The Ramsey Show - App - My Fiancè Wants To Keep His Credit Cards… (Hour 3)

Episode Date: June 15, 2023

Dave Ramsey & George Kamel answer your questions and discuss:  "Should I sell generational land I inherited?" "My fiancé wants to keep his credit cards..." "My financial advisor wants me to invest before paying off debt." Have a question for the show? Call 888-825-5225 Weekdays from 2-5pm ET Join a Personality-led FPU class. Click here! Want a plan for your money? Find out where to start: https://bit.ly/3cEP4n6 Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6 Interested in advertising on The Ramsey Show? https://ter.li/s64ye3 Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy

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So we're glad when you help us out. Thank you. Thank you very much. Hey, you get all this for free. It's a way you can pay us back, right? There you go. William is in Atlanta, Georgia. Hi, William.

Welcome to the Ramsey Show. Mr. Ramsey, how are you? Better than I deserve. How can we help? I need some Uncle Dave wisdom. I'll be coming into a pretty large inheritance in cash, and then about $3 million of it will be in dirt. So now that a lot of it is in incredibly great locations, including waterfront

and over a thousand acres of it can be farmed or logged to cover any of the costs to own the land. But at the end of the day, I do not want the land because we moved away. And I have had these conversations with my father over the years and his, and his parents' generation, my grandparents made it clear that they did not want my father to sell the land. And he honored that. And my dad has not put that request on me, but I grew, I grew up seeing how hard my family has worked to build what

we have from nothing. And, I mean, too, my first family members, when they immigrated here, farmed this land. So my question is, am I morally obligated in any way to keep this land because it was built and expanded over the last four generations? No. You're not morally obligated unless you gave your word to keep the land to one of those predecessors, your dad or your grandfather.

If you did that, you'd be morally obligated to keep your word. But just the fact that it's got this tremendous nostalgia to it is not a moral thing. It is a little heartbreaking to think, I mean, and it probably hurts your heart a little to think about getting rid of it. But on the other hand, you're like, I can also know that if I keep it, I've got all this hassle factor, right? Exactly, yeah.

It's a very difficult thing for me to even think about because i don't want to be viewed as i'm just cashing in right because it really is not about that it's not about just it's about yeah uh the other option is hassle factor and uh you know dealing with it so you said it's 1 000 acres it's over a thousand acres 1,000 of it could be logged or farmed to cover the cost of the entire estate. What is the total acreage piece? It's about 1,500. Okay. Where is it?

What state or area? It's up north in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Okay. It's spread out. And you're in Atlanta. Correct. And you have another life. Correct.

Hmm. Okay. So the expense of owning the land is property taxes, and what else? That is it. It's completely paid off. Property tax is the only thing. Okay. And what's it worth?

Conservatively, it's $3 million, and that's being conservative. It's probably even closer to $3 million. A couple grand an acre. Yeah. Okay. So this is pretty rural stuff. Yeah, but some of it is on the lake, up on Lake Superior, so that's really expensive. That would be like a resort property, could be a resort property.

Okay. Correct. All right, and the rest of the inheritance that you're receiving is another $3 million in cash? Yes, sir. Hmm. Okay. And what are you worth before all this happens? $250,000.

Okay. And what do you make? Between my wife and I, $175,000 base. Okay. So you don't need any of this. Correct. And you don't need the money. Right.

And just where do you want? So you've got $3 million you can place in investments, and that's going to be wonderful. And this property is probably not going to go up in value at the same rate that normal investments were because it's a fairly inexpensive rural property with the exception of the lakefront portion, right? Yes, sir. Yeah. What do you want to do, right? Yes, sir. Yeah. Um, what do you want to do, William? Um, let's say you sell it and you get 3 million out of it and now you have 6 million. What is your plan or your dreams?

