The Ramsey Show - App - Should I Let My Parents Help Us With Money? (Hour 2)

Episode Date: November 20, 2023

Девочка-пай Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, this is The Ramsey Show. It's where we help you win in your life, specifically with your money, your relationships, and in your work. 888-825-5225 is the toll-free number. 888-825-5225 is the toll-free number. 888-825-5225. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by my colleague, good pal, Dr. John Deloney. We're here taking your questions. We'll take your money questions, but when we're together, we love to take those work questions, those relationship, mental health questions. All of this stuff is intertwined, so no shame in your game today. We're here for you. 888-825-5225. Tucson, Arizona is where we start this hour.

Michelle is there. Michelle, how can we help? Hi there. Thanks for taking my call. You bet. So my husband and I bought our house about three and a half years ago, and it's a custom in my dad's culture to buy the house for their kids, but he couldn't afford it at the time

and now three and a half years later he can afford to pay off our house for us and i'm just wondering if i should take that money and pay off the house or do something else with it what culture uh lebanese culture okay and so how much is the payoff about 320 000 and he's got the cash correct man that's not in my culture i was gonna say i need to call my culture committee and get that thing switched man that's that's incredible john can you take the rest of this call i'm gonna go step outside and call my dad kidding i got a high five when i bought a house my dad was like get him guys that's amazing uh so is there any so let me ask this i think i understand your, but it feels like there's a question behind this question. Are you concerned about something? Are you wary of how to do it?

Tell us what you're rattling around in your head. Are there strings with this money? Well, the house is in our name already. Say that again. Take the house. The house is in our name, so it's not like he can give us the money and, you know, take the house or anything. But he does like to brag about giving the money. But that's not really, you know, I'm not too concerned about that. I just wondered if there was, like, a way to invest that money and take, you know, and make, like, an income off of monthly income off that money.

I mean, I don't know. I'm not very smart with investing. Well, let me ask you this. Well, first of all, the answer is yes, of course. What was the amount of money again? Three what? $320,000. Okay. So the question is, is dad giving you a gift of $320,000 to do whatever you want with, or is he giving you $320,000 to pay this house off so that he can tell everybody in my culture this is what we do and i've now done it correct second one well and i so the first that takes the question off the table that you asked us it's not an option yeah and by the way i would not if if somebody if i had 320 left on my mortgage and somebody gave me a gift of 320 i'd take it i would20 left on my mortgage and somebody gave me a gift of $320. I'd take it. I would put it on my mortgage.

Mm-hmm. By the way, that's a massive investment. That's the ultimate investment. Then you have freedom. You can do whatever you want. You have no house payment. Right. And then everything you spend on a house payment, you can invest however you want to for the rest of your life because you don't have a house payment.

Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty neat. Have you ever been in a house that you owned that nobody else could take from you? No. Yeah, exactly. Well, hold on a second. I got to bring the good doctorate on here. Now I may be reading into this, Michelle, tell me, I do not mean being wrong. I have three teenagers and I've been married 25 years. Basically my whole life I've been wrong. Okay. But it feels like when we're telling you this, John's laying this out and you're like,

yeah, that's pretty neat. It doesn't feel like you think this is neat. Am I right or wrong? Well, I mean, it would be nice if we had the money to pay off our own house. Of course it would. Of course. Do you feel then that is not, okay, now I think we got something. Is it ego? You don't want this.

You want to feel like we did it. Right. I mean, my dad bought me a car when I turned 18. He's like, you're not touching my car, and that's my car, and don't take my car. All right. Okay, that's the strings we're talking about. If he's going to give you that, and then he's going to say, whoa, whoa, whoa, you put your daughter in a nicer school than that. And you and your husband say, no, no, we decided on this public school. And he goes, no, no, no, whoa, whoa, you put your daughter in a nicer school than that. And you and your husband say, no, no, we decided on this public school.

And he goes, no, no, no, no, no, I paid your house off. You put that kid, if that's going to be the life you're signing up for, I wouldn't touch that money. Because then you're trading being a slave to a mortgage company to being a slave to somebody who just gave you $320,000 and thinks they just bought a claim into your life. Yeah, I mean, he says he wants me to have peace of mind. And he's actually changed a lot, especially having grandkids now. He's a lot softer around the edges.

