The Ramsey Show - App - Money Habits Are Not Tied to Your DNA! (Hour 1)

Episode Date: January 10, 2020

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host. Thank you for joining us. Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Tyler is with us in Arkansas. Hey, Tyler, how are you?

Doing great. How about yourself? Better than I deserve. How can I help? My wife and I are in Baby Steps 4 and 6 and we've got uh two mortgages in six one is our personal residence and second is a commercial property that she is using for a hair salon cool and we're unsure which one to tackle um well how much is owed on them so the the salon has about 75k left on the mortgage on it, and the home has about $175,000.

Okay. And your household income's what? Between $160,000 and $180,000. You're killing it, man. Congratulations. Thank you. She's chopping some hair seriously over there. I'm losing mine, and she's chopping some.

That's fair. i love it well um tip typically all things being equal which they're not here uh there's a hundred thousand dollars difference in the balances um i would pay off your home first because it gives you a sense of well-being to have a paid for home that's different than a commercial property being paid off, okay? But in this case, it's a lot different. You make a ton of money, and so I've got $225,000 in total real estate debt. I make $161,080. How quick are we paying off the $225,000 in total? Our projection was within the next four to five years.

Okay, that's fair. We had actually started putting money on the house itself. Yeah. And then the balances got low enough that I thought, well, maybe we should flip-flop. Yeah. I wasn't sure. Yeah. So the point is, in four years, give or take, you're done anyway.

Yeah. So this is not a... The loan's only got three left anyway. This this is not a big discussion is my point. You're going to have both of them done in four years, which, as we all know, goes by in a blink. But I'm probably just, I mean, it doesn't matter much, but I'm probably just, that little one, I'm probably just going to reach over and knock it out.

Okay. Just kind of debt snowball this you only it's only 75 000 and um let's see if we're doing 225 in four years we are doing 75 000 a year yeah that's on top of you know a big step forward too so yeah yeah and so you know but my point is you're going to knock them all out in four years so 225 divided by that so 75 a year knocks the whole thing out give or take and um not even quite that so you're going to have the 75 done this year in 2020 and then the rest of it's just your house right right so that kind of helps me say yeah i'm probably going to knock the little one out okay i appreciate the info yeah but but'm probably going to knock the little one out. Okay. I appreciate the info. Yeah, but if you decide to do it the other way just because you want to, you would not be in the stupid column.

Yeah, I might security glance that house first. All of these are in the smart column. Okay. All of the answers are good answers here because in four years, touchdown. You're done, right? Right. Hey, good job, man. You're stud, right? Right. Hey, good job, man. You're stud. Keep after it.

Logan's in Texas. Hey, Logan, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Thanks, Dave, and thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's up? So I've got a question about life insurance. I'm going to be making about $73,000 a year, not including side hustles, probably closer to about $100,000 with all my side hustles.

So I am looking at for myself to do a 20-year term for a million dollars. I'm 29 years old, so it put me to 49. By that time, we should be financially stable enough to self-insure and my life would be taken care of. Now for my wife, she is 30 years old. She, her mother and her grandfather both were diagnosed with ALS. Her mom is currently battling the disease, and she's about 56. Her grandfather passed away at about 53. So in my mind, in order to kind of just foresee that and the potential that the longer we wait to get this set up,

the more uninsurable she will become, I'm thinking about setting it up as a, well, I don't need as much because I'll be able to keep working and provide an income. So I was going to do a half million dollar policy for a 30 year term for her, which would put her to 60. What does she make? She is currently a stay-at-home mom, but she's looking at within the next 12 months going back to work as an RN. But she's hesitant just because of the potential of her losing her mother. Yeah, yeah. The probability with ALS. And unfortunately, yes.

Yeah. I'm sorry. What a diagnosis. I just lost a good friend of mine to that a week and a half ago. I'm sorry to hear that. All right. So if at 20 years you're okay or she's okay because you've become financially independent, why would you not be okay at 20 years?

