The Ramsey Show - App - The First "I've Had It" Theme Hour! (Hour 3)

Episode Date: August 1, 2019

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🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. Our phone number here is 888-825-5225. We're going to do a different kind of theme hour right now than we have ever done before. I'll tell you about it.

So, a touch over 30 years ago, Sharon and I hit bottom and filed bankruptcy. We were scared. Our marriage was hanging on by a thread. We had two little babies. So I was forced to look at what I had been told my whole life in academia and what I had been told by this stupid butt culture we live in, that you can borrow your way into prosperity and that borrowing money is a way to win. I was forced to stop and look at that. Now, when I was a kid growing up, mom and dad used to take us to sales seminars and motivational seminars. They were in the real estate business,

and there was a great motivational speaker that I had the pleasure to meet and become friends with several years ago i admired him from a distance for many years his name is les brown he lives over in los angeles this is an african-american speaker and he is a blast to listen to and les says that people change their lives only when they become sick and tired of being sick and tired. People only change their lives when they finally stop and say, that's it. I've had it. I'm not living like this anymore. You've got to have an I've had it moment. American Express called my house and asked my wife why she would stay with a man that wouldn't pay his bills, and she called me crying at the office because she was thinking the same thing.

I've had it with American Express. I hate that company. Thirty years later, I'm still pissed at them. I've had it. I'm not living like this anymore i don't borrow money anymore don't call me and ask me when it's okay to borrow money it's not i've had it get it you feel it you feel how visceral that is that That's when you change your life. Not when you're a wuss and you intellectually analyze something

and come to a conclusion. That doesn't work. People change behaviors when they've had it. I'm not living like this. I've had it. You come home drunk again. I'm done with you, you bum. I've had it. You come home drunk again. I'm done with you, you bum. I've had it.

You hit me again. You look at these kids cross out one more time. I am out of here. I've had it. People change their lives and transform crummy conditions when they say, I've had it. Have you had it yet? Or are you listening to this show for entertainment? And you're academically inspired by some of the calls they call it. they say i've had it have you had it yet or are you listening to this show for entertainment and

you're academically inspired by some of the calls they call it i watched a few of the youtube things and it helped me for a minute dave that's so ish it's a wish we're doing dave ish and that sucks debt sucks stop it haven't i've had it moment have you had an i've had it moment if you've had one we want to talk to you that's what this hour is it's an I've had it moment. Have you had an I've had it moment? If you've had one, we want to talk to you. That's what this hour is. It's our I've had it theme hour. When you're ready to tell debt to kiss your butt. I've had it. I'm done with debt. Debt

sucks. I'm not living this way. I don't care what my broke, stupid friends think anymore. If you have an opinion about my life, you should keep it to yourself because I'm going to be living it and if you want to come in and analyze my thoughts tough when you reach the point you don't give a crap what other people think you have a shot at winning for the first time in your life until then you're trying to please a bunch of people on facebook who are so fake you can't can't even find their butt with both hands.

It's unbelievable. If you Instagram your little shallow life away, you've got to have a point where you go, as for me and my house, we're not doing this. And you've got to have that. It's a healthy level of righteous anger. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired i've had it if you're there i want to talk to you i want to hear your story or maybe you reached that point a while back and it changed your life and i want to hear

what what what was it you were you what was it you couldn't pay a bill what was it your sick kid you couldn't pay the doctor what was the thing where you finally said, enough? I'm going to get this stupid money thing, this stupid debt thing under control. When did you say, enough? You got to get mad. This is not an intellectual exercise. Behavior modification is not an intellectual thing. It's a visceral in your gut. You got to feel it in your chest.

Your voice tone has to change. Your octave needs to shift. Stuff needs to happen, baby. Spit needs to fly out of your mouth when you're talking about this. You've got to have an I've had it moment. It's the only way it works. And that's how we've gotten people out of debt for 30 years. That's how Sharon and I have avoided debt.

We just built a $70 million building with cash. Who does that? We do. Because we said we've had it. 30 years ago, we don't borrow money. American Express, you can kiss my butt. Bank of America, you can kiss my butt. Visa, I don't need you to have a good life.

