The Ramsey Show - App - If I Move Out, I'll Be Living Paycheck to Paycheck (Hour 1)

Episode Date: June 24, 2021

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Live 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, Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, author of the number one bestseller Proximity Principle, and host of the Ken Coleman Show, where he talks about your career, talks about you getting the right job, talks about you living out your passions. And we're going to talk about that today with you, along with anything else you want to talk about.

The phone number here is 888-825-5225 that's 888-825-5225 ricardo is in charlotte north carolina hey ricardo how are you hey dave how are you great man what's up all right yes so right now i'm currently 21 year old um i have 35 000 saved in my bank account. I'm currently in college, but I'm doing like debt free because I'm getting some help. And then I'm currently living with my parents. I've been thinking about moving out, but I realized when I move out, I'm basically going to be like living paycheck to paycheck.

So what do you think I should do? When will you graduate from college? Next year. Okay. Well, it's not unusual for someone to live at home until they graduate from college. But if you're 28 and you make $60,000 a year in your mother's basement, there's issues, dude. Oh, no, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I know you're not. You're 21. You live at home. You don't make any money. You're not going to college. You got $35,000 in savings. I got it. That's not you. My point is what you're doing is a fairly normal process and does not indicate that you're emotionally stunted.

Yeah. Ricardo, you're overthinking this. You're in great shape. You've got a year left. I'd absolutely stay if it were me, and I'd keep saving money. Is there a relational problem at home? There is kind of a little bit. I actually do work full time as well. I make $14 an hour and I'm actually doing like this, you know, on like the regular shifts and everything. But there is a little bit of problems, but I think we're finding a solution to it. So, yeah.

What are you studying? I'm doing business administration. Good for you. And where did you get the $35,000? The what, sorry? Where did you get the $35,000? I've worked at several jobs during a couple years now, and that's how I sit. I'm pretty good with budgeting.

I'm pretty good with numbers. I love budgeting and doing all these things. I don't think you're living paycheck to paycheck. I think you've misunderstood that phrase because you're actually so conservative and so disciplined. You've got $35,000 in the bank, and you're working full-time and going to college debt-free. I think you've just got to sit down and do your budget. If he moved out, he would be, is what he said. Yeah, because he'd be using up all of his $14 just to pay rent.

Just to pay rent, yeah. So who paid for college? So it was, like, my family's kind of from a low income, so I'm using my help. I got help from CASPA, which is, it's like you don't have to pay it back. It's like government assistance. So you got Pell Grants? Yes, Pell Grants, yes.

Okay. All right. Because that's the only one you don't pay back. The rest of them FAFSA signs you up for makes you think it was a grant, and it turns out it was a student loan. So, yeah. But, okay. Now, unless you have a toxic, I mean, a really nasty, bad situation

that you've got to get out of there, I'm going to suck up whatever the relationship thing is be humble and finish my time there get out of school graduate with thirty five thousand dollars in the bank and a degree in business and go get the big boy job and uh move out then so that means you're only there one more year um yeah that's what i would recommend and if you my kid, that's what I would ask you to do to continue to do that. But as you said, it sounds like there's some rough spots you guys need to smooth out in the rules of the house. And when you live in someone else's house, you live by their rules. Yeah. And I'd also, he's a number cruncher. Where I was going is, you know, could you get a roommate? Let's see what that looks like. what does your paycheck allow you to do and could you get a roommate and maybe still do it if not as you're

pointing out he's got a year he's going to save up even more than the 35 000 living at home so he's going to be in fantastic shape yeah you'll be able to move out pretty easy with a good solid job and and with a graduate you know the new job after graduation that should be considerably more than 14 an hour should put you in that position. So, yeah, it's this is an interesting age group. Yeah, we're talking to them. You and I both on the Ken Coleman show on Sirius XM. And but YouTube is drawing in this 19, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 year old bunch. And, you know, used to that if we had someone call and they said they were living at home, they were 28.

