The Ramsey Show - App - The Annual Giving Show! (Hour 3)

Episode Date: December 18, 2023

🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey Show, where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create actual amazing relationships. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host, George Campbell, Ramsey personality, soon to be number one bestselling author of the book Breaking Free from Broke. Book comes out in January. You can pre-order it now. He's my co-host. Today is a special version of The Ramsey Show. It's our annual giving show where we highlight generosity in giving. And if you're just joining us, go back and pick

up the other hours on YouTube or probably today, especially on YouTube, because you're going to want to see the videos of some of the generosity stories that we have featured and just a lot of fun. So if you have a generosity story that you are the recipient of inspiring generosity or you were the giver of inspiring generosity, we want to hear the story because we want to let a whole bunch of other people hear the story because this stuff is infectious. It's contagious. Really, it's weird how watching stories of giving makes me want to give. And I know there's a lot of psychology behind that, but I think we need more that in america today yep that's the antidote to a whole lot absolutely so the phone number if you've got a great giving story triple eight eight two five five two two five you jump in and we'll do that interesting uh the folks over at mama bear legal forms that we endorse to do your will. They, since 2019, Ramsey fans doing their wills with Mama Bear

have left $361 million in charitable bequests through their Mama Bear wills. Altogether, users have given or pledged 15,186 gifts. Wow. That's mind-boggling. Wow. That's crazy. That's called leaving a legacy right there.

That's not just leaving money to your heirs. That's talking about a gift. Charitable. To some kind of institution or some kind of work of some kind, right? Wow. And that's also pledged. So there's people, you know, if you have not passed yet, that's still pledged to be a part of that, as part of your passing,

which is really, that's inspiring. It's crazy. Makes me want to re-look at my will and go, hey, what are some really cool ways to give? $361 million. George, that wouldn't even get you started. I'd love to rile people up. Long after I'm gone, I'm still making people upset

and making people happy at the same time. Shane is in Colorado Springs. Shane, tell us your giving story. Yeah, thank you so much for all you do for the American people and even the people of the world. You're both absolutely American heroes. Just wanted you to know that. You're very kind. Merry Christmas to you, Shane.

Merry Christmas to you, too, sir. So last year, my friend Andrew was killed in the line of duty. He was a SWAT deputy sheriff and also U.S. Army combat veteran. But most importantly to me, he was my friend. And as we were sitting at his funeral, they performed what's called an end-of-watch call ceremony, and it's where a dispatcher calls for the deputy, but the call goes unanswered. There's just silence. But, however, once they finish the call, they play the deputy's voice with the quote

saying, end of watch, which means all is well. And as I heard Andrew's previous recorded voice close the ceremony with code four, I just felt a feeling, overwhelming feeling of peace come over me. But most importantly, an overwhelming feeling to take action. So as my wife and I were driving home from the funeral, we decided that we were going to do something special for Andrew's family because we didn't want them to feel like they were alone. And so Christmas was Andrew's favorite holiday. So we decided that we were going to pay for Christmas for his family. So when the Christmas season rolled around, we made, we got

him a beautiful Christmas tree, delivered it right to their doorstep. We bought amazing thought-filled gifts that reminded them of their father and the great, you know, experiences they had with Andrew. We had a beautiful Christmas dinner delivered to their house. So they didn't have to worry about, you know, the time and work it takes to prepare that dinner. And, you know, I'm an American soldier like Andrew was, and my wife's a school teacher, you know, so money and work it takes to prepare that dinner. And, you know, I'm an American soldier like Andrew was, and my wife's a schoolteacher, you know, so money doesn't necessarily come easily at our house. However, because of what you all have taught, we have multiple side hustles.

