The Ramsey Show - App - What Should My Career Priorities Be? (Hour 2)

Episode Date: November 26, 2021

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🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the 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'm Dave Ramsey, your host. This is your show, America. Thank you for joining us.

Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Ken Coleman Ramsey Personality is my co-host today, here to talk to you about your careers, your jobs, doing work that you love, the clear path to talk to you about your careers your jobs doing work that you love the clear path to doing work you love from his new book from paycheck to purpose herbert is going to be up first this hour he's in guatemala hi herbert how are you hi david how are you better than i deserve how can i help here's listen here's the thing. I'm 30 years old. I'm from Guatemala.

I just got engaged with a beautiful lady. She's 28. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. We're both debt-free engineers. I'm a sales manager, and she's a finance manager. Right now, I have around 200 grand in savings, and she has around 50K. So each year, we make around 160. It's 80 each, okay? So we will marry next year, and we're wondering if we should rent for maybe four or five years and invest the money we make in that time to pay cash for our house. What will a house cost?

Maybe around $400,000, $500,000. You can't buy one for 250 yes we can the thing is that we were thinking about buying like a house that will we will be there forever and you know what i mean there's very few people stay in a house forever okay the forever house thing now are you talking about in Guatemala or talking about in the States? Yeah, in Guatemala. Okay. I do not know anything at all about Guatemala real estate. Not a thing.

Okay? Okay. Most people here stay at their home for life. Yeah. Okay. Is the average home in America in the U.S. sells every 5.6 years? Okay. Is the average home in America in the U.S. sells every 5.6 years? Okay. So when people in America say it's their forever home, I laugh at them because it's not true, okay?

Now, it might be more culturally true there, okay? The second thing I don't know is I don't know if you bought a $250,000 home now and paid cash for it. Meanwhile, you have no rent because you have a paid for home. You could save that much more. You'd be able to save more because you don't have any rent cost. How hard would it be to sell the $250,000 home when you saved up another $200,000 to move up to the half million dollar house? Is the market viable? Can you sell something fairly easily?

Yeah, yeah, you can do that. Okay, so if you moved in a house for $250,000 and lived there three years, and during that time you saved up another $300,000, and then you sold that house for $300,000, you'd have $600,000, right? Yeah. Meanwhile, you000, right? Yeah. Meanwhile, you had no rent. Yeah, that's right. That works if the real estate market is viable enough that you feel sure you can sell this starter house when you want to move up.

But if it's very, very difficult to sell a house, then maybe this suggestion is not a good idea. Okay. And should we invest that money during that time? Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Into something. And again, you've got to choose a vehicle that fits your situation. And I'm not an expert on what's available to you for all of that so

you know that that that's the the thing i um i'm i'm nervous you can tell i'm stammering around with my verbiage because i just don't know that your your cultural norms number one well enough i mean i have a vague understanding but well enough and i certainly don't know the real estate market well enough to where i can say this is what you ought to do so you've kind of got to use some judgment with the knowledge you have of uh the world you live in which is different uh in some respects and so you got to make those calls interesting discussion though it is i would just caution you know just because everybody else does it or a majority of people buy one house and stay in that house in Guatemala doesn't mean that you have to do that. I mean, it could certainly be a cultural norm. But what do you two want as a young couple?

And I got to tell you, I don't care if you're from Guatemala or the United States or anywhere else in the world. A young couple, life is so very different in those first couple of years. And as you begin to move through the phases of life, whatever that's going to look like for you guys, things are going to change dramatically. So having this mindset that we've got to come out of the gate and buy our forever house, I just think it in some ways can lock your dreams and lock your future up a little bit. So I would just caution that just because everybody else does it doesn't mean it's the right thing for you. Yeah. Hey, good call. Thank you for joining us.

Mary's with us. Mary's in San Jose, California. Hi, Mary. Welcome to The Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. So my situation is I'm 58 years old. I lost my job last year, so I decided to take early retirement. I'm living off passive income of my rental.

