The Ramsey Show - App - I’m Upside Down on My Car (Hour 2)

Episode Date: October 21, 2022

Dr. John Delony & George Kamel discuss: Should I buy a newer vehicle? Being upside down on a vehicle, Including bonds in a portfolio, Buying a home when planning on moving in the near future, Switching to a job that pays less, Renting a house vs. selling it. Have a question for the show? Call 888-825-5225 Weekdays from 2-5pm ET Want a plan for your money? Find out where to start: https://bit.ly/3nInETX Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6 Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Pods Moving and Storage Studio, it's the Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life, your work, your relationships, your money, your marriage, everything. I'm John Deloney, joined here by my best friend, George Camel, and we are taking your calls. 888-825-5225. It's 888-825-5225. The call is free, and that's about the value of the advice we're giving out. It's priceless, John. Priceless. That's what it is, yeah. I love it. All right,

let's go to Glenn in Macon, Georgia. What's up, Glenn? Hey, what's going on, guys? First time caller here. All right. We sound like first-time radio hosts. So what's up? So I have a question. So I discovered the Baby Steps literally a week ago, and I'm all hands in, my wife as well. Welcome to the gang, man.

Welcome to the gang. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Um, so I have a, a situation that I want to advise on. So, uh, first and foremost, a little background myself, I'm active duty military. Um, and I'm going to be leaving in, in a couple, in about six months to go overseas and tour for a year, being away from my, from my family. I have about $45,000 in debt right now, the biggest one being our car loan. Now, the issue with that is that when I first, I was originally stationed in England for a number of years, and I came back stateside. When I came back, my credit was terrible, and we ended up getting this car.

It was, at the end of the day, a bad deal. But we had the car for a number of years, and then all of a sudden, the engine goes out. And when we took it back to the dealership, and they basically put us in a new car, we carried over the negative equity on the car. So now, I'm basically, I started off the loan, starting off paying $37,000 on a car that's valued pretty much at $21,000, even brand new. And I want to know what should I do with that car. Should I sell it? Should I try and go for something cheaper?

Should I keep going with it since it is such a reliable car? And again, I'm not going to be here, and my wife is going to be the main one using it. Does she have another car to get around? No. Okay, so if you sell this thing, if you were to go take out a loan for the difference, sell this thing and clear everything, you're going to have that loan note of the gap,

plus you'd have to go get another car too? Exactly. Do you have any cash? I don't. Like I said, we are in step one, and, you know, yeah, we were in heavy, heavy debt. What kind of car is this? Tell me it's incredible. It's not incredible.

I mean, it's a good car. It's a 2021 Kia Forte. Okay. We got it back at the end of 2019. Again, it's very, very reliable. We have no issues with it. My wife loves it, but if we need to make the tough decision to sell it or give it back or whatever to go into a cheaper car, we will. That's right. So what's the loan amount currently?

Right now, I have about $30,000 to pay on it. Okay. And you're saying it's worth $21,000? Yeah, according to Kelly Blue Book. Okay. I'm going to it's worth $21,000? Okay. I'm going to do some homework on that and go check every single car website, Carvana, Vroom, whatever they are, dealerships, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and see if you can get closer to $34,000 so that there's less of a gap. And when did you say you're getting deployed? January. January. Okay, so we have from now until then to save up as much cash as possible,

work as hard as possible, get side jobs. What is your household income? So I'm renting right now. Right now my apartment, I rent at $10.85. But this month, at the end of this month, our lease is up, and they've already hit us with our rent is about to go up due to how the market's doing. So we're going from $10.85 to about $1,500. What's your take-home?

What's your salary, you and your wife combined? So I'm the only one working right now. My wife is a student due to the fact that she's European. So a lot of the places, because she still went through the USCIS process, a lot of the places aren't going to, yeah. Like they'll hire her, but at the same time, because we can't update her

or renew her visa or anything until the month of her expiration, you know, they see her as unreliable. Can I just say, dude, I i'm so sorry they have to go through that i've i worked with students so much extraordinary brilliant wonderful students also trying to earn money to eat with while they were being students here and it's such a maddening insane process and. And then you top it off, you've got somebody who's dedicated his life to serving our class. Just, dude, on behalf of you, know that I know that's wrong, too, okay?