Oh, yeah. And so we immediately jumped ahead and said, yeah, come on. You know, but in this case, but we're having a lot of young people who are go-getters. Yep. That, I mean, I'm talking to 19-year-olds with substantial dollars that are calling in here. And they're doing these substantial things. So a portion of that generation, whatever the label is that's on this 18- to 24-year-old generation, whatever that is, it's not millennials, certainly, but I don't know the proper demographic. Oh, Gen Z or Mosaics is what they call them.

Z was before millennials, wasn't it? No, it's after. Is it? I promise. Okay. Well, you probably know more than I do. You do. It's what?

Oh, you mean, oh. No, no. Yeah, X is me. I'm Gen X. Well, you probably know more than I do. You do. It's what? Oh, you mean... Oh, no. Yeah, X is me. I'm Gen X. Well, I know that. And so then it's millennials. There's one between you and millennials. Then Gen Z or Mosaics. I thought it was X, Z, millennial.

But what do I know? Obviously, I don't know. So here, bottom line is, this age group, there is a very serious group of them. Yes. I don't know if there's a bunch of deadbeats in there, too. I don't talk to them. But they're watching the Ramsey show on YouTube and are calling in. And that guy right there, when I was 21.

Oh, yeah. And $35,000. Not even close. I didn't even know how to say $35,000. And one thing I want to point out. Right now, Ricardo, he's still listening in. Ricardo, I would challenge you to look for a job that pays more than $14,000 an hour over the next year or so, because right now we're seeing companies, not the federal minimum wage, but companies are raising

minimum wages because there is, right now, so many jobs that are open and people aren't returning. Now is the time in a metropolitan area like Charlotte, North Carolina, Ricardo, as sharp as you are, I would at least challenge you to look to not – maybe you could find something in the $17, $18, $20 an hour. You'd be surprised what companies are offering to try to get talent, just stable talent in the door. Well, they might want to move you in there into a business-type job with your business degree on the come. Yes, sir. It's almost like a paid internship because they know you're one year away from diploma. So I'd encourage him to do that as well.

And then to what you were saying, Dave, we know this from the data. There's recent studies out that this generation, this Gen Z, they're in high school now. They're in their early 20s. More than any generation previous in America, they are more entrepreneurial. They are thinking when they come out of high school that they're going to eventually own their own business. Some want to go right into it, not even into college. And those that are going into college are thinking, I'm going to college because I want

to work for me one day. We're seeing that big time. And I think we're seeing that reflected in the kids that are watching our show. Well, that's going to change the political landscape. Yes, it will. Wait until they start seeing the taxes come out. Yeah. Yeah, well, that among other things, yeah.

Yeah, and all the other policies. Trying to run a business with the government breathing down your neck. Yeah. That's a very good point. That's a very good point. Wow. Interesting labor market right now. Yeah.

Very cool. Very cool. Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, host of The Ken Coleman Show on SiriusXM, an ever-popular podcast, and, of course, 75 radio stations plus carrying it now. You can tune in and hear him anytime. He's my co-host today. This is The Ramsey Show. hey y'all this is christy right as a business coach wife and mom i know that running a business can be overwhelming but it doesn't have to be. That's why I created the Business Boutique Conference to give you the inspiration and practical steps that you need to chase your

version of success. This three-day event will once again be in Nashville on October 14th through the 16th. You can join us in person or you can attend virtually as a member of our live stream audience. We'll be covering topics like marketing, sales, social media, business money management, and so much more. And joining me will be Dave Ramsey, Anthony O'Neill, Jasmine Starr, Nona Jones, Bianca Olthoff, and more. Don't miss it. Join us in Nashville, October 14th through the 16th

for the Business Boutique Conference. Text boutique to 33789 to learn more. Again, text Boutique to 33789 to learn more. This event is brought to you by Christian Healthcare Ministries. Ken Coleman Ramsey personality is my co-host open phonesones 888-825- 5225. Smart Dollar is our best money content and products packaged digitally and tailored for the workplace. Companies offer Smart Dollar to their team as an employee benefit. People like Costco, for instance, have had all their employees go through our materials,