I have no consumer debt, but I still have a mortgage payment. I refiled last year, so I got the 1.99%. So about a month ago, I found out about your principal. And so now I'm so fired up to pay off my mortgage. Cool. So, yes. And so shall I start collecting my pension? See, the thing is, the reason why I postponed it was if I collect now, I will get only $4,600

a month. If I wait until I'm 62, it's going to be $5,500 a month. And if I wait until 65, it's going to be $6,000 a month. So, what do I do? Do you have a lump sum option? No, unfortunately not. Okay. All right. Well, obviously the pension dies with you, right?

I'm sorry? Yes, of course. And so the money you collect between now and the time that it would go up, if we ran the math figures on it just for the fun of it, it's not what we're going to do. But you said it goes up at $62,000 to $5,500? $60,000. That's $60,000 in two years. It's going to be $55,000, yes.

Okay. All right. But you have two years of... No, actually it's four because I'm 58 now. So at $62,000 it will go up to $5,500. Okay. All right. But you have two years. No, actually it's four because I'm 58 now. So at 52, it will go up to $5,500. Okay. So four times 12 is 48 months of collecting $4,500. That pile of money invested would likely make you more than the other thousand that they're going to give you for waiting.

Does that make sense to you? Yes, it does. I'm not going to do that with it. I'm going to take it now and pay off your house. But that tells you that you probably ought to take it as quick as you can take it. Because the more years you're getting money, I understand the monthly changes on it. And the other thing is you're probably going to do some kind of encore career. You're probably not done at 58.

You've probably got some other stuff you're supposed to do yet. You don't have to, but it'd be cool if you went and made another 80 grand a year just doing something you love. This is The Ramsey Show. It continues to amaze me how identity thieves keep finding ways to use our own identities against us. Not only do they commit crimes related to financial fraud, medical ID theft, and insurance benefit fraud, but now we have to deal with home title fraud. Thieves are using your own personal info to take ownership of your home so they can take out loans, and you end up with a pile of debt and foreclosure notices. Over 4,000 data breaches happened in 2018, exposing 3.6 billion records. So thieves have plenty of identities to use and there's a one in five chance it will be yours. That's why

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right here on The Ramsey Show. Lee is with us in Omaha, Nebraska. Hi, Lee. How are you? Hi, Dave. Hi, Ken. How are you? Hi, Dave. Hi, Ken. I'm doing great. Cool. How can we help?

Yeah. My wife and I just finished paying off our debt snowball, $325,000, and we're busting through step three. And so here in the next month or so, we'll be ready to invest. And so my question is, how much do I start investing? I know it's 15%, but do I try to go for that whole gusto and the whole 12-month sum or just break it down into the last quarter? Okay, you're going to be doing it the rest of your life. So we're going to put it on a monthly basis.

So what is your annual income? Combined, about $160,000. Okay. And so you're going to be putting in about $27,000, $28,000. Okay. And so you're going to be putting in about $2,400, $2,300 a month into something. That's what it amounts to. Mm-hmm.

Okay. And somewhere in that range. I mean, just divide it out. Right. Your income times 15% is your annualized amount. Then divide that into your monthly, because you're going to start putting that much into your 401K, your Roth IRA, your Roth 401k, with or without a match, and all of those things to get up to the $20,000, yeah, to the 20-something thousand dollar mark to get you to exactly 15% of that.

And so, yeah, that's the route to go. Instead of trying to do fits and starts and just do lump sums and the next year you've got just do lump sums and the next year you got to figure it out and the next year you got to figure it out and i just set it on a monthly thing it's automatic and you just keep doing it and keep doing it and keep doing it and before you know it you'll be a baby steps millionaire amanda's in omaha nebraska hi amanda how are you hi mr ramsey nice to meet you you too how can How can Ken and I help? Well, I need help with juggling and prioritizing some things. I called Ken before. So what I'm juggling is passion

projects, career skills, debts, and my personal limitations. Those four things. And I'm not doing very good at getting any particular thing done. Okay. Well, you need to give us a little bit more of a breakdown. So let's talk about the debt first. Okay. Debt, $50,000. I currently make $45,000. I'm a digital marketer. Okay. What's the $50,000 in debt? What is it comprised of? It is student loan debt, medical bills, and stupid debt credit cards. Okay. How much of it is student loan debt?