And it makes me mad, too. That's not going to help you do anything, but Kelly, it's ridiculous, man. So frustrating. Could she get a job on campus? That's been the only way around it that I've seen. So with her, she's the real trooper in the family because she's from Spain, and she had already done all her heights. She was already in college in Spain when we met. When she came over here to the States with me after, you know, we got married and had our daughter, uh, her college credits wouldn't transfer over here. And the process

to even transfer them, it's like the amount of money that we have to pay is enormous. Hey, hold on, hold on. I want you to check with a couple of schools on that. Are y'all too far down the road? Yeah. Like I said, so my wife ended up starting from square one and earning, again, her American high school degree here. And she's about to be done with everything. Never enter school over here because, again, the military at least pays for all that. Okay.

But, yeah, she started from square one. High school all over again in languages she's not used to. And she speaks five languages. So it's just like, wow, all this wasted potential for so long just because she didn't have the correct credits. Yep. Okay, Glenn, what's the other 15 in debt? You said you have 30 on the car loan. What else? Yep. One loan that I'm almost done paying off of an extra year loan and the rest is in credit cards. Okay. And you didn't tell me your income. What is that? What's your take home pay every month? Uh, about 4,000. Okay. Can you see if there's other apartments that will rent to you for closer to what you were paying? I could try, but again, it's going to like, you know, with me moving so

soon, I'm not even sure if it's going to, like, you know, with me moving so soon, I'm not even sure if it's going to be worth it at the moment. Where's she going to live? She's going to stay here in the same apartment that I'm at because, you know, as soon as I'm done with this tour, this one-year tour, we're going to be moving to someplace completely different. Where the military is going to be sending me, I have no idea yet. Can she roll into base?

I know it's not ideal, but it could save you a whole bunch of money while you're gone. And it'd give her some community, too. Yeah, we can. That is an idea. The only thing that we're afraid of is taking our daughter out of a school system that she's really thriving in. Yeah, that's fair. And if there's not, I mean, I get that. Man, I'd love to see y'all knock this debt out, though.

Yeah, I know. Right now, even for the next six months, I'm looking to pick it'all knock this debt out, though. Yeah, I know. Right now, even for the next six months, I'm looking to pick it up, like I've heard you guys say, on some of the other shows, you know, pick up a secondary job, some delivering pizzas. You might need three, man, but I'm selling this car. You're going to have to go to your local credit union, take a loan out for the difference, but try to make that gap as short as possible. Stack up as much cash as you can. Get her a car.

Clean this mess up before you head out. That's the best thing to do for your family. Thank you so, so much for your service. And America, we've got to get this stuff figured out. Gotta be able to help these folks get back. We'll be right back. សូវាប់ពីបានប់ពីបានប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពី this is the ramsey show i'm george, host of the Fine Print and Entree Leadership Podcast, joined today by Dr. John Deloney, host of The Dr. John Deloney Show. You can find all of those shows on The Ramsey Network, YouTube, podcast, you name it. We are there for you. It's a free call today, 888-825-5225. Graham joins us up next in Grand Rapids. Graham, welcome to the show. Hi, thanks for taking my call.

Happy to take it. What's going on? So I was looking at Randy's Solutions website in regarding to investing, and I saw that Randy's Solutions advocates for mutual funds and is very against bonds as an asset to use. And I was curious if you could flesh out why that is. I read some articles on the website, but I didn't find them fully satisfactory. What's not satisfactory? I'd love to hear your take. So it really came down to the lack of return of investment rate of return and i know it's the most important metric with an investment but it's not the only metric and i it felt a little one-dimensional in its analysis meaning in your analysis being there's the other side which is

the perception that bonds are somehow a uh it's – it's like when you buy drywall that's fireproof. Like this will stop the fire. And it's like – so it's your protection, right? It's not so much protection. It's that bonds are serving a slightly different function than, say, a mutual fund or an index fund. So why are you – clearly you're a fan of bonds. So tell us what your reasoning is for wanting to invest in them. Well, I'm a fan of bonds only to the extent that it seems to be a good idea to include

them in a portfolio, but I'm not advocating for an all bonds portfolio. Sure. I mean, we're very counter-cultural. We're weird in a whole lot of ways. Bonds excluded. But financial advisors, what they do is over time, as you get older, they want to put you in more bonds to create safety, which guess what? Creates safety for their jobs because you're not knocking down their door when you're going, well, I lost money and I'm about to be in retirement age. And so that's a very countercultural thing where we go, no, keep investing, diversify your portfolio, four types of mutual funds, growth, aggressive growth, growth and income, international, and you're going to be better off in the long term.