I certainly don't need a freaking car payment. I've had it. Do you see this? Do you feel it? And only then will you change and permanently change. The depth of your belief, the depth of your conviction has to go beyond an intellectual understanding down into the visceral parts of your soul and your spiritual walk. And then you will be transformed.

Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That's what we're talking about here i want to hear from you if that's you and we're going to throw down a challenge you ready for a challenge here's your challenge 25 years we've been doing this with financial peace university nearly six million people have done this our challenge is in the month of august we're going to call baby step two a thousand dollar payoff challenge if you sign up for the one thousand dollar payoff challenge saying i've had it i'm gonna pay off a thousand dollars or more in the month of august no no you don't have to do anything but just sign up and promise to do that and you're

and we're not going to come to your house and check on you darling you got to be an adult and go do this crap okay if you just sign up and sign the thing you're going to be in a drawing and we're going to give away twenty five hundred dollars to four people who are in the challenge we've already got twenty five million dollars committed in this challenge a thousand dollars at a time 25 for 25 years that's a good match right there and we're just this is the first day so it'd be pretty cool if we got like a billion so why don't you like like a billion dollars of thousand dollar pledges talk about a go fund me yeah there you go go fund you that's what you ought to do there's a plan

right there man so commit to pay off a thousand dollars in in August. Go to DaveRamsey.com slash payoff. Call me right now. I want to hear your I've had it story. The phone number is 888-825-5225. Are you sick and tired, or have you ever in your life been sick and tired enough to permanently freaking change? I've had it. Call me right now. 888-825-5225.

This is the Dave Ramsey Show. I got a call the other day, and I thought it was worth talking about again. It was from a wife looking for life insurance for her family. She asked why I only recommend term life insurance instead of cash value plans like Whole Life. I usually explain how you overpay for coverage, earn a horrible rate of interest, and don't get your cash value when you die. But this time, I just had her go straight to Zander.com and get a rate.

And then we compared that rate to the Whole Life plan, and she immediately saw the huge savings. She realized all the things she could do with that money, like paying down debt, investing in a smarter way. That made it real for her. It makes no sense to buy or keep a cash value plan when there are smarter, less expensive ways to protect your family. That's why I suggest that everyone go to Zander.com

or call them at 800-356-4282 and get a free quote. That's zander.com or 800-356-4282. Join us in the $1,000 payoff challenge in the month of August. We're challenging everybody that's in Baby Step 2 to pay off at least $1,000 in debt in the month of August. We've already got $25 million worth of pledges. They're not pledges to us. They're pledges to you to get your life back. It doesn't cost a thing to join our challenge and be part of this movement.

Go to DaveRamsey.com slash payoff and enter the Baby Step 2 $1,000 payoff challenge. When you do, you'll be entered to win. We will be giving away $10,000, four gifts of $2,500 for you to throw at your debt if you're the winner of this. If you've had an I had it moment in your past or you're in the middle of one right now, one that caused you to change your life, we want to hear your story this hour. It's an I've had it theme hour. The phone number is 888-825-5225. Jennifer starting us off in Arkansas.

Jennifer, what's your I've had it moment? Well, Dave, my I had it moment was when I was eight months pregnant. I was going to buy groceries, and I checked our banking account and realized we had no money to buy groceries with. I went to rely on a credit card and realized that all of our credit cards were maxed out too. So here I am, eight months pregnant, the one in charge of all the finances, and I can't even put food on the table for my family.

What was your household income at that time? At that time, it was $48,000. My husband was the only one working, and I went to him, and I told him basically our situation at that time. And it's crazy because he was a police officer in the military at the time and he had been listening to your radio show every day while he was patrolling around. And so he told me about you and that's when we started our baby steps. Wow. And you really did. How long ago was that?

That was in July of 2016, so three years ago last month. So how are you doing now? We are, our income is up, and we went from owing $158,000 to we just broke under $100,000. We're at $99,956 left. Way to go. I'm so proud of you. Thank you. Very well done. I'm so proud of you. Thank you.