I guess that's a good point. I should be just fine, even in a better place if I'm continuing to work. Exactly. So, I mean, the only thing you're worried about is her loss of insurability into the future somewhere. Yes, sir. Yeah. And if you don't need insurance insurance loss of insurability is not

a problem okay so um i'll probably just take a 20 on both of you you know here's the thing how old are you guys you said you're 30 she's 30 so price it price it listen what's your household income you already told me 100 and and she's going back to work. So price it out both ways. And if it's $50 more a year or something, it could be. A healthy 30-year-old, it might not be that different. And it gives you extra peace for $50 a year, sure. But I'm just kind of thinking through conceptual things sometimes when you put actual dollar amounts to these discussions you just kind of go well it doesn't

matter you know so um you know if it comes up that it's the cost of a pizza or two uh and it makes you feel better because of these uh this trend line in her family which is unbelievable um then then yeah take take the $30. But if it's $2,000 more a year or something, don't do it. Oh, yes, sir. $20 is fine. You see what I'm doing? Yes, sir, I sure do.

Hey, man, thank you for calling in. Open phones at 888-825-5225. So this show is me answering questions of what i would do after 30 years of coaching thousands and thousands of people and indirectly millions of people on how to handle money after going broke and losing everything and having to start over after becoming a millionaire by the time i was 26 but losing it all because i was stupid and then had to start over because i was stupid on steroids, baby. I mean, PhD and DUMB, right?

And then became a multimillionaire after that. So based on what I know from all of those scars, successes, and the occasional failure, what would I do if I were in your shoes? And we apply God's and Grandma's common sense to your question. 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 healthcare costs? Based on New Testament principles, Christian Healthcare Ministries, or CHM, helps Christian families, churches, and ministries join together as the body of Christ to share their major

healthcare costs. Christian Healthcare 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. Most people grew up in a family that was one of two things.

Either the family you grew up in were like really good with money, and they seemed to be always managing it well. Sometimes they're a little uptight about it, and sometimes they didn't talk about it, but they handled money well. Sometimes they're a little uptight about it, and sometimes they didn't talk about it, but they handled money well. Or you grew up in a family where it was always volatile. The family always struggled with money. Money was a constant stress point. It was arguing. Bills were behind. The electricity got cut off. You know, what was the deal? One way or the other, that's how you grew up. Here's what's interesting.

In the family that handled money well, sometimes the best of those families talked about money. But most families don't talk about money. Most parents, old school parents, they don't talk about sex or money. And when their kids grow up, they were surprised to find out that they had both. You know, and you just, that's how's how it goes right so here's the thing stress is there money habits are not a dna thing they're an environmental thing you learn ever open your mouth and you said i was never going to act that way and you open your mouth and your father or your mother comes ever open your mouth and you said i was never going to act that way and you open your mouth and your father or your mother comes out of your mouth directed

towards your kids or even towards a friend you know that's a decision that's not a dna thing you just decide i did this i do the same stuff i even do it with my grandkids only my kids go who are you and what have you done with my father? He was so tough, and you're like a big softie with the grandkids. It's because that's the grandfather's job. Shut up. Papa Dave is different than Daddy Dave, and he should be. So if you're ready to decide, because it's a decision, to change your life,

you can't blame it on your parents. Either way, you can give them some credit for the success and the things they taught you. That's good. But the decisions are yours. Your success or your failure is freaking your fault. Financial Peace University is the plan that has taught millions of families to do this right. It gives you the opportunity to live with dignity and to change your family tree and to not have stress in your house about money. If you've never taken it, this is your year. No matter where you are in your journey,

you're going to walk away with the tools you need to take your money to the next level. Financial Peace University. Go to DaveRamsey.com and find out about a class near you there's 10 or 12,000 of them operating right now all across America or call the customer care team the Ramsey concierge at 888-22-PEACE 888-227-3223 Jennifer's in Wyoming. Hi, Jennifer. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up?

I just had a question. I found your book about three, four days ago. I've listened to it four times now. Wow. Yeah. I'm pretty serious about this. I'm in trouble as far as I've been with somebody for 11 years, and we have been married for four years. We have a four-year-old little boy.

And these past few months, I've really just looked at him and realized how fast his life is really going. I have no savings for him. I have no savings. And me and my husband are completely separated, separate in finances. And when I say separate, I mean, we have separate bank accounts. The house is in his name. The only thing that we share with our name on the same piece of paper is our car loans um my truck will be paid off next month and we've had that loan for six years and i've paid it myself the entire six years and then he has a car loan that will be i'm 31 and he's 34 going on 35.

And what does he do for a living? He's a correctional officer sergeant. And what do you do for a living? I'm a yield accountant for a refinery. Okay. So numbers are second nature to you? Yes, sir. so numbers are second nature to you yes sir and then my um i'll have my associate's degree next year either january or may depending on how some classes land but i've worked in accounting

for many years okay where you're sitting is not unusual at all for someone that has taken the life path that you all have taken. It's pretty simple. You lived together without being married for six years. And so you kept everything separate. You were roommates. And now combining everything is not natural because you did it the other way for six years. Not six minutes for six years not six minutes six years and so you know the discussion of combining everything feels weird because you've the other way has been

determined to be normal the problem with that is your normal sucks because married couples who do not handle money together have a statistical probability of losing with money. It's almost impossible. We almost never find couples handling their money separately who win with money, because Jesus said your treasure is where your heart is. And when you come into agreement on where your money's going you're really discussing and agreeing and modifying and compromising on where your total life is going when you agree on your spending you've agreed on your life and when you keep your life separate it's hard to have a high quality relationship relationship? I brought this to him. I completely, 100% agree with you. We have been in actually full-blown fights the last three days over it because it's almost like he's unconvincible

to do this with me. Like I said, I've listened to your book four times. I've even started it again today. I've been listening to it all morning. What would be his downside of considering trying something new? That's what I can't even understand. He pretty much thinks that I'm just trying to take his money. It's not his money. You're married. In the state of Wyoming, it's not his money. You're married.

It's our money. He doesn't want to give up all of his extra money to pay off that. Yeah. And so, sorry, Bubba, you have a wife and a kid. You already gave up all this independence. That's how life works. So, I mean, there's no way of getting around this. Even if you were to divorce, you get half his dadgum stuff.

I mean, that's how this works in Wyoming. Works in most states that way, okay? So that's why they say marriage is grand, divorce is 50 grand, right? So you get to split the stuff up. If I can't get him on board you well you've been at this four days let's calm down a little bit okay um you know let's not let's not get all apocalyptic but um what i would say is this just you know bribe him just say you know uh there's some fun stuff on the other side of you listening to this audio book and after you listen to this audio book um there's some fun stuff on the other side of you listening to this audiobook and after you

listen to this audiobook um there's some fun stuff on the other side of it and and just you know just say you know calm down a little bit here nobody wants your stinking money by the way the law says i already got your stinking money just in case you're worried about it okay and i don't want your stinking money i want you and me to work together as a couple and have a wonderful marriage and a wonderful future and a high statistical probability of living our dreams and giving a wonderful home to our kid and those kinds of things if you can get him to go to financial peace university which right now you can't okay but if you can talk him into it i'm going to put you on hold kelly's going to pick up and she's going to give you her contact so you can get back to her but if you can ever talk him

into it i'll pay for it you can go for free because there's a almost zero percent chance if he goes through that nine-week class with you that he will not convert i'm really good at convincing you to do this the right way it's about all i'm good at but i'm really good at convincing you to do this the right way it's about all i'm good at but i'm really good at that so there you go hang on kelly will pick up we'll help you out if we can be calm though don't don't get too crazy just give him a little time give him a little time don't turn this into a nagging situation talk Talk about why it's important, not what to do. Why is more important than the what. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. Thank you. Jake and Taylor are with us in British Columbia.

Says on my screen, you guys are debt-free. Congratulations. Thank you, Dave. Very cool. How much have you paid off? We paid off $65,000. Well, $65,845, if you want to be specific. Yeah, let's be specific.

How long? Nine and a half months. Wow, that's quick. And your range of income during that time? We started at about $120,000, and then with all kinds of work and promotions and the hustle, we boosted it to $160,000. Wow. What do you guys do for a living?

So Taylor is a massage therapist here in BC, and I work as a manager at a telecommunications company and also an audio engineer on the side. Very cool. I also teach at a college, and I work as a consultant in addition. So out of both of you having all these side hustles, which is the best-paying side hustle? Oh, college education and probably audio engineer, I would say.

Okay. So you're teaching at the college, and then the audio engineer is the best gigs. Yeah. Okay, cool. And you do what during the day, Jake? I'm a manager at a telecommunications company. Okay. So where'd you learn audio?