And one of those side hustles is actually a very successful, like, you know, vintage 80s-themed and modern collectible store in our mall. And so because of the profits that we make from that store, we were able to provide Christmas for Andrew's family, not only last year, but this year as well. Wow. And I just wanted to say, you know, as an American soldier, I am constantly bombarded with people, you know,

thank you for your service and all these heartfelt thanks. I'm very grateful for it. But I was hoping, sir, if I could ask all the Ramsey listeners to maybe think of the heroes that are closer to home this year. You know, they're all around us, and they're the ones who will come running towards danger to protect us while others run away. And they're willing to give their ultimate sacrifice in order to save our lives, like my friend Andrew did. So they're our protectors, and they're the law enforcement first responders. So if I could just ask everybody to please thank them,

and for the bunch of protection they provide each and every day, I'd appreciate that. Amen. Amen. Well said. And if he was SWAT, he was running straight towards danger. Yes, sir, he was. He was in this case, there was a shots fired call and he was one of the first officers there and without hesitation ran straight into the fray. Wow. Well, his legacy lives on. So thank you for sharing that story with us and millions of listeners, Shane. That's powerful. Yes, sir. Absolutely. I appreciate you giving me the time to honor his legacy.

Absolutely. Absolutely. What city was he in? Colorado Springs, Colorado. Where you live. Okay. All right. Very good.

Yes, sir. Very cool. Well, thank you for who you are, and yes, thank you for your service. But thank you for the generosity story uh i mean that's that's a guy that um that all of us look up to he's he's a man that you want to step in and help his family and i'm really glad that someone actually did it instead of just thought of it uh good intentions don't get you much anything the actual actions are what what cause it and generosity is the same way you can't just intend to do it you've actually got to go do it and you did it shane so yeah thank you for doing that there there's thoughts and prayers and then there's gifting the entire family some really

thought-filled gifts christmas on top of thoughts and prayers what about an envelope of cash what about covering the gifts let's let's do a little more with some action involved and that's an inspiring story right there yeah show up with some car keys for somebody that's carless and have the car too by the way but yeah that helps somebody that doesn't have a car and that would be a cruel joke though just to bring the key i got keys for you no that'd be no we're not doing that no give them the car too that go with the keys but yeah i mean do some stuff like that it's amazing how much car you can buy for $4,000 or $5,000, even $2,000. So, I mean, and you can go, you know, if you go buy five or ten of them, you can get a deal.

Oh, yeah. What's amazing to me is when you're not worried about your bills, you can worry about other people's bills. There's a piece of getting out of debt where you get to look up and out at opportunity because you're not so self-focused. And if it's not you this year, if you're in struggling this year, and this is your year to turn things around and get to be that guy someday, that's okay. You're supposed to take care of your own household first, or you're worse than an unbeliever. That's scriptural. Then, yeah, we take care of now. Then we take care of then. Start thinking about the future. And that's taking care of your household as well.

Then we think about us, our family, making sure our family's taken care of. And that's generationally changing things. And then them. That's community. And you'll work through that progression as your wealth increases and your quality of management of that wealth increases. It's a natural thing that occurs. This is The Ramsey Show.

George Campbell Ramsey personality is my co-host today. The Ramsey Christmas Cash Giveaway is ending soon. The last day to enter is Wednesday, December the 20th. You could win the grand prize of $5,000. Enter every day to increase your chances of winning. RamseySolutions.com slash giveaway. This is our annual giving show, so that kind of fits in. We're talking with a gentleman at the break from Louisville, Kentucky.

They started a giving club 25 years ago. There's 10 people in the club, and they give $300 each twice a year. Okay, so $3,000 twice a year, $6,000 per annual, and done that for 25 years. And the number of things they have seeded and inspired, particularly habitat homes he said was absolutely amazing um that's an interesting way to put some money together with other people um i guess if you're in the club you have to have a bylaws on deciding on how the money's going to be given uh and that way you're and you're comfortable with that to put your 300 in right yeah we didn't ask him about that but i assume that would be true he's giving us a thumbs up giving us a thumbs up telling us that that is true that's a cool idea yeah and then to make it a tradition for 25 years you know if you got 300 bucks it's a way to create 3 000 yeah it's a little

little different lift right and do some really cool things in your community and beyond very good stuff thomas is with us in oklahoma city Thomas, tell us your giving story. Hey, guys. Good afternoon. Thanks for having me on. What an honor. Honor to be with you, sir. Merry Christmas.

