The Ramsey Show - App - Is Getting Out of Debt a Miserable Experience? (Hour 1)

Episode Date: January 24, 2019

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Dave 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, live with you today. That's right, I'm returned from sunny California to the frigid shores of Tennessee, as if there's shores around here. And still cold, though, I can tell you that. When I got off the plane, I was like, I want to go back. So anyway, we were in California at Irvine doing one of our smart money events as part of the Chris Hogan Everyday Millionaire Tour, a sold-out event, over 3,000 people, approaching 4,000 people, and a wonderful event.

It was rocking. The crowd was on fire. If you watched it on the live stream, it was absolutely fun. It was a blast. And Hogan's on his own. He is having so much fun out there on this book tour, meeting people and spreading the love about the fact that everyone can be an everyday millionaire. Yes, I just said that.

I said everyone can be. You might have to do stuff way different than you're doing it right now, but you can be if you made the right choices and choose to do the things that we discovered that these everyday millionaires do as we studied them in the largest study of millionaires ever done. So looking forward to having him on the air today. He's continuing with the book tour. It finishes up tomorrow in Seattle. Today they are in Sacramento.

And yesterday was San Jose and San Francisco area there. And good times. This thing is on fire. It's bubbling up and really, really going. And so thank you, Irvine and Los Angeles area, for that wonderful event we had there on Tuesday evening. We appreciate you. And it was absolutely fun stuff.

It was incredible. Coming up in just a few minutes, joining us will be Rachel Cruz. If you have a question for Rachel, good time for you to jump in on the phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Speaking of Sacramento, we'll talk to Tom there. Hey, Tom, how are you? Good.

How are you, Dave? Better than I deserve. Welcome to the show. How can I help? Thank you. Yeah. So my wife and I are in baby step two and we are trying to get out of California. And we are just trying to figure out what tax returns. Do we use that to save to move, or do we use that to keep rolling a dead snowball down?

Where are you moving and when? We want to move to Oklahoma. I don't have anything set up yet. We're in that process now, so we're just trying to figure out what to do. Okay. So in the process, meaning you're looking for a job there? Yeah. I have a couple of prospects for jobs that I've been interviewing for and stuff, trying to get it going. And so when will you hear on those jobs and when would you make the move? I'm hoping within the next couple months be moving.

Okay, cool, cool. Then I think you put your total money makeover on pause. You pay minimum payments on everything and you pile up money to pay cash for this move because somehow you're going to pay for a move and I don't want you paying for it with debt. So I would rather just push

pause right now and let's get this move behind us and then push play again once you get settled in on the other side. But if you told me it's going to be three years and this is just sort of a dream, well, maybe we don't do that. But you're telling me 90 days, you may be in Oklahoma. Right.

That's the plan. Yeah. Stop everything and pile up cash to make that move happen. That's what I would do. Hey, thanks for the call. We appreciate you listening. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Matthew is in Austin, Texas. Hey, Matthew, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hey, thanks so much for taking my call.

Sure. How can I help? Well, we basically started your debt snowball plan, or more or less the one you always say that it's never really your idea, but it seems more like logic than anything else. But anyhow, we started about a year ago. We're currently in about $230,000 worth of debt with student loans and credit cards and whatnot. What I'm trying to figure out is right now we have two children, and we're wondering whether or not this would be a good time to expand on our family. $230,000 in debt.

Does that include your mortgage? That does not include our mortgage, no. Who's the doctor? That would be me, doctor of physical therapy. You're a PT, and you spent $200,000 to be a PT? I did, and this was before I got really gung-ho into looking at the finances because up until then, I was trying to look for what the best career choice is. It was always something I wanted to do, but I could honestly never make it happen.

And the job I was working beforehand couldn't really increase the income. So what do you make? What's your household income? Combined, it's about $175,000. Okay. Well, that's good news. Right. And so I don't think having – how much of that income is you?

So right now I'm working both a full-time and a PRN or weekend side gig to just try to bring in as much income as possible. Good. So my combined income with those two is roughly about $80,000, $85,000. And so she's making $80,000, $85,000? Right about, yes, sir. Okay. All right. And, well, basically what it amounts to is what this is going to do is slow down by the time that she takes off that snowball progress.