I actually went to school for audio. Oh, okay. We met as hip-hop dancers. communications company. Okay. So where'd you learn audio? I actually went to school for audio. Oh, okay. We met as hip hop dancers. We were professional hip hop dancers for 13 years. Wow. And he always played with audio and went back to school. And that was part of our debt, student loans. This is before we found you. And yeah, he graduated. And shortly after he graduated, we were so frustrated with all the debt, and we're looking for solutions. So what happened then after you decide you're looking for solutions? Tell me the rest of the story.

Well, we kind of have two versions of this story. His and hers. Because we were dancers, we were living paycheck to paycheck for a long time, as most artists do. And we transitioned into kind of our big boy and big girl careers and started making more money. And we're just so frustrated. We didn't know where the money was going. And we would see at tax time, like, wow, we made more than we've ever made in our lives. Like, what's happening?

And I started deep diving on Google, and I found a YouTuber who had just started your program. And I was like, who's this bald guy? Like, what is he talking about? And he's based in the States. I don't know if this works for us in Canada. And so I just kind of followed along. And over a period of weeks, I consumed as many podcasts as I could. I downloaded the audio book.

I listened to the audio book. And I came home, and I started tracking all of our income. I'm totally the nerd. I was doing all of the things and then ran to Jake. I was like, this is what we're doing. Get ready. And his version is very different than mine. So Jake, what really happened? Well, I mean, basically what Taylor was saying, like I was the worst one between the two of us in terms of our money situation. So I never wanted to look at even my paychecks and even my bank accounts. And then exactly what she was saying is that one day we were just so frustrated at why we weren't getting out of debt. And all of a sudden, I'm at work.

And at this point, I'm still working at the telecommunications. Living his life, using credit cards. I'm just using my credit cards, left, right, and center. And then I get this text, and it's a link to your podcast. And she's like, listen to this. We're going to talk about this when we get home. And in my mind, I'm like, oh, my God, what did I do? What have I done?

Yeah. And then from there, it was just kind of like we dove in really deep, really fast. Game on. Give that intensity. Yeah, and then from there, it was just kind of like we dove in really deep, really fast. Game on. Give that intensity. So once you both had the information from whatever, podcasts or audio books or whatever, and you both got on the same page, you both knew there was a problem,

and then you just joined hands and went for it. Yeah, exactly. Very cool. And nine and a half months later, you got rid of $66,000 in debt. Yes, sir. That's so impressive. So how much of it was student loans, and what was the rest of it? I would say probably two-thirds of it was student loans. I had some, and then Jake had some as well.

And then we had credit cards, a personal loan to my mom. We had a government loan. We were basically normal. Yeah. How did it feel to pay your mom off? Oh, that was actually, for me, it was really relieving because she was the one that kind of helped me out personally to be able to get out of my other debts. But then I racked up even more, but paying her off was the most rewarding. Yes, because we tried for so long to get out

of debt and our family helped us, and nothing helped us, Dave, except for you. So thank you so much for your program. Thank you. And baby steps. The good news is it works in Canada, right? Yes. Oh, yeah.

Anywhere. That's awesome. So who were your biggest cheerleaders outside the two of you? Definitely my mom. She's actually here with us now. Oh, wow. And she came with us to visit your studio. We celebrated by going to see you and meet you and our families, our friends.

We had blogged about the whole journey as well. So we had a big online community and your community. They're on YouTube right now cheering us on. So, yeah, it was just so many people were really, really supportive. Jake's friends, Dynasty is what he calls them, Alisa, Danielle, Michelle, my girlfriend. We had a lot of support. So what do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is?

You've been highly successful, so your advice right now matters. I think my key is a little different than Jake's. For me, combining finances. It's funny, you had a call just now talking about that. Combining finances was huge. That was the biggest difference because we did everything separately. We did some things joint, but not everything. And when we combined finances, that was like just a game changer. And using a budget, we use your EveryDollar app every day.

And it really feels like you get a raise. You know, when you say like tell your money where to go so you never wonder where it went, that has never been more true. We would end up finding, it turns out, thousands of extra dollars that we can throw towards that. So for me, that was key. I don't know about you, Jake. Yeah, for me, it was actually one of your podcasts earlier when we first started this, is that you mentioned that money

is just math and it has no emotion. And then for some reason that just clicked. And I was like, oh, you're right. They don't care what I'm doing with the money. It's just math. And then as a man, I was ashamed and embarrassed that I wasn't providing well for myself and my wife. And then when I heard you say that, for me, for some reason, it just clicked. And I was like, you're right. They don't have emotions. And numbers don't have feelings. So it gave me freedom to actually move forward and move past my mistakes.

