The Ramsey Show - App - Stop Overthinking and Start Taking Action

Episode Date: May 7, 2025

from the Ramsey network it's the Ramsey show I am your host Jade Warshaw next to me one of my favorite guys out there Ken Coleman on now starting off like that I mean running it back from yesterday yeah oh me in a good mood. Yeah. Oh thank you. This is great. Yes. We're taking calls together about your life and your money. I'm gonna hit you up on the money side and Ken he's gonna help you with the professional growth. Income, income, income. All of it. Oh you just want to do it. We're just saying income today? All right. No, no, no. It's always the professional growth stuff but I want people making more money. I know that's right, more money. Let's go to Daniel.

He probably wants to make a little more money too. Daniel in Pensacola, Florida. What's up, Daniel? Scott Hall, how you guys doing? We're good. How can we help? All righty. So I just got a quick question.

I'm wondering whether or not me and my wife are using the sinking funds almost like debt. I know that sounds funny, but I want to make sure we're not using this wrong. We kind of disagree on this. And I, it doesn't come up often, but when it does, it's this, this whole thing on using the sinking funds in a way I think is not the correct way. So to give an example, let's say we have a planned fund for Christmas and just to make it easy, I could say a hundred a month we started

in January and we're gonna plan on having the 1200 by the end of the year. But something comes up in June, oh hey I want to buy this thing and I say well let's say before let's you know let's plan ahead for that we don't have the money right now and the responses, well no't have the money right now. And the response is, well, no, we have the money. There's $600 in the Christmas fund. Let's just use the Christmas fund. We'll pay it and then we'll pay that back before the year's over. And then it just feels like, well, if we do that, then the margins are going to be lower for the rest of the year, meaning we can't. Yeah. Yeah, that's a problem. We want to. So in my mind, I say, hey, if we go that route, that's okay, but that's a loss.

That's a loss. So now we're gonna have less at the end of the year for Christmas rather than paying it all back. That's right. So I wonder if it's right or wrong, how we go about doing that. So I wanna know what is the correct answer there. I mean, I could definitely see that being a frustration

if Sam and I say, hey, we're pooling this money and this money is going to be used for a car. And we do that all year long. And then at the very end, Sam is like, hey, actually, I'd rather use this for X, Y, Z. And if I don't agree with that, then, yeah, I feel like, hey, you're going back on what we agreed on. And that's a problem. I do think it might feel a little differently if both of you agreed,

hey, I know we put this money aside for Christmas or we put it aside for a car, but both of us agree something else has come up that's more important. And we both agree that this money should be spent in this way. I don't have a problem with that because it's your money, you get to decide.

But it does sound like there's a little bit of an issue on Doing what you say you're gonna do and with money. There's a big part of that that when you kind of draw a line in the sand and say Here's what I'm going to do standing by that is is is a sign of discipline Um, and in this case, it kind of sounds like that it more is a discipline thing and you guys not being on the same page. So okay, I guess the question then is kind of like, does it still, because my logic that I try to explain is that we're kind of using our sinking funds like debt. So let's just say we use $300 out of a $600 that's currently saved up and her logic is,

well, we'll pay that back in the next couple of months. It's not debt but I see how you're viewing it that way you feel like you're robbing Peter to pay Paul. I'm robbing myself later to pay myself now that feels like it's like what yeah that's why I was kind of asking if it's it's not okay. This is a marriage conversation that's what this is I mean Jade's right it'd be one thing if you It's not okay. This is a marriage conversation. That's what this is. I mean, Jade's right. It'd be one thing if you both are on the same page and decide to do it, but you're giving us a scenario

where you're not on the same page, and you guys have said, all right, we're gonna save money. I feel like we're thinking about this too hard, Daniel. This isn't a sinking fund, and you can call it that, but this is just called intentional savings and Christmas comes once a year and it's an expensive month and so we're saving money so that we aren't tempted to go into credit right and do all the things that everybody else in America does. I get it she doesn't get it and so you got to help her get it and this is a multiple

conversation piece potentially where you go, babe, we said we were gonna do this and now you're changing it up on me and it's not something big that we're in agreement on, it's just something shiny that you want. And you're just going like, I want it now, we'll pay for it later. And that's what Congress has done.

That's why we're barreling towards $35 trillion in debt. I'm not joking. You're right. It's a hundred percent what's going on in Congress. They just pass a spending bill and they go, well we'll figure it out later. And so I think this is a marriage conversation to say this is frustrating for me, number one. It's confusing for me, number two. And we need to get on the same page here because Christmas gifts I think Are a priority. I think they are and I love the idea that they're even thinking ahead and doing that sinking fund. Yeah Yeah, this this is a Okay, so Ken and Daniel, when I talk about budgeting,

which is really what this is a subset of, I talk about budgeting being detailed, realistic and flexible. The flexible part of it says, hey, I might have a line item on my budget that says, I don't know, we're gonna spend $200 on entertainment for this month, right? And then something comes up that you both deem as important.

I don't know, you forgot to plan for grandma's birthday and you both love grandma. So you both decide, hey, let's pull money out of that entertainment category that we were gonna use to go to the movies or take the kids to the zoo. And let's use that for grandma's birthday party. That's an example of the budget being flexible because yeah, you can look at a line item and say, I thought I was going to use that money for this, but now we are deciding we

are going to use it for this. That is okay. I don't want anybody to think that that's like lightning's going to hit them. But Ken, to your point and to my earlier point, I do believe that when you are dealing with a bigger amount of money that you've both agreed ahead of time is for this unless you both agree that it's not gonna be used for that. You gotta call a truce. Like nobody gets to spend it until we both agree what it's gonna be spent on.

Yeah, because to your point on flexibility, Christmas isn't flexible. No, it's coming. It's the same day every year. Yeah. And I just think the way you've teed this up, Daniel, is this right, is this wrong? I mean, we've told you functionally how to use it.

What did she want to spend it on? We didn't ask. Daniel? Daniel? Oh, Daniel went for a ride. He's like in a wind tunnel. He went to the drive-through. Are you there?

So what did she want to spend it on was the question from Jade. Oh, so it was a little while So to get rid of so we wanted to stop the eating out and the Starbucks fund Because we didn't we were in a transition period of moving out. We were living in the camper Didn't have a lot of our stuff I'm in the Navy and a lot of the stuff got moved to the next state that I'm moving to So to avoid the Starbucks, okay, let's get a let's go to Target, let's get an espresso machine and we can skip the Starbucks

and we can get your coffee every morning and we're good to go. So this was an attempt to save more money. In my mind, I said, well, let's just save some more money. And then it's like, well, we have a bunch of money in the bank right now waiting since, you know, and for other various seeking funds, not just Chris's other things. And I was like, well, that's all been set aside. Okay, I see. I see. I would have said my answer would have been, all right, let's take what we've been spending

on Starbucks and restaurants and let's put it away for a couple of months until we come up with the cost of the whatever the fancy coffee machine. 100%. And honestly, hearing what she wanted to spend it on, if she was like, hey, I saw this new purse, or hey, we want a new grill for the patio, that feels a lot different than her also looking for ways to save money. And it sounded like this espresso machine

was a way for you guys to save a little more. You can also go get a $50 coffee pot and just let it drip. I know, that's right. Let it drip. I know, that's right. Let it drip. Back to the phone lines we go. We got Jen in Calgary, Alberta. What's up, Jen? Hi there.

We have ourselves in a bit of a pickle and I'd like to hear if you guys have some advice. Yes ma'am. So what has happened is that our in-laws, my in-laws have built a granny flat, like a suite attached to our house and they've been living here for about two years now. And we find that my husband and I are not, it's just not what we imagined it would be. We're not really enjoying the dynamic and just the arrangement anymore.

And we don't know how to separate financially. And just, it's been a relational toll, taking a toll on our relationship with my in-laws and yeah, we're really not sure what to do. The in-laws paid for the suite to be built onto your house? Yes. Oh yes, they did. Yeah. What, how much money did they sink into that? It was 200,000. Oh my word. That's not a suite, that's like a full blown house they put on there. And how much did it raise the property value from what to what? Um, the pro like maybe a hundred thousand. Oh gosh. So it didn't even break even yet?

No, like yeah, it didn't. It and now it's kind of created this unique house that it doesn't really raise the property value because it's not, um. It's not normal. Was it licensed? I mean, I don't know what it is in Canada, but you have to get a permit for that in the United States. So did that change any of the titling at all, or is it all still in your name? The title and everything is in our name.

Our taxes have increased, but that's all that. Everything is in our name, my husband and I's name. And you've been paying the taxes on the addition? Yes, yeah. So they just paid cash for the $200,000? Yeah, yeah. What's happened? Give us, without getting into all the nitty gritty, give us a good summary of what is

going on relationally where you guys are like, wow, this was a bad idea. Well, things financially get a little bit twisted. Like my husband and I, we don't make a lot of money and so we're building up, it's an acreage property and so it takes a long time for us to build it up and restore it and make it look nice. But they want it to like look nice. So they want to invest more and more money into the property to like make it look good and like buy a tractor and stuff. And we just don't feel comfortable allowing them to keep pouring money into it.

And we don't have the money to like split things half and half. How much have they done aside from the 200K? How much other money have they invested doing the things you're talking about? They haven't because we just keep putting the brakes on with like landscaping and stuff. Oh, so they're suggesting all of this and you keep going, not right now.

Yeah, yeah. Has your husband had a conversation with his dad and his mom to go, hey, this isn't working relationally? Yes, and we've had, like another issue was just the boundaries, like they're literally attached to our house, so like our boundaries, like people would come into the house multiple times a day, and it just felt like there wasn't really a boundary of like our life and their life.

Sure, but again, let me go back to the conversation. What came out of the conversation? Hopefully it was confrontational, doesn't have to be ugly, but hopefully your husband confronted this. What was their reaction? Where do we stand today? Um, like, we have asked, we have told them that we're not happy with that dynamic and we've asked them to like, cause they do have a different, they don't live here 100% of the time. They have an apartment in like a different city by some other family members. So then we've like asked them to not come as much. And so that, yeah. How did they react?

I still can't, I can't get a direct answer from you. How did they react? What did they say? They were very hurt and they were very confused. They felt like they didn't understand why. Cause it was like our idea in the first place to fight them closer. So then they feel like, like they're so confused.

Had you lived with them before? Had you lived with them in some capacity before the bright idea came to do this whole flat and add onto the house? Or that was just like, hey, we like you guys when we go out to dinner, let's live together. And did it go from zero to 100 like that? Well, there had been some instances like over the summer,

like we had spent like a couple of months in their house. And unfortunately, like I, it always, yeah, it would kind of got to the point where we were like, okay, it's time to go home. Was this your idea or your husband's idea? I'd say it was more my idea because I lived, my grandparents lived beside us and as a kid I loved it. Sure, all right, another question.

