The Ramsey Show - App - My Parents Want Me To Get a Degree in a Field I'm Not Interested In (Hour 2)

Episode Date: March 22, 2021

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the 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. Anthony O'Neill, Ramsey personality, number one best-selling author, is my co-host today as we take your calls about your life and your money. Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Spencer is with us in Denver, Colorado. Hi, Spencer. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show.

Hi, Dave. Thanks for taking my call. Hi, A.O. What's up, man? Hey, not much. Hey, I just want to start off by saying, in part because of you, Dave, my wife and I were EDMs and totally debt-free, so I just want to say thanks for that. Way to go, man.

Congratulations. Millionaire status, baby. Good job. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So I've got a situation here. I've got a rental, and I'm probably one of those rare people that actually goes out of state to find a rental house to rent out, I guess. Here in Denver, the prices are so high, we couldn't afford anything here.

But I have a brother that lives in Kansas City, and we were out visiting. We actually ended up just finding a house that we turned into a rental, and it's been pretty profitable. I go out and see it every, you know, few months when I visit him, but now he's moving to Texas, so I don't really feel like I want to keep this rental anymore, but I do have tenants in it who've been pretty faithful for the last three years, and I need your advice on if I should sell it, try to sell it to them, offer it to them first, or if it's more beneficial to give them notice and then go in and try to, you know, do some sweat equity in it and maximize my profits and sell it just on the market. The house is in good shape.

It's, you know's doubled in price. We've had it for six years. So if you sold it to the tenant, what's it sell for? If you sell it after fix-up, what's it sell for? That I just don't know yet. I'm just in the beginning stages of getting into this, but I didn't know. What would be your guess? What makes you ask the question?

Maybe $200. If I sold it to the tenants without doing anything, just as is, maybe $160. I'm not sure what would require me to, you know, fix it up to that. Yeah, we're losing you. You're cutting in and out. So if you were going to sell it as is, you'd sell it for $160. wrongs. Yeah, we're losing you. You're cutting in and out. So if you were going to sell it as is, you'd sell it for $160,000. If you fixed it up, you'd sell it for $200,000. We're guessing, because you haven't run all the numbers out to exact, but

you're thinking you'd spend like $10,000 and go over there and paint it or something? You know, that's what I'm aware of. I'm'm losing you you're cutting in and out try one more time you know new paint and it's hard to say yeah yeah you could really easily not make that much extra on this so i mean uh i don't see a problem offering it to the new tenant, but I'm going to try the current tenant first before you just straight up move them. Would you still offer it for 160, though, Dave? No, I think I would just ask them if they have an interest in it and then put a price on it.

Yeah. And let's go into it from there. Right. Okay. Yeah, I mean, I was going to eventually get an appraisal on it and kind of go from there and then do some comparables, you know, with a local provider, you know, and kind of see what to maximize it for. But I didn't know, generically, it's better to try to go in and fix it up,

or if I would spend $20,000, if I'd only get $20,000 more, would that even be worth the time? Yeah, it doesn't sound like it is. It sounds like you're probably better to roll it, but maybe $160,000 over $200,000 is not the actual spread. It might be $70,000 over $200,000 or whatever. I don't know. Let's talk to the tenant and see if we can get it moved that way. If they move out in order to get it market ready, you've got to do some work for it. That's a different story. You're probably going to have to do that to get it to move unless you're in a white-hot market of some kind there. Yeah. I kind of like the idea of offering it to the tenant, Dave, and me, me personally. I would probably say, hey, whatever that is, I will give it to them and say, hey, listen, I'll take 2% off and cover your closing costs to call a deal.

Let's do it. Yeah. Give them some kind of incentive to get them in there. Exactly. And then you don't have to worry about it. You don't have a real estate commission on it. You don't have a lot of stuff on it then at that point. Yeah.

Yeah. And it's also a kind thing to do is before, rather than just give them eviction notice, you know, it's over, just say, you know, we're moving you out. Oh, wait a minute. We're going to give you the opportunity to buy it. And then if you don't want to buy it, then we move you out. That has a little different flavor on the transaction. Yeah.

Especially after three years. I think they like that house. Yeah, that's true. If they can afford to buy it. And there may be reasons that they're renting. You never know. Carlos is in San Antonio. Hey, Carlos.