So here's what I'll tell you. I'll answer the personal question, let George kind of walk you through it. I have no bonds in my personal portfolio. None. Zero. Okay. So that's how I'm choosing to do with me and my family. And so this isn't like a, we got some company statement that we're making. This is how I choose. Because the idea that it's somehow a protection or somehow a hedge against a riskier investment simply isn't, it's not mathematically accurate, right? It's a debt product. Right.

But I don't, I guess I see it as more of a fixed income and that's what, that's what the image is. It's the fixed income. It's not some appreciation or that debt or that... I don't even see it. I think every asset is inherently risky, even treasury bonds, right? I think we could all agree on that. So I guess it's... I was just curious where that just made with the risk-reward, but I just wasn't sure how I felt about it. So I'll see what your guys' thoughts were.

Yeah. I mean, like we talked about, the returns you're going to get from bonds are not impressive. You're going to do better in the stock market than in the bond market, and they're going to barely outpace inflation. And we want you to beat the market so that you can build wealth. And so when it comes to fixed income, if I have $5 million because I had all of my money in the stock market and none in bonds, and you've got $3 million because you were heavier in bonds, well, I'm going to have a higher fixed income with my $5 million sitting there, even if it fluctuates a little bit with the stock market. But over time, we're going to see the stock market continue to grow.

The economy is going to continue to grow long-term over a long period of time, and that's how we look at investing. And by the way, if you buy a bunch of bonds when they're cheap and interest rates go up, you're going to be unable to move those bonds because the value has gone down it had all it's yes going back to your original thing this is the idea of a um it's like remember when the when the government gave put out the food pyramid years ago and come to find out there was mostly lawyers who made that determination of what should be on the food pyramid.

You're saying we shouldn't eat a ton of milk and sugar, John? I'm saying that milk and sugar shouldn't make up the bulk of your diet. All that says, but this is not a nutrition show, so now all the nutrition zealots are going to come at us. What I'm saying is there is a picture that's been sold to us that is this is the balanced portfolio and this is what this looks like. We could go into a whole bond segment i don't think that's worth the time what i'm saying is understand that bonds don't

provide like well you've got to have your dessert otherwise it's not a complete meal and i'll say is at the end of the day it's just it's not healthy let's move on yeah and there are some nerdy studies out there that i've looked at where it's comparing hey if you just stayed in the stock market with more aggressive investing strategies versus putting it in bonds, you're going to end up ahead in the long term. It's a theory that doesn't pan out in reality. Yes. And again, financial advisors want this because it's job security for them so that you're not angry when you lose some money in retirement. They want to make it safer for you as you go there. But then you've got no return in retirement, which means that money's going to run out a lot faster because your retirement, remember, you might live to 95 and retire at 60.

So you need that money to continue growing at the pace it was growing from 60 to 95 versus it running out at 70. So it's a great question, Graham. And if you're not satisfied with the website, I mean, we can agree to disagree. It's okay. We can still be friends. Thanks for the call, man. Angel joins us up next in irvine angel welcome to the show please don't sing john what's up guys how you doing good you hey thank you thank you for taking my call man of course right so so my question is this uh my wife and I were immigrants from Spain. We've been here for 20 years. You know, everything has been great.

We discovered you guys about six years ago. We started paying off all of our debts, and now we are on baby step number three. We believe we should be done with it by November this year. And so we have a lot of certainty in that we are going to spend our retirement back in Spain in maybe 25 years from now, 20 to 25 years from now. We're currently renting, so we don't have a house. We don't own property. And so my main question would be, will it make sense for us to make an investment on a house right now, or should we focus on, on our retirement? Well, I think you can do both. Do you have any money in retirement? So currently we have saved up about $40,000.

How old are you? I'm 44. My wife is 39. And our household income is about $175,000. Awesome. And so, well, that's really thanks to you guys. I mean, the method really works. John and I did nothing, man. You did this stuff. We didn't do anything, Angel. You did it. So here's what I'm seeing, Angel. I would absolutely invest in a home in the US. I mean,

you're not going to retire in Spain for 25 years. And so think about what rent's going to do in 25 years in California versus you investing 15% of your income in retirement after you get your fully funded emergency fund, then saving up for that house down payment as quickly as possible, and then locking in a fixed expense with a 15-year conventional mortgage and paying that thing off before you retire in Spain. And then think about what the appreciation on that home will be 25 years from now in California or wherever you live. And you go sell that home and go retire with a giant pile of cash and no payments for a long time. That sounds like a great plan.