Cause we got to try to help you here and I still don't know, okay, we know they were hurt and confused. Where does it stand today? Was there any kind of conclusion or tactical conversation about what's next after you've hurt them and confused them. Where do we stand today? What's your idea for them to fix this? What's the idea? Well, we did talk about physically moving the building and they could like put it

on a different lot. Um, and. So detaching it from your house and then putting it on their own lot. Ooh. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Are they open to this? Well they kind of, but they feel like it's going to cost way more money and then they're going to have to build a foundation and buy a lot and it just takes more and more money. So what was their response from a solution or is there no conversation on an idea or two? I heard your idea What was their idea? Did they say sorry you're stuck with us?

Well, not really like I feel like we're still trying to keep having conversations they didn't yeah, they didn't like the moving idea because it was gonna be a lot of work and they feel like they don't Okay want to deal with that. So tell me this. And then we're just at a standstill. Tell me this. When you bought that, how long did you live in the house before you added your parents, before the parents added their deal to it? Maybe two years.

So two years. Let's look at this math, like as mathematically as possible. So two years, if you can remember back, how much equity did you have in the house at the two year point? Do you remember? Well, it was like a bank reposition, and so we've been fixing it up. Just direct, try to direct answer it.

Maybe like 50,000. Maybe 50,000. So let's pretend that that 50,000 was yours before they were ever part of this. So that 50,000 is yours now. Oh, sorry. I'd say more than 50 then with the land and stuff, sorry. Okay, what would you say then?

I would say like when two years ago, the property would have been worth 200,000. Worth that, but what would your equity be in it? I don't know what you purchased it for. Well, we purchased it for 80 and we have it all paid off. So what I'm asking is, if you had sold the house two years ago, in the first two years, what profit would you have taken home? Because I'm trying to divide this up so that you guys can talk about this in a fair way.

Right, yeah. So that's your homework. Your homework would be to go back and say, at the two year point before you guys ever got involved, here's the equity we had in the property. Let's pretend it's 50,000 just for the sake of this idea. Then parents get involved, they spend 200,000, they do the thing, and now you've been living like this

for a given amount of time, and that given amount of time, how much then has the property appreciated further? Let's say it's appreciated another $100,000, right? So now it's like, hey, there's $100,000 of appreciation that really has to be split. If we get rid of this property, that's really what has to be split between the two of us. And the parents are gonna have to realize

they made a bad investment. That has zero to do with you guys. They just made a bad investment. They put too much into the property because the market is not giving it back. And so that's not on you, that's on the market and that's on their choice. So then, Ken.

I gotta jump in. Tell me. Okay, I love the math thing and I think that's not on you, that's on the market and that's on their choice. So then, Ken. I gotta jump in. Tell me. Okay, I love the math thing and I think that's the homework. I'm gonna jump in and say, this is a continuation of some very uncomfortable conversations to which you and your husband have to own the fact

that you invited them in here. And did they spend too much on the addition, in my opinion? Yes, I think Jade's right. But you blindsided them. And so I think you guys are gonna have to solve this relationally over time, or you're gonna have to make the tough decision, sell the house, split it, and walk away.

That's the either or, and I wanted to just give you that. What I think are your practical choices. Ken is right. You're gonna sell this house, that $100,000 you're gonna end up splitting down the middle. You're gonna lose out and they're gonna lose out. This was a bad choice. If you're tired of living paycheck to paycheck and wondering where the heck is my money going,

the first step is you need to get on a budget, okay? So our team is hosting a free budgeting training this month, otherwise known as a webinar, and you'll learn step-by-step tricks on how to stick to the budget and honestly how to use EveryDollar, which is really the only budgeting app I use. It's the best budgeting app out there.

You'll get to have your biggest budgeting questions answered because it is a Q&A format, which is great. You can go on there and ask exactly what you've been burning to know. Just remember spots are limited. You can sign up for free at every dollar.com slash webinar. These are great. If you haven't got into one, you need to get into one.

All right. Back to the phone lines. We've got Mark in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mark, what's going on? Hello. How are you doing? Doing good. How can we help?

Um, so I have racked up a little bit of debt since I've been 18. I'm currently in about $26,000 with the debt. My income's at $52,000. My girlfriend does about seven years of possibly considering a baby in the next year. Although she has a car loan on top of all my debt that has about $14,000 on it, I'm just looking for the best advice on how to take all of this. Well, I'm going to jump in real quick on the baby issue. I would not be green lighting a baby while we're in debt, and it seems like there's a lot up in the air with you too. So that's the first thing that I heard that to me is a red flag.

Okay. You thinking of getting married before you have the baby or just in the current situation, having a baby? We were thinking just the current situation, although marriage, that would be one thing. We've been together for a while. We've talked about it. Listen, I like the idea of getting married before you have a baby. You didn't ask me my opinion on that, but there it is.

Is it her idea or your idea? Is this one of those, hey Mark, I'd like to have a baby, and you're like, oh, okay. Or were you the one that brought it up, or was this equal excitement? She brought it up, but I will say it is more of an equal excitement thing. What are you waiting on? What are you waiting on? Why haven't you asked this girl to marry you? We've had our issues in the past.

We worked it out so. How long you been with this girl? Seven years.'s seven years. About seven years. Okay, I didn't pick up on that. Man, it's time. Dude, put a ring on it, man. Get some grits or get out the South.

That's what they say. You gotta- I've never heard that and that became my newest favorite phrase. Get some grits or get out of the South. Yeah, man, it's the same as like paint or get off the ladder. How have I not heard that before?

I think, you know, if she's talking about a baby, she's got for, you know, forever in mind, you know, so. And that's a good indicator, you know, that that she does. And she's probably thinking that if you say yes, you probably have forever in mind, too. And if you have forever in mind, you may as well put a ring on it. You need to get serious, though though man and get out of debt like this is priority number one is clear all that junk and by the way that's not an

insurmountable number for you. Okay. Do you agree? Yeah I definitely agree. I just finished I listened to the total money makeover Earlier this morning at work actually good. I was able to okay, so then you know the first step here I mean you mentioned the the 26,000 a debt the 52,000 of income. Do you have any money saved anywhere? No, that's the thing. I don't have any money saved. I was looking to start the baby step one to save the thousand dollars Although I got an email today From one of them Chrysler Capital wanted me to call them so I did and

they're offering a payout for one of my For an old auto loan that I have. Yeah. What? Tell us more about that. What's what's the loan for and what are they offering? The loan for that, that is, it's owed about $13,000 left on it. Uh huh. And what are they offering?

And they're offering a $500, $600 payout, but it has to be paid by the thirtieth of this month $500 total Yeah, five hundred sixty dollars total for your thirteen thousand dollar car for your car that you owe thirteen thousand on like a trade-in value No, the car was worth almost ten thousand but the, but the engine went bad, so I told them to just take it back. This was a couple of years ago now.

Okay, so they've taken possession of the car. Yes. And you've got something in writing that says if you give them $500 before the end of this month is over, they're going to wipe that debt clean. I actually asked them to mail me a piece of paper stating that before I gave them any money because I didn't want to put the money in there and it would not be true. That's what I want to make sure of is that you have it in writing, but I would tell you young man, you can go make $500 between now and the end of May and I would absolutely

take that deal. 100%. I mean, that would be a massive deal. So go make the money. Yeah. Clear that debt. Get it in writing. Yeah. I put a I made out of the budget and I can put this budget.

I can pay it on the 22nd. Good. So yeah, do that. Then we're still working on baby step one. And honestly, when people do baby step one, it's not just kind of waiting on the income to come. This is you getting down and dirty. You're getting into your house and you're selling stuff and you're picking up a side hustle. Most people get their baby step one in 30 days or less.

So the clock is ticking on that. That's really a challenge, so to speak, in order to get that done. And then once you've cleared this car situation out for a lot less money, you know, 500 bucks, you can't beat that. Then yeah, it's working that debt snowball. And you read it in the book.

It's listing them from smallest to largest. After that car situation is cleaned up, what's your next smallest debt? My next smallest debt would be my CDL school that I just got. What's that amount? If I can pay it off in six months, they say $6,000. If not, it'll be $2.50 a month until it's at like $10,000. Okay. Well, what do you make a month now? What do you take home every month? About $3,000. Okay. And of that, have you done your every dollar budget?

No, not yet. Okay. So that's your homework today. You get off the phone. Christian will pick up, make sure you get the every dollar budget. I want you to plug those numbers in, plug in your income, plug in everything that you think that you're gonna spend money on this month. And then look for ways to cut back. If you realize, hey, I've got a couple subscriptions in there, or hey, looks like I do stop by 7-Eleven

and pick up snacks. I want you to cut that stuff back. And once you cut that stuff back, now we see how much margin you have. And when you see that margin, that's gonna inform how quickly you can pay back the CDL. Cause yeah, I don't want you, I don't want it to take any more than six months,

but you having a clear plan, Ken Coleman says it all the time, you aim at nothing, you fail every time. Did I say it right? That's exactly right. And so let's give you something very clear to aim at. You know you've got to pay this thing off in six months. What does it take to make that happen?

And how can you make that happen faster? So doing a budget is gonna get you, help you to see what that actually is. Does that make sense? Yeah. All right. Well, I think you've got a plan of action, my friend. But happen to this. Yeah, he's got to happen to it. Like, I want to hear a little more gumption out of you,

because you've got a woman who you've been with for seven years, and she's talking babies. And she's got debt, and you've got debt. It's not in any way something you guys can't take care of, but this is the moment here where you gotta step up and be a man. And I'm gonna define what a man is in a non-politically correct way.

A man understands his duty. And he accepts the duty whether or not he likes it or not. That's fact. And you gotta take care of your own debt and you've got to model this for this gal so that if you guys spend life together beyond the seven years, and I hope you get married, but I'm not going to push that on anybody. That's right. By the way, while I'm preaching, the data is clear and you guys can go Google this.

Everybody likes to talk about fact checking in this political environment today. Fact check me on this. Everybody likes to talk about fact checking in this political environment today. Fact check me on this. The data shows that you are healthier emotionally, mentally, physically when married and you have the opportunity to make more money when married. So this is not my opinion. So there's lots of data. I'm going high level here because I don't want to sound like the old guy saying get off my lawn. I'll add more data to that. But I think you need to step up right now. More data to that. You're right. Not only do they earn more, they build wealth faster. And the data says that they are happier.

No question. When they do the measure markers of what happiness means, people who are married and share their finances are happier. So there you have it. By the way, I looked up the cost of a Slurpee because you just made me think about it when you said 7-Eleven. Back in the day, I could get a large Slurpee because you just made me think about it when you said 7-eleven. Back in the day I could get a large Slurpee for 99 cents

Now a large is $2.50 for all that sugary frozenness Okay, so we talked about a thing called the baby steps here a lot The baby steps is the plan that we find helps people get to financial peace and wealth building and really the the best fastest most peaceful way. So if you hear us talk about the seven baby steps that's what we're talking about. And if you're wondering, hey am I in the baby steps? If I am on the baby steps, where am I in these seven steps? You can take a quiz to check your progress and not just that, but we'll give you a personalized plan that's just for you. So if you want to do that, if you're interested, you can simply head into the show notes and you can click

on the link that's titled, Are you on track with the baby steps? And you can complete that quiz if you are interested. All right, saying less, let's go to Eric in Los Angeles, California. What's up, Eric in Los Angeles, California. What's up, Eric? Hello, Eric. Can you hear me? Yeah, we can. What's up?