Welcome to the Ramsey Show. How can we help? Hey, Dave. How are you? Better than I deserve. Yeah, and Anthony, how are you doing? I'm doing well, man. Thanks for asking.

Great, great. Hey, so we were approached recently, my, and Anthony, how you doing? I'm doing well, man. Thanks for asking. Great, great. Hey, so we were approached recently, my wife and I, by a company that wanted to offer us to refire home. Right now we're at a 3.75% APR, and they're offering us a 2.5% or fixed rate for 15 years. Now, here's the thing. They're offering a no closing cost. And originally when I heard that, I was very intrigued,

and I wanted to know if there's anything that you guys have heard, if that's kind of a common practice or if there's anything hidden that I should be looking out for. Is this an FHA loan? No. Yeah, 15-year fix. Well, that's a great deal. So I don't know how they're doing this, where they're picking up the closing costs,

because somebody's going to pay the closing costs somewhere. Are there any fees? I know some people will leave with no closing costs, but is there a bunch of points involved or something? Yeah. I don't know. I mean, at first, I was very, you know, it sounded kind of iffy. But, I mean, if there's no closing costs, then why not, right? How long have you been in the house, Carlos? Five years.

Okay. Are you going to be there a while? Yes, sir. Yeah, let's just run the deal to ground and figure out what's wrong with it because it smells bad. Yeah. Let's find out why. You know, how is it you're offering a 2.5% rate, which is basically a street rate with closing costs, only they're going to have no closing costs.

Where are you picking up the closing costs? I want to know where that's coming from, how that's being covered. And if you keep getting a bad feeling off of it, just run just because of the bad feeling. But I don't mind running at the ground and asking some questions. You may learn something. You can also call Churchill Mortgage, the folks that we've endorsed for 20 plus years here on the air and they can walk you through exactly what they can do and that'll give you a comparison yeah uh in the situation uh but i'm not aware of rates being low enough that a two and a half

percent rate would warrant a free closing cost that doesn't make sense now fha has a streamlined product but it would be a little bit above market and you're the closing costs are That doesn't make sense. Now, FHA has a streamlined product, but it would be a little bit above market, and the closing costs are just eaten up in the higher rate, is what it amounts to, because it's slightly above market. And you can just refi your... Just with the stroke of a pen, you can refi an FHA, but that's not true on a

Fannie Mae. So I guess I'd dig into it and learn, try to figure out what they're doing and what the angle on it is. It's always good to get new information. Absolutely. That sounds a little interesting to me. I'm thinking, Dave, like. If you could get a two and a half at 15, I'm with you.

Let's do it. Let's do it. But I also want to make sure I don't get to the closing table and have some kind of problem. Right. Or have signed into something I didn't realize I was signing into or whatever. Make sure you know the whole picture. That's the big deal. It's a good savings, though.

A whole percent down. Yeah. This is The Ramsey Show. Hey guys, Rachel Cruz here. Ever feel like you'll never save money or pay off all your debt? We know 2020 didn't help, but it's a new year and you can hit reset with your money.

It's time to focus and get debt out of your life so you can have more money to save and spend worry-free. We're here to help. Ramsey Plus is our step-by-step plan that gets you quick wins so you can make faster progress on your debts. And that debt is gone for good. You get more money back in your pockets.

The best part is you can try Ramsey Plus for free. And once you become a member, you'll get a free federal e-file with Ramsey Smart Tax and the audiobook of my brand new bestseller, Know Yourself, Know Your Money. You'll have everything you need to finally get your money under control. To become a member of Ramsey Plus, go to DaveRamsey.com slash Ramsey Plus. That's DaveRamsey.com slash Ramsey Plus. Or call our Ramsey concierge team at 888-22-PEACE. Our question of the day comes from Blinds.com. They have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. It means even if you mismeasure or you pick the wrong color, they'll remake your blinds for free.

You get free samples, free shipping, and with the new promos they run every month, you'll save even more. Use the promo code RAMSY to get the best deal. Today's question comes from Spencer in Utah. I'm a prospective law student and I am torn between two schools. One is more well-known, but it's also more expensive. The other is less recognizable, but they have offered me a full tuition scholarship. Does the name of the school help significantly and prove to be the investment that college admins tout to be uh no no no absolutely not listen you guys um i went into my doctor's office actually just the other week dave and for the first time in probably 36 years of me living i asked them what school they go to and when uh my doctor said school i I said, hey, does it matter?