Tell us the story. Okay, so about a year ago, we had a fellow contractor that found out that he died. And so then we got a phone call from a potential client. We went out and visited with the client and through discussion, we found out that this fellow was actually on that project when he went home to take a nap and passed away. And so we got with our fellow members of the Oklahoma City Decorative Concrete Association, and we actually all decided that we wanted to take this project on and see how we could help the widow. And so we went out and met with the potential client, asked him if we could take on this project, finish it up, doing an epoxy floor, and if he would then write the check for the remaining balance on,

on the job to the widow. And so we came to an agreement that he would do that. One of the contractors supplied the material. We supplied all the labor. It took about six days through the project, finished it all up. And then at the end, we end we um we went and presented the check to the widow and her three kids and they were just you know completely blown away it was a little over eight thousand dollars all right wow yeah very cool and all it took was a little bit of creativity and six days of work yeah yeah and well and somebody to furnish the materials on the other side too, but yeah. Yeah, right. And what was really neat is even our guys on our crew, they actually came up to me when they found out about the project and they asked if they could work for free or for half their hourly wages,

which we didn't allow them to do that, but I thought that was really neat that they wanted to be part of it in that way as well. Wow. Love it. Love it. Way that way as well. Wow. Love it. Love it. Way to go, guys. Wow. Very cool.

So this guy, he was a concrete sub is what you're saying? Yeah, yeah. Decorative concrete. So we do like epoxy coating or polished concrete, things like that. And that's what he did as well. And yeah, I guess he was battling with COVID. and his guys were on the job doing the project. He went home, you know, and, uh, during that time he, he took a nap and I didn't suffered a heart attack and just didn't make it through. Yeah. And so, you know, we're, we've, we were just, we felt the calling, you

know, we've done some projects like this where this where we've reached out to the community and and helped out some schools and different things but this one was this one really hit home because it was such a personal level and he was a fellow contractor yeah yeah just right there in the neighborhood oh my gosh wow very good idea thomas how old are you um i'm 37 my brother and business partner is 43. How long have you all been in business? Since 2008, so right after high school for me, and he was a little older than that, and we just kind of learned it and went from there. I suspect you're going to continue to prosper.

Well done, sir. And you probably inspired that whole crew to even be more generous with their time and their talent and their money well the thing is you can uh be kind to someone be generous to someone and it affects that person but it is impossible for you to do that and not affect other people simultaneously because someone somewhere is watching even if you don't want them to be even if you're trying to keep it secret someone saw that happen and it inspired them it changed them it caused them to think you know the checkout the girl checking out the groceries you know if you pay for the buggy in front right you just pay it forward it inspires the person doing the checkout it inspires the person that

got the free groceries but also inspires the person doing the checkout they're never the same no it generosity shapes reshapes people's brains and they can never return to the same shape once you've witnessed it once you've been part of it uh it it there's a chemistry that's completely different than spending completely different than enjoyment of money on a fun thing yourself or saving up and getting something you've worked really hard for. All of those things are fine. There's nothing wrong with that at all. We teach that all the time, but it doesn't reshape your brain. What reshapes your brain is witnessing and participating in generosity. Well, we've always said money amplifies who you

are. It's a magnifying glass. But what's interesting is that generosity changes who you are, and that's what's so powerful about it.'s not necessarily the you know the amorality of money but it's what you do with it and when you give it away it affects you way more than just hanging on to it spending it having a good time and i think that's increased i know what it is just from personal experience i don't i don't have data on this but just anecdotally it's increased dramatically when there's a personal element to it so like uh the filming that we showed in in another hour of you going into the waffle house and giving giving each of the staff members 500 bucks and then one lady who'd had a particularly hard you're giving her two thousand dollars um you were up close in person i mean mean, she's crying. We catch it on camera, of course, but you get the hug.

You know, everybody's watching all of this in the whole freaking Waffle House. I mean, it's a show going on in a sense, and so that reshapes everyone that is within touching distance of that. That's a little different than mailing a check to XYZ. Hitting the button on the website, which is still great. There's nothing wrong with that. But you're losing that personal experience for sure. Yeah, I mean, we just had a bunch of tornadoes north of Nashville

up in the Clarksville area, a bunch of homes destroyed. And, yeah, you can send money there through XYZ if there's a good XYZ. But there's a little difference in the buddy of ours that has a church up there um and they're on the ground cleaning up they're showing up cleaning up trash and helping people find the you know the the kids stroller for four blocks over and all this kind of stuff it's crazy what goes on with the tornado but yeah the there's a thing that happens when you're there and you witness it in person the person receiving it um or the person giving it for that matter uh if you just watch it happen it's a lot different than hitting submit on a website it's the same thing's true of of

