The Ramsey Show - App - Should I Sell My Rental To Pay Off Debt? (Hour 2)

Episode Date: July 12, 2024

This is the Ramsey Show. America thrilled to have you with us. This is where we help you win in your life. What does that mean? That means winning in your money, winning in your work, winning in your relationships. All three of those areas really are intertwined, and we want to help you get that stuff untangled so that you are living the life that you dream of. The American dream is alive and well, despite what you may hear or see on the various platforms.

I'm Ken Coleman. George Camel is with me, One of my good, good friends who we just happened to get to do this amazing show together. So fun. You know, I don't want to take that for granted, buddy. You and I have got a very similar path. We've known each other for a long time. Over a decade. We were in this role, and now we sit here. Would you have guessed

10, 12 years ago we'd be sitting here today? I would have been flabbergasted if you had told me. And by the way, can I just say on air, happy 10th Ramsiverse weekend. We got to celebrate you in a recent staff meeting with the whole Ramsey team, but that was fun

to see you get honored up there. Thank you. 10 years goes fast when you're having fun. A decade here at Ramsey. There you go. There you go. 888-825-5225

is the phone number. 888-825-5225. George and I fashion ourselves as the really fun group, the fun tandem. So we're going to have some fun and give you some practical advice. We'll see how that first part goes. What's that?

And Ken loves fashion. Yeah, I do. As do you, Mr. Bomber Jacket. It's an easy go-to, you know. There you go. How many of those do you have, by the way? Too many and not enough. There you go.

All right, let's go to Greg in St. Louis, Missouri. Greg, how can we help? Yes, sir. Hey, it's a pleasure talking to you, Ken and George. I've listened to you guys for several years and appreciate getting a chance to hear some wisdom and opinions from you. All right. George will give you the wisdom. I'll give you the opinion.

You both got both. All right. I've got some property I'm wanting to set up in a trust for my children and grandchildren. And I'm kind of new at everything. I have seen a lawyer and got another appointment to see one. And basically, I want to set it up in a trust. And well, I just want to set it up in a trust and protect it. I guess you could say so that I'm sure that they'll get this inheritance, but, uh, I wanted to do that. I got about 120 acres and, um, I want to put it in the, uh, will and trust to be when it

was sold to be dispersed that way. And prior to that, I'm hoping to maybe sell part of it and invest that in some, I don't know what. I was going to get your guys' opinion, CDs. And also I wanted to purchase a home in Florida with some of the balance. So what I'm looking at is about 60 acres at 10,000, and then I'm going to keep 60 acres and my home, and not sure what I'll do with it from there. So I got a question here for George Ways In. Why are you considering the trust as opposed to just in your will or whatever the situation there? Why the trust idea? Well, I really don't know, Ken, all the different nuances about everything. I just know that I have

nothing set up right now. And I got to say, my marriage is, you know, I don't want to say not that great. And I'm not sure where that's all going to go, so I'm kind of just trying to get some stuff lined out to keep things in check. Did you have all of this acreage before the marriage? Yes, sir, I did. Actually, about five years prior to that. Okay, and she knows about it. Knows about what? The acreage?

Yes, the land. Yes, we lived here on it for about the last 40-something years. Okay, that makes the difference because you guys own property and live on the property, and so this might be considered a marital asset. Well, hold on, George. The only thing is we've lived separate for about the last since 08, and other than some, some back and forth,

you know, between the two residences, it's just been a big mess. Never anticipated my family or myself would be in such a messed up dysfunctional deal, but I am. So you guys are not, you guys are only married by actual law. You guys have not been married for some time.

Well, I will say she did file for divorce about three years ago, and I did not agree to it, wanted to reconcile. We reconciled partly, and I've been hearing and feeling some of the bad stuff coming back from then. You reconciled to the point that you still live separately since 2008? Well, the divorce was just three years ago. Well, Greg, what are you hanging on to at this point? You guys haven't lived together in 16 years. I don't know.

I guess because we've been married. You haven't been. No, we haven't been. Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore slept in separate beds. You guys are in different houses. I mean, this is not normal. No, we haven't been. Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore slept in separate beds. You guys are in different houses. I mean, this is not normal. No, sir, it's not. I'd say she classified it as a modern, I don't know, modern marriage.