It would make sense then. Okay. And for investment then, I should just follow the rules for mutual funds. Yeah. follow the rules for mutual funds. Once you get a paid-for home, you can ramp up that 15% and go harder on that and really start to ratchet it up if you guys want to retire earlier. But you're doing great. Stay on the path. And definitely, let's get the emergency fund beefed up, get the retirement beefed up, and

get you in a home long-term so that you're not trying to keep up with rent for 25 years. Way to go, man. More of your calls coming up on The Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. This is the Ramsey Show, 888-825-5225. I'm John Deloney, joined by my good friend George Campbell. Let's go out to Regina in San Antonio, Texas. What's up, Regina? Hey, how are you guys doing today? Good. How are you? Great. Huge fan of the show. Thank you so much for taking my call. You bet. We're a huge fan of yours. What's up? So I'm currently working for a retail company.

I've been working here for about four going on five years. They've been really good to me. They have 180 hours of PTO. They have insurance benefits. They have free therapy sessions for their employees. And I currently got an offer for another job. Now this retail job, it is not necessarily in my field. I've been doing customer service the entire time. And this new job is a marketing coordinator with a non-profit which is awesome however they have only 80 hours of pto but they do have like other good benefits they do six percent match and the 403b i think it is and they also have paid uh what do you call it holidays from christmas to new year's eve but it's a five thousand,000 decrease in my income. So I'm a

little torn just because I've been so loyal to this company that I'm with right now. And I'm currently working in corporate since November. So I was hoping to grow with the company, but it's a little slower than I've expected. But this nonprofit is giving me an opportunity to be in my field of marketing. And I recently just got my MBA, so I've been kind of struggling on trying to find a job in the field. Is this new position going to get you closer to what you see yourself doing three to five years from now? Yes, because of the experience that I'd be gaining.

I've set myself up, I guess, to live the current salary that I live. Um, but so here's what I'll tell you in my personal life on multiple occasions, I've taken a pay cut to go from a job, um, that I was either through with or was, um, doing great with to a, another job that I was going to do even better or that had a higher upside to it or I was going to learn some new skills. Multiple times. A hundred percent every time I've done that, it's paid itself off in the long run.

Both in my life, because my life was better, and financially. Just the math. It sounds like you are willing to trade being miserable um and not being frustrated at work for a lifestyle that you've set up that's a couple hundred dollars a month more than um like you see what i'm saying seems like a strange trade to me talk to me about that. I guess it's because with the current company I have,

they give us the free therapy sessions, and I utilize those just to stay on top of my mental health. You're at a job that you don't want to be at, and so then you... But they cover the therapy. I see what you're saying. Okay, take the benefits off the table for a second. Which job do you want? What lights you up when you think about doing that for eight hours a day?

I mean, honestly, it'd be really fun to be working with a non-profit as a marketing coordinator. That sounds like the dream and the next step. However, I don't know. I mean, I just I'm so used to being with this retailer company and that I've had the corporate opportunity. That's it. Making a decision because you're used to it is a retailer company and that I've had the corporate opportunity.

That's it. Making a decision because you're used to it is a terrible filter for making a decision. Yes, you are trying to make this about vacation. It's not. You're just scared, and that's okay. I was a dean of students at a billion-dollar college, and now I'm a YouTuber, dude. I get it. It was a scary jump, right?

Yeah. You know this whole thing, and then you move over here. It's a tough move. And it sounds like it's the right move. Regina, if you hate this marketing coordinator position, could you leave two years from now and go be a senior marketer somewhere else and make 10, 15, 20 grand more? Maybe. I'm just scared because I've applied to like 30 places and this nonprofit's the only one who's given me a chance. Well, do you have marketing experience right now? I have about a year or two under my belt, but it's nothing corporate level or, you know, it's for a university.

