The Ramsey Show - App - My Dad Left Me More Than $1,000,000 (Hour 3)

Episode Date: September 2, 2020

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🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Middle Studio, this is the Dave Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life and your money. I'm Chris Hogan, and hosting along with me this hour is Dr. John Deloney, and I have to tell you, we are ready to rock and roll and take your questions. What you have to do is pick up the phone, though, and call us. Kelly's waiting.

She's actually kind of bored, so I want you to hit these phones hard. Let's keep her busy. The number to call is 888-825-5225. Again, that's 888-825-5225. And also, social media. You all do me a favor. I want you to follow John at John Deloney. You can find him on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram.

He has no idea what these things are, but you can follow him. I only know a couple of them myself, so you can follow me at ChrisHogan360. But we love interacting with you, and we appreciate you all leaning in on us and with us. And I want to let you know right off the gate that John has a new show that has launched, The Dr. John Deloney Show. Very creative title. Very creative title. We got crazy.

You'll be able to find it on YouTube as well as anywhere podcasts are played. He's going to be talking about life, relationships, mental health challenges, dealing with anxiety, depression, you name it. But you've got an opportunity to call in and ask him questions. And so if you have a question, here's his email. AskJohn at RamseySolutions.com. Again, extremely creative. That email address, AskJohn at RamseySolutions.com.

Or here's the number. You can call, leave a voicemail, 844-693-3291. All right, are you ready for these calls? Let's do it. All right, we're going to attack this. The board's lit up. Let's get on to it. We're going to get it. We've got Aaron on the line.

First, we're going off to Texas. Aaron, please don't talk too much about Texas because John's from there, and he gets really excited. I can go on and on if you want. As most Texans can, Aaron. As most Texans can. Go ahead. What's on your mind, buddy? All right.

So I'm 25. My dad passed a few months ago. I inherited. I wouldn't say inherited. I received a $300,000 life insurance policy, $800,000 401K. His house, it's worth $220,000 owed 90 on it um i'm really wanting to buy a house i'm just wondering if i should put 200 000 down on a house that's 370 or what i should do with all this money because i'm just blown away. Yeah. Well, first of all, Aaron, my heart goes out to you, my friend.

What happened with your dad? He had a heart attack going to work. Man, I hate that for you, Aaron. Were you guys close? Yeah, we were pretty close. How are you? Do you have any other brothers or sisters? No.

Just you, huh? Uh-huh? Wow. Is your mother around? Yeah, yeah, she's around. Okay. And so you've been left with this dollar amount and you want to know what do you do, right? I would say this, you know, Aaron, first and foremost is understand an inheritance is is something that was intentionally left to you okay that meant your dad wanted you to have this stuff and i i think one of the most important things you could do is to be extremely intentional with it as you move forward uh the home are you living in this home right now no um i'm in an apartment currently my lease is up in a week okay uh who's living in the home uh my mother is okay all right so you were left the home

but your mom still inhabits it right so he put everything in my name because she's disabled and i i guess he didn't trust her with money okay Okay. Okay. Here's, I want you to do something, my friend, before you start to do anything with this, because typically there are laws about what a spouse can get at minimum. Now you may be have what's called power of attorney and maybe the executive of this, but I want you to reach out to an attorney to really review the documents so you can understand what's actually yours versus what you have to keep an eye on for the sake of your mom. Does that make sense? Yeah, correct.

Because here's the deal. I don't want you to start making plans for this that you have to end up backing out because typically a spouse would get no less than a third. So let's just get some guidance. But let's say this. Let's say you walk through and what has been left to you is yours. I think you need to be extremely intentional, Aaron. And what I mean by that is you're 24, 25 years old.

