The Ramsey Show - App - I Fell Back into Debt...What Should I Do? (Hour 3)

Episode Date: December 17, 2021

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Starting point is 00:00:00 🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host. Thank you for joining us, America. We're so glad you're here. Open phones at 888-825-5225.
Starting point is 00:00:54 That's 888-825-5225. Noah is with us in Phoenix, Arizona. Hi, Noah. Welcome to the Ramsey Showsey show dr john deloney is my co-host today how can we help hey there dave thanks for taking my call sure um hey uh so uh i um my my family my parents helped me out we actually just moved out from washington about seven months ago eight months ago and um my family helped me buy a house in, um, in, in Arizona and housing markets so much cheaper here. Um, so, uh, I, uh, they actually recently just decided to purchase, they also purchased a house down here. And so they also recently just
Starting point is 00:01:37 decided to, um, build a new house, um, in the same city. And so they're going to be, um, they, they actually co-signed with me for this house that they helped me buy. Um, and they want to refinance to get the house off there. Um, sorry to get the loan off there off their, their back. So then, um, it'll just be on my name and then they can have more room for whatever they're doing. Um, I'm curious if I should possibly sell the house or like when, when we refine it, because the house has already made a bunch of positive equity or if I should, uh, refinance, like they say.
Starting point is 00:02:19 How old are you? I'm 25. And you said, we, are you married? Uh, no, I'm sorry. I'm not. Uh uh it's just me no okay all right and so you you bought a house and how much do you owe on the house uh i actually it's about two uh 247 so 247 000 okay and what do you make um so i did the math here. I actually have renters. I live in the house. I live in one of the rooms. Two of the renters also live in the house. Now, not counting the renters, what is your income, sir?
Starting point is 00:02:58 Without the renters, it's about, it's only, well, after tax, it's about $33,000. Before tax, it's about $39,000. What do you do for a living? With renters, it's about $33,000. Before tax, it's about $39,000. What do you do for a living? With renters, it's about $46,000 after tax. Okay, well, let me help you with this. You make $33,000 a year, you can't afford a $250,000 house. You can't afford the house.
Starting point is 00:03:19 You can't refinance it. You won't qualify for the loan. You understand? Yeah, I get you. Not even close. When you make $40,000 a year, you cannot qualify for a $250,000 mortgage. Got it. Because the payment is as much as you make, man. Well, it is, and I checked it out, so if I did not have renters, I would be paying,
Starting point is 00:03:55 I would be breaking about even, but because I have renters, I'm also paying for college on top of this, so it's about a grand. Yeah, but the mortgage company, when you go to refinance, will not qualify you based on renters. They will not use you renting out the bedroom as a way to pay your bill when your payment is equal to your income. I would sell the house and take the equity and pay for college. Yeah, you need to sell the house and go rent something really cheap yourself
Starting point is 00:04:25 and finish up college and get your income up and then talk about buying later. And this is going to be a hard conversation because your parents probably gave you some story about equity. Your parents are out of their dadgum minds to have put you in this mess to start with, to have assisted you to get into this trap. I mean, dude, if your roommates don't pay one month you don't even eat if you pay your house payment this is this is cray cray these this mathematics math on this is nuts yeah so yeah you you have really stepped deep into a hole here and even for them to have to get off of a cosign so that they can buy a second house and build it
Starting point is 00:05:07 versus they're playing a shill game too, man. Yeah, it sounds like they're in a mess themselves, but that's another story. But yeah, for you, you're 25 years old, you're going to college, you're making $35,000, $39,000 a year, you know. Sell the house, get the equity, pay for your college cash.
Starting point is 00:05:24 Make sure you're debt-free. Stay debt-free. Do everything you can to get your income up. Be studying something in college that causes your income to go up. Don't study some left-handed puppetry degree. When you have kids, you can buy them a house outright, not just co-sign for them. Good grief, man. Later on.