And I had the courage to face what I didn't know and learn how to do the whole personal financing thing. So we really want to thank you, Dave. It sounds like a lot of stuff has changed with you all more than just money. Oh, our marriage. I mean, we had a pretty wonderful marriage before, but now it's on a whole different level. I cannot tell you how proud I am of Jake. I'm so proud of the journey that you've done

and how much learning and growth you've done, and it's so fun getting to be side by side and do that together. Like everything about our marriage and our life is just so much smoother because of this journey. Yeah. Agreed. You know how many husbands wait their entire lives to hear their wife say something like you just said,

that was so awesome. I'm very lucky. That was so awesome. I love that. Very, very cool. Good job. Yeah job yeah ladies if he does something right you can tell him you're proud of him it goes a long way it really does well done i'm so proud of you guys you're rock stars you're amazing well done all right it's jake and tay, British Columbia. $66,000 paid off in nine and a half months, making $120,000 plus the side hustle, taking it to $160,000. Touchdown, baby.

Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Holy cow. Okay. Five, six, seven, eight. We're debt-free! I love it that's how it's done right there man isn't that interesting

see you get a few pieces of information you didn't have before and you actually use those pieces of information and you will see dramatic changes but the trick is you got to actually do it you got to believe it you got to lean into it you got to pay the price to win no discipline seems this stuff's not easy they sound all happy they're all happy now because they're at the end when you're doing it it's a pain in the butt it's hard. The only thing I can promise you is it's hard. Oh, and I can promise you it's worth it.

This is The Dave Ramsey Show. Thank you. Sarah's in North Dakota. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show, Sarah. Hi, Dave. Thank you so much for taking my call. Sure. What's up? I have a question about investing. So I am a missionary and I don't have any debt and I currently don't have a job, but we'll probably be working in a couple of weeks. I have some money in savings and so I don't know what I should do. Should I look into investing, what would you do?

Okay. So you're starting a new job, not a new missionary role? Yeah. I'll still be a missionary. I'm still traveling. I have a trip coming up in April, possibly in June. But in the meantime, while I'm here in the States, I want to try and work and make some money. Okay. That's smart. That's wise. Good use of your time. Okay, good. Well, yeah,

there's no reason you wouldn't follow a normal financial process. The only thing that wouldn't be normal would be to take, if someone gave you donations for a missionary trip, to use that to invest might be weird because the people giving you a donation are expecting you to use it for missions, not to put in a mutual fund. But the money that you earn, quote, on your own, unquote, it's not as if you're not earning money as a missionary. I don't mean that in a negative way, but I'm just saying when you're at the regular jobs, I would definitely say stay out of debt, have your emergency fund in place, and begin your 15% of your income going into investments.

Absolutely. The sad story sometimes with missionaries who are very, very diligent about everything else, is they don't plan for their later years. Yeah, that's what I was scared of. I want to plan for it. I don't want to get stuck in the future. And sometimes they see that as an act of faith, but there's plenty of Scripture that indicates that faith should cause us to be wise and think into the future.

I could give you a whole Bible study on planning for the future as an act of faith. So it's not lacking in faith to ask the question that you're asking and to do the things that you're asking, that you're considering doing. So yes, I would definitely do some investing from the money that you're asking and to do the things that you're asking, that you're considering doing. So yes, I would definitely do some investing from the money that you earn. And the only way I would use any of the money donated for mission trips for that is with permission of the donors. Now, it depends on how formal your structure is on your missionary donations and whether it's running through an organization and all that kind of thing.

There's all kinds of different issues there. But if someone's simply giving you a check so that you can spend a week in Uganda, then that's for the Uganda trip. It's not for investing. And you would want to honor the intent of the gift. But if you've got a massive donation platform that includes your living and your future ongoing, then you could change that discussion at that point.

So, hey, thanks for the call. I appreciate you joining us. Anthony is with us in New York. Hi, Anthony. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. Thanks for taking my call. Sure.