But you wouldn't be calling us if you were not nervous about taking this check. Well, of course. I mean, that's a lot of money. Yeah, but... He's your dad. How serious is this? Is this check? Well, of course. I mean, that's a lot of money. Yeah, but... He's your dad. How serious is this? Is this him telling you

you think he's going to weigh in more and you want him to stop weighing in or is this just, I want to be a big girl and do it on my own? Which one is it? Or is it both? Well, I mean,

I would like to do it on my own, but at the same time, i'm not going to tell somebody you can't give me 320 000 all right but then answer the other issue are you is you think he's going to give him more uh entree into your life to make a comment here and there if he does this i mean maybe a comment here and there but i don't think he's gonna i'll tell you what i would do a lot better so you called to get our opinion, yes? Of course. All right, I'll give you mine real quick. That issue lies with me. If I had an opportunity, my dad, because of his culture and wanted to give me the money and this was something he did, I would take it and I would go, you know, if he

makes a comment at Thanksgiving or makes a comment at Christmas or he comments on the kids' school, the kind of car we buy, I'm just going to smile and wave my favorite line from the movie Madagascar, the little penguin. Smile and wave, boys. I'm just going to take the high road and go, $320,000, debt-free house, $320,000. I don't know. I'm going to take it to my professional friend there. That's what I would do unless you know. So I'm thinking of Dave Ramsey came to me and said hey John you've been a faithful employee for x number of years I'm gonna give you $350,000 oh and by the way you're now on call 24 7 365 I wouldn't take that money I've been on call for 20 years I've lived that life I'm tired I want to go be with my family so I would tell him hey thanks

I appreciate that that'd be the money would awesome. I could do some great things with it, but it's not worth selling part of my soul. If he called me in and said, hey, here's $350,000. You've been a great faithful employee. I loved your work. And I just see you here for the next decade and just want to honor you and your family. I would do somersaults out the building and probably my shirt would fly off as I ran to my car screaming and yelling and cheering i'd be that happy okay and so only you know what the strings are with this money right and if it if you're saying no because i just want to do it myself that's ego that's what i'm saying flush that down the toilet man yeah that's how people stay chained to like car payments and

and student loans that's ego my kid got into this school you can't afford that school we're gonna make it work because that's ego if it is no my dad becomes a third adult in our household i'm not touching that money and i by the way if that's, if it's not a resentment thing, I would do it. And I, if I would put up with all of his stories, let him crow, you know, sing, scream about how he paid your house. I don't care. What if you were able to give your kids 320? I would, I would be so happy. I'd want to tell everybody a hundred percent. I was able to help my kids out like this. That's legacy. I don't hear anything, Michelle, that says you shouldn't take the money. I'd take the money.

I really would. Maybe do a little Monopoly money, humble pie, and eat it. I would pay the house off instantly. I'd go, Dad, this is great. You're the best. You're the man. I'm calling my dad right now. Me too.

Wow. This is The Ramsey Show. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman. I'm joined by my colleague, Dr. John Deloney. The phone number to jump in is 888-825-5225, 888-825-5225. Okay, so our fearless leader, old captain, my captain, James Childs, he emailed John and I earlier today.

He goes, guys, there's a viral video that I want to have you guys weigh in on. So, James, set this up for us because we've not seen it yet. So, what's going on? Yeah, I came up in one of our content meetings this morning, and it seemed like the perfect thing for you because it revolves around work. Okay. And it's one of those things where you watch it once and you have a certain reaction and then as it sinks in you're kind of like there's a deeper thing there so I didn't want to

set it up too much more than that but all right let's roll it work until we have to die just for the privilege of being alive we have to work somewhere just to afford a house that we're never at because we're working to afford the house is the meaning of life to work and pay taxes and then die on top of that we also have to work to afford our vehicle to get to work in other places and afford gas just to get to work and we also have to pay taxes for our roads to drive on to get to work and then we have to work for our children to go to school to learn how to work so our children know how to work for their children so that their children can go to school and go to work like somebody tell me that this. Like, is it lazy to just want to enjoy

life? Like, why do we have to work? Why? I'm stressed. I just check my student loans because I need... Interesting. So this went viral, you said? Yeah, okay. Well, okay, a couple things. John, I can see the tendency for some to just lay into this young lady and the snowflakery and these things. And I've seen some of these before and have made those comments, although I could understand if some see that. I see a little bit of desperation, and I think I see a whole lot of no understanding. And that's not her fault. Here's what I mean by that. I don't think the adults in her life, and I'm not just laying out the parents here, but we adults in her life, whoever we is, we've not done a good job of explaining that there is contribution that is involved with work.