Because at $175,000 versus $250,000, that shovel-to-hole ratio, that's doable. I mean, you're going to clear that up in about three years, plus or maternity timeline we predicted right yeah plus or minus maternity leave right and so right right is she going you do not have the option of her quitting and coming home uh not quitting no sir you don't have option? Not until this stuff's cleaned up. No, we're trying to actually get an idea of what her maternity leave policy is. No, I mean her quitting permanently. Oh, permanently? No, no. That's what I mean.

She's not going to be a full-time mom with three kids with $250,000 in student loan debt. You have a mess you have to clean up first. No, she actually has a job with an engineering firm, and so it's kind of one of those where... So the bottom line is you're going to lose two months of pay out of the next 36 months if you have a baby, right? That's what I'm anticipating. Yeah. You know, and so that's okay.

Yeah. I don't have babies based on money, but I just want to use common sense and wisdom in looking at this. And so, you know, are you on some kind of an extreme edge here? Well, I mean, not extreme edge, but I mean, we're in our 30s, our mid-30s, and 34, she's 33. Our goal, you know, if we were contemplating it, would have been to start trying in about a year or so. But she's, you know, concerned about her biological clock, so to speak. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about, you have a baby when you're ready to have a baby.

That's my point. The point is that really two months of income, of her income, over 36 months, doesn't really move the needle that much. So it doesn't keep you from having a child, but it does make her go back to work after the child is delivered, for sure. Because you've got to finish playing the mess up. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. There's nothing smart about smartphones if your wireless plan is blowing your budget each month. Pure Talk USA offers smarter wireless with unlimited plans starting as low as $20 per month. You never pay data overage fees and we never turn off your data.

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That's puretalkusa.com. joining me this segment rachel cruz of the rachel cruz show very very popular show on youtube doing very well and so much so that uh someone had the brilliant idea that it might make a podcast too so the podcast is launched huh it's launched i can't believe it i'm a podcaster now you're a podcaster yeah it's uh it's exciting i mean the content on the show the youtube and facebook like so people may not know this but like so much much intentionality, so much planning has goes into each episode in each segment. And it's just such great content. And a lot of, um, the people that follow that, they listen to podcasts, like podcasts obviously are like extremely popular these days. If you haven't heard, it's true. Yep. And so like, man, what if we just took some of

the best segments of each episode and put it on the podcast and I can, you know, deliver some new content on the front and back end. And then throughout it kind of interrupt myself, if you will, or a guest I have on, on the podcast and just be able to do some in, in segment con content as well. And so, yeah,

it's been really fun because it's interesting when you watch something, how you take in information. And then when you hear it, you take it in differently. I mean, I'm obviously present in every show, but as I'm listening to these segments to do the podcast, I hear things I hadn't heard before. So, yeah, it's really fun. And it's more of an intimate setting with podcasts, so I feel like I get to chat with them a little bit more in a real sense. It's a little less buttoned up than the show.

The show's pretty professional, which I love. It's great. But the podcast, yeah, you just have a conversation. It's a little more more in a real sense. It's a little less buttoned up than the show. You know, the show's pretty professional, which I love. It's great. But the podcast, yeah, you just have a conversation. It's a little more laid back. Yeah, and it's done really well. We launched on Monday,

and in fact, we had more downloads on Tuesday than we did on Monday. So it just keeps going well. It climbed the charts on every podcast chart out there, and it's been fun. Yeah, it took off really, really fast. Yeah, it became number five out of all podcasts. Yep. podcasts like dirty john was right under me that's my other fellow of that

podcast so great the crime one and i was like oh my gosh i'm right next to like my favorite podcast so yeah it was exciting well and it's kind of like just you hanging out with your friends and actually one of the first posts uh rating it said that They said, you know, I listen to Dave, but he yells at me, and Rachel's more like my friend. I'm like, I don't yell at you. You don't yell, sort of, sometimes. I'm pretty stern if you're going to be stupid. But Rachel's like your buddy. You're everybody's buddy.

So there you go. I speak truth, right? You do. I have conviction with it. You do. So it's not all nice. But yes, I would say I'm definitely probably more of your friend while you're kind of like the wise uncle. Yeah, the grouchy wise uncle. Okay.