Very well done. And the baby came and everybody's good, right? Yes, he's perfect. He's about to turn three. And you will never again go to the grocery store and not have money for groceries the rest of your life, will you? Nope. You will never have that feeling again, will you? No, sir.

You've had it. You've had it. Way to go. Yes. I'm so proud of y'all. That's a perfect story. I love it. I remember that feeling.

Way to go. I remember standing in the grocery store line going, if I buy these groceries, I wonder if we've got the money to pay the light bill. Because we were so out of control. We had money coming in, but we were so disorganized. We didn't have a budget. We were out of control we had money coming in but we're so disorganized we didn't have a budget we were out of control we were just stupid and we just said i'm stupid ain't working you know we got to change the stupid stuff and we changed doing stupid stuff man it changed everything i love this this is a great idea i've had it theme hour deanna is in Kansas. Deanna, when was your I had it moment? What happened? Well, we ran out of groceries and had no money. Credit cards were maxed out. For about the fourth

time in two months, I had to ask my dad to borrow $100. And we could always pay him back on payday, but within two or three weeks, we'd be asking for that same $100. And I was just tired of it. I'm sure my dad was tired of it. I know my husband was. And I happened to see on Facebook someone was holding a financial peace class. So I actually borrowed the money to sign us up for that. And that was the best choice I've made in a long time. What was your household income at the time that $100 was so important?

It's ridiculous, but we bring home between $70,000 and $75,000 a year. Yeah. It's just unbelievable. And you were broke. Paying minimum payments on everything, you know, had so many credit cards and car loans and everything else. You just got tired of being normal, didn't you? Absolutely.

Thank goodness you were raised in a household where it was embarrassing to borrow money from your dad as a grown person making 70 grand. He was not an enabler. No. I mean, he wasn't a shamer, but he also wasn't happy about this, and he raised you in such a way that you weren't comfortable with it. Absolutely. That's good. I like this guy.

That was in January, and since then, by the end of this month, we will have paid off $15,000 of debt. Way to go, kiddo! And when you get out, you'll never go back, because you'll think about $100 borrowed from Daddy for Groceries when you were a grown-butt woman. We started our kids with Financial Peace Junior junior recently and they're really excited too we want to change our family tree wow well you are changing it you're changing it permanently and you're making seventy thousand dollars you're in your now you're not broke isn't that funny well it's like you said it's like giving yourself a raise like before we were scraping up enough for minimum payments and now we're throwing two thousand dollars a month at debt it's just

unbelievable how much debt have you got we have about 77 000 left we'll have 75 by the end of this month yeah so you got about three years left yeah i love you guys you're so you're so cool i'm so proud of y'all how old are you thank you i'm 38 and he is 36 way to go well the guys at financial peace university team are proud of you too we're celebrating 25 years six million people going through that and you're one of them and you're why we do this way to go i'm so proud of you that's so cool open phones this hour we're having an i've had it theme hour have you ever had that moment where you say, I'm sick and tired? I'm being sick and tired.

I've had it. If you're ready to change your life or you have had that moment in your life, we want to hear your story. These are real people. It's motivating. Phone numbers, 888-825-5225. Lorraine is with us in Arizona. Lorraine, tell me about your I've had it moment. Hi, Dave. So for us, my husband and I, it was back in October. My husband received a job offer,

which would move us out of state and back to the hometown where we grew up. And we've been in Arizona for 20 years. And when we moved here, we always said we were going to be back one day. And it was a really hard move to come here. So with this job offer, we thought it was finally going to happen for us. And we were so excited. So we got our house on the market. And once we looked at those numbers and realized that what we'd make on our house wouldn't even be half enough to pay half of our debt and let alone give us any help once we relocate. So we were so discouraged that we knew financially we couldn't make this move. And that's when we said, we're done. We are so sick of this debt controlling our decisions and keeping things from us that we really want. So then we took our house off the market in December.

And after the first of the year, I went on your site and I found a class starting within the next week. And it was a mile from our house. And we didn't hesitate. And we signed up and said we're doing this so there we are yeah that's that's such a great story because here's the thing nothing changed in your life except your level of disgust right right and then that changed your life because that deepens your level of belief, your level of conviction, your level of hope came following that because you got information that made you believe you could do this. So how much have you paid off since January?