Yes, we've got to work for provision. Does that suck? Sort of, kind of, if that's the way you look at it, right? But I didn't see, I saw sadness saw sadness i saw a lack of what is the whole point of all this i want to enjoy she goes should we enjoy life i think the answer is emphatically yes but i think when we see work as just this thing to get a paycheck and it's gonna suck uh and i gotta just muddle through it and the way she laid it out, I do think that's the way a lot of people look at work. I mean, we did a curriculum at Ramsey Solutions that we talked about this with high school students. And I asked about the dream job. And I said, what does that mean to you? And to a kid, they said, it's this idea of this thing I'd like to do, but I have no

chance of doing it. So if you look at that, then the idea of enjoying work and showing up and doing something that is meaningful when you do your show and you meet people in a place of pain and you step in with them and you give them hope, I mean, that's rewarding. And I just don't think she's been taught that there is a reward to work beyond a dollar. And I think we've failed in that regard. I'm going to say that. Yeah, and I think if the only places you work are soulless, giant corporations that you know the only thing you're contributing to is a few people at the top getting rich. You haven't connected what you do to, you're not solving a problem for somebody.

You are a cog in somebody yep um you are a cog in a machine you are a car in a traffic jam then that sort of desperation rings true and i get that yep um i've had to explain to people who aren't in our ecosystem like i've had to go develop hobbies because i like work because i've always tried to be about solving a problem for somebody. And I like doing that. And so here's when I get crossways and when I'm just sitting with people who struggle with mental health challenges, when I have a day off and I plan, quote unquote, I'm going to do nothing. I'm just going to do nothing tomorrow. Inevitably, about 11 o'clock, I am about 1,000 calories more in than I normally am. I feel miserable.

My neck hurts because I've been laying cockamamie, watching some stupid show that, like, we were not made to do nothing. You say this better than anybody. We're made to contribute to something bigger than we are. And this is a voice, I think,ally, that I wish politicians would listen to. That's right. We don't have a lost generation of quote-unquote snowflakes. We don't have a – because if you work with these, they work hard. And they weirdly care deeply.

They just have come to understand, oh, we are playing somebody else's game. We're contributing to nothing other than getting our boss another retirement home. And I'm out. I'm out. They've done the math, John. They have. They realize that the average American, they don't walk around saying this, but they've watched their parents and grandparents work what amounts to about 90,000 hours in their lifetime. And they get laid off. They get dropped. They get dropped they get they get cancer and there's like oh that's it that's this is it is what we i think this group has a chance to transform work as we know it absolutely but uh as i've said a million times if you spend the majority of your day using what you do best these are things you're good at yeah to do work you

enjoy to produce a result that you care about right that's really rewarding and you can't wait to get up and go do it again. You can't. You and I both, we share this. I mean, you stick us on a stage where we're answering questions with real people, we'll stand up there for hours. Well, you and I fly across the country and leave our families. That's how much we love it. 100%. And so what is that? So for us, that's helping people with that. But for other people, it's welding. For other people, it's teaching. For other people, it's being in a hospital and being bone tired. Yes. And taking one more surgery because you know that you can help and you love it.

I sat with some guys from Hiller Electric. I don't know if I called them out. They came to my house when our power went out. And my power is connected to our well. So we had no water. We had no power. And those guys wake up every day and say, we can help a family have a better day today.

That's right. And they just keep going and going. They have purpose behind the two. Is it hot? Yes. Is it exhausting? Yes. Is it the worst?

Yes. And there's a purpose tied to it. That's right. And so I think, here's my dream. I wish every leader, whether you have five people working for you or you're run a huge restaurant chain and you have 50,000 you're not just making burgers you're helping this person find a little bit of margin in time and eat so that they can be with their kids or they if you connect your

even your front-level employees to how we're helping somebody today yes people get they just become a part of it. Here's what I wish I could do. I wish I could hop in the car with her and go, hey, tell me what you're really good at. Yes. And we'd hear. Yep. And we'd hear some awesome things.

