The Ramsey Show - App - Should I Buy or Rent a House? (Hour 2)

Episode Date: December 15, 2022

George Kamel & Dr. John Delony discuss: Buying vs. renting, Feeling like you can't get ahead, Accepting gifts from parents with strings attached, Struggling with Lyme Disease and dropping down to a single income. 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, it's The Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life and your money. I'm Ramsey personality, George Campbell, joined this hour by Dr. John Deloney, and we are taking your calls about life, money, relationships, the pursuit of happiness, you name it. 888-825-5225 is the number to call. And by the way, if you are a longtime listener of the show or you've been listening for a day and you love it, we would so appreciate you subscribing to the show wherever you're listening. Follow, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

We want to spread the impact of the show and inspire more people to debt freedom, to relational freedom, you name it. All it takes is a subscribe, a follow, a share, and that's all free to you. All right, let's get to the phones this hour. Kari joins us in Pensacola, Florida to kick it off. Kari, welcome to the show. Hey there. How are you guys doing today? We're doing great.

How are you? I'm doing good. Thanks for asking. How can we help? So I listen to you guys' show frequently. I stopped listening for a while because I've been kind of listening to nothing in the car. But neither here nor there. I am thinking about, like, wanting to buy a home next year. Like, my lease is up in March, and I live in an apartment,

a two-bedroom apartment. It's pretty nice, but I pay mortgage rates for it. But I just don't feel like I'm in the position to buy wine, you know, with, like, having the 20K in the bank, perfect credit score, all that jazz. So I just wanted some advice on that and how to, like to get more money out of what you're doing in life. If you don't want to switch jobs, but you kind of grow your money and get more out of your money. Okay. I guess that's what you could do.

Well, number one, I just want to squash the fallacy and the myth that renting is a sin and that you should always be a homeowner and that your mortgage could be the same as the rent. And it just doesn't work like that in reality. There's so much other things to think about when it comes to being a homeowner. And there's so much more risk and there's so much more that's on you instead of the landlord. And so I want to encourage you that you don't need to go be a homeowner tomorrow if you're not ready. That's in fact the worst thing you can do for your financial future. So let's talk about where you're at today

and how we can get you to becoming a homeowner sooner. What are you doing for work right now? I've been here full time, and I'm also on the side. I'm a brand ambassador. You're a what on the side? A brand ambassador. A brand ambassador. Okay.

I thought you said a brain that's different brand ambassador all right and what is your income about last year i made about 55 57 a year okay i'm single so then that's off of my main job and then i have like four three four jobs and then I do my side job wow so how many hours are you working a week I work like seven days a week right now I work like crazy but the good thing is with my main job I can like make my schedule and I kind of have flexibility and so I it's all in one I just you know do my job and then I'll pick up like gigs and events when I can and some are high paid some are just do my job, and then I'll pick up gigs and events when I can.

Some are high paid, some are low paid. It just depends. And then I work part-time at OWA, and then I do some other stuff too. And what are you doing all of this for? Because it sounds like you're really driven. You're working really hard. What are you doing all of this for? What's the end goal? So I can get a salary of $60,000 a year. Okay, because my question is, could you work 40 hours a week at a full-time salary of $60,000 a year okay because my question is could you work 40 hours a week at a full-time job making 60 by the way the answer is yes that was rhetorical the answer is yes yeah but I still wouldn't stop doing side jobs and I don't want to ask my employer for more I mean I love my job what I do I get paid holidays I get 401k

get to make my own schedule don't have to work weekends so it's like when I'm done with work I can pick up a second job you know and you know you know go work and make money hold on before you hop in there like I just want to I want to just press on that and then I'm gonna let George talk to you about the math here the way you just described that was incredible because you're trading a stress-free job. I can pick, I don't have to work the weekends. I don't have to work holidays. I got a 401k. Great. So I'm going to choose to make less money and have a stressful full-time job so that I've got enough room to go hustle and grind on the weekends and

in the evening and make more money over here. Luckily, I don't have to work nights now. I just work weekends. Just weekends. So let me tell you, if you're going to make $60,000, you're going to make $75,000, you're going to make $100,000. Here's what I'm hearing. As somebody who's hired a whole bunch of people throughout my career, I want someone like you on my team. And depending on the job, I would pay you more than you're making right now. Because I can see that you work really hard and that you're committed and you will get the job done. The only person who doesn't believe in that equation right now is you. And so you're trading what feels like a simple, low-stress day job for the privilege of not working all of your weekends.