Starting point is 00:05:43 But, yeah, mom and dad love you, thank you. No, because you can't refinance it, even if you want to. No mortgage company is going to give you this loan, and they shouldn't, because you can't pay it. Tanya is with us in Amarillo, Texas. Hey, Tanya, how are you? Hey, Dave. Hey, Dr. Deloney. How are you?
Starting point is 00:06:03 Great. How can we help? Good. My family is facing a big move. It's a good move, but it's a little bit scary. We're moving to my husband's family's farm to start taking over as his parents retire. It's across states. We currently live in Texas and we'll be moving to Oklahoma. We recently paid off all debts and we'll be selling a house with a good amount of equity. So my question really is, how can I go about doing a good job of estimating what our expenses might be as we step into baby step number three. And then secondly, kind of jumbled all the baby steps by paying off the mortgage and moving in baby step two, and now we're at three and we need kids in college. And so just that's the very primary question is,
Starting point is 00:06:59 is there a good way to estimate expenses when you just don't know? I know cost of goods will be decreased but taxes will be quite different both income and um retail and grocery so i don't know how to estimate that i don't think oklahoma is that different from texas well i've ordered groceries a few times for my husband while he's there and it it's the groceries tax is going to be i'm afraid that's going to creep up on us. Nah. Not like you think.
Starting point is 00:07:30 Nah, it's not that much different. I think whatever your household expenses are now is probably a good place to start for estimating your household expenses there. Plus or minus, whatever, you're going to change with the move but in terms of oklahoma cost of living versus texas cost of living yeah unless you're moving from like a major metro area in dallas you know dallas or houston or something and you're moving to a rural area in oklahoma it might go down some but food cost is not going to be appreciably different utility cost is not going to be appreciably different um really no other there's nothing that's going to be appreciably different. Really, no other. There's nothing that's going to be substantially different. The real estate prices may be different in the areas that you're going in,
Starting point is 00:08:10 but you're not even dealing with that because you're moving onto a family farm. I think it's a spiritual issue, Dave. When you race in Texas, you know that Oklahoma's the enemy, and she's moving into enemy territory, and I think she's just not sleeping well at night. That's what I think. I'm a hearts with you, honey. Listen, his name is Dr. John Deloney. You can find him on social media and respond to that.
Starting point is 00:08:33 I don't want to hear about it. 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.
Starting point is 00:09:18 Learn more by visiting chministries.org slash budget. That's chministries.org slash budget. Christian's chministries.org slash budget. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a Ramsey Trusted Provider. If you guys had any idea how hostile a work environment this is, behind the scenes, before the commercials go off. It's unbelievable. I don't know how Kelly and James sleep at night, man. Those two are ruthless.
Starting point is 00:09:50 It's, uh, they are ruthless. Yeah. Just getting an argument with a PhD in psychology. It's not healthy. Open phones at 888-825-5225. They're both crying. 888-825-5225. They're both crying. 888-825-5225. Y'all jump in.
Starting point is 00:10:07 We'll talk. If you're struggling to keep up with payments, you know what it's like to be scared? I do. It's not easy. And you don't have to live like this. When you pay off your debt and you do it quickly, you never have to have that kind of stress in your life again. And you can do this. Here's where you start.
Starting point is 00:10:23 Financial Peace University. Millions of families have taken this class and learned how to pay off debt, take control of their money, and you can stream all nine lessons right now. You can get some extra support by going through the class with others, and the only way to get Financial
Starting point is 00:10:38 Peace University is through Ramsey Plus. You can get a free trial to the membership of Ramsey Plus by texting trial to 33 to 33-789. Don't be held back. Put an end to the worry, end to the stress. Financial Peace University, a free trial at Ramsey Plus. Text TRIAL to 33-789. Ishmael is with us in Denver, Colorado. Hi, Ishmael. What's up?
