The Ramsey Show - App - When Is It Time To Start Making More Mature Money Decisions?

Episode Date: May 24, 2022

Rachel Cruze & George Kamel discuss: How much cash should you have at your fingertips, When should you be more responsible with your money, Buying a condo while still in debt, How to invest after you retire. Want a plan for your money? Find out where to start: https://bit.ly/3nInETX Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6

🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, this is The Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life and your money. It's a free call anywhere in the country at 888-825-5225. And I am Rachel Cruz. Hosting this hour next to me is George Camel. George, it's been a good hour. It is. I hope.

I hope so, too. You're saying a lot there. Very aspirational. No, it is. I'm going to say it as a fact. So, yeah, we're here to talk about anything about your life, whether it's your relationships, your mental health, your money. So just give us a call. So

we're going to start out with Bo in Dallas, Texas. Hey, Bo, welcome to the show. Hi, appreciate it. Thanks for having me on. Absolutely. How can we help? So I'm 23. I've been working a job for about 10 months out of college, make good money, make about $78,000 a year. In a couple months, I should be getting a raise anywhere from $90,000 to $100,000. I've always been pretty good saving my money. For about the past five years, I've got about $20,000 in a Fidelity account, $15,000 in Bitcoin, which I know you guys are going to give me the wamp face about. Maybe not. And then about $5,000 in a company 401k with a match. But my question is, I only have about

$3,000 in my checking account. And in the inflationary environment we're in, I'm losing my purchasing power every day, just keeping the money in my checking account. And I'm 23, single, don't really think I need to save up for a house in this crazy housing market. Should I be concerned about having this low amount of cash in my checking account? If an emergency comes up, I could just sell some of my stock or some of my Bitcoin. So that's kind of my question. Should I, you know, keep my cash balance low and keep the aggressive investing up or maybe, you know, try and beef up that checking account? Yeah, I mean, it's a great question.

You know, I always answer these questions that if I woke up in your shoes and for me having liquid cash just to get where there's no strings attached, there's no hoops I have to jump through, hurdles I have to get over that I can just literally get it right now if I needed it. It gives me a sense of peace. And if there's something that happens that you have to have cash, having something just available that's not tied up in investments or even Bitcoin, I really do recommend. So that's kind of our three to six months worth of expenses when we talk about Baby Step 3. Do you have any debt at all? Are you completely debt free? No, I'm debt free.

I was lucky enough. I didn't have to pay for college. That's awesome. You know, my only big expense. So yeah, I'm debt free. Very cool. Well, you're doing an incredible job, Beau. I mean, the questions you're asking at 23 is impressive.

Sharp guy. So if I were you, yeah, I would have some money. And you can even start saving for it now if you want, you know, and just saying, hey, I'm on baby step three, and then start saving for that fully funded emergency fund. You could do that because if you love this other stuff that you have your money in. But I would probably just cash out one of those investments, probably the Bitcoin. I know you're not shocked that I want to say that. It's not doing great anyways, Bo,

let's be honest. Yeah, thank you. But here's what I'm thinking. Why can't you do both? Why not have a fully funded emergency fund and be investing? So I think right now your next goal should be to beef up your savings, leave that money in checking and create a three to six months expenses savings account. And then you can begin investing 15%. Beyond that, start saving up for a house. Was that your next goal? Yeah, I think eventually that's the route I want to go to. My one thing with that is I know, you know, investing at a young age is so much more important than investing later on. And with, you know, the market taking such a big hit right now, I think, you know, it's just such a great opportunity to keep, you know, like really

aggressively investing at this age. Yeah, and it is. So and I even love the framework that you have when it comes to the market, because a lot of people are panicked and freaked out and they don't want to put money in. When you're in a position that you're in with no debts and you have, you know, soon an emergency fund, that's where the perfect time to be investing aggressively. So yeah, you're exactly on the right track, Beau. I don't think that you're going to go wrong anywhere here. I would, though, have some money liquid. Just in case something happens, you're able to get to it quickly. And to your question, Beau, you were saying that the liquid cash scares you because it's not beating inflation. But the purpose of

