The Ramsey Show - App - The Program That Will Transform Your Life and Marriage (Hour 1)

Episode Date: July 23, 2018

The show about you

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I am Dave Ramsey, your host. This is your show, because we talk about you. It's a free call at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. We're going to start off this hour with Gabriel in Tampa, Florida. Hi, Gabriel. How are you?

I'm good. How are you, Dave? Better than I deserve. What's up? Yeah, I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate your program. I went through FPU, and I loved it. And I'm getting kind of nervous because I had some family issues that happened in my life, and now I just need some encouragement.

I have $67,332.99 in debt, and I make $65,000 a year. I just wanted to know how long it should take me to pay that off. Well, not counting family issues, which sometimes are known as a speed bump or two or a rock wall in your way or something like that. I mean, I just do big math when I'm here on the air, like $67,000 in debt and a $60,000 income. Is that what you said? $65,000. $65,000 income.

Okay. So if we pay some taxes and we eat, how many kids you got? Zero. Okay. And are you single? Zero. Okay. And are you single? Yes. Okay. So if you pay some taxes and you eat out of $65,000,

and let's just say you put $22,000 towards the debt, in three years that would be $66,000, and you would be debt-free, right? Yeah, yeah. If you put $33,000, $34,000 towards the debt out of your $65,000, you'd be debt-free in two years, right? Yeah. So that's how I do it. I mean, it's not any more sophisticated than that. When I'm talking to somebody on the radio,

now what you're going to do is you're going to sit down with your actual budget on every dollar and say, if I live on beans and rice, rice and beans, the good news is I don't have a bunch of kids to feed and I don't have a husband to control. So all I've got to do is just control me, right? And so I'm going to control me. Yeah, the danger is you've got nobody griping at you, okay? No accountability built in. But the good news is when you're single, you just got the person in the mirror. Get her done, you know?

Yeah. And so you just shut down life and tell all your friends, I'll call you when I'm done. Or come over and we'll throw a Frisbee in the backyard. Do you think I should get another job? Well, the more money you make, the faster you get out. Right. And the faster you get out, by the way, the more likely you are to get out. And so I really want you on a two-year plan for your sake.

Right. And, you know, gosh, if you got an extra job making $20,000 a year on the weekends, you'd be done in about 18 months or less. Right, right. That's how I'm doing it. Well, there were some opportunities. Go ahead. I'm sorry.

There were some opportunities for me to move from where I am and make an additional like $10,000 to $15,000. What are your ties to where you are? I mean, I kind of just started there. I haven't been there for, I haven't even been there a year yet. I left public accounting to go to an opportunity, and, you know, it's not quite what I thought it was. So when you mean move, you mean just change companies. You don't mean move physically. Just change companies.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just change companies. As long as it's not a bunch of toxic jerks you're going to work for for a lousy $10,000 difference, that would be a cool thing to do. I mean, maybe it's a move up anyway, regardless of the debt, right? Right. Yeah, definitely. An extra $10,000, $15,000 for the same job or a different job or a better job that's moving you up the ladder, that's not a bad thing.

How old are you? I'm 29. Okay. And what's the family issue? Well, I was actually engaged, and we went through FPU together. And so we had like a 20-month, like 19- to 20-month plan to get out of debt. And now it's like, you know, I really want to still accomplish this goal, but, you know, it's kind of nerve-wracking to do it on my own now.

So the engagement blew up? Yeah. Have anything to do with money? No, actually. Okay. Cool. So you're free, and it's just you controlling you, and you get after it, and the more you work, the faster you're out.

But I would say somewhere between 18 to 24 months, you ought to be done depending on how cheap you live and how much extra work you do. Okay. That's the math you and I just did together. It didn't sound unreasonable to me. No, it sounds perfectly reasonable. The good news is you're going to be 31 years old or 30 1⁄2 or something and debt-free, and, man, what a great place to be.

And, you know, at least something good comes out of this heartbreak of the broken engagement. At least you got Financial Peace University, and you got the knowledge, and you can do this, right? Absolutely. You call me and let me know how you're doing, okay? Okay, thank you so much. I think you can do it. I do, too. All right.