I get it. I get it. I get it. It's okay. I'm comfortable with that. It's interesting, though. It's fun. And congratulations on a great launch to you and the team.

It really, really took off. And, of course, what that means is iTunes or Google Play, the Rachel Cruz Show podcast is real. It's live. It's a big deal. And this week, the one you guys launched was one of the recent Rachel Cruz YouTube shows. Yes. What's the content? What would somebody expect to hear if they were to tune in?

Yes. So this episode was about the lies people believe while getting out of debt. And so one of the lies is that you just can't have fun and that your life is 100% miserable while you're getting out of debt. So yes, there is sacrifice involved in getting out of debt. But I brought this couple on and they're fantastic. Like seriously, when they I want them to be able to do their debt free scream on the show. I mean, she's from Australia. He's from New York. And they are like a bubble of energy. And they're getting out of debt.

I mean, they sold their BMW. And great accents. Oh, the accents were phenomenal. I mean, New York and Australian accents. Perfect. But he sold his Harley. She sold her BMW. They have two little kids.

I mean, and they are just on fire. And they're having so much fun doing it. And they just talk about that. They're like, the joy that it comes with being in control, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, making this progress with our money, knowing there's freedom, like right there. It's so much more fun than having the payments on the car and the Harley and the lifestyle they're living. And so they're just the testament that yes, you can have joy and a lot of fun while getting out of debt. So they were really fun to have

on the show i know they like they were so funny because i told them i was like come back when you get out of debt like come back on the show because i want to hear you know the rest of your journey and all of that and they're like oh oh we're gonna go up to dave and he was like i just i'm just gonna hug him i'm just gonna pick him up i'm gonna i gotta tell him i gotta tell him how good we've done so yeah they were awesome they were so great so they're on there and then uh actually one of my friends from college she's a registered dietitian and she worked with the tennessee walls for many years the athletes there and there's a lie people believe that you cannot eat healthy while getting out of debt or on a tight budget and so she walks through this brilliant system of how to shop the things you need to buy organic the things you

don't how you can make things at home that are so much cheaper than even the fast food drive-thru. And so, I mean, she makes everything, but it's not overwhelming. And so food is a big area where a lot of people bust the budget. And in the name of being healthy or the name of organic, they go and spend the time. And so she just walks through a wise way to do it and how you really can. You can do it on a budget. Well, you don't rationalize and justify exploding your budget because I have to eat healthy,

and so screw it. Totally, right. You can do it, but like everything else, you have to find a way. And you have to have a plan for it. Yeah, that's exactly right. So, yeah, so that's all going to be on that podcast. And then we have kind of a bonus episode that we did as kind of a launch, kind of a pilot to see how it was going to go that internally people heard.

So it ended up being a great one because it has The Minimalist on it and some really fun stuff. So we added that as well. So there's two full episodes. And then the other fun thing about podcasts is we will be taking every episode of The Rachel Cruze Show video version and doing every other Monday, the podcast with it. But the podcast, you can like record stuff so quickly these days. Right. So I told our team, I was like, I want a recorder. And they, they got me one within like 24 hours. Cause I was like, when I'm at home, like I have all these thoughts, like whether it's like, you know,

a lot of moms ask me like, how do you work and be a mom? Like, how are you doing all of this? Or people ask like, how do you get your spouse on board when it comes to money? You know, there's all these common questions I get and these themes that I'm learning in my own life. So with podcasts, I get to just have that little recorder at my house. And for 10, 15, 20 minutes, I can just kind of like verbally process all of this

and answer some questions. And so those are going to be sprinkled in randomly. We haven't set an exact schedule on that. But if you subscribe to the podcast, you will get the Rachel Cruz show from the video version of those segments, but you're also going to get some kind of behind-the-scenes thoughts. And if I'm with someone cool, aka I was with Henry Cloud

at the Smart Conference and I had my recorder, I was like, Henry, let's just chat about boundaries for about 20 minutes. And we did, right there in the green room. So yeah, there's going to be some fun content, kind of more on-the-go style that will be there on the podcast as well. You're like a little reporter at the TV station running around with your microphone. I know.