About $40,000. Most of it is student loan debt. Okay. All right. So now the Passion Project, you ran through things pretty quick. Give me the rest of the list. Passion Project was one, and what else? Four things. Passion Project, career skills, debt, and limitations. And the Passion Project is,

you know, what I'm so driven to do is author. I write a lot. I really want to make that a side career. I've got lots of stories. I want to start publishing them. I want to keep writing. I want to finish things, too. I'm not doing very good with that. Okay. Well, we've got a lot going on here. Let me quickly address the passion project, okay? There's nothing keeping you from writing right now. In fact, the best way to become a writer is to write. Now, that does not mean that you're published. It does not mean you have a big literary deal. It means that you are writing, and you can write in short form on Instagram. You can create a blog for next to nothing. But I know a lot of people who are world-class writers.

Dave and I both are mutual friends. And every time I've ever talked to them, when they give advice to people who ask them questions, it's just always be writing. So you need to write, write, write, write, write. That has nothing to do with the rest of this stuff. The best part about that is you can do that while other people are asleep. Yeah, and while you're working multiple jobs to get out of debt. You need to get out of debt. And here's what I think is going to happen.

I think if you walk out the baby steps and you see momentum there, I think you're going to see momentum in the rest of these areas of your life. And then I want to ask you about limitations. You mentioned limitations. What is that? What are you referring to? In a major depressive episode since about 2018. So even when I, sometimes I'm doing great.

Other times, even though I plan to write or to work on, you know, like Google certifications or something, I just struggle with getting out of bed. So just occasionally, sometimes that stuff will come up and my plans will get kind of tossed about a bit. I get that. Okay, so I'm not a licensed counselor, but I believe in counseling and this depression is a real thing and you need to get help there. And so I think the focus of where you are and where you need to be is I think you need to get help with the depression. That is debilitating stuff.

You need to see a professional on that. I would also, if you don't go to church, I consider going to church and also get some spiritual input and surround yourself with some people who really believe in you. This is beyond the counseling. The second thing is I really want you, we'll get you help, but I want you to get serious about this debt. I think if you can day job this right now and you get out of debt while getting the counseling and getting victory with depression, getting over that and being able to manage that, not getting over it but managing that, I think that that is your priority right now. And the writing, as you begin to get healthy, and even in the process, don't wait.

Write about the stuff that you're depressed about. Put your heart, let it bleed on the paper. And you can show that work or you don't have to. But you can develop the skill of writing along the way. But right now, the debt and the depression, I think, Dave, are her priorities. You already seeing somebody, hon? Yeah, yeah, I'm seeing a counselor. Are you making progress?

Sometimes, yeah. Well, progress is not necessarily in a straight line. It's just in a direction. Yeah, yeah. We've been setting up. Are you better today than you were three years ago? Yes, yes. Good.

Two years ago. Yeah. Good. Good. Two years ago? Yes. Good. That's progress. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, listen, I'm 60. I'm still making progress.

But some days I suck. Yeah. So that's okay. I mean, that's part of everybody's life, right? You know, this is a tide goes in, tide goes out thing. The question is uh are we moving in a direction so here's the thing um talk to your co your counselor about this because ken or i neither one are we've i've worked with a lot of manic depressives over the years a lot of bipolar

uh because you generally have financial trouble it goes with the territory okay um and the more extreme the case the more extreme the financial trouble. So you're coming out of this and you're starting to get some healing and you're starting to head the right direction. So your finances are starting to pop up now and light up and you're beginning to attack that. So I think this is a really great example where two things that you can complete will provide you two helps for the depression.

Now, verify this with your coach, your counselor, because I'm not one. But as my understanding is, like you said, completing things is a big deal. Yeah. Because the confidence that that gives you affects the chemical releases in your body and affects the depression. So the sense of confidence from completing something, like your smallest dad and your debt snowball, okay? Or like writing a blog, not a novel.

Yes. Okay? And so completing things. The second thing that those two things give you that assist in the process of working through the depression is activity. And activity is the enemy of depression. Inactivity is its friend.

