The Ramsey Show - App - Investing in Company Stocks (Hour 2)

Episode Date: December 23, 2022

Rachel Cruze & Dr. John Delony discuss: Investing in company stock, The morality of selling cars with financing, What to do with a work bonus. 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

Девочка-пай Live at the headquarters of ramsey solutions this is the ramsey show we are broadcasting live from the headquarters and from pods moving and storage studios and this is where we hang out to have a conversation about your life and your money it's a free call anywhere in the country at 888-825-5225. I'm Ramsey Personality, Rachel Cruz, hosting this hour with Dr. John Deloney, best-selling author and Ramsey Personality. And we're taking your calls on life, relationships, money, career.

All of it. Anything and everything. So give us a call, 888-825-5225. Starting us off this hour, Sarah out of Tacoma, Washington. Hey, Sarah, welcome to the show. Hi. Hello, hello. How can we help?

So I have two things that I have going on in my marriage. Oh, you're lucky. I've got like 15 things going on in my marriage. Oh, you're lucky. I've got like 15 things going on in my marriage. You just got two. That's awesome. So one issue that I have is, I'm sorry, I'm trying to I noticed that my spouse has an issue with drinking. And my second issue is our finances. We have our finances separate.

And so I'm not sure what he's doing with his money, and he's not sure what I'm doing with my money. So I had suggested marriage counseling. My spouse doesn't want to do it. I had suggested counseling for him. He doesn't want to do it. So I'm like, what do I do next? I'm like, are you safe? Yes. Okay. Um, when you say he's got a problem with alcohol, what does that mean? Like every time I sit around, he's drinking. Okay. There's not a lot that can be done with finances.

There's not a lot of work that can be done on your marriage until he's sober. Mm-hmm. The person you left out of the, hey, maybe we should go to marriage council maybe you should go to marriage counseling with me maybe you should go to counseling the person you left out is the only person you can actually do something about and that's you yeah i mean i'm going to counseling for my own personal issues good for you but it's kind of yeah it's kind of tough when you have someone that's dealing with their own demons. It was like, you know, how am I supposed to, um, get healthy? How am I supposed to, um, you know, heal if I'm dealing with someone, um, I don't want to say

someone when I'm dealing with a hurting spouse, when they have their own issues. Absolutely. I mean, it's, this is a question millions of people ask or are forced to ask all the time. How do I get well in an unsafe environment? And what I would tell you is at some point, you've got to draw some boundary lines and say, whether that's I've got to take 30 days and go stay with a friend,

I've got to step right here for a minute and get my head clear and get my relationships clear and get my health clear, or I'm going to need to separate here for a minute and get my head clear and get my relationships clear and get my health clear. Or I'm going to need to step away for 30 days on a very intentionally planned separation here while you go get well. And if you're not interested in getting well, then I understand that you're not interested in us working on this. You see what I'm saying? There's a point when you have to draw some pretty firm boundaries when you are married to somebody who is struggling with addiction

because like you're noticing, it makes you financially insecure, which makes you at the end of the day, very unsafe. Yeah. Right? You don't know what he owes, what he's spending it on,

where it's going. If rent's going to get paid, if bills are going to get paid, if you're going to have food in the fridge, I mean mean it's a very unstable way of being yeah exactly and um and i tried to bring it up and i'm like hey listen listen listen you can't and i know that feels so powerless but you can't fix him you know why why? You're not the problem. Yeah. He's not doing this because of you.

And that's what makes this so hard is that you love him and you want to just snap your fingers and have it be okay. Yeah. How long have you guys been married, Sarah? Four years. Four years. How long has he been drinking?

He's two years and i think he's been battling with addiction and i don't think he's ever got the proper help yeah yeah well i don't i don't think he has either yeah um at the end of the day you can control your thoughts and your actions and how much you love him and then at some point you've got to draw boundaries that make sure you're safe and that you can have peace and those are very very complicated hard conversations i'm glad you have a relationship with a professional counselor and sarah and that's some i'm sorry go ahead no no no go go you're good yeah and that's something i'm talking about in counseling, how to draw boundaries and not be so passive. How to say, hey, if you continue to do this,

then I have to do this, that, and the third. That's right. So that's something I'm learning in counseling. And that's a new muscle to build, Sarah. So give yourself some grace in that. Yeah, you're practicing. This is a totally new thing. If this is a new way of looking at life and a new lens and even a new way to communicate and say out loud, that's scary, right?