Mike's on the line. Mike's in Las Vegas. Hey, Mike, how are you? Hey, I'm doing quite well. Hey, Mike, how are you? Hey, I'm doing quite well. How has your morning been so far? Better than I deserve. What's up?

Well, I'm 18 years old. I have no debt. I make about $1,100 a month with expenses such as rent and my phone bill and gas. But I'm not sure where to go from here. I decided college wasn't for me, and I'm really not sure what I'm doing with my money because I only have $1,200 saved up over this year of working. Okay. Well, the biggest problem that you've got on the personal financial front

is your income is very, very low. So the first thing my mind gravitates to, of course, you're 18 years old. You're just getting started. That's okay. It's not the end of the world here. But the question I would want to ask you is, hey, when you're 38, what do you want to be doing that makes $100,000 a year instead of $14,000 a year? Right.

I understand. And how do you get there? What to do one of those things? And I'm with you. College is not for everybody, and it's sure not if you go get a degree in left-handed puppetry for $250,000 in student loan debt, right, which would be called stupid, and people do it every day. So you don't want to do that stuff.

If you're going to go to college, for God's sake, study something that can be used. But you can get a degree. I mean, you can get lots of tech degrees. I mean, you can get lots of tech degrees. I mean, you can get lots of certifications, do all kinds of things without a college degree that make you very, very wealthy. So it's very, very possible. The question is just you need to start really thinking about you. What are you good at? Do you like details?

Do you like people? You know, are you inclined towards the technology sector? Are you inclined towards the technology sector? Are you inclined towards the art area? What is it that makes you smile and you think, gosh, if I did that for 20 years, I'd feel like I've been on vacation the whole time? And then go do a whole bunch of that and become the best in the world at that and train and take classes and read books. If you read 25 books on a particular subject

by the best minds in the world, you'll be one of the leading experts in the world because nobody knows how to read anymore. Huh. I mean, just go do that. Let's work on the income side of your equation because you're basically living at the poverty level.

Again, I'm not shaming you. There's no shame in that. I may listen to that myself over time when I was your age. But let's point at something because you don't accidentally become successful, dude. That's the big thing. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Okay, I need you to listen to this. Because one normal routine that everyone does can cause total chaos in your life. I'm talking about the simple act of using Wi-Fi. When you're on Wi-Fi anywhere in public or at home,

you're at risk of hackers easily seeing every site you visit and every search you're doing online. It doesn't matter if you're on your cell or your laptop. They can see you visiting websites, streaming or downloading, uploading photos, files, and more. I'm not telling you this to scare you, but I want you to be aware and take action. You need to download an app called Hotspot Shield. Hotspot Shield helps keep your connection on your own Wi-Fi and any public Wi-Fi secure.

600 million people worldwide have downloaded Anchor Free's Hotspot Shield. Download it right now. Just search Hotspot Shield on iTunes or Google Play or go to hotspotshield.com. You can be secure in seconds. Download Hotspot Shield by Anchor Free today. Over 5 million people have gone to Financial Peace University. The ones that listened and did the stuff we said, which is most of them, changed their family trees. They changed their lives. They've transformed. Be not conformed to this world.

Don't be like everybody else, but be transformed. How? By the renewing of your mind. This week we're celebrating a very important part of this program. We have declared this week to be Financial Peace University Coordinator Week. I signed a resolution to that effect this morning, and so it is now law. These folks are volunteers who lead the Financial Peace University groups, and they are precious people. They volunteer their time, but it's a little bit selfish when you're doing it. Obviously, I've done it because you have a front row seat to watch people change

their lives. It's so inspiring. You do not have to be a financial expert to be a Financial Peace University coordinator. They're just regular folks that love people and know how to put chairs in a circle and have a discussion after the video plays. It's really not rocket science, you know what I'm saying? But it is people that care. And you have to have a sense of humor

and you have to have a good time with it and so forth, right? So Heather and Brenton Moore are on the line. They are coordinators of ours. If I pick up the right line, they would. Anyway, there they are. They're coordinators of ours. And it looks like you guys have just led your first financial peace university group.