Like if a kid came in here today and said, hey, does going to this school over that school, is that better? The doctor said no. He said what makes a doctor is a doctor willing to learn while he's in school. Is he willing to submit himself to other doctors to learn even more? So my answer is. And a continual life of learning. Exactly. And growing. And growing. And my answer is... And a continual life of learning. Exactly. And growing.

And growing. And the same is true of law school. Yes. Yes. So that's... Can you pass the bar after you graduate? Yep. Did you get enough knowledge to pass the bar?

Yep. And do you have enough knowledge to function as an attorney? That's it. And if you have that in 99% of the cases where you went to school doesn't matter. I have 10 attorneys or so in my life, sadly. Yeah. And I can't tell you where a single one of them went to school. You didn't ask at all?

No. We have trademark attorneys. We have estate planning attorneys. We have tax attorneys. We have staff attorneys, we have um staff attorneys folks on team here yep uh actually i was interviewing them so i do find out where they're going to school for a hire them yeah but i didn't hire them because of where they went to school yeah to be the ramsey solutions you know uh chief counsel and so forth uh and so you know

real estate attorneys don't know where they went to school. Yeah. So it just, you know, now there's a handful of prestigious jobs that are high-end corporate things or high-end law firms that care tremendously about where you went to school, but it's only because of the prestige. Yes. And so you can go to law school free. Spencer, go free. Go free. Yeah.

One hundred percent. Absolutely. Shane is with us in New York City with a similar question. Hey, Shane. How are you? Hey. How are you guys doing today? Great.

Good. How can we help? I want to speak to you guys. I don't want to trouble you so much. Okay. You're going to speak directly into your phone. It's muffled. Oh, sorry about that.

Is it better now? Yes, sir. Thank you. All right. muffled. Oh, sorry about that. Is it better now? Yes, sir. Thank you. So last year I was going to a university which my parents took out a loan for about, it was a parent plus loan. They took it out for about $22,000. And I made a decision to change the schools to a cheaper school. And I was making the payments myself to that school because I did not want to go into debt. Unfortunately, my job had a little issue,

and I'm out of a job for about two months now, but I'm coming back next month. So in order to cover the rest of the year, I ended up taking out a loan to cover the rest of the school year for $5,500. That was the loan I took out. And the thing is, though, is that personally speaking, I would not even go to school. I have very traditional parents who say I must go to school

as long as I live under their household, that type of rule. And only because I'm not sure what I really want to do yet in life. So I don't see the point of spending money to do something I don't even know what I want to do yet. What are you studying? Finance. And you're in your second year? Yes.

Okay. And now you're at a less expensive school than the first year? Yes. Okay. And you're how old? I'm 19. Okay. And you're how old? I'm 19. Okay. And you're saying that you don't know if you want to do this, if you want to be in the

finance world when you graduate college. Yes. Yes. Because my heart has been set out for real estate for the past three years. Okay. But my parents, again, under their household, they want me to do something that makes me go to a school and something that they think will pay off. And I know, for a fact, you don't really need a degree to become a real estate agent.

They want me to get a finance degree or a computer degree, one of the two. So respectfully saying, I do not believe it is right for the parent to tell their son or daughter, their child, what to do with their life. I don't see there's a problem with your parents saying, hey, if you live up underneath this house, you have to abide by these rules. That's respectful. That's their house.

But I think right now, you have to make a decision for yourself. What do you want to do at the age that you're at? If you're saying, hey, I want to be in real estate. I've never done real estate. Dave can speak into that. But I know it's a while before you generate any income. I do believe some form of education is important for whatever you're going to do. But I think right now, especially taking out money, no, you need to stop that process. But you do need to be working if you're going to quit college.

But I think most importantly, man, you need to spend some time and identify what it is that you really want to do. Not just real estate, but even long term. If that is real estate for the next 20, 30 years.

OK, cool. But I think you need to go out there and experience life a little bit. Maybe get you a solid job that can provide that you can move into your own apartment, maybe with some roommates, spend a year to just dib and dab out there in different things. Once you identify what that is, then what our career expert here, Ken Coleman says, then figure out what does it take to get to that? But right now, I would say pause. Because if you're saying you're going to school and you're borrowing money, you're paying for something that you really don't even really want to do, pause. But then when you pause, you got to have a game plan because now your parents won't allow you to stay there.

