The Ramsey Show - App - Listen to Your Wife, She’s Smarter Than You Are (Hour 2)

Episode Date: February 20, 2023

Dave Ramsey & George Kamel answer your questions and discuss:  Struggling working the baby steps while building a house,  "Should I pay off my car if I might lose my job soon?" "Should we separate our savings accounts?" Paying off a vehicle. Have a question for the show? Call 888-825-5225 Weekdays from 2-5pm ET Want a plan for your money? Take our FREE 3 minute assessment: https://bit.ly/3nInETX Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6 Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy

Девочка-пай Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Pods Moving and Storage Studios, it's The Ramsey Show, where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create actual amazing relationships. George Campbell, Ramsey Personalities, my co-host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Marlee starts off this hour in Minneapolis.

Hi, Marlee. How are you? Hi, I'm good. Thank you. Good. How can we help? I am calling to get some advice on how we stop doing too many baby steps at once while in the middle of building a house. Okay. How many are you doing? um well we are attempting to pay off that have a savings fund um and then also have over 20 percent of equity in our house which we've already gotten that one um now we're realizing we're just we're

starting in the middle of doing the baby steps and we need to take a step back so so the house is under construction correct and you're under contract for it yep okay yep we are uh we're building it ourselves which is how we've gotten um our equity with it okay so that decision's done yeah can't really undo it. Nope. Okay. So let's just set that aside, and you've got 20% equity because of the sweat equity, or you've got the actual cash? A mix of both. We've paid quite a bit out of pocket already, then plus the sweat equity. So we will have well over 20%.

Okay. What do you need to finish the house in cash to finish the house in cash what cash do you need to finish this project that you've started um we would need 400 000 so that's what our mortgage will end up being when we are done no no if i'm under that that's your mortgage is not cash your mortgage is borrowed money i'm talking about how much money do you need in the bank to finish this project i see um we well we're having a lot of cash flow coming in and out but we're taking draws beforehand So really that's all being done with the bank team for the expenses as they're coming. So you have a construction loan?

Correct, yep. Okay. In addition to the construction loan, do you have any cash needs? No. For the house? Yep. Okay, so if you took no cash out of your budget, you can finish the house with a construction loan

and get your permanent mortgage, correct? Correct. Okay, that's what I was trying to get at. So then that project now, we can kind of seal the wall on that, no pun intended, and push that to the side. That's taken care of. Now let's go work the baby steps. Okay.

So what is your income? $120,000 gross. All right. And how much debt do you have? Not counting the house. $62,000. All right. What kind of debt is the $62,000 made up of?

$50,000 in vehicles and $12,000 in college. What are the vehicles? We have two of them. One is the majority of it, and that is a Chevy Tahoe and then a Honda Civic. Now, what do you owe on the Tahoe? $40,000. Okay. If I woke up in your shoes, I'd sell sell the tahoe i'd amputate the tahoe

okay you call me because you're stressed out freaked out and you got money going out 14 different directions and you can't breathe yeah and you're driving a freaking 40 000 truck while you're trying to build a house in the middle of it yep i would want my life back more than i wanted the tahoe okay if i were you you're pretty easy on this is it at your car isn't it yes yeah it is ours it's just convincing my husband to do that has been the um what's his problem he loves the stress uh it's more of the stuck on, we're going to be in the hole if we get rid of it. No, you're already in the hole. When you get rid of it, you just admit it. Yeah, yeah.

He thinks paying it off and then having it for until it runs into the ground is. That would have been a good idea if you did that before you built a house. That would have helped, yes. Because right now you guys have nothing in savings because you need it all um yeah well nothing that we could throw at any of the debt right now other than we have extra cash flow each month and so we've been throwing that at our house why now it's like without the construction almost covering. Yeah, we've just been trying to pay as much cash as possible. Meanwhile, you're driving a $40,000 Tahoe.

Doing that and that too. Yeah, this is bass-ackwards, kiddo. You guys got to clean this debt up. You've got the dadgum cash set up with the construction loan to finish the house. Just finish the house with the debt. You've already committed to that. That's a hole you've dug you're set for that that's a done deal and it's not completely out of control it's just out of order and so it's not the end of the world uh and then i would look up and say if i can't get these cars and this sixty thousand dollars paid off in less than a year i'm dumping this tahoe and i'm probably just dumping it it just doesn't fit in this equation because here's the thing your husband does not feel the risk that

you all are carrying and you feel it yeah yeah it's really bothering you and he's walking along whistling through the woods and a bear is getting ready to kill him and you know there's bears and for some reason he's unaware there's a bear you follow me yeah yeah so you need to grab him by his face with your two hands put the kids to bed turn off the television put the screens down and look in him in the eyes and say i am so scared i can't breathe you're're killing me. Okay. Because that's the truth, isn't it? Yeah. And he honestly, he honestly, listen, you know how I know this guy? I'm him. I did this exact same crap to my wife in my 20s because I don't have a risk meter.