Starting point is 00:11:09 Yes, sir. I have a trucking company. Owned it for about three years. Just been recently listening to you guys and learning the new ropes of how to manage my money. I have about, in the business, I have about $32,000 in debt. And then personally, I've got about $21,000 in student loans. And I just wanted to know how would be the best way to budget for the business and then also try to get out of my hole that I've digged myself.
Starting point is 00:12:03 So I'm guessing that you own the truck and you drive the truck, and that's your trucking company. Yes, sir. Yes. There's not other trucks involved or other drivers involved. It's you and one truck, right? Hello? Uh-oh. He didn't like your answer, Dave.
Starting point is 00:12:24 We just lost him. No, I think we just lost him. I didn't do anything offensive yet. I hadn't had him on the line long enough to be offensive. But, yeah, I was just getting there. Yeah. Okay. So we'll come back to that.
Starting point is 00:12:36 See if we can get him back up in a second. Open phones at 888-825-5225. John is in Atlanta. Hi, John. How are you? Hello. Good evening, Dave, John. How are you? Hello. Good evening. Um,
Starting point is 00:12:47 Dave and John, uh, question for you. So I have, I'm sorry, go ahead. Go ahead. No,
Starting point is 00:12:53 that's great. Okay. Um, so I have, um, I have beneficiary set on my retirement account as well as on my term life insurance outside of work. And then my life insurance at work and then the supplemental life insurance I have at work as well as on my term life insurance outside of work, and then my life insurance at work,
Starting point is 00:13:05 and then the supplemental life insurance I have at work as well. So I'm trying to understand, like, when and why do I need a will in case I'm, well, when I die, basically. You're single? Yes, single. Okay. Well, I think your will is going to be very simple and very clean, but I would have one.
Starting point is 00:13:23 My guess is you have a car, don't you? Yes, I have a car, a mortgage, and an emergency fund money as well. Okay. So getting possession of that bank account, that car title, and getting that house sold is going to be 20 times easier with a will for whoever's left with this job to do than it will be without a will, because they're going to have to go into court and get permission on every stinking little thing in probate court if you don't have a will.
Starting point is 00:13:51 So your will says, I name so-and-so. How old are you? 30, well, probably 37, pretty soon. And you're single. Who would be the executor of your estate? Who would be in charge of handling your estate? I guess it would be one of my parents. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:14:09 I haven't decided who yet, but one of my parents. Well, let's just, for purposes of discussion, we'll call it your dad, okay? Let's call it your mom. Your mom is going to be the executor of the estate. An executor, the word executor means execute. They're an executor. They execute what the will says. It's all they do.
Starting point is 00:14:30 And so if they have a will, she hires an attorney, a few hundred dollars. They go to probate court, get the will approved, and then the judge will give the executor full powers to sell the house, sell the car, sign the title for the car, sign the title to the house, clean out the bank account, and use it for the good of the people in the will. Now, the executor's job is to do what you said to do in the will. You're going to say sell everything and give the money to whoever, and that's what the will is going to say. But, yes, you definitely need a will.
Starting point is 00:15:04 Okay. Go to mamabear definitely need a will. Okay. Go to mamabearlegalforms.com. They're inexpensive to do online. You can do it very quickly, very easily. They've got some worksheets and stuff that will help you get just, you know, you've got to have an executor appointed, and then you've got to decide who your heirs are. And the more prep you do before dying, the easier it is on everyone that's left behind.