When you lay in bed, it gets worse, not when you go for a run. Yes. And so that's human nature because, again, you're physically completing things. Even if you're sitting at the keyboard and you go, I'm going to force myself to complete this debt pay. Yeah, one down. Or I'm going to force myself to complete this blog. And it doesn't have to be big old bites.

It's just got to be something that keeps you moving and builds your confidence. And I think your therapist will verify that those are two positive things you can do in this situation. Again, I'm not qualified other than 30 years of doing what I do and working with a lot of folks where you are. And I've got to tell you, there's a lot of hope for folks that are pushing against that black dog, as Winston Churchill called it, and it can be defeated. It can be. It is a process, and it is real. But it can be defeated.

And I think you're on your way, kiddo. I'm proud of you. Well done. This is the Ramsey Shack. Thank you. In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the debt-free stage, Evan and Alyssa are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? Doing great, Dave. Good. Welcome.

Where do you guys live? Germantown, Wisconsin. Milwaukee area. That's right. welcome where do you guys live germantown wisconsin milwaukee area that's right good to have you guys welcome all the way to nashville to do a debt-free scream how much have you paid off 103 000 just just north of 103 000 good how long did that take you um about 36 months good and your range of income during that time? It ranged from $120 to $170. Good. What did you guys do for a living? I worked as a sales executive for a large insurance company. And then I was working at a bank with financial advisors.

Okay, good. Very cool. So both of you numbers people, around the numbers world for sure. What kind of debt was the $103? The majority was student loans. We had a 2013 Camaro sitting in the driveway and a 2018 Honda Civic that we got rid of along the way as well. But the majority student loans and a little bit of credit card debt on top of it. So you sold both those cars? We sold the Honda Civic, actually, to our grandparents.

That kind of kicked us off, and we're thankful for that. I think they paid a little bit above market just to help us on the way. That's nice. Yeah. market just to help us on the way that's nice yeah and then uh cabrero ended up turning into a 2005 uh sierra that we still have to this day paid and paid full so oh wow okay wow good for you so what happened 36 months ago what starts this journey for y'all yeah you know we we pretty much were just thinking hey we're gonna be we're gonna be cuffed to these uh student loans for the next 10 years and these car payments for the next five,

and never put too much thought to it. But the place I worked at the time, a friend of mine, Joel, I know he's listening back home, he came to me one day and said, do you ever hear this book Total Money Makeover? And this guy, Dave Ramsey, said no. He said, well, I was listening yesterday, and this girl paid off $90,000 of student loans in two years,

and there's people paying off their mortgages in four to five years. So immediately that got my mind. All of a sudden, the light bulb goes on. There's a different way to do this. That'd be cool. That's what your mind says. That'd be neat. How do you do that?

So I run home, and I'm all jacked up, and bring the idea to a lesson. Why would we do that? Why would we put ourselves through that stress? And we went to a restaurant locally, jotted down a bunch of notes about what was coming out every month, and then on a different piece of paper wrote down a bunch of goals that we had over the next, you know, five, ten years. And we noticed we can't have $3,000 going out every month of student loan payments and debt payments and accomplish these things at the same time. So we've got to figure something out.

But I'll be honest. I was not fully bought in. Sure. So I told them, I will entertain this for you, and we'll see how it goes for the next couple months. Okay. But after these couple months, it was like, why have we never lived like this before? It was hard at first, but it wasn't a huge life change. But after these couple months, it was like, why have we never lived like this before? It was hard at first, but it wasn't a huge life change, I didn't think. It didn't kill you.

No, no. We're still here. And you can see your way out. Exactly. Yeah, if you can see your way out and it doesn't kill you, you'll do it. Yeah. So you went and picked up the Total Money Makeover book yourself after the restaurant? I did, yep, yep.

And that's been passed through the family now. So that's another thing about our midwest upbringing it's a conservative you know we don't talk about money but alissa and i going through this journey has all of a sudden opened up those lines of communication our family and her family and it's just been a serious blessing for for everybody that's come in contact with us throughout the journey so uh it's been really special yeah you've inspired people is what it amounts to. Right, right. And that's why we're here.