I just go do crap. And if it's wrong, I'll go do something else. And that's him. Okay. And he's whistling along in the middle of that gum bear country here, and he's attracting grizzlies and doesn't even know what they look like. And his wife is actually smart, and she's going, this is scary. And my wife was doing the exact same thing.

I about ran her in the ditch, man. I about killed her. So I'm telling you, I'm begging him, as the old guy who made the same mistakes he did, to listen to his wife, who can find a virtuous wife. Her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her, and he will have no lack of gain. Wow. Listen to your wife, men.

Timeless wisdom. If she's virtuous, listen to her. If she's a princess, that's different. But if she's virtuous, you need to listen to her. She's probably smarter than you are. And in this case, that's true. The case of Dave and the case of Marley's husband. No question.

This isn't, hey, Dave Ramsey said we have to sell the Tahoe. This is, I'm so scared we have to do something drastic to get to safety. Because you run around chasing your tail is not making me happy. Making me unhappy, stressed, anxiety. Dr. John Deloney

could do a clinic on this. Wow. This is The Ramsey Show. George Campbell Ramsey Personality is my co-host today tickets are going fast for our building wealth live tour we were just in indianapolis it was a complete sellout thank you to the 3100 of you that came out there this week i will be in austin texas for a sold-out event on thursday evening february 23rd with with Ken Coleman, Dr. John

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People will be signing books and answering questions. We'll be doing a panel. I'll be yakking at you and encouraging you. And bring your friends who think all this stuff's crazy. We might convert one of them. You never know. We might help them to move from the dark side. Sometimes it takes seeing them in person.

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All right, Erica's with us in Jacksonville, Florida. Hey, Erica, what's up? Hi, George. Thank you so much for taking my call. Hi, Dave. Hey. Hey, what's up? So I had a question, and it is pretty much whether or not I should pay off my car.

I don't know how it sounds, but pretty much I have 19K in savings right now, and there's 16K left on my car. But right now with the technology. There's how much left on your car? Let me say it again. Oh, 16K. 16,000, and you have 19,000 in savings. Yes.

And what do you make? And that's not including retirement savings. Yes. And what do you make? And that's not including retirement savings. Okay. And what do you make? $70K. Okay. You're single? Yes.

Gotcha. Okay. All right. What's your hesitation? Why don't you want to pay the car off? So, like, with tech layoffs and everything, I just did not want to pay off the car and did not have any savings. With what and everything? What did you say? You're saying tech layoffs? Do you work for one of the big tech companies?

Yes. And there's been layoffs at this company recently? Yes. What do you think the percentage chance is you're going to be laid off? 50-50, 70-30, 90-10? I'm honestly not sure. They seem to be laid off? 50-50, 70-30, 90-10? I'm honestly not sure. They seem to be random. That's so comforting. What a wonderful place to work.

What do you make? 70. What do you do for a living? I'm an IT security analyst. An IT what analyst? Security analyst. Oh, good good lord why are you only making 70 it security is huge have you shopped around looked at jobs oh i have and that's my

plan but of course until that happens i just didn't know no no i want your plan to be like by friday why would you hang out at this place? It's unstable, unpredictable, and random. That's true. And you can make 100 working someplace else. That's also true? I think so. I got security people working here, and they have IT by their name.

Could be wrong. Maybe I'm overpaying them. I don't know. Depends on what you're doing. I'm joking around. But I really think you're in a sweet spot. That is a very, very hot field that you're in. I don't know what level of certifications you've got or how far up in experience you are,

but I would be poking around out there and see what I can find. Have you heard of Ken Coleman that is on the Ramsey show here that has his own show on careers? Well, I have. Okay. Have you got any of his stuff yet? Because I'm going to send it to you. I do not. I just have your stuff, honestly.