Starting point is 00:15:28 And so this is a gift to people that you love, is the way you look at a will, the way you look at life insurance, the way you look at naming the beneficiaries. You're obviously a very diligent person anyway, so you're just missing this one thing. But, John, my estate plan is very complicated because there's a bunch of crap in it and and so making sure that everybody knows where they stand what the part is what to expect uh what not to expect uh those kinds of things in our in my estate plan is a gift of mine to the relationships of the people that are left behind because people fight more over what somebody meant to do that they didn't say out loud in a will and didn't have documented properly
Starting point is 00:16:12 than they do anything else just about in families. And when you're grieving, you hear things differently. You imagine things differently. I know so many folks who have already spent money of estates that they're not even right everything comes to a head i love the way you said that it's a gift just think of the people that you love grieving your loss and you want to provide them with the smoothest avenue towards cleaning this mess up yeah i mean the antithesis of it is snarky but is if if you want to leave
Starting point is 00:16:44 your family all fighting with each other and you think that'd be fun, that's like the ultimate existential practical joke. You want to just leave this bunch of jerks all being jerks to each other forever? Leave a very complicated estate with mixed up directions and not much of a will, and they will go into hyper mode. The statement that a buddy gave to me one time, we were just all hanging out, and they said, talking about their wills, and I said, I don't have one. And my buddy John said, the only reason to not have a will is if you hate your wife and kids. And I remember thinking, oh, okay. If you want the state of Texas or the state of Tennessee or the state of Nebraska taking care of your family, don't have a will.
Starting point is 00:17:23 They'll do a great job, because they do a great job taking care of everything else. Yeah, I mean, have you been in that DMV line lately? Yeah, they'll be great for your weeping family looking for groceries. So, yeah, man. And if you're in his situation, it's a gift to your mom. It's a gift to your dad. It's a gift to your loved ones. It's a gift to your nieces or nephews,
Starting point is 00:17:41 whoever the beneficiaries are going to be of your estate. And it doesn't take long. Less of it goes to the lawyers. Less of it goes to the state. Less time is consumed executing your wishes when they are clearly laid out in a will. And it's just an absolutely vital thing. I will say this. There is not an excuse to be an adult in the United States and not have a will.
Starting point is 00:18:04 Period. It's gotten too cheap. You can do it online. You can go to a local attorney's office. It's just too easy to do. It's inexcusable to not have it, period. Our sponsor, Mama Bear Legal Forms, they make it very easy. They did mine.
Starting point is 00:18:17 I wanted to see what it was like, and I got a simple will. Just get it done. Yeah, and here's the thing. Wills need to be state-specific. Yes. Which means the state that you are currently residing, those laws will apply to your estate. Nothing else. So I don't care where you used to live. I don't care where you grew up.
Starting point is 00:18:37 I don't care where your property is. The laws in the state you reside in when you die will apply to your estate. And so if you have moved states, your will may be invalid. And if you've had a major family upheaval, you've gone through a divorce or the loss of a loved one or something, you may need to redo your will. When we moved here, we redid ours, right? Yeah, you should because you're not in Texas anymore and Texas law is considerably different than Tennessee. So there you go.
Starting point is 00:19:01 Get it done. Dr. John Deloney, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the Debt Free Stage. Ethan and Taylor are with us. Hey, guys. How are you? Hey, Dave. Better than we deserve. How are you? Better than we deserve. Welcome. Where do you guys live? We live close to Wilmington, Delaware. Oh, yeah? Okay, cool. Welcome to Nashville. How much debt have you paid off?
Starting point is 00:20:01 $46,000. $46,000. How long did that take? About seven months. Wow. Whoa!,000. How long did that take? About seven months. Wow. Whoa. And your range of income during that time? Started around 73, ended around 76. Cool.
Starting point is 00:20:12 What do you all do for a living? I'm an engineer. And I'm a stay-at-home dad. And also, he did some door dashing, too. Okay. Cool. What kind of debt was the $46,000? It was two cars, some student loans, and some phones.
Starting point is 00:20:26 Wow. Okay. So tell us about your journey. What put you on to this, and what made you decide to do it, and what did you do? So the start of the journey was definitely my maternity leave, where I decided to pick up the book that had been sitting on my shelf for a couple years at that point. Oh, the old dust collecting routine. Yes. It finally called out to me when I had some free time. And ironically, my mom's actually the one that got it for me. And as I started digging into it, her and my dad were hesitant about some of the advice.
Starting point is 00:20:53 But obviously, we went all in. In September, we sold my car. And that's when things got real serious. That's when things got real serious. What did you sell? What kind of car? Chevy Cruze. Okay.
