The Ramsey Show - App - Reset the Culture of Your Household (Hour 1)

Episode Date: July 4, 2019

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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 am Dave Ramsey, your host. This is your show. Thank you for joining us. It is your show because, well, we take more calls here than any other talk radio show in America. This is a talk radio show where you actually get to talk. I know that's amazing, but it's something you ought to try. The phone number is 888-825-5225.

That's 888-825-5225. Carlin is with us in Oklahoma City. Hi, Carlin. How are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm good. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up?

So I am following your plan and on baby step two with my husband. We recently welcomed our second child in March. Yes. Well, he's the reason that we're calling. At our 18-week ultrasound, we found out he has complex congenital heart disease and would require several surgeries to correct that. He had open heart surgery at two weeks old. We'll have to have another one, yes, next or this month or possibly next month

and then another one between two and three years old. Your program has been a life changer for us, and we want to continue to follow your steps. We've paid off, I believe, between $50,000 and $60,000 in the last four years. We have one student loan left at $25,000. And so we're just, I know this makes our path a little bit different, and I just wanted to see if you had any advice on how to proceed. You concentrate on baby boy.

That's how you proceed. Yes. He gets everything. That just takes your breath away. I mean, that becomes the center of your universe right now, and if that slows down or even stops your progress for a little while, well, so what? Right. We got a little while well so what right we got we got a little guy here we yeah we i mean luckily

medical insurance has been great there's certain things that you know we're already trying to have to fight to get it approved um and we've been lucky and had some family help and so we have got about 7500 saved just for rainy day. You need to. I would push pause on your total money makeover. I'd push pause on your baby step two. You're right in the middle of a storm. You're in the middle of a hurricane. Okay?

Mm-hmm. And just, you know, you nail up the boards on the windows, right? And, you know, you start the generator and you bring in the water and you buckle down and you go through the storm. The good news about storms is they don't last forever. Right. But you're in the middle of a big one, kiddo. Yes. And so what I don't want you to do is I don't want you to use this

as an excuse to go do something stupid like we had to buy a $65 van for this little guy that and go into debt you don't need to do that the little guy can ride in something reasonable i mean you know but i i don't want you to use your um if you're a human being that has a heart and you're not psychotic this is having an emotional impact on all of you it has an emotional impact on me and i don't even know you just listening to the story you know i got a little baby i got little baby grandbabies right now and i can't even imagine it just takes your breath away so um i know i mean i can't even imagine what you're going through but don't let

you know those the emotional state give you an excuse to go do crazy spending of some kind. Don't lose progress. But I'm perfectly fine when you're not making any progress for a while. I mean, it may be a year. Well, it may be a year. Okay. It may be a year before you get some of these surgeries behind you and you kind of learn the landscape and you learn the rhythm of his special care and

all of that. And the rhythm has financial implications. Every so often we're going to have a doctor bill that we wouldn't have had otherwise. And that's just part of your new budget. But you discover that rhythm as the storm passes. You're right in the eye of the hurricane right now. And so just hold tight. Don't make any more.

Don't make any damage. Don't let any damage occur to your finances. And, again, be careful not to use this as an excuse to say we had to, we were forced to. When you start using phrases like that, that's probably not true. It's probably you just got worn down, scared, and your emotional gas tank was empty, and you just bought crap. You know, people do that, you know.

It's like when somebody dies, they have grief spending, you know, that kind of thing. It's that type of a thing. So just, you know, be intellectually aware of that, spiritually aware of that. But then as far as, you know, is this going to slow down or stop or impede your progress on your baby steps? Yes, and it should. You should concentrate on the thing that is in front of you that is much more important. And we have since he was born. We definitely have put a pause on things.

We just, you know, a big thing that resonates with my husband and I is, you know, living like no one else, we want to, you know, take family trips and do those things. And so we don't, I know that when he gets older, he never wants to hear, we couldn't do things because of his condition oh well we don't want that you know well i don't want that but oh well forever i mean hey i got a friend that has eight kids there's things they can't do because they got eight kids oh well you know right i mean it's just part of what life it's just life and i you know i don't know if he has to hear that or not you have to say that but that might be a reality that you didn't get that you didn't get to do some things because we took care

of him but hey this is this is the uh this is the the blessing that god's given you is the opportunity to take care of him and if that means you don't get to go to florida you don't get to go to florida once well whoopty doopty right of course we just want to get to the point where we can you will eventually you will eventually but let's take let's take a year and live with this okay and then you know i think after a year you're going to have some of the surgeries behind you and you're going to have some of the uh shock of this and you'll probably discover the rhythm of life what it's going to look like going forward. And you can start making some intelligent decisions. But again, that's the cleanup after the hurricane.