Thank you for doing that. Absolutely, Dave. It's our pleasure. And you guys paid off $90,000 worth of debt yourself is that right we did we sure did well here you go in 2000 sir say it again I'm sorry we took FPU in 2015 and it absolutely transformed our marriage so for us this was the next natural step we go to Georgia Islandia island community church in and they needed a teacher oh cool cool so have you you've led all the way through your first

group or are you on your second group or what we have uh we've led through one and we are looking to start our second coming up in a couple months perfect okay perfect but man when you can stand up in front of that group when you're just getting started and the folks come in that are either dragging their heels, they don't want to do it, their husband brought them against their will or wife or whatever, that kind of a thing, or they're just scared to death and you stand up and go, we paid off $90,000. That's encouraging to that group, isn't it?

It sure is. We can say we have done the big sacrifice, and it has paid us not just financially, but for our marriage. Yeah. Well, that's a big deal. It's a big deal. Well, thank you for giving back. What's the best part about leading a group?

So, for us, the best part is just kind of seeing the relationship changes within the members that are taking the class. And we were able to see a story about a couple that's actually in our small group, and they were having trouble having conversations about their finances. And because of SPU, those conversations and arguments really to turn into easy decisions that really neared our own journey back in 2015 yeah yeah well you've been there done that too because if you've had some good money fights you know what it looks like right oh yeah that's right then you get to you know your number one cause of divorce in north america is money fights and money problems so marriage marriage is being saved is a big part of this, for sure. And if nothing else, takes a good marriage and makes it great

because you learn to communicate about what's important. Very, very cool. So that's been your all's big motivation then, is to have that same impact that happened to you then, right? Absolutely. It's about so much more than money. Yeah, very cool. What do you see as the biggest thing that causes,

when a husband and wife comes into the class, now that you've done one, getting ready to start another one, and they're not on the same page, what causes them to get on the same page, or what caused you to get on the same page? For us, it was just kind of seeing that this doesn't have to be a big deal and being able to be in a group with other people that have gone through similar experiences and seeing either people that are in the same exact situation you are or people that are farther behind, you know, maybe in their journey or farther ahead in seeing these success stories. It really makes a difference for these people that are coming in

with maybe little hope to see that there are these wins that are coming up if they really follow these steps. Very cool. Well, listen, guys, Brent and Heather, we really appreciate you guys. Thank you so much for leading a class there in Memphis and starting up another one here in the fall. This is Coordinator Appreciation Week. Financial Peace University coordinators are being appreciated by us.

If you want to do like that couple as a single person or as a couple, either one, and help people in your community by leading a Financial Peace University class, no matter where you are in the baby steps. By the way, if you're perfect at finance and you have all the answers, please don't lead a group because you're a jerk. We want imperfect people to lead the class. We want people who don't have all the answers to lead a class because that's the real world, isn't it? So listen, here's what we're going to do. You ready? You ready for the big deal? Here's the big deal deal if you're interested in becoming a coordinator like those guys

and leading your first group ever in august or september the first 250 people who agree to do that we're going to give you for free all the leadership materials that's like a three four hundred dollar value for free you have the only thing you have to do is commit to lead a class this August, this September, one of the two, and it has to be the first time you've ever led a class. Get in touch with us right now during today's show in the first 250. We're going to give you kits to get started this fall. The phone number is 877-378-2667. Again, the first 250 people that want to start their very first class ever

as a Financial Peace University coordinator, like those guys we were just talking to, and you promise to start the class this August, this September, the phone number to get the free leadership materials is 877-378-2667. That's 877-378-2667. Jennifer is with us in Los Angeles. Hi, Jennifer. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show.

Hi, Dave. How are you doing Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. How are you doing today? Better than I deserve. What's up? Great. Well, it's an honor to speak with you. I am calling because I'm in between, well, I'm basically on step four, as is my fiance. And we live separately, and we're figuring out uh where we want to how we want

to move in together and we're looking at the housing market and it's pretty we're pretty overwhelmed by how high the prices are and yeah you're in l.a yeah i mean we looked at a one bedroom the other day that was over 700 000 and it was swarming with people. I don't know if the, I'm hoping the market will go down a bit, but I'm also wanting to save up for a house I'd like to not rent. What is your income? So my income is probably a little over $60,000. I make $51,000, but I also tutor on the side. What does he make? He has an inconsistent job. He made over six figures last year, so over $100,000 last year. And right now he's making $700,000 a day,

but since he works in the entertainment industry, it's really up in the air. Yeah, it's show business or no business. Exactly. Gotcha. All right. So on a good year, you've got a $200,000 household income. On a bad year, you don't. Right.