Starting point is 00:21:06 And what did it sell for? Like $12 or something. We owed like $15. Okay. And the other car is what? Honda HR-V. Okay. All right.
Starting point is 00:21:14 Fun. Fun. So when you start selling cars, the parents are like, I'm sorry I gave you this book, and now you've joined a cult, and I'm worried about you, and yeah. It was the stopping the 401k contributions that made my dad worry. Ah, okay. It was a temporary thing, Dad. Come on.
Starting point is 00:21:32 He hears you right now, so I'm glad you can tell him that. I don't blame him. I understand the nerd part of it, but we have found that when people focus on something is when they win at it, and that's what you guys have done. You went all in. Yep. And so after we sold the car, then we started just playing a show all the time at our house.
Starting point is 00:21:50 That's how our one-and-a-half-year-old is a huge fan of you, because she just sees you on TV all the time. Oh, my gosh. Well, I'm honored. And especially the debt-free screams, too. When she was first even just learning how to clap, she's always loved to clap for those. So it should be exciting to see what she thinks today, for sure. That's great.
Starting point is 00:22:04 That's fun. So what do you tell people see what she thinks today, for sure. That's great. That's fun. So what do you tell people the secret to getting out of debt is? Let's see. The first secret is a zero-based budget. Even people who don't want to hear my Dave Ramsey spiel, I tell them about zero-based budgeting. Like here at minimum, everyone would benefit from zero-based budgeting. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:22:20 Congress. Congress. Yes. For sure. And then just being all in gazelle intense don't let anyone convince you
Starting point is 00:22:27 not to be all in who had the first conversation with who that sat down and looked across the table and said I think we should do this
Starting point is 00:22:33 and you're an engineer so did you spreadsheet him no no just kind of the broad concepts to get him intrigued by it I think
Starting point is 00:22:41 you gotta start a little bit work your way in with all the details the very mystical baby steps. You were all in? Yep, absolutely. Just like that. Cool. You did it in seven months. That's impressive.
Starting point is 00:22:53 You sprinted through. The big thing, March, so we paid off everything in April. In March, we just had a ton of windfalls. It was like I was saying, hey, you guys are meant to get out of this quickly. So we had like 12K in windfalls just in March. That helped speed things up a lot. And sold a $12,000 car. That helped as well, yes. So that get out of this quickly. So we had like 12K in windfalls just in March. That helped speed things up a lot. And sold a $12,000 car. That helped as well, yes.
Starting point is 00:23:08 So that's 24 of the 46. Yeah. All right. That makes a lot of difference. And then you knock the rest of it in the head. Wow. Very, very good. Cool.
Starting point is 00:23:16 So the zero-based budget is the secret. Yes. And what else do you tell people? Just to have a clear goal. Just to be focused. Very, very clear. Nothing gets in the way. Yeah. Yeah. clear goal. Just to be focused. Very clear. Nothing gets in the way. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:23:27 That's... It sounds so simple. It does. Yeah. Until you start actually doing it and then all kinds of stuff. There are legions
Starting point is 00:23:35 of spouses right now looking at you, man, thinking, I wish it was that easy. I could just sit across the table and say, that's what we're doing and you'd go,
Starting point is 00:23:44 okay, we'll sell the car tomorrow. Okay, I'm in. And have a great day. That's awesome, man. The world needs more Ethans out there. This is true. Very fun. Very fun.
Starting point is 00:23:56 So outside the two of you, who were your biggest cheerleaders? Probably our parents. Other than they questioned your sanity. Minus Dave's terrible advice, yeah. Towards the end, they were convinced as the numbers started to go in our direction, like, oh, this might actually be good. Yeah, yeah, look at that. They're free.
Starting point is 00:24:10 Yeah. How does it feel to be free? Great. Incredible. Was it worth selling the car to get it? Oh, yeah. It was worth every bit of it. Absolutely.
