The Ramsey Show - App - Never Get a Degree Just for a Higher Paycheck (Hour 1)

Episode Date: October 12, 2022

Ken Coleman & George Kamel discuss: Maxing out a 401(k), Buying out a car lease, Selling a vehicle vs. paying it off, Going into debt to go to law school, Opening a new IRA, Investing an inheritance vs. paying off the house. Have a question for the show? Call 888-825-5225 Weekdays from 2-5pm ET Want a plan for your money? Find out where to start: https://bit.ly/3nInETX Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6 Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy

Девочка-пай Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the pods, moving and storage studio, this is The Ramsey Show. It's where we talk about your life, your money, your work, and your relationships. I'm Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, joined by my colleague George Campbell, Ramsey personality as well. And we are here for you. It's a free phone call, 888-825-5225.

That's 888-825-5225. So Campbell and Coleman on duty for you today. I do love alliteration, and I'm here for it. I do. I do. But we have a K and a C there if you're keeping score at home. Let's get right to it. Stephanie joins us. The suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. Alpharetta, Georgia. Stephanie, how can we help?

Hello. How are you both? Thank you for taking my call. You bet. So I've been following the principles for the last two years. We actually just bought our home, listening to the 25% of our take-home pay, 15-year fixed. And now we're ready to go on to step four. But because I've never invested, I'm 34, and I don't know much about it other than what I've heard on the call on the show. I hear like maxing out Roth IRAs, but with only three months left in the academic, in the year, does that mean like putting the $6,000 in three months? How does that work? Like maxing out Roth IRAs? My company does offer that option. So your company has a

Roth 401k, correct? Yes. Okay. The IRA would be outside of your employer. Oh, okay. Now, first of all, way to go on doing that, the housing with our parameters. That's impressive. Most people say it's impossible, Stephanie. Can you just tell people out there that it can be done? It can be done. It took me about a year and a half to get my husband on board, but once I had him on board, we were just gazelle intense to a certain extent. That's the hard part.

We've been looking at houses during this. Yes, during the crazy housing market, we actually bought it as it started to calm down a little bit right before the interest rates went up, but best timing. We love the house and now we're just like, okay, let's keep the momentum going and go right into investing and not just get comfortable. So it's possible and we are very happy. So thank you guys. Yeah. So what's your household income? We're at 185. Fantastic.

Net. And that is gross or net? Net. Wow. That's incredible. Okay, so 15% of your household gross income would be how much? Have you done the math on that? I'm guessing you guys are making well over $200 at that point.

Yeah, well over $200. I can speak for myself in saying I'm doing 15%. My husband hasn't quite got on board with that step. So I just went on doing my portion of the income, um, investing now. Hold on. You said he's not on board with that step? He's not. It's a little weird. He, um, is coming from a very, um, wealthy family and they've kind of just told him that he's inheriting a good portion. So he doesn't really have the urgency, but you know, I do. So I want to continue doing my steps. Wow. Well, I'll speak in generalities then since he's not totally on board, but

you're right. If you have a Roth 401k, you can do all 15% in there. And what you're saying is, I'm not going to be able to max it out from October to December. Now you can can increase the percentage to get you closer to 15%, but you can't do 100% of your paycheck. You guys need to put food on the table. Yeah. And so you could max out two Roth IRAs, which is going to be $6,000 each. And you can do that up until tax time. And so it doesn't have to be by the end of the year for the IRAs. It would have to be for the 401k. Got it. So the 401k is until December 31st? Yes. And the other one's until April? Exactly. Got it. Are you guys working with a financial advisor, a smart investor pro right now? That's the next step. I think once the house is 30 days old, even in the house,

so that's the next step is getting a financial advisor. I'm hoping that helps get him on board too. Make sure he's there. Don't just go alone and say, I'm meeting with a financial advisor. And he goes, okay, whatever. I got mom and dad's inheritance. So I'm not worried about that. You guys have to be doing this together. I want to dig into that if I may.

