The Ramsey Show - App - Learning to Live Life TOGETHER Makes a Happy Marriage (Hour 3)

Episode Date: January 17, 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 am Dave Ramsey. This is your host. I am your host. This is your host. I am your host. This is your show. Open phones at 888-825-5225.

Starting us off this hour is Hope in Tampa. Hi, Hope. How are you? I'm good. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up? I am calling.

I'm a newlywed. And I'm calling to get your input on something. I've been told by dozens of couples that the secret to a happy marriage is separate bank accounts. These are stupid people. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, the secret to a happy marriage is let's keep everything separate, and let's not tell each other what's going on. Whoever said that made sense. Yeah, the secret to a happy marriage is let's keep everything separate and let's not tell each other what's going on.

Whoever said that made sense? Yeah, right. That's absolutely ludicrous. No, I've got to tell you, the secret to a happy marriage is learning to live life together. For better or for worse, in sickness and health, unto thee all my worldly goods I pledge. You're first. I put you first. I, you're first. I put you first. You put your spouse first.

They put you first. We're fighting over who's first, and we push you in front of us all the time. We're working together. We're pulling together. We're doing everything together. Yes, we have our own identities, and we have a vote in where the money goes, but working together. Of all the data that we have on people who build wealth,

almost none of the people that we talk to that build wealth do it separately. They work together. All right. Easy enough? Yep, easy enough. Thank you. All right, Shay is in Nashville. Hi, easy enough. Thank you. All right, Shea is in Nashville. Hi, Shea, how are you?

Hey, Dave, how's it going? It's a pleasure getting the opportunity to talk to you, sir. You too. What's up? Hey, so my wife and I became landlords by default, like you say. We have a rental property, a townhouse that's worth about 300. The balance is roughly about 157. So we've got some equity in it.

Our total debt right now, not counting the current mortgages that we have, is about one hundred and sixty five thousand student loans, car loans, credit card debt. And I just felt like we weren't making as much progress to getting out of debt by keeping this townhome. So I wanted to get your opinion on if we should get rid of the townhome and just knock out all of our debt and just focus on the current mortgage that we have. Yeah, I would. Absolutely. My wife is a little hesitant to do that.

Well, here's the thing. Let's pretend you did not own the townhouse. Okay? Would you go borrow $100,000 on credit cards and car loans in order to buy a rental property? No. No. No way. And that's effectively the same thing,

because by selling it and paying off all this stuff, or if you don't sell it and pay off all this stuff, on one side of the equation you have the equity in the townhome sitting there. On the other side of the equation you have the debt, the personal debt. And so mathematically it is as if you borrowed on all that stuff in order to buy this townhome. You didn't. That isn't how it happened. But on a balance sheet, do you see what I'm saying?

Assets versus liabilities. Yeah, two columns of the stuff you own versus the stuff you owe. And when you compare those things, there's an as-if moment. And, yeah, I definitely would sell it and be free. Now, the thing that might be giving her hesitation is she may be afraid you all continue your overspending and misbehavior. Because you guys have been spending some money. Yeah, yeah, that's part of it. I think her hesitation is that the property has been

in the family for a couple of years uh it was her first property before we got married um we make a good income and i feel like if we just hunker down we could knock out our current mortgage within the next five years and be completely debt-free and be everyday millionaires uh but i just feel like this townhouse keeping it is holding us back yeah we so what is your income the baby steps uh right now it's about 270 to 320 and when did you guys start working on this idea of getting out of debt? A couple months ago. How much have you paid off? Paid off about $25,000.

In two months? Okay. Just about, just about. Let's just say you kept that rate going. That means you would be debt-free in a year, right? Yeah. It's just, you know, we also had an opportunity where a company that she works for got acquired, so there's some stock options that are coming back

in a 1099 situation. So we've got some money there. How much is that? It's about $46,000. Okay. So you have $100,000 and what was the number again in debt? About $165,000 in debt. Loans, credit cards, loans.