We're not just here to celebrate our debt-free scream, but if we can make an impact on one person listening in, I mean, it's the weight of this. I have a newfound respect for folks sitting on that lobby waiting for their debt-free scream. We were laughing and crying over the last hour or so. And getting nervous about getting the microphone. Yeah, you're doing great, though. You're doing great though you're doing great okay i've got a relationship question yeah uh

because for a married couple you know it's this has got to be a joint deal and alissa i love what you said you said okay we go to the diner or wherever you go and your job we got two pieces of paper okay and alissa i love that you said well, I wasn't bought in, but I was like, all right, I'm open-minded. Would you speak to the importance of that relationship component? If one of the spouses is like, I don't know yet, but given it a chance, because that seemed to be really big for you because you saw it. Yeah. I would say, I mean, you know, Evan has a lot of crazy ideas, I think, but this time I was like, you know, Evan has a lot of crazy ideas, I think. Go, Evan. This time I was like, you know, this actually sounds like something that would help us in the future. When he brought the ideas to me, I just didn't want to have to do a big life change.

I think it's scary. You know, all of a sudden I can't, you know, go get something at the store. I feel like I can't spend money. I didn't want to have to feel guilty about making purchases. But when he really showed me, you know, and we started doing it, it was a lot easier than I thought. There was things that we didn't even know where half of our spending was going. So when we really wrote it down and having me bought in, bought our relationship even to the next level, I feel like, you know, we were both on the same page. I do know some people who want to pay off all their debt, and they don't have their spouse, you know, bought in.

And I said, it may not work. You know, you really have to have that person that has the same drive as you. We both log our spending, you know, in the app. You both have to be determined to do it. Yeah. Yeah. You weren't resistant, but you just wanted to prove out because he brought you other schemes and scams. Sharon says that.

She says, you're scheming and scamming. No, I'm not doing either one. I'm just having a discussion here, woman. A big driving factor. One of the things on that list was she's always wanted to become a stay-at-home mom when we had kids. And anybody that's ever seen her be a mother will tell you she's built for it. She is the best mother that you'll ever see. And as a result of this program that we stuck to over the last three years,

we've been able to accomplish that goal for her. Yay! I got her on board. Once you start talking like that. Yeah, there you go. That's great. Hey, here's another thing. You made it personal

for her wasn't just about your big idea and that you got fired up from the book you tapped into her future desired future her dreams look at the tears on her she loves me to mama i mean that's what it's about that's financial peace right there for sure yeah good for you not to get uh i'm hoping i get through without getting emotional like her but um But you asked the last debt-free scream, what made it worth it for you, right? There was a situation. We were coming up towards the very end of our journey. And we had our son in daycare. She was working part-time just to make some more money so we could kind of speed this thing along.

And, again, her whole goal was become a stay-at-home mother. Our second baby was due in a month at this point yep so we're in stork mode as you guys call it i think we had like 30 grand sitting in the bank account and uh we're just working out the numbers to figure out how we can make this all happen at once have the baby debt free stay at home you know and about a month before we were about to pull our son from daycare we get get a call. It's a great daycare. We still have friends there to this day that we love talking to on a regular basis. And we'd go back there, you know. But they had a situation where our 2-year-old was left out.

They go out to the playground. They left our son out. You know, it was a really short period of time. It was like five minutes. He was, like, hidden on a playhouse where they couldn't see him. And, you know i think about my boy being out there alone and scared and um we had and they called you and told you about it they admitted it yeah they were they called us you know it was a regulation put on them by the

state and they stuck to it we appreciate that and we're still good friends with the owner of that yeah well i mean everybody makes a mistake but that goes okay. I'm done. And because of where we were... You could pull the trigger. Yeah, I got a call at 10 o'clock in the morning. I was at that daycare at 11 taking my son out. He's never gone back. And when people ask Alyssa what she does for a living, and then my son's next to her,

he says, I stay home with Mommy. That's great. You know, it's just such a... The wait was... It's really rewarding that we were able to do that, And, you know, it's just such a, the weight was. It's really rewarding that we were able to do that. And now he can, you know, I can hang out with him every day. And we do fun things every day. That's worth $103,000 and anything you sacrifice to get rid of it.