Sure. Stephanie, is assuming he's going to get this inheritance upon his parents' death? Is that? Correct. How old are they? Not old, but they're in their early 60s. Yeah. I mean, I just, I would really challenge him on that mindset. What happens if they lived till 95 and now you guys are 65 and he's broke in retirement,

hoping they pass? George, you took the words right out of my mouth. What about Prince Charles? Prince Charles thought he was going to be the king pretty soon. His mom lived forever. The guy's in his 70s taking the throne. You know, you can't bank on that. Good analogy on him. Thank you very much. A little pop culture wisdom for you today.

A royal family trivia there. Well, but it's true, though, George. I mean, I would really challenge your husband on that kind of thinking. Well, we're just going to wee, you know, our way through life because we've got a hefty settlement coming our way. Here's the other thing. Mom and dad could change the will at any time. I was also thinking that too. That worries me to bank on that.

That's icing on the cake to me. That's a nice blessing, a nice legacy, but while we're alive, we're doing everything we can in our power to set ourselves up for financial freedom. I'm trying to affect his safety gland a little bit. He seems like he's just running around in a padded room, you know? We can do whatever we want. It's going to be okay. And I think that's dangerous. And I think that I would really

challenge his logic on that a little bit. That's just a little extra to get him there. But I agree with George. He needs to be there and sit with the financial advisor and get a picture. Do you guys have a tax pro as well? We don't. Okay. With your income levels, I would highly recommend you can jump on Ramsey Solutions and connect with a smart investor pro and a tax pro who can help walk you through this to make sure that you're maximizing, getting all the tax advantages that you can, doing things the right way, especially when it comes to the IRA piece. So I'd connect with both of those folks and get a plan now that you guys are in this investing mode. Do you have kids? We have a three-month-old. Oh, how exciting. So on top of starting to invest for retirement, you get to invest for that

three-month-old and help cover college. Yeah. 529 plan, that's state-specific. You can choose a state that's not Georgia. And again, a SmartVestor Pro can walk you through all the different options for you. And you might find that the Utah 529 plan is actually better versus an education savings account. So they can walk you through all that. But I'm just so proud of you guys. This is an exciting new phase for you. Yes. And I know it feels like, do you feel like you're behind because you're 34?

And you're just starting investing? When I think about it, yes. But I didn't think about investment, you know, because I was so focused on getting my house and these pods of step four and did just the 3B, you know, that route. Way to go. Yeah. I don't want to say I feel behind, but sometimes I do. And now I'm like, what do I do?

It just seems like a foreign world to me. Sure. Well, I just want to tell you, you're not too late. And a lot of people out there, they're starting, even when they're 28, they go, I should have been investing earlier. When you're 50, I should have been investing earlier. And the best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago. The next best time is today.

And so I love that you guys are focused on the future. You've got a long life ahead of you to invest, to become multimillionaires, to be outrageously generous, because that's what this plan is all about. And so keep your sights set. You can be investing. You can be giving. You can enjoy your life and spend some of it. And with that income, with no debt, you guys are in an amazing place. So I'm proud of you. Way to go, Stephanie. Fun stuff. We love to hear it. Yeah. You pointed this out right out of the gate. It is rare that we run into a caller that is, hey, we did the 15-year mortgage and put it down.

It's rare. We're trying to talk people into that. And Alpharetta's not cheap, Ken. Oh, I know. Let me tell you something. Everyone goes, well, my city's different, Ken. You don't understand my situation. It can be done.

But yet they've got a great investment in that area as well. You want to stay off of 400. If you don't know that area well, stay off of Highway 400. That'll take years off of your life. The danger zone. Spend too much time there. All right. So, hey, we're just getting rolling.

We've got some advertisements to take care of. Got to pay the bills. But we'll be right back. This is The Ramsey Show. welcome back to the ramsey show america we're thrilled you're with us this is where we talk about your life your money your work your relationships i'm kent coleman joined by george camel it's a law firm of camel and coleman we were talking about that the other day if we were to have it just sounds like a solid law firm. It does. It really does.