the emergency fund is not to be an investment. It's insurance. And so insurance protects what you're trying to build. And so I'm totally okay with your emergency fund not being invested and just sitting in a boring savings account making you 1%. I'm totally good with that because when an emergency hits, I don't want you dipping into your investment accounts to cover that. I want you to cover that with your emergency fund. That's what it's there for. So I like keeping things neat and tidy and separate so that no one gets confused here. And to your question of investing aggressively, you're going to be a multimillionaire just based on the numbers you told me. If you don't want lifestyle creep into your life as you get this raise, you keep living on less than you make,

you invest. I also know there's other goals. It's not all about investing. You have to live your life. You've got to go on vacations. You're going to want to upgrade the car. You're going to want to buy a house. So balance it a little bit. I can tell with young investors, Rachel, which I love. I know.

They tend to get real tunnel vision when it comes to investing. That's all they think about. Well, that's a good point. And it's easy to because you see the math. And like what he said, he's like, I know investing early on is so much better because you see compound interest. So you see the math. You see the dollar signs in your eyes. You're like, heck, why would I do anything else except for put money in because of what it could do with compound interest?

But you don't factor in life into the equation. And who knows, Beau, you can meet a girl tomorrow and you kind of fall in love and you're going to want an engagement ring. You know what I'm saying? Like anything can happen in life. And having money there is huge. And having it as part of your life strategy, knowing that, yes, while investing is exciting, and the earlier you start, the better off you're going to be, all of that. But there's also life.

And with the numbers you shared, Beau, I'm seeing a lot of what I assume is single stocks in the Fidelity account potentially, and Bitcoin Bitcoin and a little bit in the 401k. I would flip-flop that and lean into the 401k, invest in good growth stock mutual funds. And then if you want to play with some crypto or single stocks on the side, that's fine. But I don't want it to be a large portion of your net worth because they are way more volatile than your mutual funds. Yeah, when your whole retirement, if all of your retirement is in Bitcoin, which I know Bose isn't, but that's not a great plan. Not a great plan.

Agreed. All right, George, we've been hitting the road recently. Yeah, we were in Orlando last week. Yes, and they're there right now with our Entree Summit event with 3,000 business leaders there. And so it feels like life is back. And this fall, it's game on. It's so fun. The so schedule has hit and we are pumped to be back on the road. So if you can just imagine the energy of a jam packed arena with people ready to experience what it means to live life to the fullest. So picture all of your favorite speakers together on one stage, empowering you with principles so that you can have unstoppable momentum in your life. And that, my friends, is the SMART Conference. And we have not done it.

It feels like in a few years. We did it here in Nashville last year. But man, it's been three years. That's right. Yeah. And so we are going to Dallas Saturday, October 22nd. And this is our biggest event of the year. It's always kind of the blowout event and you don't want to miss it. It's a day long event with the leading experts when it comes to money, personal growth, leadership, mental health, relationships,

and your career. You'll leave with all the knowledge and motivation that you need to have to reach your goals and to live the life that you want. And so here it's all of the Ramsey personalities will be on the stage. So Dr. John, let me see if I can do them all. Here we go. Dave Ramsey.

Yep. Dr. John Zaloni. Ken Coleman. Christina Ellis. George Camel. Rachel Cruz. Nailed it. Eddie and Courtney will be hosting one of them.

They'll be around. A plus. Gold star. And then our special guests, Craig and Amy Groeschel from Life Church are coming as well to kind of round out that spiritual element of our lives. But all of it, you guys,

it is a fun, fun event. So make sure to get your tickets. They just start at $39, an amazing price for a full day event. So go to ramsaysolutions.com slash events

to learn more. This is The Ramsey Show. Hey folks, there's never been a better time to find a job doing work you love that matters to you. That's why I can't wait to tell you about the exciting roles open here at Ramsey Solutions. And these aren't your average jobs. These are life-changing jobs that matter. You might think we're just a radio show out in the middle of sticks in nowhere Tennessee, but we're so much more.