Yeah, for sure. How old do you say you are? I'm 19, sir. Okay. Well, here's something to consider. How many 35-, 45-, and 55-year-olds buy a house from a 19-year-old real estate agent? That's going to be a hard road. Yeah.

It can be done. I actually did it, but it be a hard road. Yeah. It can be done. I actually did it, but it was a hard road. I mean, I had my Magnum PI mustache and my disco suit on, and I'm out there trying to sell houses at 18 years old, 19 years old. I sold a few, but it's just because I worked my butt off, and I was bold and everything else. But it's a very difficult track to start residential real estate at 19 years old. It can be done.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but I do want you to know that that's a little different than you rolling in there at 29. In terms of credibility and who you're dealing with and how you get started and all that. So what I would think is that maybe we address a couple of other things, and let's take a step back. I'm not disagreeing with Anthony. I'm adding to it. Number one, we're both saying no more debt. Yeah.

Okay, for school. That's silly. But this school that you're in now is affordable. You just got to get six jobs and be able to pay your way through. That's what it amounts to. And so that's just what's necessary the um uh uh you know and so you're going to pay your way through now that's step one then step two is do you want to continue to study finance uh i got a degree in finance with

specialization in real estate that was what my degree was in and that that's how I end up, you know, someday, a thousand years later, sitting here. And it served me well. The academic, you know, the underpinning of learning statistics, learning marketing, learning accounting, the things you learn to do finance, those are good classes that are very usable in almost any business situation. And so whether you're the owner of a small business, whether you're in real estate, whether you own a company that does X, Y, or Z, or whether you go to work for somebody in almost any industry, they're going to need people that know those things.

So I don't mind you continuing with a finance degree as long as you pay cash for it or switching degree fields and pay cash and stay at home. But you're going to get six jobs to do that, and you're going to have to rethink this. Right now, you just feel like you're being pushed around by everybody involved, and you're just being, you know, this feels random, and you need to get the randomness out of it. Absolutely. This is The Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the debt-free stage, Rachel's with us. Hey, Rachel.

Hi, how are you? Better than I deserve. Welcome. Good to have you. Thanks. So, how much did you pay off? I paid off myself about $29,000. Good for you.

Where are you from? Where do you live? From Colorado Springs, Colorado. Oh, fun. Well, cool. And how long did it take you to pay off $29,000? It took me about a year, but I have to tell you, before that, I was married, and we had $96,000 in debt. And we paid that off in a, not off, we paid most of it off, all but the $29,000 in two and a half years. Okay.

And then the divorce happened, and then the rest I paid off myself. Oh, okay. Ouch. All right. So your range of income during this 12 months when you paid off the $29, and then the rest I paid off myself. Oh, okay. Ouch. All right. So your range of income during this 12 months when you paid off the $29,000 was what? $55,000 to $62,000. Okay, cool. What do you do for a living?

I'm an accountant. All right, fun. How long were you married? 10 years. Okay. So not only you got the heartbreak, you got $30,000 worth of debt to deal with, huh? Yeah. Yeah, he walked away debt-free, but I was stuck with my student loans.

Oh, they were student loans. Okay. So Sally Mae never goes away until you evict her. That's right. The moral of the story is the woman is persistent. She is a problem child. Ooh. Unbelievable.

Well, congratulations. Thank you. So what made you decide to tear into this like this and get this paid off? Well, three and a half years ago, my brother, who's here, and his wife, Jessica, Matt and Jessica, gave me your book, The Total Money Makeover. I read it in about two days and told my husband, we've got to do this. And you started working on it together. Mm-hmm. But the marriage failed for other reasons, apparently.

Exactly. Okay. Well, I'm so sorry you've been through all that. Oh, it's okay. It's no fun at all. But you're free! Exactly. Marriage free and debt free.

That's right. That's good. Wow. Congratulations. How's it feel? It feels amazing. I hear my friends talk about credit cards, and it's like, I forgot what those were. Yeah. I love it. I love it. Now, I know one year, but was there anything major,

any difficult that last year paying off this $29,000? It was actually almost easier to do it myself. I was about to say, it seemed like the hard part was with your ex-husband. Okay. That's good. That's good. So what's next? I got to ask.

I mean, you're debt-free, no marriage. I mean, hopefully we got a better husband coming down the road. But anything else? I wanted to tell you that I was so confident and confident in myself when I got this done. The first thing I bought was swimming lessons for myself. I never learned how to swim. I've been deathly afraid of water my whole life. Wow.

And I learned after my second lesson. And I don't know, that confidence just kind of went through to that. She's a swimmer. There's a whole new you here. Yeah. So how old are you? I'm 36. And taking on new adventures like swimming. That's pretty impressive.

Because I grew up in the water, but I've had people on our boat and things that were, you know, they would get in the water and they were absolutely terrified. That was me. But he got over it. I got over it, though. And he learned to water ski. We taught him to ski. Yeah.

And those floaties look real good on his arm. They really do. I have no shame in my game. I'm scared of snakes out there in the lake, Dave. We told him all kinds of legends about snakes, and he really had trouble. Oh, yeah. Well, congratulations. You have gone through a lot, kiddo, and you've turned your life, man, upside down and straightened it out.

Yeah. Well, transformation, big time. So proud of you. What do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? I think people need to find their motivation, what motivates them. For me, there was a point, and actually, Anthony, I met you at a conference. You did? I did, and I told you I was

getting divorced I was losing my job my job was being outsourced I had to refinance my house I didn't know if I'd be able to stay in my house on my income but um your conference showed up on Facebook I went with my sister-in-law and we went to the conference and I think that kind of fired me up and i was ready to to continue once the divorce was final i unpaused everything and i i went took off and go yeah get that fresh start and go i'm so proud of you very very very well done excellent excellent job it's impressive very impressive twenty nine thousand dollars in one year and learn to swim and learn to swim. And learn to swim.

Teach me some lessons next time. That's a big deal. All right. We've got a copy of Rachel Cruz's best-selling, our latest best-selling book with her, which is called Know Yourself, Know Your Money. And we appreciate you coming by and doing this. And congratulations. Thank you. So proud of you.

I know your family's proud of you. That's why they came along to support. All good. Showing up. Very good stuff. Thank you. So proud of you. I know your family's proud of you. That's why they came along to support. All good. Showing up. Very good stuff. All right. It is Rachel. And $29,000 paid off in 12 months, making $55,000 to $62,000. Count it down.

Let's hear a debt-free scream. One, two, three. We're debt-free. Well done. Very well done. That is so awesome. You know, it is interesting that as you learn, when you start controlling sections of your life,

it gives you incredible confidence to control other sections of your life and to try things. Yeah, yeah. And then at 36 years old, with a terrified of water, you can confidence to control other sections of your life and to try things yeah yeah and then at 36 years old with terrified of water you can learn to swim yeah that is the first time i've heard that particular story i was just about to ask was that was that a unique story for you you're 25 but the idea that people do something new because they have confidence or they are able to do things with their newfound discipline yes a lot of people lose weight yes at the same time they're getting out of debt it's not because they're starving to death it's because They are able to do things with their newfound discipline. Yes. A lot of people lose weight. Yes. At the same time, they're getting out of debt.

And it's not because they're starving to death. It's because they're disciplined of getting out of debt. They're disciplined. I'm going to control this area of my life. Well, I can control this area of my life. I can control that area of my life. And so lots of marriages are transformed. Lots of people take on, start new businesses. All kinds of new things happen once you start getting the confidence from that discipline.

Yes. It's very powerful stuff. Very well done. Very well done. Well, a recent survey said that over 64% of Americans change their spending habits in 2020. Well, I guess 64%, wherever the rest of them, everybody changed their spending habits in 2021 one way or another.

You know, if you plan to have a pandemic proof budget you can protect from another year of impulse buying and spending more than you make reset your money habits by getting the ramsey proven easy to use cash management systems we've got the starter envelope system for a limited time you can get the famous starter envelopes for only system for only $5. If you're constantly going overboard on a certain category, you cannot beat this. Five bucks. Go to DaveRamsey.com backslash store, and you can see those there for $5. You'll also see Anthony O'Neill's book, Debt-Free Degree, which is a number one best-selling

book as well, national bestseller on how to go to college and not have any debt, which is doable. It's definitely doable. Dave, I read an article this morning, and it said that 3% of people in the ages of 60 to 67 who are retired are living their dreams that the other 97 percent are not that once you retire only three percent of the people are actually living their dreams an article went on to say the other six the other 97 is because of debt you know meaning they're they're able to financially yes they're financially some people call that financial independence i don't think you ever really get independent you're always going to be They're able to financially. Yes. That's what it amounts to. Yes. They're financially. Some people call that financial independence. I don't think you ever really get independent.