I really did think. I was like, next time I'm at dinner with Mom and Dad, maybe me and Dad can sit down for 15 minutes and just chat. No, you're not interrupting our dinner with your podcast. And you can record just one. I'll bring them on, people. Don't worry. I'm going to bring you on.

Well, yeah, we'll do that at work. Fun stuff. You never know. It's going to be fun, as you can tell. The Rachel Cruz podcast already exploded. The Rachel Cruz show is, of course, what we're doing is she's telling you, is using pieces and parts of that and comments throughout. She gets to comment on herself as the show unfolds on the podcast.

And so pick it up on iTunes and Google Play. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss a single lesson. And, of course, we just finished the Smart Conference down in Dallas back on January 12th. That was an absolute home run. A lot of fun. And you've got a busy February, a couple of smart money events and a money and marriage event. That's right. Every one a week, really.

Yes. I mean, coming up, starting on February 5th, you'll be in Raleigh with Anthony O'Neill. Yes, I'm so excited. That's going to be great. So, Raleigh, make sure you get signed up for the Rachel Cruz-Anthony O'Neill Smart Money Event, 2-5, the 5th, which is just not even quite two weeks away, about 10 days away. So make sure you get in on that. And then the following week on Valentine's Day, this is a big deal. Yeah, I'm excited about this.

So this is our Money and Marriage event. And so Dr. Les Parrott and I, we share the stage with content around, obviously, money and marriage, two places in people's lives that can be tough and difficult to navigate. And so we decided here at Ramsey Solutions to create a solution to that. So we created an event. And we've been doing this for about two years now, these events. And they've been so fun, so fantastic.

Dr. Lespera is just brilliant. And so we decided to do a Valentine's night. In Nashville. Which is so fun. So it'll be here in Nashville. So Destination. Yeah, there's still tickets available. And then we're live streaming that as well.

So if you're not able to make it out to Nashville, you can get tickets for the live stream there. Money in Marriage, Raleigh, or Smart Money, Raleigh and Cincy, Money in Marriage, Nashville, Kansas City, Des Moines, and Dallas. Check them all out at rachelcruz.com. Congratulations on the launch of the podcast, Rachel thanks for stopping by yeah thanks for having me Did you know that if you combine the data breaches that have occurred in the past 12 months, almost every American has had their personal info compromised or hacked? Over 50% of our listeners and viewers tell us that they or someone in their family has been a victim.

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We are all at risk, and it doesn't make sense to wait. Numbers don't lie. That's Zander.com or 800-356-4282. In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions, Brent and Christine are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? Hi, Dave. Thank you so much. Welcome.

Where do you guys live? Up in Minnesota. Okay. Bit of a haul to Nashville. Yeah, it was a short flight. It was the best flight. I hear you. Well, welcome, guys.

Good to have you. And all the way down here to do a debt-free scream. Amen. Yes. Love it. How much have you paid off? $48 welcome, guys. Good to have you. And all the way down here to do a debt-free scream. Amen. Yes. Love it. How much have you paid off? $484,000. Woo!

And during that time, we also cash-flowed two daughters' college education of $85,000 and another daughter's wedding of $10,000. Whoa. Wow. And how long was this journey? Seven years. Okay. And your range of income during that seven years?

Started out at $87,000 and ended up around $200,000. Very good. Very good. What do you all do for a living? Chris? I am a retail manager. So my husband, he owns his own company. Cool.

Doing what? What kind of business? Well, I used to frame houses, and we actually just shut that end of our business down, and we are certified installers for a big fan company up in Lexington, Kentucky. Oh, perfect. Good. So I'm guessing with $484,000, how much life happened in seven years? You paid off your house.

We did. Woo-hoo! Yes. I'm looking at weird people. It's good to be weird. You have a paid-for house. did yes i'm looking at weird people it's good to be weird paid for house so what's this house worth oh it was praised out in 2015 for 285 so probably around 300 000 north of 300 grand very nice how old are you guys i'm 52 i'm gonna be 50 in april all right perfect and you have a paid for house house. Yes. That's whacked.

How's that feel? You don't have a payment in the world. It's unreal. It's like a weight's been lifted off our shoulders. Yeah. You really do feel free in ways you didn't even know you were captive. I mean, it's a trip, isn't it? Yes.

Good stuff. So we just got debt-free in July. So just got debt-free. And knowing that we are debt-free, it's still like setting in for me. So it's an amazing feeling to know that I never have to have a mortgage again. I do not have to have payments. That all the money that we make, this legacy has changed from this generation. That's a huge, huge thing to just live differently.

And so you specifically, thank you for using your gifting and teaching and giving us the ability to teach. We just met with a coordinator here because we've coordinated a few classes through our church. And so to give back what we've learned to others has just been huge. That's super huge.

Just knowing that life is different and it's okay to be different. It was super hard for me. I kicked and screamed a lot during it. I didn't want to get on board. And my husband got on board. I was not on board and he stayed on board and pushed me through to places that, and then when we put our finance together, we were married second time, didn't have finance together when we married. When we put those finances together, we really could feel the

intensity of that momentum, looking to do that as a couple, as a married couple. So that was amazing. How long ago did you finally combine them? I was doing the program for over a year before we finally... So six years ago? Yep. Okay. So you might have been kicking and screaming, but not through most of it.

Most of it, you've been together. Yep. Yeah. Very well done. Just for the start of it, though. So what got you on this bug to start with, Brent? Because you started it off, and then Christine joins you about a year into the process. I did.

My business partner was actually taking your FPU class, and we were driving to work one day. He goes, hey, I have to listen to this CD. Mind if I throw it in? And I heard it, and of course, I was struggling with debt being a great debt manager and uh I loved what you said started listening to you on the radio and I started doing the deal I drew that line in his hand and said this is enough and Christine what was it that uh after a year of him doing it that made you decide okay I'm going to join so we have four kids um we lived in the neighborhood we had the house the car the boat the dogs you know we had You decide, okay, I'm going to join. So we have four kids.

We lived in the neighborhood. We had the house, the car, the boat, the dogs. You know, we had the great life, but we didn't have money. So every time school came, we had to get the kids back in school. There was, you know, fear, I guess, was holding me most. And knowing that it could be different, but I wasn't really sure. So I just didn't have confidence to do something different.

So relinquishing my own will and giving it to God, God gave me the strength that I didn't have, the tools, seeking out that wisdom from others that had it that I didn't have. We have some great mentors in our church family, and I heard it from them, too, to live like nobody else. You have to live like nobody else.

So you have to try something different if you want to get something different. And I really, at that point, was just going along in faith. I love it. I love it. I'm going to let you fill in for me tomorrow. You got this dialed in. Well done. Well done. I love it. I love it. I'm going to let you fill in for me tomorrow. You got this dialed in. Well done. Well done.

I love it. Fabulous. So what do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? You paid off your house. I guess the biggest thing is making that decision, and then you've got to do it. I mean, you've set up the blueprint. You're a great architect. You've got the baby steps, and you've got to do the work. You're a great architect. You've got the baby steps.

And you've got to do the work. You know, you've just got to go ahead and do it. You know, you have the budget. You talk with each other. We definitely didn't do it perfectly, but we stuck together. We talked about it, communicated, and we just kept on moving, moving forward. I think that's what I would tell them, too, is, like, you're not going to do it perfect, but you're going to go through it together, but you're going to go through it together and you're going to make it work.

So whatever, you know, whatever struggles you have, learn from them. Definitely share about that and just keep moving forward. Don't stop. Yeah. Just don't stop. And seven years later, you'll be standing here with the colleges and the weddings behind you and the house payment behind you and no debt at all. I mean, we're talking north of $600,000 over this whole process here pretty easily.

Hallelujah. Very well done. Very well done. I'm proud of you guys. Congratulations. Thank you. We've got a copy of Chris Hogan's Everyday Millionaires book for you because that's the next chapter in your story. Yes.

And you're going to be an everyday millionaire really soon if you're not already. So you're right on the way. Very well done. Brent and Christine from Minnesota, $484,000 paid off in seven years, making $87,000 to $200,000. They paid off their house, people. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream.