Our creative team is over 120 people. Our marketing team has over 100 team members. And our product engineering team is over 250 strong. With over 1,000 people on the entire Ramsey team, we are breaking into new products and ways of delivering hope to the masses. Digital products are the future. So, in order to help more people with these digital tools, we need more talented team members to join us,

especially developers, UX designers, and writers. You could be a great fit. So come do work that matters with us. Find all of the open roles at ramseysolutions.com slash careers. That's ramseysolutions.com slash careers. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I am Rachel Cruz, co-hosting today with Ramsey personality George Hamill. All right, up next is Tanner from North Carolina. Hey, Tanner, welcome to the show. Hi, Rachel and George. How are you doing? I'm doing great. How are you? We're doing well. How can we help? I had a quick question. I'm currently 19 years old. I drive a 300,000-mile vehicle. It runs fantastic, and I have no problems thus far with it. But I was wondering, what is the age to stop spending on once

and start spending on the future? I always hear people say, oh, I wish I'd started this or that. Does that mean they started 22 or 25 or 19? My real question is, I'm looking to, when this vehicle dies, to maybe get a nicer vehicle, obviously pay cash for it. But I was thinking something around the $30,000 mark with get something cool and fun like a muscle car. Would this be a wise choice or should I perhaps get another $6,000 vehicle that'll last for another five or six years and then invest that money in a down payment or something like that? Yeah, great question,

Tanner. Are you in school right now? Are you working? What's kind of your status? I'm currently working. I do a side hustle and I also have a main job. Okay. And how much do you make a year? Approximately $30,000 combined. Okay. So our rule of thumb, just to answer the car question, and then George can jump into the kind of the lifestyle question, but the car, we always say that you don't want anything on wheels to be half of your annual income. So if you were to go and save up for a $30,000 car while you're making $30,000, that would not be smart because that would mean most of what you're making is your net worth is in your car. So if you were still making $30,000, I would shoot for a $15,000 car at the most, but you can

still get a great car for $10,000, $12,000, even below $15,000. So if you have the cash and you're able to pay for it in full, then that's kind of where I would recommend. Do you have any debt right now? I do not. No debt. How much money do you have in the bank? So I was a little unwise with spending. So about three months ago ago I had probably about

a hundred dollars. I've just tightened down in the last three months. I've accumulated $8,500 through working and just really, uh, you must be saving every penny, man. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Um, big change. Wow. Well, to your original question, you said, what's the proper age to stop spending on wants and plan for the future? And the truth is, you're always going to be buying things that you want, and you should always be planning for the future. So I don't see them as mutually exclusive. I see them as things you factor into your monthly budget. So have some things that you're looking forward to, some short-term goals, but also be investing for the future in a retirement plan. Do you have any kind of plan through your employer right now for that? There is a plan through my employer, but currently I'm not signed up for that. Okay. Now, I do want you to have a fully funded emergency fund, which may be that $8,500 you're sitting on,

which means we're not going to touch it for the car. We need to set up a different savings account to start saving up for that next car. Mm-hmm. Yeah, so I would probably, honestly, if I were you, Tanner, just because it has 300,000 miles on it, which is awesome that you've literally driven it to that point, but it's probably getting close to its last leg there, just from a mileage perspective.

What kind of car is this? I'm just curious. It is a 2007 Ford Edge. Ford Edge. Nice. All right, let's go Ford. I was going to assume Toyota or Honda. I was going to say a Camry. Camry is where I would put my money, but I... Toyota.

Toyota. I get made fun of for how I say it. What do you say? I say Toyota. Oh. And they say it's Toyota. Sorry, Tanner. I'm so sorry you had to hear that through the phone.

It's fine. That's a terrible way to pronounce it. Way to go Ford, making a car. That lasts a long time. So Tanner, I would do your emergency fund, which again, George said could be the 8,500. And then I probably would sit there and save a little bit more cash

because what I don't want to happen is that that wonderful Ford with 300,000 miles suddenly becomes undriveable. Kicks the bucket. And you're like, oh gosh. And then you have to dip into your emergency fund. So I would start saving on the side for a car. But I would only do that for maybe,