Instead of saying, okay, I want to go make $60,000 or $75,000. People who make $60,000 or $75,000 earn $60,000 or $75,000. They work hard. They work really hard and they put their time in. And just because they're making 65 or 75,000 doesn't mean that, uh, let me say this. I'd rather work the day before Christmas once a year than every weekend of the year. Right. And so you're making a trade, whether you think you are or not and i want you to hear george and i say we think you're worth more than you're allowing yourself to be paid right now okay okay so george that's not why you called i just want to give you that shout out okay before we run out of time how much debt do you have okay so my debt i it's probably like five to ten thousand dollars

it's really low i'm paying all my college funds and just like some credit cards and stuff so you got credit cards and student loans yeah and then my car i just bought a 2017 infinity last year and my name and everything and the engine went out on it so i had to like do this whole thing and get a new car and everything so right now i'm just working on you on raising that and getting that great credit score, getting my expense account and having money on me. No, no, no, no. We're chasing the wrong things, Kari.

We want to run away from everything culture has told you to do because it got you to where you are today. You did everything culture told you to do, didn't you? Uh-huh. You worked hard. You got your credit score up. You got the payments you could afford a side hustle and here we are today stressed feeling like we're not making traction you're not closer to home

ownership than you were yesterday and so here's what i want you to do forget about the credit score because it's only important if you're going to take on more debt and when it comes to the mortgage which is the one where you go well how am i going to get a house there's a process called manual underwriting to where if you don't have a credit score, you can do a no-score loan through manual underwriting. I did it myself. This is not theory. This is not unicorn mythical stuff.

This is stuff you can do if you have a strong down payment. So I want you to get rid of all this debt. Do you have any money in the bank? Right now, at the end of the month, I only have like $1,000 in the bank. And that's the thing. I mean, I pay all my bills myself. And, you know, when I'm being a single mom and I need help, I'll get financial help. Well, we want to give you one next step you can take, and that is Financial Peace University. Watch all nine video lessons.

I'll include every dollar with that, our budgeting tools, so that you can start mapping out a plan for every single one of those dollars you're working so hard for and put it to use by paying off this debt, building up a fully funded emergency fund, and then we can start talking about saving up a down payment and becoming a homeowner. I'm also going to give you Paycheck to Purpose and Ken Coleman's Get Clear Assessment so you can find a new job, one that will pay you what you are worth. That's the full kit and caboodle right there. All four of those things, hang on the line, Austin's going to pick up. We'll gift you with that to kickstart this new life. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm George Campbell, joined by Dr. John Deloney, and we are taking your calls at 888-825-5225. All about your life, your money, your relationships, boundaries, mental health, you name it. Dr. John is a specialist in that category.

John, what kind of calls are you getting on the Dr. John Deloney Show these days? What are the topics? Is there a theme you're seeing? It's everything from parenting to marriage challenges. This time of year, it's always family boundary issues and how do we do christmas and how do we do thanksgiving and things like that and then there's just the my kids got adhd or autism and i don't know what to do next and so it's it just runs the gamut i love it well it's a great show you're doing great work over there really diving deep with callers long form calls and people are loving it so be sure to check that out if you enjoy the ramsey show you will enjoy the dr john

deloney show it's all on the ramsey Network or wherever you listen to podcasts. All right, Caden joins us up next in Columbus, Ohio. Caden, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. What's going on with you? So I was just wondering about some practical next steps I could take. I'm pretty young.

I'm 18 years old. And I've just had hurdle after hurdle in my. Um, I'm pretty young. I'm 18 years old and I've just had like hurdle after hurdle in my financial, uh, life, I guess. Um, I, back in September, my car was totaled and then I'm not really getting paid much of my job. Um, I feel like I could be making more, don't have any debt. Um, and I just bought a bike as a resale investment and the engine is blown. And so all my money is wrapped up. I'm at, I'm at like square one right now, like a hundred bucks. What are you making at your current job? Um, 20. Why are you only making 20? Um, that's minimum wage if that. Um, yeah, so it, it's just a little bit of a complicated situation, but I'm working for

a family owned company. It's a small company. We make a bunch of like, um, aftermarket parts for quads, like suspension, arms. We used to make swing arms. We also make, uh, roll cages, bumpers, trams and stuff like that. Is this full time? I feel like it could be. It is full time. Is this full-time? I feel like it could be. It is full-time.