Right now, you're in the hurricane. So the hurricane's hitting your house right now. What are you going to do? Are you going to live there forever? No. But when the hurricane passes, is life going to be different? Yes. And you're going to find the new rhythm of your new life after the hurricane passes.

And you're going to be fine long term. I'm not worried about you long term. I just want to give you permission short term to quit making progress. Okay. But don't make dumb decisions. That's the balance, okay? We won't. Yes, thank you so much.

If I can help you, Dawn, you call me anytime. I'm sorry you guys are going through this wow uh okay there you go um i often get questions about a family with special with a special needs child uh kelly our phone screener talked about in her debt-free scream the extra challenges they had to go through and do a debt-free scream with some special needs situations and the extra expenses that go with that. The extra expenses that go with that, they just do. And that just means you're going to go a little slower.

You're going to make more money or you're going to take the same money you got and you're going to make slower progress. But you can still make progress and you can still make progress, and you can still make wise decisions, and you can still be on a plan. You've got to find the rhythm after the storm. And that's where she is right now, bless her heart. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. We've been voted one of the best places to work in Nashville 11 times. You want to know how we do it? Well, our team has been using LinkedIn jobs for years to find the best people from all over the country to come and help us change lives.

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first job post. That's linkedin.com slash Ramsey. Terms and conditions apply. Chastity is with us in Louisville, Kentucky. Hi, Chastity. How are you? I'm good, sir. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up? What's up? I have a question regarding my mother.

She is 65 years old, and 20 years ago, she purchased a home for $50,000. 15 years ago, she refinanced it, and it went from a fixed to an adjustable and a higher interest rate. And whoever the mortgage broker is has refinanced it with Countrywide. It went from a fixed to an adjustable and a higher interest rate. And whoever the mortgage broker is had refinanced it with Countrywide. I'm not sure which paperwork she signed, but the gentleman refinanced her home a second time without her permission and named himself as a beneficiary on her retirement account as well as two insurance policies. So there was a nonprofit who tried to help her get out of it sometime later,

so they convinced her to refinance it again. And I think she refinanced it a fourth time because payments were lost. So the guy that ripped her off, she got him cut out now with that nonprofit refinance? Right. He's gone, right? Yes, sir. Okay.

So now she owes $78,000 on the home. $78,000? Yes, sir. Okay. And she's 65 years old and she has no money. Right. And what type of a mortgage? What is the interest rate on the current mortgage?

I'm not sure. Okay. Does she have any income? She makes $30,000 a year. Okay. So she can barely pay her payment? Right. Okay. So what is she going to do when she's ready to not work anymore in five years or more? That's the question. Her body's starting to break down, and she's really tired, and I'm trying to figure out how best to help her okay um are you got siblings i do i have one other sibling okay are the two of you going to pay the house payment uh we weren't currently not in a position to we're both in baby step two okay when she's not able to pay the house when her body breaks down and she's not able to work

and not able to pay her house payment, are you going to pay it? I don't plan on paying it. We're trying to get her to maybe let the house go and maybe move in with one of us, but she really doesn't want to. Mm-hmm. Okay.

What's the house worth? I'm not sure. I'm guessing between about $60,000, maybe. Okay. If that. All right. I would have a real estate agent look at the house and try to figure out what it's worth. I don't know how she borrowed $78,000 on it if it's worth $60,000. That's not logical. I'm not sure. She doesn't tell me too much of anything.

Okay. No, she refinanced it four times. Well, you can't help her if she doesn't tell you what's going on. Right. You can't just punch in the dark and hope you hit something. So, A, she's got to come clean with you and give you good information, or you just can't help her, period. Because you can't assist somebody if you don't have the information. If I ask you questions and you don't answer them, I can't help you, right?