And if you throw $30,000 at that and $ you throw 30 000 bucks at that and 25 000 a month at that you'll be done in no time so given your huge income if you wanted to keep the townhouse and pay it and the house off in five years it could be part of your portfolio i but it's only if you guys want to be in the real estate business and you want to be in the rental business and not just because she used to own it. That doesn't make sense at all. But with your ridiculously large income, I mean, you would be debt free and easily a year. You throw that 30,000 bucks at it from the 1099 and then you start keep chunking 25 i mean 12 grand a month that's 10 months you're done 12 months you're done and so yeah given that if you wanted to hold the

condo or the townhouse and then just pay it off and pay the house off and your baby step six there's nothing wrong with that i don't disagree with her then based on that i didn't have that income figure when we first started talking but uh i don't think with her then based on that i didn't have that income figure when we first started talking but uh i don't think there's anything wrong with selling it but uh you are going to be out of debt really really fast if you really really focus like you have been for the last two months so i think the two of you need to sit down and talk that part through and say you know 10 years from now do we want to own this townhouse paid for and our home paid for? Is it one of our goals?

If it is, then you can work towards that, and I think it's doable. So good question. Thank you for joining us. Jonathan's on Twitter. I'm 20 years old. I graduate with my MBA in 2022. I have $18,000 in debt now, $10,000 car, $8,000 school loan. I'm also working third shift, making $40,000 a year.

How do I become a millionaire? You get out of debt, and you stay out of debt. You don't go into debt to finish your education. You pay for that as you go because you're working your butt off. You're not afraid of hard work. You live on less than you make, and you start investing in your 401K and Roth IRA and good mutual funds. And then when you buy a home, you get that paid off as soon as possible.

These are the key data points that we found with the millionaires that we studied in the book Everyday Millionaires that Chris Hogan just did. 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. Christian Health Care Ministries is the original health cost-sharing ministry. A Better Business Bureau-accredited organization,

CHM members share to pay each other's medical bills. It's not insurance. It's Christians financially and spiritually supporting each other. It's what Christian Healthcare Ministries has done for over 35 years, and our members have shared over $2.5 billion in medical bills. To learn more, visit chministries.org. That's chministries.org. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a proud sponsor of Dave Ramsey Live Events. chministries.org. Well, we just got word this morning. Every Day Millionaires is, as predicted, a number one bestseller. Congratulations, Chris Hogan, another number one, brother. Proud of you.

Well, thank you, Dave. This is an outstanding team award. I'm excited for everybody that's worked on the whole project and definitely excited for people to continue to get this information. Absolutely. Good times. A number one bestseller, baby. Woo!

Love it. And you just finished a book signing there in Colorado Springs. How'd that go? Oh, Dave, it went fantastic. We had a noon signing here in Colorado Springs. We had at least 150 people at the signing, and a lot of them were telling me that they were going to come to the Smart Money

event tonight at New Life Church at 6 o'clock. So we're having fun out here in the Rockies. Amen. And I think there's a couple have a fun out here in the Rockies. Amen. And I think there's a couple tickets left if you're in the Colorado Springs area and you'd like to come to the Smart Money event tonight with Anthony O'Neill and number one, two-time number one best-selling author, Chris Hogan, the book Everyday Millionaires, How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth,

How You Can Too. The next Smart Money event will be over in irvine california next tuesday uh chris and i will be doing that event that event is completely sold out thank you irvine thank you los angeles we appreciate you guys and uh excited to get to do that event over there in the last week of the book tour um you guys holding up okay out there chris oh yeah dave we're holding up. I'm pumped to do that event tonight with Anthony O'Neill. And then after I get done, we're immediately going to hop on the plane and go to Phoenix. And I'll be over there with Good Morning Arizona

in the morning. And I've got a podcast interview, a couple of affiliate talks, and potentially on with Neil Cavuto again in the afternoon. Alright. Very cool cool and then you guys got a book signing tomorrow night there in phoenix at desert ridge marketplace barnes and noble six o'clock each of these book signings uh the smart vestor pros are sponsoring and giving away a thousand dollars no purchase necessary must be present to win so come out to desert ridge marketplace those of you in phoenix tomorrow night at 6 o'clock. And Chris will be there signing books.