You just had a serious loss in your life. The mindset can be to do some stuff to try to medicate, uh, or to do stuff, to try to, you know, super honor your dad. And I think the best thing you could do is be very intentional, be very clear. Um, I wouldn't buy a home until you're ready to be there at least three to five years. Um, I wouldn't go out and buy a depreciable asset like, you know, a Ford seven 50 or anything like that. You want to five years. I wouldn't go out and buy a depreciable asset like a Ford 750 or anything like that. You want to be clear. You want to be calm. And so I would say park that money. If it gets liquid and it is yours, park it in a money market account. Let it sit there until

you're crystal clear. I typically, when people get money from a loss of a family member or something like that, I typically say park that money for three months. Six months. Three to six. Don't do anything with it because odds are you're liable to be more emotional in what you do than rational. So that's what I do. Yeah, and again, adding in the additional challenge of mom with special needs,

a big chunk of that money may not be yours to spend as much to serve your mom. So finding an attorney, finding a smart investor pro, someone to guide you through what to do with that money is going to be a big help. Well, and here's the other thing, John. Let's take it a step further. If the dad has passed away unexpectedly and now, you know, you've got Aaron who's now watching out for the mom, this is the time where you have to take a look at setting up a trust. That's exactly right.

With a special needs trust. Right, because if something happens to him, who's taking care of mom? Right. And so this becomes one of those things where it's a legacy mindset. And I know people don't like talking about dying, but here's the thing I know. There's a 100% chance. 100% chance we don't get out of this life alive.

That's right. And so what we have to do is be grown up enough to do those things. And so, Aaron, as you reach out to that attorney, I want you to talk about a trust, begin to think about who else could you establish as an executor of this for the sake of your mom. And, my friend, I just want you to take some long-term decisions. I tend to tell people, make two-year decisions. What I mean by that is make a decision today that you're going to look back on in two years, and you're glad that you made it.

And what happens when you do that is you've got to wake up. You've got to kind of look out long-term, John. That's right. You make two-year decisions. I try to, right? Yeah. I try to. And when I find myself in a position where I'm not going to make a two-year decision,

I know enough about myself wisdom-wise to have friends in my life, to have accountability in my life that are going to stop me and say, are you sure that's a good idea? Right? My wife is a great example of somebody who will say, that's too short-sighted, John, right? And this is one of those moments when Aaron, the 25-year-old, suddenly becomes Aaron, the guy that's got to make a bunch of decisions, right? Yeah. The guy that just got to enjoy things and loved his old man and got to love on his mom.

And now he's got to make some hard decisions. So get some wisdom in your life, brother. And this is one of those moments when you've got to step up and grow up quick. You really do. And you want to get the right people around you that can help you. And that's what I call building a dream team. You can read more about that at my website, ChrisHogan360.com. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. Folks, I love telling you about well-made, well-thought-out products.

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I have to tell you, it's so exciting to go out in the lobby and look out there. We got real folks. Real folks. Looking good. We got them from California. We got them from up north. I mean, it's just fun. Listen, if you're here and near the area, John and I get up early to bake goods for you.

I couldn't even say that with a straight face. Miss Melissa Wilson over there takes care of the baking and all the coffee and all the good stuff. So please come eat the sugar that we provide you. Over in the Baker Street Cafe, she's a rock star and she will take great care of you. But we also have a bookstore over there. And if you are in the area, you have an opportunity to be able to grab some books, to be able to take it back. Let's share information with family members that can help them.

You know, we will share recipes. We will share favorite songs. We'll talk about restaurants. But we need to start to have more substantive conversations on topics that can truly help folks. All right. I got the blinds.com question of the day for you, Chris. Uh-oh. All right.

I'm ready. So I'm going to need your help here. All right. Here we go. Blinds.com. Find out for yourself why blinds.com is the number one online retailer of custom window covering. You get free samples, free shipping. And if you're an idiot like me and you cut it and measure it wrong,

you send it back and they will send you new stuff. And with the new promos they run every month, you'll save even more. Use promo code RAMSY to get the best deal. Rules and restrictions apply. All right, Christopher, today this call is for you. It comes from Brad in Florida. He visits DaveRamsay.com to ask, I've almost completed Baby Step 3,

and I've been looking into starting my retirement through my company, Match. I was looking at the website to start with it, but I was wondering, what is the difference between an after-tax 401k and a Roth IRA? I know they're both taken out after taxes, but what is the tax implications later in life, and what would you recommend? Okay, Brad, great question.