Are you making any money? My take-home is about $630 a week. Dude, you can't live on that. Yeah. You need to go find a new job yesterday. I know it's your family, and I know that they're telling you you get good experience. One day this will all be yours,

but you're not making enough money, man. What was that? You're not making enough money. You've got to go find another job do you not believe you can make more elsewhere tomorrow um i i mean the reason why i'm still with the company um it's a family-owned company but not by my family um and the reason why i'm still with the company is because um i believe that there would be something better there. And so I was actually

working a second job with my family, Donato's actually. But that was too much because I was doing like 100 hour weeks and stuff like that. But yeah. How old are you? 18. What do you want to be doing at 22? At 22, I would like to be married. what do you want to do career-wise career right career-wise um take welding so i'm actually i take weld on all these parts did you go to trade school for that or you just learn on the fly uh i went to trade school so why not get a welding job full time yeah do you have all your licensures and everything? Yeah, I actually graduated top of the class in Marion. So what are you doing, man? I've got a buddy who's a welder and he laughs at my paychecks. He's doing quite well. Are there

no welding jobs in your community? Not immediately around me, no have you checked have you called every welder in town and said hey i graduated top of the class i'd love to work for you or call your college back and say hey i want to talk to the career services group okay and what i'm hearing is a guy who who had who got punched in the face a few times and now doesn't think he's worth anything and is like well maybe eventually something will happen like you're you're just like a passive person in the face a few times and now doesn't think he's worth anything and is like well maybe eventually something will happen like you're you're just like a passive person in the story of your life and i want you to believe that you're a main character and that you have some control and right now it feels like you're just waiting for the next big thing to happen yeah so i think you need to take a big step because you lost the wind in your sails man

and that step is i'm gonna go believe in caden and go find another job that pays me what i'm Yeah. So I think you need to take a big step because you lost the wind in your sails, man. And that step is I'm going to go believe in Caden and go find another job that pays me what I'm worth so that I can get ahead financially. Part of the reason you're calling and saying I can't get ahead financially is because you're barely making ends meet, making $600 a month. Well, it is $600 a week, but I mean it's… $2,400 a month, yeah. And you have no debt, and you're still not feeling like you can have traction. And so you need to find something where you get paid double or triple what you're making now so that you can hit your financial goals. I'm sure you want to be a homeowner one day, right?

Mm-hmm. And you want to have a big pile of money in the bank, an emergency fund, and you have other goals, things you want to do. I'll also tell you man you're not in a position at 18 i know dude i i have instagram too and george i don't know how tiktok works but george shows me his how the tiktoks i know there's 18 and 19 year olds all over it talking about bro this is your way to got, dude, you got to stop buying projects and flips and I'm going to buy this bike. I'm going to flip it for the dude. Just take the boring route. Take the

boring, smart route that has helped millions and millions of people build financial security, man. And it just don't overthink it and don't over it. Um, but like George mentioned, man, you want, you're, you're trying to be safe. And I've got this job and it's just cool. And I work with my parents and it's cool, but I'm just not getting anywhere. Well, then you got to change something. You got to change something. And money only works two ways.

You can make more of it or you can spend less of it. That's about it. In fact, that is it, right? And so if you're not spending more, then you got to earn more. So go, go get it, man. Just go get it, go get it, then you got to earn more. So go get it, man. Just go get it, go get it, go get it. Yeah. We're cheering you on, man.

Thanks for the call. All right. Our blinds.com question of the day is upon us. Their 100% satisfaction guarantee means even if you mismeasure, 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. Make sure to use the promo code Ramsey to get the best deal.

All right, today's question comes from Mike in Delaware. Mike writes, I have extremely loving and gracious parents. Oh boy. My parents are offering to upgrade my roof, but I'm afraid of the strings that may come with it later in my life. Wise Mike, wise Mike. The reason for my hesitation is my mother's loose tongue. Wow. She makes snide comments from time to time, which makes me not want her assistance. I don't need a new roof yet, but recognize I am very fortunate to have parents that are in a position to help me. How should I go about this? Should I accept a gift or keep my nobility and save up for next summer when I can pay for a roof on my own? I don't think taking a gift from your parents has anything to do with nobility.

