The Ramsey Show - App - Should We Wait to Have Kids Until We're Out of Debt? (Hour 2)

Episode Date: September 16, 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. I am Dave Ramsey, your host. You jump in. We'll talk about your life and your money. Chris Hogan, Ramsey personality, number one bestselling author two times over, is my co-host today here on the air.

We're here to answer your questions about your life and your money. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Rasheen is starting us off this hour in New York City. Hi, Rasheen. How are you? Hey, Christian. Dave. Good.

How are you guys? Great. How can we help? Okay. So my husband and I, we go back and forth on this. What would Dave say? So when COVID hit in March, we were on our way to paying off our last student loan. Great.

So what we did was we stopped paying it off. We just put minimum payments, and we started to take that extra amount and stash it away so that we had an emergency fund. Good. As of now. Because you were right square in the middle of an emergency, right? Yeah. Okay. So now it's September.

We have three months savings, which is about $16,500. Wow. And we have $11,151 remaining on our student loan. Should we just pay it off or keep the emergency fund? And starting this month, we can start to attack that last loan, and we should be paid off by February. Okay. So we teach people, and we did all through COVID, that when you're facing an emergency,

you stop the baby steps. You push pause, which is what you did. You push pause and you pile up cash. Hurricane coming at the Gulf Coast. You push pause and you pile up cash right when the hurricane is over or you feel safe as a result of the hurricane financially safe then well and physically safe for that matter too then you push play again now if you push play on your baby steps chris and you had sixteen thousand16,000 in there and you had $11,000 student loan, what would that look like?

Right. Well, it's going to look like, I know without a shadow of a doubt, how important this emergency fund is. I mean, we just came out of this situation where you realized, hey, having that cushion, that saved you guys, didn't it, Rasheen? Yeah. Yeah. It's just peace of mind.

It absolutely gave you peace of mind you slept better you felt better you knew push come to shove you have money there and so now are you asking after learning what we learned are you asking that is it okay to use that emergency fund to pay off the student loan are you going to push are you ready to push play again because enough of the emergency has passed? Right. And just going into September and how they're saying that this winter it might get worse, it's just like I'm on the cusp. I just want to pay it off, but at the same time, why not just start paying that $2,000 a month

and just by February we'll be done with Baby Step 2. We're not going to do both. We're going to do one or the other. You're either in an emergency or you're not. If you are, you don't pay anything on the debt, and you keep piling up cash. If you aren't, you push play and you pay off the student loan today. I think your emergency is over and you're just worried about the future.

Yeah. My husband would agree with you. Okay. That's how it feels to me. But that's the question that the two of you need to decide, and I can't decide that because New York City's freaking weird. I mean, you guys, it looks like a science fiction movie up there right now. We're not in the city.

We're in Connecticut, but the closest metropolitan area. I told her it was New York. Well, I mean, I don't know how bad your particular hamlet is in Connecticut, but some of these areas, it looks like there's like paper rolling, dust bowls rolling down the street, that kind of stuff. Other areas are back, you know, our county is relatively normal. Right. I'm looking at 100 people, 50 people sitting in our in our lobby right now not one of them's got a mask on so that's a relatively normal situation okay uh but but in your area you maybe have people huddling in the

corner you know and they're all about to die or whatever and i don't know you got to decide that right you got to decide that so and you can look at the circumstances that you are in and decide are we in the middle of the hurricane or has the hurricane gone by and they're predicting that there might be another hurricane someday which there probably will be if you live on the gulf coast someday but that doesn't mean that when this one's gone you don't go ahead and push play on this so that's how this feels to me but i don't know are your jobs stable yeah they're stable i mean that's the one thing he always says we've got stable jobs we don't have to worry about that they would say pay it today he's right that's what dave would say yeah i would i would

do that and i think you're gonna be fine here's the other thing okay you got five thousand dollars left over and you're adding three thousand dollars a month because you don't have any student loan payments anymore yes sir so next month you got eight next month you got 11 the next month you got 14 so you're almost back you're back at christmas. But you have to redirect that payment money toward the emergency fund. Yeah, you treat your emergency fund buildup as if it was gazelle intensity, just like paying off the debt. So we're ready to push play again, which means we clean out all non-retirement savings and

we pay it on debt because the emergency has passed. You know what, Dave? If your job is in jeopardy, the emergency hasn't passed. That's right. You pause. You know what, Dave? If your job is in jeopardy, the emergency hasn't passed. That's right. You pause. You know what, Dave? I feel like a lot of people are going to fall into this category of this fear mode. Well, turn off a freaking TV.