I'll do. Yeah, that's a check well written right there. Well done, guys. I love it. You guys are amazing. You're inspiring. So fun. So fun. So the key. Well, we ain't even got time. I'm not going to do it. I'm going. You guys are amazing. Thank you. You're inspiring. So fun. So fun.

So the key, well, we haven't even got time. I'm not going to do it. I'm going to give you a copy of the Total Money Makeover to give away. So somebody that's at a restaurant somewhere doing their goals probably needs a copy of that book. You're going to run into them. And I'm going to give you a copy of The Legacy Journey because you definitely have changed your family tree in so many different ways in this story.

So inspiring. So well done, you guys. Thank you. Thank you. All right, Evan and Alyssa, Milwaukee, Wisconsin area, $103,000 paid off in 36 months. Make it $120,000 to $170,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream.

Three, two, one. We're debt-free! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah, baby. Woo! You want to stay home with your kiddos? Touchdown.

This is the Ramsey Show. Thank you. Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co-host. Joe is with us in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hi, Joe. Welcome to the Ramsey Show. Hey, Dave and Ken. How are you doing? Great. How can we help? Good. I'm just calling because I'm in a little bit of a predicament, and I just wanted to see what your guys' suggestion was. So I have a full-time job, and I also do financial coaching on the side. And I've gotten to the

point to where my coaching is actually making more money than my full-time job, which is great. And I have a baby on the way with my family. And I'm just like in this point to where I'm dependent on both incomes in order to provide and, you know, make my goals happen and everything like that. And my full-time job, I like it, but I'm just not passionate about it. But I'm afraid of making that leap to where with me being dependent on both incomes, you know, I might not be able to make that happen, might not be able to make it provide. Now, what were you doing before you had the second income?

How were you making it? Well, before the second income, I was renting, and I had a really good low rent. Now we own a home, and I was also single at the time, too. So now I have one stepdaughter and one on the way. And it was feasible at that point. Yeah, what's your day job and how much do you make? I make about $40 a year with the day job. And about $40 a year on the other? About $50.

About $50 on the other, okay. Yeah, so if you're dependent on this, then you've got to stay. I mean, the reason you're afraid is because sometimes fear is telling us, hey, back away from the ledge because if I fall over the ledge, it's going to be really bad. And so if you're truly dependent on this, I mean, 90K is really good. And if your financial coaching has grown to this point from zero to 50K, then it stands to reason as committed as you are and the fact that you've now proven this, it's going to continue to grow. So I would stay in the day job until we aren't dependent on it anymore. I mean, at its simplest, that's what the answer's got to be. And I'm glad you've called on this because I know you don't have any passion for the day job, but that's why I call it the day job. And, you know, people

need to understand that there is no dream job without several day jobs. I don't hear of many stories other than your random reality show stories like that where you just immediately step into the dream job. So I'd stay in it and get through this baby, keep rocking it, and then keep socking money away. Let's just play this thing out. And when you start to feel like, oh, I don't have any passion for the day job. I want to do this coaching thing. Well, what you need to do is have a real dose of gratitude. Boy, I'm grateful for this day job because it is the platform by which I have been able to stand on and I will eventually step off of into the dream job. So I don't think

it's that much further away. If you are conservative, what do you think the projection looks like to step into this financial coaching full-time? Yeah, because you're going to increase your financial coaching income and you're going to decrease your lifestyle until the two meet. That's right. Yeah, I would say, so once the baby comes, you know, before we knew that we were pregnant, we were bringing in an extra probably, you know, $1,500 to $2,500 a month extra, depending on the month. So I was in a really good position, and I was thinking about making that leap. But now the baby's here. I'm like, well, I have to save for the baby. So now I'm kind of thinking like, okay, maybe once the baby does come, then I can make that jump.

And in the meantime, you know, I got six months, so I can keep building that. Here's the thing. If you're having to make a jump, you don't do it. You can make a step, but you don't need to make a jump. Okay. Listen, get in your budget. You're pretty disciplined with your budget, yes or no? Yes.