I mean, it's pretty big. I say if you're excited about it, you go for it. And if you can live on $400 less than you are now because you're following this plan, you're going to have a bigger upside on the back end. I started here as a marketing coordinator, you know, nine years ago, and there's growth. If you're crushing it, they're going to go, hey, we want to put you in this position, in this position. And if there's not growth, you can leave. That's right. It may not be the last job you ever have, and that's okay. I promise you it won't be the last job you ever have. Okay. I have one more rebuttal, and then you guys can fight me. Oh, I love rebuttal. Bring it back. Sorry. Sorry. So I've always had two jobs. Like I just finished

my MBA. I went to school full time. I had a full time job and I had a part time job. So I'm super used to being super busy. Now I only have this full time job, so I don't feel secure not having, I guess, a second job that I truly like. Well, do you have debt? I'm sorry? Do you have any debt? I do. I have my grad school and my credit cards, which I'm also, I'm following the baby steps. So, I mean, I'm doing that, you know, which is, I guess, the whole career. Regina, Regina, Regina. Not having a job.

Regina. Yes. Just a fellow Texan to another Texan. You and I are just having chips and queso, just hanging out, okay? Yeah. What are you running from? Security. Yeah.

Somewhere along the way, somebody told you that you're not enough, you're never going to have enough, that all the stuff comes crashing down on you, and your addiction is busy. Yeah. Probably addiction. It's a little bit,

your anxiety is about chaos. It's a little bit busy. And what you're doing is you're using busy, you're using achievement, you're using go, go, go, go, go, go, go as a Xanax, as a way to band-aid over just being present and still for a minute.

Because when you're present and still, you've got to look in the mirror. And for some reason, you don't like Regina that much. Or you think you'll like her more if she gets this degree from this place at this cost and then gets this job and makes this much money. And what I'll promise you is, the great tragedy of MBA programs is they don't tell you this one fundamental truth. No matter what job you get, no matter what salary you can negotiate for, you go with you everywhere. And the world is littered with people who were vice presidents and had fancy cars in 5,000 square foot houses and they imploded everything. And so a great move for you professionally and personally is to take a job that you love that is going to be, a job is going to teach you things at a much slower pace. And you can use this time to heal and get well and figure out what comes next.

Yeah. See what I'm saying? And I want you to start getting, I want you to start getting curious It's not like my therapist. Ta-da. I want you to start getting curious about your body, trying to protect you. Every time it starts to get that angsty feeling, that Saturday morning at 10 a.m. feeling, you know what I'm talking about,

that I should be doing, I should be doing, I should be doing? Yeah. Ask yourself quietly with a smile on your face, what's my body trying to protect me from? What about me? What about this moment isn't safe? And you need to answer those questions because when you make peace with those questions, you can work anywhere for any amount of money. And then when you can work anywhere for any amount of money, people really want to hire you. They come after you then. Yeah, that makes sense.

Does that make sense? Regina, I heard you say multiple times, well, I'm used to having the second job. I'm used to, I'm used to having the second job. I'm used to, that doesn't mean it's good. It doesn't mean it's normal. And so let's find a new normal. I just had one job where I felt so stressed out. Like I felt so, I felt like I was getting depressed. You felt lazy?

Yeah, you didn't feel stressed out. You felt worthless. You felt lazy. Yeah. And that's a lie. I want to get to the point where Regina can just sit with Regina and not feel like I'm not doing enough or I'm not being enough.

My friends that work with professional athletes tell me getting a professional athlete into the gym isn't the hard part. Teaching them the benefits and the power and the critical importance of rest. So I want you to look at rest as a skill. I want you to look at peace as a skill. I want you to look at peace as a skill. It's something you've got to practice because you don't know how to do it.

Yep, need to learn that. Right? So hey, we're going to practice it. We're not going to beat ourselves up about it. We're not a leadership failure. We don't have character issues. No. It's a skill. My guess is you and I could talk for a long time and you've been running hot since you were a little kid. And those same

things that kept you safe as a kid, kept you alive as a kid, are the things that are going to burn you out as an adult. So all that means is you've got to learn some new skills. And we say this, I say it all the time, and probably too much, but I'm going to keep saying it. You're worth being well. And you're worth peace.

And you're worth falling asleep at night without medication, and you're worth getting up in the morning and drinking coffee because you want to, not because you have to, and you're worth only working one job sometimes. You're worth peace. We'll be right back. ស្រូវានប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប� 888-825-5225. This is the Ramsey Show. Let's go out to John in Bakersfield, California. What's up, John?