I think that is your way of talking yourself, of giving yourself permission to not be in business with your parents. And when you take money from them, you are in business with your parents. And when you take money from them, you're in business with your parents. And your mom sounds like she pays a fee for permission to speak into your life and you get to no longer do business with her. I would not, George. I wouldn't take this money. I would say, hey, thanks.

Nope, I'm grown up. I bought my own house. I am going to save up and pay for my own roof. By the way, I don't even need one right now. You don't have to be ugly about it. You don't have to be rude about it. But you know, you've dealt with this your whole life, Mike. Your whole life you've dealt with this. Mom helps you out with something and then she just has to berate you about it. Man, at some point, yeah, I'm growing up. I'm not taking their money anymore. I'm still going to love them. I'm still going to go to lunch with them on Sundays. That's great. I'm just not taking

your money anymore. Yeah. I would listen to that hesitation that you have. That's your gut. That is wisdom. And I think this is just pure resentment down the road, one way or the other. If you do take this thing, because you already are, you're not, the spirit of this doesn't feel right to you. And I'm going to listen to that and say, you know what? I'm going to get myself in a position where I have the money in the bank to cover the roof. I'm going to say, mom, dad, love you guys. Thank you so much for offering. But I got this one. And there's something symbolic. I mean, maybe fixing the carpet or air conditioner or something. There's something about the roof because there's just always that line. Well, I'm still putting a roof

over your head and there's just something about that. They're literally putting a roof over your head as an adult. That gives me the indigestions and the gases. Not quite the hemorrhoids, but it gives me the gas. Just, Mike, pay for it yourself, man. Pay for it yourself. I don't want the strings attached. I'm no puppet. Yep. Alright.

Thanks for the question, Mike. It's a good one. Especially with all the boundary issues happening around the holidays. Now's the time to stand your ground and say no and do it lovingly, but do it firmly. More of your calls coming up. 888-825-5225. This is The Ramsey Show. We'll see you next time. you're listening to the ramsey show i'm george camel join this hour by dr john deloney and on the debt-free stage in the lobby of ramsey solutions philip and and Bethany join us. How are you guys? Good. How are you? What a beautiful couple.

Where are you guys from? Jasper, Indiana. Wonderful. And you're here to do the debt-free scream. How much did you pay off? Right around $174,000. Whoa. Okay.

And how long did that take? It took us about four years and 10 months. Okay. And what was the range of income during that time? Starting out, we were right around $95,000. And then when we ended, we were around $150,000. Love it. What do you guys do for a living?

I am an automotive technician at a Chevrolet and Cadillac dealership. And I work at a local bank to us in the insurance department. Awesome. Yeah. Well, we're so glad you can make it and celebrate with us. What kind of debt was the $174,000? Just about everything. Yes.

We had some small credit cards, personal loans. What else? We had a debt on a piece of property that we hoped to build a house on someday. We had... That felt so right to buy at the time it did we had it really did there was uh it was the only one like it oh of course yeah and this is this is for us in the future this is for future we never get this opportunity again exactly yeah this opportunity will never come again right that's exactly what we told ourselves. Well played. And let's see. We owed my father-in-law, her dad, $64,000 for a home remodel. So if that doesn't motivate you, I don't know what.

Dude, you owed him money and you were kissing his daughter, man. Yeah. That holiday's not great. What was $64,000 for? A home remodel. Oh. Yeah, a home remodel. But then we also paid that home off.

So we paid our mortgage off way to bury the lead there that's incredible yeah hey i don't know man i think there's something i i haven't been on on this year i haven't been on this journey i can imagine the check you wrote to your father-in-law felt better than the one you wrote to your mortgage company. Yeah. I think you're right. Yeah. When we wrote him the last check, because he was our largest debt.

