The Ramsey Show - App - Should I File Bankruptcy for the 4th Time? (Hour 1)

Episode Date: November 4, 2020

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. Anthony O'Neill, Ramsey personality, is my co-host today here on the air. Open phones as we talk to you about your life and your money. 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Lester is in Atlanta. Hi, Lester. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. Hi, Anthony. How are you guys doing? Great, man. How can we help? Hi. Yeah, I was calling because unfortunately, a couple of months ago, early September, I lost my dad due to COVID. I'm sorry. Thank you. And he had left me a life insurance policy of about $20,000.

And I just wanted to know what to do with that money. A little background about me. I just, I currently took a leave package from my job. And so I'm not currently working. I am a workers' comp, though. I haven't been working for two years due to an on-the-job injury. My income is $575 a week. And I'm just trying to, I also live with my mom currently. And so in our relationship is a little rocky because some days she's like, you know, you need to be a man,

you need to move out, live on your own. Other days she's like, no. When I tell her, okay, I can do that. She's like, well, you you know right now maybe you should just save your money take advantage and so you're able to to work again and so and i also just my car just died and i just got had back surgery last month too like maybe the same i was in hospital recovering from back surgery the same pretty much two days later that's when my dad died so I have a lot of unknowns going on, and I just needed to know, like, should I continue with Baby Step 2, pay off all my debt? I have about, roughly, I'd say about $12,000 in debt. Or what else should I do with my money?

How old are you, Lester? I am 31. What is the schedule on your healing? Are you getting better? And when do you think you'll be back to work? I am getting better as time goes by. Right now, well, I hired an attorney, so it's really all about coming up with a settlement. Once the settlement is done, then I should be able to get back to work relatively soon because I'm never going to be 100% again. I had pretty much my injury is a tennis elbow in both arms

from tapping computers for a long time. And I had surgery on both, but I've never really 100% recovered. At this point, I don't see myself recovering 100%, so I'm just ready to move on. But at the same time, you know, I... So your attorneys instructed you not to go back to work until there's a settlement? Pretty much. But either way, I don't have a job anymore because I took a...

Well, I got that, but you're going to have to have a career. You're going to have to do something for the next 70 years of your life, 60 years of your life. Yeah. So what are you going to do with your life and when well i've been thinking i think my next career goal that i want to get started is try to get into the real estate i would really love to do that as a career and i'm looking into starting classes now while i have a chance and i'm not working but um when uh you know the attorney is not really very specific on that. He just says, you know, he can't rush the other attorneys to hurry up and come to settlement.

And so he's pretty much like, I can't give you an answer. I'm still confused to why your attorney is advising you not to provide for your life if that has nothing to do with what's going on in court. Yeah, the injuries don't, I mean, you have the injuries those are proven yeah um and yeah i agree you don't rush to the other side for the settlement but you're not working in the meantime it's not okay yeah so i i think a lot of this has the answer to your original question what to do with the twenty thousand dollars has a lot to do with when you're going to be earning an income again that you can live on uh 575 a week you can probably make it on that uh and if you can make it on that and run a budget on that and move out get your apartment going and uh you know pay off all your debts you got eight thousand dollars left for your emergency

fund and we're just going forward at that point uh and you've got the money set aside then in that emergency fund as a little pad while you get started in the real estate business but um i i think you're gonna have to develop some kind of a plan that gets you back out there moving around again dude yeah uh towards your long-term goals in your long-term future yeah this uh this sounds very um i don't know like you're trapped or something and i don't like being stuck i don't like being trapped i get claustrophobic yeah i'm with you dave and and real estate that's maybe like a good year year and a half before you can really start profiting some money so he needs something between now and then uh to bring in income while he's building that real estate dream up it takes most people six months to start making any money at all and a year to start making a living wow in the residential business so um

you know you just got to build that into your plan, and what are you going to do in the meantime while you're doing that is your second job, so to speak, and with the limitations that you've got. So that's simple. Hey, man, thank you for the call. Lakeisha is with us. Lakeisha is in Newark, New Jersey. How are you?