I don't know, what would you say, George? Maybe six, seven months. And then I would start investing. So I would kind of do both at the same time, but I would jumpstart that car fund even before investing because of what it's going to cost you. Yeah. And I would definitely try to get your income up because you're working, you said you have a full-time job and a side hustle and you're pulling in 30,000. What kind of job is this? I'm a technician for, I pull fiber and data cables for installing things such as printer jacks that you plug into your printer, setting up server towers, that kind of stuff. I would see what roles in that industry you could step into, grow into, even talk to your employer about what growth

looks like. I mean, you're 19. You got your whole life ahead of you. I have no doubt you're going to do great. But I think with that income, it's going to be harder to save up. It's going to be harder to invest, harder to get a down payment, making $30,000. Yeah. So you're on the right track, though, Tanner. You're doing an awesome job. All right. Up next is Tyler from Boston. Hey, Tyler. Welcome to the show. Hey, guys. How you doing? Appreciate you taking my call. Absolutely. How can we help? So I'm currently in baby step two. However, I was just contacted by my landlord,

who I've been renting for the last couple of years, and basically told me he's going to be selling the condo that I'm living in. He presented me with two options. Option one, being to sell it to a real estate investor who will keep me on as a tenant. However, he's going to bring rent up to what, you know, some more units are getting. I'm currently paying, you know, a pretty decent deal paying less. Option two would be he would sell it to me for about five to 10 grand under market value. So I'm just kind of curious what you guys would suggest this, you know, being in baby step two, I know you typically advise, you know, waiting for the download to get a down payment, but being sold up market under market value in the mortgage payment coming about to be the same as the rent would be what you guys would recommend

here. Yeah, it's a great question. And it's, and I understand from the math perspective, it seems like it would be a wash. It's like, well, if I'm paying rent, might as well be paying mortgage, but you don't factor in everything else that goes into owning, even if it's a condo, townhome, house, everything else. So even though it seems like a great deal right now, even though he's going to give you a little bit less, in the long run, Tyler, I don't think it's a smart move for where you're at. You have no cash in the bank. You don't have an emergency fund. You still have debt. All of it just kind of seems like a setup for disaster. And we always say when you want to own something like real estate, your home, we want it to be a

blessing, not a curse. And setting yourself up in this particular situation, I think would be hard. So I would not go forward with it. Yeah. Tyler, how much debt do you have? So I found you guys about five months ago, started with $116,000 of student loans, car, and got that down to about $70,000 now. Nice, Tyler. Great job. What's your income? Well, I've recently just switched jobs and got my income from $85,000 to $120,000.

Heck yeah. Amazing. That's fantastic. So this debt's going to be gone within, what, a year and a half or so? Yep. That's fantastic. So this debt's going to be gone within, what, a year and a half or so? Yep. My spreadsheet has it about a year and a half to maybe just shy of two, depending on how some expenses go. Fantastic. Well, I want you to be a homeowner. I just don't want this home to have you. And I know it's a slight deal, but we don't know what the market's going to do.

It could even out. And I want you to get a home when the time is right, when it's going to be a blessing in your life and not a curse. And right now, when you're sitting on $70,000 in debt with those payments, you have no down payment. You have no emergency fund. That's a scary place to be. And there's something, too, about, you know, obviously Tyler probably loves the condo he's in or he wouldn't be there to an extent. But also when you own a home, it's like you want to be able for it to be exactly what you want. I mean, I know it's not going to be the perfect situation for, you know, we're not, no one's ever going to get exactly what they want. But if it's kind of like, oh, I just happen to be in here and I happen to be able to buy it. Sometimes that works out.

But also you never know what, you know, you could be in a different area and get, you know, an even better condo for less. I mean, you could just, you have more options when you have options, but when you're stuck into a singular decision, yeah, sometimes you don't always make the best decision. And that urgency is there too. So I totally get that Tyler of like, oh man, this would be so nice. We could just do this and I wouldn't have to move. My rent wouldn't go up all of it. But if I were you, yeah, I think in the long run, it's going to be better just to have the patience and save up and pay for something later on down the road i feel for those people who want to be homeowners right now and it's just so it's terrible y'all it's terrible oh it's so frustrating we acknowledge that yeah

absolutely and the hard thing is too though that like you know we say it around here but it's true we're not exempt from math and there's still a formula to be said when it comes to being wise about making one of the largest purchases you'll ever make in your lifetime when it comes to real estate. And it's not something you want to rush into. You want to make sure you have solid financial foundation under you. Even if that means it's going to take time, the patience is worth it. This is The Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. So on Friday of this past week, George and I hosted, and we had a call, and it ended up being kind of a memorable one.