teaching them. And lots of companies of all sizes, big companies, small companies, everything, have figured out that if their employees are out of debt and on a plan and concentrating, they're able to concentrate at work, that even the folks in the military know mission readiness is affected by money stress. And so getting rid of money stress increases productivity and all that. And one of our Smart Dollar customers is a company called Forever Lawn, and they've been a customer for a long time. Heidi is with us in Kenton, Ohio from Forever Lawn. Hi, Heidi, how are you? I'm great, Dave. Thank you. How are you and Ken? Better than we deserve. So I'm looking on my notes here that the Smart Dollar team gave me, and it looks like you got your team through Smart Dollar before COVID hit,

just because you wanted to help your team members. I'm guessing you had a little different COVID experience with people who had their act together. We did. It definitely gave people time to think about their finances, their futures, their goals, and to be really intentional about their budgeting. Yeah. And so did you guys have layoffs or furloughs or anything? We did not.

No, we kept everyone on staff. Excellent. How many team members have y'all got? Well, we have about 70 at our home office, and then we have about 70 dealerships across the country. Cool. What's Forever Lawn do? What do y'all do? Great question. So Forever Lawn is a premium artificial grass company, and we have five premium artificial vertical brands, Forever Lawn Landscape, Gulf Green Sports Grass, Canine Grass, and Playground Grass. And we service people throughout the country with whatever needs they would have to make their lawns, their yards, their homes a place where they can enjoy. Ken, I think you need to put put put green out back out of this artificial stuff.

I'm thinking you need to install one of these. I do, and I'll tell you something else. I had two big doodles, and so I've actually sampled their product. No way! Yeah, so here's the deal. I spoke for them a couple years ago because of Entree Leadership. Oh, okay. And they sent a sample of this canine grass, Dave, and it's brilliant.

The doggy can go out and do their business on it, and it doesn't kill your grass. It goes through. It filters through. It's fantastic. So you have this beautiful lawn all the time, and it's healthy for the dog. It's brilliant. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.

Absolutely. Because, you know, dogs can do a real number on your backyard. Well, yeah. Well, yeah. We're aware of that. Thank you. Thank you for the video. Dave's going to get specific for a second.

No, not at all. But it's fascinating technology. Too late. You've already overshared. So when you guys put your 70 team members through pre-pandemic, what kind of insight does that give you how important it is post-pandemic for folks to have their employees go through and learn how to get out of debt and budget and kind of just be ready for life, because your guys weren't not as freaked out about the possibility of layoffs.

They had to be, and they'd had Ken Coleman speak to them. So, I mean, they were completely prepared and ready, right? Yes, absolutely. They definitely helped you, like you were mentioning, the financial stress and certainly frustration, looking for answers, you know, just worrying about money. Definitely they were able to put their feet to the ground and just go at it. So the worrying, the not knowing definitely was not there for our team. Yeah. Okay.

So when you launch this thing and you say, okay, we got a Dave Ramsey financial class for smart dollar for the team, did they like go, oh, gross? Or were they like engaged or excited or how hard was it to get them to do it? Well, at first I will tell you, you know, I think anything with financial when you're talking about financials, sometimes it's hard for people to, you know, open up, including myself, you know, and just be vulnerable, willing to talk about your finances, to just get real about it. So at first, I think, you know, just getting going, people were a little bit, you know, they wanted to be able to join in. But I think sometimes it takes the power of

a team and other people joining in and cheering them on, you know, makes it more of something everybody wants to be a part of because we all have the same challenges and the same, you know, outlook on things and want to have a financial path for our families to, that gives us freedom. So I think that that now that they've all quickly left now that they've all been through it, what are they saying? Oh, my goodness. They absolutely love it. We have I mean, if you want to hear directly from team members, I have some quotes from them. But we everyone I think that has been a part of it and has chosen to join it has been a great impact in

their own personal lives, whether it be, you know, in saving, paying off debt, you know, paying off houses, to just even setting up their budgets for the very first time. Yeah. So I want to ask, because that's an amazing list of personal testimonies, but how have you seen it lift professional performance in the culture and in the workplace? Great question. I definitely think that the weight that many feel of, you know, I think a lot of times we ask ourselves when we're in that stress or that situation where we don't know about

our money and we don't know, you know, where it's going or where we're going to be, we start asking questions like, should I look for another job? Even though I've heard that from people and they absolutely love, you know, they love being here, but still like, should I go look for a job that has, you know, that offers more money? And when we really take a look at it and everybody gets personal about it, you realize it's not about making more money. It's about, your money where to go, the money that you do have, and then you can do whatever you want to do as long as you have that mindset. That's huge. That's great retention strategy, Dave.

