. Yes. And so, you know, we say all the time here at Ramsey Solutions, life insurance is how you say I love you to your loved ones. Yes. And so I want to do a teachable moment here for a minute. Do it. We tell people to get 10 to 12 times your income in term life insurance. So that 10 to 12 times. So if you're making $50,000 a year,

you're looking at $600,000 to $700,000 in term life insurance. Not through your job. Hear me. You're not going to do that. Don't check the box for two times your annual income in term life insurance. No, you want to get life insurance outside of your job 10 to 12 times. So if you lose or leave that job, you don't lose or leave behind your life insurance outside of your job 10 to 12 times. So if you lose or leave that job, you don't lose or leave behind your life insurance. So it's important to have this in place. If you have people depending on your income, dependents, maybe your parents are sick and living with you. If you've got somebody depending on you, then life insurance is necessary. However, if you are individual and you're single and you've got an emergency fund to

take care of your final expenses, then no, life insurance isn't something you need. So it's really important to get it. And a lot of people say, Hogan, I don't understand it, so I ain't going to get it. Well, guess what? I'm going to break it down for you exactly what's going to happen. In order to get term life insurance, they're going to set an appointment. They're going to come get your height, your weight. They're going to get some fluids, blood and some other urine and all the things.

And they're going to send it off to the lab. And in about six to eight weeks, you'll have a policy full and in effect. Okay, that's the deal. And so, but you have to apply for this. You have to be proactive with it. And I don't want people putting it off anymore. Don't, no, don't tell me you got too busy. You can't get too busy to get this in place. It's really that important. Come on, man. Thank you for

teaching. And by the way, people don't understand. If you get term life insurance of a million dollars and someone passes away and they had a million in coverage, a check for a million dollars is coming in the mail. And so that's why I was giving her the advice of parking that money just to collect yourself. You know, what you don't want to do is try to medicate buying stuff. That stuff won't replace your loved ones. And when people end up trying to make money decisions when their heart is broken, that just leads to more headache and heartache, a lot more regret. And so I want people to be intentional

with that uh be really smart you know and i tell you man it's amazing you never know what people might be going through you don't man and here's the thing what you said hogan is life insurance is your way of telling your family i love you and i will miss you and um man and i'm just trying to get emotional myself so thank you for teaching that man, and I'm just trying to get emotional myself. So thank you for teaching that, man. Oh, absolutely. Well, listen, I want to thank all of you all for tuning in to the show. I want to thank producer James Childs, associate producer Kelly Daniel. I want to thank all of you for tuning in.

Ayo, thank you for hanging out. Thank you. It has been fun. And until next time, stay focused and not finished. You can do this, and we're here to help. This is The Ramsey Show. Hey, it's Kelly, associate producer and phone screener for The Ramsey Show. If you would like to do your debt-free scream live on the show,

make sure you visit DaveRamsey.com slash show and register. We would love for you to come to Nashville and tell your story.