The Ramsey Show - App - Why God's Not Mad at You Over Money (Hour 1)

Episode Date: November 26, 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'm Dave Ramsey, your host. Thank you for joining us, America. We're so glad you are here. Open phones this hour, 888-825-5225. Well, it's here. The Christmas season is here. Merry Christmas. I love Christmas.

Merry Christmas. We're so glad you're with us. Thanks for hanging out. And in just a few days, we'll be celebrating Christmas. It won't take but 20 seconds for it to get here, right? It's kind of amazing if you think about it, but it's official. I mean, we are dead in the middle of it.

Well, or one end of it or something. But, hey, make sure you're making a list and checking it twice. That's what my friend Santa Claus says to do. And when you make the list, put a dollar amount beside each person. It's not because you value them different. It's just because you value them differently. I mean, you may not want to put as much for your mother-in-law. Just put a dollar amount down there. And then stick to that budget.

That's your Christmas budget. That's the total amount you're going to spend, and you actually have that much money, and that's what you're going to spend. You're not in Congress. You don't get to make this up as you go. So make a list and check it twice. You want to do it real easy?

Just go over to EveryDollar. They've got a quick, easy Christmas budget for you to download and makes it real easy to do it on your technology if you want to. 888-825-5225. Tony starts off this hour in San Angelo, Texas. Hi, Tony. How are you? Great. How are you doing?

Better than I deserve. What's up? Well, we need to know what Dave and Sharon Ramsey will do. We're on baby steps four, five, and six. Have three kids. My husband has worked a lot of overtime for the past few years and i have went from working part-time to full-time in the past few months so we can accelerate our house payoff and we're on track to pay off in two to three years but we are trying to decide if we could

delay that payoff by three to six months and take a really nice vacation this summer with our kids. Yes. Yes. That's where it fits. I mean, you don't do that while you're in baby step two, but once you come out of baby step two, you finish baby step three, you have your emergency fund in place, that's when the gazelle intensity slows down. You let your foot off the gas a little bit. Well, it hasn't slowed down. I know. You've turned up the heatelle intensity slows down. You let your foot off the gas a little bit. We start doing...

Oh, it hasn't slowed down. I know. You've turned up the heat, it sounds like. But, I mean, that's where we say at that point, after you have your emergency fund, that's when you buy the couch if you've got no living room furniture. And that's when you upgrade the car because you're driving a hoopty. Right?

And that's when you go on vacation. But you don't do any of that while you're in baby step two. But you're in four, five, and six, meaning you're putting 15% away for retirement. You've got kids, college, and you're throwing extra at the house. And anything we consume, vacations, cars, or couches, anything we consume slows down the speed at which we pay off the house. But I don't think it's going to slow it down as much as you think it is. pouches, anything we consume slows down the speed at which we pay off the house. But I don't think it's going to slow it down as much as you think it is. I mean, what are you talking about spending on this vacation?

We're thinking like $6,000 to $7,000. Okay, and that's six months early? Three to six months. We can put, just depending on overtime and everything, one to 2,000 extra on our house. Okay. I was thinking it would probably be more like two. But, yeah, I'm guessing.

I was just thinking about the other stuff you've been able to pull off. So, yeah, I think you're fine. You do whatever you want to do. I mean, you can look at the size of the vacation. And everything is a tradeoff. And the coolest part about this phone call is not what dave and sharon ramsey would do it's that tony and her husband are doing it on purpose and you recognize that there was a trade-off most people go on vacation because i deserve it and you don't deserve nothing you just took out a home equity loan stupid

you know that's how most people do it right and you're doing just the opposite you're like being a grown-up adults devise a plan and follow it children do what feels good so your plan is fine it fits with the guidelines that we give out anyway and i'm trying to remember exactly where we stood at that moment that we took them i can remember we were married 10 years and we filed bankruptcy at 7 years. So it was 3 years after bankruptcy we took a decent vacation. It was our 10-year, I took her on a cruise. Yeah, that's what we want to do.

Yeah, and it was just her. I didn't take the rest of them. But it was our anniversary, right? It was our 10-year anniversary, and we probably spent three grand, and in today's dollars, that's probably the equivalent of ten or six. So it's a while back, right? But to answer your question honestly and with authenticity is what did we do? We did that.