Yeah. Once you're married. And once you're married, I'm going to pile up cash as high as I can pile it up. And depending on the trajectory of his career and the stability of his career, you know, is how far out of L.A. you're going to have to move. Because obviously the further you move out, at least in most directions, the cheaper the housing. So should we make sure not to stay in Step 3B too long?

Like I guess I'm looking. I wouldn't stay there 10 years, but, I mean, you may be there three or four. Right, because already together we probably have like $180,000 saved for a down payment. Well, that's pretty good. Yeah, that's pretty good. If his income is stable and you think the $150,000 range is your stability, you can probably do something. But as you said, the prices are distressing.

I would not wait on the L.A. housing market to come down. That might be a long wait. Instead, I would make a decision and say, we're going to commute or we're going to buy in a place that we're not as comfortable with to get started in the home ownership racket. And then we may move up later as his career moves, your career moves. Hey, thanks for the call. Let me tell you a story about two families that are very much alike in a lot of ways. Both families have two working parents and a couple of young kids. Each has debt and a struggle to make ends meet.

But they're starting to make headway with their budgets and smarter decisions with money. They have dreams and plans, and the only real difference is that one family has the right amount of term life insurance and the other doesn't. Big difference. If one of the parents die, and that does happen, their well-being would be destroyed. Paying for the mortgage, utilities, food, and other bills would be impossible, let alone saving for education or retirement. That's why every day I talk relentlessly about getting term life insurance. Just go to ZanderInsurance.com or call 800-356-4282 and see how inexpensive it really is. Be the family that takes those deliberate steps to be different and responsible. It really does make you the hero of your story,, Ben and Melissa are with us.

Hey, guys, how are you? Hi. Doing great. Yeah, doing good. And you're here to do a debt-free scream. Yes, we are. I love it. And how much have you paid off?

$127,000 in three years and 11 months. Love it. And your range of income during that time? We started off at $65,000, and we're projecting $90,000 for today. Cool. For this year, and about a $77,000 average. Love it. Good for you guys.

Well done. What kind of debt was the $127,000? Mostly student loans, a $7,000 car loan in there. All right. Cool. Cool. So what got you started on this journey three years ago? Well, we had heard about FPU when we first got married, but we looked at each other and we

didn't have a problem with credit cards and we were very frugal. And so we didn't think it was a problem. But then we got really normal. I went to grad school and all on student loans. And we also bought a house with no money down at pretty much the top of the bubble. And so we were in trouble. And so about that time, my sister and brother-in-law suggested taking FPU with them. They were interested. And Melissa asked our financial advisor if he thought it would be a good idea. And he was really enthusiastic. He told us that he had learned a lot.

And we thought, if our financial advisor learned a lot, we probably have something to learn, too. What's your grad degree in? I have a Master's of Fine Art. Oh, good for you. Yeah. Okay. And so you went to the class. Yeah, we went to the class.

And that got it all started. Yes. And now you're big-time coordinators, I hear. Yes. Yeah, we've coordinated how many classes? I think seven. Six or seven, yeah. Wow.

Wow. Well, I tell you what, people have been writing in about you. Did you know that? No. No. I mean, this lady right here, Mike says, rather, the Panter family. You know those guys? Yeah.

Melissa and her husband have been a constant source of encouragement and inspiration in 2017. Because of the class and Melissa's guidance, I was able to experience some financial peace for the first time in my life. She was there when I totaled my debt and cut up my credit cards and completed my emergency fund and bought my first Dave Ramsey car. Speaking with her gave me the confidence to take these steps. I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in store for her family now. Way to go, guys. Wow. That's awesome.

And Charlene Dunn, you know who she is? Oh, yeah. She says, Melissa and Ben are such a sweet couple. Your cheerful countenance and witty thoughts made the class fun and educational. I'm thankful you're willing to share your time and stories with us each week. I'm excited for both of you. You've accomplished an amazing goal, and you give glory to God. Congratulations.

Here's to a legacy of obedience with faith in what only God can do. You guys are super coordinators. Way to go. Wow, thanks. Proud of you. Very fun. Very fun. It's rewarding to do these classes and have people like that.