Same thing. And so, you know, she's got to be able to give you the information to help her make some decisions. But here's the situation. If you do not pay the payments, they foreclose. You know that. That's what's going to happen here in the future. Someday she can't pay the payments. Someday you all don't pay the payments.

I don't know whether that's three years, five years, or eight years, but someday somebody's not going to pay these payments or somebody is going to pay the payments. But if you don't pay them, the house is going to be gone. This is the reality that she's in. And what it amounts to is she's tried to refinance her way into oblivion and every time she's gotten into a rough spot she's refinanced and there's not going to be any more refinancing it's over right so i you know what you're doing is you're looking into the future and you're seeing a truck headed towards this house and there is a truck going to drive right through this house that's what's going to happen

so um you know one of two or three things is going to happen. You all are going to pay the payments. She's going to pay the payments by working the rest of her life, or the house is going to be worth more than is owed on it, and she's going to be able to sell it and get out of it before it gets foreclosed on and move in with one of you all, or she's going to lose it to foreclosure and move in with one of you all. These are the four really options, aren't they?

Yes, sir. And so, you know. I'm more concerned with trying to, what she's going to do, you know, she has no money to retire with, so. Yeah, yeah, she doesn't. I mean, if she's 65 years old and she's making $30,000 and she has a $900 house payment, she's not going to have a lot of money in the next five years.

So either her income changes or her income changes if she wants to have some money to retire with. She's going to have to do something to make some different money or more money or something here because she's painted herself into the corner herself into the corner when you paint yourself in the corner you get paint on your feet right i mean that's what happens so it's a horrible thing but there's no magic wand to just make this go away because she's made a lifetime of bad decisions and they've they're coming home to roost and there's i mean you plant this much negative stuff in the ground it grows and it's just horrible i'm so sorry for her it's so sad uh but i don't have a i don't have a there's no formula to fix this so all you can do is help people address the realities of their situations

she's got social security coming in uh and she's living with one of y'all she'll be okay she's got a place to live and she's had got food and she's going to make it you know she'll be okay she's got a place to live and she's had got food and she's going to make it you know she'll be okay she's not going to be homeless and she's not going to starve to death or something like that but this house is not it's not a lot got a long-term future to it unless your siblings agree to pay the bill at some point now you're you're in baby step two now but someday you're in baby step seven maybe she's still working then and she 73, and maybe then she quits work, and you all pay the payments, or maybe the house has gone up to where it's worth $100,000, and she owes $70,000 by then, and she can sell it and make a little bit of money and move in with one of y'all.

I mean, this is the future of this, and it's just what it must do is you're not in denial, and she is, and you're trying to figure out how to address it. So the more you talk about it and the more she'll give you real information, the more you all can start to make long-term good decisions. But she's not going to retire a millionaire. She's not going to with the numbers you gave me, unless the numbers change. She's just not going to. I'm sorry.

Morgan is with us in Trenton, New Jersey. Hi, Morgan. How are you? Good. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up? So I've been trying to start working on my debt snowball, and I made a bad choice a few years ago. I leased a car and ended up getting a new job and went way over the mileage. So a year ago now, I had to buy the car because I couldn't afford to pay the mileage over

it. So now I'm looking at, I'm in a car that has just over 100,000 miles, and I owe 18,000 on it, and it's worth about maybe 10. Who said? According to what I did online, like the Kelly Blue Book. Private sale or wholesale? Private.

It said like 12 in mint condition and the car is not in mint condition. Okay, so it's worth 10. And you owe 18. What's your income? $65,000. And how much other debt do you have? A lot of student loans.

How much? I pay $400 a month. How much in student loan debt? Like $70,000. Okay. What other debt? That's really it, actually. Okay.

How old are you? 30. You're 30. Okay. How many kids you got? how old is child she's eight she's eight okay and i take it from the way we're discussing this that you're a single mom that's right okay you have family nearby i do you own a home i don't so a year ago i moved back to my parents house with my daughter good so you got very low expenses and you got somebody to help watch your child yes okay because here's what you just told me you just told me you have eighty eight thousand dollars in debt and you make $65,000 a year. Right? Right?