But rest assured, if you're brand new to the show, we give no legal advice at all. No. There's a reason we're here. Just bad dad humor is what you're hearing right now. So let's get to the phones. Grand Rapids, Michigan is where Julie is. Julie, how can we help?

Hey, guys. I wanted to know if I should take the $4,000 I have in savings to pay off a leased vehicle that I have that we've leased. Tell us more. It's about $24,000. Um, well, we had two lemons a couple of years ago that like were just sinkers when it came to our cashflow. So we ended up leasing, which I know is a very poor choice, but it's worked out better for us financially. And this vehicle that we have, we could go out and buy a newer vehicle or a different

vehicle, but, um, it's a $24,000 to just buy out this car. That's the early buyout amount? Yes. And we have $14,000 in savings, and then obviously our $1,000 emergency fund, but have no debt at all, except for our house. So you've got $14,000 in savings. You have the $24,000 early buyout.

How is it going to work? Well, should we take, should we, my husband just wants to put $5,000 down, like $5,000 down and then take a loan where I'm like, why don't we just do the $14,000 and just, then we don't have to take that as significant amount of a loan out. So you're saying you would take out a $10,000 loan? Yeah. To cover the difference? Yes. Yeah, it beats $24,000. And then would you sell that car? Well, I don't think so. I think we would keep it. How quickly could you pay the $10,000 loan off? I think within a year. What's your household income?

$190. Oh, you could pay it off sooner than that. You think it would take a year to pay off $10,000 making $190? I know. Where's your money going, Julie? It's very expensive. My three kids, Catholic schools. I don't know. There it is.

There it is. There it is. Julie, I'm so sorry that George yelled at you. George, there's no need to shout. It's always the private school, Ken. You know this life. It's very... No, that's our boat and our cottage and everything else. Oh, the boat and the cottage. No, no, no. I just live in northern Michigan, and I'm always joking. We send our kids to Catholic

school, so that's our extra flow right there. Okay. Yeah, the car is not too much value considering your income. The problem is kind of taking the shortcuts that have got us in this pickle here, in this brine cucumber, if you will. Nice. You like that, Ken? I do. I see what you did there.

Yeah, I mean, in this case, if you guys wanted to go down to your local credit union and get a personal loan and pay it off really, really, I don't want a year. I'm talking two months. Okay. Whatever you got to do. Make 190. I mean, you guys are bringing 10K in every single month. Yeah, we are. So where's it going? Other than the private school, we got to make some sacrifices and some changes, at least temporarily until we're completely out of debt. Because once you do that, Julie, you still don't have an emergency fund.

Yes. And so we need to build that up really quickly. Go back to that. I know because our goal is like $30,000. Anyway. Are you guys investing right now as well? We are. Okay.

I would recommend you pause all investing. And remember, this is for a short period of time to give you as much margin as possible so that you're in pain for as little time as possible. Okay. What are you contributing in your investing each month? Do you know that number, a round number? Well, I mean, I do my 401k. I mean... How much is going to that? 19%. Oh! But it's kind of a long story. So my husband, we've owned businesses for like the last 10 years, which didn't bode well. So it was really my income, but now my husband has a, a good job. And so, um, anyway, it's just been within the last 10 months that he's had a steady income. So we kind of are out of, I mean, we never really swimming in debt but like we're finally at a good clip if that makes sense so i've always invested way more in my 401k because he didn't have any

you know the reason the reason i asked you the question is because what george is saying that's a real number i want you before we leave you on this call i want you to understand why he's telling you to pause investing in your 401k so how much are you contributing to the 401k each month roughly 19 equates to how many dollars i don't know i would have to go i think it's like 887 actually see how quickly you pay off we're looking at a thousand almost another thousand bucks you can throw at this thing to get rid of it ASAP. Okay, that makes sense. Yeah, so I want you to catch that. It's great advice from George because you can quickly,