My thought, my thought would be, um, I would like to think that my, when my family first immigrated here, if they could see what, uh what their descendants have been able to amass, I would want to take it and then take that $3 million and invest it into a rental complex of some sort. That's kind of where my brain is at because I believe that we can actually put that money to work rather than it just be dirt and just sit there and not do anything with it. I would much rather take it and build something even greater for when my wife and I have kids. Cause I mean, we're still young, we're 24 years old. So,

I'll tell you, I'll tell you what I would do. Um, there's no going back after you make the decision. Once you sell it, it's gone forever. Okay? So I'm going to push pause and sit on it for a period of time and just let this decision cook a little bit. So there's no regrets. I don't disagree with any of your questions or your spirit on this um i

completely agree with everything you've said but i'm sitting here thinking okay if you're 24 and the thing sits there and you got plenty of money and you pay the taxes on it and just sit on it for three years for two years and just let this decision percolate i i just i kind of think then you're going to be really really sure about what to do at that point uh and you're going to have zero regrets in other words you're going to get really disgusted and i'm getting rid of this or you're going to get more nostalgic and go you know i'm going to ride this thing a while okay and i i'm gonna let this percolate a little bit from the time it becomes yours and your responsibility i'm going to sit on it for at least two years because you don't have to

have the money from it it's not killing you and then you won't make the wrong a decision that has a regret with it later the the other option in there that you can throw in is a partial keep some of it carve out 200 and sell the rest or something to where you've got an you know 200 out of 1500 yeah i mean wow it's a lot of land do something like, and then you've got that piece of nostalgia that's not enough that it's bothering you. This is the Ramsey Show. All right, guys, how many of you are thinking about buying a home and you're cringing at the thought of paying off debt for the rest of your life like a mortgage for 30 years you don't have to fall in that trap

if you need to borrow your best bets actually a 15-year fixed rate where your payments no more than a fourth of your take-home pay it'll get you on track to pay off your house fast a lot of people pay off their home in less than 10 years when they do that just because they reach over and smack that mortgage the free mortgage calculator on our website can help you. It'll give you an idea what your monthly payments could look like, and that way you'll know how much home you can afford so that you can be mortgage-free in 15 years or sooner. Go to ramseysolutions.com, click free tools, use our mortgage calculator to get confident about home buying. Again, freetools at ramsaysolutions.com. Catherine's in Daytona Beach. Hi, Catherine. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

Hi, Dave. Thank you so much for taking my call. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up? So my question for you is, it has to do with a credit score. My fiance and I are on baby step two. We're paying off debt. We have one credit card, which I plan on paying off tomorrow, and then our car loan. But what I want to know is how.

Wait a minute. Did both of you sign on the car? It's just me on the car. Okay, then your car loan, because you sign on the car? It's just me. Okay, then you're a car loan because you're not married yet. It's not our. Okay, correct. When are you getting married? I'm thinking probably next year when we can get out of debt

or when I can get out of debt and we can cash flow the wedding. How much are you going to spend on the wedding? I think we don't have a set budget, but we're going to go as budget-friendly as possible, hopefully no more than like $3,000 to $5,000. I would stop everything and go get married. You think so, huh? I'm positive.

It's going to increase your likelihood of your relationship lasting. It's going to increase how likelihood of your relationship lasting it's going to increase the the the how fast you get out of debt and you get to wealth building anyway why'd you call how can we help um yes so um my understanding is that we should close all of our credit accounts we do have a couple joint and we have a couple individual like credit cards and everything and get to that zero credit score before trying to buy a home. But we're just kind of bumping heads when it comes to that. He believes that we should, keep the credit lines open, not use the card just in case of an emergency and have a buffer until we can get our fully funded emergency fund um built up completely

so i guess my question is like what what can i tell him to get him on board and if so what would the process be like and what kind of time frame? How old are you guys? Did we look at closing out those accounts? I'm 23. He's 33. Mm-hmm. And what's his net worth? Nothing.