And then you guys head over to Las Vegas for you to speak in Judd Wilhoite's church this coming weekend, right? That is correct, Dave. I'll be speaking at Central Church on Saturday night and then speaking at three services on Sunday before we head over to L.A. to do more media. We'll be doing KTLA morning news, and then we'll also have interviews with GoBankingRates as well. So we're going to keep this thing moving, Dave. I'm excited.

People are excited about this information, and I can't wait to continue the movement. Absolutely. So just to continue the song here, Los Angeles, Barnes & Noble, The Grove at Farmer's Market will be at 6 o'clock Monday night. Wednesday night then will be San Francisco, and then Thursday night is Sacramento, and Seattle is wrapping it up a week from this Friday on the 25th. And we'll keep you up to date on all of those locations and so forth.

And the word is out. This thing is exploding. This book is huge. This idea that this discovery from the largest study of millionaires ever done that you can do this, that the American dream is alive and well, right? Oh, it is, Dave. It's very much alive and well. And I'm telling you, looking at the people's faces at these book signings,

they know they believe it, and they're excited to tell other people about it. And, you know, one lady said, you know, I want you to tell Dave, thank you for encouraging me all these years because she's close. She is about to cross that everyday millionaire mark, and she's plugged in. She's been a part of Financial Peace University and is about to coordinate her 12th class. Wow. These people are all around. Yeah, they're everywhere.

They're hiding in plain sight, as you like to say. And here's the thing. This is the largest study ever done on millionaires, but the book is not a white paper on statistics. It has a lot of statistics in it and a lot of the conclusions of the research. Some of it was obvious. Some of it wasn't obvious. But, for instance, one of the things we found was that 79% of the millionaires

inherited zero. Another 5% only inherited 100,000 or less, which means mathematically somewhere between 85% and 90% of America's millionaires did not become millionaires by inheriting it. It is a conclusive fact. It's not a feeling. Well, and it's important for people to know that, Dave, because a lot of people don't come from families where they stand to inherit anything.

And if you think the only way you can become wealthy is from inheritance, and your family doesn't have anything to give you, then you think it can't be done. So people need to know the truth. It's about you being focused, you making decisions, and working a plan for yourself and your family. There you go. Number one bestselling author of the number one bestselling book, Everyday Millionaires, How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth and How You Can Too. You can get the book at any bookstore. You can get it at DaveRamsey.com, at ChrisHogan360.com, certainly Amazon, anywhere else. It is selling like crazy.

To my knowledge, we haven't found any places that have completely run out yet, but we are having a bunch of places place reorders to stay in stock, and things are just zoom, zoom with this book. It is a caught fire. It's pretty, pretty fun. I thought it would, so I'm not surprised, but things are good. Congratulations again, Chris, on another number one. We're proud of you.

Thank you, Dave. I'm proud of the team. All right. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Charles is in Atlanta, Georgia. Hey, Charles, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Dave, how are you? Pleasure.

Better than I deserve. How can I help? Hey, so for the first time, I've got a job. I've got some pretty decent income. I've got no debt, and I'm not really sure where to start with investing. Way to go. Cool. How much are you making?

I'm in sales, so it varies, but my run rate right now is about 90 grand. Good for you. Well done. All right. Well, you're debt- debt free so the next thing we want you to do for sure is build an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses not to be touched for any reason except for emergencies have you got any of that built yeah i've got about 20 grand or so in cash saved up okay well set that aside and put a big X over it and don't touch it.

It's not for buying stuff. If you want to buy some stuff, you've got to save up money in addition to that, okay? Okay. Don't slosh back and forth in the make your savings account a put and take account. Put it in, take it out. Don't do that. Now, once you've got that set aside, then we tell people to start putting 15% of your income into good growth stock mutual funds in a retirement plan.

The best place to put it is if your company has a match, it's up to the match. The second best place to put it after that is the Roth, and the third best place is just a traditional investment account, a traditional 401K or a traditional IRA. So does your company have a 401k? We do. I'm currently using a Roth. I'm maxing out a Roth, although I wasn't sure about a 401k. I wonder if I choose to start some business or if I just need the capital before then, if it makes sense to put it into an account I can't access until I'm, you know, 60 or so,

and that's so far away from me. No, you need to start this money. You need to start building the 15%. You need to start building wealth for retirement. Then if you want to start an additional side account, in addition to that to save up to do some other things with, to have some free capital, then you would just do that in a traditional mutual fund.

But you need to get your wealth building started. Again, 15% of your income is you can do more than that if you want to since you don't have a house at this stage, do you? I do not. Okay. So, you know, the next step is kids' college, and it sounds like you're single. Correct. Yeah, so kids' college doesn't apply.

The mortgage doesn't apply is the next step. So really put 15% into your – does your 401K at the office match? It does not. Okay, then, yeah, I would do – and do they have it as a Roth? Can you do as a Roth 401K? I'm doing a Roth post-tax Roth IRA outside of my employer. Yeah, but does your employer 401k have a Roth option? I don't know that.

Okay, because I want to get you up to 15% of your income going in, and a basic Roth of $6,000 doesn't get you there. So I want you putting more in, some into your company, in other words, and if you have a Roth option, take that. Then above that, above the 15%, which is about $14,000 in your case, then you start saving in a side account for your other goals that you had there, like starting a business or whatever. So, hey, good question.

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Go to Zander.com. In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions, Matt and Mallory are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? Hey, we are fantastic, Dave. Welcome. Where do you guys live? Louisville, Kentucky. Oh, just a few hours up the road. Not bad. Well, guys. How are you? Hey, we are fantastic, Dave. Welcome. Where do you guys live? Louisville, Kentucky. Oh, just a few hours up the road. Not bad.

Well, welcome. Good to have you today. And all the way down here to Nashville to do a debt-free scream. Yes, sir. Good for you. And how much have you paid off? We've paid off $82,000 in two and a half years. Good for you. Well done. And your range of income during that time? Making just a touch under $70,000 to just a touch under $100,000.

Good. What do you all do for a living? Mallory's a special education teacher, and I am a recruiter. Very good. Good for you guys. So what kind of debt was the $82,000? Mostly school loans. Yep.

Mostly student loans. And a Ford Focus. Got it. And how long have you all been married? One year. Whoa! We got married on January 1st of last year. Okay, so you started working your plans separately and then finished it up together.

That's correct. Very good. We actually took FPU while we were still dating. Good. Yeah, that's great pre-marriage counseling, isn't it? Yes. I love it. Very fun.

Okay, so what prompted you all to get started on all this? So one day I came over to Mallory's house and she was having a panic attack. Her furnace had gone out and she was embarrassed because she had to call her folks instead of being able to handle it herself. And so I called the wisest person I've ever met, my mom. And she says, you can do one of two things. She says, you know, you're doing the Dave Ramsey plan. You could put probably a part of your emergency fund toward it and sort of solve it or, you know, let her handle it. And then, you know, you guys go through FPU together. And so for Valentine's Day, I said, you know, Mallory, I know you're in the middle of a master's program.

How would you like one more class? It's a great idea. Yeah, since you don't have anything to do, let's go ahead and take a class. Full-time job, master's degree, another class. So, yeah, I'll bet that went over well. It did, actually. I was very surprised. Well, after the furnace, you were kind of ripe for the picking, weren't you?

Yeah. Yeah, okay. Yeah, you get good and scared like that one time. You go, I've got to fix this. And it was just a year after I bought my house. So all of the homeowner's insurance had expired for the one year. Oh, all the warranties and things were done. Oh, my gosh.

And it was like a month after that. Of course. Yeah, that's the way that always works. Yeah. Well, way to go, you guys. What's the secret to getting out of debt? You paid off $82,000 in two and a half years? We had lots of productivity sessions at the coffee shop.