So you change their life. Yeah, absolutely. That's why we keep doing it. Yeah, I guess. It works. So how's it feel now to be debt free? Oh, it feels great. It's been several months now and just, I mean, we went on vacation before our vacations were more workations with Ben's photography.

And now we went on a vacation with our family. We were able to go out to restaurants. And yeah, it's been great. And just looking forward to the future. Really excited. It was a long three years, wasn't it? Yeah. Yes.

Especially the first couple. Yes. What was the hardest part about getting out of debt for y'all? I think getting started was the, what our first projection, based off our previous year's income, was 13 years that it was going to take. And so it was great to have a plan, but not all that encouraging. Not that one, no. Yeah. 13 months, okay, 13 years, not so much.

Right. But then you did that in three years. Yes, three years, 11 months, the nerd in me wants to say. And we did, for everyone who's listening, we did have $25,000 of non-retirement savings that we're able to put down on it. Everyone's doing the math. Very cool. So, yeah, I think for everyone listening who's not sure if they want to do it, that was us.

We had taken it. We didn't think we had a problem, even with our house and the student loans. And we were very skeptical going into this. And for me especially, it just seemed very unspiritual to think about money so much. And so it took me to the fourth lesson when you showed the gazelle, and it was right in the Bible there, and God is comparing getting out of debt to running for your life. And so, I mean, since then, almost four years ago.

Now it's spiritual. Yeah, now it is. It's spiritual, and also it's a bigger picture that we're getting out of debt not just for us but for the goals we can set for our family. But then this is just the first step in a journey of generosity for us. It's much bigger than just I want to get out of debt and then college, but just really giving.

Very cool. And you brought the kiddos with you. What are their names and ages? This is Jed. He's six. And this is Flint, and he's two. All right. Very cool.

Good for you guys. That's fun. Well, congratulations, you guys. What do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? I mean, for us, getting on the same page, right? Getting that plan with the budget and really sitting down and hashing everything out together. It's that focused energy that I couldn't have done alone. She couldn't have done alone.

We had to do it together. That was, for me, I think the biggest thing. Being the free spirit, sticking to the plan together yeah and and as part with sticking on the plan i mean as far as free spirits go and getting a student loans i mean it was it was a little bit of time for ben to decide that this was the right thing to do um because we had to balance well it's it's the right thing for him to have got the the degree but well then what do we do with all these student loans was that wrong or not and yeah it took me a while just to figure out it seems simple now i just should have gone about

it a different way right it didn't send us into debt yeah there you go yeah um and and then yeah apart with the budget it was cutting things that you don't necessarily think you have to cut. Like the grocery bill can be cut in some ways. You don't always buy the more expensive snacks. And we had set a goal, too. What started us on trying to get this done before our 10-year anniversary, which was this year, which we hit that goal, was when you had talked about SMART goals in one of the Januaries a few years back. And so I set the goal.

It's not enough to just say, well, I want to get out of debt someday. If you can set that goal, even if it's a tough goal, people really did think I was going a little crazy and a little overboard. Who cares what people think? You did it. So, yeah. And then just being encouraged. I just want to give a shout out to everyone who's doing either the FPU journey or the Baby Steps or the Total Money Makeover. It's such a great community of people that I've been encouraged by them by running Financial

Peace. Well, I want you guys to be encouraged. You've led seven classes. That means somewhere between average of 50 to 70 families have been impacted by you two while you're doing your own journey, your own walk. We've got a copy of Chris Hogan's Retire Inspired book for you, signed by the man himself, number one bestseller. And that's the next chapter.

As you said, it's a journey that leads to generosity. So well done. Proud of you guys. Thank you so much for leading the class. And congratulations. We're so proud of you. Very, very well done. Ben and Melissa Jed and Flint from Philadelphia.

$127,000 paid off. Three years and 11 months, making $65,000 to $90,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Ready? Three, two, one. We're debt-free! That's how you do it.

Woo-hoo! Boom! Yes! I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it. That is absolutely fabulous. Well done, you guys. If you missed my announcement a few minutes ago, we are honoring coordinators this week.