I don't have a number that, yeah. He doesn't have any money. Right? Yeah. So let's be clear we don't go to a fat guy and ask him about physical fitness so his opinion about this really doesn't matter because he's obviously wrong am i wrong he's broke um you know so his theories about money suck right okay well do they or not i mean the proof is in the pudding he has no money so i mean when broke people tell me their theories about money it's laughable it's when fat people tell me about how to be physically fit it's the same thing i have a keg if i go up to my uh on the

front of me my belly if i go up to my personal trainer and he's got an eight pack and i start telling him about nutrition that's funny you follow me i follow here's the thing there's a lot of traps that he's fallen into that are cultural. Everyone believes this. And using your credit card as an emergency fund to borrow at 21% interest is about the stupidest thing you can do. So let me just give you some facts because he's in kind of this wonky reality simulation right now. Here's what happens if you have an emergency above a thousand bucks. You pause the baby steps and you go cover the emergency. You sell stuff, get side jobs, do whatever you have to do. So that covers that one, right? But that's not the only reason. You said the credit score, correct? Right. There's a thing called manual underwriting when you go to buy a house and you get a no score loan through manual underwriting. They look at

your full financial picture, your income, your debt to income ratio, your down payment, and they give you a mortgage without a credit score. Now, he can not believe it as if it's, I don't know, the boogeyman or the Easter bunny, but there's facts and data that refute all of this. And so I don't think this is an intellectual discussion. I think this is a huge paradigm shift for him to go, oh, I don't have to play the games of a toxic money culture that says borrowing is the key to wealth. Catherine, you know why I was being so mean? Why? Because he's 33 and you're 23 and I think he's overbearing and I was trying to give you some courage. He's wrong.

Oh, thank you. I think he's strutting around like a turkey. And I think he's I think he's strutting around like a turkey and I think he's wrong and I want you to stand up and I want you to have your voice in this relationship and both of you have a vote because I think your intellect is stronger than his on this issue and I don't think he thinks that am I wrong just to be clear just to be clear though we are not like coming at it in an aggressive standpoint I just didn't want that image to come across I just to be clear, though, we are not like coming at it in an aggressive standpoint. I just didn't want that image to come across. I just wanted to.

You're not coming at it in a what standpoint? Say it again. Like an aggressive standpoint with each other. No, I wasn't. I wasn't saying that. But I don't I don't think he's listening to you. OK. I don't think it's aggressive at all.

I think it's passive aggressive, possibly. But I mean, I really I mean, i really i mean i could be wrong could be wrong maybe maybe you're the overbearing one but that would be unusual when you're 10 years his junior it's possible i mean maybe you maybe you're the stronger personality that that's possible but um that's why i was doing that because i really want you to i want your voice to be picked up in this because I think he's discounting your theories and it's making you discount them and I think your or your theories or your approach the way you want to handle this is not being heard and he's kind of rolling his eyes like little girl I got this that's why I was doing that because I'm I'm I'm not okay with that process it's not going to work out well for you. And I love both of you, and I want you both to win.

And if he's on the phone, I would do the same exact thing. So I want you guys to, you don't have to be mean to each other or aggressive with each other, but his opinions are wrong because he's broke. I stand by my original statement, but I was being acerbic about it because I really want to make sure that but I was being acerbic about it because I really want to make sure that your voice is being heard in this. Yeah, and Catherine, I'm going to give you guys a premarital counseling gift. I don't know that he's going to do it, but I'm going to gift you one year of Financial Peace University.

I've got a class starting next week that's virtual. You can join that or join a local class in your area. Get in George's class. He's a lot nicer than me. And maybe I can talk to him face to face. That'd be fun. Yeah, George will be kind and helpful as opposed to me. So there you go.

That could help. So hang on the line and Austin will gift you guys one year financial peace. Sometimes, Dave, it takes a third party. If it's just the two people going at it together, it can be difficult. When you have a third party... I'm a third and sometimes I'm a party. Sometimes he's a fourth. Dave's a lot. He is a lot. But Dave, I heard this

quote the other day maybe you're not too much maybe they're not enough that was a fun little boom boom boom boom boom boom just like that yeah this is a common thing in a relationship but guys honestly when you're dealing with your family and you're dealing with your friends or even your spouse you know if your broke friends are making fun of your financial plan it's a sign you're on track it's like you lost 30 pounds and your obese friend is making fun of you good means you're on track okay it means you're doing the right thing and so i you know i don't give people advice on growing hair on top of my head i'm not good at it my track record is horrible and so if you call me up and ask me how to grow hair on top of your head i you should not take my advice

dave's good at getting rid of that george however george has the do he has the do if you want to if you want to have the do, you could ask George about it, because he's the dude with the do. Nobody wants this much maintenance in their life. I don't have any maintenance, man. My life is good, but I'm still unqualified to give you advice about growing hair on top of your head. One thing I have on Dave that makes me feel good. There's nothing there.