But it's not anything I've really been for, none of it. So this is where I'm at. And short of a divorce and a complete whatever happens i don't know but i did want to try to structure something to protect uh so it sounds like so it sounds like i'm going to read between the lines here a little bit uh sounds like you're not sure if you're going to do the divorce or not in my opinion you guys are divorced emotionally this is an absolute i don't know what you know train wreck the state of missouri and the judges will decide is marital assets when you haven't lived together for 16 years but it

feels like you're trying to keep her keep this land from going to her that's what it feels that is that is true because that's been seeming like one of her main driving factors uh you know she's not on the title and i don't know exactly till i find some more out about it but you know she's not on the title and i don't know exactly till i find some more out about it but you know she's stated in the past she wasn't really worried about the kids she's wanting to do some different things with the money and like you say i don't believe she's really too interested in being married i'll tell you this great news flash your instincts are right yes and a divorce is going to turn a marriage into a business transaction. And so your best bet now is trying to do this all as amicably as possible and try to protect your assets.

I think you're doing the right thing to protect your legacy and your financial world. And, again, I'm not the in trust to figure all of this out and decide what is the right thing based on your state laws and your situation. three feels better because you're going to get some differing opinions. You want to come away from the three meetings with where all three lawyers on the same page. That's where you get the knowledge base to go, what is it that I want to do? You don't want them telling you what to do. George, you agree with that? Absolutely. I think that's just a bare minimum. Let's get three, maybe four opinions on what your options are. You need to assemble a team at this point, Greg. One, you need a financial advisor and you can get connected with a SmartVestor Pro at RamseySolutions.com. You need a good estate attorney.

You need a good trust lawyer and probably a good insurance broker as well. And that's going to help you navigate whatever's next. But I would – please, I'm begging you, just take the next step. You're living in limbo for decades. Yes, sir. With a pseudo relationship. We both kind of acknowledge that, even though, I don't know. We've got five kids. It's just a big messed up deal for sure.

I don't know what to conclude out of it. I'm pretty, well, 66, so it's not like I'm really looking forward to any of it, but I guess I need to. Well, you've got to move on to the next chapter. You've got a lot of life to live, Greg, and this ain't it. We've been slogging through the mud for a long time because we don't want to deal with the inevitable. So now's the time.

You're not getting any younger. Make a clear decision about what we're going to do going forward and live with it. Thanks for the call. I feel so bad for you, but there's some clarity on the other side of all this. This is The Ramsey Show. How you doing out there, America? Are you winning with your money? Are you winning in your work? Are you winning in your relationships? If not, this is the place for you,

safe place. We're going to help you out. We're going to give you some hope with some practical advice. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins you this hour in his bomber jacket. 888-825-5225 888-825-5225 888-825-5225 I just want to point out that those are great, but when they go out, you're in trouble.

I'm fine. You're going to have a whole closet. Here's the thing. I'm always being told Gen Z decided skinny jeans are out and no-show socks are out. And frankly, I'm sick of it. Oh, okay. Why are we taking advice from them about fashion? This is a thing?

It's a thing. That the no-show socks? No-show socks are out. Your kids probably wear the tall white socks. Oh, I've seen that. The tall white Nike socks. Apparently, you have to flip them inside out. I'm tired of it, Ken.

I don't like that at all. I don't like that. I'm curmudgeonly. I'll tell you what I'd go for since I'm a child of the 80s. I'd go for the tube socks with the stripes. If those come back, I'm in.

I'll rock those mid-shin. My hope is eventually whatever I'm wearing comes back in style at some point. I'm too lazy to switch out a wardrobe every year because some 18-year-old decided it wasn't cool.

Well, good for you, George. Bomber jackets will be in forever. I'm rising above the trends. Okay. Tony is on the line in Washington, D.C. Tony, how can we help today? Hi. So my question is, I finally decided to follow the baby steps the right way and decided to sell my rental property. So I put it on the market, and I got no offers except an investor, like a really low offer, and then no one even viewed the home. So my question is, do I take – it's not really a loss because I owe $91,000

on the home, and it's worth like $314,000 now. So how much do I lower the price? I lowered it for $15,000 and still no hits. And the offer that I got that was from an investor, it was like $100,000 below. When you say you lowered it, are you working with a pro real estate agent on this? Yes. Okay. And what is their take on why this hasn't sold and the strategy around lowering the price? So she said that because of the market, the interest rates, she said that right when I listed it, the Federal Reserve or something went up again on the rate. So buyers are nervous. And then my home is not rural, but it's growing, so it's a demand area off and on.

Okay, but what about the pricing? So it's not like in the mix. Did she think your pricing was correct? Yes, she said it was correct, and it was comfortable. And how long has it been on the market? About 30 days. Oh, for heaven's sakes, you got to be patient. Yeah, we're seeing things that depending on your area, it could be 60 to 90 days.

Yeah. Sit tight. I don't know that I fully trust this real estate agent. If I'm in your shoes, I'm going to connect with a Ramsey trusted real estate agent. You can do that at ramsysolutions.com slash agent. And I would get a second opinion and see what they think about all of this and go, hey, here's how we staged it. Here's how we listed it. Here was the strategy.

What do you think? Yeah. And part of it, they may look at it and go, yeah, you got to be patient. The days on market for your zip code is XYZ. But I wouldn't just sit on this and keep lowering the price. Okay. Yeah. So at any point, so if I, without any views, without any offers, at what point do you like, how much of a, it's not a loss because of how much equity I have,

but should I lower it to get rid of it to pay my debt or no, like we just told you, you're, you told you. Listen, sit tight on this. I wouldn't even start wringing my hands about price if you do what George says. I think you need to go to ramsaysolutions.com slash agent. And I think you need to interview two or three

and see what they would do if it were their listing. They're trying to win your business. I don't have the cash flow to continue to have it sit for long periods of time. So you've got some desperation. Because you're burning through, you're paying the mortgage, the property taxes, the homeowner's insurance. Did you have this rented at some point? Yes, it's been rented for about seven years. And what happened? How long has it been vacant? About two months now.

How long can you float this thing? I can do about one more month because I paid the mortgage for about three now. All right. And did you say you dropped the price already on it? Yes. You dropped it $15,000? I dropped it by $15,000, yes. Yeah. Here's the challenge, Tony. George, I dropped it by $15,000, yes. Yeah. Here's the challenge, Tony. George, I don't know what you think, and we're not the actual real estate pros, but we got them. But, Tony, your first response to us going to talk to our pros, I can't sit on this for long. Go talk to some pros that we're telling you to talk to and see if you tell them I am extremely motivated and you tell them why, they understand, and they're going to give you the best strategy.

So you still need to go talk to them, and that's not going to take you very long. We're not talking like burning sunlight on that deal. But back to this again, I don't know if these pros are going to agree with me on this, but my gut says that lowering the price by 15 more doesn't necessarily move the timeline up when you've got the situation we have in America today. People are just taking longer. Yeah, you need more info about why this property is undesirable and why it's been sitting.

And if this is normal in your area and what can be done to remedy this as a curb appeal, do we need to make a renovation? Do we need to take it off the market for a while? I don't know, but we need more info. All right, George, I want to get George's opinion, Tony, on something else. George, I'm going to go back into the call. All right. So, Tony, you said that you had an investor offer you a low offer.

What is the listing price as it sits today? It's $300,000 right now. And this investor offered you $200,000 for it? I don't remember, but I know it was like $85,000 less than what I originally paid. How long ago was that? About three weeks ago. Did you count her? No. Okay.

George, if she gets desperate, I want to know what you think here. And I know you don't know what the real estate pros are going to say, but I'm bringing this to you. If she's in a tough situation and she does have equity, I wonder if she doesn't go back. I'm asking you on her behalf. Does she go back to that investor and go, okay, you offered me this, 85 less. I'll tell you what, I'll do a deal if you come up to this and maybe she counter offers. My guess is they offer probably around 230 then. And maybe you say, hey, I would do it.

My lowest I'll go is 270, something like that. And work with your agent on this. Don't do this all solo. And come up with a strategy to where you still win. You're not leaving at a huge loss. And you do need to have some patience. So you like that. I would at least negotiate with the investor yeah my guess is they

go no thanks i'm trying to get a crazy bargain you know basement bargain deal here and that's okay but you never know unless you try but she's got to know her limit you got to know the limit what do you think is her limit knowing her debt what do you think if you were her that's what i'm trying to do is give her because i don't want her to be desperate what'd you pay for it i pay 125 in 2014 okay so this is appreciated you've done well you're not really losing here you're not really selling at a loss you've already gained you know equity the house is appreciated that's what i'm wondering what's your bottom dollar if you're here oh boy if i'm her she listed at 314 that's the going rate i

probably wouldn't personally take less than 290 okay and but she's struggling she's gonna have to go make some more money she's gonna have to or you get a new renter in there for another six month lease there you go and see what the market does you know you with us tony on this i mean these are your options here's the deal though I know you're feeling the pressure. And the reason I brought George into these what-ifs is I think it helps to have all these options on the table so that you realize you're not without option. The moment you start feeling like you're in a corner is when you do something dumb. And that's where the agent, if you get with one of these Ramsey Trusted Pros, they're going to be pulling comps in the area. They're going to be pulling all the data because I like to make a

data-driven decision, not just emotion, not because I'm sick of it, because it's been sitting. I want to know all the facts. And that's what I'm asking you to go do. Yeah. Thanks for the call, Tony. Yeah, George, that's again, so here's the crux of this situation is that she's in so much debt and the cashflow in the situation. And this is what we see happen all the time. You give advice on this all the time. People think, oh, I'm going to get into real estate. They get starry-eyed over some, you know, roided-up, limp-biscuit-looking dude on Instagram who told them everyone should buy real estate.

And then we're in a bind, and we're losing money on these deals. We're stressed out. It's not the rosy picture that was painted for us on social. And that's why we teach the baby steps. Go slow. Pay cash for investment property. I don't care if it takes you five or ten years instead of one. It's the right way. That's right. Because this is a great point, George. She actually has equity and still stressed out of her mind. Can't get rid of it fast enough. Not worth the stress. Oh my goodness. All right, folks. We're going to get the lint roller out on George's

bomber jacket and get ready for the next segment. You don't want to miss it. Callers are still lined up. 888-825-5225. This is The Ramsey Show. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show, where we help people win in their life, win with their money, win in their work, and win with their relationships. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins me. The phone number to jump in is 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. George, have you vacated this year? I just came back for the fourth.

Went to Florida to see my wife's family. All right. So that was the full panhandle. It was a trip. Can I just be honest? It was a trip. It wasn't a vacation. I could use a vacation. Oh, uh-huh. It was a trip. Can I just be honest? It was a trip. It wasn't a vacation. I could use a vacation.

Oh, okay. Why was it just a trip? Well, when you bring a baby and you get out of the pack and play and through airports and chaos, it just wasn't as relaxing as I would have liked. All right. So I could use some relaxation. Do you like cruises, George? To be honest, have not been one. Never been on a cruise?

Not in my adult life. Well, I think you should join us on the Live Like No One Else Cruise, because I'm told you're there. Is this an invite? I'm told you're already on it, just like I am. Dave Ramsey, Rachel Cruz, Dr. John Delaney, Jade Warshaw, all the personalities, plus a special guest. It's back. It was a thing, and then COVID hit.

And we had to cancel it. Poor timing. Poor timing to launch the first ever Ramsey Cruise. First ever Ramsey Cruise. Right before a pandemic. And so now it's back, March 22 through 29 of 2025. Ramseysolutions.com slash cruise for all the details. But George, it's, you know what, listen, I'm not a big cruise guy. All right. I like my feet on the land. I like having options, but I'm told this thing is

unbelievable. We sat in a meeting. I'm actually looking forward to it. Oh, yeah. I got some family coming with me. Are you bringing the wife and child? I'm going to try. You know, I don't want to leave my wife on babysitting duty while I'm enjoying the cruise. Well, you're playing shuffleboard with me. Exactly. So we got to figure the logistics out,

but I am actually super pumped about this. Tell people about the locations, because I'm going to tell you something. When you get down to the Caribbean, by the way, I was just in Barbados. And I asked the locals, James, do you say Caribbean or Caribbean? And the locals say Caribbean. So therefore, that's where I'm going.

That's all that matters. You can say whatever you want, tomato, tomato. I'm going Caribbean, not Caribbean. But tell people about these destinations. We're going to Turks and Caicos, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas. Incredible stops. There's going to be fun excursions. Of course, plenty of entertainment on the cruise ship.

On top of all the personalities, we're going to be speaking. Special guests. We've got Manit Chauhan from Food Network. We have musicians. Stephen Curtis Chapman is going to join us. Saddle up your horses on the cruise ship. We've got magicians, songwriters. It's going to be us. Saddle up your horses on the cruise ship. I don't know how that's going to work. We've got magicians, songwriters.

It's going to be a good time. And let me tell you who this is for. This is for those who have followed the baby steps, they've become debt-free, and they're looking for a way to celebrate with other Ramsey fans and the Ramsey team. So it's the ultimate debt-free celebration. I think we're going to bust through the world record for largest debt-free scream, which will be a good time. Oh, that's right.

So quick review. What are the dates? March 22 through 29, 2025. We don't have a ton of spots left. It's already moving towards a quick sellout. So all you've got to do is put a $600 deposit down. Lock in your spot. That will lock in your spot. You do it at ramseysolutions.com slash cruise, ramseysolutions.com slash cruise. Here's what's exciting. George has never cruised before, and he has a propensity for wearing the bomber jackets. No bomber jackets allowed on that, but I'm picking out some really tasteful, preppy- Some matching trunks? Boat attire. Yeah. Oh, I see.

You see what I mean? Yeah. I've got to get a base tan first. I'm getting you some Sperrys, you know, getting you the right kind of shirts, collar up maybe. I feel like you can pull that off. All right. I'll let Ken get the wardrobe, but you guys have to join us to see it for yourself. Yeah, it's going to be great fun. All right. To the phones we go.

888-825-5225. Spencer joins us now in Raleigh, North Carolina. Spencer, how can we help? Hey, guys. Thanks so much for taking my call. I appreciate it. Sure. What's going on?

Hey, I'm in a kind of crazy time of life. I had what I was hoping was going to be a lifelong career. I loved it. I was one of the people that got up at 8 a.m. to go to work and was grateful. Yeah. My wife would have to pry me away from the computer and was included in a pretty sizable company layoff in March of this year. And we're pretty responsible with our money,

but it's taken a whole lot longer to find another job than either of us thought it would. Just kind of the way it is right now. A lot of people are on LinkedIn talking about layoffs in the tech world, and we trust God's sovereignty, but ultimately we're going to have to find something. But in the meantime, I guess we're looking for wisdom, maybe out-of-the-box creative solutions for how to stay afloat as long as possible in such a complicated time.

Are there maybe strategies that haven't come to mind for us yet, or are there resources available that we don't know about to kind of be able to keep our heads up while we wait? All right, well, let's do a couple things. George is the master at cutting expenses and getting creative that way. I want to bring him in, but let's get a couple of things first here. What was the income you were making? I was making $80,000 a year. Okay. And what were you doing specifically in tech? I'm a software developer. Okay. How long have you been doing it?

Two, two and a half years. Okay. Are you doing anything right? Well, let me ask this. Did you have any kind of a severance at all? Yeah, it was a month of income, I think. All right. And are you doing anything for work right now? I mean, I don't care if it's two part-time jobs, one part-time. Are you doing anything to bring income in? I'm trying to build up my resume as much as possible through training and certifications. Yeah, but that doesn't get you paid.

Yeah, okay. Right. My wife has two home businesses that have been helping a ton, but they're not going to be a long-term solution. Okay. So what's the deficit right now? Do you have to make 80 to actually get by? Or what would allow you guys to actually get by? What's that number of income? Yeah, 80 is above staying afloat, fortunately. So what are your monthly expenses? Like if you add up your food, utility, shelter, transportation, insurance transportation insurance no luxuries what is it going to take to get by for one month um average month probably three thousand okay so that becomes our baseline goal if nothing else we've got to come up with three thousand dollars to stay afloat and let me jump in real quick george because i'm going to let you take over here on the cutting. But listen to me, Spencer. You have got to go work.

It doesn't have to be in your field right now, okay? But if you can be a laborer on a construction crew and make $18 to $20 an hour, that gets you pretty close to that $36,000 is what we're saying. You go do one, two, three jobs so that you stay afloat. Staying afloat is just as important as the next job. And I understand the tech field is contracting a little bit, but the good news is you're an experienced programmer. And I'm going to give you the proximity principle. It's a best-selling book. I want you to read it. If you prefer the audio book, we'll get that to you. Christian will get it to you when we're done. And you've got to really use the formula there of the right people and the right places. If I keep showing up, then I am going to get an opportunity. But George,

let's walking through where he cuts. Let's get really extreme here. Yeah, it's $3,000. Is that everything you absolutely need, or is there some things like eating out that we could cut? We currently, we don't eat out unless a day has just been really insane. We don't really have much of a list. Every day is insane when you're unemployed. So we've got to figure out a way to meal plan, have food ready in the fridge. Okay, so that one we can cut.

What about subscriptions? Do you have any subscriptions that are excessive, anything that's not your basic internet? 120 a year for Amazon Prime, I think, is the only quote subscription we have. That one can go right now because we don't have money to be spending and buying stuff on Amazon. So that can free up a little bit right there. And so you start to add these up. It may not sound like a lot at first. And like, here's another example, reshopping insurance. Have you reshopped your insurance in a while for home and auto? I would jump on to ramsaysolutions.com slash checkup. You can take that quiz. We'll connect you with some Ramsey trusted insurance

pros. And a friend of mine just did this, saved $80 a month with better coverage than they had. So that's something right there. You've got to get creative, find out ways to make more and spend less. That's going to get you by. It's tough, but work is the number one thing we've got to focus on here, not certifications. We get this call a lot, George, and it's just you've got to go make some money. You don't just hustle in putting your resume out. You've got to hustle to bring some money in.

I get the lawnmower out and just go down the neighborhood, knock on a door, and say, 20 bucks, I got your lawn. All right, coming up next, George, the very popular, I've got to tell you segment, where I usually fume, not fume, but fume, and I get a little frustrated at some money stuff. Well, today, I'm fired up in a positive way. Oh, there's a way to fight inflation. I'll share it next in the I Gotta Tell You segment. This is The Ramsey Show.

Welcome back, America. You have joined the conversation about you, specifically your life, your money, your work, your relationships, here on The Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins me. And we're here for you this hour, 888-825-5225, 888-825-5225. It wasn't that long ago, George, where we were in a programming meeting with James Childs, our fearless leader, the producer of The Ramsey Show. And we were talking about fun meeting with James Childs, our fearless leader,

the producer of The Ramsey Show, and we were talking about fun ways to talk about money stuff. And we came up with this idea, this segment, where I get a little irritated about things. Because I get irritated about things. I know that doesn't surprise you. You're largely always irritated by something, to be fair. And so we decided to go with it because this is something where George and I, we actually sit next to each other at Ramsey Solutions,

a little context for how this was born. Our little cubicle desks. A little cube desk. And so we sit there and sometimes I look at George and I go, I got to tell you. And in my head, I know what's about to come out of Ken's mouth is going to be entertaining. Yeah. So we've done a couple, I got to tell you segments. You can search it up on the YouTube page where I get a little irritated at things about money and things that are going on and I got irritated about the No Haggle. That was very popular.

You said we had to bring back the Haggle. We need to bring back the Haggle. And then we talked about tips and all kinds of things. But today, George, I gotta tell you. What's got your knickers in a twist, Ken? Well, I'm not mad today. Oh, this is George, I got to tell you. What's got your knickers in a twist, Ken? Well, I'm not mad today. Oh, this is a good I've got to tell you. This is a good I got to tell you. All right. Because I, you know, look, I'm paying attention to inflation too. And I got

three teenagers. You know my kids well. Two of them are boys. They're strapping young men. Very. And they eat a lot. And I'm in that stage you got the little daughter she's just eating goldfish and thingy we're talking packs and packs of bacon and so we go to costco a lot i know it's one of your favorite places on the planet i love to buy in bulk by the way this is no this is no endorsement or advertiser for costco this is real life i gotta tell you we have no affiliation can i say I love all wholesale clubs equally? So do I. So recently, George, I was with Stacy on a Saturday afternoon,

and we were stocking back up. And when I say stocking up, I mean stocking. Full cart, full hearts. Oh, yeah. Can lose. Yeah. So we're there in the line, and you know the traditional Costco layout. You're there in the register line, and you're checking everything out.

And I really usually am just a guy who's, I'm the pack mule. Stacey loads the cart up. I got to push it out. And that's what I'm doing. I'm not paying attention. I'm using my phone. For whatever reason, this particular Saturday, I noticed a very long line of people that were impeding my progress out. So I started to get irritated.

As one does. And then I see that why is everybody in line? They're getting food. Now, I know the food's there, but I've never paid attention to it. So today I want to do a demo. And I want to bring in our lovely associate producer, Kelly. She has been going above and beyond the call of duty for us today. Look at her bringing in the samples.

George, I want to prove that in today's inflation. The Vanna White of wholesale food courts. She really is. That's what they've called her. We've got ourselves a Costco hot dog. This is an actual dog from Costco. She drove down the road and got one. So nice of her.

And a slice of pizza. I can smell it. Now, here's the deal. I got my facts here. I'm looking at this, and I'm looking at these line of people, and I'm going, why is everybody in a line for a hot dog? And I'll tell you why. Because, you ready for this? We did our research. Kelly helped me out. This famous hot dog and soda combo, since 1985, you can get this quarter pound hot dog that I'm

holding in my hands. With a 20 ounce drink. With a drink for just $1.50, George. That's incredible. That's the inflation buster. Yeah. And so Costco has decided this is a lifetime commitment to keep the hot dog at $1.50. And you know how many hot dogs they've sold, George? What would you take a guess? Millions. Somewhere in there. 200 million hot dogs.

That's a lot of millions. And we're looking at 201. 200 million and one right here. Well, what's extra fun is that this food is a loss leader. Meaning Costco, you know, the rotisserie chicken in the back of the store for $1.1 million right here. Well, what's extra fun is that this food is a loss leader, meaning Costco, you know, the rotisserie chicken in the back of the store for $5. They're losing money on this stuff, but they are gaining it because Ken had to walk into Costco and spend $300 to exit with a $1.50 hot dog. I'm going to tell you something.

I've never had a Costco hot dog. For real? No. But I have had the pizza. It's a rite of passage. Get a whole pizza, slice of pizza. It's unbelievable. It's an inflation buster. The pizza we have's a rite of passage. Get a whole pizza, slice of pizza. It's unbelievable. It's an inflation buster.

The pizza we have here today is at $1.99. So it's only a 49-cent markup off of the hot dog. So here's my I gotta tell you. My I gotta tell you is Costco, they're doing the right thing. They're not marking up this cheap food. They're trying to make it accessible to people. And by the way, this is a trend. Are you aware of this? What trend? Oh, not marking up this cheap food. They're trying to make it accessible to people. And by the way, this is a trend. Are you aware of this?

What trend? Oh, not marking up prices. Well, we're beginning to see some companies kind of go, you know what? We're going to hold the line. And we're not going to just raise prices like everybody else. I saw the viral video. Are you talking about Arizona iced tea? I'm talking about Arizona.

Tell everybody. You've seen this. So I drank these as a kid, as a young skateboarder. We'd go into the 7-Eleven gas station we had no money and we would buy the you know 20 ounce can i think i'm arizona iced tea and ken's now trying the costco pizza pepperoni what do you think you keep talking okay so the arizona iced tea can on it it says 99 cents and what's amazing is that for decades since 1992 that 22 ounce can has remained at 99 cents. And we actually have a viral clip from the Today Show where they interviewed the CEO

about why the prices have remained that low. Can we play the clip? Why not increase the price and therefore increase the profit? We're successful. We're debt-free. We own everything. Why? Why have people who are having a hard time paying their rent

have to pay more for our drink? Maybe it's my little way to give back. Would you definitively say that you'll never raise that 99-cent price? No, I don't know about never. Not in the foreseeable future. We're going to fight as hard as we can for consumers. I love that. I could use an Arizona iced tea right now.

You know what I'm saying? Yeah, you're arched. That thing will... Oh, wait a second. Look at Kelly, the associate producer's back. Did you really get this? Oh my goodness. I had no idea.

She's got the Arizona iced tea cans. Which one is that? I've got the Arnold Palmer, and you've got the green tea with honey. Feels like we should switch. Well, you like green tea with honey. You're a fan. You feel like a green tea ginseng guy. Which one do you want?

How is that a type of guy? Look at you. I'm a ginseng guy? That's not a thing. I think with the bomber jacket, I'll drink the green tea. There we go. Again, not an endorsement of Arizona, but just to show you guys, you got options. And again, this is not a video about health. Just let Ken enjoy some trash food for a second now listen big statement in that video did you catch it he said we're debt free we can do everything that's a really big deal and there's a guy who's going you know what we're gonna we're not gonna just stick it to the consumer so good on costco by the way, other prices of Costco food court items. Did you know an ice cream sundae is $2.49?

That's pretty impressive. For you ice cream sundae people. How about a cinnamon churro? $1.49. I don't like the churros. Not a fan? No. They're not a fan of you.

Yeah, well, there you go. And then a 20-ounce soda with all that sugar only. You ready for this? 69 cents. Now let's just juxtapose that right there with the movie theater prices have you been to the movie theater i don't darken the doors of a movie you gotta get a student loan for a bucket of popcorn it's insane it's unbelievable not if you're george camel i went to a movie with george and the the dude opens up his jacket when we're

sitting down and there's a bag of popcorn a kit to make an old-fashioned with ice in a strip of like orange peel he knows how to do it that's the power of the bomber jacket ken that's bootlegging you can't do that that's illegal well i'm outed now come find me the 17 year old who works at the theater all right have you guys seen the news you are we're starting to see a price war with fast food companies as well oh that's right the right. The whole $5 meal thing with Burger King and McDonald's. So what do you think? You think that companies are starting to go, there's a chance to win market share by saving people money?

I think people have made their choices when it comes to fast food and you have your favorites. I'm about ready to make a bad choice. Now, I asked Kelly to bring these as props and I had to try the pizza. Not bad. Never eat the props. I always tell people. I haven't had a hot dog. You're going to try a Costco hot dog for the first time. I have never had a try the pizza. Not bad. Never eat the props, I always tell people. I haven't had a hot dog. You're going to try a Costco hot dog for the first time.

I have never had a Costco hot dog. Can I tell you, that's a dog. That's about my body weight in hot dog. It's a quarter pounder. That's serious. All right. So you're probably going to have to take us to break, but I will. Wow.

This is pretty special, getting to be part of this, Ken. Is it worth $1.50? Too big a bite. $1.50. There you go. So here's the lesson learned here. Yes, inflation's annoying. It's a pretty good dog. And yes, there's some great companies out there going,

we're not going to take the bait and just increase prices because inflation said so. And when you're debt-free, you have options, especially if you're a business owner. That's why we preach business owners, run your business debt-free, you have options, especially if you're a business owner. That's why we preach business owners, run your business debt-free, go slow, and then you have options to be generous and to do what you want with that business. So there we go. I just had a really unflattering view of myself in the video as I ate a hot dog. Glad that America can't smell this room right now. Here's to Arizona Tea, Costco, and other companies that are saying, you know what, we're going to drop prices or keep prices low for the American people.

That's right. We love you. Not a bad hot dog, but I'd stick with the pizza. This is The Ramsey. Thank you.