What's up? My business is growing, and I kind of outgrew my space, my garage right now. And I'm looking at leasing a spot and I don't really know how much I should spend on that. Ideally, what I would love to do is build a home and then have a garage next door to my house so I can just walk over, but I'm not in that step at all. And I can't find anything, any land that's reasonable. And also I asked them if they would lease the home and they wouldn't do that. They want to keep the property. So you found a garage to lease?

Yes. How much? $1,500. How much? $1,500 for 3,600 square feet, which is more than I need. But I've been looking for about three years for garages and there's nothing in the area, and this is like ideal. So let's look at this through the perspective of saying this is a business.

Okay? You have a business in your garage. Now, what do you make at the business in your garage, gross revenues before your expenses? I'm actually a construction contractor, so I use it for storage and to get stuff for jobs done, but I gross about $350,000 and I net about $100,000. $350,000 as a construction contractor? Correct. Are we using the garage for that? I'm misunderstood. I thought you were a mechanic.

I'm sorry. No, no, no. The garage for the storage of my work supplies, my tools, my trailers. Oh, I got you. Do you actually do work in the garage, or is it just storage? Well, the garage that I have now, there's no room to do work, so I can't do anything in there. Okay. Is there a possibility of increasing your income by being able to do work in the garage? I believe so.

It will make me more efficient, and then I will be able to work on projects that, like I said, painting and stuff that I can't do on bad weather days. If your top line is $350,000, your bottom line is $100,000, and you're adding $18,000 in expense, which is $1,500 a month, you know, that's 5% of your top line is your decision. Yep. And so can you increase your top line by, you know, 8% or 9% or 10% and thereby increase your bottom line by more than the cost of the garage due to the garage.

That's the business analysis. I think you can. I should be able to because this year I want to gross a lot more. I mean, not a lot more, but I bought a bunch of tools at the end of the year to get my income down. Yeah. And the other thing is leasing this garage is not going to cause you to go bankrupt. No. I mean, if you just increase your expenses $18,000.

So your worst case is it does nothing for you, and instead of making $100,000, you make $82,000. True. That's your worst-case scenario. Yeah, I'm just nervous. I would love to, like, get a home. I have a home. Well, that's a different

discussion and another step yeah exactly you probably aren't going to combine these you're probably not going to combine these two you're probably going to have a commercial you're going to have a commercial space someday and uh that's bigger than this that you own and you own a home someday uh that that's probably what's going to happen here because i think your business is going to continue to grow if you continue to do proper analysis. Now, let me give you another example. Let's say you call me up and you said, I want to spend $50,000 on this instead of $18,000. I would say, I don't think you can justify that because it would cut your bottom line in half and you'd have to add 15% to 20% to your top line in order to break even.

And I would question that based on the data, the discussion that we've had on this. But I think this is doable, and if we're completely wrong, it doesn't kill you. So I would do it. I would do it. Lease it. I would not lease it for 20 years. Lease it for a couple years, three year deal, something like that. But you don't need a long term

lease on this because three years from now things are going to have changed. Hey man, it's a good discussion. Thank you for calling in. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Jim is with us in Louisiana. Hi Jim, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Thanks for taking my call Dave. Sure, what's up?

Well, a few weeks ago, I thought we might be headed for divorce. My wife reluctantly read your book. The very next day, she went in, canceled a 401k giving, ordered the Financial Peace University this morning, and listens to YouTube videos of your show every morning now. And the problem we have, or the issue I called you about, is we have a payday loan, which is coming out every other week, a payment, and the balance on that never seems to drop at all. What's the balance? I think it's like $1,600. It's not that much.

Yeah, so what's your household income? About $150, $125 to $150. Okay, stop everything and go pay that thing off. Well, that was my question. Do we pay that off first or do we save our $1,000 baby? You need to get rid of that thing. It's just poison. Those people are complete scam artists and you fell for it. They're scum of scum.

And never go back on that property again once you pay this thing off. The good news is you make enough money to knock this out really, really fast just by adjusting stuff this month. Get them out of your life. I would just be, you know, every time I paid that, I'd be ashamed about how dumb I was for having signed up for it. And so get her done, baby. Knock it out fast. You can do it. Hey, thanks for the call.

I'm glad y'all are turning this around. Call me anytime. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. Hey, it's Kelly, associate producer and phone screener for The Dave Ramsey Show. If you would like to do your debt-free scream live on the show, make sure you visit DaveRamsey.com slash show and register. We would love for you to come to Nashville and tell Dave your story.