And we'd say, who are the people you really want to help? Or what are some of the problems in the world that make you upset and you would be rewarded if you solve those problems? And you begin to paint a picture that she has a unique design plus a unique story that tied together, she's got something where she goes, I would actually be really rewarded

and fired up to go do that. Oh, and by the way, make some money, have some life balance, leave work at work, go home, love all my friends, travel the world,

do some cool things, give some of that money to somebody or like tara the person who takes care of our calendar if you ask her that's what do you put on earth to do yeah to be the best executive assistant who ever lived yeah those kind of things make me want to pull my fingernails out i get it and every day she wakes up and she's like i'm gonna go make this i'm gonna do the best job i can and then these guys are gonna get where they need to go and they're gonna get to be with their families. And it doesn't matter what jazzes you up. It doesn't have to be an Instagram reel. But go find that thing.

Culture, what we've done here, and adults, what we've done here is we've given these kids the wrong picture of life. It's not work 90,000 hours, hope to have enough left over in your 401k, that that's when I get to enjoy life. And it's not work to buy the fanciest car to get you to the job. It's work for contribution and adjust your lifestyle to that. I keep coming back to, every time we have these discussions, to the largest millionaire study ever done by Ramsey Solutions and teachers. A median salary in the United States right now is $61,000 and arguably one of the worst workplaces in America right now.

They're leaving in droves, but they're everyday millionaires. Why? They make peace with the Corolla. That's it. You nailed it. They make peace with the Corolla. That's it. It's a great car.

Get me to and from. I'm going to go help kids. And they're fine with it because they know they're turning on light bulbs every day, and kids that they're teaching are changing the world. Appreciate the video, James. That really is a big, grand discussion. Hey, James, try to track her down on Instagram. Let's have her on the show.

Wouldn't that be great to actually have her on? That's a brilliant idea. This is The Ramsey Show. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman. Dr. John Deloney joins me. 888-825-5225. We're here to help you win in your life, specifically your money, your relationships,

mental health, and your work so you can make more money, get in the right seat on the bus. Whatever it is, we're here to take your questions today, 888-825-5225. Every dollar is our world-class budgeting app that helps you manage money the Ramsey way. Every dollar works. Wherever you are, iOS, Android, or online, you can start for free and just get an idea of how easy it is. You get organized, stop overspending, and save more money. If you're new to EveryDollar, we'll show you a long-term financial roadmap, track your net worth, your debt-free date, retirement date, baby step progress, and so much more. It's like your awesome mentor right there on your device,

and we'll coach you to win with money and build wealth. Download the free app for iOS and Android, or go to everydollar.com, everydollar.com to get started. All right, let's go to Alberta, Canada. Kim is with us now. Kim, how can we help? Hi, thanks for taking my call. My question is, how much of my income should I set aside each month to start and build a business so that I can leave my nine-to-five? Okay, give us a little bit more of your side business picture. How much

is it making? How much are you making in your day job? So I haven't started the business at all. Oh, okay. All right, so let's look at your current income. So what do you make? Sure. So I make $130 a year, and my net monthly after I pay all my expenses is $6,000. Okay, so $6,000 left over after all expenses. And do you have any debt? I have no debt. Wow. Okay, what is this business that you're looking to start? So I'm kind of back and forth around two ideas. One is a digital marketing agency, and the other is a property management company for vacation rentals. Okay. And how much time do you see yourself having to put into those businesses? Think of A and B. So digital marketing, A, and let's call property

manager, B. How much do you think you have to put into those to get those up and running? Much time. How much time? Yeah, probably I would say at least like 20 hours a week. 20 hours a week. And then how much money? And how much money? I think that my startup costs would be five to $6,000. And then I would have probably 1500 to 2000 each month. Just depends if I wanted to run like targeted spot, like Facebook ads or something that would make my cost go up. Okay. And are you single married? What's your relationship status? I'm single on my own. I like, I rent a three bedroom house for $2,300 a month, but then I rent out the other two bedrooms. So one is a larger bedroom with two

twin beds and I rent those out for $750 each. And then I have a third single bedroom I rent out for $950. So my rental income is like $2,450 a month. And then I pay the landlord $2,300. So yeah, you're doing great. My only other question is... I drive a used vehicle. Yeah. No, you're amazing. I know that. is vehicle yeah no you're amazing i know that so uh before i tell you what i think on this the six thousand that you have left over after all expenses that include you uh investing 15 of your income that does not do you have an emergency fund of three to six months expenses

i'm on baby step three right now right okay So I would fully fund Baby Step 3 and then I would move into Baby Step 4 and be investing 15%. Once we achieve those two things, then I would save up, you're going to save up very quickly, the, I think you said $6,000, $5,000 to $6,000, what you think is a startup cost. I would save up the startup cost. And I would also save up six months of operations before I ever launched. I really would. I'm very conservative on that. But the reason is, is because I want you to have stress-free startup for a side hustle. It's hard enough to start a business. There's so many different potholes that we know that entrepreneurs go through in that first year of the business. And I'd love for you to be pretty stress-free to go, this is kind of burn it in the

middle of the table money. I know that I'm investing in me and this business. And so I've got that set aside. And with the margin you have and the discipline you have, I think you can do that. And I want to get John to weigh in here. And that leads me to this last piece, which is you've got to choose on these. And I would spend some time. I wrote a book called The Proximity Principle that I'm going to give you as my gift. And it just simply says this. In order to do what Kim wants to do, she's got to be around people that are doing it.

And I want you to have hangout time with copious notes from people that are running both of those businesses before you choose and before you launch. Does that make sense? Like sit down, take them for a coffee? Yeah. So let's say John right here was a digital marketing stud. And I mean, he'd been in business for several years, crushing it. I'd want to sit down with John, lunch and coffee. And I mean, I'm not doing much talking other than asking questions. And I've got a pencil and I've got a notebook and I'm going, John, how did you start? What kind of cash did you have when you started? What were the hardest things you had to deal with? What were the traps? What are best practices? I mean, I'm going to basically do a college level research paper on ideally a couple people that have won in those two businesses. Let me tell you why.

I'm going to get all the information I need from my head, and then my heart's going to ultimately decide, I think. I think you do both of those, your heart's going to go ding, ding, ding, ding, or eh, when you hear the good, the bad, the ugly. John, your thoughts on that? Yeah. How does that hit you? Yeah, that's a good idea. I haven't sat down with anyone in property management. I know some people who run digital agencies. I could talk to them. And here's what you're probably going to find. You're going to find either they say, I wouldn't do this again for anything. Or they're going to tell you, like when people ask me about my job, I just tell them,

I feel like I'm running a scam. I can't believe I get paid to do the work that I get to do. And property managers are going to tell you, dude, it's amazing. It's a headache over here. It's really great over here, but incredible.

Or they're going to tell you, please, for all that is good in the world, don't do this you know i mean but if they say that kim ask him why follow up why because what you've got if what i'm trying to do here is get the head and the heart aligned that the head is the logic yeah you think it's going to cost five thousand bucks you don't really know we don't know and so we want to have a real good lot. Let the brain do what it does best. Gather information, logically walk through it, but then let the heart decide. And you might have someone go, well, listen, you can make this, you can make this, you make this, but I'll tell you what, if I had to do all over again, you know, whatever. And you go, I don't really care because I'm not

wired like you. I think I'd love that. So that's the process that I want you to gather, gather, gather, gather. And it's a selection process. Here's the other reality. You might sit down and do both of these and go, it's neither one of these. Which, by the way, great, because you're still stacking up money. And you've got an entrepreneurial desire in you to work for you, yes? Yes. Then the selection is so important.

But a lot of entrepreneurs get, we get enticed by opportunity A, opportunity B, and we go, is it opportunity C? That's what I want you to do. All right, Ken, I'm going to ask Ken a question. Kim, on your behalf, is that cool? Sure. Ken, how many people that you've talked to over the years

are like Kim? They make a astound, a great income, six figure income. They've kind of figured out life a little bit, not afraid to have roommates, make the extra money, not afraid to not tied or identity to a car. And sometimes when we get settled psychologically, we begin, we're wired. We're not wired for settling. We're wired for perseverance. And we start looking over the next hill. And I hear this all the time, quote unquote, if I could just do this full time, whatever this is. And there's this fantasy that if I wasn't doing this other thing, if I wasn't married to her anymore, if I wasn't living in this house,

and what I always tell them is, whoa, whoa, whoa, no matter what you do, you go with you. And it might be fun to dream about, and she might even get one digital marketing client and be like, yeah. But she's making all this from a platform of, she makes $135,000 and has health insurance and has all this stuff worked out. How often do you have people jumping ship too soon to this magic land of doing this full time? To the tune of millions. It's called the great regret. We all heard about the great resignation. What people didn't pay attention to is how many millions of people left for a better job, this better life, this better check, all these things.

And they went with it. They got there and they were like, oh, that's not what I was looking for. So it happens a lot. And that's why it's a great question. That's why, Kim, I really want you to do the work. Let the head and the heart connect and align. And when you get the ding, ding, ding, then we move. This is The Ramsey Show.

Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman. Dr. John Deloney joins me. And we are here for you. 888-825-5225. If you've got any work-related questions, you're not making the money you want to make, maybe you feel like you've been overlooked or you're feeling burned out, those burnout calls, as you're thinking about next year, John and I love those calls. There's really two sides to

that coin. We'd love to take any of those calls, your mental health relationship questions, Dr. John, in session today, and of course, your money calls. Feel free to call us. We're here to help you guys. 888-825-5225. Colin is up next in St. Louis. Colin, how can we help? Hi. So I'm 25 years old, and I had a question on if me and my wife should pay off our truck or save the money. We have a two-year-old. We got married two months ago, and we have $6,200 left on the truck. Our take-home pay per month is about $5,600, but with another baby on the way at nine weeks, we don't know if we should go into stork mode or go ahead and pay it off.

Yeah, well, congratulations on the little one coming. That's exciting stuff. The baby's coming in nine weeks, or she's nine weeks down the road? Nine weeks down the road. Okay. All right, so we've got $6,200 left on the truck. Is that the only debt you have? We have her car, but we are going on stork mode for her car because it's a little further out. Well, give me the whole debt picture then real quick. Okay. No student loans.

We're cash flowing that. Basically, just the truck and the car, I think we owe $11,000, $12,000 on her car and $6,200 on my truck. But her car payment is basically $270 a month and mine's close to $800. Yeah. Well, we normally give this advice. We want to make sure we batten down the hatches. We want to be very smart for the baby. So what would you say? Do you know what your out-of-pocket would cost for the delivery and all that? Have you done your homework to see, okay, what kind of cash would we need beyond insurance?

Yes. So her insurance, she's a teacher. So basically her insurance is really good uh it's 5 000 out the door and we have that set aside already well what do you think john i mean he's got the 5 000 you never know other costs so what do you do for a living man i'm a carpenter carpenter so let me throw option three at you. And I do this thought experiment just for myself. Me and my wife do it all the time. If I ever feel like I have an either or, I always invent a couple of other options just in case.

I'm not cornering myself on accident. So let me give you an option three. What if you continued as a carpenter to stack money up? And we talked about this on an earlier call and friday after thanksgiving you wallpapered your neighborhood with um odd jobs and so i tell you this like my wife um asked me to hang up a couple of ceiling fans and change three or four light fixtures and then at the top of our in our upstairs upstairs area, a light went out. So I got to get a big lighter to go fix it. If some guy knocked on my door Friday morning and said, Hey, for a couple of 300 bucks, I'll, I'll do these odd jobs. I would sign it that second. And what if you put

a number, you've got nine months, okay. Eight and a half months. What if you put, actually, that's not math, seven months. What if you put a number? I want 10,000 extra dollars. And honey, I'm going to put the gas pedal down and I'm going to work odd jobs in the morning and the evenings on the weekends. And so when baby comes, we will have this cash stacked and we're going to be debt free on both cars. Okay. So I guess maybe a caveat to that is I do have the cash from odd jobs to pay off the truck. Okay. And you also have the cash for the $5,000 out the door for the pregnancy and the delivery, correct? Yes. We have $22,000 liquid at this point. Dude, lead with that next time. Pay the truck off.