Okay. That's fair. All right. We're going to send you his book, From Paycheck to Purpose, and we're going to send you the Get Clear Assessment for Career. Oh, and I'm going to throw in another book called Proximity Principle, which is one of his big steps on getting a new job. And I want you to go look for a job.

Why would you stay there? Okay, I do understand. No, why would you stay there? Is there a good reason I'm missing? I don't know a strong reason. So I graduated in 2021 in the fall, so in December. And so I worked here for like a year and a half. Okay. Well, Erica, here's the deal. If you pay off the car today, you free up a car payment and you just start saving up that emergency fund again. And even if you do get laid off there's probably going to be severance with some cash involved and so you're going to be okay

so i wouldn't let this whole thing paralyze you into not paying off your debt exactly and here's the thing here's what's bothering me as the old guy in the conversation okay i'm doing that a lot today but anyway the um i don't want you because we care about you we love you we want you to win i don't want you to have any part of your life paralyzed by a company that is being led poorly and when they leave their team in a position of uncertainty, feeling that they randomly could be killed at any moment, that's where you are. They've left you. They've paralyzed your life. Your life is on hold while you hold your breath to see if they're going to shoot you or not.

Right? That's true. And I want more for you than that. That's why I don't think they deserve you. I think you need to go get something else for your sake because I don't want any part of your life on hold because everything, you're just kind of looking over your shoulder every morning going, when's it coming?

When's it coming? When's it coming? When are they going to take me out from the back here? It's like Hunger Games out there. Stabbed in the, yeah, exactly. The big tech Hunger Games are underway, boys and girls. Yeah, that's true. And you're waiting for a random email to figure out that you got laid off.

I mean, there's no indication. If you're lucky. You know, and so what you've got is, let me tell you how bad their leadership sucks, okay? They've got their entire workforce thinking like her. That is not a recipe for productivity, loyalty, creativity. It is not a delivery of products. It's not a recipe for winning. And so if there's a portion, you know, leadership, if you've got a real problem,

just stand up and go, look, about 10% of you may not make it. The rest of you are safe because we're trying to turn the corner here on a mess. And the 10% that aren't going the 10 that are going to make it are going to kind of look like this and so if you fall in those categories you should be you should be holding your breath the rest of you're okay but they got the whole stinking place frozen because they're wusses as corporate leaders classic corporate america crap it's exactly what you're asking is for corporate leaders to have integrity you're that's asking a lot dave well i mean you can be a corporate leader with integrity,

but then you wouldn't be corporate America. So, yeah. Oh, my God. So sad. Just walking on eggshells. How are you focused at work if you're worried that it might be your last day? You're not. All you're doing is looking around going, oh.

You're at the water cooler going, who's next? Where did George go? George was here yesterday. It's the rapture big tech rapture i feel but you know what our plan works in good times and bad times so if that's you out there the best position you can put yourself in is being debt free with a fully funded emergency fund and be looking for that next thing yeah check out ken coleman's materials they're all at ken coleman.com guys and uh hey know, work for a place that deserves you.

And we got 1,100 people here. We communicate with them real clearly. Can you imagine? I ain't scared. I'll be here tomorrow. This is The Ramsey Show. George Campbell Ramsey personality is my co-host today thank you for joining us america we're glad you're here on the debt-free stage in the lobby of ramsey solutions mark and ashley are

with us hey guys how are you we're great we're great glad to be here good to have you guys where do you live homer new york south syracuse, fun. Welcome to Nashville. And how much have you paid off? $124,000. Ah, cool. How long did this take? Six years and four months. All right. And your range of income during that time?

$47,210. Wow, good. What do you all do for a living? High school science teacher. And I'm a wedding videographer. Awesome. Very good. What kind of debt was the $124,000?

It was our car, solar panels, student loans, and our house. You were kind of normal, and now you're weird. Yep. Way to go, you guys. What's this house worth? About $140,000. Phenomenal. Way to go, you guys. How does it feel to be completely free?

Great. Yeah. Awesome. Very relaxed. Kind of surreal. Yeah. Yeah. you've been working on it a long time yes you've been digging on this tell us your story how'd you get connected this ramsey way stuff yeah so um june 2002 6 uh june 2016 we had two little kids at home he was uh early in his teaching career i was just starting my. We really weren't making a lot of money at the time. But I thought that we were doing pretty good with our money based on how much we were making.