Three, two, one. We're debt-free i love it this is how it's done oh my goodness very very well done open phones at 888-825-5225. You could just decide you wanted to do that, couldn't you? You could decide. Seven years, Dave? You're going to go through seven years of something. You might as well decide what seven years.

What's the seven years going to look like? What's your something? You're either going to be a rat in a wheel, continue to just work, work, work, work, get paid, give all your money back to the bank, work, work, work, get paid, give all your money back to the bank. That's a rat in a wheel, right? Just run, run, run, got no traction, got no sense of destiny, because there is no destiny for that except just death and taxes, right? And your life becomes this thing where I'm stuck.

Well, you're not stuck. Get off the wheel. Like she said, if you want something different, Christine just said that. You've got to do something different. If you want to live like no one else, first you've got to live like no one else. And then that puts you in a position to live and give like no one else. You're going to be in a pretty powerful position doing that. So very, very well done.

Hey, guys, you can do this stuff. I talk to people of every background, of every income range, of every level of education, every race, creed, and color, nationality that can do this. So I know you can do it. And the sad truth is some of you, I believe you can do it more than you believe you can do it and the sad truth is some of you i believe you can do it more than you believe you can do it but i've got the data i mean i've got 25 30 years of watching people just like brent and christine do their debt-free screams watching people make a decision to change what

we've been doing you know it's kind of had a Dr. Phil moment. How's that working for you? Well, it's not. It's time to change. Time to change. Time to change. I'm talking to you. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. Laura is with us in Savannah, Georgia. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show, Laura. Thank you.

Hey, how can I help? Brief backstory. My husband was climbing in a tree stand the Saturday before Christmas last year, fell out, and had to be air-vacced to the local trauma hospital. That's about an hour from us. And as insurance is processed, that claims they are wanting to exclude $44,000 and pay only four, which we're going to fight. But it brings up the question, is Aerovac insurance for $65 a year for those of us whose insurance won't cover Aerovac?

Is it worth the product or is it under the junk category? I would, I mean, have you got insurance furnished through work? His insurance is furnished through work. Mine is not. Mine will pay if, depending on how it's coded, what the trauma is, whether it's medically necessary, life or death. His, apparently, is out of network, so they're only wanting to pay $4,000 out of the $44,000.

Okay. Yeah, you're going to have to push that and, as you said, fight that through. I mean, if he's got free health insurance, and I guess you could cover it with that. It's just, it's really a needle in a haystack situation. I mean, the number of times that someone actually gets air-vac'd in your life, you know, you probably got your one done, you know. Right. Unless he continues to fall out of tree stands. Oh, my gosh.

So what happened to him when he fell out? He was climbing up into his tree and the strap at the top of the ladder broke yeah and um he rode the ladder going down and it bent into an upside down eave oh okay and compound fracture but broke both bones in his lower leg oh my lord bless his heart emergency surgery 115 so in medical bills so far insurance has been great for everything but our $3,000 annual whatever, but they're wanting to stick us with $40,000 of the air vacs. Yeah. Okay.

The other thing I would do is, in addition to working with his HR team and just beating the snot out of this insurance, is I would ask the air vac people to get involved in causing insurance to pay this. They are. Okay, good. They said that this company is pretty good at coming back, but it depends on how things are written up in his plans with his policy.

They may or may not, but there's a good track record for it. Okay, good. So, if they want to get paid, the best way for them to get paid is to help you in this fight. And they get to do this all the time because of this. And so, like you said, the way it's coded and all of that. So, no, I really probably would not buy buy it i think you've had your one shot here uh and i you know our insurance covers it so i don't have to face that personally um if mine didn't would i self-insure that because it's such a low probability it's not really junk insurance

but it's just such a um you know it's a very much a needle in a haystack event that you end up with that so i i'm probably going to take the risk if it doesn't cover it and um you know just uh you know it's always a possibility i guess so i don't know it's i'm kind of hedging i'm but i what would I do if I was in that situation? I would not buy it, and so that's what I have to do. I have to give advice here that is consistent with what I would do. If I was in that situation, I would not buy it, and not because I've got the money to pay for the air vac, I do,

but I'm saying if I had a more normal net worth and a more normal income and I was in that situation, that's not insurance I would purchase. So there you go. Just because it's such a rare event, and that's the reason it's only $65, is because it just never happens. But to you it did. I get it.

Open phones at 888-825-5225. Nathan is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Hey, Nathan, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. How are you doing? Better than I deserve. How can I help? Hey, we've been working on your plan for probably about eight months now

and have paid off about $40,000 in debt. And I feel like the next thing for us to kind of get us over the hump is to get rid of our expensive vehicles, and I just can't get my wife on board. I'm not sure how to change that. Mm-hmm. Okay. And so you paid off $40,000, and what do you owe on your vehicles? Well, the one vehicle is probably right around $29,000.

The other one is about $25,000. Okay. And what's your household income? About $150,000. Okay. All right. And so you've got $60,000 left to go. You paid off $40,000.

How much other debt do you have? Between miscellaneous, like credit cards and whatnot, not including the house, probably about another $140,000. Plus the vehicles? Yes. So you've got $200,000 in debt left, and your household income is what? $150,000. Yeah, you've got a mess. You guys have been spending.

But she's been helping with the $40,000 so far? Yeah. So the only question is that she just doesn't want to sell her car. Well, both of the vehicles we have like i said prior to the us getting on the the plan here both of them are leased vehicles um originally probably my truck was about but your question is your question is uh how do i get my wife on board and my my answer is it sounds like she's on board until it comes to the cars. Is that correct?

Yeah, we moved out of town. Are you guys doing a budget together, and both of you are in agreement that you're trying to get out of debt until it gets to the cars? Yeah. Okay, so she is on board. It's just on board of you guys getting out of debt, on board of everything, but the car issue.

So sell your car. Sell your truck. That's where she's not on board of you guys getting out of debt, on board of everything, but the car issue. So sell your car. Sell your truck. That's where she's not on board. She's not even wanting me to get rid of my truck. Yeah, well, it's not logical to keep it. And so just say, you know, okay, I get it that you're not on board, so we'll keep yours for right now. But my truck's got to go because I can't see my way out of this.

I've got to get out of here. I can't, you know, because you've got $200,000 worth of overspending. Making $150,000. Which means you guys have been spending in your past like you're in Congress. So you've got some dramatic things that have to change. So, yeah, I think you just say, you know, look, I get it. I get that you don't agree with this part. But I'm not okay with our progress.

And so I'm going to sell my truck and get rid of that one and then just see how progress goes along as things start happening. You know, maybe you can plow on through it and keep hers, or maybe you plow on through it because when her lease is up, her car is gone anyway. So that's the other thing, because you both got fleeces so you got to think about that and look at what the deadline is on that and go you know we're going to pay cash for your replacement vehicle we're not leasing again we're through with that we're in agreement on that we're in agreement that we need to get rid of that we're just not in agreement about selling the cars so um i i'm not going to push you on yours but but the one I drive, we're going to sell. And, you know, that's the right thing to do. And you're right on both of these cars. But it's okay to tap the brakes and not be a big pressure, apply a big pressure on your particular vehicle, on her particular vehicle, because we're not trying to.

I'm losing that battle to win the overall war is what I'm saying but your truck yeah i agree it needs to go you can set the standard here with your behavior and sometimes that causes other people to go well if he's willing to do that then i guess i better be you know i guess we better turn up the heat and get this thing going and that's the process so Open phones at 888-825-5225. Jamie follows me on Twitter with about a million of you. Thank you for hanging out. About a million three on Instagram, all at Dave Ramsey. Is it a bad idea to buy a house to use as a rental when in baby step two?

Baby step two is you stop doing everything until you get yourself out of debt. You list your debts, smallest to largest. You stop investing. So, yes, it's a bad idea to buy a rental house in baby step two. Gosh. That puts us out of the Dave Ramsey Show and the books. Our thanks to James Childs, our producer. Kelly Daniels, our associate producer and phone screener. I am Dave Ramsey, your host, and we will be back.

Hey, it's Kelly, associate producer and phone screener for the Dave Ramsey Show. This episode is over, but if you heard about a product or service and didn't have a chance to write it down, don't worry. We list everything that is mentioned during this episode in the podcast show notes section. Thanks for listening.