with that amount of money, pay off the car and then jump right back into investing. And it's not like you're that far behind on investing, George. And so the amount of time she's taking off to pay off, it's not like she's falling behind. And Julie, I'm going to challenge you guys

to not take out a personal loan, but to scrape together that $10,000 and just pay it off. With your $14,000, add $10,000 in the next two months, and then just pay it off. And then we're done with this thing. I think that's going to go faster than you guys taking out another loan. Now we're moving the monopoly piece over here. So I think you got this you know what to do now it's convincing your husband to do it too oh boy that's the hard part uh all right let's stay on theme shall we george layton is joining us in clarksville tennessee not too far from ramsey world hq layton how can we help well i've got a question. I'm 19 years old. I work for the City of Clarksville Gas and Water Department. I make about $40,000 a year of salary. This year I should make about $45,000 to $50,000 with overtime.

Now, my question is, I've got a 2018 Dodge Ram, and I owe about $24,000 on it. Now, the problem is, I don't have a problem paying it and paying the insurance and all that. It's just I have a company vehicle. I have a government vehicle that I drive Monday through Friday, so it's hard to justify paying almost $600, $700 a month with insurance and a truck note to you know, to not drive it. And rarely drive it on the weekends. So you're saying you don't even need a personal vehicle right now? At the moment, no. The only reason I need the truck, and it's on the weekends, like I said,

when I drive it on the weekends is when I pull my boat. And that's the only reason. Well, we can get a cheaper boat puller. That's a real expensive way to do that. Exactly. And see, I started at Gas and Water when I was 18. Okay. And so I got the truck when I was 18. What could you sell it for? You owe $24. What could it sell for today, private sale?

Well, private, Kelly Blue Book marketed it about $26 or $27. I love it. But I had it appraised, and they only offered – now, it was kind of like a – I mean, it wasn't a well-known dealership. Yeah, a dealership appraised it? Layton, dealerships are never going to appraise it at the actual value you can sell it to somebody on the market. Kelly Blue Book is where you're going. Okay.

So sell it, private seller. Sell it, you know, Facebook know facebook marketplace you know whatever auto trader auto trader whatever get it out there and sell it and you're going to pay it off just like that you have a little extra you got any money in savings uh i'm working on baby step one i have a one and a half year old and then my fiance stays at home with her i live with my parents so i have no other bills and i have a I have a very small credit card that I'm going to pay off. Planning on this month, it's only $300. Okay. Any other debt? Nope. That's it. I have no other bills other than that. Okay. One final question for you.

Does it have a Hemi? No, it does not. Okay. Well, that's good, Leighton, because George has no idea what that even means. I just know. He has no idea what that means. It's a fun thing to say. Hey, Leighton, here's the deal. Sell the truck. I'm selling it. And with the extra, you can pay off the credit card and, you ready for this? If my numbers are right, Leighton, and George, correct me, he sells the truck, makes $2,000 to $3,000

on it, he pays off the credit card bill of $300 and he finishes his baby step one. It's that $1,000 in the bank and you're off and running, my friend. And then you're a baby step three. If you get rid of that credit card, now we've got an emergency fund. Now we can save up and get a personal car down the road.

But that's a lot of truck, making $40,000, and the truck's worth $28,000. What does he do, George? Get a cheaper truck. Maybe go for a $15,000, $20,000 boat puller later on down the road, my friend. Love it. Got to love the corporate car or the government vehicle. It's good stuff. All right, folks, tell you what else is great.

You and your calls. They're lined up. Don't move. More of the Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by George Campbell. It is a free call for you to jump into the conversation, 888-825-5225. Of course, we're going to talk about your money,

but we talk about other areas of your life as well, certainly relating to your money. One is work, and we look at your income as your greatest wealth-building tool, a bigger shovel, if you will, to get out of debt or to save for that house down payment or saving for your kid's college and so on and so forth. So I am the work guy, if you want to call me that. No overalls today, George. I would love to see more coveralls, whichever you choose. But I'll take your work questions. If you feel stuck or if you're wondering, should I take a promotion?