Yes. 70 plus 18. Okay. So I divide 88 by 20 and I get four years and some change. It means you're working an extra job on top of everything else and you're going to work every single hour that you can find for the next three years and you can pay off the car and all the student loans, but you're going to have no life for the next three years, and you can pay off the car and all the student loans, but you're going to have no life for the next three years

so that you can have a life later, and so this child can have a life later. You cannot stare at this mountain and not climb it, kiddo. This one's got to be climbed. You've got the chops. You can do it. Get after it. I got a call the other day, and I thought it was worth talking about again. It was from a wife looking for life insurance for her family. She asked why I only recommend term life insurance instead of cash value plans like whole life.

I usually explain how you overpay for coverage, earn a horrible rate of interest, and don't get your cash value plans like whole life i usually explain how you overpay for coverage earn a horrible rate of interest and don't get your cash value when you die but this time i just had her go straight to zander.com and get a rate and then we compared that rate to the whole life plan and she immediately saw the huge savings she realized all the things she could do with that money like paying down debt investing in a smarter way. That made it real for her. It makes no sense to buy or keep a cash value plan when there are smarter, less expensive ways to protect your family. That's why I suggest that everyone go to Zander.com or call them at 800-356-4282 and get a free quote. That's Zander.com or 800-356-4282. In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions, Tim and Anna are with us.

Hey, guys, how are you? Good. Hey, Dave. Welcome, welcome. Good to have you. Where do you live? We are from Fedville, North Carolina. All right.

Just over the ridge. Yes. Well, good to have you over, guys. Welcome. And how much debt have you paid off? $96,363. Love it. How long did that take?

36 months. Good. And your range of income during that time? $95,363. Love it. How long did that take? 36 months. Good. And your range of income during that time? $95,000. Okay. What do you guys do for a living? I'm a piano teacher. And I'm a high school band director.

All right. Very cool. Good for you guys. What kind of debt was the $96,000? It was some IRS, a truck that I had purchased, a grand piano that she wanted. Which was more than the truck. Yes. Yes, it was.

Yes. And some student loans. I forgot about that one. Okay. All right. And some credit cards. And some credit cards. You guys were normal except for the grand piano.

Yes. Yeah, okay. Very nice. Good. So did you sell anything big? Nothing big. We sold everything we had and owned on yard yard sale facebook groups so we went from a three bedroom house you kept the piano and you kept the truck yes kept everything yep paid them off yes so

basically you did about thirty two thousand dollars a year for three years making 95 that's pretty strong yes yes yeah you were budgeting tight yes taxes everything, you're on to watch what you're doing. Yes. Very cool. So what happened three years ago that put you on this journey? I was a public school teacher, and I went to teaching privately, which is an independent contractor, and I wasn't prepared with the IRS. And we got that big bill. And before that, my parents are Dave Ramsey people, so they said, you need to do Dave Ramsey.

And I'm like, well, we're just teachers. We can't do Dave Ramsey. And then we got scared to death with the tax bill. What does that mean? We're just teachers. We can't do Dave Ramsey. Teachers can't do Dave Ramsey. Yes. We don't make any money. We're poor teachers. You're $95,000 a year. It's crazy. It's absolutely crazy. And so then we sold everything and moved my grand piano into a one-bedroom tiny apartment. And we've been there for three years. Yes. And that helped.

We sold. Were you renting before? Yes, we were renting. So you just moved to a smaller rental. Correct. Yes. And crammed everything in there. Yes.

Yeah. And went beans and rice, rice and beans. Correct. Correct. Yes. Okay. So you didn't hold your taxes back as an independent contractor. And that ended up, how big was your IRS bill? $9 dollars the first year but it's the irs yes it scares you to

death i mean it's the kgb they're coming after correct yes yep wow wow wow so that was it scared you you got scared that's what got you going correct cool okay so then dave ramsey thought okay we better do this yes we actually found your book in a used bookstore. I love it. And we got Gazelle. I read it in a day and a half, and then Tim read it, and we got Gazelle Intense. And we took the FPU class about two years into it to meet like-minded people for encouragement for that last year. There you go. Because everybody was telling you you're crazy.

Yes, definitely. They all still make fun of us sometimes. I love it. Well, you're debt-free, though. Yes. $96,000. How proud are you of yourself? That's got to feel great.

Oh, it's unbelievable. I'm super proud. I didn't think that would ever happen. Yeah, you did it. I mean, you did it. You did this. That's pretty cool, isn't it? Yes.