So since January 13th, we've paid off just over $30,000. Wow. I'm so proud of you. That's very cool. How much debt do you have total? Well, when we started, it was $140,573, and we're down to $110,000. Wow. Yeah.

And, you know, my husband, we call it our lingering debt. It's been with us for so many years. It does. It lingers. It's the loitering debt. It loiters. It's gotten nowhere. And my husband has worked at two hospitals for years, you know, paying just to, you know, get extra hours. And we thought, oh, making an extra payment here and there would help. But it hasn't.

How old are you guys? How old are you guys? It's nowhere. How old are you guys? 48. We're both 48. So you're well on your way to your dream coming true and moving back. You're going to be able to move back now. You're going to work it out. Yes, absolutely.

I'm proud of you guys. Well done. Good I've had it stories. Have you ever had an I've had it moment where you really have had it? It's something that happens down inside of you. It's not in your head. It's down in your heart and in your stomach and in your chest. It's very visceral where you finally say, that's it.

I've had it. When you do that, you're ready to change. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. We've been voted one of the best places to work in Nashville 11 times. You want to know how we do it? Well, our team has been using LinkedIn jobs for years to find the best people from all over the country to come and help us change lives. Think about it. LinkedIn has more than 600 million active members. I'm talking about people who come to LinkedIn to make connections,

grow their careers, and discover new job opportunities. In fact, 90% of LinkedIn users are open to new opportunities but not actively scanning job boards. This means LinkedIn Jobs gives you access to an entirely different demographic. Don't wait. One hire can change the direction of your company. Post a job today at linkedin.com slash Ramsey and get $50 off your first job post.

That's linkedin.com slash Ramsey. Terms and conditions apply. Over 30 years ago, Sharon and I went broke, lost everything, because I had done a bunch of stupid stuff. And I drew a line in the sand and said, that's it, I've had it. The great motivator Les Brown says, people change their lives only when they say, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I've had it.

If you've had it, this is an I've had it theme hour. That's when you're ready to change. Did you have an I've had it moment? Are you in the middle of having one? Did you have one 10 years ago? I want to hear your story The phone number is 888-825-5225 It's a common human experience

And those of you that have not reached that experience Have not changed yet You're still looking in from the outside Wondering why you can't fix your crap And it's because you haven't had it yet. You've got to say, I've had it. I'm done. It's a decision.

What happened that caused you to have your I've had it moment? This month, all of August, we're throwing down a challenge. It's called the Baby Step 2 $1,000 Payoff Challenge to celebrate 25 years of Financial Peace University and nearly 6 million people using this proven plan. And most of the time it started with an I've had it moment, or while they got into Financial Peace University, halfway through they went, oh crap, this is stupid, I've had it. And you can get in the middle of the class and have your I've had it moment.

Maybe you just went to the class just because someone made you, or spouse talked you into it or your church was having it and you thought, well, that'll be sweet. And then you get in there and you go, oh, Lord, this is changing my freaking life. And that's what happens, right? So if you're already on baby step two and you want some motivation to pay off $1,000 the month of august start the baby step to one thousand dollar payoff challenge no purchase is necessary just go sign up for it we've already had 25 million dollars worth of people pledging to do this in honor of our 25th anniversary so i'd like to go ahead and get that to 250 million pretty quick we need a 10x that now that we're going to air with it i mean that was just people that heard about it in the first 24 hours or so so

let's get this thing moving here all right let's do it dave ramsey.com slash payoff now four people that enter into the challenge and there's going to be a bunch of you so your odds but it doesn't cost you anything to enter so shut up right just the only thing that's going to happen is you're going to have to have an i've had it moment pay off a thousand dollars and otherwise we're going to come to your house and ask you why you didn't do it no i'm kidding we're not doing that but um so the deal is a thousand dollars paid off in august is the part of you changing your life four of you are going to win twenty five hundred dollars from us we're going to give away ten thousand,000 in the I've Had It Baby Step 2 $1,000 payoff challenge. I just added to the name of that thing. But anyway, DaveRamsey.com slash payoff,

and let's do it. If you've had an I've Had It moment, call me. 888-825-5225. Joshua is in Louisiana. Hey, Joshua, what's up? Hey, Dave, how you doing? Better than I deserve. Tell me about your I've had it moment. So for me, my I've had it moment was at the end of 2016, I had taken a job in Pennsylvania after graduate school, and I was there for about six months, and the job just didn't work out. And so in that situation, I had little to no money, and so it forced me to move home to Louisiana in 2017. And it took me about six months to land a full-time job.