Yeah. Our friends have been incredibly supportive. And what we would do is we'd watch their dogs while they were out. And all of a sudden, we'd have a Starbucks gift card. And they'd say, hey, go on another productivity session. Keep going toward the goal. They knew where we were going with the entire thing. I love it.

Oh, that's fun. Very cool. So you had some good friends cheering you on. Absolutely. That makes a big difference. Who were your other cheerleaders? My folks were huge cheerleaders for us. Our pastor was.

And Mallory's folks were. They got on board. Got on board, yeah. So you started taking the class at your church, I guess? There was a bigger church in the area. Our church is kind of small. We didn't offer it at the time. Okay.

But since we've taught FPU once to our church. Oh, wow. Well, thank you. Yep. So you're coordinators now. We are. Look at you. Way to go.

Yep. Very cool. Well, it's fun to teach it. It is. Especially after you've been set free like this. Right. So good for you. So, well, well done, teach it. It is. Especially after you've been set free like this. Right. So good for you. So, well, well done, you guys.

Good job. Very good job. What was the hardest part of this whole thing for y'all? It's been a trip. I mean, sticking with it, when I started out, I was working four jobs. Wow. Yeah, my Friday would start at 8 a.m. and it would end at 8 a.m. because I was a waiter and then I would go drive ride share apps.

So, you know, next thing I know, I was just out of it by Sunday. So, yeah, it was rough. But, you know, slowly but surely we saw where the end was. And, you know, it's all about just sticking to the plan and just, you know, keeping on the journey and a lot of self-discipline involved in it. Yes. Was it worth it?

Totally worth it. Absolutely. I it worth it? Totally worth it. Absolutely. I mean, how does it feel to have no payments? Awesome. Yeah, it's incredibly freeing to not have to make another major payment. We can chunk it into savings. We can do all sorts of great stuff with it. You've got money everywhere now, huh? I know.

And I talk to other people and they're like, how'd you do it? And so I get to share with them how we did it. Right. Very fun, you guys. Well, we're proud of you. Very good. Good job. Got a copy of Chris Hogan's book for you, The Everyday Millionaire's Book, because that's what you're going to be.

You're on your way. It's your next step, next chapter in your story. So great job. Matt and Mallory, Louisville, Kentucky, $82,000 paid off in two and a half years, making 70 to 100. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Ready? Three, two, one.

We're debt-free! Yeah! Well done, you guys. Beautiful. Excellent. Man, that's as good as it gets right there. That's fun. That's how you start off your life.

I love all these guys that are going through Financial Peace University as their pre-marriage counseling. There you go, man. I love it. And see, then you can keep on it by just having your free membership in the Financial Peace Online experience, which is the membership online. Financial Peace University, the nine-week class, you go there. But then all the class materials and the videos and the audios for that class, plus the legacy journey, which is the follow-up class, are all online. And that's your Financial Peace membership.

And your EveryDollar app is there, the hook to your bank, which is EveryDollar Plus. That's about $120 value. That's all online. It's all free when you go to the class for the first year. That's pretty cool. And you're going to want to stay with it because there's all kinds of stuff in there. And some of you that have been through the Financial Peace University class, you need to jump in and get the subscription to the membership

because there's all kinds of stuff there that you could do. And, man, the streaming of our live events, all kinds of stuff is built into the membership. So you don't want to miss out on all that. All right. Open phones at 888-825-5225. You jump in. We'll talk about your life and your money. Kim is following us on YouTube.

Dave, my husband can make good money in a more expensive city, and we don't want to retire where we are now. I may not be able to get the same job there that I have now. Should we make the move? We need both incomes to make it. Well, I think if your husband can line up a job in that city before you make the move, then you go line up a job in that city. Then you can make it. But I mean, I don't know. I don't know what good money is. And I don't I would not move to a different city just to chase income.