Not necessarily because of the call, but more so because of, I'm going to say George's reaction. Maybe my reaction played into it. Your reaction to my reaction. That's what it was. So mad. So if you... You want me to recap it for him? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay. Here's what happened, America. Katie called in from Kentucky in a rural area there and she had 34, makes $34,000 a year, had a side hustle where she would do horseback riding on one of her horses for about 300 bucks a month. Horse gets injured, that depletes her side hustle money that was coming in. So now she's asking us for what side hustle

options she has. At the end of the call, I asked how much debt she has. Turns out she has $118,000 in debt, making $34,000. And that's when I realized this is a very bad situation. This is not a, well, yeah, side hustle your way out with, she was making a hundred bucks a month selling quilts on Etsy. And in my head, I'm going, this is not going to cut it. We need to do better. So at the end of the call, I said, hey, Katie, I want to challenge you. Could you sell the horse? And the reaction from Rachel, from the booth, from the lobby. That was not the reaction. The reaction was, hey, would you sell the horse? And Katie says, no. And George says, it doesn't even know your name, Katie. Which I do regret. I said it in a moment of passion because I want to help Katie win financially.

And as much as I love animals, I'm not an animal hater. I never said shoot the horse. Oh, my gosh. There's another family that could have the horse. And here's what happened. Katie emailed us with photos of her riding said horse. We have the photos to show you if you're watching on YouTube. It's very impressive. An amazing horse. So you want to read part of her email? Yes. So have the photos to show you if you're watching on YouTube. It's very impressive.

An amazing horse. So can I, you want to read part of her email? Yes. So she emails after the show and says, my name is Katie and I live in Kentucky.

I called earlier this afternoon and was fortunate to have my call on the Ramsey show. I feel like I caused a large debate over selling the horse or not. So I wanted to follow up. My horse Moose is 16 years old and is a barrel horse.

I've owned them for 11 years. He is a top performance horse True statement. She went on to say, yes, horses are expensive. However, I sacrifice multiple things in order to be able to afford to have him and show him. Yes, you have, Katie. My plan is to heavily focus on growing my sewing business while my horse is on stall rest. Yes, the vet bills will be covered without going into debt. Thank you, emergency fund. Good for you, Katie. She's in FPU. She's working through baby step two. She can't wait to be debt free and come do her scream on the show without selling her $20,000 horse, she adds. I love the show and have learned a vast amount about finance. Hope you all enjoy reading this email. Thank you so much, Katie and Moose, the horse. It is on Katie and Moose. So I appreciate the photos. There's a lot of things

I learned after this email. And you know what? I may have a different take now that I've really processed it. Wow. Have you changed your mind? I have not changed my mind. I think Moose is just going to be a very expensive pet in her life. But I think she needs to quit everything that she's doing and go get another full-time job that has nothing to do with quilts has nothing to do with horses and then get two part-time jobs after the full-time job i think

she just needs to shift careers i agree which it sounded like she was working at the usda and she had just shifted out of her vet technologist kind of role and so i think at that point why don't you shift again and she lives in a rural area so not a lot of jobs obviously she can't up and move because the horse has her tied down stop it she can move she can't not she's got the horse how do you move with a horse you got to find an area at the farm i'm not a horse i don't know the stable i'm not a horse here's my here's my thing i'm not i should have i should have Googled more about having a horse before we brought this segment back up. You know this.

Horse people are passionate people. They love horses more than life itself, and I applaud them for that. It's like CrossFitters, vegans, and horse people. And so she's one of those. But here's what I found. Horse people are willing to sacrifice just about everything to have this horse. Yeah. And that's what hurt my heart was i want kate you

want i want katie to win financially yes and i just was going she's going to be in debt for the rest of her life at this point because these side hustles aren't panning out and so to her credit we did not give her enough side hustle options that she could do in her area because i don't live in a rural part of kentucky but i did look up her city in k on Indeed, and there are many, many part-time jobs that pay over $20 an hour. Ah, well done, George. So my challenge to Katie is to jump on Indeed or whatever job search site you want to go to and go find a better part-time job.