Yeah, so I'm in a bit of a predicament. So essentially, I'm looking to see whether I should get married sooner than later than I thought. Oh, I like these. Ken loves these questions. I love these questions. Okay, you gotta give us the case. You gotta lay this out for us.

Yeah. Cause you're getting a great female point of view and maybe a decent male point of view, we'll see. Give us the reasons why you would get married sooner rather than later. Give us sooner first. Sooner because, okay, so sooner is kind of like an unfortunate thing. So, me and my well, I'm engaged already. So, me and my fiance are kind of in a predicament where she's

in the process of transferring schools from CUNY College to a four-year university and she's applied to various uh safety schools and like a target school, which is like one of her dream schools. Um, and we're waiting, we've heard back from safety schools that she can get into, but the dream school she's still waiting on and our issue is she lives in a home where her father is very against school, like he has a very traditional mindset where, and he's definitely telling her, and has threatened her that

if she doesn't go to her target school or if she doesn't get in, she can't go to school anymore. That's interesting. Okay. How old is she? Uh, we're both 21. And he's paying for school? He's the money bags?

No, she's been doing it all on herself. Okay, well he has no say in that. Literally he has no say. I'm not sure I get the reason for the threat, but that doesn't make us have to move up the wedding date yet. I haven't heard any evidence for that. So that's one reason, right? That's the primary reason to move it up. All right, what was the actual date of the wedding that we were planning on before this phone call? Well, the date we were still on, like figuring it out because, well, I finished school in the, not this May, but next year May, and she'll have a little more time to finish school, like a year later. So around that time.

So May of, so summer of next year is what you were initially planning for. So 2026 summer of next year or the end of. Is this grad school for her? If she's already in school, I'm trying to catch up here. Is she is this about a grad school situation? Under grad. Oh, she's never gone. She's 21, but she's never gone to college. No, she's in community college right now.

She's got it. Okay, so we're talking about, that's right, you did say that movie from community college to college. Okay, and so if you stick with the date that you guys have, the pros of that are very obvious. You just laid them out. What are the cons to moving up the wedding? Because I'm assuming you think the pro is get her out of the house with dad and she doesn't feel that threat is deeply Blah blah blah blah blah blah. I get that but what would be the cons the negatives to moving the wedding up?

So I have debt about since I took a pawn at university and Since I'll be like it'll be my last year in school I don't know if I'll be able to like provide for like like an apartment you know you because you're both living at home now yeah yeah okay I get it I get it unless I'm missing something Jade Jade and Eric, your wife to be is gonna have to put her big girl pants on and tell dad you don't get to make that decision, number one. And if it gets so uncomfortable that she doesn't feel, and I would understand this too, not being in the house with him, she's gotta come up with some arrangements. But we don't want to rush everything

and put you guys in a desperate situation in order to avoid an uncomfortable situation. That's how I'm seeing this. And it's all her. And I understand why it's uncomfortable, and I feel bad for her. But she needs to fix that. She either says,

Dad, go pound sand in a very respectful way, and then he gets over it, or it's going to be so uncomfortable then she goes and lives with a girlfriend or two or three and we wait and clear up our debt. We make the transition to education and all that. I just think Jade that I'm going to say, I already said it, I think it is a bad idea to put yourself in a desperate situation. You're right. To avoid an uncomfortable situation. You are so, so right. And I think that there's a level of drama

and how we're speaking about this, which I think can add to the pandemonium, so to speak. So y'all were using the word threat. Like it's a very, he's threatening and he's, and I'm like, when I hear the word threat, my mind goes to is somebody in danger? Is something gonna happen? When really-

Do I need to get below this desk? Is that what needs to happen? When really it's just a middle-aged man saying, here's what I want you to do, right? Is it just that? That's a good point. Well, I mean, okay, so I forgot to mention, so they have a business, a family business.

Okay. And he wants to her like, like, let's say she doesn't get into the school that she wants to. He's like, he wants her to just pack up her bags and go work for him for the rest of his life. Because right now she, she puts in like easily, like over a hundred hours working there. Yeah, that's what's going on. He just has a plan for her life

and that's not her plan. That's 100% you nailed that. Has she told him that she doesn't wanna work for him and under any certain circumstances? Yeah, and he, well, last time he mentioned it to her, like he didn't talk to her for days. Wow. Well, but that's his problem.

Truly. It doesn't change my advice. Let me tell you, let me give you a, I try to give real time and real examples from real life. So when I was in school, I was dating a guy and, you know, my dad, he didn't dislike the guy, but at the same time, he didn't like how much time I was spending with the guy.

But I'm like, I'm in college, I'm grown. And so during summer break was really when it kind of started creating some tension. So do you want to know what I did? I moved out. And I rented, this is bad, I mean it's not great, but my friend had an apartment, it didn't have an extra room. So I said, how much would it cost me if I brought my futon

here and I just slept in the living room on the futon and it cost me like 300 bucks a month. I mean this one back in the day. I don't mind that. And I did that until it was time to get married. Good for you. I think that's great. That's exactly the advice that I'm giving. I 100% love that example. Yeah. You were like, all right Pops, if you're gonna have a problem with the dude, I'm gonna remove myself. And it's not even that he had a problem because I'm married to Sam now. It's not even that he had a problem with Sam. Yeah. Oh, I mean, I just was framing it up in the way he had a problem.

I was just spending a lot of time with Sam. He was just having a daddy problem. He was having his own issue, his own issue. It's not your issue. It's not my, you know, I was flying the coop. You know what I mean? That's what's going on here. Exactly. Dad, you said it has a plan for her life. Yeah. And she has to remind him that the last two words in that sentence are her and life.

Yes. And that's tough. And by the way, you have to stay out of that, Eric. Yes. She's gotta handle that. But I would not rush the wedding. Please don't rush the wedding. You yourself said, I can't afford to do what we need to do.

And boy, oh boy, I'm gonna say this, Jade weigh in on this, the first year of marriage, in my opinion, okay, is the hardest year of marriage. Wild, wild west. Because you get into it going, oh, this is great. We come off the honeymoon and we've been in love. And then you got two individual people coming from two different environments and you're smashing them together like a smash burger. And then you got two individual people coming from two different environments

and you're smashing them together like a smash burger. And it's tough. And I would not want any first year couple to have any financial stress if they could keep from it. I think that that is admirable. Yes, 100%. If you can avoid it, do it, don't add to it. And a word for the dads.

Dads, they love their daughters and sometimes they don't add to it. And a word for the dads, you know dads, they love their daughters and sometimes they don't know how to show it in the most sensitive ways and sometimes they result to control a little bit. Hold on, ouch, ouch. I'm just saying, those are my toes being stepped on. They don't mean any harm, they just don't know how to say it. I'm sad that I'm losing you and they start holding on too tight. We don't do well being, we love being a girl dad, but we don't know how to handle it. Yeah, it's tough man. It's hard. I don't envy you Ken Coleman. That's my princess man. This is the Ramsey Show. You're listening to the Ramsey Network and this is the Ramsey Show where we take calls about your

life and your money. If you didn't know, we take these calls live. And if you want to get on the show, you can call triple eight, eight, two, five, five, two, two, five. And we'll get you on. I am your host today, Jade Warshaw. Your other host for the day is Ken Coleman. And if you don't know, Ken Coleman and I, we keep it real, we have a good time together. So let's take it straight to the phone lines, Ken,

where we have Jay in Atlanta, Georgia. What's up, Jay? So my wife and I are debt free other than our home. And recently my grandmother passed and left us a small inheritance. It was about after taxes, roughly $70,000. Her wish, her wishes were that she wanted to leave her legacy with it going towards

our children's education. I have a sixth grader and a third grader. We've been funding their college funds since the beginning. Um, my sixth grader has roughly $75,000 in his, my third grader, she has roughly 60,000 in hers. Wow. Good job. And the question is though, would we be better off, I mean, I want to honor my grandmother's wishes, but will we be better off paying down our house as the last debt we have? That's kind of where we're at in the baby steps, trying to get the house paid off.

Yeah. So did your grandmother, she clearly didn't know that you had college covered when she said this in the will is the guess, right? Well, I don't know if I have college covered I guess that's my the secondary question like when is it enough you know like when do you have enough in their college funds we're continuing to contribute to their college fund every month as part of our budget. Have you played it out to see what it will be when they reach 18? Um yeah uh yeah I can't remember exactly what it was but just I mean on the rough numbers right now, right, if it doubles every seven years, it's 150 and, you know, probably 150 for each

of them, maybe potentially more, I think, but people continue to contribute. But I, so if that's enough, then if we're already, if we're already in the, and then again, I know education costs could change, I get all the other items. Well, there's charts out there, there's charts out there where you can play it out and see. So let's, let's put some real meat on the skeleton. So let's pretend you said you're in Georgia. So let's pretend that they go to a state school, which is what we would recommend here,

going to an in-state school, assuming you still live in the state of Georgia. And so now it's like, okay, they're in sixth and third grade, right? It's hard to know who they're gonna be coming up, but let's just conservatively say, even if they chose like the most popular state school in Georgia, what would that, what does it cost today?

And let's use a chart to find out what it would cost in the next six years, you know, to find out what this is gonna, the next 10 years to find out what this is gonna be, right? And so that's how you would play that out. And then you go back and look at the account and find out, this is gonna be, or the next 10 years to find out what this is gonna be, right? And so that's how you would play that out, and then you go back and look at the account and find out would there be enough? So that's the game that I would play

when I get off this phone. I have a fun curve ball. What's that? Can I jump, is it okay? What if they don't go to college at all? No. Oh. What is the amount total that you're putting away

each month for both kids? We're splitting it $500 a month is what we're doing $500 a month. Split between the two of them in our budget. So how many more years for your oldest child would we be contributing? How old again? He's in sixth grade, so six more years for him, and then it'd be nine more years for my daughter. Okay, so we're talking, what I would do is, I'm trying to back into this and I'm not a mathematician, but basically you're doing $6,000 a year is what you're putting away for both kids, correct? Yes.

So you've got how many years left? Six more years for your son? Correct. Okay, and then the third grader what nine? Ten years. But I'm splitting that between the 500 is split between the two of them. I know okay but here's my point if it were me now I'm just throwing a curveball out here. Hit it. I do not mind either one of you pushing back on this. I would take the 70,000 because it's really darn close to what you're gonna contribute over the, the difference is not that much,

as to what they're gonna contribute at this current rate, if I'm not mistaken. So I would take the 70,000 from grandma, and I would use that, I would go ahead and put that in each one of the kids' funds, and then I would start using the money you've been putting in out of your budget, and I would just start moving down the baby steps from there.

That's what I would do. I guess I think it's gonna come out. I would have a month extra to the house. Yeah, yeah, because I think then you're honoring grandma's request and you're creating, it's still cash flow, it's still the same. I mean, it's six and one half dozen another, but you're honoring grandma.