Okay. Other than our mortgage at the time. But he was the largest debt through Baby Step 2. And when we wrote that check, it was pretty emotional. Yeah. And you don't have to give him credit because he did not harp on us. I mean, we owed him money for for probably well over 12 months yeah over a year and um you know he never brought it up never made it awkward

we just kept writing the checks for as much as we could every month awesome got it taken care of and when we went to pay our mortgage off we just went to the bank and then we went home and like i mowed the grass and i made dinner so it was like kind of like another day I guess yeah when you pay off dad you're weeping the whole way home and you're hugging and then yeah yeah I'm gonna go wow yeah exactly and now uh Christmas dinner is gonna be a lot more pleasant that's right yeah because you're not in the back of your mind going I know he's thinking about the money we owe him right he's looking at my new shirt and he's thinking, oh, she just go buy a shirt. Yeah. Fortunately, neither one of her parents ever brought it up.

How long have you guys been married for? Ten years almost. Almost ten years. Next will be ten years. Wow. So about five years into marriage, you guys are going, all right, we collected enough monopoly debt here. We got to clean this up. What happened?

Well, in July of in july of 2016 july 2016 so we we bought a fairly older home but we lived in it for quite a while um and then july 2016 we started with some remodel plans and if you could imagine how remodeling an old home goes there was a lot of unforeseen costs involved i told her that you know if when my father-in-law who was doing all the work on it if i had a dollar for every time he said well i didn't plan on this and we would have had that job paid for because there was a lot of money and he was the general contractor yes yeah her dad owns a construction company so he did all the work for him which is why we owed him all the money excellent wow so you know we were kind of going through and we had some small debts like i said credit

card personal loans but they were all manageable they weren't really a problem and as we were going through that remodel we didn't really have any money so we just decided we were going to refinance our house whatever that meant that was somehow going to pay for all this this this work that we were doing so we didn't really understand that at all and then in probably around October 2016 he handed us a bill for forty six thousand dollars and we had about five thousand dollars in their bank account so we knew something was gonna have to change and then I guess a blessing is in January our church was hosting Financial Peace University and so we signed up

and the rest is history yes and you guys had enough fire in your belly going this was scary let's not have this happen again yes yeah when he handed you that bill did he know you didn't have $46,000 I think he had a good idea we didn't have 46,000 but you know we probably hoped we had more than five. Somewhere in between. In y'all's defense like I've had work I've had general contractors at my house this year we talked through what the

final bill would be. We did an awful job of that. Oh I got you guys. I got you. We somehow thought $5,000 that we had was going to like cover all of it. That'll cover it. Incredible. Oh, my goodness.

So what was the hardest part on this journey? Because about five years, that's a long time to be just powering through this thing. I think the hardest thing was just by the end of it, I was ready to just pay the house off. And I was like, this is taking so long. I just want it gone like I just want it gone I just want it done so I think just like but I'm a very impatient person anyway so I think that was the hardest part I mean because both of us I think were very like head down this is what we're doing you know like this is the plan we're sticking to the plan it was just like writing out that

waiting period of and it's another thing to add in the mortgage to your to the debt too and go you know let's just keep going yes right yeah yeah and i think the hardest part for me was the part-time jobs yeah we hated part-time jobs what was the worst one that you're like i will never go near this one again uh we really did the same thing we had a we had a part time job cleaning offices after hours. That wasn't the bad part. It was just such long days because we would go there right after

our normal job. We would be at this part-time job until 9 o'clock and then get home and have to do all your normal evening things. Then get up and just do it again. Exactly. It's not what we wanted to do with our time. Yeah.

But because we were in debt. We did this to ourselves. We didn't get to say what we did with our time. We had to go to work. Oh, man. So what's it like when the check's deposit now and you don't owe anybody anything? I don't know. It's kind of crazy.

We really are just like, okay, well, what do we do now? I mean, it's a really, really i mean it's a good feeling like just be like we literally owe nobody any money like yep no one at all no no i wish y'all could i want you to go back and watch us on youtube because you're smiling for so big yes yes yes so what do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? Because you guys did this stuff. I know there's another couple out there who's like, should we? Shouldn't we?

What is the key to actually getting this done? I think just like you have to remember the feeling of like, like for me, whenever we got this bill that we couldn't pay, I was like literally so scared and so afraid. And I feel like you have to go back to that feeling of, like I didn't like that feeling at all. And, you know, I'm never, like I don't ever want to feel like that again. So, and then, yeah, I think just being scared and like, how are we literally going to pay this, you know?