I'm just saying. This is The ramsey show thanks for joining us america george camel ramsey personality is my co-host today in the lobby of the ramsey solutions almost said financial peace plaza in the lobby of ramsey solutions headquarters is the debt free stage and on the debt free stage leo and page are with us hey guys how are you hi dave better we deserve i love it where do you guys live cincinnati ohio fun welcome to nashville and how much debt have you paid off we've paid off 140 000 in 37 months. Good for you. And your range of income during that time? It was $130,000 to $150,000.

Cool. What do you all do for a living? I'm a data analyst for an insurance company. And I'm a CFO for a credit union. Excellent. Very good. And what kind of debt was the $140,000? It was the mortgage.

Whoa! Look at it, weird people! Way to go, you two. How old are you two? I'm 31. And I'm 28. And you have a paid-for house. You're so weird.

Very. I love you. You're awesome. You are so awesome. So what's this house worth? About $300,000. Ah, very good. Yes.

How much have you guys got in your nest egg, in your 401ks and retirement and all that? I think about $170, good. Yes. How much have you guys got in your nest egg in your 401ks and retirement and all that? I think about $170,000. Okay. Wow. You're getting there. Yeah. You're going to be millionaires by the time you're 35 then. Yeah.

Way to go, y'all. Wow. Baby steps millionaires right in front of me. Future ones anyway. Yeah. Yeah. Good job, you two. I bet the folks at the credit union think you're crazy.

They're like, what are you doing, man? Did they cheer you on? Yeah, they did. They did. They were very supportive. there's one uh one particular individual chuck stanley i want to call him out yeah he was a big uh inspiration yeah well i mean he's the cfo of the credit they gotta do what he says i i debt-free cfo is the one i want to hire i'm just saying man i'm just saying this is this is incredible smart all the way around. Excellent. Excellent. Excellent. All right. Tell us about your journey. What happened here?

Yeah. We got married four years ago, and at that time, he had paid off his student loans, about $62,000, and we came to celebrate with you guys six months later. I think it was opening of this building, something like that. Oh, wow. So you did it at Free Scream already? We did. He did, yeah.

You did your first one, and then you're doing one with the house too that's right i like it a double dip i like it yeah so then we saved up for the down payment of the house um got our 15 year fixed and closed on the house um in early 2020 just in time yeah just in time. Yeah, just in time. Just in time to get Fauci'd. Yes. All right. And then 37 months later, you're not even 30 years old and you have a paid for house. Yeah. That's right. I don't have any idea really seriously how weird that is.

Y'all are grinning like you do. Well, we wanted to make sure there was flexibility when our family tree changes. No kids yet yet but we're hoping to change that soon amen amen very cool good for y'all but i mean that's you're statistically you're highly unusual very i mean way up there in the success module way to go man thank you way to go and uh i mean with the you know the ability to make a hundred and a half two hundred a year that going forward and not a payment in the world, the amount of wealth you're going to be able to build is just basic compound interest math.

You know the math as a CFO. It's going to be mind-blowing. $10 million, I mean, $20 million. Oh, easily. This is wild. So what made you guys go, all right, I knocked out the student loans. What if we put a big down payment and we just knock this house out real quick? Were you guys in unity from day one on that?

We were. I think it was mainly the flexibility we want with our family. If I decide to work part-time, whatever we decide there, we want the flexibility not to owe anyone anything. It becomes a short conversation with a lot of joy. That's right. Instead of a lot of stress of how are we going to make this work? Yeah. That's incredible.

Man, that's so cool. That's a great good for you well done very well done it's it's one of the reasons that we lose our team members uh i was having breakfast downstairs the other day uh with with my son who's the president of the company and young lady walked by with and stopped and tears run down her face she said this is my is my last week. And I'm like, well, I'm so sorry. Where are you going? She said, I have my second baby. I'm going home. I don't have to work. I went, well, that's good. We don't want you to leave because we need the help,

but that's good. If you're going to lose an employee, that's the way to lose one, right? I mean, that's pretty cool. You taught them stuff. They changed their life. They don't need us. We got financial peace now, Dave.

We're good, thanks. Way to go, you guys. That's exactly where you're going to be, right? I mean, you're going to be that person. That's where you're set up to be because you've been smart and you've been careful. Have you had a lot of encouragement? We've had some encouragement from friends. It's been just mostly people saying, well, I'm not sure if I would do that, but I'm happy for you guys.

Y'all are a little weird. Yeah. You are weird. weird yeah you are weird statistically very weird but hey by the way being wealthy is weird statistically yeah we work like it uh we look we work like it depending on us but we've prayed like it depending on god amen amen well way to go all right what do you tell people you're sitting here everything's paid for you started this off of the student loan you started the marriage off you're on the same page what is the key to being a hundred percent debt free house and everything before you're 30 yeah i um i think a big part of it is making sure you're on the same uh same uh page with budgeting we've used every dollar right from the beginning of our marriage

actually and to this day we still use and will continue to use it um one thing that also has helped is um you know if you feel like you got to go a thousand miles and you take first couple steps feels like you got a long way to go and it it it is a long way to go but it really does help when you have a life partner that you know can can be a cheerleader and say hey we're one step closer the goal exists it's not just a mirage out there and that's um that was a big one yeah you got to really lay the math down so that you know the light at the end the tunnel's not an oncoming train that this isn't a mirage yes yeah you know you don't you don't want to go i'm barking up the wrong tree this is crazy stuff no it really does work i mean by the time i'm 28 i'm gonna have a paid fourth or in the thousand

dollar house oh my god it's right where you're gonna be i mean this is pretty cool amazing yeah we're going home to have a uh a mortgage burning party with our uh friends and family so an old-fashioned mortgage burning party that's good i like it do it right there you gotta like print it out now and do a whole thing they don't even send you in the mail anymore oh absolutely oh it's summer you can take your shoes off walk through the backyard The grass feels different when it's yours. Absolutely. Very much so. Very different. Very different.

I love it, guys. I'm so proud of you. Thank you. All right. How's it feel to have no payments in the world? It feels like freedom. Freedom. Yeah.

Freedom. That's it. That's it. Well done. Hey, we've got the live and give box for you that's got the Total Money Makeover book. You'll be able to give that away. The Baby Steps Millionaires book, that's you, very soon, and a multimillionaire in the future. And be sure to enjoy those two number one bestsellers of Financial Peace University membership.

You'll be able to give that to somebody that's inspired by your story. Your story is inspiring. You guys are heroes. We're so proud of you. Well done. Thank you. Thank you. Very well done. And thank you very well done

and hey i gotta tell you man i like two debt-free screams the double day one one when you get rid of the consumer debt come back when you knock out the mortgage i'm in for both i'm ready welcome you back with open arms i'm big on celebrating people who are heroes well done good work good work leo and page cincinnati ohio 140 000 paid off in 37 months making 130 to 150 house and everything and they did it before they're 30 count it down let's hear a debt-free scream three two one we're dead free love it way to go you two way to go hey while everybody's doing layoffs out there and firing people we're hiring matter of fact i gotta hire somebody to replace that young lady i was talking about that was a sweet bittersweet conversation she was so sweet and standing there talking to

me and you know the president of the company and and uh been here several years and very smart we will definitely miss her talents but she's going home to be a mom i mean there's not anything better if i'm gonna lose someone out of here that's how i want to right yeah we got open roles in marketing and technology and sales and we need people like you to come join us if you're a technology person the way, we leave at 5 and go home. You don't work 80 hours here. So you're working for some companies working you like a dog.

We don't do that. So this is way more than just a radio show. There's over 1,000 people in this building and we help people get out of debt, build wealth, do work that they love, create quality, mental health and connected relationships, all with common sense and very countercultural. But good Lord, it doesn't take much to be countercultural today.

Check out all the open roles at ramseysolutions.com slash careers, ramseysolutions.com slash careers. This is The Ramsey Show. Our scripture of the day, Luke 631, and as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. Mark Twain says, kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. George Campbell, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host here. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Pat's in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Hi, Pat. Welcome to the Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. How are you?

Better than I deserve. What's up? Okay, thanks for having me and your staff answer my email. So I was calling in reference to, I did the financial piece at the university during COVID. I paid off a rental home, all my debt, credit card debt, and my car. My only debt right now is my home that I currently live in and my student loan. So I have a financial advisor that I reached out to, and I told him that I wanted to pay. I only owe, I'm down to $15,000 on the student loan. So I told him I wanted to pay that off in the next year. And he feels that I should not do that.

Instead, allocate that money towards my Roth IRA. So my question is, do I go against him? Do I go, you know, I don't know which road to take. And how much do you owe on your student loan? $15,000. So I'm almost there. But I'm about to be 60 next month, and I still have a student loan, and next weekend I don't want to have this over my head anymore.

Well, you know what you need to do, and that's pay off those loans. Do you have the money to do it? Well, my goal was to pay them off and pay aggressively and get them done in one year, the $15. Okay. Well, here's the thing. It's kind of like going to a dentist and saying, hey, do I have any cavities that you think would need to be filled? The dentist is going to find some cavities. You know what I mean? And so the financial advisor wants you to invest

because that's how they make money, and they're not thinking about the full picture in this case about your freedom and your retirement and your goals. And your peace. Okay. And I know that this loan forgiveness is going nowhere, so that's why I said I had it, and I just want to get this done with. So here's the thing. Okay, his his theory if i understand it correctly is that instead of paying off the

15 000 you should put the 15 000 into his investments correct correct yeah and so what he's saying is is that the student loan he can make more on the money than the student loan interest is. Does that sound right? Yes. Yeah. Okay. So what if he came to you and said, what's the interest rate on your student loan, by the way, Pat? $4.25.

Okay. What if he said, I've arranged a million-dollar loan for you at $4.25. I want you to borrow a million dollars and give it to me to invest because I can make more than 4.25 on it. What would you do? What would you do? What would I do? I don't know.

I'm not really sure what to do. It's not a trick question. Would you go borrow a million dollars at 4.25 so that you could invest the money with him because he says he can make more than that? No. Okay. That's not a trick question.

I'm not trying to catch you off guard. But what I am doing is just sometimes when you're looking at a decision like this, if you add a bunch of zeros to the decision, it makes the principle become very crystal clear. So let me tell you what just happened in our conversation. Okay. When I made it not 15,000, but I made it a million, you felt the weight of debt. You felt the risk of debt. And you said, I might actually intellectually know that I might make more than 4%, but I'm not willing to take the risk that I won't. I don't like the weight of that.

That's what just happened in this conversation, wasn't it? That's what your brain did. Am I wrong? No, I got, yes yes you're right okay and so because it's only 15 000 it makes you go well maybe he's right but your heart is saying no no no no i want the peace okay so i i would agree with you i i think he's wrong and i would pay off my student loans and i also would consider a different financial advisor think he's wrong, and I would pay off my student loans. And I also would consider a different financial advisor because he's not aligned with your value system and how you see things. And his job is not to change your values. His job is to make suggestions. You know, did you

hear what you said? You said, do I go against him? This is your money. You shouldn't be asking a question about, do I go against him? He's not your husband. He's a financial advisor. It should be going, you know, I don't understand why he would say that. I don't want to do that. And it makes me confused. That's the way.

But, you know but but instead you're having to go but so what else is he bringing to you that you didn't catch that's what bothers me and i'm not saying he's a crook i'm saying he doesn't agree with your way of seeing the world and you should have someone that says i agree with your way of seeing the world that's why we tell people you know, the smart investor pros, they are aligned with our way of seeing the world. They're not going to tell you to go into debt to invest. And if you say, I want to pay off this debt, they're not going to go, whoa, whoa, hold on. We shouldn't do that.

You should go invest in your own debt. Matter of fact, they would say, yeah, you should do that before you talk to me. And say, come back in six months when you're debt free. Exactly. Exactly. And I'll help you with your Roth IRA i'll and you're a little bit behind because you're 60 years old so we need to get going they'll encourage you right and that kind of stuff but they're not going to put you in debt or keep you in debt in order for to line in order to do

investing and you know that guy could be doing that with nefarious motives he could be just because he wants a commission. But it could be he just really believes it's the right thing and he's wrong. That's very much possible. And I'm more scared of an enthusiastic ignoramus than I am a con artist. They can do some danger. Yeah, because they're enthusiastic, you know. And so, yeah, I think you need to rethink who you're taking advice from

because it doesn't align with your values. Not because it doesn't align're taking advice from because it doesn't align with your values. Not because it doesn't align with mine, but because it doesn't align with yours. That's what's important. And so, you know, I had a CPA one time years ago, George, when Ramsey was a small company. It was actually a friend. But he knew I had gone through everything, losing everything. And, you know, I'm now debt free and I don't borrow money anymore. and um but uh he knew i had gone through everything losing everything and i'm you know i'm now debt free and i don't borrow money anymore he came in he's kind of he was kind of

going to tell me how things are kind of going to school me up a little bit you know and he said so and you know well you know i don't agree with you about this whole debt thing and being debt free and all that but we don't have to be in agreement about that for me to do your taxes oh boy or to be your cpa and i thought yeah actually we do kind of do yeah we kind of deal breaker because a cpa who can't do math is bothersome you know that's just a problem so i can't i can't do that no it's not you know we can not be we can be friends and on the weekend. But you're not doing my books. There's a big difference. It's a bit different thing here.

So, yeah, I mean, I got lots of friends who think I'm nutty, and I think they are. But that's okay. And some of them are closer friends than others. But, man, yeah, you know, we're not going to do that. We have to be aligned on this. It's very important, folks, that when you're dealing in the financial realm that you get someone with the heart of a teacher. That's huge. And someone that actually explains to you and doesn't just tell you,

oh, go do this. When you ask why, they should be slow, methodical, and go, here's exactly why. They're making suggestions. And then you are still making the choice. That's a huge part of this. Don't ever call the show and say, the financial advisor made me. No. You call the shots. You make the choices. My guy lost all my money. Nope.

Nope. You did. Because you didn't make the decision. It's your responsibility to decide. This is the problem. Like when I'm meeting with the guys in the NFL or something, they go, I got me a guy. I got me a guy. I'm like, no, no, no, no, dude.

You're the guy. You're the guy. That's a dangerous sentence. I got me a guy is what you say right before all your money disappears. You just went broke. Yeah. No, that guy's got you. What's happening?

No, you have to make your own decisions. Your mortgage person, your insurance person, your estate planning attorney, your investment advisor for sure are teachers. They give you ideas and advice, and then you decide. Period. That's the only way. Good show, George. Well done. Well done. That puts this hour in the books. We'll be back with you folks. Before you know it way. Good show, George. Well done. Well done.

That puts this hour in the books. We'll be back with you folks before you know it. In the meantime, remember, there's ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus. Hey, it's George Camel. If you like what you heard in this episode and want to know more about getting started on the Ramsey Baby Steps, go to ramseysolutions.com

and click on the Get Started button. We'll help you figure out the best next step for you based on your specific situation. That's ramseysolutions.com and click Get Started button. We'll help you figure out the best next step for you based on your specific situation. That's ramsaysolutions.com and click Get Started.