I'm good. How are you? Better than I deserve. How can I help? Hi. Just a real quick story. I grew up in foster care, and I pulled myself up by my bootstraps

and became a teacher. Good. Yeah. So I was in a car accident, I think when I was 19 and I filed bankruptcy when I was 25 because I had all these hospital bills and I was like, Oh, you know, it was only going to be one time. So what happened was, um, you know, I filed bankruptcy, I, you know, cleaned up my credit, got my finances together. And when I was 40 years old, I was assaulted by a student in the school.

And I was suggested that I take early retirement. So I have full pension and full benefits. But in the interim of me taking full pension and, you know, because it's a two-year process apart from retirement, my house got in trouble. I filed Chapter 13 to keep the house and then um after like a year later i had to file another chapter 13 because i just couldn't keep up with the payment so um i decided just to let the house go because you know there's no way i can you know afford this house and um but then uh you know once they sell the house i'm probably going to have like another um like a residual uh you know um loss on it so um should i file the fourth bankruptcy to give it the uh the debt from the house or i should just go with your plan as is you're a hot mess girl i mean four bankruptcies oh my gosh wow wow i'm so sorry you've been

through hell oh man um so what kind of mortgage do you have, FHA, VA, or conventional? FHA. You're not going to have to worry about a deficit. FHA does not pursue deficits. Is the foreclosure underway? Yes. Okay. All right.

So you're going to lose the home. Where are you going to live? I saved up $2,000 already so and i live in north of new jersey so it's very expensive here so i'm planning on saving up five thousand dollars you know and get and get up get a rental yeah and then get on ramsey plus hold on we're gonna get you signed up for it and help you so yeah we need to stop at three bankruptcies that's plenty it's plenty this is is the Dave Ramsey Show. With more frequency than you know, I get calls and emails from people dealing with the recent loss of a spouse or a parent.

You can hear the struggle and the heartache that they've been experiencing. And at a time they should be grieving, what breaks my heart the most is the strain and tension that they're going through because of money, especially when it's a situation that could have been avoided. If you have a family, it is your responsibility to have term life insurance. It's one of the things you do to say I love you. And yes, this is an ad for Zander Insurance.

But since this is one of the most effective ways I have to get my point across, so be it. For over 20 years, I've been telling you about the importance of term life insurance and protecting your family. Listen, you need to check out Zander.com or call 800-356-4282. I can't say it enough. Protect your family. It's what you're supposed to do. Go to Zander.com or call 800-825-5225 anthony o'neillsey Personality, is my co-host this hour. You know, our last caller with the coming up on the fourth bankruptcy,

one of the things that stung me, left an ouch mark on me when I was going through the bankruptcy was, well, actually, there were two things that fall under the same heading. One is the bankruptcy attorney actually gave some good counsel. He said, you know, filing bankruptcy does not create an income. Okay. Yes, sir. And you've got an income problem. Right.

And, you know, you don't think about it because you've got all this weight on you. And if I could just get these bills off of me, I'll be okay. But I had an income problem and in that same heading is this idea that um bankruptcy financial problems are never really the problem they're really the symptom including when i had them yeah the symptom of something else going on. And so with Lakeisha, you know, joking around with her. But if you continually are coming back to this threshold of crisis. Yes. Multiple times in your life, the common denominator is you.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I didn't have enough time to say that. I want to say that, you know. And especially when she says she had to ask that question like you already knew the answer to the question because the question the answer to the question true answer is what do i need to do so i do not have this issue moving forward now that that's that's a true question that you should be asking yourself say it never again never i'm never again gonna be

here yep so what have i got to do to never again be here? Yes. And, you know, because otherwise you can't file bankruptcy enough times to become successful. It does not bring about prosperity. It really doesn't. It really doesn't. Zach is in Olympia, Washington. Hey, Zach, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show.

Hi, Dave. Hi, Anthony. Thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's up? Well, Dave, I found your CDs in my parents' bookshelf a while back, and my wife and I have become obsessed with changing the way things are going. So she stays home with our two kids and works that way. I have a career, and then I took a second job delivering pizzas and we decided our house payment is just not working out well for us to get out of debt the way we want. And so we

listed it for sale. We're going to make about $24,000 on that. Our total debt is about $33,000. But we didn't necessarily plan that out super well. So now we're left with our original plan was to move in with my in-laws for the time being, build a house on family land that would be gifted to me, and then do it that way with a construction loan. Then we thought, well, maybe we should hold off on that. How long should we stay at my in-laws? Should we just go rent and maybe pay off debt slower because we're actually paying a rental? So we need your help. Okay. Anthony? Yeah. Thanks for looking at me, Dave, because I really want to say something. I'm not a huge fan of you moving in with your in-laws, nor my huge fan of

you taking out a construction loan and building right now. Let me tell you what I am a huge fan of you of is really right now renting, staying with you and your family, you and your wife in your own place, not moving in with your in-laws, and then just living on a very aggressive budget and attacking the debt. With the family going back home, I just think that could create some problems down the road. And so for me, I just want you to stay together, get on an aggressive income, get on an aggressive budget, and just pay off the debt. And then from there, just work the baby steps, and eventually you'll be able to go ahead and build that house on the land that you're going to be gifted.

But right now, I would say stay by yourself. Yeah, I agree. I think that's a good plan. So after you've sold the house, you got the equity out of the house, and you apply it towards the debt, how much debt do you have left then? $8,000. Oh, not hardly any. Good. And what's your household income?

About $70,000. So $60,000 from my career and $10 to $15 from delivering peaches. Good for you. You're a hardworking dude. Okay. I'm with Anthony. You just roll up your sleeves, which you're already doing, and attack this. So, I mean, you're going to be out of debt in six or eight months at the most, if not sooner.

And then you start saving, you know, build your emergency fund, then you build a down payment, and then we can talk about whether you build on family land or not. Building on family land is a mixed blessing. It's a free piece of dirt, but with that free comes people next door to you that are called family, and that's a mixed blessing. And sometimes, because they gave you some dirt they think they get to tell you what to do on other stuff uh called boundary issues so make sure that the land is cut out and it is a piece of uh that is replatted and deeded to you that

the dirt under this house you own and then the other thing is it already needs to be discussed someday that house might be sold and is your dad that gave you this piece of ground going to be pissed off you know and so if you can't sell the house because family's going to be mad later then uh you don't build there you go on somewhere else and just have what's called a life. And, you know, you don't get the free land, but you also don't get all these golden handcuffs that go with it. But, yeah, you've done a great job. Go ahead and clean up the $8,000 and agree with Anthony, get you a little rental,

and then save up your down payment after you've saved your emergency fund and make your next decisions. Nick's in Wilmington, North Carolina. Hey, Nick, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hey, Dave, how are you doing today? Better than I deserve. What's up? So I'm trying to figure out a budgeting question, I guess.

So I'm currently on steps four, five, and six. You know, got my emergency fund in place but um i'm looking at potentially refinancing my house and i currently pay child support for my kids and do i use that child support do i just take it out of the equation for now and uh just add it back in as a bonus later, or do I include that as part of my income? For what purpose? When you're calculating what? Because, so trying to calculate to see if I want to refinance the home, you know, the... Are you talking about the 25% monthly payment?

Yeah. Okay. Yeah, the 25% monthly payment. Now, if you had children living at home, you'd be feeding them. Yeah. And buying them clothes. I do that. I feed them.

I know, but that's what child support does. And so, no, it's 25% of your take-home pay, not take-home pay minus child support. Right. Okay. So, you answered my question. I appreciate it. Perfect. That's exactly what I would do.

Yeah. Hey, good question, man. Thank you for joining us. Trey's in Austin, Texas. Hi, Trey. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. How are you, sir? Great.

What's up? Hey, just had a quick question for you. Kind of got a little dilemma. Been fighting it for a little while. Buddy might introduce me to me and my wife about a year ago. Kind of having some ups and downs wife's car broke down kind of a bad apple type deal everything else basically depleted the thousand dollar emergency fund uh got a balloon mortgage it's coming up for maturity this year actually next year beginning of next year uh trying to follow all this like in like

in a month and a half uh well let's see here we got i think four or five months to go okay um and i'm i'm just trying to brace myself and be ready for what i need to do uh we owe about 35 on the house yet um i did kind of mess up and i bought her a new car. I got tired of her and my one-year-old being broke down on the side of the road. Probably shouldn't have done that, but you know, just a little guidance would be great. Me and my buddy have been discussing it. He kind of disagrees with it and just kind of wanting to know what I should do as far as possibly refinancing the house. Yeah, what do you owe on the car? $29,000.

And what do you make? What's your household income? $67,000. Okay. Well, you need to sell the car. Yeah. That's a dumb butt car purchase. Yeah. I mean, man, you make $60,000 a year.

You can't come up with $1,000 and you go buy a $30,000 car. That's straight up stupid, man. You've $30,000 car. That's straight-up stupid, man. You've got to sell a car. That's crazy. And, of course, you've got to get rid of that thing. And then that will help you get the refinance done because you get rid of a $700 freaking car payment. So, yeah, Mama's about to move back down in car.

That's first move. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Anthony O'Neill Ramsey Personality is my co-host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225. On the debt-free stage in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions, Erin and Kayla are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? We're great. How are you? Good. Welcome. Good to have

you guys. So where do you live? Louisville, Kentucky. Okay. So about a three-hour drive down to Nashville then to do your debt-free scream. How much have you paid off? $49,403. All right. I love it. And how long did this take? Six and a half months. Good for you. And your range of income during that six and a half months? $130,000 to $170,000. Cool. What do you guys do for a living? I'm an OPN.

And I work on a steel galvanizing line. Okay. So how did you get your income up $40,000 in six months? We just became intentional. Went to work. Went to work. Same jobs. We just worked more hours. Lots of OT, anything you could get.

Correct. Lots of opportunity during the pandemic, stuff like that. Yeah, especially being a nurse. Yeah. Wow. Wow. Good for you guys. What kind of debts was the $49,000?

Nine credit cards, two car loans, and a personal loan. And a partridge in a pear tree. You had everything. Yes. And it was all on, like, our couch, our wedding rings, our dining room table. Like, everything we had was financed, unfortunately. So you're just kind of normal. Yes.

Just went and bought stuff, and then you had payments. Yeah. Yeah. So what woke you up? What happened six and a half months ago? Okay. So we had gotten these better jobs. I became a nurse, and he got his job, and we thought we were just making a great income. We got all the money we could ever want to spend.

Well, that's what we were doing was spending all the money that we had, even like maxing out our credit cards, acting as if that was just part of our income. So one month, Aaron unfortunately broke his foot and was unable to go to work for three weeks. And without three weeks of his income with no savings in the bank and all of our credit cards maxed out, I wasn't sure how we were going to pay our bills. And so I started Googling, Pinteresting, YouTubing, how to get out of debt, how to make a budget, how can I survive and I found the Dave Ramsey show of course and I started listening to the podcast every day and brought the idea to him and he was like all on board. Yes, I'm tired of living like this. Let's do it. Cool. That was easy. That easy that was really yeah so okay so you sat down to do a budget

the first night then yes uh so um that was one month i said okay we'll get one month to kind of dig ourself out of this hole we put ourself in with his like a lack of income when he got injured and then as soon as the first of the next month comes we're going gazelle intense and that's what we did beans and rice rice and beans all of that just from what you found on the internet yes and well we i grew up um sometimes always in a struggle same with him and we just realized that we're making a better income for ourself than our parents had and we're still broke we're still living like we don't have money because we're spending every dollar we had yeah yeah cool but you learned how to fix it all just from YouTube or what?

From you. I really appreciate it. Okay, cool. Good for you. Very proud of you. Very proud of you. Very good. Now I got to ask this question.

You guys are young. Millennials watching you all on YouTube now and hearing you. What is one reason that they as young people should really focus on avoiding debt and start building wealth um well we realized that once we got the knowledge i was listening to the podcast looking into different financial stuff once we realized that the consumer is always on the losing end of the debt game you will never get ahead. Building your credit score is not building a future. Once you learn that and you're able to apply those principles to your life, I really think that you can go far. And that's what builds wealth. When you stop trying to build your credit score.

Now, what was the hardest thing on this journey, though? I mean, you guys are literally eating beans and rice, rice and beans. You guys are working extra hours. What was the thing like, I don't know if we should keep this going. What was that? So one of the hardest things is we kind of moved to a new town. We're originally from Tennessee, and we moved to Louisville, Kentucky, and we've been trying to make new friends, stuff like that, and kind of we can't come to this one this time, guys, or we got to work or we got to stay home or something like that. Yeah, can't go come to this one this time, guys, or, you know, we got to work or

we got to stay home or something like that. Yeah, I can't go out with you guys. No, sorry. We'll pass on that concert. Oh, we're staying in for New Year's Eve. Just kind of always being home. That was how I find it. For six and a half whole months.

Yeah. And now you're free. Correct. Now you can do anything you want, right? Correct. Very cool. Well, congratulations, you guys. What do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is?

I'd say being intentional. Being intentional where you spend your money, how much of it's going out, and being intentional on showing up to work, actually making money. Mm-hmm. Yep. Just keep digging. Yeah. Keep digging.

What's next? So we have a goal of paying our home off in two years. Wow. How much do you own the house? $140,000. Ooh. Go big or go home. I love it.

Look at you guys. That's fun. Let's go. You're going to be completely weird when this is done. Absolutely. You guys are amazing. Very well done. Well, there's no question the next chapter in your story is to be millionaires you are on that path we got a copy

of chris hogan's everyday millionaires number one best-selling book uh and just we're so proud of you rock stars you're heroes you took control of your lives so uh who was your biggest cheerleaders um i would say our uh family um a woman work with, really just anybody we told thought like, okay, that's kind of weird, but supported us anyway. Yeah. Good. Very good. All right.

Erin and Kayla, Louisville, Kentucky, 49,000 paid off in six and a half months, making $130,000 to $170,000. They went to work. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt-free! Yeah!

This is how it's done, folks. Very, very well done. Very well done. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Vanessa is with us in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Hi, Vanessa. How are you? Hey, Dave and Anthony.

How are you guys? Great. What's up? So our association is having us or acquiring us to repair and seal our driveway. We've got a quote for that job to be done for about $1,500. We're on baby step number two. So we are really trying to make sure we don't spend any money we don't need to so that we can pay off our debt quicker. And my husband, he wants to extend the driveway. Okay.

He wants to extend the driveway and we got a quote for that. And it's going to be $3,500 to extend it. So I'm not sure what you would recommend. My husband thinks that it's a good idea to just pay the $3,500 extended. It's going to be better in the longterm. And I say that, no, let's just do the minimum. If the association is requiring us to just patch and seal, let's just do that. And so I want to know what you guys think.

How much, how much debt are you all in right now? And baby is baby Step 2, Vanessa? So we have a total of $20,000 in debt. That includes student loans and credit cards. How much have you paid off so far? We've paid off, I would say at least $2,000. We just started recently. Yeah, you started.

He didn't. What's the household income, Vanessa? He's the one that got me on here. He's the one that got you on what? On Dave Ramsey. And then he wants to do something completely perpendicular to what we teach? So our household income is about $80,000 a year. Yeah.

Yeah. Okay. Well, you're new to this, and apparently he's a little bit new to it, too. Because the whole idea of Baby Step 2 is beans and rice, rice and beans. Yep. As a matter of fact, I'm probably going to tell the HOA I can't do the work right now. Because we're broken in debt and we're trying to get out of debt. As soon as we get out of work, we'll do the work.