I don't think right now is the time to jump into passion projects. That is the truth, yes. And I don't even know if I want to say this. Say it. But don't let an animal hold you back to winning financially. There we go. That's a much nicer way to put it. Is that a fair thing to say?

Very diplomatic. The way I said it was not. No. But if you can find a way to still keep the horse, because I've heard other hosts on this show talk about like, hey, if you have a classic car that you built with your dad 30 years ago, you can keep that. You don't have to sell. There are certain things you don't have.

There's sentimental value. Yes. Even Dave would say, all right, fine. Yes. He's even said, hey, keep the gun. It's sentimental. You want to pass it down to your kid. Keep whatever.

Right. Because it has a lot of sentimental value. Yeah. So the horse could be that, right? Agreed. She's not going to sell the horse. She's made that clear. Yes.

My job is to find out what people are willing to do to get out of debt. And so I was just poking to go, would you be willing? Just want to see. And I poked the bear. I poked the horse, really. And wow, got a hoof in my face from everyone on the internet. Some people are like, I'm never listening to this guy again. Were they pro? There were a few people that are pro. They're Team George who said, yeah, she needs to sell the internet. Some people are like, I'm never listening to this guy again. Were they pro-sell?

There were a few people that are pro their team George who said, yeah, she needs to sell the horse. Yeah. It's worth $20,000. It's worth more than Katie herself. Think about that. I'm just saying on a net worth level. The horse isn't in debt.

Oh, in a net worth level. On a net worth level. No, human life over everything. I don't know. Guys, this is my last day on air. George, you are digging yourself. I was trying to do a nice thing. Rachel, I can count on one finger how many times someone's apologized on the show, and

it's me. I apologized to Katie for saying that the horse doesn't know her name. Someone sent me a video of a horse knowing someone's name. And that you're worth more than $20,000. Maybe not on paper, Katie, because technically your net worth, yes, is in the negative. But who she is is worth more. Really, guys? That's what it sounded like, George.

Rachel. That's what it sounded like. Don't be triggered by me. Listen, it's not worth it. Okay? We all know I was not saying that. I love Katie. I want her to win.

I can't wait for her to do her debt-free scream and find out what side hustles she picked up. Yes. What happened with the horse. Is the horse going to be okay? I hope so, after the surgeries. I hope so, too. And the other horse, she had two horses, by the way. By the way.

The other one was adopted, and it's a younger horse. So I apologize to Moose as well. Yeah. Say, look in that camera, George. Moose. And say, Moose. I don't know what camera. Moose, I love you.

I'm pulling for you, buddy. Hope you get well soon. Get back on the track and get Katie's side hustle alive again. Thank you, Katie. So speaking of side hustles, what were some of the things you found? Because in a metropolitan area, side hustles are everywhere, whether it's driving for you know delivery or uber whatever it is but if you are you know within 25 miles 17 plus an hour throw out some options because other people might be listening that are thinking high school degree yep accounting associate nice there's one sales

representative and they a lot of these people to provide training that and it's remote work so even if you are in a rural area you can still plug into a lot of remote jobs a lot of these people provide training. That and it's remote work. So even if you are in a rural area, you can still plug into a company. That's true. There's a lot of remote jobs. A lot of remote jobs that are happening. So even if you are somewhere that you're not near a big city, you can still have a great income by doing a lot of this remote work. And so that's always my question when someone says, hey, I've got a side hustle. I make XYZ and sell it on Etsy, and they're making $100. I go, well, you can make more than that in four hours working at the Walmart down the road, which there is a

Walmart in our town. They're probably hiring. They probably pay 17, 18 bucks an hour these days. Yeah. So why not do that for a shift after your full-time job and make 500 bucks a month? Because also this is the time, if you're listening, you know, just using her as an example, but when you are in debt and you, you know, you're don't have an emergency fund, you're listening, just using her as an example, but when you are in debt and you don't have an emergency fund, you're kind of in this situation. The time when it comes to your job and how you make money, it's not going to be your heart, your soul, your passion, your life calling. You're going to just do what you can to bring in the most money as possible during that period. And then once you don't have debt and you have a savings account, you're like, okay, I can like, I have options. I have options.