I mean, that's neat. I'm proud of you. Well done. So I'm sure your mom and dad, those Dave Ramsey people, I'm sure they were cheering you on. Yes, correct. Okay. But people around school or whatever are making proud of you well done so i'm sure your mom and dad those dave ramsey people i'm sure they were cheering you on yes correct okay but people around school or whatever making fun of you yes yes everybody's going on vacation during the summer and we're sitting at home yeah teachers can't do dave ramsey that's right that's right yes i love that that's funny yes okay i've never heard it before that's great oh my god i've heard i'm too poor to do it, which I thought that's kind of the antidote. But anyway, wow, way to go, you guys.

What do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? I would say sticking with it. We met someone this week, and he was in his fourth month. And I was like, the first six months are the hardest. But once you get through the six months, that's just how life is. And you can move on forward from it. And finding your big why. What is your big why? Let me come back to that.

What happens after the six months, do you think, that causes you to be able to, like you get over the hump emotionally, you're like, we can do it now. Right, yeah. It was just a change in lifestyle. I mean, we literally went out to eat every single night, and we no longer do that. Yeah. You haven't seen a restaurant in a while yes wow okay so that change yeah so it was the it took six months to get the the shock to the system right your household culture had to change and the shock to that it took it to reset to settle back down right absolutely in the new rhythm the new normal yes

yeah okay that makes sense all right and you have to have big enough why you said what was your big why getting rid of the irs yes yeah and my big why was to not have to worry about him being just a teacher oh yeah well that's interesting yes you get to live your life because you don't have somebody else telling you how, named banks. Correct. Nobody with payments saying you have to do it a certain way. Now you can go be who you want to be. Yes, exactly. That's important.

I like that. Yes. Very, very good. Congratulations. What was the hardest part for y'all? I mean, it's a long three years. Yeah. You've been getting it.

Well, I know for me me the hardest thing was moving to that one bedroom apartment yeah and um that was something gross yeah and that was the stipulation because she was like dave would say get rid of your truck and i was like then you got to get rid of your piano and she was oh so we compromised and we took our two nice items and moved to this mall apartment yeah okay yeah well you paid them off that's the thing and you kept them and now we start again fresh with a good truck and a good piano yes yes yes very good very good yeah that that is a big step down though that that's a um it's humbling really isn't it yes right and i remember driving a piece of crap car and it was

just humbling because i've been driving a Jaguar, you know. And then I go broke, and there I am in this Bondo buggy, you know. And there's something that changes inside of you from that point. You know, when you do that, what happened to me? Let me see if it happened to you guys or not. I think there's something there. We did it for the math, but the unintended consequence was that it really made me realize I didn't care what other people thought. Yes.

That I cared more that we win. Correct. Yes. Yeah, definitely. Because people, when you've made that move, that's when people went, y'all are nuts. Yes. Yeah. They still think so.

That's when the naysayers, that's when the trolls come out you know yeah the naysayers they're going these people they're crazy man they joined they joined a cult you know i mean they're going crazy they're they don't go out to eat they moved in a one-bedroom apartment they aren't going around all the broke people start circling and whispering in your ear and then you had to join financial peace university to get like-minded people around you. Yes. Yeah, that's good. Yes. That's good. And you need a community around you that's encouraging you.

Yes. I think that's why, like, 12-step works for folks that have got addictions. They get like-minded people around them instead of drunks. Yes. You know, or instead of addicts or whatever, right? Mm-hmm. And so you get like-minded people around you that are saying, we're going to beat this and we're going to beat it together.

Mm-hmm. And this is a little different, but you still have to have, because you become who you hang around with. You really do. So, well, way to go, you guys. Proud of you. Thanks. How's it feel?

Amazing. It feels fantastic. It still doesn't click quite in until this vacation. We saved for this vacation. There you go. Yeah, and then we're like, you know, we can go home, and we don't have to worry about how we're going to eat for the next three weeks of this month. Everything's paid for and paid for cash. And we didn't bring the vacation back with us for the next three years on a credit card.

There you go. Yeah. The vacations that follow you home are no fun. Yes. Yeah. Good job, you guys. We've got a copy of Chris Hogan's book for you, Retire Inspired. As you know, it's a number one bestseller.

