The Ramsey Show - App - My Parents Hid $161,000 in Cash in Their House (Hour 3)

Episode Date: June 25, 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. Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co-host today on the show. We are answering your questions about life and about money. Open phones here at 888-825-5225. The Ken Coleman Show, he specializes in helping people find jobs and work with their career

choices and living their dream, and we specialize in general in helping you out here so anything you want to talk about he and i are here to help you open phones at 888-825-5225 karina starts off this hour in washington hi karina how are you hi good how are you better than i deserve what's up thank you so much for taking my call so i'm'm on Baby Steps 4, 5, and 6, but I'm specifically looking for guidance on Baby Step 4. I'm setting aside 15% of my income for retirement, which leaves me about $1,800 a year once I max out my Roth IRA. So I'm wondering where do I put that? Where do I go with that?

Okay, so you max out your Roth IRA. Do you have a company plan available to you of any kind, like a 401K or a 403B? No, 401K. There is a pension plan, which they take $200 out of every paycheck, but I have no say in that. I mean, it just happens. I work for local government. Okay, that's cool.

All right. So they're doing a partially funded pension plan. You're funding part of it, they are. And in addition to that, you're doing a personal Roth IRA of $6,000. Correct. And you're not married. No. Do you have any side income other than your day job?

I don't know, but I would count child support. No, I don't. That's kind of my, okay. No, I'm talking about earned income. Okay, because I was going to try to take you to a self-employed plan of some kind, but that's okay. You don't have any self-employed income. Okay, so how old are you?

I'm 33. Okay. For today, what you're doing is fine. You're putting in $200 that you don't have control of. That's $2,400 a year. That gets you up over. And in addition to that, you're doing your Roth. You're 33 years old.

If you do nothing but a Roth for 35 years and good mutual funds, you're going to be very wealthy. Okay? Now, I want you to do more than that later on as you go further in your career. But you're doing enough today to satisfy your baby step four and keep going, okay? Okay. So could I potentially take that $1,800 and put it into my mortgage? You can, yeah. We just wouldn't call it. I mean, it's just you've got that money left over. So when you've got room in your budget,

you're going to move on up the baby steps. You know, you've got kids' college you could throw it at, and you've got, you know, like you said, reducing the mortgage you can throw it at. The thing is, over the next decade, things are going to change in your career and in your income, and you're going to start putting more into retirement anyway. But for the next, say, year and a half, two years or whatever, I think you can check the box on Baby Step 4. I think the point of Baby Step 4 is not to have it perfect. It's just to say, you know, we want a substantial amount going in. We don't want to put too much in where we can't do anything else.

And you've got to leave room to be able to do the other stuff. Congratulations. I mean, just you're on a great, great path and, you know, take solace in the fact that you've done well. And you're moving on. That $1,800 is going to make a real big difference. And she's going to be a millionaire. Yeah. Yeah, she really is.

That's pretty impressive when you think about it. Maddie is next. And Maddie is in Minnesota. Hi, Maddie. How are you? I'm doing good, Dave. How are you? Better than I deserve.

What's up? Yeah, so I was just going to ask for your advice, both career-wise and financially, if I should stay with my current career or if I should look into something different. Okay. Tell us more. Well, I'm a police officer, and lately the job has been very tough mentally, as I'm sure it has been for most law enforcement out there, and I'm actually getting married next month, and, you know, we want to start a family soon after that, and it's just kind of hard for me being in this job thinking that, you know,

I want to bring kids into this world, but I don't want their mom to be, you know, targeted at work simply for doing her job. Yeah. Well, first of all, thank you for your service and putting your life on the line. I think this is very serious and I think you're leaning towards moving somewhere else. And I certainly, if that's where your heart's leaning, I certainly agree with that. And I think that what I would want you to do is to get alone, get quiet, and begin to identify what you love most about being a police officer. You know, what do you love about the job? And then you identify that, and you can find that in another career. You can find a way to serve and to protect in other areas. But I think that's what you got to do. Is that where you're leaning? Yeah. I mean, lately I feel like I've been leaning away from it. But the other side of it too is I

make good money and both me and my fiance are on baby step two. And so once we're married, we'll have $50,000 worth of debt to pay off. And there's no other jobs out there with my career or with my degree that would even be moderately comparable pay at this point. Well, so what that means is, is that's going to be someday. And so what we've got to do right now is, as tough as it is, I've got a financial situation. Dave, I'm curious what you'd say. My feeling is, is you stay there now, and we're going to build a bridge from being debt-free to stepping into a different career where she's not worried about her safety and all the things that come with that, or change locations.