But then our church said, we're going to have this Financial Peace University class. And I thought, oh, I think that maybe we should take this. We were doing a really, what I learned later is that we were doing a really good job tracking our spending, but not so much planning it ahead of time. So I said to him, i think we should take financial peace and see if we can be doing anything better and i said no we're good because you're a teacher i love it yeah i thought we were i thought we were doing well like so you said did you did

you lose the argument or did you go to class? We're here. You went to class. Okay. Was there more convincing needed? How did you respond to it? I was just like, we had heard a couple of other couples that we really admired had taken the class. So we looked up to them and I said, well, if we don't like what we hear, we can just go back to what we're doing because we think that what we're doing is pretty good.

So we could always do that. And we were just so busy at the time with diapers and bottles. And he was working extra at school to try to make more money. And it felt like another thing. Because it was. Right. And the key was, though, the logical standpoint, we could take the class. And if we don't like what we hear, we can just go back to what we were doing. Yeah.

So I was like, okay, that's logical that makes sense and by i don't know lesson i think the debt lesson was like all right i'm in we're changing what we're doing good good so we got you in the middle of the class completely converted then and ready to go what's your church name that did this uh the chapel awesome very cool thanks to them for leading the class that's wonderful way to go you guys okay now you're old pros you've been pushing this rock up the hill for six years what's the secret to getting out of debt what's the secret to sticking with it that long yeah two things um i think number one is just hating debt like i said lesson two um the debt lesson was huge, huge for me because I was like, well, most people, they take on loans,

they take on credit cards, not a big deal. That's our culture. That's normal. And so I didn't think normal was bad. And so having that light bulb come on that said, okay, this is not okay. We really should shed all this debt was huge huge was a big turning point for us. And the second thing, I think we were new Christians at the time, and we had never really heard about tithing or, you know, really giving generously. So through the class, we learned

about that. And by the end of it, we were like, okay, we really want to commit to this completely. Like, we cut up the credit cards, we're going to do everything. And we wanted to grow our generosity muscle. So week by week, we increased our giving to the church until we got to the full 10%. And I think that once we started doing that, we really started to see really big changes. Because I think that God can change your money situation, and he did by giving us more opportunities to work, giving him more opportunities to work, and we took them. My business really started to take off. But then I think tithing also changes your heart. And, you know, it grew in our heart gratitude and contentment and really being able to look at the bigger picture on what's really important

and the legacy that we want to leave to our kids. And, yeah, I think that's... Chapel actually gets to preach the next tithing message. That is so cool. And for those that do have a heart for generosity, this plan just lights you on fire because you're going, wait, I'm sending lenders $1,000 every month instead of things I actually care about,

like my community and organization. So you guys are incredible. What made you go, we're not just paying off the consumer debt, we're just going to keep going through the mortgage because that's a next-level. Yeah. You just lump it all together and go any debt in our life we want gone. Well, I think it, I think when we first started, it was just the consumer debt that we were going after. And then the mortgage was this like far off. I'm like, okay, that's like way down the line. Huge goal. But I would be sitting there

doing dishes. Don't have a dishwasher in our house, and I'd be watching debt-free screams. And these two little kids would be like at my ankles watching with me. And I would hear people paying off their house. And I was like, can you imagine the freedom for that? And I kept thinking like, okay, that's gonna be like, we're gonna be 40, 45, even that would be crazy.

And then God was just kind of like, you can do it in six years. And I was like, really, how? And then, you know, he gave us the opportunities to do that. And we said, okay, we're doing it completely. So once that happened, we were just game on. Cool. How much of the six years did you spend on the consumer debt? Two. Two. Okay. And then it took another four to knock the mortgage out. Yep.

Yeah. Very good. Very good. You guys are above average. The typical is about seven years from the time you get your consumer debt paid off, you knock the mortgage out. So overall, about a 10-year process. And that's what we typically see. But you guys wore that out. Way to go. Thank you.

Thank you. Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop. I love it. Very, very cool. So what do you tell that couple out there who's maybe where you guys were? We're going, well, it's normal. It's fine.