All right. So the budget's going to tell you when it's time. This is not a, i don't know lick my finger stick it in the wind and see which way i go no it this is a budget answer the budget will tell you when you can move from the day job to the dream job do not overthink this and and listen when you start to feel impatient get back to clarity on why i do the day job what the day job has provided for me, how much longer I've got to go, and then you can stay with it.

Yeah, you can say, you know, there's only three miles left in this 13.1 half marathon, and you can gut your way through the last three miles. But if you just go, I've got to run for the rest of my life then you you're going to stop so you need to you need to see the end of it by increasing your income on the on the financial coaching and decreasing your lifestyle so that the two can cross and you can quit and maybe and i really think this is the case the baby is going to be a lot less expensive than somehow you've got it in your head that a kid is sandy's in kansas city hi sandy how are you hi how are you doing better than i deserve how can we help um my husband and i have a little

bit of a discrepancy we're both in our 70sies. Um, I'm retired. He is semi-retired. He works part-time. Um, I have always, we have always paid, um, ever since we've been married, we've always paid an extra hundred dollars on our mortgage and a month just on the principal. Um, and, um, I found that it, you know, brings in mortgage down really, really rapidly. And my husband, since because of our age, and we lost a lot of money in the markets, our financial advisor, we didn't get out in time. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Just stop right there. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

You lost a lot of money because you didn't get out in time. I didn't get out at all, and I haven't lost a dime. Well, we didn't get out in time i didn't get out at all and i haven't lost a dime well we didn't get out in what was it 80 was it 85 1985 no no what was it when the market oh five when the markets went bottom uh yeah six and five yeah yeah we had a lot we had all the money invested with the financial power. And you didn't leave it? No, we left it. It stayed there, but we just never came back. Well, yes, it has. Well, ours didn't.

Honey, the market is nine-fold what it was in 2006. Yeah, it is now. We're not in it now. We got out probably five years, five or six years after that crash because we lost half of everything we had. And it scared us. And he seemed to want to keep putting us in more risky stuff. And we got, maybe it was our fault. Maybe we, you know, we kind of panicked a little bit. But we took that money then, and we've got it in an annuity. Okay, so how much is that nest egg today? We've got $400,000. And how much do you owe on your mortgage? We owe about $96,000. Okay.

And you're 70 years old? I'm 74, and my husband's 76. Okay, and do you have income in addition to the nest egg? Do you have, like, pension and Social Security? We're getting Social Security, and we're taking money out of my life insurance policy. This is what it was set up for. We set it up to be able to draw money off of it, plus we also have an annuity that we're getting money off. So you have a whole life life insurance policy yes okay um well you've got so many things going on here that i don't know if i

can address them all but i'll give it a shot okay number one i would have you sit down with a financial advisor like a smart investor pro click smart investor pro at ramsey and ramsey solutions dot com and see if you can get some help because you're not going to get a radio answer in one minute. That's going to do everything. I would get rid of the whole life policy. I would take the cash value out. I would invest that.

I would look at these investments and see how they're invested because you've apparently panicked and have not gotten good advice or haven't followed it. And you've, you've taken it on the chin on your investing if you have four hundred thousand dollars and if you can live off of the social security income uh and depending on what the cash value is in this rip off whole life policy that you love right now but when you understand the numbers on it you're going to hate it i'm going to pay off your house today out of some of this money. I'm going to scrape together some of this money, and I'm going to pay off your house today.

And when you're debt-free and you have $300 or $400, depending on what this cash value is and depending on what these annuities are and other things, and you put that in a pile, you can live off of that income with no house payment at all. And so I disagree with both you and your husband. I'd be out of debt. As soon as you get all this organized and understand it as quickly as I could get it all cashed in and moved around, I would be out of debt immediately, house and everything. And then that sets you in a whole different place of peace of mind for your retirement. And I think you'll be just fine.

You will not be fine if you don't quit jumping in and out of the market, depending on what day you plan it. This is The Ramsey Show. This is James Childs, producer of The Ramsey Show. Did you know The Ramsey Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world? Subscribe or follow today wherever you listen to podcasts.