You know, you've got some options here, but you're not going to just jump. Yeah, I'm not going to overreact, but I also don't want to underreact. So it's pretty clear to us the language that you were using in your sentence structure that you are leaving this job. Mm-hmm. Your heart's broken, and you want to raise kids without being shot. You know, it's a pretty simple thing. Right. And that's how you said it. I mean, it's basically what you said. I didn't being shot. You know, it's a pretty simple thing. And that's how you said it.

I mean, it's basically what you said. I didn't say it. You said it. And your heart's broken because you had your heart set on being in law enforcement, and it's lost its appeal in these current times. That's what you said. Did I understand that right? No, you're absolutely right.

Yeah, and I'm sorry for that Did I understand that right? No, you're absolutely right. Yeah, and I'm sorry for that. I wish that wasn't the case, but I'm just coaching you. I'm not making a statement about, you know, anything else but you, just to say what does Maddie need to do. Well, number one, you don't get in a hurry, but number two, we need to figure out what you're running to, not what you're running from. Right. So let's start targeting what it is you want to be and how you're going to use it. It could be something as simple as what tests have you got to take or certifications have you got to take to move into federal law enforcement or to move into a situation where you're not on a street beat of some kind or where you are a corporate security specialist, you know. Okay.

Which I know three or four of those that I do a lot of handgun training myself. I'm a handgun enthusiast, and they make more than you make. I know one of the guys that's one of Facebook's security guys, and he does well, believe me. And so I'm guarding their little towers, you know, and their little world. So, you know, you can, this is not security guard stuff I'm talking about. This is way up above that. So, anyway, I think you start figuring out where you're heading towards, not what you're heading from, and then follow the Ken Coleman plan.

Get clear, get qualified, get connected, get started, get promoted, get your dream job, and then give yourself away. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Business leaders now more than ever, we need people with the right skills to support our communities, especially the frontline workers who provide resources and care for those most in need. To help, LinkedIn is offering free job posts for healthcare and essential service organizations that need to quickly fill critical roles with the people who help us all. If you are hiring for one of these organizations, free job posts on LinkedIn can help you quickly find the right people for your frontline. LinkedIn Jobs can help by screening candidates for skills and experience you're looking for

and putting your job post in front of qualified people who have what you're looking for. So you can find the right person to quickly fill critical roles. To post a health care or essential service job for free, or if you're in another industry and have hiring needs, visit LinkedIn.com slash Ramsey. LinkedIn.com slash Ramsey. Terms and conditions apply. Well, we've gone through some tough times recently, and many of you are hurting. You might be jobless. You might be broke.

You might be struggling to put food on the table. John Maxwell says, change is inevitable. Growth is optional. If you've ever said to yourself, especially lately, never again, then you've already taken the first step towards winning. You have to have a never again moment. And if you want to take that next step, we're launching something new, something huge, something that's going to change the

trajectory of your life. It's called Ramsey Plus. And we're going to announce it formally tonight at our event that we're doing, the What Now event. But if you want a free trial to Ramsey Plus, it includes every dollar sink where you sync up with your spouse, you sync up with your bank, you sync up with everybody with your budget. It includes all the Financial Peace University classes, the Legacy Journey classes, the Smart Money classes, and it includes the Baby Steps app. And so you're going to learn, you're going to track, and you're going to budget. And we're going to show you how to do all of that in Ramsey Plus.

And if you want a free trial, they're available right now. Just go to DaveRamsey.com slash never again. And if you heard this just now as I was doing it, you heard the very first time we mentioned this in public, and we've been working on it for two years. So we're pretty excited around here today. We're having a big baby today around Ramsey. And we're really excited about this event tonight, too.