I'm trying to remember if the house was paid off by then. It might have been. I don't remember. I just don't have to go back and try to figure all that out but bottom line is it does fit what we teach which is you don't go on vacation by cars or couches while you're in baby step two and three but once you get there it just slows down how fast you do baby step six the more of those other things you do and so you don't want to do too much of them because by the time you get where you are,

you start to realize and recognize the very real trade-offs. You've actually calculated the trade-off here. So you're fine, but you're just making a decision. It's going to be six more months on the house debt. The weird thing is, the way God works, you're probably going to get a blessing of some kind and you're probably going to pay it off in about the same time you thought. Your income's going to go up. You're going to get some kind of a bonus. Something's going to sell you blessing of some kind, and you're probably going to pay it off in about the same time you thought. Your income's going to go up. You're going to get some kind of a bonus. Something's going to sell you and think about it.

Something's going to happen, and you're probably going to work out. So, hey, good question. Thanks for joining us. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Dave, how do you feel about giving 10% to my church when I can barely make ends meet now? Shouldn't I send all of my money to pay my bills first? Well, I mean, you can do whatever you want to do. Your heavenly father is crazy about you, and he doesn't get mad at you because you don't tithe.

He doesn't have you tithe because he needs your money. If he wants your money, he'd just take it, and it'd be a greasy spot where you were sitting. He's God. He doesn't need your money. So what you need to do is not think through the negative way you're asking this question, which is kind of almost adversarial, but instead say, you know, why would God instruct me to tithe? And, oh, by the way, it says first fruits, which means off the top. So if my dad loves me, why would he tell me to tithe? And oh, by the way, it says first fruits, which means off the top.

So if my dad loves me, why would he tell me to do that if I'm having trouble paying my bills? How would a loving Heavenly Father work that out? See, that's the way you look at it instead of being a Pharisee or trying to be legalistic and say, okay, this is what Scripture says,

but why would he do that? Must be giving is really an important part of the financial equation. Hmm. And it must be that, truthfully, after doing budgets for 30 years, Andy, you're full of crap. If you can't make it on 90%, you can't make it on 100%. You got other stuff going on. You need to sell some stuff.

You need to work more. Probably need to work more. Probably what you need to do. Could be. See, I'm going to figure out a way to go. My dad loves me. He says it's first. He must have something and he must know something I don't know.

It must be important. But it's not a, I'm going to hell if I don't tithe. Dave Ramsey says if you don't tithe, oh, shut up. That is not what this is talking about. This is talking about love of God. God's love for you. How do you work that part out?

This is the Dave Ramsey Show. I get asked all the time, when in the baby steps is the right time to buy life insurance? My answer is typically now. Life insurance is not part of the baby steps because it's needed when your family has debt and not enough savings to provide for their financial needs. That's when they're at the highest risk. And no matter where you are in your baby steps, it's a necessity, not a choice. This includes working husbands and wives, as well as stay-at-home parents. It's pretty expensive to replace those stay-at-home parent responsibilities. I only recommend term life insurance since it's the most affordable way to get the right amount of coverage and not break your budget. Go to Zander.com or call 800-356-4282.

These are the guys I personally use. Term life insurance is inexpensive and your family needs this no matter where you are in your baby steps. That's Zander.com or call 800-356-4282. Zander.com. Thank you for joining us, America. Merry Christmas to you. Crystal is with us in Richmond, Virginia. Hi, Crystal. How are you? Hey, Dave.

I'm doing great. Happy to be with you today. You too. How can I help? So I am a dentist, just graduated in May, and I have or had $300,000 in student loans. Thankfully, I am part of the NHSC loan repayment program. So I was able to put $30,000 on it, you know, this month. However, my husband just started physical therapy school and he's obviously a current debt. So I'm just trying to figure out, we're in obviously baby step two, so just trying to figure out whether I should just try and hit mine or should I be thinking about some of his interests since his loan is lower, just trying to figure out what's the best way to do this.

So NHSB, what did you say? National Health Service Corps. So yeah, so that's just working in an underserved area doing dentistry, and I get $30,000 a year for four years towards my loans. Okay. And what are you making? I make $125,000 a year. Okay.