So the bottom line is this. When you're talking about an after-tax 401k, that is the Roth 401k. Roth simply means that you're using after-tax dollars. So with a regular 401k, you're using pre-tax. So the money is going into the 401k and a regular one, right? And you're going to pay taxes on that money later when you pull it out at 59 and a half. Okay. But with a Roth 401k, you're using after-tax dollars. So there are no taxes for you to pay later because you already paid the taxes on this money. So there is no taxes on the growth. It's going to grow

and you can take it out as you please, and Uncle Sam gets nothing further. So both of these, the Roth IRA and Roth 401K, allow you the after-tax benefit of tax-free growth. You have an opportunity when the Roth 401K, obviously, to put aside much more money, right? You can do up to $19,500 there. If you're over $50,000, you can do an extra $6,000 in catch-up provision. So both of these are great tools. You can do more in the Roth 401k. So, my friend, definitely take advantage of the Roth 401k every time you have a chance.

Very cool, man. Very good. Well, that's the blinds.com question. Also, I've got, listen, the housing. Housing market's out there booming. Okay? It's bananas. You just participated.

Yeah. Bananas. Did you just spell bananas? I did. Okay. Well, did you use a real estate ELP? I did. Amanda Lucas is straight out of Compton, dude.

Listen, she stuck with me for nine months of failed we were under contract it went down i had all these expectations she sat me down and she said i know you think you're fancy because you're on a podcast but your expectations are outsized for this market she sat down and walked me through things and we closed a couple weeks ago me and my family are in a new home and it it's from a Ramsey ELP here in Nashville. She's incredible. Okay, how long did she deal with you? Nine awful months.

Buy her a gift. I did. Trust me. Okay, whatever you got, go back and get two more, okay, because you didn't do enough for her. All right, here's the deal. Housing markets is hot right now. There's a lot going on. The main difference between houses that sit on the market and houses that actually sell are real estate agents who know what they're doing. This starts with you knowing the value of a good real estate agent.

It's worth it to find an experienced agent who cares about getting you 100% of what your house is worth. That's why we only endorse the top agents around the country, our local providers, our endorsed local providers. So it's easy for you to find a quality pro to help you win. So never again settle for a subpar agent. Get your home sold for what it's worth. Visit DaveRamsey.com slash agent to find an agent that we would recommend in your area. Again, this is really important. DaveRamsey.com slash agent. You want to make sure you're reaching out. I want to deal with the pro that's going to get the job done. All right, we get to the phone lines. We've got

Corey on the line in Kansas City, Missouri. Corey, how are you? I'm doing good. Hi, John. Hi, Chris. Hello there. What can we do for you today? I have decided to go back to school, get my MBA, and I'm trying to figure out, are you able to get a graduate program done debt-free? I don't see nearly as many scholarships or options available as there are for a bachelor degree. Corey, you're wanting to get your MBA. What are you wanting to do? I'm wanting to be a director in the public sector.

I work for Parks and Recreation. Okay. And is a master's degree a requirement? It depends on what area you're in. Here, it would definitely help me get that job and the timeline I've set out for myself. Okay, what's your timeline? Seven years. Seven years?

Yes. Okay, and what is a mass MBA cost in your area right now? About $14,000, $15,000. Total? Yes. Okay. And what do you think you would make with that master's degree? Double what I do now, so probably $75,000, $80,000 a year. Okay.

$14,000 or $15,000 is a remarkable cost. That's an excellent deal for an MBA. That's a good deal. You are right. MBAs, Chris, are traditionally those degrees that are not, they are more pay to play, if you will. There's not a lot of scholarship money out for MBAs. They are traditionally ROI degrees, which are, I'm going to get this credential, learn this set of skills, so I can go to the marketplace and make more money, and schools price them as such. So $15,000, that's the lowest I've ever heard. Corey, so are you in school?

Are you working full-time right now, correct? Yeah, I'm working full-time right now in the field. All right. You said you would double it, so I know what your income is right now. So what debts do you have right now? Student loans. That's why I don't want to do it again. We still have $28,000.

$28,000. What else? That's it. I'm just down to the student loans. Okay. And so looking at this, you know, I mean, you know there's no way in Hades I'm going to tell you to look at taking out a loan. I mean, it's just not going to happen. So, you know, it's that mindset of looking.

And I would much rather you cash flow your way with this Masters. And I don't care if it takes. I know you got your timeline in your head, but you can only move at the speed of cash. Right. Okay? So, you know, I want you starting to think about, okay, if I'm moving at the speed of cash, this is my full-time job. What's the other opportunity I have for another part-time job or to save up, right, so I can start to take classes and go that route? But I'm in no way, Corey, going to tell you to take on more student

loan debt. Absolutely not. Should I pay off my current student loans before? I would cash flow the master's program. Okay. I'd much rather you focus there. And then as you get that, then you can focus on attacking the debt. Okay. Okay? So that mindset of this is an opportunity. Now, here's the deal. I need you to really gut check yourself to say, am I serious about this degree? Am I serious about the direction it's going to lead?

Because, you know, that's going to be an important thing to decide. But no, no debt. Not at all. Be allergic to it. Crush it. Save your money. Work really hard for the next 24, 36 months. You're going to end up with an MBA, paid for with cash.

I mean, that's a good investment. And it might take longer, but here's the thing. It's going to feel better because you don't get the souvenir of a payment knocking at your door each and every month. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. Hello, everyone. You're listening to The Dave Ramsey Show. I'm Chris Hogan. And hosting along with me, and I say with me is Dr. John Deloney

pray for me as I try to keep this man on the rails we are having a blast taking your calls about life and money and I have to tell you we appreciate you trusting us and talking about the things that are on your mind when you ask the question you actually

are doing someone else a favor because other people have those questions as well. And the fact that you're willing to ask and that you have the courage to call in, you're actually helping others. So I want to encourage you to keep calling. The number to dial is 888-825-5225. Again, that's 888-825-5225. All right, here we go. We're going to go talk to Matt. We're going to go to Roanoke, Virginia. Matt, how are you? Hey, Chris.

I'm doing well. How are you? Oh, my friend, I'm focused and not finished. What's on your mind? So me and my wife just got out of Baby Step 2. Great job. Thank you. Yeah, and we'll be through Baby Step 3 in two to three months.

And I'm trying to figure out what to do with my vehicle allowance once we get through Baby Step 3. Okay. Well, hold on, Matt. Let's just not skirt by the fact that you got out of Baby Step 2. Let's celebrate a minute, man. You made some sacrifices, man. How much did you pay off? We paid off $87,000 in 16 months.

Whoa! I'm just going to blow by that one, Matt. Congratulations, brother. That's awesome. Yeah. Thank you. That's a big deal, my friend. Tell me, what was the biggest debt in the $87,000?

I would have to say it was some cars, man. We did some stupid with vehicles. You said some cars. How many was it? Well, we paid off my wife's car first, and then we paid off my car. We did a knee jerk on a dealership because we

moved, and the vehicle didn't pass inspection. And so I got a good deal on the car. And so now the car's gone, and I'm trying to plan for the next one because I travel a lot for work. Okay.

So you get a car allowance through your job. How much is this allowance? It's about $300 a month. Okay. And so you want to know what to do with it. What do you mean? Yeah, so I was thinking about putting it in a no-load index fund and taking advantage of mutual funds to allow some growth to happen. I travel about 20,000 miles a year, so I'm thinking I can leave the money in the market

for at least five years before I'll need to replace my vehicle. Good. That five-year mark is the most important thing. Now, you suggested, what did you say you wanted to invest it in? A no-load index fund. Okay. Yeah. That, gross stock mutual fund, putting it there.

Does this money come to you straight from the company? Yes. It gets deposited into my account every month. Okay. So it's separate from your paycheck, correct? Yes. Okay. And the car you have for work, is it going to make it through the year?

Oh, yeah. It's a 2017 Chevy Malibu. It's got several years left. Okay. And so you guys are on Baby Step 3 right now, correct? Yes. Okay. So how far into Baby Step 3 are you?

We just got started this month. So we'll be done with Baby Step 3 in November. Okay. Now, Matt, you know what I'm going to tell you because I'm a purist, right? Hey, Matt, do you barbecue at all? Oh, yeah. I got a grill on the back porch, man. Do you really?

What kind is it? Oh, yeah. Is it charcoal or gas? It's a gas grill. Oh, Matt, I wish you could see Chris's face. Oh, Matt. Boy, we missed the chance. We were about to bond.