Everything's fine. Why change? What do you say to that couple to shake them and wake them up? Well, actually we're, we're a financial peace coordinator. So we've taught the class at our church now a couple of times. And so we were always trying to convince people to take the class. And so I feel like for us, it's just being weird, being okay, being weird and, and, and owning it and knowing that there's a freedom on the other side and that you don't have to just live like everybody else well you don't have to say much you just show up and you go here's our story here's what we did and they go tell me more yeah can't really argue with your story it's your

story yeah hard hard to put that down it happened that's what happened so way to go y'all all right bring the kiddos up uh we've got a copy of the live and give bundle for you guys that's the baby steps millionaire's number one best-selling book and the total money makeover baby number one up uh we've got a copy of the live and give bundle for you guys that's the baby steps millionaires number one best-selling book and the total money makeover baby number one best-selling book and another one-year membership to financial peace university so as you're teaching it now that you've gone through it uh you can give all those stuff to somebody and help somebody get started way to go what are the kiddos names and ages this is kenzie she's 10 zander eight all right way to go guys all the way from new york city or new york state rather uh practicing a debt-free scream i assume they have

it down by now yeah all right good mark and ashley kenzie and zander from new york i love it 124,000 paid off in six years and four months making 47 $47,000 to $110,000. House and everything. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Are you ready? Three, two, one. We're debt-free!

Yeah! They brought it. That'll put some pep in your step. That'll go. Good job. Yeah. Wow. So what's the point the point is you've been listening to this show and not doing the stuff we teach and today's your day yeah i'm talking to you today's your day that couple right there was talking directly at you asking you indirectly why in the world you're still screwing around and not doing this stuff.

Today is your day. Decide. The proof is there. We've proven to you for decades that this stuff works. And there it is yet again with mark and ashley and kenzie and zander had their whole family tree changed because their mom and dad took in new information and changed their direction people listen for 5 10 15 years and then finally they go well dave i finally picked up the book i finally went to the class and two years later i became completely debt free six years later we

didn't have a mortgage payment it's amazing how that works yeah instead of listening just do it and see if you like it and like they said if don't like it, go back to how you were living. It'll always be there. I mean, if you get out of debt and you hate it, you can get back in pretty easy. They'll let you get more debt, it turns out. This is The Ramsey Show. George Campbell Ramsey personality is my co-host today a lot of you are planning to move sometime soon well that's fun i'm excited for you uh but i gotta be real in most places around the country you're still facing sky-high home prices and interest rates well they're up too and they're not exactly at the record lows. And that makes homeownership tough but does not make it impossible.

If you want to buy or you want to sell, you've got to make sure you're financially ready and you've got to have a trusted and experienced real estate agent to walk you through it, not Uncle Charlie who just got his license, not someone who does real estate as a part-time hobby because they like looking at houses you need a pro who does a lot of transactions to help you with your transaction a high caliber ramsey trusted agent you can get them through our endorsed local providers program and since we vet the agents from around the country you'll have the best support whether you're moving from florida to alaska or anywhere in between ramsey solutions.com slash agent to find a ramsey trusted real estate agent today that's ramsey solutions.com slash agent shay is

with us in jacksonville florida hi, Shay. Welcome to the Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. Hi, George. Thank you so much for taking my call. Sure. What's up? So my husband and I are currently in baby step three, and we also need to save for a few other things this year. So my question is, should I separate my savings into different focused funds,

or should I lump it together until my life changes pass? What is it we're saving for? So I'm saving for the life change. What are we talking about here? Yes. So my husband is currently finishing up college. He has about a year left and we're cash flowing that. The Navy is paying for 60% of it.

And I'm currently pregnant, and we are also saving up for a new car for the baby. Babies don't need cars. Yes, I understand. You're not saving up a car for the baby. You're saving up a car for you. So congratulations on having a baby. That's awesome.

So what is your existing car it is a 2011 ford taurus and it has 202,000 miles 202,000 yeah 2,000 miles um and so we're just trying that's your only car yes that's our only car okay all right and what's your household income it's about 55,000 a year i stay, and like I said, my husband is active duty. Okay, all right. And you already have children? No, this is our first. Well, congratulations. That's just awesome. How old are you two? Thank you. We're both 23. Okay. And when's the baby due? In September, my mom's birthday, September 9th. Fun. Okay, and how much money do you have in savings currently? About $10,000.