Or just, yeah. Okay. And you have $300,000. Yeah. So right now it's $277, yeah. Okay. And you have $300,000. Yeah. So right now it's $277,000. Okay. I just paid some this month. And he has how much?

So, so far the principal is about $23,500. $23,500. And the interest is another $500. How long before he's through? He just started. So he has two more years. Okay. There's a three-year program. And so what does he anticipate being paid as a PT?

I believe it's about $70. I'm not 100% sure, though. That's about right. That's about right. I was just checking his reality scope here. And what is he spending to become a PT? So, yeah, I think it's, so he's out of state, so we'll see if he can get in state. But probably about $120,000 by the time it's all said and done.

If we don't do interest, you know, I'm not really sure how the interest plays into that. So that's what I'm trying to figure out, if we should just think about paying interest on his. So he needs to spend how much more to graduate? He needs to spend probably a little under $100,000 more. In two years? Yeah. Okay. All right.

Well, the first step of getting out of debt is to add no more. Right. To go no further in debt. So that leads me to say rather than reducing his or yours substantially, our first goal would be to cash flow the remainder of his school from your income. Oh. And you can do that. Okay. So let's add, let's do no more harm since you're both in the medical profession.

And let's go no further in. And then, yeah, we'll go ahead and take the $120 during that time, the credit you're going to get. And then he comes out and is making $70. At that point, you're making $200 plus as a couple, and you will have $300 or so in debt. Right? Yeah. And so we pay that off in three years. Okay. $100 a year for three years. Oh, okay.

A hundred a year for three years is $300, right? Okay, so then we'd have to save then, so save up that money to be able to pay his tuition. No, you make $125,000. Right. Use your money. Oh, so just... Pay his tuition. Okay, I guess I need to look into that. Because I guess I'm just so used to... I'm sorry, go ahead. Okay. You live like broke college... Because I guess I'm just so used to...

I'm sorry, go ahead. Yeah, you live like broke college students, because you are. Right, that's exactly what we're doing. And then you throw all the money, instead of at loans, you throw it at his... And you ought to be able to cash flow $50,000 a year for two years. Right. Out of $125,000. That gets him through school with no more debt.

Did I do that right? I did. So 50 a year out of your 125 gets him through to school. He's got 23. You got 277. That's 300 in loans that are just sitting there during that time. I mean, they're not just sitting there. You're paying something on them.

You're required to pay something. So through the government program, I'm going to have to put the other $90,000 to that. Yeah. Oh, to get your match, you do. Yeah. So I have to, so that $90,000 that comes from the government, I'll have to put that straight to my loan. Oh, sure. Sure. But that's not included in

your $125,000 income, though. Right. That's not including that. Right. Absolutely. So you just take the government money the government money is irrelevant you can't do anything with it except throw it on your loan so by the way during this two years you're going to get another 60 and so you're not really going to have to pay off 300 you only got to pay off 240 right okay so when he gets out both of you together are making if he makes 70 and you make 130 that's 200 and when he's out and that's two

years from now and um you've got uh 240 000 worth of debt making 200 000 a year if you're not debt free in two years something's seriously wrong okay two and a half years you know so we're talking about less than five years you're 100 debt free but the first step is add no more debt do no more harm cash flow is. And you know what that's going to do? It's going to make you look at where he's going to school and how much you pay for a PT to get a degree. $70,000 a year job that you pay $150,000 for the opportunity to do.

Just the math on it is not a great deal. So I'd want to spend less than that to be a PT personally. But you just look at it. I'm not telling you you have to stop his career field. That's not it. But this idea that it's always worth it because it's in the medical profession is just not true. I mean, you spend $150,000 to get a $70,000 job? That doesn't make sense.

So I'm thinking where he goes to school might get adjusted. And me making you pay cash for it is going to make you look at that. Victoria is in Los Angeles. Hi, Victoria. How are you? Hi, Dave. I'm doing great. Thank you so much for taking my call.

Sure. What's up? Okay. So I'm going to try to stick to the point. I just graduated with my undergraduate degree. Congratulations. I have about 30 grand. Sorry?