Hi, how's it going? Excellent, brother. What's up? So just a little background. I've been with my girlfriend here for a while. We're both in our 30s. No debt, no kids. We both make good money.

I make about 90 a year. She makes about 130. So we each own we both make good money. I make about 98 years. She makes about one 30. Um, so we each own our own house right now. We'll probably get an engaged here very soon. And, uh, we've talked about when we do get married, we're going to move into her house. Um, I like her house a little better. She's been there longer than I have done everything to set it up. She thinks when I move in, she'd like to keep my house as a rental property. I could probably net about $800 to $1,000 a month on it, although with what I already have into the house and how the market is,

and I've lived in it for over two years, so as far as I understand, I wouldn't pay any capital gains tax. I could probably get about $200,000 just straight out of it. So just kind of wondering your opinion on which would be the smarter route. What's the house worth? My house I bought for 320 just over a little over two years ago. I have about 80 into it for my down payment and the principal I've paid down. And now it's selling, you know, just with other sales around it. And I've looked it up on Zillow for about 440, 450. Okay. And she's got a mortgage on her

place? Yeah. She's lived in her place for 10 years. She got it for a great deal back in the day. Hers has worked more than double what it is now. But my thinking is if I get that $200,000 out, I've driven my car for the last eight years, I'm going to need a new one. I could buy that in cash. I could pay off the car she just got in cash and even pay off our mortgage in her house and we'd be living free. Yeah. I like John's plan more because number one, you won't have two mortgages to keep up with and you're not starting off your marriage as a landlord trying to get your 800 bucks a month while you're probably spending 800 bucks a month to keep this thing afloat. Yes. Yeah. With all the other things I would build on. And plus, I haven't had a car payment for the last eight years. I don't want one. My car's on its last

legs. I'd love to just buy my car in cash, pay off the extra 15 that hers is in cash. And even if not paying off her mortgage, I figure whenever the market starts to slow down again or something, I could still have another hundred and something in the bank to go out and get another one or two properties in the future. Okay, hold on real quick. You said you don't want to go into debt. That's like getting married and being like, I don't want to cheat on you. Just don't.

Never do it. Okay? Just don't ever go into debt, right? I'm with George, man. Sell your rental property, pay your wife's house off. And she may be upset going, well, we could be making $9,000 a year off this thing. Yeah. And it could also be adding a whole lot of stress and it could cost you 10 grand a year. And so I think you having a real conversation, go on a date and say, Hey, I think this is going to set us up so well in the future. We can pay down the mortgage. We won't

have any debt. It's going to give us so much more options and I want to pay off our mortgage. And then one day we're going to do a rental that's ours together. And we're going to do it with cash. And quick math. What is your, uh, what do you pay in? Um, what's your mortgage every month?

Uh, just under 16. So if you don't have that mortgage anymore, is that like, uh, having some money in the house? You see what I'm saying? Oh yeah.

No, I mean, I could, I could obviously like for the way the rent. No, I mean, I could obviously, like, for the way the rentals are going around here, I could get somebody in it for around probably $25,000 or $26,000. They'd pay a month. Oh, I thought you said $800,000 to $1,000,000.

Yeah, I was saying the opposite there, but all I have to say is, yeah, sell your house. Sell it. Be debt-free, start your marriage. No, I meant $800,000 to $1,000,000, and then I could get that out of it every single month. Profit. Like, say, $16,000 to $1,000,000 as in I could get that out of it every single month. Profit. Yeah, profit every month. I don't think the extra $10,000,000 is going to change your life.

I think what will change your life is selling it, being completely debt-free, being able to throw some at her mortgage, and you guys have a head start on this amazing new marriage. Yeah, I'm 100% on that. I'm just more excited about that, just on an emotional level. Yes. On top of that. As two guys who are married and who don't own any credit card companies,

it's a pretty awesome way to deal with a marriage disagreement, not also being pressured by Bank of America. Let's go to Mike in Scranton. What's up, Mike? Hey, guys. How you doing? Nice to talk to you. You too.

What's up, man? Hey, I got a question. I almost went at the last call Hey, I got a question. Almost when that last call, I just mentioned about a vehicle. I'm just curious whether I should or could be able to buy another used vehicle. I'm driving a Hooptie, quote that Dave says, for the last seven years. It's a minivan. It's almost 20 years old, over 200,000 miles on it nickel and dime in me and you know my two kids are teenagers now so it's not cool anymore but it still runs you know but i take it to the you know garage like it seems like every other month to get something fixed and repaired and i just you know just got

out of the garage because my window was broken hold on so you're you're giving me a very emotional plea to a math problem. Okay. That's it. Okay. Can you afford the car? I'm glad you're on the phone, John, because I have trouble trying to separate my money. Well, you hate the car. I like to save money, but I'm afraid to give it up. You hate the car?

Good deal. Can you afford it? What's that? Like what I'm looking for? Yeah. Can you go buy another car? How much money do you have right now in savings? Well, I was looking to spend maybe at least $15,000 to buy another vehicle,

but in my area here, I'm trying to find something that's a little, for that price or less, with low mileage, like at least 100,000 to 130,000 miles. Yours has 200,000. 100,000 is low mileage to you. Yeah, man. Well, I know. That's why I'm trying to find something worth around 100,000 to 100,000 is low mileage to you. Yeah, man. Well, I know. That's why I'm trying to find something worth about 100,000 to 130,000 miles. You can find something for $15,000 that doesn't have 200,000 miles. Come on.

But hey, do you have the money? That's the question. Do you have 15K? I have the money, yes. I have the money. Hold on. Do you have a lot more money? I have money saved up, and that's another issue. But I also have a disabled son. So the reason we have a van was two wet kids, and then my son is in a wheelchair, so I can't just go buy a small car.

I need to have something that I can put, like a small SUV type of vehicle. Okay. I like to use an SUV. Let me press you a little bit. You've had to deal with some hard stuff, haven't you? Yes. And my wife also passed away, too, from cancer about six years ago. So I'm single dad, too.

So when I say you've done hard stuff, you have done hard stuff, right? Right. And you also know better than most of us that things can get really sideways real fast, right? True. Is your response, because mine is very similar, is your response to things get sideways very fast being really

tight with your money? Is that a coping strategy? Here's what I'm asking you. Can you go buy a $50,000 van that's relatively nice, relatively new, that would take care of your son's needs? And that is good. I wouldn't do that.

Not at all. You wouldn't? No, you wouldn't. I wouldn't. I mean, I have the cash and the savings, but I wouldn't want to do that because it's just too much money, you know, just based off of Dave's theory. So, you know, I'm- How much do you make a year?

Like around 65, 70. Okay. All right. That's fair. I would challenge you to, like, man, I just hear myself in you. I don't have a child with special needs, but I also have X number of dollars in the bank, and I still think, I bet I could get a car for $5,000. And at some point, it takes somebody walking alongside me

asking me, hey, what are you trying to prove? Is it a scarcity thing? Is it a fear thing? Because you got the money to get something nicer. That is going to be more of a blessing for you and your family than buying a $15,000 car and just holding your breath until you got to sell it.

And it just doesn't sound like you're in $15,000 car territory right now. Is that fair? That's fair, yeah. Okay, and you're talking to a guy that drives an 06 with almost 200,000 miles on it. So I'm not a new car guy. I got an 02 and an 04. There you go.

So this is old car guy to older car guy. I'm telling you, if you've got the money and you're not going to be doing something irresponsible, which I don't hear that at all, I want to challenge you to give yourself a little grace here. Okay? Well, that's another. Yeah, well, I have the money, but that's another phone call to Dave or you guys

to ask about what should I do with that money because right now I sold some property to get some of that money, and it's just in my savings account. So I'm like, I guess I have to wait until the tax season because I'm not sure if I'm going to get hit with the capital gains on that or not. I actually sold it for a little less than what I paid for it. So I'm not too sure, but I'd rather put that money somewhere into investments like you guys recommend, but right now I have it. Well, let's start with the short-term goal, which is get a better car. And if you can get a $20,000 car, that'll get you a 2015 instead of a 2012.

But, dude, you work hard. You've been busting it. It's time. You've been through a lot. And call one of our tax pros. Go to RamseySolutions.com and check out one of our SmartVestor pros and our tax professionals, and they will get you lined up with the information because what you need right now, brother, is some information so you can have some peace. This is The Ramsey Show. We'll be back

soon. Do you love a good day, Brandt? Want to see the latest Ramsey Show videos going viral? Check out your favorite moments from the Ramsey Show on YouTube. Go watch and subscribe to the Ramsey Show channel on YouTube.