There would have to be more to it than that. It's where I want to live. It's where I want to raise my kids. It's where I want to attend church. It's where I want to have my life, and I can make more money. But if you move to a place that you hate and you're miserable, you move to Florida and you don't like hot weather and you're miserable and you don't like humidity and you're miserable and, you know,

you really want to live in New York and you move to Florida, that's, you know, don't do that for money. Figure out a different way to change your career. Figure out a different way to change your income. But if this is a move that's positive all the way around and the only thing holding you up which it sounds like the way this is worded kim the only thing holding you up is you got to get a job start shopping for a job there go hee-haw this is a great adventure get his lined up get yours lined up and then head you, load up a truck and head to Beverly, kiddo. Get her done. You can do this, but you just got to go ahead and put, you know, you have to put the steps in place.

And one of the things about when you set a good goal like this is you can just step back and say, what has to be true in order for this to be smart? What has to be true in order for this to be smart? What has to be true in order for this to be our next step? And in your case, it sounds like what has to be true is you need your income there. So you need to find that you can get a job or that you have a job or that you have a really good lead on a job or some hope that is reasonable and wise for you to make that deal, to make that jump. And then go do it, man. Go do it if it's what you want to do. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. Our scripture of the day, James 1.22,

do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes. Well, there you go again. Love it. Open phones this hour, 888-825-5225. Lee is in Pittsburgh.

Hey, Lee, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hey, Dave, thanks for taking my call. Sure, what's up? So I'm looking forward to paying off my mortgage. I think I paid too much for my house and I wanted your opinion on if I should sell my paid off truck or not. It's only three years old and it's probably worth about $28,000. And would it be worth it to start by selling that and putting like $20,000 down on the mortgage and kick-starting it that way? Would you recommend that? I mean, it's a new truck. Yeah, what's wrong with the mortgage? Well, I owe $169 on it, and my payment's like $1,200, $2 a month, and it's probably going

to go up a little bit now because school district just upped my taxes, but I just want to pay it off, and it's a lot, and that's the last thing. Other than that, I don't have any other debt. Yeah. What do you make a year? What's your household income? Well, the last two years, I made $126,000, but my base is $80,000, so that was with a

lot of every dog well your house payment's not out of line and uh your truck is not out of line and you're making progress i mean making 126 000 how fast do you pay off 169 what three four years uh yeah i guess i guess i could maybe five years i mean how old are you? I'm 26. And you have a paid-for house when you're 31? Uh, yeah. Yeah, I guess that would be nice.

That'd be okay, right? I mean, five years into 169, that's doable. It's only about 30 grand a year. Okay. Without selling the truck. No, I mean, I think you're on a really good path, and I don't think you have anything to wring your hands about. You're really focused.

You're really making big decisions. You're doing weird stuff that normal people don't do. Normal people are broke. So you're going to be in a really fine position very soon if you keep this up. I assume you have your emergency fund in place yes i do six months worth good well you're doing all the stuff in the right steps and i would just keep chunking on that house and say you know 30 40 grand a year you're going to be done three four years as you get raises during this time get more the chance to make more overtime which is what you've been doing it like, then you just keep chunking on it.

And you're going to be there really, really fast before you know it. Heather is in Portland, Maine. Hi, Heather. How are you? Hi. Thank you so much for taking my call. Sure. What's up in your world?

Well, my stepmom and my dad brought your book to me about 13 years ago. I was in a ton of debt, and I worked myself out of that. Got debt free. I'm now on baby step four. In the meantime, at that time I was renting. Since then, I've bought a house, so I do have a mortgage, about $116,000. Good. I'm a single mom.

I make about $40,000 a year. Since then, both my parents have passed. My dad most recently. Yeah a, I think a 529 for my son. And my brother took care of that. I'm pretty sure that's what. So anyway, I have about $80,000. But I'm wondering what the best thing to do with that is. I do have $20,000 an ira okay um all right are you putting 15 of your income away in retirement yes good good then you're working baby steps four five

six it sounds like five has gotten taken care of with the 25 towards the 529 and then that leaves us to six let's pay off your house you owe 116 80 towards it would just leave 26 000 or 36 000 owed and you pay that off fast okay you'd be debt free how old are you 48 yeah i mean, it sounds to me like when you're in your early 50s, this house is paid for. What's the house worth? Well, about $148,000. Wow. Very good. I mean, to be that close to being debt-free, you just have like $30,000 owed, right?