I have options. But for now, the goal is not going after what your heart desires. It really is like, hey, what can I do to make the most money to get out of debt as quickly as possible? Good talk. George? I'm done with horse content. I'm horsed out. We're leaving it.

We are leaving it. This is The Ramsey Show. It's a free call anywhere in the country at 888-825-5225. All right, up next is Linda from San Antonio. Hey, Linda, welcome to the show. Hi there. I'm kind of excited to talk to you all. I've listened to your dad for years.

So great, Linda. Well, I'm glad you called. How can we help? Well, you know, I gave the screener some information. I am an everyday millionaire. Nice, Linda. Awesome. Congratulations.

Yes. My husband and I worked really hard for it um and he's he's gone now he's i'm going to wait about six years but he had me set up pretty well so the issue i have you had somebody on who was still working and this is a great time to be investing okay i have about 400 000 in a in various an IRA, an Roth, and a brokerage account. And then because of where we work, I also have about a 650 annuity that's not annuitized. It was part of my husband and my retirement from where we were working. I don't have to ever annuitize were working. I don't have to ever monetize it. And I don't intend to.

I'm in the law of the other stuff, I think. But I kind of wonder if I should be investing right now or just sitting this out because I am 73. So, you know, I don't know how long I'm going to live. I could live, you know, a long time. And you do have to be exposed if you're, you know, a little bit. Sure. No, absolutely.

So, so, Linda, tell me what, what other money do you have? Because if you are an everyday millionaire, is most of it, is some of that in your home? Do you have a paid off house? Do you have other accounts? Last year I sold my residence. I had a condo and also had a rental property. And I sold them both and ended up buying a, it was a I had a condo and also had a rental property and I sold them both and ended up buying a I was in a two-story condo and I wanted a one-story with a yard so I did that

and you know got a good price on the condos but then I had to pay a bigger price than I wanted for this house so I have it's like $58,000 mortgage and oh it's $276,000 a month and I have a financial planner and she doesn't think I should pay it off and of course I haven't had a mortgage in a long time so I've thought about paying it off um I have about $40,000 in emergency fund and my checking account so I guess I have about $50,000 between the two of them and I have about $48,000 a year income from retirement, and then I spend about $70,000. You spend $70,000?

Yeah, the rest of it's from investments. Oh, okay. It grows off cash, so, you know. All right. And you're completely retired? Uh-huh. Okay. Yeah.

Wonderful. I actually wondered if I ought to go be driving around pizzas or something. You're doing great, Linda. Never mind. You're doing great. So, Linda, the $400,000, that's currently invested? Yes. The brokerage is actually in dividend-producing stocks, and the other, the IRA, the traditional IRA and the Roth are in mutual funds,

different mutual funds, which are producing quite well, and each one of those has a significant amount of cash because last year I sold a lot of things and there was nothing to buy. So there is a significant in all three of those accounts there's a fair amount of cash. Well, you're asking how should you be investing?

Because it sounds like this money is already invested. What money are you looking to invest? Should I be buying things now with some of the cash value that I have in those various accounts? Yes, if it's sitting on the cash side, I would definitely be investing that. Okay. And I would stay aggressive.

I know that's a hot take in the financial planning world, Rachel, with asset allocation theory basically being, well, Linda's 73, we need to put her in the most conservative bonds possible so that she doesn't lose money. But what happens is Linda's going to live another 20 years, and that account's going to get depleted, right? That's kind of what I'm afraid of. So we like to stick to the same strategy with growth stock mutual funds,

and yes, there's going to be some volatility, but we found, and statistics will back this up, that you'll end up doing better having invested a little more aggressively than if you left it real conservative. Even at your age, Linda. So, yep, that you'll end up doing better having invested a little more aggressively than if you left it real conservative. Even at your age, Linda. So, yep, that's it. So, well done, though.