ordering you know buying something that you go into a store you touch it you feel it you think about it there's a sensory there's a sensory thing and then you make the decision to buy it's a lot different than i think it might fit let's see if it doesn't they can allow me to return it you hit click click right it's a different thing we've lost that for sure in digital age yeah it's a good reminder when you're giving to find ways to make it personal well you have to do your whole budget that way i mean you don't have to walk up and, you know, hand your tithe check to the preacher each Sunday and go, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. You know, you don't have to do that. Oh, man, that'd be bad.

But just turn that thing in, right? But occasionally, if you're going to do something for someone, just do it in person. It's just whacked. Sometimes the reaction is weird. It's almost always a little bit of awkward moment around it. You've experienced that. Oh, yeah. It can be very awkward, but it's always worth it.

And just because the person doesn't know how to respond doesn't make it any less powerful. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Takes their breath away, literally. Yeah, that can happen. I promise you. This is The Ramsey Show.

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medical event. So listen, y'all, there's no better way to take care of health care costs. CHM programs start as low as $98 a month. So learn more today and join at chministries.org slash budget at chministries.org slash budget. George Campbell Ramsey personality is my co-host today. He's also the author of the brand new book, Breaking Free from Broke. You can get it in the Ramsey Solutions store. Well, at least you can get the pre-order of it. It will actually come out in January. It's only $20 to pre-order it, and you get $100 in bonus items, including his newest talk, Show Me the Money.

I wonder where you got that title. And exclusive access to an online private event and a Q&A with George, audio book and the e-book. If you preorder, you get all of that for just $20. The book is Breaking Free from Broke. He exposes the most common money myths and excuses head on, like credit card schemes, investing traps, mortgage myths, all the stuff

you wish you'd been taught in high school. Pre-order it at ramseysolutions.com slash store. George, I just got an email a few minutes ago that the book is, the pre-sales on it are outstanding. They're breaking records. Wow. That's good news. It is good news.

Well, I appreciate everyone's support of it. I've been getting a lot of messages and DMs. People are excited about it. They listen to, we release an audiobook preview, and we're doing something fun with the audiobook. I know. I've been getting a lot of messages and DMs. People are excited about it. They listen to it. We release an audiobook preview, and we're doing something fun with the audiobook. I know. I've been listening to the samples. Some enhancements, some sound design, some music.

Not your mama's audiobook. This has got some cool stuff in it. I can't do anything normal. It's a toxic trait of mine. I just have to be a little extra. This is our giving show today. We're taking calls from those of you that are recipients or the givers in something that's inspiring and generous. The phone number is 888-825-5225.

Harrison in Connecticut says, when I was a kid in the early 2000s, my dad had an old Tahoe for sale at the bottom of the driveway. He got a call from someone inquiring to purchase the car. It was an expectant father with very little money. My dad decided to of the driveway. He got a call from someone inquiring to purchase the car. It was an expectant father with very little money. My dad decided to gift the car to him. At this time, old used cars weren't worth much now, and my dad used this opportunity to show us kids how to be charitable and kind to strangers. Good.

Years later, we found out the car was still going. Good. Very cool kimberly in texas thanks for following the ramsey plan this year i was able to give gift cards to all 20 of the teachers at my son's daycare whoa as a single mom of two i never would have thought i'd be able to give so abundantly and no longer have to live paycheck to paycheck i'm so grateful to ramsey solutions all that you provide to educate on financial security and freedom. That's cool.

Wow. You see the transformation there. Yep. She remembers living paycheck to paycheck, and now she's on the other side. Yep. And taking care of the workers at a daycare is a really good idea. Mm-hmm. Jamie in Ohio, our friend's 3-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia

she was child number three mom was pregnant with number four they had to distance themselves from social interaction to protect their daughter's immune system my husband and i over a 10 week period mailed them a hundred dollar gift card every week from random places gas stations grocery stores restaurants each was sent anonymously with a word of encouragement and scripture. And I thank God their daughter is now healed and thriving. Love that. That's a fun idea. Yeah, very cool.