And then there's that. Good God. Well. Listen, 2020 was, you know, did you see the new, I'm getting one of these, the Christmas ornament for this year? No, I haven't seen it. It's a dumpster on fire with the year 2020. This is to remember this year.

The whole freaking year is a dumpster fire. You know, so I'm throwing one hellacious New Year's Eve party. I'm just saying. I'm never going to be so glad to see a stupid year go in my life. And I'm just hoping that people's brains will start to grow back. Hey, Dave, we are trying to help them grow back now. Listen to me, people. We've got three and a half months before 2020 is gone.

How we finish this year is how we're going to start 2021. So we're going to start off strong. So if you're serious out there, I want you to start making different decisions. You can be around stupid and not catch it, right? You can. You just can. It's like a cold. You just got to watch it.

You can't be around fear, though. It's more contagious than COVID. Yes, it is. And really, truly, and be careful of the stuff you're telling yourself. Stay around some people that have some common sense, that have some goals, and we can still start to finish this year strong. Yeah. Yeah.

We can. I want one in ornaments, though. I think I might just give everybody one at Ramsey for a Christmas present. Do that. I think it's a great gift. It's been a year from hell for everybody it's unbelievable but yeah it's normal rafine uh you know we're all laughing and cutting up here but it is normal when you've been through something like this pandemic culturally to be gun shy but really what we're talking about here is what is your hope factor not false hope but based on logic and your spiritual

faith and other things what is your hope factor for the future mine is very high i have a great hope factor and so i'm moving forward with business decisions here with personal decisions at home we're moving forward with generosity decisions as if we're all going to be okay. Yes. Because we're all going to be okay. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. One question I get asked all the time is, do I need life insurance? Listen, the whole point of life insurance is to replace your income for someone who counts on you. So if you have a spouse or you have kids, yes, you need term life insurance. It's the only way to protect them until you're out of debt and have built up your wealth. You're only digging a deeper hole if you waste money on cash value plans

since it robs you of the ability to make real progress. And that's why I send you to Zander Insurance, and I have for 20 years. That's where I get all my insurance, and they only offer the plans I recommend. It is not expensive. It's not complicated, and Zander will be there as your guide every step of the way. Visit Zander.com or call 800-356-4282. You need to get this taken care of. I can give you the advice, and I can tell you where to go,

but it's really up to you to take that important step to get your family protected. That's Zander.com or 800-356-4282. Chris Hogan, Ramsey Personality. Number one best-selling author is my co-host today here on the air. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Line three is Bill in Philadelphia. Hi, Bill. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave.

Hi, Chris. Good talking to you guys. You too, sir. What's up? Um, so I'm a little nervous right now because, um, I just turned 36 years old and I'm $162,000 in debt and I just got engaged. Congratulations. Thank you. What's the debt?

What kind of debt? It's all student loan debt. Are you a doctor or a lawyer? I'm actually an architect, which unfortunately is not a doctor or a lawyer in terms of a salary. Well, you can create an excellent income, though. How long have you been practicing? So I have been licensed for two years, but I've been practicing for seven. Okay, good.

Well, you're just at the beginning stages of your career. What's your income? So right now I'm bringing in 70 gross, but it's like upper 40s, lower 50s net. No, you've got a bunch of crap coming out of your check if that's the case. You don't have $20,000 taxes coming out on 70. Yeah, I'm not really sure where all that is. You should be moving up the ladder towards 100 pretty quick, though. Is that the trajectory you're on with your firm, or are you going to be looking?