I mean, what an incredible job. Yeah. And I'd get that mortgage paid off. I'm not your financial planner, but you might need to fire them. The fact that that's their advice, Linda, I really would look at, you know, we have SmartVestor Pros. We actually just met three out in the lobby from all over the country. And I would look for somebody else that has the idea of, hey, we want you to be able to

have no debt and be investing in something even a little bit more aggressively than just standard traditional bonds that some financial planners will put you in. But I like where you're at, where you're sitting. You're pretty well diversified. And that's great. So thanks, Linda. Thanks so much for the call find out for yourself why blinds.com is the number one online retailer for custom window coverings you get free

samples free shipping and with the new promo codes they run every month you'll save even more use promo code ramsey to get the best deal today's question comes from am i in new jersey my husband and i have paid off our credit card debt and have $31,000 in car loans left to pay off. I'm thinking about selling my dream car in order to be debt-free. I owe $17,000, and the car is worth $30,000. We have two other vehicles, a beater that my husband can continue to drive

and a 2014 F-150 that I would drive. I think I could sell my car for about $27,000 and use the $10,000 profit towards the $14,000 truck loan. We're currently renting and this step could get us closer to buying a home. Please tell us if this is a good idea as this is a very emotional decision

for me. Oh man, that's a lot of numbers. $31,000 in car loan left to pay off. She could get $10,000 profit. She sold the car, so she'd be down, yeah, to $21,000. So I'm seeing here they have three cars currently. Yes. And one truck has a $14,000 loan.

The dream car has a $17,000 loan. But that $17,000 loan, she could sell that same car for $27,000 to $30,000, making a nice profit right now. So I'm a big fan of that. For sure, yes. Now the emotion, I think, is coming out of this is my dream car. Anytime I see the word dream, I think, wow, it's the only one in existence. It's the only one ever that will ever be built in the history of this world,

whether it's a car or a home. Yeah, the dream, that word, it holds a lot of emotion and sometimes not the wisest financial decisions. That's true. Because of what we believe in that. It becomes very singular focus that this is it and you can make really bad decisions. You'll never be able to buy this car again. Never. It's true, George. So, well, it's not true, Rachel. It's sarcasm. I was being sarcastic. So yes, I would sell that dream car. I would use the profit towards the 14K loan. You're spot on.

Because this is going to cut your debt-free journey in half. Yeah, which makes it so, oh gosh, so fast, so fast. So you're trading one sacrifice for another. And you got three cars, so you're going to be okay. It is amazing, though, when you go on this journey to change your mindset around money. Because what Amaya's in is a very normal situation, right? $31,000 in car loans. They had a credit card debt that they've already paid off.

But I'm like, it's that lifestyle, the credit card debt, the car loan, even throwing a student loan just for fun. That is the normal mindset in America today when it comes to money. And so shifting that mindset, flipping it on its head and say, okay, what if it looked like if I didn't use credit cards and I paid off my debt? What if I actually drove a car that I could pay cash for, which may mean me selling my current car or aggressively paying it off? It makes the whole decisions when it comes to money. It changes everything. It changes the way you look at this stuff. And part of that is selling things to be able to get you ahead. And thinking about opportunity cost. If I drive my dream car, it means we can't be in that house

that we want to buy, which you mentioned, for another five years. But if we sold the car and we got our debt faster, we could start saving up for the down payment faster. We could get in that house in three years. And so then you start to go, what's more important to me? What do I value more, looking fancy in a depreciating asset or being in a home because we've been renting for our whole life? Yep. And we want to be a homeowner. You make different decisions when you look at it through that lens. And that's the importance too of having long-term and short-term, though, to say, hey, what do we want to do? Because if if if you weren't thinking about buying a house, then you'd probably just be doing what you've been doing today.

But for for my it's like, OK, I could what I want in the future here in the next few years. I can make sacrifices today to get what I really want. That actually would be a smart decision financially. That dream. It always changes. Three years from now, you'll have a different dream. Absolutely. Just wait a second. Absolutely. Well, we want to thank Austin, Kelly, Will, Zach, and Andrew in the booth. Thank you, George, for sitting with me co-hosting at this hour. And thank you, America, for listening-host on The Ramsey Show.

If you want to do your debt-free scream live on the show, visit ramsaysolutions.com slash debt-free scream. We'd love for you to come to Nashville and tell Dave your story. That's ramsaysolutions.com slash debt-free scream.