Good stuff. Rich is in Albany, New York. Rich, tell us your giving story. Hey, guys, how you doing? Great, man. So I've been listening to you guys uh since about august of this year and like most people you know i got caught up and listened and read everything i could possibly find and one of the stories that just kept popping with me was the uh one about the

thanksgiving morning at the waffle house uh and you know i just had this feeling i was just like i can't wait till I'm in a situation where I can actually do that. So as I just kept going and listening, I decided at some point in October, I was like, you know what? I'm going to do something this Thanksgiving morning. It's not going to be on that scale,

but I'm going to do something. So the day before Thanksgiving, I tell my seven-year-old boy, I was like, look, after Jim tomorrow, we're going to hit the diner, which was kind of a surprise. I mean, it was the morning of Thanksgiving morning. We're going to a diner. But he had no idea what was up.

So after we had left the gym, I let him choose the diner. I even let him choose whether we were going to sit at the booth or table service. And, you know, I had these two $50 bills in my pocket. And I was going to, you know, I was going to tip a waitress. So, you know, I did. Yes. Whoa. Good.

I like this. I know. I did have a little, you know, a little trepidation. I mean, we're dead smack in the middle of baby step two. $15,000 are we throwing at the snowball? Five credit accounts are already down. And so I was thinking, you know, maybe I can use this $100 elsewhere. I mean, it's Thanksgiving morning, and I'm at a diner,

and I know I'm not ordering rice and beans today. And my son, you know, he's 17. He was going to order like he was going to the electric chair at midnight so i'm thinking to myself like i maybe just 50 bucks um so but the waitress comes over she's in her you know her late 50s quick reading uh drinks and you know i finally told myself that i was like no they said this you know this is the most fun you can have with money so you know we're gonna do it uh i even had it you know as a line item in the EveryDollar app. You know, $100, you know, it's for gobble-gobble fun. So, you know, we were going to do this.

So she comes back with drinks. I decided to start up, open up a little rapport. And I was like, how did you get so lucky to work Thanksgiving morning? And at this point, this is when God showed up. She was, like, in this thick Southern drawer that had no business being anywhere near Albany. She says, Oh, I don't mind, honey. I live here alone. All my family is back home in Tennessee. And I, I couldn't believe what I heard. I mean, here I am. I, you know, the,

I'm trying to go through all these Ramsey steps and I'm wondering, is this the, you know, is this, is this the passage? Is this what I should be doing? And here she is, you know, a waitress a thousand miles away from home in Albany and she's from Tennessee. Uh, you know, the last three months has just been, you know, intense, uh, trying to recreate this Waffle House story. And here she is, my waitress in Tennessee. I mean, I almost handed her the $50 bills right there. We hadn't even ordered food yet. So, I mean, my son could have chosen any, uh, diner. Uh, I mean, he could have chosen a accountant, uh, uh, cause you know, we wound up at that

booth and you know, it had to be her. It was her. Uh, so, I mean, the whole meal, I was just, you know, we went up to that booth and, you know, it had to be her. It was her. So, I mean, the whole meal, I was just, you know, I was in awe. I was like, I knew this was God's work. This was like, you know, the light. So we paid the bill. She came back and, you know, I reached in my pocket. I handed her $250.

And, you know, she was floored, too. I mean, her eyes kind of said, you know, she would, she was Florida too. I mean, she, her eyes kind of said, you know, I can't take this. Uh, but you know, I just, I said, thanks for the breakfast. I guess not all of us in New York is a bad, um, and I don't know if she needed the money, but I know I needed her. Uh, after that, uh, it was worth a heck of a lot more than a hundred dollars. I mean, um, so we got back into the car. I explained the story to my son and, you know, why it was just, you know, so crazy that this waitress was, was from Tennessee. Uh, and you know,

he's been listening and, you know, it's been going in the background for months, you know, your, your podcast, your stories, you know, everything,, your stories, you know, everything. They're getting books for Christmas. They have no idea. It's in their stockings. George's book is, you know, it will be here in January. So they know that I'm all in. So when I explained it to him, he was just like,

yo, we should do this every Thanksgiving. I was like, the diner or the giving? She's like, no, no, the giving. I was like, yeah, I think that's really cool you're damn right absolutely absolutely yeah that's exactly the way that works well done rich beautiful well played more is caught than taught and that kid he caught that he caught dad being generous and said that's what i wanted to do i'm gonna be generous because some hillbilly in tennessee is saying to be generous and then shows up and his waitress is from Tennessee. It's like God's saying, told you.