Yeah, it's 60,000. It's 60. But go ahead and put it in now. So go ahead and put the 70 in now. And you're gonna get the greater investment return on that. You see what I'm saying? Yeah, because it's a chunk. And then from day one,

let's say you put the 70 in now, then you guys start taking that 500 a month and you start using it towards paying off the house. That's what I would do. And that way I'm honoring grandmother. I'm getting the benefit of that investment by getting that 70 and now and early as opposed to 6,000, 6,000. Yeah, you're right. That's what I would do.

I'm not opposed to that. It makes sense. My question then is you're afraid you're going to leave yourself short. Is it enough still? I guess I get back to the calculator question. It does. But I would also say, uh, I'm, I'm, I'm channeling Dave right now, that Dave Ramsey, when he'd go, what you have is going to be enough. Yeah, because you set the budget, my friend, and what you have is the budget. And the kids go, this is what we have. And so if each of them have 150, I feel pretty confident they're going to be able to get educated. Yes. Thank you very much.

Yeah, that's a good question. But they don't have an unlimited number. They don't go, well, dad, I want to go to Harvard and it's 80 grand a year. You can go tough cookies. Or you tell them to figure out where is it coming from. So the hope is if they went to grad school, then there would be enough to carry on to a graduate degree afterwards or something if you could continue to fund it more. Okay, then again, you can choose to keep doing the 6,000. Yeah, you can. Per year.

And then you're doing both. And you're doing both. You're doing what grandma said and you're adding extra to it. But it does lead into another question, Jay and Ken, that I think is worth talking about, which is when it comes to school, college, grad school, higher ed, whatever, going to get training,

I think the biggest piece of this responsibility is not financial. I think the biggest piece is that communicative part of it where we're saying, here's the expectation, here's what mom and dad are gonna do, but here's what child, what you do, and we're having that conversation early and we're having it often,

so they're not gonna wake up one day at 16 or 17, scrambling, trying to figure out or learning, hey, I have a college fund, right? It's, we're talking about this probably from the time you hit freshman year of, hey, college is coming in four years, your mother and I are saving. We don't know what school you're going to end up with, but just know if there's a deficit,

you're going to be on the line for it. And even if there's not, you're applying for scholarships. I expect, you know, depending, there's gonna be some work aspects on your end. And so really clearly setting that guideline, I think is the most important part. I think so. And so just a quick review here.

I would say I put the 35 in each kid's account today. 35 here, 35 there. And I'd talk with the smart, your smart vestor pro, the person you're using and go, let's play this out. Let's do our best calculator guess or amortize this, whatever you want to call it. And now we can look back and go, okay, based on this new 35 and 35 in each kid's account, what's that going to end up being? And I believe it's going to take one of the kids to 120 and I think the other one, 90 something or somewhere in that range.

So. I mean, it's $72,000 for the 10 year spread for the six year old and the nine year old. If they keep putting in what they've been putting in. Yeah, so you got options, but I would honor grandma's request. I wouldn't take her money and put it towards the mortgage. I feel gross about that.

I agree, especially it would be one thing if you already fully had education covered, but with your what you've said you want to pay, you don't have it covered. So I would put it towards. I agree with Ken. Let's get that mass sum in there right now. Let that start building. I know that's right. And yeah, you're right, Ken. Yes. Wow. Somebody write it down. Ken is right. I need to call my wife and daughter immediately and tell them, hang on. I need to call my wife and daughter immediately and tell them.

Hang on. I'll be wrong later. All right. Today's question of the day is brought to you by Why Re-Five? If you've got defaulted private student loans and no one else will work with you, then try Why Re-Five. They help you explore refinancing options with a low fixed rate and a payment plan based on your ability to pay. So go to

yrefy.com slash ramsey. That's the letter y r f r e f y. Let me say that again. That's the letter yrefy.com slash ramsey may not be available in all states. All right, today's question, Jade, comes from Declan in West Virginia. I'd like to say that I think Declan's a cool name, and I kind of would like this Declan Coleman. It's very strong. I think I could pull that off. Yeah, that's good.

You think? No? Not sure? No, you can't pull it off. Sorry. Kelly agrees. Kelly's like, not happening. No, no, I think you're right. That's like, not happening. No, no.

I think you're right. That's why I said it. I knew it was going to be funny and I want to admit that I don't mind being the butt of a good joke. Yeah. I don't think I could pull that one off. But back to Declan's question. I see so much on social media these days regarding how well everyone is doing and I wonder if

I'm doing okay. Oh, I pay $1,100 a month for rent. regarding how well everyone is doing. And I wonder if I'm doing okay. Oh. Oh, I pay 1,100 a month for rent. I have $900 in monthly expenses, including student loan, personal loan, cell phone, gym membership, and utilities. I don't spend much on food, no joke. Maybe about $750 a month.

I rarely buy anything for myself. After taxes, I bring home $2,500 every two weeks. So he's got $5,000 a month he's bringing home. Why do I feel so behind? Well, I think the first and the biggest reason is because you're spending too much time focusing on other people's big wins. Boom. And so when I'm watching everybody else show off their car, their house, their shoes, whatever, whatever as you describe, then I know from science, and we know this from neuroscience,

that whatever we focus on, that's all we see. Man. And so all you see is everybody else is crushing it. And I'm over here in West Virginia, just trying to make it through a month. And I think that's why you feel behind in the grand scheme of things. I don't think you're terribly behind.

I don't either. And it sounds like you're young. And my partner here in crime, Jay, there's another reason why he feels like he's not getting ahead too. Well, I- You can see it in the question. You can, let me, before I do though,

this popped in my mind and I'm just gonna say it, you know, there's this scripture that I think of where it's like, hey, you were running a good race. Like what stopped you from, you know, going forward? And it talks about giving careful thought to the path of your feet. And it's so easy with money, you're running your race and it's easy to look over into somebody else's lane and be like, ooh, what are they doing? And it's so easy with money, you're running your race and it's easy to look over into somebody else's lane

and be like, ooh, what are they doing? And it's distracting. And you're supposed to look at your path and your feet and not get distracted. So I just wanna remind you that your race is your race to run. Somebody's gonna be making 10,000, somebody's gonna be making five,

somebody's gonna be making 40,000 a month, right? But your race is your race and there's no shame in that game. You're not racing them, you're trying to get your best time. And it's you against you. So just reminding of that. Now, he says, I don't spend much on food,

maybe 750 a month. I rarely buy anything for myself after taxes. I bring in 2,500 every two weeks. You know, I think that he's... If you feel that you want to increase your income, that is your prerogative. And if you feel that that is what's hindering you from going faster, you would be correct in that assumption.

And I think that there's room for you to improve on that, but not because of what other people are doing, because of what it is that you want to do. What can't see in this question is what are his monthly payments We do know there's no and so if you were to take those monthly payments, and I could take a guess Just looking at that situation. Yeah, have somewhere between three and five hundred dollars a month might be more with the car payment Does he have a car? He is student loan personal loan cell phone. He doesn't with a car payment. Does he have a car payment? Yeah, student loan, personal loan, cell phone, he doesn't mention a car. Okay, good, so my guess is you could give yourself

anywhere from a three to $5,000 raise, not knowing the actual specifics here. That combined with I wanna bust it to work, but again, Jade makes the best point here, what's the life that you want? What's the future life you want, not the life that everybody else has? He also doesn't say how old he is. Yeah. Which, there's the life that you want? What's the future life you want, not the life that everybody else has? He also doesn't say how old he is.

Yeah. Which, there's another piece of that. Oh, I've got to point this out, and this is going to sound so old man, Kelly, our young millennial or Gen Z producer. Well, dang, I feel like crushed, chopped meat over here. No, no, no, but listen. So here's what I saw something. I saw this recently. She's the young one. I saw that these influencers that are showing

all this stuff where they're traveling around the world and they're staying at these nice hotels, it's all a ruse. Bro. There's four or five of them splitting the costs and then they shoot their video. Yes. I didn't know this.

It's never real. What you see on social media is so not real. Yeah, so you never know what's behind the scenes. That really burned my biscuits, I'll be honest, because I was like, they're lying to a bunch of young people and they're all splitting the cost and none of them own anything and they can't afford to stay in the hotel

or drive the car. And they're like renting a private plane and like six of them are shooting videos. So I'm just pointing this out, like the stuff you see on TikTok and Instagram, I hate to be a conspiracy theorist. Where's Rachel Cruz when you need her? I think it's, I wouldn't believe anything I see out there.

Ken, you don't even need to go to extremes. Like you're talking about, I mean, you're talking about like nice resorts and private planes I Just see families at Disney How God how well credit cards yes, and so that's my point is yeah you 100% Cannot compare yourself now. Let's have this quick conversation Ken because I think it's worth having great I'm talking I was talking to a guy about this this morning. Let's talk about comparison with money Okay, because I think there's two types of comparison.

One is good and one is bad. One is comparison for inspiration and for ideas. You're looking at other people and going, oh, they're doing something that I'd like to do. That'd be a debt-free scream, for an example, on the show. You watch the debt-free screams because you go, I wanna be where they are. Yes, I look at Beyonce, I go, she's my same age

and she's amazing, I wanna be fabulous too. You are fabulous. You know what I'm saying? But that's what I'm saying, you're looking for inspiration, you're looking, it's not making you feel bad or less than, it's making you feel great. Yes, of course. Anything's possible.

Then there's the comparison that's the bad side, that's, hey, everybody's doing this, why can't I? Am I bad compared to this? Is this better and I'm not meeting the bar? And so really knowing how to shift that from the negative comparison to the positive comparison. And I think, Ken, the way that you shift that is by asking the right questions.

And now I'm going into your lane because you're the question asker. But when you're looking at what other people are doing and you're just internalizing it, saying oh how did they get that? Should I be doing that? No, take it outside and go hey you know. Well here you go. Where do I want to be financially in 30 years? Let's start there. Yes. What do I want to bless my family with financially? Yes. If, where do I want to live? Yes. All the things.

You start asking those questions, that becomes very personal to your point. And now this young man, Declan, with the cool name goes, all right, this is the vision for my life, and I'm going to have to do this, this, this, and this to fund that. And you can ask those people. You can ask the people that you see doing the thing, if you have to do this, this, this, and this to fund that. And you can ask those people. That's exactly right. You can ask the people that you see doing the thing,

if you have proximity to them, there's nothing that's stopping you from saying, hey, you know, that job you had, did that require, what education did that require? Right. You know, I see that you're, you know, winning in this way. Are you using someone to help you with your investments? Yeah.

Who do you use? Ask questions, because then you're being curious, you're not being, you know, you're not having a bad comparison. But one, and I think you're making a really good point, you've gotta want it for you and for good reasons, not just because you go, well, it sure would be nice to have a private jet.

Right. Or whatever you're seeing on social. Exactly. And you make a very good point, I went kind of the influencer route and what we see, but just everyday people are out there putting their best foot forward and what you don't know is is they're dragging along a $1,200 car payment behind that new nice car. And I mean, look, you and I park next to each other in a parking lot, I think people would be astounded to know what we drive. We drive nice cars. They're just old. Well, they're older. Older, yes. But they're nice. I think so. And we pay

cash. You know why? Because I got three kids on the payroll. I know, that's right. And I got them coming up. They're coming up the pipe. You're just getting ready. Your expenses are low. I know. Until that boy of yours eats a carton of eggs in two days. Listen, they're getting there Let me tell you so Zia's daycare. I never say her name online, but I know that was a slip You saw what I did. I stayed away from that Pretend like you didn't hear that. So my daughter is Daycare she stops daycare and goes to kindergarten and let me tell you something. That's a cool 1400 back in my pocket Oh, man, I can't wait, man.