Oh, yeah. It's everything. It's everything. So we've got all this detailed, in-depth research that shows that when a company like yours spends money to invest money to teach their team, that the net result is that they get a return on investment, meaning they get that money back and more in saved retention, in lowered stress, increased productivity, and so forth. Have you guys actually, I mean, research is one thing,

but now I'm actually talking to somebody that did it. Are you, you know, and you're running the place are you looking at your team going as a business person this investment paid off oh yes absolutely i think from multiple people and even for myself uh we definitely look at it as um you know we've been given given this amazing tool and this opportunity. And so you want to, you know that the owners who invest in this, they don't, it's not just about the everyday business. They truly care and are intentional about wanting the best for you, you personally, and your family and your life. So it goes beyond the workplace. You know, they truly value, you know, everything outside of just these walls here at Forever Lawn. So I think that speaks volumes to people because they know that it's not just about being here at a paycheck,

that they know they're taken care of and that they're valued. Very cool. Well, Heidi, thank you for taking your time with us. We appreciate you taking a minute out of your day and talking about this very good stuff. And thanks again for having Ken over, for sending him pet grass, and for teaching smart dollar to your whole team. Thank you. God bless you. Thank you. You too. All right. That's Heidi from Forever Lawn. You know, we've got high school curriculum that's in 48 of the high schools a lot of people don't even know that we've got this huge corporate initiative that is a large section of our business but it's since it's business to business the public a lot of times doesn't know it's there so you hr directors out there uh you decision makers inside of businesses

if your team is out of debt and on a budget, they're not taking calls from MasterCard during the day, learning who the master of their life is. Guess what? They're focusing on work. It's a neat thing. Productivity goes up. Stress goes down. Wow. Heidi said they don't look for other jobs.

They stay with you. That's a great leadership strategy if you're a small business owner. Ding, ding. This is The Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the Debt Free Stage, Kevin and Katie are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? Great. How are you doing? Welcome.

Where do you guys live? Clinton Township, Michigan. Okay. And that's near? It's about 20 miles north of Clinton Township, Michigan. Okay. And that's near? It's about 20 miles north of Detroit. Oh, okay. Cool. Well, welcome to Nashville.

Good to have you guys. Thank you. Fun. And all the way down here to do a debt-free scream. How much have you paid off? $90,000. All right. How long did this take?

15 months. Good for you. And your range of income during that time? We started at $215,000. Then I took a pay cut. It dropped down to, during the pandemic, it dropped down to $195,000. And then afterwards, I went back up to $225,000. Excellent. What do you guys do for a living? I am a CPA in industry. And I'm a teacher. All right. What do you teach? Second grade. All right. Fun. Good for you guys. What kind of debt was the $90,000? It was a little bit of everything.

We had student loans, car loans. We had a camper loan. We had a 401k loan, credit cards. You were normal. Yeah, we were normal. And normal sucks. So what happened? I mean, how long have y'all been married?

25 years. Okay. So you're going along and you're just living the American nightmare and paying everybody money and working and no money to show for it. What woke you up? So, you know, we've been in debt our entire life. Yeah. And we, what would you say? I kind of froze here.

Well, he came across your book and was telling me about it. And to be honest, I didn't see a problem and I wanted nothing to do with it. We were normal. Everybody's in debt is what I thought. Everybody is. You're right. And so probably, I don't know, let's say three years ago, he said, hey, you know, Dave has a daughter, Rachel. You should probably listen to her.

Check it out. Yeah. I told her I was watching your shows, trying to figure out a way to get out of debt, to not be normal. And I brought you up to her, and she wasn't interested at all. But Rachel got through it. Yeah, Rachel. I started watching her podcasts, following her on social media. One day I was going through filing, you know, shredding things, and I saw our credit card statements.

When they came in the mail, I just passed them off to him. I never opened them. And when I saw the numbers and I saw the receipts, I knew there was a problem. And so we started our budget, which to be honest, I hated that the first few months I fought him. And because I felt like the budget was telling me I couldn't spend anymore. I didn't see it as giving me permission to spend. It was telling me I couldn't spend anymore. I didn't see it as giving me permission to spend. It was telling me I couldn't. And then the pandemic hit, and we went through Financial Peace University online.

Whoa. And that was eye-opening. That is what changed me right then and there. Oh, wow. It all made sense. And a week later, I went to my husband and handed him my credit card. And the look on his face was shock. Shock and love. Yeah.

Love. I'm in love with this woman. And then she asked me if I wanted to do a budget, too. Oh, my God. How sexy is that? As a CPA, budgets are my friend, right? That's so funny. I just couldn't get through to her you know how that to

share the budget to do the budget together i was always doing everything myself yeah okay you know as as the super nerd so katie it sounds like i don't want to read into this too much you tell me if i'm wrong but it sounds like uh the fact that you didn't have full knowledge of how bad it was was part of your uh i guess the reason a valid reason that you weren't worried about it exactly you know he took all the care of all our finances when we got married i turned over all finances if he had sat down and said hey i need help and laid it all out in front of you you would have gone oh my god yeah which is actually the net of what happened right yes yeah you know once you saw that oh my gosh he's carrying this,

and I can't do it, but, yeah, we've got to do this. That's so fun. Cool. And we went through some tough times, too. Katie was diagnosed with breast cancer, was it 10 years ago? 13. 13 years. She's in remission now.

So, I mean, we got through a lot of tough things, and this is just one more tough thing that we finally did. Yeah. Yeah, well, this is nothing compared to that, but at least you knocked it out in 15 months, $90,000 worth. How's that feel? No payments. It's awesome. Wonderful.

It's been my dream for probably 15, 20 years, you know. So I got to ask, so you come to him with the credit card and the budget request and he's stunned he's fired up right as he just shared what was the gazelle first gazelle move or were there a couple of big moves how'd you guys just really dive into it what that look like um i think the still the first few months it was kind of slow sure um and then um it was in the the summer of last year that's when gazelle, I didn't see the progress. And I was getting really, really frustrated. And I was wondering why was it taking so long to get out of debt. And so I think that's when I wanted to kick it into Gazelle intensity.

And we just looked at that budget again and looked at what other areas can we cut? What else can we do? One of the biggest things actually that happened, which you think is a bad thing, is my daughter was driving a car and it got totaled. Well, it was in the middle of a pandemic. I didn't have to go to work. We didn't buy another car, so we took that insurance money and paid off a big chunk. There's a big one.

Okay. But now your daughter's carless. Yeah. Well, we have bought a used car. Good, good, good. Big cash. She would have bought a used car. Good, good, good. Big cash. She would not be a happy camper. Yeah, that's good.

All right. So what do you tell people now that you both have done this and you're the other side of it, all the weaving and bobbing to get to it, but then when it was game on, what did you do to pay off $90,000 in 15 months? What's the keys? For me, it was the budget and the EveryDollar app and being involved in the process and the communication with my husband. Especially the EveryDollar app because she could see where we were at and see all the details. Very cool. see where we were at and see all the details very cool but patience is a huge key also because

you know i i could see where we were going when we'd be paid off but just waiting and waiting was probably the hardest there's a grind to go with the hustle yes yeah it goes they go together so when you're in financial peace university how far down into the class were you before you were completely like okay game on i was before we started yeah that's true that's true uh i want to say after the second class okay yeah all right um and then um i don't know what class number it is but when you talk about um investment because at that point i was clueless about that and after watching that episode um i was like this makes sense and i know where we want to go and i know where i want my money wow so very cool well that's inspiring thank you

i'm getting ready to write some of that stuff again and we're going to do another uh we constantly are adding to financial peace university and updating it as well and reshooting some of those lessons and i've got some reshoots this summer. So that inspires me to work on that. Thank you. God bless. This is very cool, you guys. And you brought the kiddos with you. What are their names and ages?

So we have Elizabeth. 23. 23. And Charlie, he's 17. We have another one at home, but he couldn't come because he's actually working. And the third. And then we have Zach here, who is Elizabeth's boyfriend. Oh, okay.

Welcome, you guys. Good to have you guys. We got a copy of the Legacy Journey, because that's the next chapter in your story, to leave a legacy, change a legacy. It's what you've done. And a copy of the Total Money Makeover, so you can pay it forward and give that to someone to start their journey. Because once people start hearing just a little bit of your story, they're going to want to know more and how to do this very well. Proud of you guys.

You're heroes. Good job. Very, very nice. All right. It's Kevin and Katie. Beth, Ben, Charlie, and Zach. Okay. Sorry about that.

And $90,000 paid off in 15 months, making $215,000 to $225,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt-free! Yeah! Woo-hoo-hoo! Game on, baby.

This is how you do it. Financial Peace University. Almost 10 million people have been through that class now. It's part of Ramsey Plus. Be sure you check it out. You can get a free trial on it. This is The Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today as we talk about your life, your money, your career, your job, your income. The phone number is 888-825-5225.

Matt's in Seattle. Hey, Matt, how are you? I'm doing good. How are you doing? Better than I deserve. What's up? So I have a question about the long-term care insurance question that's coming up in Washington. Basically, there's a new tax coming in place next year, 0.58% of every $100 with no income maximum is going to be collected. So my wife is 37, I'm 34. We can opt out if we purchase a private plan, but we feel like that's also quite premature.

So I just wanted you to help me determine what direction we should go. Opt out, one-time option, or just suck it up and pay the tax? Matt, I'm a little bit behind the curve here. I'm not aware that that has actually passed. It's passed. It starts in January 2022, and

all the employers here have sent out letters about the one-time opt-out option. Federal or Washington? This is Washington state only. Oh, okay. All right, because I'm thinking, how did I miss that on the federal level? Okay. No, I'm not aware of that.

Okay, so they have passed a law. Oh, my God, what is wrong with your state? We're taxing you if you don't buy long-term care insurance. Well, essentially, if you pay into this program for 10 years, you qualify for $36,000 of long-term care coverage, which is fairly a drop in the bucket. And for us being so young, we're wondering if we paid private insurance, if those premiums would be so low that it would be just better that we have that, which is guaranteed and it's portable. So if we leave the state, we can pay the tax. So you either pay the tax and buy the plan, or you have to have a private plan, one of the two. Correct.

You're automatically enrolled in this bad plan if you don't buy a private plan. Correct. And you can only opt out one time before this starts in January. So this is like a one-time option for us to consider. Otherwise, we have to pay it. Freaking communist. Yeah. Wow. it freaking communist yeah um wow um if i just a little more information might be helpful right so um our gross income is about 220 000 for our household so we'd probably be paying about you know 12 to500 for this program.

I'm not sure what we would have to pay, given our ages, for a private plan for those premiums. But at least if we did a private plan, we could take it with us anywhere. Yeah, yeah. And it'll be much better quality, because I'm sure the state-provided service is not going to be to the level of the private-provided service. It never is. Just think DMV. So this is the problem with socialism. I got two things running through my head.

One is there's a math problem, and two, there's a philosophy problem that I have, if I'm in your shoes. And that's how I have to answer the questions if I woke up in your shoes okay so i'm opting out just because i'm pissed off right and then i got to figure out how dumb that was mathematically and it wasn't dumb really uh it's probably going to turn out to be good for you overall um because there's some probability, maybe low, that you leave that state someday, and then you've paid into this stupid thing. Man, that's just, I'm surprised there's not a court challenge on that. Oh, yeah. I guarantee you there's lobbies involved with this.

Not a lot of people by surprise. Oh, yeah. This is all behind-the-scenes dealing. I can tell you that right now. Smoke in back rooms. All right. Yeah. So, anyway, all of my whining aside, I'm opting out and I'm going to take the private plan

unless you can see that it is dramatically like tens of thousands of dollars different. And I don't think it is. I think it's hundreds of dollars. You make $200,000 a year. You want private care, number one. Number two, you want portable care. And number three, there's some probability you don't live there someday, and you haven't paid into this plan that you would never use,

which is the irony of the whole thing. So it's what it's based on. So, yeah, I'm libertarian enough economically speaking that I'm going to run from any government interference and government control over my life that I can legally. Were you shocked by how low the – it was $36,000. He said drop in the bucket. That seems like you're forced into it,

and then you have a $36,000 limit towards your long-term care. In coverage, which is nothing. That's what I'm saying. It doesn't go very far. It just doesn't make any sense. Covers one year even. Shocking. I'm opting out i'm opting out because i'm philosophically against it and because i think you'll work out better long-term mathematically or close enough uh but you you're gonna have to dig into the numbers i'm not sure

of that because you caught me a little bit flat-footed i don't know the details but with what you told me it sounds like it's not that much different a little bit more expensive on the private side but given that your income is so high uh that's what's that's where they're really tagging you this is a soak the rich moment again wow yeah come on washington unbelievable yeah this is the problem uh when the nanny state comes in, you get bad products created by high taxes. Yeah, because you need more money. The government needs more to pay for all these things they're doing for people. This is nothing more than a disguise tax.

That's all it is. Wow. With the promise of a benefit that's not even a benefit. Gross, gross, gross, gross. And such a pretty state, too. Yeah. Yeah. So we'll have to call our friend that lives there in Seattle

and give him a hard time. As soon as I get off the air, I'll be ragging on him. Absolutely. Let's blame it on him. I rag on him all the time anyway, but this is yet one more reason to just beat him to snot. That's just, oh, man. That's so sad.

It's just so sad. But what you're seeing is, all right, open phones at 888-825-5225. I'm not going down the rabbit hole. I'm going to resist the urge. Tina's in Birmingham. Hey, Tina, how are you? I'm good. How are you, Dave?

Better than I deserve. What's up? Okay, so my husband recently got a job in arizona um he's there now and i'm here in alabama close enough on our house we have to sell it first so we have to somehow do in arizona so we're trying to see should we rent or should we buy. Are you out of debt? The only thing we have is a car loan, and it's $8,000. That's what we owe on it. How much are you getting out of your house when it sells? So we'll probably get about $60,000 out of it.

Good. Pay off the car. Then that leaves you the rest for a down payment minus an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. So there is nothing wrong, especially in a market like we're in, a white-hot real estate market. What part of Arizona? Tucson. Okay, white-hot. No pun intended. It is very hot, literally, but also the economy is.

Beautiful area, though. So there's nothing wrong with renting for six months or a year. Learn the town. And you'll make a better choice. It's hard to come into a city cold and buy a house and know where the invisible lines are. I mean, you're trusting a real estate agent. You got to do a lot of research. You got to learn.

But every town has invisible lines, meaning across the tracks. When you cross that road, the same square footage house drops down, you know, and it's just location, location, location is how real estate prices are established. And sometimes it's a little bit random as to how that occurs. And so learning the market, spending a year researching and learning the market will cause you to make better decisions so i like the idea of renting you know ken um i bought a couple of properties this year and in both in about several properties this year but um in every case except one uh which was an adjacent property so i I already knew the property. But I have worn myself out looking at options because I learned the entire market. I want to learn everything about it. I want to learn the per square foot.

I want to learn all the nuances of the micro market that it's sitting in. Now, I enjoy it because I love real estate. But when anytime you're making a decision, taking a job, buying a house, options equal power. That's absolutely right. What you're doing there is you're getting really, really clear. And what you just described gives you tremendous confidence because you're very clear on what the best choice is and the best purchase. It's always better to go clarity, clarity, clarity. Yep.

Gives you power and you make wiser choices. James Childs is in the booth. And who's filling in for Kelly? Madison Browder. Madison is in there. Hey, Madison. This is The Ramsey Show. Hey, guys, this is James, senior producer for The Ramsey Show.

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