That's amazing. Told you. No $50 here. $100. Dump them both out there, buddy. I love it. I think we need more callers from Albany. I love that accent.

Well, he loves ours, so there you go. Something for everyone in this story. That's a lot of fun. Well done, Rich. I love it. Well played. Actually, the truth is that guy sent that email in. story. That's a lot of fun. Well done, Rich. I love it. Well played. Actually, the truth is that guy sent that email in to our customer care. I read that in our staff meeting.

I read hate mail in our staff meeting, and I read brag stuff in our staff meeting, both, just to inspire our team. They like both, actually. I like his version of it, though, with the accent. It really sells the story better than you did. Yeah, it's a lot better than me reading in his voice. It's a lot better, yeah. You get the upstate New York feel. That's it. Adds to it. It's awesome. Very cool.

This is our annual giving show here on The Ramsey Show. Our scripture of the day, Proverbs 11.25. A generous person will prosper. Whoever Our scripture of the day, Proverbs 11, 25, A generous person will prosper. Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Maya Angelou says,

When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed. Ooh, that's good. Well done. All right, Sarah is with us on our giving show today. Hi, Sarah, in Nashville. Tell us your giving story. So I got to call in back in August and get some help with my mortgage, and someone heard my story and offered to help the kids and I with our mortgage,

and they are from Murfreesboro. They actually, when I spoke to the guy, Nate Burns, he had told me that I knew his sister-in-law and he explained to me that his sister-in-law knew me and had heard my story on your show. Also, she was the donor liaison who held my hand and walked me through the organ donating process when my husband passed away. And she's the one that's been in contact with us every year annually about our organ recipients and how they're doing and the lives that my husband was able to save and give a second chance. And the way the whole situation took full circle, it was just, it was very, it was a phenomenal experience. Wow.

It was just, it was very, it was a phenomenal experience. Wow. It was just wild. Okay. So I'm just now catching on and I'll make sure our audience catches on as well. Sarah called in, um, back in the summer and was about to be foreclosed on. Uh, we took her call, John Deloney and I did George to add Sarah on a few weeks ago to revisit that. Um, but when you called in your house you owed like 65 000 is worth 300 000 it was 45 days from being foreclosed on only need about three thousand dollars to be

current and a bunch of things have happened around sarah's life since then one was the house was brought current uh to another listener donated her car her husband was 36 years old and fell through a roof. He was a roofer and passed away. And now you're saying when that happened, he had planned to donate his organs, and the liaison ended up being the cousin of the guy who sent you the money to catch your house up? The sister-in-law. The sister-in-law, wow. His wife's sister oh my gosh okay

this just keeps having layers to it wow it was amazing like i get goosebumps every time i tell this story because it it it restored a faith in me that i so desperately needed okay so she helped you walk through the process of your husband 36 years old passing donating his organs and then she heard you on the air behind and recognized your voice yeah she recognized my last name and and we didn't have your last name on the air well no when they found me they found me on facebook um to tell me they wanted to help with the house and I had commented on the post that it was me and that you know he could reach out to me and his sister-in-law said my name it was like oh I know her and when I talked to Nate he was like you know my sister-in-law

Erin and I was like I don't think so and he told me how I knew her, and I was like, oh, my God, I do know her. I do. I know her well. Wow. That is a full circle. That's amazing. Yeah. Okay. It was awesome.

That's wild. A lot of intricacy to this generosity. It's going everywhere. Yeah. We need a new segment called Small World, Big God. How about that? That's pretty cool, Sarah. Yes, that's amazing.

I love that idea. We love hearing from you. Our whole team has been cheering you on and praying for you, and you've got a special place in our heart, for sure, and America's heart. You guys are a forever part of our family, and we are so grateful for you guys and everything that you do, not only for us but for everybody that listens to you guys. You're such a blessing.