Should you quit your job? Any work-related questions, income-related questions to work, I'm here to help on those as well. And of course, George in the shotgun seat today with all of the money questions. So it is time for our blinds question of the day.

You need to find out for yourself why blinds.com is the number one online retailer of custom window coverings. You get free samples, free shipping, and with the new promos they run every month, you'll save even more. Make sure that you use the promo code Ramsey to get the best deal. Today's question comes from Dan in Massachusetts. I'm finishing up my degree in accounting with absolutely zero dollars in debt and can get my CPA license to work at a big company soon. However, I'm also considering law school, which would cost around $300,000, not including interest. The starting salary for some lawyers can be $210,000 in my city. However, for accountants at big firms, that salary can

take around five to six years to get, while law school would only be about three years to complete. Is it financially worth the trade-off to go into debt if it will increase my income faster, or should I stay with my accounting degree and increase my salary at a slower pace? Well, you know, these kind of questions are always very nuanced and very difficult to answer, you know, in a back and forth. I don't have Dan on the phone. So I'll dive into the considering law school. Why are you considering law school? Are you considering law school because of the sheer financial difference that you see here? It tends to... The tone of his question, George, leads me to believe that he's thinking of law school primarily for money reasons.

And I would always caution against that. I'd want to know, why did you choose to go into accounting? Do you love the work? Does the work create results that matter to you? And I got to tell you, the $300,000, George, I'm passionate about this. You should never pursue a law degree when you'd have to go into debt $300,000 to that school. Here's why. Quick context.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to interview a lawyer on the Ken Coleman Show, based in Houston. Went to Vanderbilt, very high-end school here in Nashville. And he realized after the fact that he could have kept taking the LSAT, got his GPA and his LSAT score to a certain point where he could have gotten free rides to smaller, lesser-known, less prestigious law schools. But you don't think that, and largely you don't know that. And so in this situation, a law degree is a law degree, unless you get it out of a Frosted Flakes box, right? Yeah.

And so I just would not be thinking about this kind of money. I would be trying to get a free ride to a smaller law school if, in giant caps, if law is what you really want to pursue. But to pursue a law degree because you go, well, I can make a little bit more money faster than I could as an accountant. An accountant has just as much opportunity to move up into a C-suite opportunity later on. So I'd want to know those things before I decide. Oh, absolutely. And his verbiage here, the starting salary for some lawyers can be $210,000.

Well, sure. I've got friends who are lawyers, and they went into deeply in debt for their degrees and they're making $65,000 doing immigration law or some types that aren't at these big firms. It's true. So this idea that you're just going to have a high six-figure salary as soon as you leave law school is also a farce. So don't believe that lie. And if it means, hey, I'm going to have this kind of salary in five years, that's great. If you love accounting, stick with accounting.

Never get a degree just for the paycheck. See, the paycheck wears off, George. Well, and how many lawyers do we have out there that are resenting ever having gone to law school that didn't make it, who still have their student loans to pay off, or who are doing it going, I want to jump into a different field. This is not what I thought it was going to be. I'm burnt out. I'm doing 80-hour weeks at firms that don't care about me. So this all points to the issue of higher education, the student loan crisis,

which we delved into with our documentary, Borrowed Future. And what's cool is we're celebrating the one-year anniversary, Ken, of the Borrowed Future launch, and we're going to premiere the film on YouTube for the very first time. Very exciting. Monday, October 17th, 7 p.m. Central, we're going to have a watch party on YouTube. So you can go to our Ramsey Show Highlights channel and hit notify me, and that'll be your RSVP there. And this is our award-winning documentary, if you didn't know about it, that uncovers the dark

side of the student loan industry. Every high schooler needs to watch this. Every parent needs to watch this. You've got to share this with people in your life that you care about. And you can follow The Watch Party on October 17th. You can view it on YouTube for free on demand beyond that, of course, with ads if it's on YouTube. So here's what Borrowed Future does, folks. It shows you multiple stories that really illustrate the question we just read. This idea that the law degree is this magical ticket, and what it really is is a carrot, and it's dangling, and it's tempting, and it says one thing,

and it does something completely different. It wrecks lives when you cannot afford to pay it back. Oh, yeah. And it's a nightmare. You're going to see these nightmares in living color. It is a jarring but also hope-filled documentary. We're very, very proud of it. I have mixed emotions.

The watch parties. I mean, you're hanging out here at the offices on a couch with popcorn. I tried to get Deloney and I to hang out and get some popcorn. I don't think he was interested. But if you are, I'm happy to show up at the Coleman's house. Oh, should we? As long as it's at my house and I don't have to go anywhere. Just your back patio. They're just going to bring cameras in

and then are they live? They're going to film our reaction the whole time. Are they filming us like Mystery Science Theater company? We would have to pay people to watch that. It's the opposite effect. I don't think that's true. I think the people would love for us to be piped in a little small window and we were commenting on things. We could press pause. It's very opposite effect. I don't think that's true. I think that people would love for us to be piped in a little small window and we were commenting on things.

It's very aspirational. We could press pause and go on a rant. Do you know what I'm saying? Oh my goodness. Plus, I think people would want to know what kind of popcorn you would eat versus the popcorn that I would eat, which is? I'm going with something a little healthier. Not the one that's sopping from the microwave with the movie theater butter.

I've got standards in my life. I know. What would it be? You're probably the light pot guy. What do I see around the office? It's organic. I'm going to do my own salt on there. Very bougie.

See, I'm going Orville Redenbacher. I'm a man of the people. Extra movie butter. When I pull my hands out, you could see the butter kind of trickling down the side of my finger. See, I'm a man of the people. No thanks, Tom Hanks. George wants corn with a story. It was free range.

Yes. It had a life. I want it on the stove. I want to be at Little House on the Prairie making my popcorn from scratch. I want it to make my belly feel good. That's all I care about. That's not what it's going to do.

You got too much thinking going on. Well, popcorn or not, I want everyone to watch this. It is going to be fun. The watch party. Hit the details again. It's going to be great fun on YouTube. October 17th, 7 p.m. Central. It's a Monday night. You can watch it on YouTube for free for the premiere.

And then beyond that, we're going to have it with ads, of course, on YouTube for free. You can still watch it without ads on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, RamseySolutions.com. You can rent it there for just a few bucks. But this has started to disrupt this toxic student loan industry and all the pieces involved the guidance counselors the parents the colleges who have been raising prices at an insane rate and so we dig into all that there's stories of heartbreak there's inspiring stories of folks who did it debt-free including our friend christina ellis that's exactly right by the way uh this this documentary is right in the center of of what I believe are two perfect storms that are coming.

Let me tell you what the storm is creating. There is a different tide, if you will, George, a wave coming in. I just put this on my Instagram account. College enrollment is down nearly 10% over the last two years. Only 51% of Gen Z teens, George, are considering a four-year degree. That's a 20-point drop since May 2020. The college is the only way to succeed wave is going out

and the no degree required wave is coming in. And this is the situation. Here's what we're seeing with young kids. On their own, they're saying, I don't know if the time or the money is worth it to do what it is that i want to do these kids are sharper than we give them credit for so the you take that the legitimacy and credibility of the degree being questioned by young kids and then the overwhelming crushing cost of tuition, stressing parents out, and the student loan crisis.

All of those two storms coming together. Uh-oh, watch out higher ed. Ramsey Solutions is right there in the middle to help you out. This is The Ramsey Show. ស្រូវនប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ប់ This is The Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to have a conversation about life, specifically your money, your work, your relationships. So if someone offered you a career that you love that allowed you to show up every day and use what you do best to do work that you love to produce results that matter deeply to you, all for a $10 bill, would you do it, George?

$10 for that kind of clarity? I can't speak for America, but that's a no-brainer to me. Yeah, well, good news. For the first time ever, you can get my Get Clear Career Assessment for only 10 bucks. This assessment gives you customized feedback to help you finally get clear on the talents you bring to the workplace, what work really fires your heart up, and then what results motivate you every day. Then it takes all that info, gives you professional possibilities, and fills out a purpose statement for you based on those unique talents, passions, and mission, and allows you to have a 50,000 foot view of a job description so that you can look for,

find, and do work that you love. Thousands of people who felt stuck took the assessment and got life-changing results. One of our five-star reviewers, Greg, said the results were as if you knew me my whole life. You really opened my eyes to my potential and purpose. It only takes about 20 minutes, and now, through the end of the month of October, it is only $10 at RamseySolutions.com.

This deal will not last. The $10 deal is one you should take the Get Clear Career Assessment, $10 at ramsaysolutions.com. Here's how I look at it, Ken. How do you look? To afford an hour of consulting with you over some coffee, it'd be astronomical. But I can get AI, Ken, through this Get Clear Assessment, and you'd walk me through the same exact things you would if we were in person. It's true. It's actually true. Really proud of the tool. Helped tens of thousands of people. And, you know, what I've learned, George, and you know this in your life, you and I have very similar career journeys.

The circumstance is different, but the characteristics, very similar. And when you get clear, it's amazing how confident you become. But absent of clarity, you kind of are always holding back, a little bit paralyzed. Oh, absolutely. And this tool is designed to give people real clarity to say that, hey, I could do this, this, this, this, or this. There's more than one dream job for people. And this assessment helps people see that.

And the assessment gives you exact roles that could be a fit for you, and it starts to get you dreaming. Yeah, get you looking and get you doing, more importantly. So there you go. Check it out, RamseySolutions.com to get a clear assessment. Harper's Ferry, West Virginia is where we go next. Lacey is on the line there. Lacey, how can we help?

Hi, thanks so much for taking my call. I just have a quick question. My husband and I got married last December. I'm 29, and he's 39. I have a Roth IRA with a few thousand already in it and we're making his soon. We both have Roth 401ks, but I'm concerned with whose IRA do we put the rest of our 15% contributions into my already established, his brand new one. Do we split it? Is him being older matter?

That's what I need help with. So he has a new one that has $0 in it or is there some in there already? It is brand new, $0. Okay. Would you be maxing both of these out or is there too much? You don't have enough income to do that at this point. We would not be maxing both of these out or is there too much? You don't have enough income to do that at this point. We would not be maxing them out. So one of them, well, one of ours would have to be maxed out and we'd have a little leftover. So if we maxed his out, we could put the rest in

mine. I wasn't sure the priority. Yeah. At that point, the IRS sees the IRAs all the same. You guys file jointly? Yes. Okay. So it doesn't really matter. They're going IRAs all the same? Do you guys file jointly? Yes. Okay. So it doesn't really matter. They're going to grow at the same rate. If I put $1,000 in a brand new one or I put $1,000 in one you've had for years, the $1,000 is going to grow at the same rate if it has the same funds in it.

And so from a mathematical standpoint, it doesn't matter. So I would just keep it simple. I would max one out and whatever's left over, throw it in the other one. Okay. But him being older than me, it really doesn't matter because that was what I was thinking. Since he's 10 years older, he'll get access to it sooner than I would. Sure, he will have access to it sooner, but you're not going to take all the money out at once potentially, right? Correct. No. So you're going to leave it in there. And you can talk about that with a SmartVestor Pro and work on that kind of long-term strategy.

Hey, if we do this bucket first, then we do this bucket, then we can move over here. We can do a bridge account with a brokerage if we want to retire early and then use that money until we can have access to the Roth IRAs. They are really great about mapping out a big long-term game plan about how that would work out. But from a mathematical perspective today, it doesn't matter. So if you, I mean, you could withdraw money from yours later on, and it's the same as if he withdrew money from his because it's all your money. No, you're right. I didn't think about it that way. You answered my question.

Thank you. Well, thank you. And we did it. We at least answered one today, if nothing else. George, don't ever, ever, ever sell yourself short. I appreciate that. You got good advice. You got good advice.

It's what you do. Thank you, Kevin. Don't act so surprised. All right. Next, in Springfield, Massachusetts, David is on the line. David, how can we help? All right. Good to talk to you today. I'll give you a very quick rundown. I'm 54, no debt except for the mortgage. That balance is $130,000 and I am fixed at $2.9.

I'm receiving an inheritance like about $280,000. Wow. Yeah, I'm all the way up there about, that skyrocketed me right up to baby step six slash seven. I'm retiring in about six to seven years. I've got my 15% in the Roth PSP. I'm a government employee, so, with a Roth 401k. And a lot of folks are telling me, do not pay off your mortgage,

especially at 2.9. Invest that, and in five years at whatever, 4%, 5%, 6%, then just pay it off with the earnings. So I know what Dave Ramsey says, but what should I do? So Dave's not here today, so he wants to know what George thinks. Well, I don't stray away from Dave's advice on this one, and the truth is what they're doing is they're starry-eyed, and if everything goes perfectly and if the market is up 20%— Have you seen the market, David? I certainly have.

How depressed would you be if you put that inheritance into the market six months ago, and now you're looking at it going, oh my gosh, I still have to make a mortgage payment. I already lost $50,000 in the market. Yeah, that wouldn't be too good, no. We could go through the list of why, but at the end of the day, this is your money. Your friends don't pay your mortgage for you every month. So the question is, what would David do without a mortgage payment? What kind of life could he live? How much earlier could he retire? Could it be four years instead of seven?

Because he doesn't have a mortgage payment, and now he can invest like a madman, and he sleeps better at night on top of that because he doesn't owe anyone anything. Right, and the guys at church are the ones telling me to pay off the mortgage. Oh, look at that. So those who have a faith perspective, they understand Proverbs 22, 7, the borrower is slave to the lender. That's right. There you go. I mean, that's a whole other angle there. But I truly think that a life without debt is just a more peaceful life. And on paper, you can justify why you should invest in the market and you can move things

around and do some tricky things over here. But at the end of the day, your life is valuable and it's going to be even more peaceful and more joyful when you have more margin. And that's what getting rid of the mortgage is. It's still okay if I don't get the tax breaks, not having the mortgage. The tax breaks, if they want to talk tax breaks, they're just terrible at math. Because you're trading, you're giving a dollar to the lender to get a quarterback from the government. Have you run the actual numbers, David? Because I think people say that, and it makes total sense when there are no numbers applied to it.

And you only get the tax break if you're itemizing with the new tax laws. And so beyond that, you're going to send $10,000 to a lender so that you can get $2,200 off of your taxes. That makes no sense. The amount of money you will save and invest by not having a mortgage payment is what you should be focused on. What is your gut telling you to do? Despite the non-church friends and then the church friends, what do you think you should be focused on. What is your gut telling you to do? Despite the non-church friends and then the church friends, what do you think you should do? I always feel better being free.

Then pay your house off, David. Forget what everybody else says. Do what's right for David. WWDD. That's what would David do. Do it. You agree with Would David Do? Do it. You agree with us. We agree with you.

You're going to feel so much better about it. Bada bing, bada boom. House has paid off. Just like that. It's that simple. Wow, George. You went from Church George to Jersey George. I like that.

That could be a new show. Very good. All right. Hey, George Campbell, thank you, sir. Great hour. Thanks to the crew behind the glass, and thanks to you, America. This is The Ramsey Show. Hey, folks, Ken Coleman here. Did you know The Ramsey Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world? Get your daily dose of advice on life and money. Check out all of our shows

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