If you want to watch this What Now event, text the word CONTROL to 33789. We'll give you a link to watch it for free. You can watch the two-hour event with me, Rachel, and Hogan tonight. Ken Coleman is my co-host today here on the show. Erica is next in Minnesota. Hi, Erica. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Thank you so much, Dave. Hi, Ken and Dave. I'm super nervous. I'm sorry. It's okay. How can we help? So I am currently working step two with my husband. We have three kids, and I'm getting as creative as possible

to really minimize expenses. And I wanted to get your take on solar panels. Okay. Well, I mean, you don't have any money right now. You're broken in debt. Right? Well, yeah. Okay.

So, I mean, I'm not against solar panels um the uh matter of fact the solar i endorse solar panel companies in three or four cities uh around my you know around our remsi network uh i do believe in solar and a matter and and the technology since i'm old when i first saw solar panels technology's light years better than it was 15 or 20 years ago, meaning that your break-even point on electricity replacement is much quicker than it was in the old days. In the old days, you kind of just had to be like an environmental nut. There was no money reason to do it. Now there's a money reason to do it, and you can be an environmental nut. It's awesome.

And so you get just save the planet and save money it's wonderful and so all of that's good because i mean you can have them do an analysis when you've got some money uh to do a break even i wouldn't buy them in your area with your exposure to the sun or whatever the technicalities are where your break even is longer than five years but uh but i you know if you've got the cash to pay for them once you're out of debt and you want to do a five-year break-even, that's fine. But today you're not in a place, are you? Am I missing something?

Well, I mean, I had someone come out and kind of give me the breakdown, of course, the whole spiel. And basically our bill would go down, you know, $30 to $40 a month. And there's, of course, the federal tax credit. There's local programs to help incentivize as well. And the payoff or the break-even point is around the seven-year mark. But ultimately for me, when I see a lower payment, I'm thinking I can pay off my other debts faster.

Oh, you're wanting to borrow for the solar panels. Oh. Yep. No, no, no, no, no, no. Yeah, I was waiting for you on that. I thought – I'm a little slow on the uptick. Okay, yeah.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Yeah. No, we're getting out of debt, not into debt. Yeah. That's what I figured you'd say. i'm glad i was nice i learned a little bit about solar panels that's good yeah and besides that i think you're probably gonna do a little more shopping a little more engineering on these things because seven years well you're in minnesota so it's not like you're in the land of the sun or something but um but you know you're not it's not exactly arizona you know so

uh uh seven years might be more realistic but that's a long time to get your money back i mean if you're just paying cash for them that would make you realize that more so that's why i like a five-year break even on them i think they're a wonderful thing they do not add value to the house that's a bunch of crap because most people buying a house go, oh, there's crap on the roof. You know, it's like they don't really think, oh, I'm getting to save money. Goody, goody. Because they're not into it. I've never heard anybody go, oh, this house has solar panels.

That'll change up. Yes. I've got to have it. There's a few times that happens, but it's kind of like a pool, you know. It's nice to have a pool, but it doesn't add as much as it costs to add value to the house you're gonna say 40 bucks a month on your electricity i was waiting for you to say well how much is it going to cost you for the solar panel so you're ended up you're you're not even gonna win now i get it because 40 bucks is not the reason it's 40 bucks is that's after

you paid a payment right that was i didn't get that part i'm slow on the uptick okay no there we go all right no we're not borrowing money. You're getting out of debt. So, hey, good question. I appreciate you calling in. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Nikki's in Ohio. Nikki, what's up?

Hi, Dave. I love your show, and I appreciate you taking my call. I'm a little bit nervous, too, because it's such a long story, and I'm going to try and shorten things up. My parents both passed away last year in 2019, my dad in June and my mom in December. And my dad was in the nursing home for a little while. While he was in the nursing home, my mom decided she was going to show me all of her hiding places of cash in the house that they had to cash for years. So luckily, I took pictures of all the hiding places. And lo and behold, then my mom passed in December. And everyone told me, well, Nikki, if there's any cash in the house,

make sure you get that out of there now. Got it out in two grocery bags and took me about three weeks. And finally, one night one night i decided for a glass of wine took my bluetooth speaker in the bedroom and i started counting and there was 161 000 after laughing about this i will tell you it caused me the most anxiety for the longest time and i finally called my called my financial advisor and he said mickey this is a happy problem to have this is a two glass of wine problem not one glass exactly i'm thinking bottle here 161 000 in coffee cans some tom farren young yeah wow you can't even imagine where she had this cash hit. I do believe I got all out of there. So I contacted my financial advisor, and like I say, he told me it's a happy problem.

He said if there's any home improvements you need to do to make your house value up a little bit, do that. And so I did like a kitchen refresh. I probably have a good, and a couple other things. I probably have a good $125,000 cash things. I probably have a good 125 cash of that, 125,000 left of that. And then I also sold their home in which I took that money and I paid off my house. I became, I'm a baby step four without, like I went zero to four. You've done wonderful. Wonderful.

Okay. How can I help? I don't know what the problem is. Well, I... Okay, gosh darn it. I don't know what to do with this cash. Invest it. I feel like I need... It's not drug money. It's not illegal. Invest it.

Okay. It's not cocaine. It's money. You're making me feel a little better. Well, you didn't do anything wrong. She didn't do anything wrong. Take a vacation. Invest the rest. It's a little bit of a movie that needs to be written or a book, but I get that.

It makes your head go on tilt, but you've got a pile of cash in the kitchen table, and it's not even proverbial. It's real. It is real. Yeah, you're out of debt and you're on baby step seven aren't you you paid off your house all right well yes i guess i am seven yes so now you're just investing for you know and you know so you here's the three things you do with excess money you invest it you give with outrageous generosity and you enjoy it and you should do some of each with this money you should go on a

crew now they're going to do cruises now you should have some fun with the money and you should give some of the money hire an investigator i double check that house i feel like there's more in the scanning thing thermal scanning yeah folks i love telling you about well-made well-thought-out products today i'm talking about grip six belts i don't know about you but i'm not a fan of traditional belts they never fit right and they're uncomfortable grip six belts are unique. Owner BJ designed a truly modern minimalist belt made of high-quality materials with no holes, no flap, and no bulk. And the buckles come in really cool designs and are interchangeable. I personally own these belts in different styles,

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number one best-selling author of the book, The Proximity Principle. We're talking life, careers, money, all those things today here on the air. On the debt-free stage right here in Ramsey Solutions, Tucker is with us. Hey, Tucker, how are you? Hey, Dave. How's it going? Better than I deserve, man. Good to have you. Where do you live? I live in a small town, Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska. Okay. That's a bit of a haul to Nashville. 12 hours, sir. I was going to say, you really can't get there from here, except that way. Get in the truck and do it, huh? Yes, sir. All right. Good to have you. So how much debt have you paid off? Oh, $40,316. All right. How long did this take you? 11 months. Oh, you got it. And your range of income during that time? $75,000 to $80,000. What do you do for a living? I'm a railroader. Okay, cool. What kind of debt was the $40,000? I'll need a list for that too uh cell phones credit cards i had a family loan uh irs

i love my toys so i had a camper a truck a jet ski um and a motorcycle you had a lot of stuff yeah yeah i was i was pretty i played dumb for quite a while did you pay it all off or did you sell some of it uh i paid it i kind of did it funny i uh i paid it all off but then i sold i got so intense at the end that i wanted to get rid of the last one the biggest one was the motorcycle so i actually sold the jet ski to complete the motorcycle yeah you know because i even though i wanted all my toys i thought i'm just gonna originally when i started this i just wanted to pay them all off so i can have all these toys and once i started getting closer to the end of it, I got so intense that I was like, I'll get rid of the jet ski to pay off the motorcycle. Very cool.

Good for you. So what did the jet ski sell for? $3,700. Okay. So $4,000 of the $40,000. That's the way it went, roughly. And then the rest of it, you just cash flowed? Yes, sir.

And I had some home repairs in there with it. So, yeah, I did gutters and some roof repair and all that. It's been great. Wow. Well, good for you, man. Good for you. So what happened to you 11 months ago lit you up, man? Because you were buy everything, put it on credit, enjoy the moment,

and all of a sudden you're a different guy. I was driving a truck in through the portland oregon area and i was driving a big boom truck and came on the radio i don't remember the radio station but uh you came on and i'd heard about you before but i hadn't really you know bought into it or whatever and boy there was a guy came on there he's like i'm 30 years old and i got this and i got that and these credit cards and i'm getting one up on them and you know i'm just whooping on discover and you came on there and I'm getting one up on them. And, you know, I'm just whooping on discover. And you came on there and you started putting licks on this boy.