You're fine. I was going to just follow John and say, look, in your situation financially, I wouldn't stop paying on the truck or car at all. I didn't know you had it in the bank. I'd definitely pay off both today because that's $17,000, and you've still got $5 over plus the five for the delivery. So you're covered for just a standard pregnancy. You're still going to have five left over.

And what are you paying? So your car payment, you're getting a big raise from those two car payments. Yes. Bro! What are you doing? I think part of our problem is we're living with my parents right now, so she's ready to nest, essentially, or start nesting and looking at a house or something to rent.

Well, that doesn't change any of the advice we give you because you don't need to be taking on renting and all this stuff if you've still got debt and you've got this little situation here. You could pay this off today, then you can go rent. Right? Pay it off today, and then we go rent. Because you've got a nice deposit. Get your wife an apartment for Christmas.

Get out of the house. Yeah, I love this idea. John, with the idea of the year, that's the Christmas present. Merry Christmas, hand her some keys to an apartment. Oh, yeah, buy a fancy box. Have no debt. And then you're making what six thousand bucks a month right 6200 oh wait wait wait take home was 5600 yes not including side jobs yes right

okay john's already painted that picture i mean dude you're a carpenter is that what i heard yes dude you have more work than you could possibly do yes hey hold on you're making 5300 take home with her job and your job uh 5600 between the two of us and not including that's that's me full-time and her full-time you're not charging enough man and then uh the side jobs bring in anywhere from five grand a month to nothing you're not charging enough dude well either way you know your market out there i'm hoping that you're charging what the market rate is in st louis but listen you understand what we're telling you to do you cut the check for 17 grand a check for 11 and a check for 6,200 as soon as the call

is over. Now you're going into a second trial with no debt at all. And you still got 5,000 in an emergency fund for baby step three, three to six months. You already got 5,000 set aside in the stork fund. You guys are okay, man. And let's get that emergency fund up over the next seven months. I agree. That emergency fund would be the insurance on anything that would happen. I'll let her know. I'll let her listen to this. I'm so glad. I'm so glad.

I was worried. We're worried because if we don't have a lot liquid, we feel like we're scared. We're terrified. If you do what John said and put a flyer up all over st louis saying experience trade carpenter for hire dude no job too small you would be inundated put it on facebook marketplace in your neighborhood okay there's a virus christmas lights yeah anything i'll go get your christmas tree and then i'll come pick it up after christmas i'd give you a million dollars for that job just kidding i hate dealing with an old christmas tree

but it's just like endless amounts of work right now if you if you'll go out and get it you sound like somebody who hustles but here's a here's a rule of thumb if you can enter into this next kid you've got ten thousand dollars in the bank plus the five that you've already set aside so this is you earning another ten grand right and you're able to find an apartment that y'all can afford don't go get something knucklehead but y'all gonna have an apartment you can afford um you're you're just good to go you have no debt you don't owe anybody anything you got ten thousand dollars that's three months emergency fund you got a new place and you've got all the thing paid for let me give you a little little nugget here i think this may help colin if if your girlfriend

or wife excuse me if your wife is like hey i don't know about paying off the 11 000 just say hey babe this is how much of a raise we're going to get when we get rid of those two car payments and that's going to go towards your new apartment like bob barton you see that you see where i'm going because she may push back on that but you got 22 in the bank you're still going to go towards your new apartment. Like Bob Barton. I see that. You see where I'm going? Because she may push back on that. But you got 22 in the bank. You're still going to have five left over. And oh, by the way, babe, it makes it easy for us to afford that apartment. She's going to be so thrilled to have her own nest.

That's how you win that deal if there's a little pushback. Yeah. I don't know if that's going to work or not, but it feels like it would work. I just think it'd be pretty good. She wants a nest. It'd be pretty cool. Yeah. One time I rented a house. My wife thought she was coming to move into a residence hall

and I rented a house and it's one of my greatest Christmases ever. I got goosebumps on that one. I put a Christmas tree in it and said Merry Christmas and pretty good. You're such a romantic Dr. Deloney. That's what they used to call me, the romantic. The romantic.

No one's ever called me that, actually. Never. Not one time. Never. Ever. All right, folks. Great hour. Thanks to James Childs, our fearless leader, and my colleague, Dr. John Deloney.

And you, America, this is The Ramsey Show. Thank you.