During that time, I was looking into the oil field and taking a job at a bakery working for one of my cousins. And so during that time, I was just really struggling to pay off any debt that I had accrued at the time through graduate school and a couple of unpaid internships. And so around July of 2017, I landed a full-time job in personal training and fitness, which is what I do for a living. But I made little to no progress on my debt during that time. And so at the beginning of 2018, I sat down and did a budget and I needed to pick up a second job. I realized I didn't make enough money to really run the debt snowball. And at the same time to move out of my parents' house, I needed a little bit more of a buff for more income. And so it was during that time,

I started working two jobs, seven days a week, both at the fitness center I'm at currently and in a grocery store. And I went on Amazon and I Googled student loan debt. And when I did that, the Total Money Makeover book came up. And so I bought the book and I read it. And at the time, I had never heard of Dave Ramsey. I'd never read any of your materials. And a lot of it just made sense to me. And so later that year, that fall, I decided to sign up for Financial Peace University and take the class. And the class had a very large impact on me. And at this time, I paid off probably around $15,000.

Good for you. And so I decided in the following, in 2019, to become a coordinator. And it was during this time, you know, continuing to work two jobs, continuing to snowball it, that I got in a wreck. And at the time, I was driving a 1988 Corvette that I bought from my grandmother, and the vehicle was totaled. And at this point, I had paid off around $20,000, and the insurance came back with a check for $10,000. And I basically had the option to either fix the car or take the money, buy a cheaper car, and snowball it on my debt. And at that time, it was really kind of a gut check because at this point I'd been, you know,

working almost 18 months, two jobs, just paying off anywhere from $1,000 to $1,500 a month. And so I decided, you know, I really want to be out of debt. I'm really, I don't want to do this anymore because at the time I started at $50,000 in debt and I paid off around 20. And so I bought a cheaper car. I bought a car cash for 2,500 and I took the remaining money and, uh, was able to snowball another 10 grand in April, May, and June of this year. So now I'm 30,000 in and I'm looking at about 20,000 left in debt. Man, you're on fire.

Way to go, dude. Well done. So as a personal trainer, you see people on the situation of their physical condition, weight loss and physical fitness, the ones that don't have an I've had it moment, they just don't stick it out, do they? Yes, that's true. I mean, you have to get to a point where you're not happy with your health, you're not happy with your physique, you're not happy with your current condition, and that's when someone will make a change either to exercise more or eat better.

And that's kind of what I experienced with my money. I mean, I was at a point where I had accrued so much debt from graduate school and internships, and I was forced to move home. I had no job in 2017 and then I landed a job I was just kind of like I didn't have a plan I didn't have a focus I didn't have a direction of what to do um and like I said through reading the total money makeover taking financial peace university becoming coordinator you know gave me a vision it gave me a plan and at the same time it frustrated me even more because I was thinking in my head hey

you know if I could have had this information two three years ago i'd never well and you suddenly you suddenly have a new peer group you're only running around with people who are weird now yeah you know that are not going to put up with this so hey man thank you for leading the class and i'm so happy that we had an impact i'm so proud of of you. You did truly have an I've Had It moment. Well done. Oman is with us in UK. Hey, Oman. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Tell me about your I've Had It moment. Hey, Dave. Yeah, so my I've Had It moment came last November, so fairly recently after listening to your podcast for a few months and listening to your callers with $50,000, $60,000, $70,000 annual incomes, doing their debt-free screams and paying off their house and just realizing how normal I was.