Even if there's a level of intimidation, you don't want to hurt him. I mean, there's so much in that. And if you've been a peacekeeper your whole life, when you're growing up, if it was your job to make sure not to say the wrong thing because mom was going to fly off the handle and dad would get mad. Yeah. It's like I don't like conflict at all. That's right. I really don't.

That's right. Because it's like I don't like being in situations like that because I know I'll get super, super angry. And so that's something I'm learning. Also, too, is how to control my anger and get my point across. And if you've been told your whole life, how about you just shut up and you make sure that everybody else is okay first, that what you need and what you want and what you feel just gets compressed, like just gets pushed and pushed.

And eventually that stuff comes out in rage right comes out in rage and so here's the deal you are like we tell people on you are on baby step one when they're just trying to get that thousand bucks and they've been grinding at it for two months and they're trying you're on the right path it's just going to be hard and because you're doing something your body has never done before it's going to be tough but you got this sarah yeah and you deserve that right like there's to to have that peace um and not to go super tactical as we end uh this segment but you mentioned about the separate accounts and we come on the show day in and day out telling married couples join accounts join accounts join accounts except when there's issues if there's. If there's a divorce looming, if there's a

separation, if there's an addiction, we say that's a time to actually keep them separate. So hear me say that loud and clear that I would not combine accounts with him, with an addict, because it's not going to help the situation. You guys need to heal your marriage first. And then out of that comes combining your accounts and working together with your money. But the money is a totally side subject at this point. Healing and getting boundaries for you, Sarah, is the number one goal. So thank you so much for calling. I hope that helps. Thank you. So one of the fun new things

that I feel like we've launched in a long time, John. Well, we launched it. Well, we. I say we. I'm adding myself into the project. You're an owner of the company. We. We launched them,

and then they kept selling out and then selling out and then selling out. And so then people said, well, can you make new ones? Can you make different ones? And so here we are. Here we are.

Okay. With the questions for humans. Yes, it's the cards. Sorry, it's the conversation cards. So what's fun is that it's like you have a deck for parents and kids. You got...

Friends and workplace. Friends and workplace. And then what's this one? Oh, yeah. Yeah, so all these options. So anyways, they picked some out for us, but they did Girls' Night

for me and you, Jared. Well, let me do them then. I'll ask the Girls' Night question. No, I'm asking you. I'm not going Girls' Night. You're going to have to because we're doing it just a few. Girls' Night for me and you, Jordan. Well, let me do them then. I'll ask the Girls' Night question. No, I'm asking you. I'm not going Girls' Night. You're going to have to because we're doing it just a few. Girls' Night. Just a few, real quick.

Me and Rach. Me and Rach. Man, this could get- Dicey. This could get dicey. People may get offended. Let's get some cancer on. Let's do it.

You ready? You ready? What are three important skills every woman should know? Oh, gosh. How can I- I know. Karate. Coming from a coming from a guy karate like how to fight that's a good um how to uh change a tire okay um it's hard i don't know what do you think i don't know i have no you think? I don't know. I have no idea. Okay. Let me just think about my daughter, right?

Budget. You would. It's ridiculous. So I'm looking at Josephine. I want her to be strong and brilliant and compassionate. Yes. Right? So strength would be, can she fix stuff?

Can she get out of a situation that's dicey? Can she reach out and make a call? I want her to be compassionate and think about other people. And I want her to be brilliant, right? Yeah. It's like a, there's a problem solving wisdom aspect that I would want.

Yes. My girls to have. Yeah. Whether you're in whatever the situation's in. Um, what else is an ax throwing? That'd be a good, good skill.

Not really. Golly. I don't know. Cause you can go super domestic. Oh, figures, figures, figures. Not really. Golly. I don't know, because you could go super domestic. Cook. Oh, figures. Figures. Figures, Rachel. Every woman.

Yeah, I don't know. I mean. All right, move on to the next one. Okay, okay, okay. Celebrity crush growing up. And what about now? Oh, Jennifer Love Hewitt. Well, great throwback.

Yeah. Great throwback. Yeah. Freddie Prinze Jr. Really? Yeah. Yeah throwback. Yeah. Freddie Prinze Jr. Really? Yeah. Yeah. I'm not going to lie.

Winston's kind of a dead ringer. Kind of made that one come true. Oh, he does kind of look like Freddie Prinze Jr. Your husband has got Freddie Prinze Jr. vibes in a major way. I can see that. Okay, what about now? Oh, gosh. My wife probably is the only thing I can say.. Okay, what about now? Oh, gosh. My wife probably is the only thing I can say.

Who's my celebrity crush? Who's yours? Yeah. Do you know who I just love so much? But he's old, so I don't know what that says about me. A lot. Hugh Jackman. Oh, he's phenomenal.

I mean, the man can sing, can dance, attack people. Yeah. He's a great athlete. My wife went and saw him. And kind. People talk about him. man can sing, can dance, attack people. Yeah. I mean, like, oh, he does everything. He's a great athlete. My wife went and saw him. And kind. People talk about him. Lovely.

Yes. My wife went and saw him on Broadway. Broadway, no. She went to the show by herself, and she came back, and she's like, just so you know. And I was like, yeah, I'm totally fine. I'm totally fine.

I know how Darwinism works. I think Hugh Jackman is, yeah. I can see that. But he's so old, so, you know. Oh, he's not. He's 48. He is not 48, John. Okay, real quick, let's do one more.

It's fun, it's fun, it's fun. Oh, this is a great one. Know how to cook. Would you rather have a personal trainer, chef, or hairstylist? Chef, hands down. 1,000% chef all day long. All day. Yes.

What if you had a personal chef and they just cooked you meals? Then you wouldn't need that skill as a woman, you know? Oh, here. Because it's all done. No, a chef would be. Chef would, no question about it. Would be incredible. Amazing.

Okay. So good. Well, anyways, the cards, y'all, they really are fun. And the girls' night, these are funny. These are are funny especially when you have a friend like i do who's basically wants to bring women back to the 1400s is pretty cool rachel okay whatever call me call me 1950s but i love we have a garden right now and on sunday night i got tomatoes out of the garden i got basil out of the garden I mean I'm like living off the land made sauce made this pasta with parmesan cheese and all I mean this whole thing and I just felt like a bad day so there is something in me when I cook and I'm like and I made Wednesday I was like I'm gonna make your plate because I want you to like see how

beautiful and delicious that's not about cooking that's about I'll show you. I did this. You just feel great. Call me 1950s. That's not 1950s. That's very modern. I felt awesome. That's very much of a flex. Congratulations. You're welcome, everyone.

Rachel Cruz, living off the land. You're welcome. Living off the land. I am. Okay, up next, we got Madison out of Tampa. Hey, Madison. Welcome to the show. Hi, Rachel. Hi, Dr. John. How are y'all today?

We're doing great. Doing great. How can we help? Well, I am on my first big girl job outside of college and I just got my first bonus and I wanted to know what y'all think I should do with it. Nice. Congratulations, Madison. What do you do? I'm an accounts receivable. Okay, that's great. What kind of bonus are we talking? $1,100. Way to go!

Nice. So great. So financially, Madison, where are you at? Do you have debt? Do you have any savings? Kind of what's your financial picture? I have no debt. I was able to get scholarships to cover all of my schooling. Nice. Yeah. And then I have a $10,000 emergency fund and then about $4,000 that I'm putting towards a future car. Good for you. And does that $10,000 that'll probably cover you in that three to six months of expenses, that fully funded emergency fund? Yeah, about six months. Okay. Six months if I was frugal and keeping myself accountable. Sure, sure. How old are you? I'm 23.

Good for you, Madison. You're doing really well for a 23-year-old. I just want you to know that. You're killing it. Thank you. You're killing it. So for the next, for the upgrade in the car, you saved $4,000 for that. Will that be coming soon? Are you doing that just kind of as a precaution? Just a precaution. My family has a family curse where every eight years our cars go out and my car's at four years right now. So I'm just getting ahead of the curve. That's so great. It's a family curse. I love it. Well, I mean, Madison, at this point you're on, you're on baby steps four, five, and six. So really, there's three things you do with money. You can give it.

You can save it. You can spend it. So with this bonus, I mean, I would give some of it. You could put a little bit away for a car. You could enjoy some of it. Because honestly, I mean, $1,100, it's amazing. It's not going to completely change know change your whole financial future you know um in this moment so i would say to kind of just do both i would give some of it i'd put some more of it in that car fund if you

kind of want to give a little bit more cushion then i would enjoy some of it because you've worked hard for it or you can spend it on four gallons of gas that's about what it'll buy you yeah definitely here in Tampa. Exactly. For sure. Yeah. Does that help, Madison? Thank you so much. I think so. I'm looking forward to figuring out what fun thing I could do with it.

Yeah, I want you to spend a little bit. I'll say that. You've worked hard. Yeah. You have your head on straight. I'm not worried about you going off the ranch, Madison. Well, and this is one of those cool things where you do all this work so that when you get your first bonus the question is what do i do with this money not what do i have to what do i get to do this money versus what i have to do this yes totally different proposition love it love it love it love it that's awesome um so let me ask you a question when you think of a millionaire what kind of job do you picture having some kind of high-powered executive like a VP or CEO?

Well, here's the thing. Only 15% of millionaires actually have jobs like that. And the reality is that the top five careers for millionaires in America are engineer, accountant, teacher, manager, and attorney. It's just one of the surprising things my team found out when we conducted the largest study of millionaires ever done. Our study made it clear that if you want to become a millionaire, you've got to invest wisely. And a big part of that is getting good investing advice. You need to work with an investing pro who can walk with you and teach you about the options that are right for you. I use a SmartVestor Pro. Rachel uses a SmartVestor Pro. These aren't things we're just trying to sell. These are things that we actually do in

our own lives and trust with our family's resources. My team recommends trustworthy, vetted investing pros from all over the country. We call them SmartVestor Pros. To get in touch with a SmartVestor Pro in your area, go to ramsaysolutions.com slash SmartVestor and start building wealth today. That's ramsaysolutions.com slash smartvestor. ស្រូវនប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. Up next is Malne. Did I pronounce that right? Out of Seattle. Did I? Did I butcher it? Monay. Monay, I'm sorry. I apologize. They had it phonetically next to the name, so I was really trying. I was really trying. I apologize. How can we help? Well, I'm glad to talk to both of you.

My question is, in the context of a recent divorce, like how to set myself up financially for best security on my own. I'm on baby step three and I own my house. Well, I don't own my house. I have a mortgage, but I have a house. But yeah, just kind of looking at the long picture. I'm so sorry. When was it settled?

When was it finalized? In March? Yeah. Yeah, in March. What's your financial situation? I'm doing okay. I have a day job. I'm working two jobs right now. I have a day job, and that earns $50,000 a year,

and that's remote, location-dependent. I am starting private practice. That's just in the early phases, but that has the potential to grow to about 93 to 100 gross. And then I have 26,000 retirement. I owe 186,000 on my house. Can you afford the payments? I can, yes.

They're about 1 a thousand a month okay did you have to make a write him at your husband a check your ex-husband a check to buy out the equity of the house no that's one good thing about the divorce I think because of the situation yeah let me just say this. There's no good coming out of this. I can hear it on you. This is hard, huh? You still with us? It's really hard. Yeah, sorry.

No, don't apologize at all. The guy that, one of my great mentors working in mental health said this, after a major life change, after a breakup, a miscarriage, a divorce, a loss, don't make any major moves for six months to a year. And what you need right now, we talked about in another segment, is you need some time to grieve and to sit and be sad because you had plans, right? You had pictures in your mind.

Oh, yeah. I mean, we were going to hold hands at 90. Exactly, and so there's a season of grieving that loss of those pictures, and then the light slowly starts coming back on. Not that it's never, you're never going to not be sad when you think about your first marriage,

but, um, the light comes back on and the air is a little bit different and you keep plugging away at your jobs cause you got to stay busy and you got to eat and you got to pay rent, but enter into a season of there's not a lot next right now. There is simply just grieving, right?

Yeah. Is that fair? Oh simply just grieving, right? Yeah. Is that fair? Oh, that's very fair. Yeah, grieving and keeping myself functional at work. Yeah, that's right. That's right. And you're going to have to get a couple of people around you that can walk alongside you,

that you can text at 2 a.m. and they'll come over and they'll bring nachos and y'all can just sit and weep together or somebody who will get you off the couch and take you to go for a walk or go for a hike or do whatever you need to go to. Arcade, I don't know what y'all do, but a group of people who are going to walk alongside you. Stay on the line because I want to send you a copy of Own Your Past, Change Your Future. And that's really the crux of the book is regardless of how well we're put together, our lives at some point have bombs that go off in them. And then the question we have to ask ourselves is,

what's next? Like, what do we do next? And that's the whole book. And there's a whole section on grief. So hang on the line here, and Austin will get it sent to you. Yeah, and it's, you know, the positive thing just on a more tactical level

is with the financial situation, like you're in a really good spot. Yeah. You know, as good as you can be, right? Yeah. You have no payments. You have an emergency fund in place. You have a great paying job. And then another one that's going to even make you more. In a house that's really low payment on it. Yep. So, so in that, just, just hear me say that the resting that, that is a possibility just to like, like there's some people it's like, okay, we got to kind of keep this, we got to keep the ship afloat, even though there's grief and all this, but you have like secured everything. So you're good. You're good. If you did nothing financially for the next six months, you're going to be okay. So just breathe more in that loss of that marriage and what you thought was.

And like John said, get a good community around you. But financially, you really are. You're doing a fantastic job. And I would just keep kind of plugging away. But there's no rush on anything. Anything. Does it make sense to pile up cash here? Like just to put cash into a savings account or mutual fund and just sit there?

Yeah, you could. I would still be okay with funding, investing during that. Yeah. I mean, I think there's still some. If there was something you guys were working towards, but since she has a house, all the big stuff I feel like is pretty much covered. Yeah. But I would not make any major decisions, though.

I would not- Up and sell the house? Yeah, don't do that. Quit your job? Spit, take all your money and just blow it and spend it because of the grief. You really do. You want to stay the course in what you've been doing, but there's no need just to like sprint ahead on anything crazy. So I'm so sorry, but thank you. Thank you so much for the call. Next is Phil in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Hey, Phil, welcome to the

show. Hey, guys. So grateful to be with you. Thank you. Absolutely. Thanks for calling. How can we help? So my wife and I are trying to make a wise decision and we're kind of stuck. We're trying to figure out whether or not we should do 3B next or if we should jump into 4, 5, and 6. We recently paid off all our debt, thank God. We're projecting to have a fully funded emergency account by the end of December. Nice. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Yeah, a lot of hard work, but so glad we found your program. Very, very helpful. Thank you. So we're going to have another eight-month season where I'm going to be away from the home. My wife's going to be playing single mom. So we're approaching that season, a lot of emotions, and so we're moving is because I accepted a job in a new location. And so that equity will go into the purchase of a new house.

But we weren't sure if once the fully funded emergency fund is in place, if we should start piling up money for a down payment on the house via 3B, or if we should just be doing four, five and six to increase the equity in the current home for when we're prepared to make that move. Yeah, that's a great question. I would save up 3B. I would save up a good down payment during that time. Do you guys have, have you run any numbers, Phil, on when you guys move, when you plan on moving, roughly how much equity you'll have to put towards the new house? Yes. So in our primary residence, we'll have $190,000 equity once we close the sale. And then we also have a shore house, which we purchased before we found the program. But thankfully, that was part of the debt we paid off. And so there's $140,000 equity in that house. But if we don't have to sell it,

that's a great vacation home for our family. We prefer not to. Yeah, for sure. So the $190,000, you'll have an equity. What do you think the price of the new house will be when you guys move? Do you have a ballpark? We put a ceiling on it at $400,000 just because we're not comfortable taking out a mortgage of more than $200,000. Yeah. Okay. Then that's great. Then, I mean, I think kind of with actually with those numbers, you have a ton of equity to go in. So I, so I'm going to kind of rewind my, my answer, Phil, now after hearing all those numbers, then I would start plugging away at four or five and six, um, and be paying down the principal of your house. You'll have more equity.

And then when, yeah, when the time comes to sell, you'll be able to roll it right principal of your house. You'll have more equity. And then when the time comes to sell, you'll be able to roll it right into the new house. Awesome. Thank you so much. Appreciate the clarity. Yep, absolutely. I'm really grateful for you, ma'am. Thanks for calling. A lot of house discussions recently.

Still moving. It's a mess out there, man. The market is still a little all over the place. But man, you guys, it all goes back to math. Look at math and numbers. That's going to be your friend during all these decisions. This is The Ramsey Show. ស្រូវានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលានដែលា� Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. It's a free call anywhere in the country at 888-825-5225.

Find out for yourself why Blinds.com is the number one online retailer of custom window coverings. You get free samples, free shipping, and with the new promo codes that run every month, you'll save even more. Use promo code Ramsey to get the best deal. Today's question comes from Sabrina in New Jersey. Sabrina writes, I listen to Dave and agree with most of his views. Oh, this is going to be awesome. I love these.

Me too, Sabrina. Me too, Sabrina. Me too. I listen to Dave and agree with most of his views, but not on sharing bank accounts with your spouse. I like Steve Harvey's advice to share a bank account for the bills and then have one for yourself and one for the other spouse. I see couples fighting all the time about what the other spends money on.

My sister and her husband argue about the way she buys her coffee i'm engaged to be married and my fiance and i don't want the same things when it comes to finances how can we avoid that i think your sister's married to a jerk he gets mad about how she buys her coffee what does that even? Unless they are broke and she's ordering $9 double latte espresso thing, right? Oh, I guess that's fair. I literally had in my head that they're at the coffee shop

and she's ordering and he's like, why would you do that? Why would you put almond milk in? I like went to like the order, not specifically the price. So that's fair.

So here's the thing. To answer this question, I'm engaged to be married to my fiance and I don't want the same things. We don't want the same things when it comes to finances. How can we avoid that?

Don't get married. Really? Right? Or does they not want the same things like her sister has? No. She is engaged to be married and her and her fiance and I

don't want the same things when it comes to finance. Right. Either don't get married or have some hard conversations to get on the same page. Cause yeah, I'll let you Rachel. What do you think?

You're always telling people to share bank accounts. Yeah. Always. Because in my head, yeah, you see couples fighting all the time about the way the other spends their money. And to me,

that's not just a money issue. It's not a money issue at all. Like we go back to, I mean, it's a marriage thing. Like, are you guys on the same team? Are you working towards the same goals? Yeah, to your point, are y'all trying to get out of debt and one's spending money over here when they shouldn't be? Well, that's less about, again,

the dollars and cents in my head. And that's more about respecting each other and the plan that you're on and working as a team to get, like, that's a whole other conversation. It's coming out out that way and then my other thing too is when people avoid because i hear this a lot well people fight a lot about money so it's just not worth it it's it's easier to have separate accounts because if we had the same accounts then we would fight about money i'm like well then the fights that you would have are the fights you should be having. Those are the conversations

you gotta have. then you gotta have those conversations. You can't just avoid hard topics in marriage by putting a band-aid and having separate accounts. It just doesn't work.

And to Steve Harvey, I've heard, I've seen the clips of him and I'm like, in my head, having the same account where you each still have your own spending money.

Of course. There's a Rachel line item in our budget. There's a Winston line item. Even our kids, they each have their own line item because it just makes things easier. Like, where are we at with you guys and spending in the month? And so I still have the freedom. I'm like, I still have my idea. I'm still Rachel and I still am going to enjoy spending things on things that Winston could care less about. Winston spends money on stuff that I don't really care about. But I'm like, hey, we both agree this is the amount of money. So to me, regardless of whether it's in a separate checking account or not, to me that or the same, you still have the idea that

you still have money to spend individually. Right. And the idea that if you put it together, then you lose any of the things that you would ever want, any of your autonomy. It's nonsense. Yeah. It means you have to have a shared conversation about shared goals, right? Roommates have separate accounts. Couples who are together for the long haul, they talk through things, man. They work together. So if you're married, have one account.

And if conflict comes up because of it, good. Then you're going to work through it. So let's pull this apart for a second. Sabrina, when you say that you and your fiance don't want the same things when it comes to finances, as a guy who works with couples, this is a big red flag, not because of the money, but because somebody wants to have a lot of cars to work on in the driveway. Somebody wants a home. Somebody wants to retire someday. Somebody wants fill in the blank.

These are questions about how we're going to live our lives, what we're going to do together, and more importantly, what we value. And what finances is just the math part of the what do we value question. And so you all have to get in a room and say, do we want to value peace? And do we want to value laughing deeply and going on vacations and enjoying our lives? Or do we want to value peace? And do we want to value laughing deeply and going on vacations and enjoying our lives? Or do we want to value a suburban we can't afford and sending our kids to colleges that they've got to mortgage their souls for? Whatever the question, whatever values y'all come up with, that's the question. And your finances align after the values question. Absolutely. Up next is Andrew in Knoxvilleoxville tennessee hey andrew welcome

to the show hey guys thanks for taking my call absolutely how can we help uh i'm new at this and i'm just trying to figure out how to get out of debt and everything so uh it's great you called the right spot okay so so that so you're just trying to figure out. What's your situation? I'm $70,000 in debt. Okay. What kind of debt is it? That's my home.

Just your mortgage, okay. Yeah, just my mortgage. Do you have any consumer debt, car loans, credit cards, student loans? No, I have no other debts. Well, that's great, Andrew. How much money do you make a year? What's your take-home pay? Household, yeah.

My wife's household would be $72,000. Okay. A year, that's awesome. Do you guys have kids? Yes. How old are they? Five and six and three. Okay. That's great. And do you guys have any money saved?

Yes. I got $7,000 saved. Okay. That's great, Andrew. Well, what we teach here on the show is really this step-by-step plan on how to get in control of your money, get out of debt, have an emergency fund, all of that. And, Andrew, you're far down the line, which is awesome because… You're doing great. Yeah, the first step is a $1,000 emergency fund, so check. The second is pay off all consumer debt but your mortgage, check. The third is to get a fully funded emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. So you're getting there with that $7,000 emergency fund. How much,

and again, you don't have to answer right now, but I want you and your wife tonight to sit down and figure out, okay, with all of our expenses, how much do we need? And for you guys, you know, you have little kids, so I would lean closer to the six-month just for some security purposes of having that just extra cushion. And so figuring out, okay, how much more do we want to add to that $7,000?

You may be close to it depending on your expenses, but what do we have to live off of for six months to be okay if we had no income coming in and that's really your that's what your fully funded emergency fund and so you're going to put that aside just in a traditional savings account or a money market account and do not invest that money this is not an investment this money really is insurance that if something happens a pandemic hits someone loses their job your air conditioner goes goes out. Your air conditioner goes out. You have a medical emergency and you need cash.

Like all of that, it's your rainy day funds. And then from there, Andrew, you're going to start, after that's complete, you're going to do baby steps four, five, and six together. So you're going to start funding retirement. Do you guys have anything in retirement right now? Yes. Yeah, me and her both have retirement. Okay. That's awesome. So you want to be funding 15% of your income into retirement. And then the next step is looking at kids college. So for these,

this five, five-year-old, three-year-old looking to say, okay, how, what we need to start putting some money away for them to have money for school. And then that last, that baby step six is paying off the home early. So doing all those three steps together is really what you're looking at. So I would do a couple things, Andrew. Are you guys budgeting? Do you guys have a written budget? No, we don't have a written budget. We just do like every typical people do, just not go out to eat here and do that.

Yep, absolutely. Okay, so I want you to hold on the line, Andrew. Austin's going to pick up, and we're going to give you a year's subscription to Ramsey Plus, which is going to include our EveryDollar budgeting app, and Financial Peace University, which is going to be the full nine course lessons that you need to really get all of this in place. I know I can't answer it quickly on a phone call this short, but I want you guys to go through that, you and your wife together, and follow exactly what we say, and you guys are going to be doing great. You're doing great already, Andrew. Thanks for the call. Hey, it's John Deloney, co-host of The Ramsey Show. Did you know over 18 million-host of The Ramsey Show.

Did you know over 18 million people listen to The Ramsey Show every week? A lot of those people listen on one of our 600-plus radio stations across the country. To find a station near you, go to RamseySolutions.com slash show. Music