This is Coordinator Appreciation Week. If you want to lead your first class ever of Financial Peace University and have the impact Ben and Melissa have had, the first 250 people to call in and promise to lead a class the first time ever in August or September, get a free leadership kit. The phone number is 877-378-2667. That's 877-378-2667. That's 877-378-2667. Can you believe this real estate market?

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Equal housing lender. 761 Old Hickory Boulevard, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027. Thank you for joining us, America. We're glad you're here. Open phones to 888-825- 5225. Ariel is with us in Silver Springs, Maryland. Hi, Ariel. How are you? Hi, Dave. I'm well. How are you doing? Better than

I deserve. What's up? I'm so happy that you took my call. So, I'm going through a little bit of a problem. I just moved from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. That's where I'm originally from in Maryland. And I, because of the hurricanes and stuff, I got a job here in Maryland. And I'm about $40,000 in debt, $30,000 being student loans, and the other $10,000 being credit cards and miscellaneous, but mostly credit cards. So my question is, I only have about $200 in the emergency fund. Should I

just save up the other $800 and then do the snowball and then pay the student? Okay, so I should do that. Yes, absolutely. You need that $1,000 cushion. What kind of money are you making right now? I'm making $40,000. and the thing is, I live in the most expensive county that taxes the most, so I thought my check would have been way more than, about $400 more a month than what it is now.

So I kind of... What are you doing? I work at Walter Reed. It's the medical hospital. Are you a nurse, or what do you do? No, no, I'm an administrative assistant

um so yeah so are you single yeah i'm single i'm single and i live alone so here's the thing here's the thing four hundred dollars was a big deal yes so that means that if you were to find an extra job making a1,000 a month, that would probably change the formula on what you're doing a bunch. Number one, you tighten up the budget. You learn what the budget is. It's all brand new to you. And then the second thing is you increase your income

and you throw it all at the debt. Because, you know, like $10,000, $12,000 a year extra all going at the debt and uh because you know like 10 12 000 a year extra all going into debt that's a big change in how fast this debt goes away so i would tighten up the budget jump on every dollar dot com download the uh the the free every dollar uh app which is the best budgeting app on the planet and it'll get you going. And then, you know, do your zero-based budget. Tighten up the budget as tight as you can because you've got a big goal here. I mean, you came out of a mess away from the hurricane. Now you're trying to land and clean up the debt mess now.

And income minus outgo is the equation. The equation is not hard. You cut back on the outgo, and you increase the income. And the more you do that, the more room there is in the middle to attack this debt, and it gets rid of there. So very, very well done. Congratulations. Our question of the day comes from Blinds.com.

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Use the promo code RAMSY to get the best possible deal. Rules and restrictions apply, of course. Gabe's in California. I'm curious as to why you condemn the use of credit cards for everyone in every situation. It's kind of like I condemn the use of a cigarette. Cigarettes don't kill everybody that smokes them, but they are good for no one that smokes them. That's why. I'm 37 years old.

I make $90,000 a year. I'm on baby step six, and my credit score is 815. I have four credit cards, four of which I use regularly, based on which one gives me the best rewards at particular places. I pay the bill in full at least monthly or every card. Why shouldn't responsible individuals such as myself use credit cards? Because you're not. You're delusional.

You are more responsible than the average cat. I'll give you that. But $90,000 a year doesn't make you rich. And those points, you know, I've met with thousands and thousands of millionaires. I never met a single millionaire who said, Dave, you know, I made all my money with my airline miles. Dave, I got 1% back on Discover. Let's do the math on that for a minute, okay? You run $100,000 worth of expenditures through your Discover card. You know what you get? $1,000. You want to explain

to me how that's a wealth-building method? That's dumber than a rock. Well, I'm spending the money anyway. Yeah, I know, but all of the studies tell us that the lack of friction, the lack of emotional friction causes you to spend more when you use plastic than when you spend cash. So, Gabe, you can do whatever you want, but your judgmental butt little email, I can read between the lines, you Pharisee uh you go do whatever you want to do dude but millions and millions of people have said i've had enough of credit cards so they have not been a blessing to me they've been a curse you spend more when you use them you spend 12

to 18 percent more when you use plastic than when you use cash on the typical purchase if you go to a vending machine it's 178 percent increase in sales for plastic users versus someone actually puts a dollar into the little dollar eater. When you go into a fast food setting, quick serve restaurants for my friends in the business, a fast food setting, you roll into Mickey D's, you spend an average of 37 percent more when you use plastic than cash than cash buyers do because when you lay cash up on the counter you emotionally go ouch i just spent money and something leaves your possession in return you get something back like a hamburger have you ever thought about the fact that, Rachel Cruz brings this up, when you put your credit card on the counter, they give it back to you and your hamburger.