You have to be tired of being sick and tired. And, you know, at the time, at the start, we were making fairly decent money. But somehow we were $86,000 in consumer debt and with an $88,000 mortgage at the same time. And so it definitely takes a budget and takes a lot of hard work. It takes a budget and, I mean, it's not fun at all times. And now you're free! Yes! But now we are free! Yes, but now we are free!

I love it. Well, we're celebrating you guys with the Live and Give box. You'll go home with that today. It includes a year of Financial Peace University. You can pass that on or go back through it to stay motivated. A copy of the Total Money Makeover

and Dave's newest book, Baby Steps Millionaires. That's your next chapter. So, so proud of you guys. So glad you could come celebrate with us. You ready to do this thing? Yes. Yes. All right.

It's Phillip and Bethany from Jasper, Indiana. $174,000 paid off, house and everything. Yes. Being weird, living like no one else in four years and 10 months, making 95 all the way up to 150 with those side hustles, crushing it. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one.

We're debt-free! Yeah! Your weekends and evenings are once again yours. Congratulations. Job well done. That is how it's done, and it's available for all of you listening out there. You can do this stuff. You've got to be willing to make the right sacrifices.

This is The Ramsey Show. I'm George Campbell, joined by Dr. John Deloney. And it's crazy to say it out loud, but we're just a few weeks away from 2023. It's a brand new year, and I can't think of a better way to start it than investing in your relationships and making some new friends while you're at it. And Dr. John specializes in friendship. It's on his resume there. Dude, I actually just had a conversation with my wife the other night. I was like, man, after being on the road, I'll fall.

I'm a pretty lonely guy right now. And she said, don't you talk about that a lot? And I was like, yeah, I need to be really intentional about friendships in the upcoming year. Well, it's a great time to ask you. Do want to hang out tonight i got i got other stuff i figured yeah we'll find another time it's all good but really it it's hard to make friends as an adult but it's not impossible it starts with a simple conversation in inviting your friends over go out to your favorite restaurant or pick pick up one of the Questions for Humans decks, which are just going bananas right now when you've got different decks for friends, girls' night, guys' night, dating, workplace, Christmas, you name it.

And there's second editions on some of these decks. Yeah. We're notified by the printer. They're out of paper. They just sold so many, they're like, they can't do this anymore. It's been bananas. It's like nothing anyone could have imagined. You must be exhausted at that warehouse just making these things.

It's pretty wild. Well, it's fun. Each deck, every card's got a different kind of prompt, a question on it, and they're fun. They're going to spark some great stories, some great laughs, some deep conversation. Hey, here's the Friends second edition. Here we go. Uh-oh. This is assuming we're friends.

This is us trying friendship out when did you realize your parents had no idea what they were doing oh gosh they're probably listening to this show right now so this scares me let's oh wow so you're still under their wing i see that yeah well mom mom's a big fan all right what's one song or album that makes you super nostalgic? Oh, probably Coldplay's first album. Okay. With Yellow on it. Why?

I think because it was like, you know that time when music was actually special? You had to like download it illegally from LimeWire and you had to upload it to your iTunes and then put it on the iPod. And then you would just listen to it in your room. That's, that's that album for me. I thought that album would be the one that you saw on MTV and you thought, I could get my pants to be way tighter than they are. So much tighter.

And, uh, what was it for you? It would have to be the, I remember you, the song off the Skid Row album. It was the, um,

it's got one of the greatest guitar solos of all time. And Sebastian Bach sing it i just used to put it on repeat and i would just listen to it and think if i could ever get someone to love me this much this much and i've been married 20 years and it's i'm still not there yet no not there yet but man that song i remember you on the skid row record oh my gosh youth gone Gone Wild. Yeah. That's strong. I was all about that record. That's strong. Well, there's many more cards. I mean, we could just take the whole show and do this, but America needs help, John.

So if you want to check these out, Connection doesn't have to be awkward. Our friend Dr. John makes it easy with these decks. They're great conversation starters. And you can pick one up at ramsaysolutions.com until they can't print anymore because they've apparently run out of card paper. That's right. There you go. And while you're there, we mentioned this in the debt-free screen, we've got this new live and give box. And today only, we've marked it down to $79.99. And part of the reason is it's one of the last days you can get it before in time for Christmas. So go check that out at ramsaysolutions.com slash box. It includes

Financial Peace University, Total Money Makeover, and Dave's new book, Baby Steps Millionaires, all for just 80 bucks. That's a killer deal. All right, let's go to the phones. It's a free call at 888-825-5225. Erica is hanging out in Indianapolis. Erica, welcome to the show. Hello. Hey, what's going on? Well, I was calling to hopefully get some advice about if there's any ideas on how to go from a double income, my husband and I, and I had to resign from my medical career about the end of 2020 due to a chronic illness, which they finally diagnosed with Lyme disease. Oh, man. So sorry.

That's the worst. It's a very hard thing. I don't know if in Indiana. I know it's a hard thing to get diagnosed with, but not a lot of doctors in the Midwest are familiar. It's just very frustrating for me. And I feel so bad for my husband and my family for having to just, you know, work with me through that. So I was hoping to lighten his load because he had to take on all financial responsibility

and be my caretaker. So I just wanted to run some things by you and see if you had any thoughts or ideas. Go for it. Okay. So basically my husband's at a salary job. He's international logistics and he's about 70,000 per year salary. And I was at about 40,000 when I worked my whole life, but now that's gone. Well, right before I got ill and had to resign, I ended up getting my first financed, what I call a big girl car payment. Cause I always bought my

own cars outright and never had a car payment. So it couldn't have come really at a worse time for me to, you know, buy a car, but I am paying $450 a month and that is really, really hurting us. The 450 a month. Can you still drive? Yes, I can still drive and we're actually down to one car right now, so car is important. What's your total debt? How much do you owe? On the car? No, total.

Or just in general? What other debt do you have? I have the car for 17. My husband has some credit cards. Nope. Listen, listen listen listen listen listen you've already started talking this way throughout this call so you and your husband are together y'all are one right he said for sickness and health 17 plus 10 okay yeah so there's not his

debt in your debt there's not now i'm a burden because he's got to take care of me. He gets the supreme honor of loving you in a time of need. Well, that's a nice way of putting it. You're not a burden. It's what he signed up for, this exact moment. Is it fun? No. Does he wish you out running around and twirling circles in the yard or whatever? Yes.

Is that reality right now? No. around and twirling circles in the yard or whatever yes is that reality right now no so don't rob from him hit what he committed to do and walk around with this just shame all the time okay you are lucky to have somebody in your life who said i'm all in on you y'all share these debts and so And so together, you all owe $27,000? Yes. No other debt? That's it. No, that's it. What is the car worth? If you sold it today, let's say, in the private marketplace, what could you get for it?

I am unsure of that because I've not looked into that. It's a 2018 Kia Optima. Okay, that's your next homework assignment. Because if you can sell this thing and get a cheap car that gets you around from A to B, well, that clears that $17,000 right there. Hopefully, you have enough cash to pay for the next one if you can make a little profit off it. How much do you guys have in the bank? Do you have any savings?

No. Zero dollars. We have exhausted everything. Okay, let's get get a thousand bucks in the bank as quickly as possible and that might mean your husband needs to take a side hustle for a short season so that we can clean up this mess but that will then get you down to just the credit cards 10k he's making 70 we clear up the credit card debt well then we could breathe a little bit, right? Even on one income, we could pay all of our bills. Correct. And so that would be my next goal because we know- What's hurting so much is the rent and the car payment together. That's right. And here's the deal. Your life is different now. And this happens all the time. A major life incident happens.

Somebody passes away. Somebody gets sick. There's a job loss. And people want to continue with their life as it is and just try to incorporate this major life shift into their existing life. You have to own reality. Your life is different. So maybe you've got to move. You've got to downsize. Maybe you've got to move to a different town. Maybe you've got to move to a completely different state and community where you can afford the rent and

make a little bit more money. You'll have to start there with real, real numbers and face reality head on. Yeah. The sooner you can become debt free with a pile of money in the bank, the sooner you have financial peace, and then we can learn to live in this new reality with one income. That puts this hour of The Ramsey Show in the books. My thanks to my co-host, Dr. John Deloney, all the guys in the booth keeping the show alive, and you, America. We would not do this show without our amazing listeners. We'll be back with you before you know it. Hey, it's John Deloney, co-host of The Ramsey Show. Did you know over 18 million people listen to The Ramsey Show every week? A lot of those people listen on one of our 600-plus radio stations across the country.

To find a station near you, go to ramseysolutions.com slash show.