The Ramsey Show - App - Jenny and Ryan from Minnesota Paid off $313K! (Hour 3)

Episode Date: October 16, 2018

The show about you

🎵 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 am Dave Ramsey, your host. This is your show because it's all about you. The phone number is 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. Brittany starts off this hour in Atlanta, Georgia. Hi, Brittany. How are you?

I'm doing great, Dave. How are you doing today? Better than I deserve. What's up? Well, I have a quick question. My husband and I are newly married, and I'm kind of struggling with how to keep him motivated. He's actually the one who introduced me to you before I graduated. He bought each of us your book, and we didn't start reading it until after I graduated college in April after we got married. But we struggle with just staying motivated. I try to, I do the budget, do every dollar.

At first I was in the written budget, but then as I listened to you every day, more and more over the months I found out about every dollar. But it's just a struggle balancing, I guess, being newly married, combining all of our stuff, and then continuing to try to stay on a budget. And we've been writing a total money makeover book, and we're almost done with that. But just how I'm struggling with how to continue to motivate him. I didn't want to continue to cause, like, disagreements and stuff in our marriage. Mm-hmm.

Okay. Well, the thing is this. Jesus said your treasure's where your heart is. So when you agree on your spending and you agree on your financial goals, you're really agreeing on your new marriage's value system. You're agreeing on, as a couple, our fears, our dreams, our goals. So when we're not agreeing on a budget, it means that we're really not agreeing about life.

Because money flows to just about everything in our lives. Right. From our generosity to our long-term planning like you know stuff like retirement or wealth building uh all the way to where we're going to eat thanksgiving dinner your moms are my moms you know that stuff money flows into every one of these decisions and is affected by or affects every one of these decisions so by doing a budget together it forces you to combine your goals. And in a new marriage, that's essential. When I first got married 35 years ago, they used to tell us the hardest year of marriage was the first year.

And that's the reason. You're trying to combine everything. He's used to doing whatever he wants. You're used to doing whatever you want. And now we're trying to combine everything the budget is a really good tool relational tool to force you to have those conversations so it's not just simply motivating him to do a budget it's not simply how do i motivate him to do that it's it's really saying gosh if this is so important that the two of us are in agreement on everything and this is a tool for us to do that uh if you're not motivated to do that you got real problems right i guess it's still some weeks

it's okay we're going to do this we're both in this and then other days it's like oh okay well i'm just going to do this and so it's just kind of wishy-washy. Well, he needs to understand what that feels like to you. You're being very sweet, but really what you're saying is he's making a deal with you and then he's breaking his word. Right. That's how it feels to you. Like you had a contract as far as you're concerned when we agree to do this and then he goes off and just does whatever he wants.

It's like he broke the contract. Right. It's gotten better, but I just feel like trying to explain that to him, like, okay, well, we just talked about this last week, because it's usually we try to do a weekly thing. You need to get past just the actual mechanics of doing the budget and stop when the budget is done and go, okay, we're going to pinky swear and spit shake.

This is like a contract, and if you do something other than what's on here, that's going to cause me to feel like you're a liar. So don't do something other than what's on here without the two of us talking about it and agreeing to it. Exactly. Now, what that sounds like at Dave's house sometimes is, we've agreed to something, and I'm at Costco, and I see something I want, and I might pull up my budget, and I might call Sharon and go, hey, I'm getting ready to buy this thing,

and I'm going to take it out of this particular category. Is that okay with you? I just want to check. And she's like yeah and she's like yeah cool but that's different than me coming home with a new thingy i just wanted and i broke our deal i broke our contract and now she's pissed because she doesn't get to do that i'm the only one that breaks contracts you know and that's what's happening you're trying to be all newlywed and sweet about it but that's really what's going on down in your heart of hearts but i try i try to be forgiving and just worry about it it's not it's not it's

not about forgiving it tells you that you guys are not communicating for you this agreement on the budget is a nine out of ten for him him, it's a 2 out of 10. And you've got to communicate to him that it's a big deal when he screws with your all's plan that you both agreed to. It is a big deal. It doesn't make you not a sweet person. All you're doing is asking him to keep his dadgum word. You know? And that's not a bad thing.

But he's not a bad guy. He's just kind of wandering off. It's not a big deal to him. And it's a big deal to you. And you need to be able to find your voice in your own marital discussions. And this budget is a great way for you to do this. You guys have not been through Financial Peace University yet, have you? No.

And we're trying to figure out how we can do that with our budget. Oh, you've got to go. No, you have to go. But I'll give it to you. I'll make it your wedding gift. It's just coming late, okay? Thank you so much, Dave. All right, you hold on.

But now you've got to get him to go to class. Because if you go to class without him, you're going to end up killing him. That won't work at all. And so you hold on. The only caveat is you have to get him to go to class, and I'll give it to you for free. And then someday when you're rich and famous, you have to give it to some other young couple that just got married as a wedding gift. So pay it forward later, okay? Hey, thanks for calling in.

Open phones at 888-825-5225. Jenny's on Facebook. How can I rent a home with a zero credit score? The places I'm finding that are available won't rent to me. Well, you don't look much. There's lots of corporate apartment complexes or lots of places that are managed by someone that doesn't use an actual brain. And all they use is a credit score. Then you probably can't rent there.

But I'm a multimillionaire and neither could i which means that i'll go across the street over here to one of these corporate run uh apartment complexes i can't rent an apartment there because i don't have a credit score i can write a check and buy the freaking place but i can't rent an apartment there that's how dumb but this system is. I mean, it's just dumb butt. Now, you find landlords that actually use their brains and not just look at one measure of whether a person is able to pay their rent, and they'll rent to you. I've got a lot of rental property. I rent to people without a credit score all the time. I don't think anything about it. But I'm the guy that tells people to get rid of their credit cards, too.

So there you go. But there's lots of regular human beings out there that actually think they're not corporate robots that do rent to people you just haven't found them yet jenny and don't go get a credit card because you couldn't get an apartment without a credit card that's known as stupid this is the dave ramsey show Are high health care costs getting you down? Are you confused trying to navigate your options? Do you wish you could find an affordable, biblical solution to your health care costs? Based on New Testament principles, Christian Health Care Ministries, or CHM, helps Christian families, churches, and ministries join together as the body of Christ to share their major health care costs.

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We're glad you're here. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Kaylin is on the line in Denver. Hi, Kaylin. How are you? Hi, Dave. Thank you for taking my call, and thank Kelly for taking me. Sure.

How can I help? My question is that my husband started his own painting drywall business a few months ago, and he's gotten some pretty big contracts, but his ability to work them and, like, his income to go up has been limited by... And so we're trying to hire somebody, but we're not having a hard time finding good and reliable employees in an industry that doesn't usually use resumes to hire. So how can we, I was just hoping to brainstorm with you on ways that we can

possibly find reliable and good people to be a part of this small family business. You don't know any painters that are good and reliable people? Well, we do know painters. That are good and reliable people well we do know painters um that are good and reliable people yeah that's the part that they haven't been reliable you don't know any painters that are good and reliable people well if we do know them it's they have their own businesses as well so the only painters that you know that are good and reliable people already have their own businesses? For the most part, yes. Okay.

We put posts up on Craigslist, and nobody's responding to it, and so we just don't know where to look in order to get another point of light. Well, most of the time, good, reliable people run around with good, reliable people. Yeah. And most of the time, doofuses run around with doofuses. So usually when I'm looking for good, reliable people, I look around other good, reliable people. Now, it could be that you look in some of the other trades

and you know an electrician that's a good person or a trim carpenter that's a good person and you start asking them who do they know that's a great painter that you could bring on to the job the part of the problem you've got is you're in a very very hot construction market in denver and so everybody's got work even doofuses yes and your husband your husband's got more work even doofuses. Yes. And your husband's got more work than he can handle. I mean, and so you've got a bit of a labor shortage when you've got a construction boom always in a city. And that's what you're facing a little bit of. But the way I have found, like, you know, an example in our world, it wouldn't be a painter, but in our world it might be someone that's in technology,

someone that is a great Ruby on Rails developer, as an example. There's a shortage of technology and web developers out there right now in most cities, including Nashville, and Nashville's actually a tech hub. But, you know, there's a shortage. So where do we find those? Well, you know, we go on, like you've done, websites you've gone on Craigslist, but we get in technology groups and associations.

But mainly, great developers know other great developers. Great painters know other great painters. Or somebody that's not a developer but has other influence and other knowledge of the tech industry that's a great person will know somebody that's a great developer and send them our way. And, of course, you're going to pay them and pay them well and but paying a doofus doesn't make them anything except a well-paid doofus so you want to pay people well but you that that's not the part of the only part of the equation as you've already discovered so the only way i know

how to find them would be to find other people in other trades that are excellent and people in the painting world that are excellent and try in the painting world that are excellent and try to move them onto your team. Once you get a couple of excellent people, they will have a tendency to help you find the other excellent people. 64% of people that joined our team last year were internal referrals. Someone already working here that was a thoroughbred, new and thoroughbred that wouldn't wanted to work here in another area.

Now, we have the advantage of being a little bit larger and having a vast array of jobs, not just a single job available. But that's how I've always done it. I've found thoroughbreds run with thoroughbreds, and donkeys run with donkeys. And so, you know, you've just got to find your thoroughbreds and people out in the community, the thoroughbreds, and, hey, dude, there's a steak dinner in it for you.

A guy sends you a good guy, you send him a steak dinner. You send him nice, send him and his wife to Ruth's Chris or something because it's worth it to get somebody in there and, you know, be good that way. And I'll tell you, I'm going to send you a copy of a book that is one of my favorite hiring books that I've read in the last two years, and it's from my friend Pat Lencioni. It's called The Ideal Team Player. And The Ideal Team Player is three things, hungry, humble, and smart.

Hungry, humble, and smart. And that's what you're looking for in any position, in any organization. And every trade and every organization has some people that qualify that are high-quality people, every single one. And if you can put them together in a trade that, by and large, is not that kind of people, then you really have brand differentiated yourself from the other people in your marketplace. So hold on. I'll have Kelly pick up, and we will send that to you.

Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Alicia is with us in Wilmington, Delaware. Hi, Alicia. How are you? Hi, Dave. Thanks for taking my call. Sure.

What's up? So I'm a new listener, and I am doing Baby Step 2. But my question actually is about the 401k profit sharing with my former employer i moved it over like you suggest into a rollover ira and then i got a statement in the mail yesterday basically there was a other section where the fees were over three thousand dollars and by further looking into it they're called forfeiture fees um and they're for eight different funds i'm kind of confused because over three over $3,000 of my money. How much money was in there?

It wasn't that much, actually. It was only around $18,000. I'm not aware of a mutual fund that has a forfeiture fee. So I'm looking at it lists eight different fund names, and then it says forfeitures, and it has a bunch of negatives, and it adds up to almost $3,100. That sucks. Yeah, that's what I thought, especially when it was only a small 401k to begin with.

Yeah, really. Did you roll it with a SmartVestor Pro? I rolled it over into previously another IRA that I had already opened. So you don't have an advisor? I don't. Okay. I am sorry. I do not know the answer to your question.

I've never run into that. The only thing I can guess is that your company, your former company, the mutual funds are high-fee mutual funds of some kind that have got some kind of gotcha in there, obviously. But I don't know what they are. Go ahead and get in touch with one of the SmartVestor pros in your area and just see if they will answer that question for you. Okay. Maybe they can tell you exactly what happened.

At least you'll have the mystery solved since Dave Ramsey's too stupid to answer the question because I just don't know the answer. I just don't. I'm sorry. I wish I did. Rachel is with us in Decatur, Alabama. Hi, Rachel. How are you?

I'm great, Dave. How are you? Thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's up? So my employer is going through open enrollment for our health insurance benefit, and I'm kind of on the fence. I'm hoping that maybe you can kind of help me jump.

They've introduced a new high-deductible program with an HSA, which they will be contributing to. And I'm trying to decide, should I keep my traditional PPO plan or should I jump on board with this high-deductible plan? Okay. How much is the premium on the HSA? The premium will be $82 per pay period, so it calculates to about $2,100 a year. Okay, what about the other one? The other one will be around $3,400 a year. Okay, $3,400 to $2,100, so $1,300 spread. Yes. Okay, and how much is the deductible on each? Okay, so on the PPO, it'll be $400 per individual for the PPO. And for the high deductible, it's $1,350 per individual, but there's a $2,700 for the family.

Yeah, and how old are your kids? My kids are 10 and 13. Are there any ongoing illnesses? Or is everybody pretty healthy? How often do you run your deductible? How often? Well, I'll say, like, as of right now, we just hit the deductible of one of our family members, and we're just about hitting it a year.

So I'd say it's... Okay, so here's the thing. You just compare your $1,300 savings versus the extra risk you're taking. We're fairly healthy. We don't usually run through the deductible. So the high deductible, lower premium makes a lot of sense for us. And that's how you look at it. One question I get asked all the time is, do I need life insurance?

Listen, the whole point of life insurance is to replace your income for someone who counts on you. So if you have a spouse or you have kids, yes, you need term life insurance. It's the only way to protect them until you're out of debt and have built up your wealth. You're only digging a deeper hole if you waste money on cash value plans since it robs you of the ability to make real progress. We'll be right back. It's not complicated And Xander will be there as your guide every step of the way Visit Xander.com or call 800-356-4282 You need to get this taken care of I can give you the advice and I can tell you where to go But it's really up to you to take that important step To get your family protected

That's Xander.com or 800-356-4282. Ryan and Jenny are in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions. Welcome, guys. How are you? We're great. Awesome, Dave. How are you? We're great. Awesome, Dave. How are you? Better than I deserve.

Where do you guys live? We live in St. Paul, Minnesota. Whoa, bit of a trek to Nashville. Yes, it was. Wow. Did you drive or fly? We drove. It's a real long way then.

Oh, my goodness. All the way here to do your debt-free scream. Amen. Very cool. And how much have you paid off? We've paid off $313,000 in 10 years. Way to go. And your range of income during that time?

Started at $65,000, peaked at $137,000, and back down to $120,000. Good. And what do you guys do for a living? I'm a stay-at-home mom. Software engineer. Very cool. Well, I'm guessing $313,000 over 10 years must include your home. It does.

Very cool. Congratulations. I'm looking at weird people. I love it. Debt-free house and everything. How old are you two? We're 38. And you have a paid-for house.

Yes, we do. And you are straight up weird. I mean straight up weird. What's so funny, Dave, is we've taught FPU nine sessions of it. Wow. And you keep speaking to the average timeline of paying off your non-mortgage debt, your mortgage debt, building your emergency fund, and it's ten years. And we did it.

And we don't feel average at all. No, no. That's the typical timeline of people who do it. Yeah. But people who do it are above average. I mean, it's pretty incredible. Well done. So what's this house worth?

Oh, I think about $200,000. I love it. Yeah. Way to go. On your way to millionaire status. Very good. How much is in the 401k? About $200,000.

Yeah. Look at you. This is working. Yeah, it is. And you're 38. Yeah. I mean, by the time we double your age, this is going to be a lot of money. Wow, way to go.

Very cool. So how did you guys get started on this whole financial peace program 10 years ago? Tell me about that. Well, 10 years ago, we had a 3-year-old and a 1-and-a-half-year-old at home, and we were going into savings every month just to get by. And we didn't want to do that anymore. My brother introduced us to Total Money Makeover. Ryan read it in two days and said, yeah, let's go ahead.

And I'm not a reader. And we just got after it, and it took us 30 months to pay off that initial $55,000 in debt. And then we built our emergency fund and started getting after our house, and not really believing we were going to pay off the house as quickly as we did. But even when life got in the way, we just kept sticking to the plan, and here we are. And we're just incredibly proud of where we're at. You ought to be. Well, I mean, if you have guardrails, you know if you're bumping up against them.

Yeah. You know, and so I got a game plan here where the house is the house. And you get knocked out a little bit, then you get back up, it's the house. It's the house. It's the house. And here you are 10 years later. You started when you're 28, and everything is paid for. You don't have a single payment.

How does that feel? Well, I was just thinking this morning is I don't, when Bill Day comes around, it's so fast because there's nothing to pay for. Yeah. Yeah, it's awesome. Bill Day. Yeah, and we're able to, you you know start putting that money towards the future and our dreams rather than a choice we made 14 years ago and that's it's just a huge blessing yeah you got your future standing around you they're called kids and your retirement and uh

your your wealth building your generosity that's all future now instead of paying countrywide yeah way to go you guys very. Who was the mortgage with? It was with Countrywide. No way, really? They got a bunch of them, so it was a good guess. A few different ones along the way. Yeah, they bond. Good for you guys.

So you said you've led classes, Financial Peace University, over this 10 years. So now that you are the coordinator that has paid off their house, and people look at you like wow you're my hero how do you do that what do you tell them what's the key to getting out of debt i think it's the budget you got to start there um and i think now on this side of it you just have to believe that it's going to work and just keep plugging away at it. And small steps add up to a giant step at the end. And I would add too that the giving and the tithing was really core to me where when we started, I used to routinely think like while we're driving to church, like, boy, what we're

tithing to the church today, you know, we could do this or do that. And just slowly over time, that's changed, and I don't have this, you know, deficit mentality anymore where it's taking away. We've learned how to live, have joy within our means. And once you hit that point, it just makes the road a lot easier to drive. So you had a $250,000 mortgage approximately when you started

this and um it didn't seem real that would ever get paid off somewhere along the line you looked up and said uh this is gonna work and it started like you were riding downhill instead of climbing uphill you know what i'm talking about, that tipping point? Do you remember where that was in the mortgage balance, like when you got it down to 50 or you got it down to 100? Or when was it you went, dadgum, we're really doing this? I think it was last year. I went back to work for one year, and all of my income went towards a mortgage because it was about $50,000 left, we just just piled on every month and it was

like you just kept counting it down month by month we're gonna make it and it was it was awesome but you wouldn't have even gone back to work if you didn't already have those numbers calculated because you knew it was just for a year yeah if i can do this for a year we're done boom so i'm in for a year yeah you could you can embrace a year of pain so by then you knew it was really going to happen it was real it was before that that you believed then yeah i mean we were underwater on our mortgage for about three four years and like for me it was like when we uh owed as much as what the equity was um then it like started feeling you know we could breathe and and at least we could sell it and get out of it right right okay all right and good very good this is good stuff you guys thank you for leading the financial peace university class we really appreciate the coordinators all over america

like you guys that it's rewarding isn't it to watch people you get a front row seat to their life change don't you yeah thank you for making the material so easy uh to allow people to do coordinators as well it's it's um it it makes it um makes it really easy for for people who have little confidence in being being able to do it and we can show them the coordinator guide and say hey it shows you exactly you know what questions to ask when the material is just outstanding to enable people to do that. Good. Well, thank you.

Our guys work really, really hard at that exact thing, so I appreciate you confirming that the experience is correct. Well done. All right, and the kiddos are with you. What are their names and ages? We have Evan, who's 12, Kyle, who's 11, and McKenna, who's 6. All right. Very good.

Well, we've got a copy of Chris Hogan's book for you, signed by him, and McKenna, who's 6. All right. Very good. Well, we've got a copy of Chris Hogan's book for you, signed by him, Retire Inspired, number one bestseller. That is your next chapter in your story to be millionaires and continue to be outrageously generous along the way. I'm so proud of you all. Congratulations. Thank you. Very, very well done.

All right. It's Ryan and Jenny, St. Paul, Minnesota. $313,000 paid off. That's their house and everything. They did it in 10 years from 28 to 38 years old, making 65 to 137 to 120. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one.

We're debt-free! We're debt-free! Love it, love it, love it! Well done! Good job, you two. Great job. What a great, great story and a great family. Hey, you're 28 years old.

Are you listening? Were you listening? Yeah, you. Were you listening? those people just paid off their house did you miss that don't miss that that really just happened and you know what it means it means you can too well they buy a little more you may make a little more shut up oh a little less you may make a little less shut up people like me can't do it what are people like you? People that don't believe? Is that what people like you are?

Are people like you people who won't take control of their life and impact their future? Is that who people like you are? Don't be people like that. That's a choice. Mediocrity is a choice. Choose. Choose. See, no discipline seems pleasant at the time

but it yields a harvest of righteousness if you'll live like no one else later you can live and give like no one else but there's a price to be paid choose you can do it you got this

this is the Dave Ramsey Show. Our scripture of the day, Proverbs 24, 14. Know that wisdom is such to your soul. If you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off. John Adams says, liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people. That's the truth. TJ is with us in Wisconsin. Hi, TJ. How are you?

Thanks for taking the call, Dave. Sure. What's up? I have, I'm going back to school next fall to finish my degree. So I've got $19,000 even in student loan debt. And I'm going to try to pass clothes, just paying the rest of school. Good. So I just didn't know if you would recommend just paying minimums

on the payments after the loans now and just stop piling cash or trying to split it half and half and try to pay more on the loans and put in less cash aside. Well, I mean, your first goal is to go no more debt. So you have to pay cash for everything. That's the first goal. And if by paying down on the student loans, you turn around and borrow more student loans because you don't have the cash to go to school, you didn't gain any ground.

You just swapped dollars. Does that make sense? Yeah. So, I mean, first thing we've got to do is make sure you have enough to pay cash. Is that what you're talking about, that you're going to have enough and pay some down on the student loans or what? Well, that's what I was trying to figure out so I can save about something between $15,000 and $20,000 between now and next fall when I go back to school and I've got $19,000 on the loans.

So I didn't know if saving. Well, I think the first thing is, the first goal is complete school, be 100% sure, have way more than enough to complete school with no new debt. Now, when do you finish school? At the end of next year? No, it'll take about a year and a half. And your degree will be in what? Just business management.

Okay. Okay. And will that move you up in income immediately? Are you working now? What's your story? Yeah, I've kind of been in and out of school. I've got a management job now, but I don't really see it being able to advance me into, like, a higher leadership role. So that's kind of my reasoning for wanting to go back to school to finish okay well it's it's not a bad thing to finish up what you're doing i think that's about a good plan but yeah the first goal is to finish with no new debt and make plenty sure you got plenty more than enough to do that but let's say that you add it up and you say i need

twenty thousand dollars to finish all of my school. And then you save up $30,000. And then you save up another $10,000. I wouldn't. I mean, if $20,000 is all you need, $30,000 is plenty. That gives you a pad. Then everything above that, you start paying off the debt. If you got really, really into the money. You see what I'm saying?

But, I mean, I wouldn't have $2 extra. I'd want a little extra to make sure you get through school with no new debt that's your first big goal now when you get out of school then we're going to attack this debt with a vengeance and that's going to be the process but um that that's just what we tell people don't don't go further in is your first goal jeffrey is in atlanta georgia hi jeffrey how are you hey dave how you doing better than i I deserve. What's up? Hey, Dave. I work for a company that has a leasing program.

I would be paying if I get into the program, I would be paying $120 a pay period to get into the leasing program. Do you work for a car manufacturer? Yes. Who do you work for a car manufacturer? Yes.

Who do you work for? BMW. Okay, that is not a normal leasing program. This is an employee benefit. Okay. And it is excellent because they furnish the car at a cost that there's no way you could have hardly any car for no more than you're paying. I mean, you said $240, right? That's $3,000 a year.

Okay? If you bought that car, it would go down $3,000 in 20 minutes in value. Yes, sir. You see what I'm saying? So that is a bargain. And they furnish, like, tires and oil and stuff, too, don't they? Yes, sir. Is gas even furnished in that deal too, don't they? Yes, sir. Is gas even furnished in that deal?

I can't remember. No, no. Does one of the car manufacturers even furnish it? But it's all the maintenance and the tires, though, right? Yes, sir, everything. Is the insurance in that, too? Yes, sir. See, that's a deal of a deal.

I mean, you can't buy the tires and the insurance for $3,000 a year. Yes, sir. But that's not a lease. That's not like a standard. Okay. They call it a lease, but it's more of an employee benefit. In other words, BMW is losing money on this transaction with you to your benefit because you're an employee. It's an employee benefit.

Yes, sir. And they want their employees driving one of their fine automobiles, and you guys do make a fine automobile. Thank you, sir. Yeah, and if I remember, you have what a selection for that. Is that the price of a certain car, or is that the price of a car up to a certain amount? No, that's the price of a certain car. Okay, the one that you liked or whatever. Yes.

Okay, all right. Well, dude, it's a deal. I mean, seriously, you can't hardly buy insurance for that. Gotcha. Much less the tires and maintenance, much less the loss in value. But that's different than Joe walking off the street and leasing that car, which if he did, it'd probably be $700 a month. Okay. You know, and that would not be a good deal.

He should maybe buy a BMW if he's got a lot of money and pay cash for it because it's a good car. But you're getting an employee benefit, and it's a sweet deal for you. I would definitely do that if I worked for Beamer. It's a bargain. It's a great deal. And there's several of the car manufacturers that have really good deals for their employees. But you just kind of have to think about it. If I was driving, you know, if you're driving a $10,000 car, man, you can't do that for $3,000 a year with what we're talking about here.

And you're certainly not driving a $10,000 car with what we're describing here. You're probably driving a $40,000 car. So, hey, good question, man. Thank you for calling in. And, again, it's a great deal. Appreciate you joining us. Amy is on Twitter, at Dave Ramsey. Is there an item or items that you refuse to pay for or buy even though you could afford it now?

Yeah, sure. I can afford most anything I want to do nowadays. I mean, not anything, but most anything. And some do nowadays i mean not anything but most anything and some things just feel weird to me they feel i just don't want to have that invested in that um i've got a friend that's worth um tens of millions of dollars and he's a watch guy and he bought a um 150 000000 watch, which sounds just nuts. But, I mean, he's got like a bazillion dollars. It's like most people buying a biscuit, okay?

I can afford to do that. It's just, I don't know. It's not me, number one. And I might spend that on a boat, but not on a watch. So, I mean, you know, it's just being authentic with you, you know. But a boat's bigger than a watch. Does that count? So, you know, it's something that hits me funny, but it's not really a value judgment to say that.

My point is that I'm not mad at him for spending that on a watch. He's got $200 million, and if he spends $150,000 on a watch, it's nothing. That guy's got plenty of money. It's like most people buying a biscuit. He gives away his generous heart is huge. He helps lots and lots of hurting people, and that's a very, very small percentage of his world. But emotionally, I have trouble, even though intellectually I can get there, and I'm not judging him. Emotionally, I have trouble, even though intellectually I can get there, and I'm not judging him. Emotionally, I would struggle doing that.

But that doesn't mean it's wrong to do it, just because I can't grasp it emotionally. It would be wrong to do it if it's a high percentage of his world, and that's why we tell people, like, on your cars and stuff, don't get into a high percentage of your financial world where you've got, you know, you make $75,000 a year and you've got $80,000 worth of cars. Well, that's just stupid. I can make a value judgment on that. That's not emotions. It's just mathematically dumb.

But when something is a small percentage of your world, there are still some things that emotionally you just don't feel right about. But it doesn't mean that it's immoral for someone else to do it, is my point. And so, and really, a lot of you could learn that lesson, because some people judge other people because they can't emotionally grasp that. And just because you can't emotionally grasp something doesn't mean it's morally wrong. There's a difference here so anyway it's a good question

I talk about a lot of that kind of stuff in the Legacy Journey book the only book I've ever written about wealth the other books I've written about money so that puts this hour of the Dave Ramsey Show in the books we will be back with you before you know it in the meantime remember there's ultimately only one way to financial peace

and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus. Hey, it's Kelly, Dave's phone screener. We finished 2017 with a bang as the fourth most downloaded podcast of the year. Thanks to all of you for listening and helping us spread the word.