There was no visual trading going on here. If you trade something for something, you recognize that a transaction has occurred. But where you give them something, they give it back to you and they give you their stuff. No visual transaction has occurred. But where you give them something, they give it back to you, and they give you their stuff. No visual transaction has occurred. Now, I know that's primitive, Gabe, and you think you're above these primitive things, but you're not. These are behavior processes.

And personal finance is 80% behavior. It's only 20% head knowledge. Now, you're probably not going to go bankrupt because you're conservative and you're legalistic and everything else. And you've got your little financial plan figured out. So go do your plan, dude. It's fine. I'm fine if you go do whatever you want to do.

But I am 100% sure after having worked with millions and millions and millions and millions of families over the last 30 years, 5 million families have gone through Financial Peace University. We've sold 15 million books. 16 million people listen to this show. Now, what does that say? It says credit card's not working. And I think we're going to look back in a decade or so and look at the credit. Remember when you were a kid?

Any of you old like me? When you were a kid? Any of you old like me? You're a kid. Everybody smoked. And then they decided it wasn't healthy, so they had smoking sections in restaurants. Remember that? And as if the smoke didn't leave the smoking section and go over to the other section. It was the dumbest thing. They had smoking sections on airplanes.

I'm old enough to remember that. And before that, you could just smoke on an airplane. It was like a tube full of smoke with wings. But gradually, society went from the 1950s or 40s with Clark Gable or whoever, with a cigarette hanging out of his lip in every movie, or Frank Sinatra or whoever, with a cigarette hanging out of their lip in every movie, because that made you cool. It went to where the cigarette isn't cool anymore it's just trashy because people die from it and it's

pretty much nobody likes it anymore society has kind of looked up and goes cigarettes kill you they're stupid why in the world would you smoke now people do still smoke and if you smoke i don't care i'm not mad at you i'm not listening to rooms you don't like smokers i'm just i just don't seem there's society has turned on you because society has recognized that smoking is stupid and it kills you and so if you're in the tobacco business your business is almost gone during my lifetime it was a massive multi-billion dollar thing when I was a kid, and it's dried up to almost nothing now. The credit card is the cigarette of the financial world. There's no upside.

It kills you. When you can have a debit card that does everything a credit card does, and you're not out here chasing discover points, thinking that's going to make you rich, which really makes you look mathematically stupid. So, Gabe, that's my why. I've never met anybody that built wealth because of a credit card, and I've seen people lose marriages, lives, businesses, and everything else because of credit cards, because of their misuse of them.

And so, I think they're stupid. Especially with a debit card, they'll do every single thing. It has the exact same fraud protections that your credit card has. The exact same fraud protections your credit card has. There's just no use for the dumb things. Unless you get some frost on your windshield and want to scrape it off. That's about the only thing I can think of. This is the Dave Ramsey Show.

Hey guys, this is Blake Thompson, Chief Production Officer for the Dave Ramsey Show. This hour's up, but you'll find more on our YouTube channel, where we have over 6 million YouTube views each month. You can find debt-free screens, millionaire hour clips, Dave Rants, and so much more. Go check it out. Hey, this is Dave Ramsey. You know, most of us have gotten behind on our bills at one time or another. That's nothing to be ashamed of.

It happens. And many of us know the embarrassment that comes with those harassing calls from collectors. Some of these guys are just scum. But then there are the collectors that are just plain crooks. These are the guys that take it a step further, and they violate the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act on a daily basis. They're breaking the law, and they need to be stopped. The truth is, debt collection is the most abusive, out-of-control industry in America today.

But you don't have to put up with it. If you have collectors calling you multiple times a day, calling you at work after you've asked them not to, cursing or threatening you in any way, then you need to visit CollectionBully.com. These folks will connect you with an attorney who I know can help you. These attorneys know how to stop collection agencies from bullying and threatening you anymore. CollectionBully.com. Go to CollectionBully.com today.

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