Weekend trips. What's up? Now, maybe I can go to Disney. You can. If you are listening to this message, it means that you are a listener of the Ramsey Show. And we're so glad that you are. And we're hoping that you're enjoying, you know, the advice that we give and the messages that we teach. And if that is the case,

I hope that you share it with somebody. I hope you tell them, hey, there's this really cool financial podcast or this really cool, you know, YouTube show that I listen to and you'll love it and share it with the people that you love and that you think could use this advice and make sure you share it in a positive way, not your finances look a mess, you could probably use this show. Make sure you share it in a nice way. Off the top ropes there.

Yeah, you don't wanna do that. So just slide it into their DMs or hit the little paper airplane button or copy the link and paste it into one of your text messages. We would really, really appreciate that. It's helpful for us and it helps spread the word to a lot of people who could probably use the help. So for anybody over the age of 50,

slide into their DMs just means send them a direct message on social media. We got to explain things like that. That's correct, Ken, you're right. I'm looking out for my people out there. Thank you, we need that. Sia is in Seattle, Washington. Sia, how can we help?

Hi, I'm glad that you were taking my call. I own two houses. One of them I just bought recently at $1.2 million. I put down just 25% down and I mortgaged my $100,000. Okay. Now my first house, that is $850,000 worth, 150,000 remaining on the mortgage. The rate on the first house is 2.7%. That makes monthly payment of $2,000. Now the question is,

is it better to sell the first house and pay the equity toward the second house so that I can have lesser or smaller mortgage payment monthly or should I rent out the first house and pay the rent difference toward the mortgage of the second house and pay the rent difference toward the mortgage of the second house. Because the mortgage, the rent difference is about $2,000 a month. Because it could rent out about $4,000.

Okay, keep going. If I make $2,000 from the rent difference, that rent difference can go toward the mortgage of the second house and the rest I can pay through my income. Which one is a better investment pathway forward? Let me ask a couple of questions. Is this your only debt, these houses? This is my only debt. This is the only debts out there.

And what's your income? I make around $350,000 a year. Okay. $350,000. Seattle, Washington, these two houses. Right now, which one are you currently living in? I live in the new one that I just bought. The $1.2 million one?

Yeah. The previous one is being painted getting ready for rent, but I'm just not sure should I rent it or should I sell it. How much do you owe on that first house? The one that you're getting ready to rent? I owe 150,000 on it. What's it worth? It's worth 850,000.

And then you've got a 900,000 mortgage on the one you just bought. So you're more, let's kind of like frame up how we're viewing this because you're viewing it more on the monthly payment, the rents. I'm viewing it more on total debt. Ken, how are you viewing it? Yeah, the same way. I mean to really burst your bubble That rental Opportunity is not as exciting as you think it is Yeah, and it's also not going to be as effective as you think it is Let's take the $2,000 a month that you're saying you're gonna get in profit Well, that's not what you're actually gonna net when you talk about expenses of taking care of the home

You're the landlord on that deal. You still own it, you're gonna have expenses, you're not gonna see $2,000 a month. You feel like there's easier ways to make that money. Yeah, and so you're going, well, I'll take that and then I'll put it on my new mortgage. I just don't think you're gonna make the progress that you want. And so, yeah, I'm seeing it the same way you are, Jade.

I go, all of a sudden you've made yourself a landlord and you've taken on a really, really high mortgage. Now you make good money. You make great money so you shouldn't be in a burden there but what's the point of keeping the first house when you could sell it and put a huge chunk and almost completely cover or get yourself really close to be able to pay that new house down pretty quickly

and that would be the play for me. I mean you could do either. So right now you've got the $850,000 house. You only owe $150,000 on it. Correct? I only owe $150,000. So if you sold the $1.2 million house you could clear that. Yeah, but he just bought that. That's not a smart move. He just moved into that one. That's true. That is true. I mean that's where you want to live. That's your primary. That's what you guys are excited

about is your primary home going forward long term. Considering the inflation and the rate going up, I was just thinking if keeping the house, the first house if I keep it, next year this time is going to be worth 100,000 more. the first house if I keep it. Next year this time is gonna be worth 100,000 more. I understand, but we weren't discussing that. I'm saying the house you just bought, $1.2 million house, is that your long-term play? That's where you all want to be long-term?

That's right, yes. Okay, so then if that's the case, then you sell house number two, you clear, I don't know how much you think you'll clear, 700,000 off of this? Six, six, 85, 650. Okay. And you take that, you throw it at your $900,000 mortgage and then you know, your cashflow and the rest to pay this thing off. That's what I would do. But I have a sense that you're, you got into these houses for a reason was it just

was it to make money in real estate or did you say we lived in one house now we bought another house and now i just happen to have these two houses we moved uh just wanted to move to a better neighborhood uh that was and better school okay so you didn't set out to be a landlord no i didn't okay it turned out that landlord? No I didn't. Okay. It turned out that way so I was just thinking if it's a good investment maybe to keep it for retirement age. I wouldn't. But if it's not.

So then you have to ask yourself the question. This is kind of a Dave Ramsey question. You have to ask yourself today, if I lived in this $1.2 million house and I only owed 350,000 on it, would I turn around and say, I'd like to have a rental. Let me go over here and buy the same exact house, house number two, and spend 850,000 on it because I wanna be a landlord.

Would you do that? Probably not because I'd buy a cheaper rental. Exactly. So that's kind of a way to flip it around and say, is this really the decision that I want to be in long term or did I just end up here? And is it something that I honestly want to get out of? And I think it sounds like something you want to get out of. Yeah.

And I'll use your own logic. I'll use your own logic really quick. See, you know, you said the very first home you had that you're planning to rent, you said if I hold on to that another year from now, it's going to be worth another $100,000. And I'd say, well, the same is probably true for the new, fancier, nicer area house you just got. So that's why I would put my money, I would divest of that house, I'd sell it and I would do what Jay told you to do. And now we're on a track to pay that really nice house, or much nicer house off.

And it's what you want to be in. Yeah. I could pay that off a lot faster. Oh yeah, with that income especially. Again, that's what we would do, okay. I really appreciate it. Thank you very much for taking my call. You bet, that's a great call Sia, I like that one.

All right, let's take a social question, Ken. Oh, I love the social questions. And this guy's name is Kenneth. This is a good man. I can tell you he's a distinguished gentleman. I can just tell you. I can just tell you that. He says, I have a sum of money coming in

that would either pay off both of my credit cards or my 401k loan. Oof. Which would you recommend that I pay off? Well, we're gonna go with the debt snowball. So which one of those is, so we lay them all out. What's the 401k loan? What are the credit card loans?

And I'm doing it for momentum. I'm gonna play the snowball the way that we teach it. Interesting, I'd go the 401k loan first. There's a couple of things that I'd put top on that list. That's fair, I have a caveat on that. Okay, tell me your caveat. If it's a onerous loan and it's really costing a lot of money and he can wipe it, then I get that.

Yeah. 401k loans scare me because here's the thing. And to your point, if it's a big loan, if you lose your job, that thing becomes paid, like due in full within 12 months of you losing your job. I'd like to know the terms of that deal Yeah, but I'm always gonna go the snowball for momentum purposes is where I'm always gonna default. I like it Buying or selling a home is a really big deal guys

And you do want an expert in your corner, someone who is fighting for you to find the best deal for the right price. And luckily the Ramsey Trusted program is the only way to find a top agent that you can trust. They're going to help you make your home a blessing and not a burden. And I'm telling you, it's easy to just compare these different agent profiles. It's easy to interview them and ultimately choose the one that's going to work for you, which is what I like about it because at the end of the day, you're the one making the

choice. We're not just assigning someone to you. You're still interviewing them and you're still getting to choose. We've just vetted them to make sure they're worth choosing. So find a local Ramsey Trusted Real Estate Pro for free at ramsysolutions.com slash agent or click the link in the description if you are listening on YouTube or podcast. All right. Love that. Let's go to Rachel in Dallas, Texas. Rachel, what's up? Hi y'all. Thank you for taking my call. You bet. How can we help? So my question is, should I pull out of my savings or stop paying towards my debt in

order to buy an RV for me, my husband, my one-year-old, and our two dogs to live in? Why do we want to live in an RV? So, my parents, our home flooded in 2023. Oh no. So my husband and I, we had a two month, well we had a baby baby and we needed a place to go so my parents had just finished building their house and while they were building their house they lived in an RV and so they had an RV for us to live in. So we moved into there. Now my parents are both retired and they're wanting extra money and so I just feel like us moving out of this $40,000 RV

would be very beneficial to them. Now while we're living in this RV we've been able to save and pay off some of our debt and so we want to continue doing that. We're not really ready to go and rent again. So we discussed with my parents, maybe us buying our own RV and letting them be able to sell theirs. What would the cost of the RV be that you guys are thinking about buying? Well, so I'm not really sure. We have $2,500 in savings, which isn't a lot, and we still have $40,000 in debt. We're paying off our debt, so our savings isn't going up much. So I'm just kind of stuck on, do I ask my parents for us to continue staying there? I'll be honest, my dogs are kind of tearing up their RVs, so if I could get us

out of there sooner than later, that would be my... Why aren't you ready to rent? That was the statement you made. We're not ready to rent. Is it the cost? Yeah, we're just really proud of our progress on paying off our debts.

Yes, but you gotta... We are too. You gotta run the numbers on both sides to see if this is gonna work. So you said you've got, and you've gotta consider the timeframe too. So you said you've got, and you've got to consider the timeframe too. So you said you've got $40,000 of debt. How much do you have to put onto that debt

to clear it in the timeframe that you're thinking? And what is the timeframe that you're thinking? Well, at the rate we're going, so some of it's school loans, so we're kind of leaving that out. No, no. Don't leave that out. But I'm pretty much going with- Don't leave that out. That's the one you want to get.

Listen, Sallie Mae stops for no one. So you don't leave that out. That's part of the debt snowball. Yes. As far as my timeline, I'm kind of leaving that out. We have my husband's- No, and I'm telling you straight up, don't leave it out, Rachel.

Don't leave it out. No, ma'am. Okay, and you know what? It's still accruing. He still has two years left of school. And you're still taking debt for it? So you're still actively going into debt? There's still loans coming from it. I think there's three loans on it. Alright, Rachel, I've been very, very patient. We're having the wrong conversation. So I'm gonna answer the question that you asked, okay? No, you should not stop paying down your debt to buy an RV.

You have no idea what the RV's gonna cost. You only have $2,500 in savings. You're more than $40,000 in debt, and you're presenting to us as though you can't even afford to pay rent, which isn't true, which is where I wanna to focus our conversation. The bottom line is, is your dogs are tearing up your parents RV.

You guys have outstayed your welcome. They need the money. So what I want to ask is, what does your husband and you, what's your bring home income, both of you, because I want to come up with with Jade, how much you can actually afford in rent. Because that's what you need to be doing, is going and renting and then taking your time and going as fast as you can go on paying off the debt. But buying an RV, you don't have the money.

Were you going to sell something to get this? Or what was your thought? No, we were going to... Finance it. I don't know what our job was. I know what we were going to... Find the answer. I know what you were gonna do. Yeah. No, because I, because you don't have any money. So therefore you were gonna justify getting an RV, which if you really want to get our blood pressure high, it's when people ask us about buying RVs because it's a complete and total waste of money. So let's go to, tell Jade what your take-home income is so that she can help you figure this rent out Yeah, so I bring home 70,000 and my husband brings home about

I Don't know he makes a little makes $11 an hour and this is a newer job Because he had to change jobs so he could be close to Tell me every month how much money you guys see in your paychecks, that's an easier question So he gets paid every other week his are about $700 so he brings them about 1400 and I bring home Well, I have our insurance and I have you know 401k I bring home 1800 every two weeks. So what is that? 32. Uh-huh.

Okay. Yeah. So you guys have 5,000 bucks a month and you've got 25% of that, that you can spend on rent. So you've got 1,250 bucks that you can spend every single month on rent. So that's your starting spot. Now you go, I almost said look in the paper or look in the yellow pages, I don't know what hit me, but you go and you find a place.

Yeah, I'll have to explain what that is to some people. People don't know how old I really am. I know. You go and find an apartment or something, a rental, a townhouse that you guys can stay in that'll take your dogs and that's $ 1,250, that is the barrier. Because if you go beyond that, it's gonna be really tough, Rachel, for you guys to make headway on your debt.

So that's the game plan. Yes, so there's your number. 1,250 years your max, Rachel. Maximum. Okay, now, I wanna know if Hubs is working another job or two or open to working another job or two because $11 an hour, he's capable of bringing in more money and he needs to be, especially when we're paying off debt.

What's the story? Yeah, so we moved to a smaller town when we moved in with my parents and so we were looking for a job for him that's close to my son's daycare because I have to travel over 60 miles for work. I got a great idea. Why don't we move closer to your job? Now you don't have to be in the OV. Oh, and by the way, it's probably closer to civilization I'm gathering, which means there's better jobs. When will he be eligible? It sounded like he was still in school because he's accruing loans. Is that right? Yes. Yeah, he's doing online for what? So when will he make more?

Well, his degree is in marine biology. So in Texas is George Costanza. All right All right. So is there a pathway that he's going to make that money? To get him near the marine biology? Does he know the pathway for that? He has no pathway. No, he doesn't know the pathway. He needs to pause on school. You all need to move and get to a better place where you're not driving as far as you're driving with a little one.

That's adding a lot of stress to your life. It's going to be a better job market for him because it's near civilization or in the middle of civilization and he needs to be making $20 or more an hour. Period. End of story. I don't care what he's doing. And yes, he needs to press pause on pursuing a degree because you guys can't afford it and you're taking a loan out without a path to doing marine biology work. Now I'm not saying, I'm not in any way crapping on the dream or trying to be tough guy or get off my lawn guy, but right now where there is no path, we shouldn't be doing something.

And so let's press pause. The marine biology degree will always be there. That you all need to get your income up and change your lifestyle. That's... yeah. Sorry, I know that's not fun to hear. It's not, but Ken, I think you're exactly right. There's a lot going on and if they can just focus in one direction, a clear direction where there is a path forward to your point, you need to go that direction. And so, $1,250 a month in a rental that gets you closer to your job and allows him to find work as he pauses education for the time being until he finds a clear path forward. You're listening to The Ramsey Show, a call-in show about your life

and your money where we take actual people, Ken, who are calling into the show. That's right. Telling us about their situation. These are not actors. They're not actors. They're real people like you and me. The voice you hear right now is the voice of Ken Coleman. Yes.

And Jade Warshaw. Hello, everybody. We are your hosts, taking calls again about your life and money. If you're interested in getting involved, you can. The number is 888-825-5225. And if you call in and the line is busy, just leave a message, we'll get to you. All right, let's get to the phone lines.

We've got Jen, who's in Portland, Oregon. Jen, what's up? Hi guys. Hey Jen. Well, how are you guys? Good. We have a 20 year old son and he has an AA. He wants to be a police officer.

And about a month ago, my 75-year-old uncle came to us and said that he would pay for our 20-year-old to go back to college to obtain a four-year degree. And he joked and said he could pay him back in 20 years, but he said he wouldn't have to pay any of the money back. Okay. But he said he wouldn't have to pay any money back. So we wanted to know, should our son take this opportunity to get a free four-year degree and what safeguards would you suggest in case this does go sideways down the road? Does he need the four-year degree to go into law enforcement?

Most agencies don't require it, but as you advance up the ranks, it can be an advantage. And is there a reason why he is not already enrolled in four-year school to this point? Well, because he obtained the two-year degree and he kind of said, I'm done with it. I don't want to have to do that anymore. And he doesn't really have the funds and we don't have any means of paying for it. Does your son know that uncle has offered this

for the remaining two years? Yes, uncle came to us, my parents and him. How did he react? Does your son want to go to school all of a sudden? He's contemplated. He doesn't really want to go back to school because he's kind of done with it but he knows that it can be an advantage and he wouldn't have to pay for it. How long is the offer good for? Well, until my uncle passes away. Well, you called us to ask us what seems like a no-brainer, which tells me it's not a no-brainer. Do you have pause? Does your husband have pause? And if so, what do we have pause about? My husband has pause because he doesn't think he needs it. And so why bother going and wasting his time? Love the way your husband thinks.

That's exactly how I think. I feel like it's like, well, it's a golden opportunity. You'd only have to do two years and you wouldn't have to pay for it. Do you have pause? Do you have pause about anything because I think you do Um, yeah kind of what is it? my pauses is that it's I worry that my uncle's gonna ask for us to pay it back later on down the road What makes you what makes you think that?

later on down the road. What makes you think that? Because the family, so he has no spouses, no children. And so when he does pass away, it'll be divided behind or between the, the remaining siblings and or their children. And so I worry that that might come out and then other kids are going to want it and he's going to be obligated. And I don't want that on my head. And he made the joke about it and he made the joke about it, so I don't think that's a joke I don't think it is either cuz he's he's got so much money. He's never gonna use all his money and so

Do you know for a fact that he didn't offer something like this to the other? Nieces now if yous no, I don't think it's the other nieces and nephews? No. I don't think it's the other kids that I'm concerned about. I would be concerned about him saying to your son, five years from now or four years from now or two years from now, hey, when are you gonna pay me back?

And all of a sudden, what we thought was a gift, your son's on the hook for whatever that is. That would be my concern. I've already made my decision. I will vote and let Jade weigh in. I say, no, don't take this money. And if you did, I'd be trying to get my pause on something.

Oh, pause. I like what you did there. You know, you were saying it a lot. I know, I know. If you did take it, yeah, I'd be getting my pause on something that's in writing that says, this is a gift, I don't owe it back, if you were to take the money. But I tend to agree with Ken that I don't think

that you need it. Well, we know he doesn't need it. Or want it. Or want it. And if he changes his mind down the road, that's fine. But it just feels like there's too many strings that could be attached and you don't like the way it feels. And I am learned a

Long time ago Jen that you do not question a woman's intuition. Oh That is so so true. That is am I right? That'll preach. Yep So I I'm going off of your intuition Jen. Mom. I didn't feel good about it and I don't like it anyway So that's where we're at. Sorry about that. Thanks for the call. What an interesting call. All right, let's listen to that.

Boy, we all need an uncle in our life who's willing to just throw some cash our way though. Don't we all need that? Yeah, that would be nice to have the rich uncle that you never knew and then you inherit a bunch of. Yeah, that'd be great. That would be great. You could be the rich uncle that no one ever knew about.

You have an opportunity here, Ken. All my nieces and nephews know about me. I can't sneak up on them. Dang it. All right. You've been a good guy all this time. All right. Yeah, I'm active in their life.

I'm not a mystery. All right. Let's go to these social questions. Trent off of TikTok asks, we are in baby step five and also buying a new home that we will only live in for six to 10 years. How does he know? Do we just skip baby step six and go into seven since it's not our forever home?

So essentially he's saying, since we know we're not gonna live here forever, do we still need to pay down? Do we still need to pay it down? And I would say, yes, because a home is a forced savings account. What say you, Ken? If I understood the question, he said, we're only going to be in this house for six to 10 years. Do we go ahead and go to baby step seven? Yeah. So baby step seven is live and give like no one else. Yeah. He's trying to curtail the- You can't technically be in seven while you are paying on a house in six. He's... I hate to be a letter of the law guy, but

you can't technically do that as the way we laid the steps out. In 10 years, if I might add, is a long time. That's a decent amount of time. And if you think about the extra that you might be putting on your mortgage, that stacks up to a lot of money. That is, and the reason I call it a forced savings account, I mean, it goes without saying, but you're building that equity every time you make a payment. And it's, unless you're a person who takes out debt,

like home equity loans, it's kind of locked into the house. So you're not able to kind of pull it out of the cookie jar, you know, and use it for here and there and everywhere It's it's a foolproof kind of way to build wealth in that way Yeah, I just I think the question is too cute He's gotten in his head and spent a little too much time in there as we all do Too much time in your own head. Oh, yeah, that's where you come up with scenarios like that. They're brain schemes Yeah, yeah, it's like here's what I learned a long time ago.

There are no shortcuts. You think it's a shortcut, I promise you. If it is labeled a shortcut, in the grand scheme of things, it will not turn out to be a shortcut. There's no free lunch. No cheat code. I just keep on going, there's no cheat codes, except for in Madden. Or original Mario Brothers. Original Mario Brothers. So video games, There's no cheat codes. Except for in Madden.

Or original Mario Brothers. Original Mario Brothers. So video games, I'll get that's that's the one place in life there are no cheat codes. So you gotta you gotta walk the walk, my friend. Yeah. If you gotta, you know, if you're gonna buy a house, do it the right way. And if you do it right, you're gonna end up making money in six to 10 years and keep on going. But that question doesn't even make sense to me. No, it doesn't. But people say it all the time. I mean, it's the reason that people don't pay extra on their house. They think, oh, I'll put it in a brokerage account or I'll put it on the side.

And I'm like, something's going to come up and you're going to spend that money on something else. So just bite the bullet and put it towards your mortgage so that you get the job done. You'll look up in 12 years and you'll have a paid off house if you do it our way. All right, let's go straight to the phone lines. Allie is in Salt Lake City, Utah. Allie, what's going on in your world? Hi, thanks for taking my call. Um, my question is my husband and I were planning on purchasing a new car next spring, but we

are wondering if we should move that purchase up and buy now based on the fact that car prices might see a spike because of the tariffs. Interesting. Do you have the money now? Um, above your opinion on where we should pull it from, we do have a few different places we could pull from to get the money now. Let's talk. Okay. So, if we bought the car a year from now, which was our initial plan, my husband has

some stock that was given to him when he started his new job. And that stock will be vested next spring and be at the long-term gain position. So, that was where we were going to pull the money from to buy the car. How much? next spring and be at the long-term gain position. So that was where we were gonna pull the money from to buy the car. How much? If we wanted to buy now, it'll be about 35,000. Brand new?

I don't think we'd buy brand new. I don't know. I mean, I think we could, but I- Oh, I'm not asking you- We're kind of banned to buy in like two years old. Well, I'm not suggesting that you do do I was just curious because your question is based on tariffs and so there's two points I want to make really quick Jade will continue to guide you here but on this tariff issue as the sole reason to do

this and that's what you've presented number one we have no idea what the tariff situation is gonna be none a month now, we don't know what it's gonna be. Two months from now, really we do not know. But media is pushing. Media, you're right, media is pushing for people to make these purchases now. Well. I've seen the articles, it's everywhere. Oh, I have too. And by the way, it's already too late. Yeah.

So if you're gonna get a car, the cost will be affected by tariffs, and most cars will. We just don't know what that's going to look like in a year from now. It could look very, very different. And so this rush to move funds around, I think it's risky is the first thing I wanted to make the statement on the tariff. The second thing is that the tariffs themselves will not directly affect the price of a used car. A used vehicle, yes, because it's already been made. You know, it's been manufactured. No. The demand will go up for used cars. The demand could go up. It might,

that's why I said directly. So you know, I just want to make sure because Jade's right. You see all these articles and it starts to freak you out. You go, OK, first of all, the actual tariffs will raise prices on newly manufactured cars. OK, so if you're buying a used car, that's a separate issue. That's right. You understand what I'm saying? Will demand change? Certainly.

But it's not gonna be a direct cost on the tariff. So I wouldn't be wringing my hands, number one, is the whole point I'm trying to make. Back to Jade on the, like, where you'd pull it from, because I think you gotta be smart about that too. Yeah, so the initial thought was, hey, we're thinking about spending around 35,000 on something, what Ken and I would suggest as used, unless you tell us something about your net worth that will make us change that.

And you were going to use that vested stock next spring. If you were to do it today, tell us what that would look like. Would you be spending the same amount of money and where would the money come from? Yeah, I would probably spend about the same. We could still sell the stock that is from my husband's company. It just would be short-term gain. And we also have some other investments, just like S and P 500 investments that we could sell that is long-term. Okay. But it has a much higher gain. Or we have about $30,000 in just a high

yield savings account that is labeled for other things and we could relabel it and use it by a car. What's it labeled for? Is it your emergency fund? No, we have a separate emergency fund. This $30,000, it kind of comes from two accounts. One is vacations that are for next year. So we haven't, you know, I mean, I actually started planning it. Or and then the other half of it is fun. What has what started out as thinking funny, but each month we haven't ever had to pull from the sinking funds to actually

so they're in 10% so it's kind of become an emergency fund for the emergency fund. Got you. Next question is what's your guys's income? Um not including the stock that vests every quarter, 185. 185 okay so the 30,000 to spend down on another used vehicle is totally fine within the parameters of what you have here. My thought would be to go ahead and let the stocks vest and then pull them out later on in the spring as you were going to,

whether you use it for this vehicle or not, just because we wouldn't say to invest in stocks. So I'd move it to mutual funds or move it to whatever your next big thing is, investment-wise, but I'd put it in mutual funds, not single stocks. So that's play number one. And play number two is, yeah,

if you have the money today, it's sitting in additional savings. And if you and your spouse both decide, hey, we have this money, it's kind of earmarked for vacation, it's kind of earmarked for vacation. It's kind of earmarked for nothing. Do we want to go ahead and use this money to spend it on a vehicle today? Do we need the vehicle today? If you guys decide that there's nothing wrong with that.

I wouldn't do it. We don't need the vehicle today. The reason we want to do it next year is our oldest will turn 16 next year. Got it. And we have one big family car and then we have the very first car that I ever bought 19 years ago that will make a great teenage car. Got it. And that's the other car we drive around.

So we want, so just wait. Yeah, because what I was going to say next is you don't do this out of fear. You do it out of, are we ready to buy the car today? You know, that's the reason you do it. And so if you're like, hey, we don't need it yet, then don't do it Let these stocks vest regardless of what you do I'm pulling it out of those stocks as long once once I can or I'm you know Transferring it to mutual funds that sort of thing

But um, right. Yeah, either way whether you do it today or tomorrow or next spring you have the money and don't do anything out of fear Yeah, I was just doing a little research. I wanted to get the general opinion on used car prices and again this can change in a matter of months Ali but I wanted to tell you I think the experts are predicting, take this for what you will, that it's gonna be relatively stable in car pricing. So I was listening in, I love Jade's advice, don't let this money burn a hole in your pocket because you feel like we got to do this. That media pressure is real. Oh my gosh. Of course. You aren't clicking on it if it doesn't concern you. There's an old phrase they use in, Stacey told me this because she has her

masters in broadcaster realism If it bleeds it leads Oh 100% and that's true of just about any topic and then all the car commercials are going We're gonna stand by our payment. We're not raising our payment even if tear, you know They're everybody's kind of talking about it and it's making you look around go. Well, maybe we should go with them They're not raising their prices, right? And one little nugget on this, because I think this is worth saying, and actually I'm kind of intrigued to see what, you're the money saver of the two of us for sure.

Here's what I've learned. A year from now when they actually wanna buy, there are gonna be some people who overextended themselves. 100%. I just promise you. Always. There always is. I can't promise you what the interest rate will be. I can't promise you what Trump's going to do on tariffs, but I can promise you a year from now there's going to be some people who are driving around a car payment of $700 or more. We know this from the data and they got to unload it.

And here comes Allie and her family with Kazash. Kazash. Kazash. Yes. Cash is claim. 35,000 dollars ago. Yeah. I can get a cash years check. Yep. And I can frame it, I can spray some perfume on it. What you want. There's some people who need to get out of that car. I know that's right. And there's always an opportunity for somebody who is in a cash position to, and I'm saying this, capitalize. Steal a used car. Yep, you're right. Ken, you're not wrong. I mean we've seen the default rates on car payments. They've been steadily rising since. And guess what? That means a year from now, would you predict there's gonna be a storm there? These things go in cycles. Yeah, it's it's happening now, I would say.

I don't know if I'd call it a storm, but I would say that these things have a way of balancing themselves out a lot of times, if you will. The point is there will always be a very nice used car that is available. That's right. At a discount. That is correct. You know what I mean? Yeah. So I'd be paying attention to Facebook and all where people are like gotta get rid of my car. And then you come in like like on the white horse, you know saving the day. That's right. With that cashier's check. I love it. I love it. Yeah, don't don for the talk. It's a lot of, it's a lot of talk, a lot of murmuring going on, Ken. We need to do a show here where I just anchor it up and I just

look at people and I go, all right, here's the headlines. Let me tell you what the real story is and how it affects you. I'd love that. Yeah. I might put a suit and tie on for that one. Yeah. Okay. All right. We'll run it up to flagpole. Stay tuned. for that one. Yeah. Okay. All right. We'll run it up to flagpole. Stay tuned. When tackling debt or building wealth, people can often forget about a very important step to reaching those goals, Ken Coleman. I know. And I'm talking about insurance. Okay. I mean, it's true. A lot of times we think about we wait until a certain baby step where we think we'll have more money to lock in our insurance. But the truth is, insurance is not a baby step. It's a thing that you do the moment you figure out that you need it, which is for a lot of you today, because having the right coverage, whether it's too little or too much, can impact how long it's going to take for you to ultimately reach your goals.

how long it's gonna take for you to ultimately reach your goals. Skimping on insurance might seem like you're saving money, but when life happens, and it definitely will, it's easy to fall back on debt if you don't have a safety net, okay? So the right insurance is gonna act like a shield around you and your loved ones, and really your wallet if disaster strikes.

In some cases, it can even save you money if you're paying too much right now for insurance, or for some sort of like bogus plan that's out there, right? So how do you know if you do have the right coverage or if you need more? We want you to take the coverage checkup. It's an online resource. It's completely free and it creates a personalized insurance action plan that's completely unique

to you and your situation. It makes an overly confusing topic, one that is not honestly my favorite, like insurance, and it makes it really easy to understand and it gives you very clear next steps. So listen, I'm gonna go home and do this tonight too. Go to ramsysolutions.com slash checkup to take the coverage checkup

or click the link in the description if you're listening on YouTube or podcast. And this is something you need to be doing really once a year. My husband does it in our family every year he goes through, he checks the insurance specifically can home insurance homeowners because your value on your home is constantly going up and you want to make sure that you're insured at the level of your home's equity because we're seeing more and more disaster strike. And if your home, you know, is destroyed in some way, you want to know that you're getting the right amount to do the repairs or the rebuild that's necessary.

So that plays out in a lot of different ways. But insurance checkup is what you need. All right. Going back to the phone lines, Sarah is in Los Angeles, California. Sarah, what's going on? I think for taking my call. I have a question about my husband. My husband's working for a company and in eight years will receive a full pension. He is right now 53 years old and his mother died at 59 and he has had two brothers that died at 55. Oh gosh.

He is wanting, he's wanting to take five years and buy five years of a pension so that he can retire five years earlier. And my question is, it's a significant amount of money to buy the years. It's about a hundred thousand dollars a year. So it would be about $500,000. So it's a moral dilemma as well as a financial dilemma about what we should do. Interesting. Ken, have you heard this? No. Yeah. Help me out. Explain. I know what you mean, but dive into the moral dilemma a

little bit more. Talk to me about what you guys are wrestling with. Yeah. He just doesn't feel like he has much longevity left in his life. He feels like with his mother and his brother's passing, that he just doesn't feel like he's got a long, long life. Is that factual? Does he have health ailments? So yes, he's taking high blood pressure medication right now. Okay. And he's going to the doctor, but there's nothing like on the radar, but there was nothing on the radar for either one of the other ones as well. They just, out of the blue, they just passed of natural causes? Had heart attacks.

Heart attacks. I mean, first of all, let me say, I don't think he's crazy. I don't want to imply that this is nonsensical because it's emotional. And so therefore it's hard to make sense of anything when he's just, he's got a lot going on and I could see how someone would get to that point. I still don't understand the moral dilemma part. Well, the moral dilemma is do we take that half a million dollars and spend it or he work an extra five years and maybe not

be able to enjoy his retirement because he either passes or well I think it's a couple more years okay okay now I know what you mean I don't think it's a moral dilemma I think it's just a you guys are going what should we do and I think you have to live as though you're going to live longer until he has a doctor tell him otherwise. I think if this question is around a doctor telling you that he's got a year to live at most, I think it's a very different question. But right now, you're just basing this on the fact that he's got multiple people in his family have died young.

But I would not sacrifice the future here on the altar of the immediate. And the immediate is, is I don't know how much time I've got left. I probably don't have a lot left based on everything else. And he's making all this up. And I understand how he's getting there. But then if you play this out as somebody

who's not emotionally attached to this, I'm going, if this were my brother in this situation and you were my sister-in-law, I'd go, look, none of us is promised tomorrow. He might be healthy as a horse and get hit by a bus. 100%. So we've got to live in the moment, yes, but also not sacrifice our future based on some emotion that's not rooted in facts. So no, I would not do that. I would make financial decisions as though he was going to live into his 70s and 80s.

Yeah. And that's kind of the conversation that we've had. No, but to his point, we have significant savings. I have a million dollars in my 401k. He has a half a million dollars in his 457. Our houses, we have a $700,000 house it's paid for. We have another investment account that has $500,000. And then we have $300,000 in CDs, money markets, mutual funds. Okay. So if he were to, if he were to today decide, you know what, I'm retiring.

Forget about the pension. Tell me exactly how much money that you would be trading in if you were to do that. Well, if we were to buy the pension, he would get 60% of his salary that he's making currently today. I'm talking about you not buying it. I'm talking about you not buying. I don't like that idea. I haven't run any numbers on that,

but something about that doesn't feel right. I'm just saying today, if he said, I'm done, I don't wanna work anymore, what would he get and what would he not get? Yeah. So if he were to quit right now, he could not receive the pension. And how much is the pension?

It's the years of age. How much is the pension every month? The pension would be, it'd be about $6,000 a month. 6K a month. So you're saying if you were to stop working today, you'd forgo $6,000 a month, which you by your own volition have said we don't need. I wouldn't, here's the thing. For that reason alone, I wouldn't do this idea.

Yeah, you don't need the money, so I certainly wouldn't buy it. No. And now it's up to you guys to decide, do we, what is this 6K a month worth to us? Is it worth working for seven more years? Or is it not? And you guys need to play that out. I'd sit with a Smart Vestor Pro, number one, and I'd say, how does this affect us? And then number two, let me just be 100%. I'm going to go all the

way 100% with you. If I woke up in your shoes and I said, hey, the people around me, they have heart issues and I'm falling into this family and I'm wondering about that, matter of fact, let me keep it 100%, 100 with you. In my family, there's some things that run in my family and I'm seeing it play out. And I go, okay, what about me? So I take more measures.

I go and I get the workup done and I spent extra money to have extended testing done and extended imaging done so I can know what's going on and I can have confidence of knowing how do I take care of myself and how do I see what's going on. If I were your husband, I would do the same thing. I would pay, I'd rather spend money not buying a pension

but saying, hey, can we do an extended cardio workup on me because here's what happened to my family members. Can we do some other panels that are not just the norm and spend some money to really get that peace of mind? What does it look like for me to be on a health and fitness and lifestyle plan so that I can outlive? Because be a person who sees it half full, which is I can take control of this.

Love it. And half the people. I don't know if you listen to the stuff that I'm listening to, Sarah, but right now so much of the data out there is saying that a lot of this we can avoid with lifestyle and exercise and just being proactive. So I would stand on that and live in some hope around this and definitely don't let fear control you I'm not a doctor and I do not play one on TV It's time for our Ramsey scripture and quote of the day Romans 831 What then should we say in response to these things?

If God is for us who can be against us? That then should we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? That's what you say in response. All right. Henry Ford said, when everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. I like that. Gives me a little, makes me feel good. It'll inspire you when you head to the gym. We need quotes like that when we're about ready to like lift. Yeah, to get into it. I know. Gotta have that resistance to get the muscle.

I know, that's right. You need the pressure to make a diamond. Yeah. Oh, look at you. Pressure busts apart. We need a new segment on this show where Jade reads the Bible. That, I don't know why I feel like that would be a wild ride. That would be fun.

Just like you read like a couple of verses and then you just do one quick spontaneous takeaway. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Okay, I'm here for it. Let's go to Debbie. Debbie's in Phoenix, Arizona. What say you, Debbie? Hey, thanks for taking my call. I have a question about how do I house without a wheelchair?

Do I go up and just knock on the door? What? Or, how do I go- Why would you do that, Debbie? You're gonna get arrested for stalking somebody. Well, that's what's kinda weird. It's like, hi, I just saw your house on the MLS and I thought I'd come up and have lunch with you. Yeah.

Why do you not wanna use a realtor? Well, it does cost money and black medicine says squeak. So if I can find a deal and save some money I'll do it. Are you a realtor? No I'm not. I gotta tell you Debbie I don't like this plan for you. I don't like the plan. What do you mean it saves money it costs money. She doesn't have to pay a percentage when she buys the house. Like 17,000. Yeah I don't know that you walking up and knocking on somebody's door that they're going to drop their price for you. They've probably got an agent or would want to use an agent.

So yeah, most of the homes have agents, the ones that I look at. But what I'm trying to do is we were going to start paying our house off. It's our only debt left when the kids left college. And we spend about $3,500 a month on getting them through school. And in December they graduate. And so I figured it'd take me about four to five years to pay off the house. But I told my husband, if we buy a cheaper house

and sell our house, which is worth about 900, we would be out of debt even before they're out of school. Yeah. Yeah, I like everything about your plan, except for you walking up to somebody and knocking on the door going, Hey, I'm Debbie and I'm charismatic and I'm going to cut a deal. Like it just, I just don't think that works. It doesn't unless you have a camera crew with you. I don't have a camera crew and I'm not on YouTube. So I guess I'll get a realtor. I think you should we can help you out with that I mean you just go to our website and and and and check out the

real estate what's the real estate? It's the real estate hub ramsysolutions.com slash real estate there it is there you go and Debbie think about this this is your your house is your biggest asset and whoever you're going to their house is their biggest asset. You need to make sure that this deal is the best deal it possibly can be, that you're getting the best price, that when you sign on the dotted line, you know all the ins and outs of what that deal entails.

And I mean, think about when you bought your current house. Think about how many times you went back and forth with the realtor and they sent you the little sign now Documents and all of that stuff you need like you need somebody to make it clear Okay, Debbie, I got to ask because I can't help myself Why wouldn't you stay in your current house now that you got that big pay raise with the kids coming off the payroll and pay that House down. What would be the reason other than getting out of debt to move out of your current house? Well, I have a neighbor that I don't like and her dog bit me. Oh, well, wait a minute. I ended up with PTSD and anxiety. Well, good

grief, you buried the lead on us, Debbie. Where was that information? Holy s- I was supposed to give you the question first. What kind of dog was it, Debbie? What kind of- Well, first of all, did the dog bite you because you don't like the neighbor? Which happened first? No, no. I actually offered her something and she didn't want it. So she said, I have something you might want when I went over, the dog bit me. And then she turned psycho on me. She sicced the dog on you. She said, I got something for you.

No, she didn't sic the dog on me. No said, I got something for you. No, no. You made a leap on that one. Slow down over there. Slow down. Rescue 9 1 1. Get him Fido. I thought she said, Oh, I got something for you. No, get him Fido. Okay. So you, you already didn't like the neighbor prior to the dog biting you. No, no, no. I went over to op. I earlier had

offered her something and she didn't want it and then she wanted to offer me something and that's when her dog bit me. Got it. So it was just a friendly exchange. Right, you said you didn't like your neighbor and I was just curious. I don't now. Got it. So we did like her until the dog bit you and are you okay? Yeah, what kind of dog was it? Well I have PTSD and anxiety. Oh so. He won't take responsibility. Oh now we get the rest of the story. I want to know more. What kind of dog was it? Oh I don't know, a 30 pound dog. Okay. Well that's not a type of dog that's just a. Like a boxer? No I don't know dogs. Oh, okay, okay. Oh.

And it, where did it bite? Can I ask you, where did it bite you? Oh boy. It bit me from behind on my leg. Oh, girl. I'm sorry that happened. So you're like, this whole situation is giving me anxiety. I really don't want to live next to her anymore.

Yeah. Listen, that's your prerogative. I don't, this is a big decision for a, for a dog bite. I, I'm not going to sit here and try to say how big of a deal it was. I don't know. Are you seeing a professional about the PTSD? Yeah. Yeah, I am.

And the way that our property is configured, I'm kind of stuck in the back. Okay. So I have to go through her yard to get out of my yard. You've got to be kidding me. Oh man. So I'm landlocked. And the dog is the dog roving around where you're walking? It has been and if I'm not in my car I can't leave. Did you report it? I reported it to everybody and I have a lawyer. And what happened? What do you mean what happened?

Is there going to be some resolution as to the dog and the lady who owns the dog since you're literally blocked in your driveway? She tends to keep the dog behind another fence but not always and she legally can because it's an easement. But the authorities didn't think that the dog was dangerous? I didn't think the dog was dangerous. All her dogs bark. She doesn't train them. She doesn't have malice. She doesn't walk them. They'll yell at them and they'll stop what they're doing. So you're like, I want to get out of this situation. It does sound

awkward that you have to walk through and kind of relive this every time you leave your house. I hate that. Exactly. I get it and I hate to add insult to injury here, but gosh, I would want to get out of this house. Yeah. I don't know why you, who's going to want to buy that house though? You're stuck, you're like on her property. Another reason to get a realtor.

Yeah, it'd be another reason to get a realtor and get out of that house. Well, I would definitely get a realtor to sell mine and after talking to you, I'll get a realtor to buy one too. Yeah, you should. You really should, Debbie. Listen, Ken and I both agree that getting out of this house is gonna be the best move for you. I feel like every day you're relieving that and.

I'd also get a bag of dog treats just in case. I do have to ask you about that. Oh, keep a little hand bone in your pocket. A little distraction. She's literally trapped. Well yeah, you don't want them to come to you because they'll sniff it out. No, they don't come to you. You throw some food away and they go over there. So you're telling her she's got to keep a ham sandwich in her pocket every time she walks through her neighbor's yard? I don't know how you went from doggy treats to ham sandwich, but sure.

Metaphorically, yes. I'm dead serious. You're traumatized. You got dogs everywhere. If the dog were to make a move on her, I would want my wife to have, okay, I got a little treat and we're going to throw it 10 feet the other way so I can keep going. Of all the solutions, this is yours. That's like saying, you know what, what she should do is train for track running so that she can sprint fast. Oh, it's like, what are you saying? I think it's a pretty good solution.

I don't think it's crazy. I'm saying it's an emergency. Got you. It's like, okay, you can have Mace and spray the dog. Well, she could get sued for that because it's not her space. Which is why I said have a little baggie of doggy treats. The dog is gonna go to the treats

and you just whistle right by. Okay. I'm trying to solve problems, Jade. I'll be honest, I'm not a animal control expert. One of those. What do the law enforcement wear that the mesh that guards them? Well, no, that doesn't help because that's like encouraging the dog to bite you. You're the one coming up with these ideas. I know what you make fun of mine, and that's the one you came up with is if they bite you, you've got a three or four inch pad on you.

That's what you came up with. Here's the best solution. You just move out of the house. You go find another spot where you can enter and exit on your property. There's no 40 pound dogs tracking you down. Can you imagine? I've never been bitten by anything.

Me either. Maybe a spider, but that's about it. I get a little upset by anything. Me either. Maybe a spider. I mean I get a little upset when a mosquito gets me here in the Nashville area. Yeah. That's about to take you over the edge isn't it Jen? Hey thanks for listening. We'll be back with you before you know it.