Matt, come on. Get some charcoal, man. All right? Now, listen. Nothing wrong with the gas grill for quick cooks. That's like Deloney. He doesn't know how to do things right. But what I was going to tell you was I'm a purist.

I want you to follow the recipe. What I mean by that is I don't want you to invest anything until we get this emergency fund in place. And so that just means you want to utilize. And even the car allowance, along with any other money coming in, we're going to identify that as emergency fund money. Once that's in place, now I want you to invest your 15%, then you can start to look at doing that with the car allowance. But that's kind of the mindset, just because I do want you to follow the recipe.

And I grew up, my grandmother was an amazing cook. I never saw a recipe anywhere, but all of her dishes, they were amazing. And I moved off to grad school and decided, John, that I was going to make her chili. And so I went and bought some stuff that I thought, go into chili. And what I ended up making, I will tantamount to chili colored glue, is what we'll call it.

There's still some hanging around your digestive system, huh? I put it in my mouth and my tongue sent a signal to my brain that was, get it out. Eject. Eject. huh? I put it in my mouth and my tongue sent a signal to my brain that was get it out. Eject. Eject. Get it out. Eject.

And when I threw it outside and the squirrels wouldn't eat it, I knew there was a problem. And so I called my grandmother. I said, Nana, I got a problem. She goes, honey, what's wrong? I said, my chili's broke. Like, it's just broken. There's a problem. She goes, how did you try to make my recipe and you didn't call me?

I said, well, I just, you know, turns out I was missing a few things john i left out chili powder and chili beans and anyway don't worry about the bottom line is chili right listen bottom line is if you want to make chili you follow a chili recipe if you want to get to the point to where you're building a legacy and you want to breathe easier follow the baby steps is it common that people get other streams of income they get something that's quote-unquote earmarked for the car or quote-unquote here's the housing allowance and it's easy to get tunnel visioned in i would imagine that okay this just goes for the house how do i set up this house lane and they miss the forest for the trees it can it can and it's not typical you know normally it's someone in the military or someone on a job but typically people

just have income coming in and so it's just in that military or someone on a job, but typically people just have income coming in. And so it's just in that mindset. But we always get people calling in wanting to change the baby steps. Right. Right. Don't mess with the recipe. It works. Yep.

All right. Here we go. We got Kyle's on the line. Kyle is in Phoenix. What's your question for us, my friend? Hi, Chris. My question is, well, I kind of have two questions. Should I pay or should I sell my house to pay off my debt?

And then can you kind of tell me how capital gains tax works? Okay. So tell me this, my friend. How much is your house worth? My realtor thinks that we can get $355,000. All right. And how much do you owe on it? $269,000.

All right. You guys have been in there how long? We've been in here for a year and a couple months, maybe a year and a month. Okay, a year and a couple months. And when you all bought it, did you put some money down? We did down payment assistance, so we'd have to pay that back. But we owe about $5,000 on that. Okay. All right.

What's your all's household income? $100,000. Okay. And you're wanting to sell this to pay off student loan debt? Yeah. So I have $69,000 in student loan debt and $13,000 on a truck. Okay. And how many people are in your family? Me and my wife, and we have a five-month-old son now. Five-month-old. What's your wife want to do? Is she willing to sell the house to pay off student loans?

Yes. Really? Well, she really likes the house. Hold on a second here. She really likes the house. Where's my flag? I said, are you sure? She said, oh, yeah, she's fine.

Well, she kind of likes the house. Well, I mean, hold on. Student loans scare house. Sure. Flag. I said, are you sure? She said, oh, yeah, she's fine. Well, she kind of likes the house. Well, I mean, hold on. You don't want to scare her. Okay. All right. So she loves the house, but she is more terrified of the debt. Yes. Okay.

Okay. It gets her anxiety. Okay. Well, that's a good thing. But, Kyle, I'm going to ask one more time because sometimes people don't hear me. They say my voice is weak, and they can't hear it all the way. So what else do you all owe on? It's just the student loans and the truck.

And you tell me the student loans are $69,000. There's no other student loan. Correct. And that's split between me and her. Okay. Here's the thing. You make $100,000. You don't owe on anything else but the student loan and the truck. Correct. And that's split between me and her. because you haven't been in the home for at least two years. So you'd get hit there. The other side of it is you've got this down payment assistance. So the equity that you think you have, you really don't have.

I think you cash flow your way through this. And I'm going to get radical here. John, hold on to your hairpiece. I want you to sell the truck. I want you to get serious in cash flow and start attacking this debt. I don't think you need to sell the house. What you got to do is sell the old way of thinking, my friend. Think different, do better.

Attack this stuff and get it out of your life. Watch what happens. A little peace will come over you. The Dave Ramsey Show. hello everyone this is the dave ramsey show and i tell you we have had a blast today having an opportunity to talk to you about what's on your mind your money and your life uh the reality is is we are all in the process of improvement. And you don't have to be perfect to be perfectly capable of making strides in the right direction. And so just want to encourage you, call us.

John and I are ready to talk to you, to take your questions. The number to call is 888-825-5225. Again, that's 888-825-5225. We'd love to hear from you. Okay, here we go. We're going to the5225. We'd love to hear from you. Okay, here we go. We're going to the phone lines. We've got Chloe on the line. Chloe, how can we help you?

Hi, thank you so much for taking my call. I recently, this year, just started with a financial piece and getting my life on track. So I'm on baby step two, my husband and I. Good. And I'm on baby step two, my husband and I. Good. And I had a question. We see that we're probably going to be down to our final two debts in a couple of months. All right. And one is a really, really, really big student loan, and that's our last debt. And I wanted to find out if my student loan is more than a mortgage I have.

Yes, it is. Do I still attack the student loan because the mortgage is not in baby step two? Okay, gotcha. Good question. And, Chloe, I just want to back up here because you had a lot of really, reallys as you were describing that student loan. You said a really, really, really big student loan. How big is this thing?

Yes, and I'm not a doctor. I was about to ask you. Are you a surgeon of some sort? No, no, no. How big? I don't know how terrible, terrible, terrible of an idea this was, but, no, I am not a doctor or a lawyer, and my food and loans total about $123,000. Oh, that's not a lot, Chloe.

We've had a million dollars. Okay, let me back it up. That's a ton of money. That's six figures. That's huge. I thought you were about to drop a million dollars on us for $350,000, so let me back it up. Chloe, that's a lot.

That's a lot. That's a lot. It's not what I had in my head. It's not what I had in my head. All right. Chloe, how many degrees did you get for this dollar amount? I have, well, technically I have a bachelor's and a master's, but I started out with an associate's degree, but yeah. All right.

Okay. So what's your household income? 200 000 okay and this student loan of 123 what else do you owe on um right now we're still we're still working baby step two and i have my car that's 5900 that's the second to the last debt. The rest is like a $1,500 credit card and an $1,800 we owe taxes for this year and another credit card for $2,900. Okay. You've got the whole assortment here.

And how much is owed on the mortgage? How much do you owe on the home? So the mortgage is about $89,000. Okay. All right. So in looking at this, first and foremost, you've got a couple things that's got to happen, Chloe. I'm going to have to have you shift your thinking.

Okay? Okay. Because right now what you're doing is you're feeling the weight of being what's called normal with the various credit cards and things, and I really want you to get super serious. How old are you, young lady? I'm 38. Okay. I want you to get hyper-focused.

Now, I'm going to answer your question. What would you do because of the size of this? You're still going to attack the student loan debt before the mortgage, okay, because we're talking about now consumer debt. So the credit card that you have for $1,500 is going to be the first thing you're going to attack. First thing you're going to attack, actually, the taxes, okay? That thing's going to go to the top of the list because there's penalties and interest that can accrue on it. Uh, but then you're going to work through the taxes, then the credit card, then to the car, then to the student loan. And that's the mindset you're

going to have around it. Once you pay that off, then you're going to, again, you completed baby step two. Now you're going to start to build up your emergency fund. Then you'll start to invest. Then you'll save for college, then attack the house. So the baby steps, they won't change just because of the size of the debt. So that's the process. And that's the math you're going to have to follow. And psychologically, you're going to have to really decide on this. And I'm going to tell you, I want you to close these credit cards. Close them. Call them and shut them down. Don't just cut it up and send me a photo because people know how to call and get a duplicate card. Hello.

Born at night. It just wasn't last night. And so I want you to shut it down. And when you do that, that's where you go from the difference of talking about it to being about it. And that's what has to happen because there's going to be stupid out there lurking, waiting on you to sign up for it. Offers are going to come in the mail. There are computers. There are algorithms designed to hack your brain and get that plastic out of your wallet. You ever notice how you talk about things and that pops up on your computer?

Yeah, they're listening. Yeah, I know. I shouldn't have said that around you. I know. I forgot you're one of those conspiracy theory dudes. Between you and Rachel Cruz. Not a conspiracy theory if it's true, Chris. Okay, settle down.

Settle down. But here's the thing. Doesn't matter what they do out there. We have to learn how to stand up for ourselves and say no. And I'm telling you, Chloe, I want you to do that. I hear it in your voice, and you're like teetering. Like you're interested in kind of getting out of debt, and maybe it'll work out. Like that's kind of how – no.

I want you to get the mindset of we're doing this. This is the direction we're going, and I'm not falling for this stuff anymore. And the difference between the two is one that will do it versus one that's going to stop at the first time you hit an impasse, the first obstacle. And it's not commitment. Nope. And here's the deal. Chloe's got a big shovel to dig out of this hole an impasse, the first obstacle. And it's not commitment. Nope. And here's the deal. Chloe's got a big shovel to dig out of this hole. 200 grand.

It makes $200,000 a year. They can go wild, get gazelle intense, 24 months, they could have cleared up a big chunk of this debt, all of it. Oh, I completely agree. 24 months. That's right. That's two years, right? And again, people say, oh gosh, that sounds like forever.

No, no. Not when I know people that have had student loans hanging around for 16 plus. Right. I've got buddies my age who are doctors and professors whose kids are going to college and they're still paying on their student loans. Yeah, it's real. Alright, I want to share with you the

scripture of the day. Coming from Romans 5, 3, 4. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. A quote from the day is from Eleanor Roosevelt. One's philosophy is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.

Wow. Strong words. That means you don't got to just talk about it. You got to live it. And you can't blame people when it doesn't work out. I mean, that's reality. Right. And, you know, it happens from time to time.

And I think, you know, I talk about that in my book, Everyday Millionaires, that this mindset, this victim thinking is one of the most dangerous thinking out there. I think it's one of the plagues we have because what it does is it seeks to blame somebody for your lack of. Okay. Right. And when you do that, what happens is you can get in a mindset of that where you can't even enjoy someone else's success or can't be happy for them because it now becomes about you. That's dangerous. Yeah. Yeah. And it's handing your autonomy to somebody else. Yes. Right. Define autonomy. It's handing your will. It's handing your decision-making. Your control. Your control to somebody else.

Don't come in here using your little $20 words, Don Maloney. I'm from Kentucky. You've got to put things on the bottom shelf for me so I can understand. But no, you're right, and I want people to believe they can. I think that's the goal of this show is to encourage people that where you are right now doesn't have to be where you end up unless you stop. And where you've been doesn't determine where you're right now doesn't have to be where you end up unless you stop and where you've been doesn't determine where you're gonna go i like that unless you just decide

i'm taking my hands off the wheel i'm gonna be unintentional we'll just we'll just go where this boat floats so let's do it unlike these cars they have now that can park themselves maybe i have trust issues but i can't let it happen keep your hand on the wheel where you are right now you're going to navigate some stuff and you're going to have some stuff coming at you, some debris sometime. And that debris can look like people, it can look like words,

and it can look like some hard things in life. But I want you to know, you can get through this. You just look back. You got some scars and I like people with scars because they've been through some stuff. You can get through this as well.

I want to thank James Childs, producer, Kelly Daniel, associate producer. I want to thank James Shouts, producer, Kelly Daniel, associate producer. I want to thank all of you for tuning in to the show. I even want to thank John Deloney for hanging out with me this hour. You did a great job, my friend. Hey, I'm working on it and I appreciate you continuing to teach me and let me hang out with you. Hey, you all, we're here. We're going to be

back. Stay tuned. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. This is James Childs, producer of The Dave Ramsey Show. Once again, you made The Dave Ramsey Show one of the top four most popular podcasts last year. To get your daily dose of motivation and inspiration from the Ramsey Network, subscribe or follow today wherever you listen to podcasts.