Like I'm driving in the truck and I'm like, man, I like this guy. Yeah. Tell him, tell him how it is. And then I go, wait a minute. That's me. He's yelling at me right now. And I said, I want more of this guy. I want more of this guy.

So I ended up buying. You were talking about your book. So I ended up picking up Total Money Makeover. Read it in two to three days. And it was like lightning bolt. Just hit me. Boom. I got a change.

Wow. And I got sick of putting out $18,000, $2,000 a month in payments. And I just said, you know what? I'm done with it. So I went through and signed up for FPU. Wow. It's just been, I mean, my whole life just turned upside down and you went for it here i am today you don't do stuff halfway no sir wow well done man i'm proud of you thank you that's pretty

stinking incredible you i mean what we're describing here is not just a mathematical change you changed oh big big time big time yeah a lot it's uh i'm i've actually i paid off that motorcycle but i just sold that motorcycle also and i thought i was gonna keep it forever it was my dream bike but my goals have changed so drastically that um it this didn't it started out as getting out of debt but now i'm looking at the future big time and i really really want to set my future up not only for myself but change my family tree. So I just sold my motorcycle so I could catch up on kids' college, IRA. And, you know, so everything's been changed for me.

It's been a total, total makeover for me. How does that feel? It's unreal. Like I want to cry right now because it's just – I do, listening to you. It's impressive, man, very impressive. Not being able to make – being worried about not being able to make payments and getting furloughed and all that to now where I don't have anything.

Yeah. And it's just like we came down here and I paid cash for the whole trip. Yeah. And it's just been awesome. I can't describe it. The guy I'm looking at has –, has a richness of soul, a depth. You've gone from this deep to having some serious depth. You're an impressive guy.

Thank you. Let's stay there for a moment and tell people who may be listening in for the first time, just like you were. You went from desperation to you're dreaming. Dave and I are looking at a guy who's got big dreams because you can see them now. You can get there. What would you say to people who are in that desperation moment right now? You can do it. That's it.

I mean, there's no, you know, you're going to have doubts. You're going to have, you know, these things that come into your life. People are going to tell you, you can't, you're going to have these companies marketing to you. They're going to be trying to sell you every single thing. And you just say, no, I ain't doing it no more. I'm changing. And that's what I did. And now I can see a vision. I, I, I kept my life surrounded with Ramsey solutions. I watched Rachel. I watched Chris, I watched Dave, I watched Ken. And I, I basically, you know, I got up in the morning with Google and she, my assistant would tell me, you know, every morning I get up like, good morning, Tucker. It's, you know, zero six.

Here's the latest episode of the Dave Ramsey show, you know, stop being 30 and spending all your money, dummy. So, so like I completely changed my life life. And you can do it, definitely. You can all do it. It's just you've got to have that deep down want. You've got to want to, you know. I mean, it's a different guy that is going to keep a bike for life and then sells it because he wants to make sure his kid's college is funded. Yeah.

He got bigger dreams. That's so neat. That's so neat. So how many kids do you have? Just one. Okay. Who? Marley. She's four years old. So how many kids do you have? Just one. Okay. Who? Marley.

She's four years old. Oh, Marley came with you. She did. Awesome. Awesome. So is Marley going to do the debt-free scream with you? Yeah. Okay.

Well, let's get her in the shot. How old is Marley again? She's four. She's four years old. Well, I'll tell you what. She's got an impressive daddy. Look at that. Life is good. Life is good. Well is good well done very very very well done has

she been practicing we practiced a little bit okay she gets nervous though oh it's okay it's okay we're all rooting for her yeah that's right i don't even think we need to root for her i think she's got it made she's ready she's got it made way to go tucker you're an impressive young man i'm honored to meet you, sir. Very, very well done. We've got a copy of Chris Hogan's book for you, Everyday Millionaires. That's the next chapter in your story. You're heading that way.

You've made the change. Guys like you and doing stuff like this, this is so impressive. This is why I come down here every day. Thank you. It's an honor to be with you today. You guys have changed my life. You changed your life. We had the pleasure of walking with you.