Congratulations. Thank you. I have about 30 grand. Sorry? Congratulations. Thank you. I have about 30 grand of debt, 30 grand worth of debt, which I plan to pay off by December of next year, so December 2019. But I also want to start law school by August 2020. So I'm wondering,

since my law school loans might be a bit higher with a higher interest rate, would it make more sense to pay off debt or to start saving now for law school? Same answer as the last caller, do no more harm. So your first goal of getting out of debt is to add no more. And so I'm going to spend this 12 months working my tail end off at anything and everything, building up enough to pay cash for law school. Probably actually can do that depending on what you can find to do for work and what your undergrad degree is in.

And so the first goal is add no more debt. I'm not worried about your 30 if you're getting ready to head to law school. It can sit there until you get out of law school if you have to. It would be secondary to paying cash for whatever's in front of you. And so that's your first trick always is to add no more debt. Go no further into debt is the first step to getting out of debt. Same exact answer. Good question.

Thank you for joining us. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Our question of the day comes from Blinds.com. Find out for yourself why Blinds.com is the number one online retailer of custom window covering. You get free samples, free shipping, and with the new promos that they run every month, you'll save even more. Use the promo code Ramsey to get the best deal. Today's question comes from Pat in Pennsylvania. Mr. Ramsey, my siblings and I are dealing with the estate of my mother in Pennsylvania.

Would it be necessary to bring on an estate attorney upon completion of the sale of the home? Not 100% necessary. It depends on what's going on. I mean, you could check with how the probate laws work in the state of Pennsylvania or wherever it was that she passed away when she was living because that's the law that would apply. In most states, you will have to get the court's permission because one of you will have to be assigned as the executor of the estate. Somebody's got to sign the deed, and she's dead.

So you can't just sign a deed and go, I'm the heir. That won't work. Title company's not going to let you transfer this house unless you have authorization from probate court to do it. If you can get that authorization by filing a motion on your own, yeah, maybe. But in most cases, you're going to hire an attorney to do this. And it's probably worth the money to do it. It'll probably go straight

on through that way this is the Dave Ramsey Show Are high health care costs getting you down? Are you confused trying to navigate your options? Do you wish you could find an affordable, biblical solution to your health care costs? Based on New Testament principles, Christian Health Healthcare Ministries, or CHM, helps Christian families, churches, and ministries join together as the body of Christ to share their major healthcare costs. Christian Healthcare Ministries is the original health cost-sharing ministry. A Better Business Bureau-accredited organization, CHM members share to pay each other's medical bills. It's not insurance. It's Christians financially and spiritually supporting each other.

It's what Christian Healthcare Ministries has done for over 35 years. And our members have shared over $2.5 billion in medical bills. To learn more, visit chministries.org. That's chministries.org. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a proud sponsor of Dave Ramsey Live Events Paul and Sarah are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? Hey, Dave, we're good.

Welcome. Where do you guys live? Toledo. Toledo, Ohio. Oh, cool. Where do you live? Waterville. Waterville.

Okay. I was in Bowling Green not long ago. That's what I was thinking. I graduated BG. Did you live? Waterville. Waterville. Okay. I was in Bowling Green not long ago. That's what I was thinking. I graduated BG. Did you really? I did. I actually went to ice hockey camp there when I was a little kid, a thousand years ago. Well, welcome, guys.

Good to have you. Thanks for having us. And you're here to do a debt-free scream. Yes. How much have you paid off? $72,200. Ah, very good. How long did this take?

24 months and one day. Very good. And what was your range of income through that two years? So we started out at about $110,000, and this year we'll probably be about $145,000. Excellent. What do you all do for a living? I'm a police officer. And I'm a teacher.

Ah, very good. Very cool. Great careers. You're doing really well. teacher. Very good. Very cool. Great careers. You're doing really well. Congratulations. Thank you. Very well done. What kind of debt was this?

$72,000. Big ones. We had two student loans. So I had a truck for $17,000. The engine blew up in that in September, so our emergency fund was key to have. Oh, my gosh. My student loan was $34,000. Hers was $20,000.

And then we had two cell phones for $1,200. Wow. Very cool. How long have you all been married? Two and a half years. Two and a half years. So you got married, came home from the honeymoon, and basically started this. Tell me the story.

What happened? How did you decide your first goal as a newlywed couple is debt-free? Well, I mean, I took Financial Peace University as a senior in college. Oh, wow. Good. And so I had a budget that I was, you know, working through. And then we got married, and I told him about the program, and he really got on board. Yeah.