Starting point is 00:24:18 All the windfalls, throwing it all at it, everything. You get so much more control. You can see your budget, and as you pay off the debt, more and more is in your control. And you can say, this is where I want that to go. Not to that payment, not to that other bank for them to build their skyscrapers. What was it like in May or June when you got your paycheck deposited and then you didn't have any bills? It was crazy. It's pretty wild, huh? Yeah. Just start to see the numbers go up in your emergency funds. That first time, you know, going from 1K to 2K, it like whoa it doubled yeah yeah that's a lot of fun what was the hardest part of this for y'all staying focused i guess when not many people are ramsey minded yeah that's true that makes sense
Starting point is 00:24:58 okay cool and you brought the one and a half year old with you what's her name emily emily is one and a half years old and she's been practicing her name? Emily. Emily is one and a half years old. And she's been practicing clapping to her dead free speech as long as she's been clapping. Indeed. That's awesome. What a way to learn how to clap. I like it. That's good stuff.
Starting point is 00:25:13 We've got a copy of the Legacy Journey for you. That's for sure your next chapter in your story. You are changing little Emily's legacy for sure. And we've got a copy of the Total Money Makeover for you to give away so he can collect uh dust on somebody else's shelf until until it calls out to them so that's how it's supposed to work it's the world's largest uh coaster on the coffee table little girl she is precious goodness cute cute cute fun stuff all right hey kiddo what's's up? All right. Here we go. Ethan, Taylor, and Emily, Wilmington, Delaware, 46,000 paid off in seven months, making 73,000 to 76,000 a year. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream.
Starting point is 00:25:57 Three, two, one. We're debt-free. Woo! I love it. Oh, that's fun. That is exactly how this is supposed to work. Well done, well done. Patrick is in Tampa.
Starting point is 00:26:16 Hi, Patrick. Welcome to the Ramsey Show. Oh, hi. Thank you for taking my call, Dave. Sure. What's up? All right. I've been working on your baby steps for a uh while now i'm in trying to eliminate all my debts out now unfortunately there is a
Starting point is 00:26:34 collection that's on my record that's been on there for uh since 2018 that i really do not want to pay because it's really shouldn't be my responsibility to pay that. Why? Well, because, well, here's the thing that collection came from an apartment complex that I moved out of in 2017 that they gave me that me and my brother moved out of.
Starting point is 00:27:02 So when we moved out, we, they gave us the okay to go live in this new apartment complex. And then when the lease ran up on it, which was around September and October, September, I'm not sure when, but it's around that time, me and my brother was already
Starting point is 00:27:18 in a different apartment complex. And then while my mother was already, because I was living with my mother at the time but we was already gone at the time and then when we come to when we decide to go find another place to live in from the Duke Harbor Conference we got in
Starting point is 00:27:35 that's when we discovered the collection on our record Why did they put a collection on you? Why did you own money? Well according to the lawyer, because I was living with my mother at the time, and we all signed the lease, that's just me, my two brothers, and my other three siblings. They said that according to them, that since that we, our names were on the lease still, and my mother didn't move out at that time when the lease was up,
Starting point is 00:28:09 it was a hold, they were a holdover tenant, so that's where we owe the money on. Actually, they're right and you're wrong. You owe them the money. And so what I would do if I were you is I'd get on the phone with them and create a dollar amount, hopefully at a discount,
Starting point is 00:28:23 that will settle with them, and I'd pay them. Yeah. And get it out of your life. It's not going away. They got you. You lose. Not only do you lose on a moral basis because what they just said actually occurred. She's living in the apartment.