And we want that to be the next chapter in your story. Keep going. Be millionaires now, and you're on your way. Yes. Even a teacher. Yes. Even a couple of teachers.

Even teachers, yes, sir. Can be millionaires. As a matter of fact, we found a lot of teachers in our millionaire study we just completed. Oh, that's awesome. So there you go. Well done, y'all. Well done. All right. Tim and Anna from Fayetteville, North Carolina.

$96,000 paid off in 36 months, making $95,000 a year. They did it. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt-free! Yeah, baby! That's how you do it right there.

I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it. Man, as fun as it gets. Isn't that interesting? The first six months is very hard, and after that you have a new normal. Huh. I haven't heard that one. That's kind of a new insight from a debt-free screamer.

I like that one. Having a big why, being on a budget, those are really important. We hear those all the time. But it takes about six months to reset the culture of your household.

There's insight in that one. Don't miss that. These's insight in that one. Don't miss that. These are good, good times. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. Austin, Texas. Gila is with us. Hi, Gila. How are you?

Good afternoon, Mr. Ramsey. It's a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you. Certainly. How can I help? Okay. I have a simple question. Our net worth is above $4 million, and we're wondering when we can retire, my husband and I. our age is a little bit lower than retirement age. I'm 53 and he's 59. And so I'm just wondering, based on, you know, obviously we don't hit Social Security and also health care concerns, and who knows what happens with markets and so on and so forth. We're just wondering about that. Is the $4 million invested? What's it in?

Half of it's in real estate, and that would be rental properties plus our own homestead. And the other half, 401Ks and retirement accounts. Okay. And 401Ks and retirement accounts are all invested in good mutual funds? Yes. Okay. And 401ks and retirement accounts are all invested in good mutual funds? Yes. Okay. And so you've got $2 million in that and about $2 million in real estate? Correct. Okay. Our own homestead is probably four something, less than half a million, and the rest are rental property. Okay. All right. And so you should be making $100,000 to $200,000 a year off your real estate, right? Well, we have $300,000 that we've borrowed, so that's our only debt for the property.

They do cash flow when they're all considered together. Okay. So what are you making on your real estate a year? I don't have the books in front of me, but I would say not too much, maybe about $7,000 a month. Okay. So that's pretty substantial. So let's say $ know, pretty substantial. So let's, let's say a hundred thousand dollars a year. Okay. Probably. Um, can you live on a hundred thousand dollars a year? Uh, well we, we could, but, uh, yeah, certainly we could. Yeah. Well, if you can live on a hundred

thousand dollars a year, you can retire now, right? You just live off your rental property only, and the other stuff you could start collecting on after 59 1⁄2, it's all tied up in retirement, you said. So you're going to be penalized if you start pulling that before 59 1⁄2. Right. And you wouldn't see any kind of concern as far as the amount of money, wouldn't see any kind of concern as far as the amount of money, the net worth we have at this age

and retirement at this age. I think your net worth is fabulous. If you had it all in raw ground and it was producing zero income, it'd be hard to retire, wouldn't it? So how the net worth is structured, what it's invested in is it invested in assets that are creating an income that you can live the way you want to live,

tells you if you can quit working. And I assume by retirement you mean quit working. Quitting, yes. And we're not concerned about that really. We just want it to know when or safety. Well, the thing is, do the assets that you own, the things you own, do they create enough income to give you the lifestyle you want? When the answer is yes, you're ready to retire.

That's what it comes down to. But you could hypothetically have $4 million invested in such a way that it created no income on a monthly basis, and you'd have trouble eating with a four million dollar net worth does that make sense let's say you bought just all raw ground bought a mountain with it you just went and bought a mountain and it was just sitting there looking at you you know but it's a four million dollar mountain it's a piece of ground but it produces zero income you follow me then you hypothetically could have a four million dollar in a net worth and not enough

income to retire on. So the point is to have it invested in such a way, which you guys have done. You've done a wonderful job. Congratulations. You're millionaires, multimillionaires. Well done. And, you know, you're probably going to be worth, by the time you hit 70, you're probably going to be worth $10, $15 million is what it sounds like to me. Because you're not going to spend all this money.