You're always going to be interdependent with other people. That's the way life is designed to be. That's a good thing. So I never liked that phrase much. But the idea that I've got enough money that I don't have to worry. Right. And I can pay the lights. I can pay the stupid property taxes.

Right. I can put food on the table. We can do some travel. Exactly. I can get a new pair of blue jeans. Live in peace. And put food on the table we can do some travel exactly i can you know get a new pair of blue jeans live in peace and put gas in a car yeah you know uh that kind of stuff that makes a difference and so and that's what you're looking for is the ability you're prosperous when you have the money to do god's will in your life yes sir which begins with taking

care of the basic necessities certainly you don't have to worry but yeah you're right 97 people still have worries still Still, major worries. One of them are, and I was shot, about 13% of them are still worrying about their student loans. Like in the 60s? Ooh. That was scary. That's sobering.

Yes. They need to stop making these student loans. They need to stop it. Well, you know. You need to let your congressman know. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. It's out of control. Especially at that age. Well, I mean, period.

You just need to stop it. No one goes, That's a blessing! You know, it's just... This is The Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. Anthony O'Neill Ramsey personality is my co-host today. This is the Ramsey Show. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host. I've heard countless stories from people who've lost a loved one and then were totally shocked by their will.

Your final wishes should not be a surprise, people. When you leave your family in the dark, you're setting them up for huge problems. Talk to them about your will. Talk about your end-of-life plans. And the How to Talk About Your Legacy Guide will help you have the right conversations before and after making a will. This guide will teach you how to plan your conversations, get on the same page with your spouse, ask people to be your executor, your kid's guardian, your power of attorney, tell the rest of the family what's in the will.

This is a free guide, how to talk about your legacy, the how to talk about your legacy guide, completely free. If you want it, text the word legacy to 33 789 text legacy to 33 789 cara is in providence rhode island hi cara how are you hi dave and anthony i'm doing well how are you better than i deserve how can we help so two asides. First aside is we have made literally every financial mistake you have ever told anyone not to do. Me too. And the second aside is over the last few years, I have checked your book out of the library probably at least 10 times. 2020 came, I started going back to church.

I checked your book out of the library at the end of the year. And you know what? We got through baby step one, we're on baby step two, but here it is. We are two working parents. We work out of the house. I work Monday through Friday, you know, nine to five. My husband works as many Saturdays, but Monday through Friday and as many Saturdays. And we've got two little kids. They are in daycare.

And we have, aside from our, not including our actual mortgage, we have $140,000 worth of debt. And I am tracking every penny. I have adjusted our grocery budget unfortunately our kids have to be in a subpar daycare situation uh because we just can't afford for them to be in a you know a better situation but what's your household income um i bring in about 40 and he brings in about 6060,000, sometimes a little more. He works in construction. I work in, ironically, banking. What is the nature of the $140,000 worth of debt?

Oh, like I said, it's everything. It's student loans. It's consolidated credit cards. It's a lease that was turned into a car loan because I did the math out and we just didn't have any other way to go at that point in time. You know, it's the PMI for our home. It's just a conglomeration of all of the stuff you're not supposed to do. Your PMI is in 140?

Yeah, because that's, it's, well, it's, you know, it was, no, excuse me, I'm sorry. It was the first, the 20% down. So I don't consider that our mortgage. Our mortgage is 233 and that first, that one, the 20% down was part of an FHA loan. We could borrow both, nothing down. So that $8,000 is in that. Does that make sense? Yeah.