Starting point is 00:28:37 She's a holdover tenant. They charged you rent, and your name's on the lease. You guys were irresponsible in how you handled the business transaction, and it came back to bite you in the butt. So you're going to need to go clean it up. Hopefully you can settle it for a few dollars and be done with it and not only get it off your record, but get it out of your life and out of the back of your mind. And it'll feel good to clean up and do the right thing because that's really what you need to do here. This is The Ramsey Show. show. We'll be right back. Our scripture of the day, 1 Peter 4.10,
Starting point is 00:29:49 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as a faithful steward of God's grace in its various forms. Edmund Burke said, Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. Dr. John Deloney, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Darcy's with us in Houston, Texas. Hey, Darcy, how are you?
Starting point is 00:30:20 All right. How are you guys doing today? Great. How's it going? Oh, joy. So what's up? How can we help? Well, basically, I just need some guidance, some real guidance.
Starting point is 00:30:34 I've done Financial Peace University a very, very long time ago. So and I tried it, failed it, tried it again, failed it, what was it? I tried it, failed it, tried it again, failed it, kept going back and forth, and now I'm back around to it again. I'm now at a position where I have, I'm a disabled vet, and I work full time, so I'm receiving money. I'm receiving, like, two incomes. I'm a single parent.
Starting point is 00:31:04 I'm trying to basically just figure out what to do i have a kid that's going to college in a couple years and i have nothing i have i have nothing for him but fortunately because i was a vet i still have um he'll be able to go to school in state for free um why did you fail FPU? You said you took it several times. Why did you fail it? Because I couldn't, I wasn't working. When I couldn't, due to part of the things going on with my disability or whatever, I was unable to work. What is the nature of your disability, honey? It was physical, physical and mental. Okay. So at one point I wasn't able to work, but now I am working a full-time job and I'm able to do this day by day.
Starting point is 00:31:57 And I also hopefully here, I'm also looking for another job within the system to pay more money. So what do you make off a disability? Disability, it'll be at $40,000. And what do you make on your other job? On my job, after taxes and everything, it'll be $31,000. I just did that. How many kids have you got? Two.
Starting point is 00:32:27 And how old are they? 16, 14. Okay. You did not fail FPU because you lost your job. That's not true. Mm-hmm. You failed FPU because you lost your focus. And that might be true because of some of the mental things you're facing.
Starting point is 00:32:47 I don't know. Yeah. Or it could be. It was more like me. I was just lazy. I don't know. You've got to decide that. I'm not going to put it on you.
Starting point is 00:33:00 You've got to decide. But thank you for your service, by the way. But you can do Financial Peace University making 40 000 a year and you didn't stop getting that disability when you lost oh no i wasn't what no no no no i i wasn't making anywhere near that at that time gotcha at nowhere near you were making you got your disability income didn't you yeah yeah but yeah no no no it wasn't but it wasn't but... That's what I'm talking about. Yeah, no, no, no. Not till later. But it wasn't that high.
Starting point is 00:33:27 It wasn't that high. Oh, the disability income has been adjusted. Yes, it has increased. Holy... Within this last... Ooh, hold on. I lie about that number a lot, so wait a minute. What's the real number?
Starting point is 00:33:42 I think I'm 44. So are you... 31. What's the real number? I think I'm 44. Here's the question that every person's got to ultimately decide. You've got a 14-year-old, a 16-year-old, and they're important. They're your why. But also, you have to look in the mirror and decide, I'm ready to change my life. Oh, yeah. I'm ready. I'm ready.
Starting point is 00:34:04 Then listen. Then your past doesn't matter yeah all you can control is tomorrow morning that's it yeah and you've had some hard challenges and some ugly challenges you've seen war you've seen all kinds of mess and here you are and what you get to decide is what tomorrow is going to look like are you ready to change your life oh yeah most definitely are you certain of it oh most definitely it's going to have to change the way you talk to yourself the way you think about yourself the way you champion yourself and those kids the way you look at them and say hey we got free college in the state we're gonna we're gonna run with it And you can breathe the way you start saving money for all the baby steps. It's going to be a totally different way of talking to Darcy.
Starting point is 00:34:51 Are you ready? Of course, I am. You can't say people like me don't win. You can't say that anymore. Because people like you now win because you are a different people. Yeah. That's what that decision does. Are you ready? I don't trust you are a different people. Yeah. Yeah. That's what that decision does.