You're a hero. And you're definitely Marley's hero. All right. Tucker and Cedar Bluffs, $40,000 paid off in 11 months, making $75,000 to making $80,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Here we go. Three, two, one. hear a debt-free scream. Here we go. Three, two, one.

We're debt-free. That's so good. I love it. There you go, man. There you go. So what's interesting is you got a young guy there working in the railroad making 80 grand and he has a higher probability of becoming a millionaire and retiring with wealth and being able to live his life with his whole family tree changed than some dube with 16 degrees

who can't keep from leasing cars and piling up crap in their house and going on vacations they can't afford and continually buying things and spending money on things with money they don't have to impress people they don't even really like. This guy got it. God, that's so impressive. Just what a great young man. And again, this is the second time today we've seen a beautiful little princess kind of dancing on that debt-free stage,

excited in the moment but not truly getting the depth of it. And what a fantastic example Tucker is for all of us, that when we want to change, when we've said, I've had enough, we can make the change. We can endure the hardship. We can set a new course, and we can reach that vision. It is in your control. I mean, Rachel was a baby when we hit bottom, when I made the same decisions he made. Man, this is the Dave Ramsey Show. folks save cash by fixing your major appliances yourself get your parts from my friends at appliance parts pros we just heard from

a listener who said he saved his family at least 500 by getting his parts and expert advice to fix his leaky fridge and dishwasher from appliance parts pros these guys carry over 2 million appliance and outdoor power equipment parts and offer easy returns order your your parts today at AppliancePartsPros.com. Our scripture today, Philippians 4, 7, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Andrew Carnegie says, if you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes. Scott is with us in Indiana.

Hey, Scott, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. How can we help? Hi, Dave. Thanks for having me on. Sure. I've been debating with my wife. She's been telling me to quit my job for a few months because my side hustle is getting to that point to where it's becoming equal to the day job. Last year, I cut back on hours of my day job to instead of five days a week,

working four days a week just because the side hustle was needing a little bit more time. Now we're to the point where I could comfortably quit, and we have a pretty good stockpile of money put back. What's the side hustle? It's, well, you're going to kind of laugh at this because I've heard someone else call in, but I raise exotic snakes. Okay. I don't remember laughing about it. I in, but I raise exotic snakes. Okay. I don't remember laughing about it.

I'm scared. I'm not laughing at anything. Kid's terrified. I'm terrified in this too. So the question is this. If you put more time into the side hustle, will it make even more money? Quite a bit more. Okay.

So why wouldn't you? Um, no, it's, it's nice to have that, uh, that, that comfort level of having a steady paycheck every week. And I was kind of worried that the whole COVID-19 thing was gonna almost crash the market. But over the last three months sales, it's kind of been through the roof and it's allowed us to put back so much money, and we're just kind of stockpiling to get our debts paid off. The only debt we have is our mortgage, and we're on track to pay it off within the next four years. Scott, you and your wife are debating this. What's the key sticking point for you? We know what she says, but is it just that I want a little bit more money in the bank before I do it?

Because you clearly, it's obvious, you know you need to eventually step full-time into this side hustle. It's your dream. So what's the number? That's kind of the thing. I thought so. So what's the number that makes you feel comfortable? I was wanting to have $100K put back.

What do you have now? About $70K. So how long would it take you to get to the $100K? It's hard to say um we're we're kind of in the middle of the the breeding season right now and eggs are starting to hatch oh roughly a month or 10 months or 10 years um six months okay let me let me stop just a second did what what did your parents do for a living uh my dad was a salesman for kevin cecil for a long very long time he was one of the top sales people in the country yeah um my mother so he didn't have a steady paycheck no he was he was good at his job though though. Yeah, his skill brought his security, which, by the way, is the only place you get security.

I was making a pile of money, and my granny, my grandpa worked in a steady job for Alcoa Aluminum his whole career. And my granny, bless her sweetheart, would always ask me when I was going to get a real job. And I was making a pile of money running a business but to her it wasn't a steady job but let me tell you there is you're only as secure as your ability to create an income not you're never secure based on someone else giving you a check that's that's mythology and so you need to quit tomorrow your wife is right that's my opinion can you jump in jump in. Yeah, I don't disagree. I just wanted to walk you through, Scott, what you're really facing. You have got some fear, and you've got to own it.