So how much do you owe on your car? Because otherwise, I owe $19,000 even though it's worth $12,000, and then his truck is $4,000. So we're doing the bet snowball. I mean, we're stocking everything we can. I used all of our tax return, all of the stimulus money went to debt. So that was a nice, you know, $5,000 to get through. But basically, we're probably looking at like, I don't know, seven to 10 years left of at least just getting this stuff down. And I'm just wondering, like, this

is going to be a long game. I know it is, but we're dedicated to it. We're doing what we can. I just, you know, words of advice, anything you might suggest. My dad said that he had an idea of, as far as, like, the lease for the 19 owed on the 12 worth, he said, I could probably get, like a a loan for a smaller rate pay that off and then because i need a vehicle we both work and i i pick up our kids and bring them to daycare like we both need vehicles um he said you know maybe get something a loan at a lower rate, pay off the vehicle, sell

it and get something cheaper. I'm just, there's so many things that I'm trying to do and we're literally, I'm throwing every like extra five bucks I can at our debt and we're, we're, we're going, but it's, I just, you know, I respect you guys so much. Um, we have been together for six years. We've been officially married for a year. We couldn't afford to even have, like, a nice wedding. So you've been doing –

We got our crap together. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. Okay. I've done a lot of stupid stuff with my money. You said – you opened the conversation and said you've done every dumb thing, right? Oh, yeah. And so you've done six years worth of mistakes. You've been working on turning this ship around for a month and a half, two months.

Well, it's been 30 years. Up until this calendar year, you didn't really work on it. You read out the book, but you weren't really doing anything. You've gotten serious in the last 30 to 60 days. Yeah, now I'm feeling just completely overwhelmed. Yeah, it's not going to take as long as you think it's going to take. Okay? You just, it takes a little while to get started, number one, and then number two, you're going

to get some momentum, but it's six years worth of mistakes they're not going to go away in six months no i know that i know but it's not 10 years either it's 140 000 that's 14 000 a year that you're going to pay off in debt making 100 000 that's absurd of course you're not going to do that and And so $30,000 a year in debt reduction would get you out in five years. And you're going to do more than that. But you just haven't found it all yet because you're just getting started. And you're just, you know, but I don't know what math you're running, but you're not going to pay off $14,000 or you're making $100,000.

You're going to do a lot more than that. Well, my concern is our mortgage is $1,640. A daycare is anywhere from $1,400 to $1,800 a month. I know. Plus all of our other debts. So it's just, like I said, I'm literally, I run out of money. Your mortgage is $18,000 a year out of $100,000. How big a tax refund did you get?

I got about, I think it was just under $3,000. We got $3,000. Yeah, I'm sorry. We. So that's $250 a month. That's $250 a month too much coming out of your check. Have you adjusted your W-2s yet? I don't think, no.

He has not yet, no. I know he hasn't. Okay. Somebody needs to adjust your W-2. Yeah. But both of you together or whatever, buy about $250 a month. That's going to help a little. Getting rid of your car is going to help a little.

And getting you into a hoopty. And somebody's going to ask a job, Dave. Yeah, and he's going to be a little and getting you into a hoopty and somebody's good extra job day yeah and he's going to be working he works construction that's good news he knows how to fix stuff and so he's going to be fixing stuff a bunch on the weekends yeah yeah all the time you guys are going to be working 80 hours a week absolutely it's time it's time you guys have been a slave to this stuff long enough you're gonna have to rise up and bust it in the nose and you're you've just begun i i know you can do it i've seen people exactly where you are do this yes many many thousands of times over the decades i've been doing this but what i do know is is that

your your sense of being overwhelmed your sense of being stuck that your sense of this is going to take forever comes from the fact that the math does not lay out perfectly in front of you right now to where you can see everything easily. And if you're not careful, you're going to say, well, I just can't do this. And you're going to walk away. You can do this, but you're going to have to continue to fight, scratch, claw, do anything you can do to get your income up and your outgo down. And you're going to sell stuff, sell so much stuff.

The kids think they're next. There's a whole bunch of stuff that you've got to do. A whole bunch of moves you've got to make. And stop coming up with excuses. Start coming up with solutions. Sit down with your husband and say, all right, babe, we have five years to make this happen. What do we need to do to make that happen within the next five years? We're going to help you.

I'm going to put you through Ramsey Plus. That puts you through Financial Peace University. Puts you in the premium version of every you. I'm going to put you through Ramsey Plus. That puts you through Financial Peace University, puts you in the premium version of every dollar. I'm going to pay for it for a year. You and your husband get in front of those videos, get in those communities, talk to those coaches, those folks. Our team will walk with you. We will show you how to do this. You can do this, but it's going to be very hard.

It's going to be worth it. This is The Ramsey Show. Did you know you can listen to The Ramsey Show on your smart speaker? Just tell Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri to play The Ramsey Show podcast. Check out all Ramsey Network shows on your smart speaker today.