Great. And so if we just saved up, we just continued to pile on money into that emergency fund, how much would you have by the time the baby comes? You didn't do anything but build up savings? I would say maybe $15,000 to $20,000. Should have, yeah. That sounds about right. I'd say closer to $20,000. Should have, yeah. That sounds about right. I'd say closer to $20,000 if you're doing a good job of managing your budget,

making sure every dollar has a name. So if you did that and you and baby came home and everybody's okay and everybody comes home from the hospital and you had $20,000 and no debt payments, that'd be a pretty good place to be to start, wouldn't it? Yeah, it feels great. Yeah. And then we can look at upgrading the car a little okay but let's get let's get you and baby home and safe and make sure we don't trade car money for baby money that sounds good and does that include cash flowing his school yes it does um like i said the navy's paying for 60 percent so each uh trimester is

about a thousand and he has two left okay so we're only talking a couple thousand bucks and we're done with this yes that's correct is he still in the navy or this is post and he's active duty he's trying to finish his uh his college degree so he can become a uh an officer oh good okay so pay's gonna go up when he finishes good very good well tell him thanks for his service absolutely and uh so what would i tell you what will we tell you to do let me summarize again okay shay i want you to do nothing except live on a tight budget finish his degree and get a big old pile of cash before baby comes baby comes and everybody's home and everybody's okay then we look at upgrading the car a little bit maximum of seven to ten

thousand dollar car okay that sounds good which is way better car than you got now definitely yes yeah because you're driving a fifteen hundred dollar car and if something comes up it may be a minor repair that we have to dip into the emergency fund and then build it back up but get get you something that you feel good about the reliability and that'll hold a couple of car seats obviously um and uh and that seven to ten thousand range after you come home and that's going to leave you ten to fifteen thousand in your bank account after you've done that still zero debt in this equation and it always helps me to lay out things in order and that's kind of what we're helping you to do here we're saying this comes first then this then this and then this okay because it's real easy to get seven things coming at you at once

and you get overwhelmed and you do them in the wrong order. Like for instance, going and buying a $10,000 car right now. And then there was a hiccup with the baby and you needed the cash for that. You would, that would have been a mistake. So we're just going to make sure everything's okay then. And it probably is 99%, right? It's going to be okay, but we're going to just keep things in right order and that keeps the stress level down in your house and in your checkbook so good stuff mike is with us mike's in chattanooga hey mike how are you hey dave how you doing man better than we deserve how can we help uh so to the point um i'm trying to figure out what to do with a situation that I got myself into was purchasing a couple homes before I kind of started listening to your podcast and hearing what you're saying and kind of seeing the parallel with y'all doing things

that are not like the world. And the way I was doing things was more in line with the world. And I'm a believer, so I'm trying to make some changes here. But income is $9,522. Take home, that's including the rent from the duplex. Without the rent, it's $7,272 a month. My mortgage is $1,445. The duplex is $1,272 a month. My mortgage is $1,445. The duplex is $1,789 a month.

I have $72,000 in debt consisting of a renovation loan, a vehicle, and a couple credit cards. What will the duplex sell for? So I just bought it this year. It appraised for $260,000 like six months ago. I paid $250,000 for it. I owe, I think, $245,000-ish. So I'm worried if I sell it, I would lose money.

But, you know, I'm open to it. Well, there's nothing on fire. You don't have to give it away. So you should be able to sell it for market value if you're patient. Right. And it's rented, you don't have to give it away, so you should be able to sell it for market value if you're patient. Right. And it's rented. It is rented, yeah. So it's not costing you anything to put it on the market

and see if you can get it moved and continue to collect your rent. Because what it is, you don't have enough equity in that for it to represent anything but a potential problem. It's not a blessing. Your rents over payment are tight right any little hiccup becomes a cash drain rather than a blessing and you don't have enough cash flow to set up to cover that drain yeah and i don't even have an emergency fund yet or anything like that also uh the house house that I live in, I did a full gut remodel over the last year. I got out of the military a year ago, and I did all this within the last year.

I was doing this nights and on the weekends. I build houses for a living. The house I remodeled should sell for around $360,000. I owe $290,000. It came with an additional 1.1-acre lot that's already parceled out and has its own tax ID. So originally I planned to sell this house once it was remodeled and then build a house on the other lot.

I think I can build a modest 3-2 for my family for under $200,000, which is better than I can, you know. It may take you a while to execute all these plans, but there's nothing here that sounds, nothing's slam dunk in a hurry. It's not an emergency, but let's begin to move these things in and out of your life to where you end up with some cleared real estate and some cleared debt, and that's going to put you in a much better condition. Hey, man, thank you for joining us.

This is The Ramsey Show. Dave here. You can find all of our shows with the Ramsey Network app on your smartphone. It's the only place to listen to the entire back catalog of episodes. Download the Ramsey Network app in your favorite app store today.