As soon as we get out of debt, we'll do the work. Just tell them not right now. If you end up having to do something, you do the $1,500, you certainly are not going to do an extension to your freaking driveway while you're in debt. Come on now. Anthony? Nah. No.

I'm not doing it. I mean, Anthony. No. I'm not doing it. I mean, it's not necessary. And I mean, an HOA can't kick you out of your house, kick you out of the neighborhood. Well, they fine you for not doing the stupid driveway, but oh my gosh. 25 bucks. I hate them. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. What if you could do your Christmas shopping without all the hassle? No shipping, no wrapping, oh, and no clutter that'll end up gathering dust on someone's shelf.

Well, I got the perfect present idea, all digital, that'll make a real impact on the people that you love and make shopping really easy. Give them a Ramsey Plus membership, the all-access membership to our best money tools and content. They'll earn everything money with our online courses, which include, of course, Financial Peace University. And they can make budgets that actually work with a premium version of every dollar, and they get all the motivation they need to make their money goals a reality in our new Baby Steps tracking app. This year, skip the chaos and the clutter.

Give someone confidence that you love with their money. Go to DaveRamsey.com slash store. Give them Ramsey Plus. DaveRamsey.com slash store Ramsey Plus. Mary is with us in Medford, Oregon. Hi, Mary. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dan.

How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up? So my husband and I recently purchased a Toyota Camry 2020. We made a $3,000 deposit, down payment, and our monthly payments are $350. Now he wants to get a truck instead should we trade it in are we going to lose money on that can we refinance okay um what's the goal the goal is to pay it off but if we can't get uh a monthly payment, that would be ideal.

You understand how monthly payments are lower? No. If it's on the same amount of money borrowed, the only way the payment is lower is if you extend the time you're in debt. So instead of five years, it'll be like six years. If you want a lower payment on the same amount of debt. So what do you owe on this? We bought it for $20,000, and so far we've only been in it for six months.

Yeah, and what's your household income? $75,000. Okay. You kind of feel like somebody that's just going to stay in car payments your whole freaking life to me. Okay. It just kind of sounds like y'all aren't that worried about this. Well, his car broke down, so we just bought it on the splurge. Yeah, yeah.

I recently changed jobs, and when I changed jobs, it was to a higher income, but that career did not match my personality and whatnot. So now I'm back at making minimum wage. And so I'm assuming that within a year, I'll be back to making $17 an hour. I think the hardest part for me right now, Mary, is just understanding why. Because one thing for me, you know, and I can pretty much speak for Dave, we're not going to tell you how to get a lower payment. You know, we can walk you through on how to pay it off. Technically, I would say we need to trade it in as far as and sell it and get a cash car.

Now, your income is doing well. Making $70,000 with a $20,000 vehicle is is not20,000 vehicle is not a bad move if you pay cash for it. But the problem is you're looking for a lower payment. And so, for me, I can't teach you how to get a lower payment. Yeah, and let me walk you through what I heard, okay? You said, oh, car broke down, and so we impulsed a car. Oh, now my husband wants to oh he changed his mind now he wants to impulse a truck yeah and so the decision making pattern you guys have sucks

yeah i mean you're just jumping from one thing to another like you know out of the frying pan into the fire back and forth back and forth back and forth instead what i was looking for what i want for you is is a strategy a long-term plan where you make moves that get you out of debt and build wealth, and then you can drive whatever you want to drive. There's nothing wrong with having a nice car. Right. There's nothing wrong with that. The problem is you guys are just jumping around all over the place. I mean, you jumped into a job out of a job.

You jumped into this car and out of the car. Now he wants to jump into a truck, and all you're worried about is can I get a lower payment, which is all of this pretends it all indicates that you're going to stay in debt because you don't have a passion to get out, a reason to get out, and a plan to get out. Here's what I know. The average car payment in America is a little over $500 a month. It's about $514 a month right now, over 84 months. That's the average car payment in america is a little over 500 a month it's about 514 a month right now over 84 months that's the average if you invest 514 in a decent growth stock mutual

fund in a roth ira from age 30 to age 70 you're gonna have like 55.2 million in that one account. That's what that stupid car payment's costing you guys out there. The car payment is the mantra of the middle class. It's I'm always going to be middle class if I keep a car payment. It pretty much mathematically ensures that that's going to be the case. Now, there's no shame. There's nothing wrong with being middle class. But the point with handling money is to move up through that and not be making decisions that stick you there. So I hope you like the car.

It's a $5 million car. That's what we're talking about here. And, you know, this idea that I'm going to get a truck, and then I'm going to get another thing, and then the next thing I'm going to get me another thing. And that's what most people do, by the way. That's normal. But most people are broke.

And you called the Dave Ramsey Show where we specialize, Anthony and I and the Ramsey personalities, specialize in helping you not be broke, and therefore the first step of that is to get out of debt. So if I'm in your shoes, I'm going to get him a truck. But you know what, Dave? About a $3,000 one. There you go.

And I'm going to sell this stupid car and get out of debt yep so i'm gonna give him his wish i sure will but yeah we could trade it in as long as we get a truck that's paid for cash yeah you know and you're gonna lose your butt on this car yeah but you're out of that you move yourself out of that but you've got to decide what your what your goal is because you're you're wandering around all over the place and when you if you aim at nothing you're going to hit it every time and that's what's going on and i'm not picking on you i'm just observing where you are i've done the same kind of stuff i've done it with zeros on the end i've done all kinds of stupid butt stuff that's how i know what stupid looks like yeah and anthony's done stupid stuff i saw we all have done that then but the thing that clears it up is the when you put a decision in front of yourself you ask

yourself does this decision move me away from my goal or towards my goal yes oh wait i don't have a goal so we got to stop and start we have to rewind back up let's start there and in our case we're walking you through the baby steps which the ultimate goal of that is you live like no one else so later you can live and give like no one else you drive like no one else so later you can drive like no one else you vacate and go out to eat like no one else which means not at all yeah until you get your butt out of debt then you can vacate and eat like no one else. You know where I eat? Anywhere I want to.

You know where I vacate? Anywhere I want to. You know what I drive? Anything I want to. But I've been doing this stuff 30 years, and I became wealthy because of it. And that enables Sharon and I to do those things. But we paid a price to get there. And you know one of the main reasons,ave you've become you are wealthy and i am becoming wealthy it's because something that she said that i've talked about at ramsey plus is how to stop

impulse purchasing and one of the main reasons why people are getting into debt and fall into this trap is because they're just buying on impulse buying on emotions and so you can do that with a stick of gum you can't do that with a freaking of gum. You can't do that with a freaking car. With a house or something like that. So I agree with you, Dave. We have to stop it, and she has to get on a plane. That's a good point. That's a good point. You know, because I'm a spender by nature, and so one of the things that I share with Mary is that's the type of stuff I did all the time.

I just do something. I just wanted to do it. I just did it. Yeah. You know, and it always caught up to me and kicked me in the back of the head yes sir and then i read that proverb he who is impulsive exalts folly it's what the scripture says now and i had to think about that a minute if you're impulsive you exalt you lift up folly. Now, folly is not a word we use in our day-to-day vernacular in America today. So I kind of had to think about it.

I looked it up. Folly is a fool in action. And so what I was when I was impulsive was I was a fool in action. And I've done some foolish stuff when I was impulsive was I was a fool in action. And I've done some foolish stuff when I was impulsive. He who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. I've done all kinds of foolish things, but

100% of the time, fools are broke. Hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts. Mary, you guys can do better. Set yourself a goal and then decide what the steps are to get there. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Have a friend or family member that needs a daily dose of Ramsey advice in their life? Let them know about the Ramsey Call of the Day podcast. It's a quick hit of advice about life and money in under 10 minutes.

Check out the Ramsey Call of the Day podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.