Okay, yeah. I do have an emergency fund. Good. I just was concerned with putting all of that money into the house and not having anything liquid, you know, just besides my emergency fund. What do you need something liquid for? I don't know. I was just feeling nervous about it. So that's really why I wanted your advice.

I also, pardon of me really wants to take my son somewhere on a trip i don't i know my dad would really like that okay so pull five grand so pull five grand out and go on a cruise with him or something okay you know that's fine that's not the end of the world there sure you can do some of that if you want to but i guess the point is is that where you are is you're working baby steps four, five, and six. You've already got four going. That's 15% of your income. Five, you've checked that box, about the $125,000, and a $529,000. Six is the house, which is the next thing in order.

So, yeah. I mean, have you got six months of savings in your emergency fund or three? I have five, actually. Okay. We'll beef that up a little bit to give you a little bit more comfort then. And throw some money towards the trip and throw the rest at the mortgage. And then let's just start looking at, gosh, how quickly can we pay off this house? Let's get her done as fast as you possibly can.

Because it would be so neat to have no house payment. And what a great legacy, because your parents are the ones who sent you the book in the first place. Yes, yep. Great legacy to have the house paid off, and it was their fault, you know, from their inheritance. So very cool. Very well done. Brent's with us in Boise, Idaho. Hi, Brent.

Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. Thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's up? Well, my wife and I, we've got around $13,500 in credit card debt, $12,500 in collections. And we've got two older cars that are paid for. And she is, she actually has a car through her work that's provided for her. So we're trying to see if we

should try to sell one of the cars to kind of expedite the process or kind of keep it as a backup since both cars are fairly old and possibly unreliable. So what are they worth? We've got the one that we're looking at selling is probably about $3,000. It's a 07 Honda CR-V. And what's the other one worth? That is a Denali or like an 02 Denali. That's probably worth about $4,000 or $5,000, but we need that one more because we've got five kids,

so we need the extra space on that one. Okay. Well, that car doesn't sound like it's about to lay down to the point you need a spare. Right. Yeah. We've had some problems in the last year. We've probably put about close to 2 000 into it but i mean it's a it's an o2 so it yeah there's two options there's two options here keeping the car is silly but the other so there's two options sell it and sell the

denali and buy a new car not a brand new, but another car with the money together, buy a $7,000, $8,000, $9,000 car, pay cash for it, so you've got a good solid car there, and then you've got hers, or just keep the Denali, keep patching it up for now, and throw the money at the debt, which is probably what I'd do. Okay.

But no, I don't think you need a spare. Okay. Fair enough. Well, you've got $25,000 in debt you need to clean up here. So what's your household income? Just under $90,000 was what we made last year. Okay. That was net, yeah.

Have you guys got your written budget going on every dollar? Were you really attacking this, or are you just starting to discuss it? No, we started actually in December, actually writing it all down and doing every dollar and and so i mean we're on the process today i'm going to pay off our first our smallest credit card good for you way to go so it feels good doesn't it we're we're rolling yes it does i love it yeah well okay i'm not where everything's going yeah i'm gonna just i think i'm gonna use that 3 000 to continue this momentum so yeah sell the car and throw it at your dad's snowball. I'm with you there.

You're going to do this. You're going to blow through it. You've got this. You're really doing it. I love it, man. Well done. Proud of you. Very proud of you.

That puts us out of the Dave Ramsey Show and the books. We'll be back with you before you know it. In the meantime, remember, there is ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the prince of peace christ jesus hey it's blake thompson senior executive producer for the show you know you can listen or watch anywhere with the dave ramsey show app on your smartphone catch the full show or watch the highlights and check out Dave's upcoming guests. Head to the App Store and download it today.