So one of the big things, pretty much one of the main things i wanted to ask you about is um starting a family while while being in debt um if that's a concern if it should pay off the student loan first and and part of that is uh my fiancee got a job in uh across the country in port. In Portland? Yeah. So you're leaving there. You're going to move to Portland. Yeah.

So what does she make? So currently she makes about $50,000. So why does a $50,000 job decide where the $70,000 job lives? I don't understand. Well, she's going to be making $110,000. When? And it's a big career move for her. I'm very proud of her.

No, but when does the $110,000 happen? January. Okay, good. Okay. All right. Well, then you go to Portland and be an architect, and you're going to have a $200,000 household income. Awesome. How much debt does she have?

Okay, so let me answer your question, Bill, before we just keep popping at you here. We do not tell people to not get married because of debt, and we do not tell people to not start families because of debt. You have to be thoughtful and wise, meaning I wouldn't recommend having 16 children while you have $160,000 in debt. But to have the first child or the second child or whatever while you're fighting your way through $160,000 worth of debt, making $200,000 a year is very doable. And we let God help you decide about babies and marriages and you do those things when you're supposed to do them no i do not tell people to be out of debt before they're married and no we do not tell people to wait to have children before they're until they're out of debt yeah okay okay okay so here's here's what's happening. Getting married and moving and having babies is all coming at you really, really fast,

and you suddenly woke up and went, oh, crap. Yeah. Yeah. You hit the fast-forward button, buddy, on a lot of stuff. Yeah. And it just, because you had $162,000 six months ago. Yep. But you hadn't thought nothing about it.

I mean, I'm honestly feeling very stressed out because. Yeah, I can hear it in your voice. I actually sat down and looked at it. You know, I only borrowed $111,000. So, you know. Let's play a math game for a second okay the average household income in america is 59 000 all right so if you live at or below average that frees up a hundred thousand dollars a year when you're making 200200,000 and you take $60,000 out and some taxes, okay, and if you take $100,000 a year and put it on $162,000, is that two years where you come from?

I'm sorry. Okay. Let's try again. You're working and making $90,000 in Portland. She's making $110,000. That's $200,000 income. This is my projection for you, okay? Okay.

You have $162,000 in debt. The average household income in America is $60,000. $60,000 from $200,000 leaves $140,000. You following me? Okay. So you live on an average income, not a jacked-up $200,000 lifestyle in freaking Portland, Oregon, okay, you just calm your little butt down, and you live on beans and rice, rice and beans, and you live on $60,000 a year, that leaves you $140,000.

We'll set $40,000 aside for taxes, and that leaves $100,000 to throw at the debt per year. Does that sound right to you? Yeah, that does sound right. And in two years, you're done. In two years, you're done. Yeah. You're going to be okay, brother. All right.

Unless you go over and sit on your hands and go buy three cars and a house you can't afford. And that's the thing I was going to tell you. There are some things you should not do. Going out there and trying to buy a home, that is not the time. This is not the time. Thinking back and slipping and thinking, well, because we're going to have a kid, we need an SUV. So I need to go out and get a – no. Okay, so you want to have realistic conversations and set yourself up for success.

Dave, I'll tell you another thing they talk about is, hey, do have a kid new wife what's your plan yeah are you planning to work or are you planning to be at home because if she's planning to be at home now you you've got a budget off of just your income yeah we got to have these conversations before you know yeah got some work to do here, Bill. Yes. Got some work to do. But you're going to be okay, Bill. I hear that. And I hope, buddy, you've got some real good friends around you that you can talk to or go talk to your pastor about your stress.

But make sure you're talking to your wife about your feelings. Yeah. Let that out. You can call here. I'll be your friend. Chris will yell at you. It's okay. So.

That is typecasting, Dave Ram ramsey i'm the nice one when you have to tell people you're the nice one that's a problem neither one of us are nice and we both are nice so you got a friend man so here's what we're gonna do we're gonna give you a wedding gift it's Ramsey Plus, and it signs you up for a year with Financial Peace University with the EveryDollar Extraordinaire app for budgeting. You and your fiance will go through this together. You're going to learn how to handle money, and you're going to set goals and pull off just exactly what I just projected for you, and you're going to call me back in two years with a new baby and a debt-free scream, and we're going to get to hear your story, and you're going to remind us of this call

right here when you do that. And we'll actually play it back for you at that time to remind you how scared you sounded. You're going to get through this, buddy. You're going to be all right, man. You're going to be okay. Open phones at 888-825-5225. You jump in. We'll talk about your life and your money.

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At the Dave Ramsey Show, we really value your input. It helps us to know what's important to you so we can deliver relevant content to help you crush your money goals. We just launched a brand-new survey, and we'd love your feedback. It only takes a few minutes and you'll be entered to win a 100 amazon gift card no purchase necessary take the survey at davramsey.com slash survey or text survey to 33 789 on the debt-free stage joining chris hogan and me this hour right here in ramsey solutions headquarters anthony and erica are with us If they're on the debt-free stage, that must mean you are debt-free. Congratulations. Yeah, thank you. So good to have you guys. How

much have you paid off? $311,000, and we did that in two years, eight months. Way to go. Wow. And your range of income during that time? We started at $115,000 take-home pay and ended at about $180,000. Okay, wow. Where do you guys live? We live in Los Angeles, California. Cool. What do you all do for a living? We're both doctors of physical therapy.

Oh, great. Yeah. Okay, both PTs. Good, good. So I'm guessing the 311 might have been a little student loan debt. Or all of it. All of it.

Oh, my. What a mess a mess yeah so you wake up and you see mount everest at the foot of your bed in the morning oh yeah 311 freaking thousand dollars had to take your breath away a little bit when you had to wake up the old crap moment right yeah definitely i'd never had debt in my, and then seeing that amount was a little scary. Yeah, a little. Same here. And so what happened that gave you that moment and that wake-up call when you started this program two years and eight months ago? Well, we graduated from physical therapy school in 2015. And then the first year, we always knew we wanted to pay off loans quick, maybe within 5, 10 years.

But that first year, we actually started off with $361,000. But the first year, we paid off $50,000. And we're like, yeah, we're doing pretty good. And then the $50,000 didn't even go towards a principal. It was all $32,000 towards interest and then only $18,000 towards principal. So we're like, oh my goodness, this compound interest game is going to kill us. We're going to be doing this until we're like 50. And then we were sad, and we were mad.

We were like sad mad. And then we're like, we've got to get pumped. So yeah, basically, when we got married, my uncle Ryan, hi, uncle, seven years, eight months ago, he gave us this financial piece, University, when we got married. We actually thought it looked really nice. Dave, you have a very aesthetically pleasing look. So we put it on our shelf. Photoshop is amazing.

So beautiful. So we put it on our shelf for the first four years. And then once that... You didn't even open the box. It had the plastic. It was beautiful. So, yes. So we then opened it up after we're like, oh, we're going to be like this forever.

We should just do the thing. Yep. Yes. So. Okay. So is that like the home study version? The old home study case? Yeah.

The old home study. It had the DVDs in it and everything. Yep. Yes. So you just did this at home? Yeah. Yeah. Well, kind of.

So I grabbed the cds out of it and started listening to them and then i got home and i was like hey we gotta watch the dvds and once we started watching it we just got so fired up that we just tackled it that's really cool what were some of the things you all sacrificed early early yeah what would you things you gave up when you got in attack mode after watching those DVDs, what's the things you cut? Buying good underwear. So all of them had holes in it. I wear a white lab coat

because I work in the spine center with my friend Joyce, and we wear lab coats, but I had a hole in my maroon pants for a long time, so I never took off my jacket. Yes, Anthony's shirt right here costs $3, but he looks very nice. Yes, he does.

Yes. Very styling. Yes. Well, way to go. Okay, so clothing. What else did you cut? We stopped eating out. Yeah.

Just very rare occasions, just milestones and special events. But other than that, we just bought from the store, set a very strict budget, and cooked at home. Yes. So you're in a medical community. Were friends looking at you like you'd lost your mind? Yeah, a little bit. I think we were so pumped up and fired up about it

that we turned a lot of our friends into cheerleaders by the end. Ah, okay. All right. Yeah. Well, that's very cool. Good. Okay, so you did it. A couple of docs here.

$311,000 worth of Mount Everest has gone in two years and eight months. Cash flowed every bit of it, right? Every bit of it. You just lived on nothing. Nothing. Yeah. In attack mode. Yes.

What do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? Well, it's not only just saving up and not spending anything. You also have to raise your income. So for us, we're both only making $115,000 take-home pay. So I'm an Excel super nerd, so I love it. It's like my second husband, minus Anthony right here. But basically, we said we need to get our income up. So we had Anthony start working home health physical therapy part time, some cash pay, picked up some car jobs.

And then for me, I started Barton Burns, my soy candle company. So that included Etsy and art fairs. And then Anthony started teaching at a university for physical therapy school. And then I started teaching with him for for physical therapy school and then i started teaching with him for another physical therapy school so by the end we had three solid jobs each with along with our little mini things here and there and we that's how we got to 180 000 take-home pay so now it's time to rest a little yeah a little bit to breathe yes you have been game on i mean that's gazelle intensity.

You get your income up, and your out go down, and you plow through it, and that's exactly what you did. I'm proud of y'all. Yeah, that's fantastic, you all. Well done. Who were your biggest cheerleaders outside the two of you? So, like I mentioned, we converted a lot of our friends into cheerleaders, but we actually led an FBU course.

After watching it at home, you went and led one. Yep. Awesome. So we've gained some cheerleaders through that, but there are three big shout-outs we want to do. One is our friend Steve

who drove from Indiana to be here with us today. Wow. And then her uncle Ryan, which she mentioned, and our good friend Lori who she did the program a few years ahead of us.

And when we started talking to her about it, she's like, oh yeah, I did that. And then just became our cheerleader, guiding us through the whole thing. And it was awesome. You got this, you got this. All you gotta do is when you're tired

and you're tired of noodles and you're tired of the third job, somebody say, you got this. Exactly. You got this, you can do it. You can do it, you got this. And we do that online with our online groups now. With our virtual classes,

you do that with Financial Peace class. When you're in there, the people looking at you going, you got this. Definitely. You got this. And that's with our online groups now. We do it with our virtual classes. You do that with Financial Peace class when you're in there, the people looking at you going, you got this. Definitely. You got this. And that's what you've got to have. You've got to have people in your corner. That's so cool, y'all. Yeah.

So proud of you. I'm hyper intentional with this. How's it feel now that you're free? Oh, unbelievable. We paid off our last debt two weeks before the whole COVID shutdown happened. Oh. So it was, even though we didn't get to go out and do a big celebration, the celebration was like this inner peace, like just knowing like we don't owe anyone anything during this

time when things are just going crazy. Yeah. Absolutely nuts. Wow. You actually get to keep your income. Yeah. You know, it gets to stay with you. Yeah.

That's a good thing. That was a weird feeling. I bet. Not having to ask her, okay, how much do we pay this month? Okay. Yeah. It gets to stay with you. Yeah. That's a good thing. That was a weird feeling, not having to ask her, okay, how much do we pay this month? Okay. It was like, oh, it's all in our savings. Ah, there you go. It's kind of surreal when you finally get there. Well done, you guys.

We're very, very proud of you. We got a copy of Chris's book for you, Everyday Millionaires. Without a doubt, that is the next chapter in your story. You are on your way to doing that. So very well done how old are you two uh i'm 31 and erica's 29 for now i turn 30 tomorrow happy birthday thank you i'm 30 flirty and thriving works for me i like it well done well Well, you guys are incredible. Excellent, excellent job. All right, Anthony and Erica, Los Angeles, California, $311,000 paid off in two years and eight months, making $115,000 to $180,000. Count it down.

Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt-free! Yeah! Woo! Woo! three two one we're debt free unbelievable yes wow that is so fun that is absolutely a picture of intensity really getting after it and i'm proud of them mean, all of that student loan debt has been deleted from their lives. That's a lot. That is a lot, Dave. They had like 361,000 at the beginning of all this.

And but, you know, they're not victims. No, they're not saying, oh, well, I hope Elizabeth Warren gets elected and pays off her student loan debt. They said, we're going to get three jobs. Six jobs. Six of them. And devoted all that money toward the debt. When you are a victor, you don't need forgiveness. You have gone through the tape.

You're a victor. I like that. I love it. They are awesome. You guys are studs. You're rock stars. I'm so proud of y'all. Very well done.

This is The Dave Ramsey personality, number one bestselling author, is my co-host today here on the air. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Open phones at 888-825-5225. So, Chris, one of the things they said was they got Financial Peace University set on the shelf. They took Financial Peace University off the shelf and started listening to it. It changed everything. And then they end up coordinating a class, which is a lot of times what happens. That's right.

Because when you coordinate a class, and now we've got virtual coordinators these days, and when you're coordinating a class, people can be literally all over the nation in the class you're coordinating, but it's so inspiring, and it keeps you on track when you're coordinating a class. So two of the biggest things that you guys are saying you need help with are community and money. You get both in ramsey plus you get financial peace university the class we're talking about teaches you how to handle money the right way you get the premium version of every dollar and you get the new baby

steps tracking app so you can track your progress as you go you get a ton of different courses and tools access to financial coaches and guess what lots community, lots of ways to plug in, not only to the virtual Financial Peace University class that you're in, but also lots of groups that are part of Ramsey Plus that you can jump in and get advice and be encouraging yourself and so on. You do not have to figure out your money problems alone. Start your free trial of Ramsey Plus today at DaveRamsey.com slash FPU. DaveRamsey.com slash FPU. And the teachers on Financial Peace University that you'll see are Chris Hogan, me, Rachel Cruz, and you'll be seeing Anthony O'Neill more and more and more. Yeah, it's a great way to get plugged in, get information, learn, but the

community aspect is so huge. You are not alone. And I don't care what your state is doing with social distancing. You've got a way to get connected, talk to people that are on the same page or have been where you are. They understand. Our question of the day comes from Blinds.com. Find out for yourself why Blinds.com is the number one online retailer of custom window coverings, free samples, free shipping, and new promos all the time.

Use the promo code RAMSEY to get the best possible deal. Chris, our question. Yes, today's question comes from Cassandra in North Dakota. She visits DaveRamsey.com to ask, I know title insurance protects you when you're buying a house. We have paid off our house and want to know if we still need this. I'm so confused. If we need to purchase it, where do I get it?

USAA doesn't offer it, so I don't know what company is trustworthy. Where does title lock play into this? My husband and I work so hard to paying off the house and don't want anything to jeopardize that. You don't need title insurance. You either got it or you didn't when you bought the house, and I wouldn't worry about it at this stage. That ensures that the title that you were given from the person that sold it to you is clean. And title lock is something you don't ever spend money on,

and that's the concept that somehow some company is going to keep someone from placing a lien on your home. The way this works is simple. Okay? The property is titled to you and is recorded with a deed at your local courthouse. If someone places a lien on your home, they have to file a lien at the courthouse. Now, for instance, if you didn't pay your taxes, the IRS can place a lien on everything that is in your name by just simply filing a lien at your local courthouse, and it would end up as a lien on your home. If you got sued, a judgment lien could be placed against your home. That's normal. But someone borrowing money with identity theft and putting a lien against your home,

it could get filed, but it's fairly easy to get it removed. You need title or you need identity theft insurance, which we recommend, and we all own on ourselves. I buy it for all of our team, all of our family, through Zander Insurance, Zander's identity theft program, but there's not a thing that locks your title. The only other thing you can do if you want to get super wild about it is you could just retitle your home to a trust, and then they would have to put a lien on the trust, not on you.

So if a lien got placed on you, but even then, that trust owns the house, and an identity thief could take out a mortgage against a house that they don't own and have it recorded at the courthouse. That happens sometimes. But it doesn't happen that often. Yeah. So the reality is, is what you want to do is get identity theft insurance with restoration services. And that's really important. Some of the places will just tell you and alert you if there's been a threat against your identity. You want something that's going to restore things back to the way it was. But this title lock, this is another product out there to just try to grab money.

This is not something you need. Be intentional. And if you all are on this journey to building wealth, as Dave mentioned, taking a look at a trust may be an option. Reach out to an estate planning attorney and you can get connected with one of them through our SmartVestor Pros. Go to DaveRamsey.com, click on SmartVestor Pro. You'll get connected and start to talk through this. But you need to relax, be intentional, and just keep pushing forward. You cannot lock a real estate title unless you lock the courthouse door that's it somebody can file a

lien yeah yeah and um and these days it would be done electronically when you'd be going physically into the courthouse and so um you know most most courthouses now are done are had all the recording and so forth is handled online so um and title searches and so forth all fall into that same category so you're going to be fine you'll be fine i'm glad you're concerned about it but don't go get buying you know gimmick insurance or something get in identity theft insurance from xander and that's plenty you'll be in good shape then yeah jenna is with us in washington dc hi jenna how Hi, Jenna. How are you? Hi. How are you guys? Oh, focus to not finish, young lady. How are you? I'm good.

I am calling because my husband and I are in baby step two. And Lord willing, by the end of next year, we will have all our debt paid off. So we're using every extra dollar that we can to pay it. And I'm a resident doctor. I get advice about using disability insurance. And so I was wondering what you guys thought about using disability insurance to kind of protect my future earnings in case something happened. And if that overlaps with, like, the term life insurance. Yeah, it's normal insurance. Long-term disability only, not short-term. Right.

But long-term disability is very wise. I wouldn't get into some kind of super expensive policy, and I wouldn't buy a policy that had a bunch of life insurance elements to it or something else. A simple long-term disability insurance that only covers you if you're disabled for the long term. Right. And, Jenna, you mentioned something about life insurance. Now remember, the long-term disability, that's a way to protect your income. The life insurance component of it is to bring in income if something were to happen to you. But that's a different policy. Totally different policy. Do not buy a bundled policy. You're going to get screwed.

You've been pitched a bundled policy, haven't you? I have been, yeah. I thought so. Yeah, the docs, man, you guys, there's more sharks in the water around you, docs, than anything I've ever seen. You've got a target on you. Yeah. Bottom, bottom, bottom.

Yeah, just simple long-term disability insurance. What is your income? My income is $60,000. Together, we're $110,000. Yeah, but they're your separate policies because you're separate people for your life and for your disability. So you can get $60,000 worth of disability insurance. You should be able to buy it through work very inexpensively. It really just doesn't cost anything. And I mean, you can get up to $300,000 without any kind of super high premiums. I only carry $300,000 on me. That's all I've got.

But, you know, that's okay. And so, because it just gets ridiculously expensive after that, and I've got other assets to take care of me if something happens that's exactly right so but anyway you're you can cover sixty thousand dollars worth of income most of them cover either 75 up to about 90 and if you don't have a good policy through work check with zander insurance or one of our uh long-term disability elps they'll help you get a price on it and you know you'll get it done but yes disability insurance long-term disability insurance is uh very good. If you're 32 years old, you're more likely to become disabled than to die in the next year. That's right. And so you need to carry long-term disability insurance. It's vital. But some cases,

it's super expensive. You know, blue collar situation, sometimes if you don't buy it through work, it's ridiculous. Yeah, it can be. But a white collar situation like that, it shouldn't be high. No, it shouldn't be high. No, it shouldn't be a problem at all. And you can, again, reach out to one of the insurance ELPs to get more help and guidance. That's why they're there. That puts this hour of the Dave Ramsey Show in the books. Chris Hogan, thanks for hanging out.

Thank you for having me, sir. James Childs is our producer. Kelly Daniel is our associate producer and phone screener. We're going to put that hour in the books. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Dave here. We just launched a brand new survey, and we'd love your feedback. You'll be entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card.

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