Starting point is 00:35:07 Are you ready? I don't trust you yet. I don't either. I am ready. I am ready. Are you going to count the cost of what it's going to cost? You may have to get new friends. You may have to tell your kids, hey, y'all got to get jobs.
Starting point is 00:35:18 You make $71,000 a year now. Then you're broke. Well, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not now. Not now. Not now. I have almost $30,000 a year now. Then you're broke. Well, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not now. Not now. Not now. I have almost $30,000 in the bank right now. And how much debt do you have?
Starting point is 00:35:32 Huh? And how much debt do you have? And that I don't know the answer to. Darcy, how much debt you got? I don't. You know. Really. What do you owe on that car you bought? You know what? I don't. I know. Really. What are you on that car you bought?
Starting point is 00:35:45 You know what? I paid off my car already. I don't have any debt on that. Student loans? No student loans. Credit cards? I don't have any credit cards. Medical debt?
Starting point is 00:35:57 Medical debt, that's a different story. I have a son that's special needs, and that is from that. Other than that, I'm still fighting with the insurance on that one. Other than that, what kind of debt have you got? My house note. Okay. Other than those two things, what have you got? And I had a loan, stupid me.
Starting point is 00:36:22 I had a loan, and I'm like at 18 on that, and I'm thinking about just double, because I've been doubling up on my house, because I was like, well, let me go ahead, before that loan happened, let me double up on my house or whatever, and that's what I've been doing. So, Darcy, listen, listen.
Starting point is 00:36:39 You're creating chaos, and what you need is peace. You're trying to double up over here, not pay over there, call insurance company over here, then triple up over here and go back and not pay that. And it just creates this chaos, this frenzy. And what Dave's trying to give you is peace. So here's what we're going to do. You hold on.
Starting point is 00:36:59 Kelly's going to pick up. I'm going to sign you up for a fresh class of Financial Peace University. I'm going to pay for it as a part of a Ramsey Plus membership. And that's how you access Financial Peace University now. It also includes the EveryDollar Premium app. And Darcy, this time
Starting point is 00:37:18 I want you to follow orders like you're in the military. And bring your boys along with you. This time I want you to do everything exactly like we tell you to do everything exactly like we tell you to do it no variance i want you to stick with it exactly because you never heard me one time back when you went through fpu tell you to pay double on your house where you're sitting on a stupid 18 alone that's so discombobulated kiddo and you can do better than this um even with all the different things you got in your life even with the different challenges but you need a very very
Starting point is 00:37:52 clear path and a very clear line and you don't get off the line you stay right on the line one foot in front of the other follow the recipe exactly and we'll make some great gumbo. But if you go make up your own stuff, don't expect it to turn out, because that's what happened between the time you left Financial Peace University the first time and now is you never once applied the exact recipe. And it would never have you paying extra on your house. It would never have you dealing with that. You don't know what's going on with these medical bills.
Starting point is 00:38:30 You don't have a clear, organized, precise plan. And that precision is where your piece will come from. It requires some extra work. And you kind of sweat and have a little stress while you're doing it. But the end result is you are now on top of the numbers managing them. They're not managing you. And you get to choose your heart from this point forward. You want to live in chaos and payment to payment to payment
Starting point is 00:38:55 or do you want to work really hard for a couple of years and breathe and choose your heart? That's the way it works. You can do it, kiddo. Hold on. Kelly will pick up. Good show, John. works. You can do it, kiddo. Hold on. Kelly will pick up. Good show, John. Dr. John Deloney, James Childs, Kelly in the booth. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host.
Starting point is 00:39:12 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. Have a friend or family member that needs a daily dose of Ramsey advice in their life? Let them know about the Ramsey Call of the Day podcast. It's a quick hit of advice about life and money in under 10 minutes. Check out the Ramsey Call of the Day podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.

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