You've just got to say, I'm afraid that if I don't have 100 that I'm not secure. And I just wanted you to be able to walk through and see, you're not silly, but is your fear a little silly? And I think in this case it is. How long have you been doing the snake thing yeah we we have two kids two children how long you've been doing that snake thing um it's been a hobby of mine for 30 how long you made money on it how long have i made money on it yeah uh 25 years this is not a johnny come with. This is called a steady paycheck, dude. Yeah, yeah. I know.

I just wanted to get your confirmation. Yeah, and all I'm trying to do is help you see that you're not silly, but your fear is whispering to you, and it's telling you a lie, that this is unstable, and this is risky to do this, and there's no risk. Dave and I are objective. We see no risk. I think your wife is telling you the truth. Be okay, man. You got 70 grand in the bank.

You're fine. You're going to win bigger when you go full-time. That's what I needed to hear. Yeah, go. Be free. We've been talking about it for the last year, and then the COVID-19 thing happened. Yeah. If you told me you've been doing this for six months, I'd be a little more worried.

Okay? If you told me you had no money in the bank, I'd be a little more worried. If you told me you weren't making really good money at this, but it was your dream, I'd be a lot more worried. But in any of this, I mean, you've had a full-time stinking job here with your business for a long time. All we've got to do now is admit it you're there man congratulations touchdown you did it yeah very well done sir very well done ian is with us in arizona hi ian how are you i'm involved sir thank you for taking my call how are you better than i deserve what's up all right so i feel like I've been presented with kind of a unique opportunity.

I'm 20 right now. I have about probably 10.5 in debt, about two on credit cards and 8.5 on a car. I'm sorry. 10.5 what? Debt. $10,500. Okay. Not 10.5 million.

Okay. $10,500. Okay. I'd probably be gone if I had that. I know. And you have $10,500. Okay, not $10.5 million. Okay, $10,500. Okay. I'd probably be gone if I had that. I know. And you have $10,500 on what? Two credit cards and a car. Okay.

And your question's what? All right. So I've been presented with an opportunity to buy my mom's and her grandma's house are really relatively for the property low cost, talking probably about $60,000 or $70,000. And it's worth what? It's definitely worth a lot more, probably $150,000, $160,000. And you're how old again? I'm 20.

Okay. What do you make a year? So I live with my girlfriend and our annual income. No, we don't have an annual income. You're not married. Okay. My annual income is about $30,000. Okay.

All right. And who owns the house? Your mother and your grandmother own it together? My grandma owns it and my mom rents it from them. And she's leaving? Yes. Okay. What does she pay in rent? She pays $825 a month. What do you pay in rent now? $816. Perfect. Okay. Okay. I don't think you're ready to buy a house. You don't have much income, and you have a bunch of debt. But it does sound like a wonderful deal. So can I offer you an alternative suggestion?

Absolutely. Because, you know, if the only option is yes or no, my answer is no. But what I would rather say is yes later. And so I would rather you rent the house for $820 instead of the place you're renting, so that's a break-even, and have a written option, not a handshake, with your grandmother for the purchase price for the next four years. And you rent and get yourself out of debt and get your career up and going and then go close on the house when you get in your financially healthy later.

But you're not financially healthy now, and this house is going to be a drain. By the way, this is an old house, and it needs work, doesn't it? Yeah. Ta-da. You got no money. You're moving into a money pit problem already big problem big problem so you don't do not buy this house today even if it's a great deal you don't have the money it's not going to be a blessing to you it's going to be a curse to you should he have the house checked out before he signs that four-year deal?

It's an option. It's an option. Okay, it is an option. It's his right to buy. Lease it with an option. Ah, got it. Lease it for $800 a month with the right to buy it for $60,000. If it's worth $150, he can do the deal later when he gets on his feet

and can afford repairs and afford to close on it. Get his car paid off, get everything moving. So that's a good play. Ken, thanks for hanging out. Thanks for having me. Always fun. Ramsey Personality, Ken Coleman. We'll be back with you 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. This is James Childs, producer of The Dave Ramsey Show. On your smart speaker, you can add our skill by saying, Alexa, open the Ramsey Network skill. From there, you can listen to all our shows. Ask Dave money questions like, how do I invest my money? Or what is the debt snowball? Find out more at DaveRamsey.com slash smart speaker.