It was just kind of a sad state of affairs. And so my story actually goes back about 11 years or so when I first read The Money Makeover. I got gazelle intense. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my wife along with me. And I think that's where things went wrong. And the cheetah got us, and we pretty much let the roller coaster of debt just crack on for the next 11 years or so. What changed you? What was your latest I've had it moment that turned the corner? I mean, really, there was no significant event.

It was really the look in the mirror of where are we going with our money? And it was nowhere. So you got her on board this time? Oh, yeah. So after November, when I had my own moment, I ordered FPU. And there's not a lot of community around here, but I ordered FPU. My wife, my two teenager boys, we all went through it together. And I mean, we've been married for almost 20 years and we have not ever been on the same page with money until now. And we're in baby step four now. Wow. We're saving up for two cash cars when we get back to the States. Way to go, man.

I'm so proud of you. That's awesome, Oman. Hey, man, thanks for sharing that story. It's an I've Had It theme hour on the Dave Ramsey Show. Our scripture of the day, Psalm 5110 Create in me a pure heart, O God And renew a steadfast spirit within me Max Licato says, you change your life by changing your heart That's exactly right

This stuff happens in your heart. That's exactly right. This stuff happens in your heart. It doesn't just happen in your head. It is not an intellectual academic exercise to modify your behaviors, to change and stop doing stupid stuff that isn't working. It's a decision where you finally say, that's it. I've had it. This month, all of August, we're throwing down a challenge. It's called the Baby Step 2 $1,000 Payoff Challenge.

It costs nothing to enter the challenge. No salesman will call. No one will check your budget. You are going to do this. You're challenging yourself. I'm going to pay off $1,000 at least while I'm in Baby Step 2 in the month of August because I've had it. Go to DaveRamsey.com. Join the challenge challenge, commit to pay off $1,000 in August. You'll be automatically to enter one of four $2,500 gifts that we're giving away,

a total of $10,000. You do that at DaveRamsey.com slash payoff. It's an I've had it theme hour. We're talking to people who've had it. I've had enough. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. Jonah is next, and Jonah is in New York. Hi, Jonah.

Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. Hi. What's your I've had it moment? So our we've had it moment happened about six months after we got married. That was back in 2017, and our finances were separate. We both had debt debt and we were both going through the motion of making minimum payments. And one afternoon, my husband made a

comment about paying off his student loans well into his 50s. And I immediately thought, oh, heck no, that is not going to happen because that wasn't the future that I had pictured for us after getting married. So I found your book, The Total Money Makeover, at the library. I pretty much read it overnight. I'm a mega nerd, so I created a spreadsheet and I brought it to him and I said, I think we can pay off everything within five years and the rest is history. Wow. So you tore into it. The mega nerd launches the I've had it moment. I love that phrase. I love I can just kind of see a cartoon character of mega nerd.

But and so you sat down with non mega nerd. What did he do? He was completely on board just because he was overwhelmed with how long he thought he was going to be paying these off. So he said, why not give it a try? It's not working the way we're doing things now. And so this sense of hopelessness on his part that we're just going to spend our whole life with these stupid student loans activated you, and you said, nuh-uh. Right. Nuh-uh.

And I have to be transparent. Not all of it was his. Yeah, no, I'm just saying. But you looked at the pile of the mess and you went, uh-uh. Exactly. That's what did it. I like that. I like that a lot.

And how old are you two? I am 33 and he's 38. And you started your debt snowball when? September 2017 was our first budget. So you're coming up on two years of that. And how much have you paid off in two years? Get ready for it. We are debt-free.

We paid off $89,000 in 15 months. Touchdown, baby! Woo! Scream it. Say, I'm debt-free! I'm debt-free! That's what a mega nerd sounds sounds like right there i love it that's what happens when you say i've had it no we're not living this way i love you guys that's

awesome in two years what's your household income we started at 90 000 we're now at 125 and you don't have any debt anymore. Zero. And how does that feel? It feels pretty good. A little different than 50 years of slavery facing you. Exactly. You're free. And you did it. You did it.