And started doing a lot of research and started watching you. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah, wow. Yeah. Yeah, I grew up really poor. My parents filed bankruptcy tons of times. And I remember when I was five going with my dad to church to get groceries because we didn't have any money. And I just didn't want to ever have to live like that again.

Amen. Amen. That will set you up for no way I'm going to be that. Yeah. And you're not. You make $145,000 a year, you don't have any debt. Yeah. Way to go, you guys.

Thanks. Very cool. And we had a baby in November. In the middle of all this. Wow. In the middle of all that, we had a baby. What'd you have? A baby girl.

Thanksgiving morning last year. Wow. Wonderful. Wonderful. Well, congratulations, you guys. We're very proud of you. So what do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? You did it.

Yeah. You have to work hard. You have to solely focus on that. You can't be focusing on retirement or anything like that. My only mistake was I should have probably, we should have had more fun things to do, like when we hit certain goals, just to make them, because I think Sarah got a little burnt out a couple different times. Yeah.

A couple times. So when Paul's game on, he's game on. Oh, yes. Oh, yeah. Complete blinders. Oh, yeah, definitely. Oh, yeah. Yeah, and he was working a lot of overtime and picked up a lot of extra shifts, and we

had a newborn at home, So yeah, there were times where I was a little burnt out, but yeah, it's hard. It is. It's hard. You're living like no one else. Now you can live like no one else and give like no one else. So you may be somebody bringing groceries to somebody now. Oh, definitely. Yeah. So one of the cool things was how God blessed us towards the end is we still had $30,000 left on my student loan. And it was a private student loan that I had for 11 years. And I just wondered if I could get a settlement on it. So I actually saved up the whole 30 grand in one chunk and went to an attorney, um, downtown and paid him $300 to negotiate a settlement and they actually settled for $14,000.

Wow. So I say it's $16,000 by doing that. Wow. Yeah. That's huge. Yeah. Very cool. Very good.

Well, good job, you guys. Thanks. You're free. Yes. We did it. We made it. I love it. So other than the two of you, who was your biggest cheerleaders?

Oh, man. We had a couple of people at the church really supporting us and making sure that we were following, and when we did feel like we're getting burnt out or felt a little stressed, they kind of kept us motivated and kept us going. Came over and helped you change a diaper or something. Yeah, exactly. Very good. Way to go, you guys.

Very cool. What was the hardest part for you? The working hard and being burnt out part or what else? Well, I don't get burnt out working. I could work 16 hours a day, six days a week. But I think me being gone because she wouldn't see me for sometimes three or four days. Sure. So that was really hard on her.

Yeah, our working shifts don't really match up. And sometimes there would be days where we'd go three, four days without seeing each other at all. Wow. With a newborn. So it was tough. Yeah. Yeah. We did it, though.

We're out. And you're done. We're done. Now you can do anything you wanted to. Exactly. Will you ever go back? No. No way.

I love it. Yeah. And we recently bought a house. Yay! So that's all because we are out of debt, and we can. That's it. We can buy a house, so yeah. Congratulations.

Thanks. All right, Paul and Sarah, we got a copy of Chris Hogan's book for you, Retire Inspired. That's number one bestseller. That's the next chapter in your story to be not only debt-free, but now move on up, and let's be millionaires and outrageously generous along the way, and I think you guys will be. Paul and Sarah, Toledo, Ohio, $72,000 paid off in 24 months, making $110,000 to $145,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream.

Ready? Yeah. Three, two, one. We're debt-free! We're debt-free! Well done, you guys. Man, I love it man i love it i love it open phones at triple eight eight two five five two two five you jump in we'll talk about your life and your money stephanie is in atlanta georgia hi stephanie how are you hey dave thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's up? So I just finished reading The Total Money Makeover.

Somebody gave it to me for graduation. And, of course, I graduated five years ago and never read it until this weekend. But I just finished reading it. I'm in baby step one. I've had a Roth IRA set up for about 14 months now. And I have very little debt, so my debt snowball is going to be pretty fast. What I want to know is do I need to stop contributing to my Roth IRA?

Well, the Total Money Makeover told you to. You stop all investing until you are debt-free, except your home, baby step two, and have your emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. And then you restart investing, and at baby step four, you put 15% of your income into retirement. Does that sound familiar? Yes, sir. Okay, all right. Now, how much debt do you have?

Less than $1,500, about $1,400 and, uh, like $1,420. Okay. And what is your income? Um, I make about $24,000 a year. Okay. Good news is you've not got any debt, hardly. The bad news is your income's low. It is.

Is it going up? Is there something going on there that I'm missing? I'm a hairdresser, so it's a little unsteady, but I'm also applying for part-time jobs in January. Just because of tax reasons, I'd rather all be in the same calendar year. So I'm applying because I want to go back to college. I'm applying for jobs that have the tuition payment or tuition reimbursement. So it will be going up next year. I'm applying for basically any part-time job I can because I make my own schedule. You've got a long-term career goal of getting a degree and changing fields probably then.

Yes, sir. Yeah, good. Good for you. Okay, well, you're on track. Yeah, I would temporarily stop it. It's a temporary thing. We're not stopping it for very long. We're going to temporarily stop it and knock that $1,500 out

and then build up $5,000, something like that as your emergency fund, whatever three to six months of expenses is. But it's probably somewhere around there. And so that's a $6,500 swing on where you are today, $5,000 in savings and $1,500 in debt, making $24,000. That's going to take you a little while. And you're talking about heading off to college, too. And so that's going to take some money out of your budget. And so it may take you a year to get back into your Roth IRA. But for right now, I would stop it.

I don't want you to stop it for five years, but for a short period of time until you can get some of these other things done. Because really, there's a power to focusing on something. And I really, really want you to just focus on getting rid of the debt, get your emergency fund in place, then let's start talking about investing. And by then you'll have some of this career stuff settled out. So good question. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. Thank you. Well, Cyber Monday deals are here. If you're a smart shopper, you've probably been researching the best online deals for everyone on your Christmas list.

Waiting for this big shopping day? Well, today's that day. Check out our online store at DaveRamsey.com or call us at 888-22-PEACE. You can save up to 79%. That's kind of like 80%. And get a live stream with every single order. Yeah, that'd be pretty cool. We have best-selling books, kids' products, tools.

You'll find our absolute best deals of the season this week, Cyber Monday. And you can pick up the number one best-selling book, The Total Money Makeover, for $10. Get the number one bundle that we have, the starter special, and get a free live stream. Check it all out at DaveRamsey.com or call us at 888-22-PIECE, 888-227-3223. Kelly is with us in Silver Spring, Maryland. Hi, Kelly. How are you? Hi, Dave.

It's great to talk to you. You too. What's up? Well, I was wondering if I could get some advice. In the next six months, my dad's property will be going through probate, and I'm a little stuck just waiting patiently for things to move forward. I've been knocked about just a little bit. I lost my job, and my dad passed away in the same month of July of this year.

And it's kind of, I have to cut some of my progress. And I'm ready to renew and have a turning point in life because I know you've helped me out to get me out of debt. I know you can help me out to get me moving forward. Okay. I have a sister and we do share, we do inherit the property together. So I'm just looking at my options okay you have an attorney running the probate for you i do i do and why are they saying it's going to take six months

um i guess that's but then they said that's the normal waiting process okay well my i'm the little boy that always says why especially if i've been knocked about and i need the money right so why there's no dispute here between you and your sister there's no other uh heirs is there a law that says in maryland you have to wait six months most states no no no uh the property's in dc okay a law in D.C. that you have to wait six months? Where was your father living when he passed? D.C.? Yes. Okay. Then it would be D.C. law that would apply.

You've got an attorney there, right? Yes. Okay. And if the attorney is lazy and doesn't move things and doesn't have a fire under their butt, then maybe you need to get a different attorney or light a fire. But maybe there's a law that applies that says there's a six-month waiting period to see if any other heirs or whatever come forward. I don't know. But I want to know why it's going to take six months if I'm you.

It's going to take six months, and I said so because I'm a lawyer, is not a good enough answer. Yes. There is like a 90-day period. Okay. There's three of the months. Yeah, like three months, I know, just to have heirs come in. Right.

But it is just, you know, my sister and I. But that's just the way. They also post in most areas what's called a notice to creditors to see that it's a public notice, and it usually does take 90 days. That's fairly normal. Six months isn't. And so I don't know what the other three months are then, do you? No, no. But I will try to find out.

Maybe it's just settling all of the estate. How complicated is it? My sister doesn't want the property, though, and I have the option of buying it out there. I just don't think I can do that. No, I don't think you need this property. It's in D.C. I mean, unless you're going to move in it and live there, are you? No, I was thinking of maybe making it a rental.

No. Because it's 20 minutes or so from my house, very little time. Okay. I mean, are you out of debt? Are you in a position that you can have a rental that size? I am out of debt thanks to your program and working with the baby steps. Did you get a new job after you lost your job last summer? I actually started Airbnb-ing my house that I currently own. So that actually kept me floating above order.

What's your long-term career goal? My long-term career goal is the turning point that I would like to continue going to real estate, maybe have some debt-free properties that will accrue me some assets. But you don't have the money to buy your sister out, right? Well, there's equity in the house to buy her off. Oh, the house is not free and clear? No, it's free and clear, but it would be if I had to buy out her portion. You would borrow all the house to do that, yeah. Yeah, I would have

to put a tenant in there too. Yeah. It's up to you. You can do what you want to do. Your long-term goal is real estate. This is real estate, so that's not a bad thing. It does fit in that sense. I don't like the debt approach on this, and I don't understand why it's taking

six months, but if you're going to buy it from her anyway, go ahead and pre-arrange that and then wait and at the six month mark have everything set up to close all of a sudden it doesn't matter as much um and maybe she'll let you run the property while it's in probate you can go ahead and start renting it now that won't hurt anything you split the rent with her until it gets through probate that's not a bad way to go either. All right, Ben is with us in Sioux City, Iowa. Hi, Ben.

How are you? Great. It's an honor to talk to you, Dave. You too. What's up? So I'm calling because my grandmother passed away recently, and she left my wife and I a $12,000 paid-for car. It has 10,000 miles on it, but we have two cars already, one that's paid for and one that has debt on it.

But we're just wondering what to do with the car. So the one that's paid for is worth $3,500, and the one that has debt on it is worth about $10,000. But we owe about $8,700 on it. And your grandmother's car is worth about $10,000, but we owe about $8,700 on it. And your grandmother's car is worth what? It's worth about $12,000. Okay. And how much debt do you have other than your car debt?

We have about $12,000 in debt. Including the $8,700 or on top of the $8,700? Including. So we have $8,700 on a car. So you sell grandmother's car and you're debt-free? Yeah. The only thing is that I guess people in our family would rather us not sell the car. Then they can buy it.

What business is it? You're supposed to keep a car as a keepsake? That's a big keepsake. I guess maybe we could sell it later just because she passed away kind of recently. That's the only thing. I'm confused. She left you the car and they have a say over whether you sell the car? You're probably right.

I mean, am I misunderstanding something? No, you're not misunderstanding anything. Okay. And so whose mother was this? Your mother's or your father's? My mother's mother, yeah. And your mother doesn't want you to sell the car? Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I figure. So I think your mom's grieving, and I understand that. She lost her mom. I get that. And so if you want to wait a little bit, that's fine. But it's illogical for you to have a $12,000 car sitting in your driveway going down in value that you don't need while you have $12,000 in debt? I mean, does she want you to keep the car and drive it? I guess you could sell your car.

Yeah, I mean, I guess I could do that, yeah. But it does make the most sense to sell my grandmother's car. Yeah, I mean, what is your car? What kind of car? Just the 2006 Honda Civic.onda civic the 8700 one uh the 3500 one okay the one you owe 8700 is your wife's car then okay correct okay and what kind of car is that it's a kia optima okay what kind of car did your grandmother have? That would be a Hyundai Sonata, like a 2013. Okay.

Doesn't sound like the same kind of car to me. I mean, if your wife would rather drive your grandmother's car, keep it. Give it to your wife. Sell your wife's car. And same effect if you want to do that. But other than that, I think you're going to have to have a gentle, kind, clear conversation with your mom. And just go, Mom, this is not something we're going to be able to do. I'm sorry.

Love you, but we can't do it. 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.