You're just not. It's not who you are. So how much of this did you inherit? About 300K. 300K? Long time ago or recently? No, that would be maybe five years ago. So you were already multimillionaires?

Correct. So you're a millionaire, but it wasn't because of inheritance. How did you end up with all this money? Did you invest, or how did you end up with the money? Yeah, we spend beneath our means. We like appreciating assets. We try to avoid at all costs buying depreciating assets. We do travel a lot, but that would be probably what we spend on.

Other than that, not much else. What do you all do for a lot, but that would be probably what we spend on. Other than that, not much else. What do you all do for a living? I'm a real estate broker, and my husband is an anesthetist. Oh, okay. Well, you've got a great household income then, and that's part of it. But you've done an excellent job. Congratulations. Very, very well done.

So the answer to the question, am I ready to retire, is do the assets that you own throw off enough income to feed you the way you want to be fed? And if the way you want to be fed is go on a cruise every other month, that's a different level of being fed than, you know, living in a cave, collecting lint, and only coming out on triple coupon Thursday. There's different levels of lifestyle, right? And so how do you want to be fed? What does retirement look like for you,

and do you have enough income coming in to live that dream and then you're ready to retire um but the other thing is this you're in your 50s i don't know if you just quit what are you going to do the next 40 years fish play golf i mean there's only so much of that you can do. And you can slow down. You can change the structure of your career. You can do all kinds of things. But I have no intent of quitting ever. Well, I take that back.

I have told the people in the booth, when I quit making sense and I'm making a fool of all of them, they can tell me I have to quit. So someday I'll have to quit. But that's not tomorrow kelly okay but um you cannot use that on me now it's only when dementia sets in okay but you're looking a little too eager in there but uh but you know the point is is i i you know i get joy out of what i do most people in the real estate business get joy out of being in the real estate business. And if you don't, you probably ought to do something else anyway.

But find something you get joy out of. I've got an aunt that's been teaching in the classroom, in the high school classroom, for 40 years. And why didn't she retire 10 years ago when she could have? Because she likes it. And what else is she going to do? Sit on the couch and watch Oprah reruns? I mean, you it and what else you're gonna do sit on the couch and watch oprah reruns i mean you know there's always what are you gonna do so i i would challenge you to say you know financially retiring means you don't have to work but that doesn't mean you

have to quit you could restructure your work your career you could have what's called an encore career your last bow you take after the curtain. And some people make more with their encore career than they ever did in their other careers. But you've done very, very well. I mean, a $4 million net worth at 52 years old, you're just a rock star. Well done. Very, very well done. Martin is on Twitter.

You can follow me there, at Dave Ramsey. Dave, I'm on baby step two, getting out of debt. Should I have term life insurance in place? Yes. For how many years? Typically, we recommend 15 to 20-year level term insurance. And the reason we recommend that is it takes about 15 to 20 years to become self-insured by the kids growing up and leaving. You're getting your house paid off, and you build up some net worth in your emergency fund.

So if you're 30 and you have little kids at home, 20 years from now, you're 50, they should be grown and gone, both grown and gone. And that got rid of some of the cost, right? Then 20 years from now, if you're listening to me and you're 30, you took out no more than a 15-year mortgage, so you're debt-free house and everything 20 years from now. The kids are grown and gone. Oh, 20 years from now, you've been investing steadily into your 401k Roth IRAs in good growth stock mutual funds, and you'll have $700,000, $800,000 in your mutual funds.

So you're 50 years old and you die. Your spouse is left with $750,000 in a 401k or in mutual funds, a paid-for house, and no kids at home. I think they can struggle through. You become self-insured. Your need for life insurance goes down as the kids grow up and leave, as the debt disappears, and as you increase wealth, you become self-insured. So that's why I recommend 15 to 20-year level term.

If you're 60, you probably don't need 15 to 20-year level term. You may not need life insurance at all. So that's what you've got to look at. What is your need, the length of your need, before you're ready for the person you're going to leave behind that counts on your income to die for you to, for them to survive. If you die, this is the Dave Ramsey show. Hey, it's Blake Thompson, senior executive producer for the show. You know, you can listen or watch anywhere with the Dave Ramsey Show app on your smartphone. Catch the full show or watch the highlights and check out Dave's upcoming guests.

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