You did it. I'm so proud of y'all. Thank you. Very, very well done. That is awesomeness right there. Straight up awesomeness. Wow. Kimberly is in North Carolina.

Kimberly, tell me your I've had it moment. Well, mine, Dave, involved oranges. I was working 80 plus hours a week, a full-time job and two part-time jobs. Decided I would like to have some oranges. Went to buy them. Had no money. Had maxed out credit cards. And I threw a full-on show-you-crazy

fit into Walmart, right next to the orange bin. And I live in a very small town, so it did not take very long before my mama called me to tell me to put my crazy away. So about four minutes into crazy, I realized that I was having this argument with God out loud. And I had launched straight into the ugly cry and told him all about how he was not taking care of me. All right there in the produce section.

Yeah, right there next to the orange bin. The produce section at Walmart. We're having a spiritual engagement with God. Yep, letting him know how his word was false. Crying my eyes out over a $5 freaking pack of oranges. So after I got my crazy put away and my mama calmed down, I figured out that I might not be a man with. You know this would make a good country song, right?

Yes. That song resonates to me very much. I can tell. Because my mama was like, girl, what are you doing? Your best friend just called me, and your crazy is up there for everybody to see. Put it away and when i told her what it was over she was convinced i needed medical care psych ward yep yep i'm yelling at god about oranges in the walmart but he was not taking care of me.

Yeah. That didn't go real well. Do not argue with God. He's got the last word. Yeah, because he thinks he's God. So what did you do then? Well, I came home, put my crazy away, got myself settled down, and started praying. And I realized that if you are having a full-on fit about $5 freaking oranges, you may not be doing math really well. And I am nobody's math nerd, but I can add and subtract pretty well.

So it figured out fairly quickly that I was not doing things the right way. So what was your income at that point in your life? I was at about $37 a year, and I had eight maxed-out credit cards, a car payment, medical debt, and a mortgage. How long ago was this? That was 11 years ago. What did you do? In that frame of time, I had never heard of Dave Ramsey. And God just sent me a plan that remarkably is similar to Dave Ramsey's plan.

And it actually is how my mother and grandmother handled money, and I went to that. Used to be called common sense. Yes. And they did teach it to me. I just left it along the wayside while I developed my own crazy. Exactly. So I decided that I could not live like that anymore. I had had enough.

Enough people had seen me lose my crap right there in the Walmart. I didn't need to be doing that again. You only get one of those in life, so you've already spent yours. Yeah, you really can't. You just cannot pick a fight with God. You don't get a second one of those. Yeah, you just can't pick a fight with him multiple times. He's not going to pay you.

Not in the produce section of Walmart, no. No, not for all you neighbors to see. So now, 11 years later, where are you? Well, in that time, I also underwent a downsizing that I thought I was going to lose my job, had to return back to school, and two things that do not go together are menopause and algebra. So it took me a little while, but through all of that, I paid off every debt, I paid off my mortgage, and I am completely debt-free. Unbelievable! Now, here's how God really delivers off a $5 bag of oranges. The job that I thought

I was going to lose and sent me screaming to a community college to get better education, I now have a position I could not possibly have dreamed of. What do you make now around 56 what do you do i'm in the medical industry in quality assurance you're a rock star and you're a lot of fun yeah when they tell you god works through all things i'm here he can work through oranges and i don't even really like oranges i don't even know where it came from he just told you he couldn't have one, and you wanted one. That's all it was. And then I was like, oh, no, no.

I worked too hard for this. You told me you were going to take care of me, and you're not taking care of me. Oh, you're so fun. Well done. I'm so proud of you. Man, a pause in algebra don't go together. Oh, best line of the week. I love it.

Woo! That puts us out of the Daveave ramsey show in the books thanks to james childs our producer kelly daniel our associate producer and phone screener i am dave ramsey your host we'll be back with you before you know it in the meantime remember there's ultimately only one way to financial peace and that's to walk daily with the prince of peace christ jesus With the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus. This is James Childs, producer of The Dave Ramsey Show. Did you know you can now listen to The Dave Ramsey Show on Pandora and Spotify?

For all the ways to watch and listen, check out our show page at DaveRamsey.com.