Thank you, Sarah. Good to talk to you again, and Merry no thank you sarah good to talk to you again and merry christmas thanks for calling in to share in the another circle story keeps on the story just keeps going i see on our screen it says eight lives were saved from his organ donations how cool is that wow that's amazing lisa is in scott city kansas hi lisa tell us your generosity story hey well i'm not sure I can top that one. That was pretty That one's, there's a lot going on there. I don't think anybody can top that one. That's okay. It's not a competition.

It's been October 2022. My kids all wanted to go to church camp, and it was way more than I could really afford. So, they were they were actually they started i told them we'll get an envelope write canna cook on it and start saving your money doing it the dave ramsey way and so they all did and i said i'll help you throughout the year we'll come up with ways to save money how many kids three three three high school kids okay so they were making decorated sugar cookies to sell at Halloween time. And they had sold a ton.

And so I had helped them over the weekend. And we were delivering cookies like all Saturday night, Sunday. And Sunday at church, a man just came up to me. I was busy talking with someone else. And he's like, hey, I stuck something in your Bible. And I thought he was paying me for some cookies that he had bought so I didn't even look at it finished church went home started cooking lunch and while I was cooking lunch I thought oh I should get that check out of my bible before I forget about it so my kids can count it because they were keeping track

of who they've delivered to who's paid and I it up, and it was a check for $5,000. Oh, my. I just, I mean, it makes me cry right now. It was enough with what they had already owned and saved to, like, completely pay for all of them to go to church camp the next summer. Wow. So I took it out there, and I showed them, like showed you guys and like gave me at church this morning and while i'm crying they have like the biggest smiles on their faces

because i'm like you can go like you're going you're going to church camp so i was just like overwhelmed with gratitude and just, I just can't even explain it. It was just somebody, like, giving you a gift like that. That's amazing. To take care of something. That's a lot of money. It is. It is a lot of money, yes.

And I'm living on a teacher's salary, so that is a lot of money. Wow. Wow. Very cool. Very good story. Thank you for selling that sharing that lisa that is amazing it's fun the kids are working towards something and then god says okay i'll help i got you wow i got this my face hurts for sure this hour dave i don't know about you but my mouth muscles from smiling this much it feels good and it's definitely inspiring i see why you held this

a tradition on the ramsey show kelly in california we encourage our seven-year-old son to think about those that are less fortunate for his birthday he wanted his friends to bring donations for the humane society rather than gifts we included this message in his invitation he ended up collecting an entire cart full of pet toys food beds blankets the joy he received from giving his gifts to the animals is something he continues to talk about. I asked him if he wanted to choose another organization this year, and his answer was, this is a hard decision. I know that I would really love to get a lot of presents

and awesome toys from my friends, but I know I can help more animals or kids than maybe some people. So I think I want to help because that feels good. Boom, there you go, seven years old. It gets it. If a seven-year-old can get it, I think any adult can and should. Man. Well, it's fun, Dave. On the every dollar budget, you have giving right underneath income. It's the first line item. Was that intentional on your part? Well, you're giving for those people that are people of faith like we are. It's first fruits. It's off the top. The first thing you do is tithe.

The first thing you do is give, offering, before you do anything else. It's not leftovers. No, everything else is leftover after the giving. Just to kind of get that rhythm in your life to start to build that generosity muscle. And the interesting thing is the more you do it, like any other habit or character trait, the more refined it becomes, the stronger your generosity muscle gets. You're more discerning, you're careful, and your gifts are more effective.

And, you know, first time or two, you know, 30 years ago, we started doing this stuff, we were a bit sloppy at it. But now it's very refined. Your heart was there. Yeah, but, you know, years ago we started doing this stuff we're a bit sloppy at it but now it's very refined your heart was there but the yeah but you know you look back you know that was kind of weird yeah you know but we did it anyway right you know but uh but you really can't mess this up it's impossible to mess it up uh because somebody on the other side doesn't think you messed it up so uh hey guys get in gear That's what the season is all about. Good reminders. The giving portion of what we teach is there, and the reason it's the number one line item in the budget is to remind, you know, God is the ultimate giver,

and that's what we're reminded of at Christmas. He gave his only begotten son that you might have everlasting life. There you go. That puts us out of the Ramsey Show and the books. We'll be back with you before you know it. In the meantime, remember, there is ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus.