The Ramsey Show - App - You Can't Get Out of a Hole While Someone Is Digging Out the Bottom (Hour 2)

Episode Date: December 24, 2019

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. Thanks for joining us, America. We're glad you're here. Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225.

Starting off this hour is Kaylin in Denver. Merry Christmas, Kaylin. How are you? Merry Christmas, Dave. I'm good. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up?

So I have a question about tithes versus offering. My husband and I are kind of on opposite ends of this discussion. Our church has recently partnered with a ministry called God Behind Bars, and we have about $200 left in tithes for this month, and I would like to earmark it for that ministry, but my husband believes that that's considered an offering if it's earmarked, even though it's all going to church. So what would your opinion on that be? I think I'd probably work on something else to argue about. I know. The technical answer from a biblical perspective is a tenth of your income, from an evangelical's perspective, is a tithe.

The word tithe in the Hebrew literally means tenth. So a tenth of your net profits of your business, your taxable income, is what I use. I mean, you can argue about it if you want to argue about it taxable income is what I use. I mean, you can argue about it if you want to argue about it, but that's what I use, and it's supposed to go to your local church. This ministry is a parachurch organization, another wonderful thing that's happening out there, obviously, that you want to support, and that would be separate from a tithe technically speaking tithe goes to your local church so husband wins the uh technical argument but i think i'd find something else to

argue about really it was not a huge argument we're just trying to figure out whether or not it would be considered tither offering well i mean again you can uh there's a lot of people have a lot of opinions about the tithe and about giving and so forth. But the baseline evangelical belief with a mainline church is that a tenth of your income going to your local church is the tithe. And then anything else would be considered offering. And honestly, biblically speaking, it's hard to find, like it's not in there, where there is an offering above the tithe that is not from surplus. And it doesn't sound like you all got a lot of surplus. Not right now. Yeah, okay.

So I don't think God's going to be mad at you. Matter of fact, I'm pretty sure he's not. Either way, because you're being generous, you're giving, you're helping out. I don't get real legalistic about this stuff, even though I believe in tithing and I believe in giving, and I believe it's part of your spiritual walk. But I know people, for instance, that sit and recalculate their mutual funds every year and say well my mutual fund went up by a thousand dollars so I'm going to tie the hundred dollars I don't do that I tithe on investments when I cash them out every time a piece of real estate goes

up in value I don't tithe on that increase in value but there are people that get real detailed and nitsy and real worried about it. I've just got more of a love affair with God than that, and he's my heavenly father, and he's not looking for a chance to thump me. He loves me, and one of the things is he says, Son, if you're going to be a wise boy, you give, and it's really not much more complicated than that. And so I'm going to kind of put a lot of grace for myself and other people over this subject.

But if you wanted to get real nitsy and real technical, the tithe is a tenth of your income to your local church. But again, this is your Heavenly Father who's crazy about you. And he's not looking for a chance to not bless you, just like you're not looking for a chance to not bless your kids if we being evil know how to give our kids good gifts how much more so our father in heaven and so straight out of the scriptures there you go hey thanks for calling in i appreciate the discussion i'm glad y'all are talking about it that's a good thing uh so then you can decide how you want to do it i'd recommend you give the money to the ministry and you find it in your budget and you know you move on how you want to do it. I'd recommend you give the money to the ministry, and you find it in your budget, and, you know, you move on. But you do whatever you want to do.

Open phones at 888-825-5225. Kenny's in Philadelphia. Hi, Kenny. How are you? Hey, Dave. I am doing good. I'm kind of nervous. I'm stoked to talk to you today.

No troubles. Never lost a patient. How can we help? Hey, so my wife and I, we're living outside of the Philadelphia area. I'm stoked to talk to you today. No troubles. Never lost a patient. How can we help? Hey, so my wife and I, we're living outside of the Philadelphia area. We're working on a farm right now. Cool. And to be honest, we're not super in love with the work, given that we have a one-year-old,

and I work pretty much every hour that he's awake, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. And so we're contemplating a move back to home, which is Minnesota. And we really want to make the move, but financially it's going to be a little bit difficult. And so we kind of just want to get some insight. Right now we're not paying any rent. We're not paying any expenses for living. And obviously if we moved back, we would have expenses. Do you have a job? for living, and obviously if we moved back, we would have expenses. Do you have a job?

I do have a job lined up. It would be a pay decrease, but my wife would be able to work if we made the switch. Right now, she isn't able to work more than a few hours a week, and when she does, it's overnight. So what do you make now? Right now, I've been working this job for like eight months, I don't know, an annual, but it's around $11 an hour, but I work about 60 to 70 hours a week. Okay, all right. And so you would be making what if you move?

Anywhere from between like 40, around 42. Mm-hmm. Okay. And then my wife would also go to work, which would help, but we're just kind of wanting to know the best, wisest way to do that. Okay. Unless I run my calculations wrong, you're not taking a pay cut. Well, if you consider rent, we'd'd have to pay rent which we don't pay

anything right now yeah but your actual pay goes up true that that is that is true okay which and i think there is more upside it's kind of a dead end where i'm at i'm just kind of a farmhand with okay well you don't like the work you don't like the hours you don't like the pay you want to move and make more money and be near your family it's kind of a no-brainer do it sure sure i mean load up the truck and head to beverly okay then um okay yeah well i mean that makes us feel more i mean more at peace about it even though yeah the rent was kind of like the uh that's that sucks having to pay rent. Yeah, it does, but what you've got sucks more is what you're telling me. That's super true. That's super true.

You've got upside, you've got more money, you're near family, it's work you want to do, your wife can work. I mean, your household income is going to go up substantially overall, even net of rent with her working as well. So, yeah, you're moving. It's just a matter of how you scratch it together and pull it off as cheap as you can. You may have some family drive over to Philly and help you load up and haul over there, I guess. I don't know. Whatever you can do to make it happen cheap, on the cheap, stash some money away, whatever. Even if you had to live in somebody's basement for a month

after you get over there until you scrape together a little money to go get, you know, if it's a little difficult, by this time next year, you're in a better position. Either way. Hey, thanks for the call, man. Merry Christmas to you. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. M.C. Schaaf. In a season of giving, what better gift can you give someone in the coming year than a new job? Business leaders, if you're looking to add to your team in 2020, get started now with LinkedIn Jobs.

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Terms and conditions apply. Ron is with us in St. Louis. Hey, Ron, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hey, Dave, great to talk to you. You too. Quick question. I recently looked at my credit report, and after neglecting to look at it for probably 15 years. I looked at it and it had what were four, it said, that's in bad standing in it. And three of them pretty easily taken care of. They're just like cable bills, stuff like that. Total of 1600 bucks. No problem. One of them was a repossessed vehicle from like four and a half

years ago. Now it says this vehicle, the account is closed and it says there's a $7,500 debt on it. But it says closed. I don't really know what that means, that it's closed. I feel morally obligated to pay for it. I just don't know how to go about doing this if it's closed. Well, by closed, all it means is they gave up trying to get you to pay it. That's all that means. Okay. And so just reach out to them, and they'll settle that for about a quarter on the dollar. The $7,500 is what's called the deficit, the difference in what they sold the car for versus what you owed on it at the time.

Gotcha. At repo price, you were $7,500 upside down. And it's four years old, five years old. And so if you offer them a couple grand, they're going to take it. Okay. Yeah, this was from, I've never been really great with money, but these are the only debts I have. I am debt-free other than these.

And this is from one of those old, like a buy here, pay here car lot. Yeah. And so. Is it closed? No, no, no, it's still there. Okay, then it would be fairly easy to wander over there and work out a deal. Nice. Nice.

Okay. Yeah, man. So I'm $9,000 from being debt-free. Well, no, I mean, you're a lot closer than that because if you work out a deal for $2,000 to settle this, then you're just about $3,000, $4,000 from being debt-free. So whatever you do on old debts, get it in writing that what you're sending them clears the account. Now, would an email be considered writing? Yes, yes. But print out a hard copy of it so you don't lose it.

And keep a copy of your proof of payment. So let's say that the guys at the car lot agree to $2,000 on the buy here, pay here. You give them the $2,000. You have proof of the $2,000 payment. And in writing from them in some form that you keep a hard copy of stapled to the check that you gave them or the money order that you gave them or whatever you give them. Okay. And you have proof hard copy of both things so that if it ever comes up again, you've

got written hard copy proof because these things have a sometimes they uh resurrect and have a second life and you want to be sure you you're ahead of the game on that case you want this behind you forever and ever i'm in i'm glad you're cleaning up things ron time to get on top of it i'm proud of you aaron is with us in pueblo colorado hi aaron how are you? Good, Dave. How are you doing? Better than I deserve. What's up? Well, I got a question in regards to future value, I guess, for my son's education or for paying off the house early. I've got emergency fund, everything taken care of there.

I just didn't know. I have enough to cover the rest of the mortgage now. However, it would be dipping into what was set aside nest egg early. And I don't know if it'd be worth it to go through and pay that mortgage off now. And then how much is in this account? Um, well, enough to cover the end of the mortgage. How much is in the account? Uh, right around 50. mortgage how much is in the account uh right around 50 and how much is the mortgage uh 39 okay and the account is it a retirement account no no it's just basic saving oh okay and so you can write a $39,000 check out of your $50,000 savings account today and be debt-free house and everything.

Right. And why wouldn't you? Well, I'm a little tight on income right now. So what I'm looking to do is try and get completely debt-free. I'm debt-free except for the house, obviously. I just want to be completely debt-free and then fully fund. When you write a check and you pay off the house today and you have $11,000 in the account, what's your household income? Forty.

Okay, and you have no house payment and no payments of any kind at that point, right? Correct. Can you do a budget and live on 40 with no house payment and no payments of any kind? Yeah. I mean, it's been tight now, but that's because my wife is staying home with the kids. You're paying a house payment. Well, right. Right.

You're not anymore. How much is your house payment? Like $500. Okay. So you've got $500 more room in your budget now, right? Right. I think that makes it work. All right.

That's kind of what I was thinking. I just didn't want to jump and put the cart before the horse. No, I don't think you are. You've got $11,000 left. We're going to call that your emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. Don't touch that for anything. And that should cover you if you're in a $40,000 household income. And then let's get on a written budget, you and your wife,

and let's start trying to attack some of these other issues, the longer-term wealth-building issues like your kid's college and like your retirement so that you retire with dignity. And then let's also start working on, like you said, your income pinch right now. So what is the steps to get the income up short-term and long-term? If you're 100% debt-free, you are in a much more secure position. And that's where I would want to be. I'd write that check today

merry christmas ray is with us in phoenix arizona hi ray how are you i'm doing wonderful dave how about yourself better than i deserve what's up thanks for taking my call and i pray you and your family have a wonderful christmas you too have a um a marital question. So my wife and I just got on the program here recently, and we're in baby step two. We've got about $41,000 in debt. It's a combination of student loans and credit cards and a couple car loans. I've got a bonus check that could pay that off right now. I grew up differently than she did, and I had more of a foundation in financial management. For my father, she didn't. We've kind of been struggling with that in our marriage, and I'm fearful of using this bonus check to pay this debt off while we're making some progress,

and she's growing and making progress, and the baby baby step two, I'm questioning whether or not I should do that or continue along the path that we're on of paying off the debt and the snowballs. Okay. So you said my wife and I are on this program, but what you really meant was you're on the program and you're hoping she's going to learn it. Yes, she's willing. Verbally, she's committed to it.

Yeah, she's just struggling emotionally based upon how she's grown up. How old are you two? 40. She'll be 40 and 52. So you've been married 20 years? Oh, no, no, no. No. No, we've only been married seven years.

Oh, okay. Okay. I was just guessing based on your age. Okay. Yeah, second time around. Okay, we've only been married seven years. Oh, okay. Okay. I was just guessing based on your age. Okay. Yeah, no, second time around. Okay, cool. But it's a wonderful situation. Okay. First time around on both of you, was money the issue? No. She was in an emotionally abusive relationship.

I got married very early in my 20s, and neither one of us understood what commit was about. But money was not the issue, yeah. All right, cool. Well, I guess what I was trying to say is what I'm trying to make sure of is that you're not really upset with your last spouse, and that's not the case. No, not at all. And blaming it on her, you know, kind of thing. So I don't know.

I mean, when Sharon and I have something like this, we just lay it on the table and talk about it. And it would sound something like, I want us to continue on and play all the way through on this. I got to be real honest and kind at the same time, honey, and say, I'm a little worried to do that because I'm worried that worried to do that because I'm worried that you're going to stick to this.

I need some extra pinky swear spit shake from you that you're going to do this, right? Right, right. And then I would write the check that day, and as soon as the bonus check comes in, I'd be debt free, and I'd keep working it. And you work the plan together. Why don't you go through Financial Peace University together? And, you know, it's a nine-week class, and I'll give you that and the one-year membership too, the Financial Peace membership. I'll'll give you that and the one-year membership, too,

the Financial Peace membership. I'll just give you that for Christmas. Merry Christmas. And you two go through that together, and that'll kind of solidify and form it. How often can you get the best of both worlds? Not very often, right? Well, with the Rate Secured program at Churchill Mortgage, it's possible. You can secure a low rate now to nail down your budget, and if rates drop while you're shopping for a home, they'll give you the lower rate.

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This is a paid advertisement. NMLS ID 1591. NMLSconsumeraccess.org. Equal housing lender. 761 Old Hickory Boulevard, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027. Chris and Nicole are with us in San Diego. Hey, guys, how are you? Fantastic, Dave. How are you? Better than I deserve.

I see on my screen you're debt-free. Congratulations. Thank you very much, sir. Love it. How much you guys paid off? A little over $63,000, sir. Good for you. And how long did this take?

22 months. Wow. And your range of income during that time? $55,000 to $59,000, sir. Good for you. And how long did this take? 22 months. Wow. And your range of income during that time? $55,000 to $59,000. Okay. Very cool. Very cool. So what was the debt on the $63,000?

It was a little bit of credit cards, student loans, a consumer loan, and a car loan. Ah. How much was owed on the car? of credit cards, student loans, a consumer loan, and a car loan. How much was owed on the car? It was about $22,000. Did you keep the car? We sold the car. You sold the car. What did it sell for?

We took a little loss. It was about $18,000, and then we just got a $1,000 car to drive around. Look at you. Wow, you've gone all in. I love it. Good for you. Well, that makes the numbers make sense on $63,000. Wow. So what happened 22 months ago that put you guys on this radical journey?

Y'all went nuts. We did. We did. And basically, our daughter was just born, our second child, and I received orders to Adrenaline Struggle School in San Diego. So I left for school about three days after she was born, and as I kind of got in the routine in the school, I got into the podcast, came across your podcast, and we got into

the EveryDollar app. So during the three months that I was in school, we basically finished the budget and were able to kind of get all the kinks out. So when school was over and I got everybody out to San Diego, we basically hit the ground running from there. Love it. So the family joined you, and we go all in. Yes, sir.

All because you had a little bit of time on your hands and found the podcast. A little bit of time. Not too much, but a little bit. Yes, sir. All because you had a little bit of time on your hands and found the podcast. A little bit of time. Not too much, but a little bit. Yeah, very cool. Well, thank you for your service, sir. Thank you for your support, sir. So what do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? You paid off $63,000 in 22 months, sold the car.

What's the key to getting out of debt? I think for us in particular, it's basically getting on that written plan because for the first couple years of our marriage, we were kind of spending a little bit. We made a plan or made like a budget to pay off the minimum payments and all that. We didn't have the extra money where to go, so it disappeared in the restaurant or disappeared in Target or wherever it may be.

But once we gave it a plan and said, you know, give everybody an assignment, then we had a better understanding on getting to where we wanted to go. And also with our little ones being able to look at it, have three little ones, and looking at them every day and knowing the sacrifices they were making at that time was going to pay off for their future, not only our future, but for their future so they didn't have to go through what we were going through. Yeah. Change the family tree. That's a big motivation.

Yes, sir. Amen. Way to go, guys. So how's it feel, Nicolele you did it you're debt free i know it feels fantastic way to go you guys very proud of you who's your biggest cheerleader um we had uh with some uh i had some co-workers we had some family members that were very supportive and me and the marine corps i've had the opportunity to become a command financial specialist for the Marine Corps,

which has allowed me to help fellow Marines kind of win their own financial walk as well. So got a close little support group over here. Very cool, as it should be. Well done. Very well done. We're proud of you you guys are amazing great job we got a copy of chris hogan's book for you retire inspired number one best-selling book and that's the next chapter in your story to go on and be millionaires now and be outrageously generous as

you go along wonderful thank you you wouldn't believe the percentage of millionaires in the study that we did that were in the military for 15 or 20 years, hit the 20-year mark, and then had their second career sometimes. Sometimes they were career military all the way through, but they used sometimes the 20-year military retirement, and then that second career on top of that catapulted them into serious wealth. So you guys are in a great position. Very, very cool stuff.

All right, Chris and Nicole, San Diego, California, $63,000 paid off in 22 months, making $55,000 to $59,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. One, two, three. We're debt-free! Well done, you guys. Very, very, very well done. Tricia is in Huntsville.

Hi, Tricia. How are you? I'm good, Dave. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up? I was calling about my mom. I'm not really sure how to handle her situation.

She has taken FPU three times over the past few years, and she had to file for bankruptcy. And now she still doesn't know how to manage her money. Yes, she does. She has come to me. She does know how to manage her money. She just won't do it. Exactly. And so now she's going to have to have surgery on her wrist,

and she's coming to me because she's going to have to file FMLA, so she's going to have to be without some of her paycheck. And she's telling me that she can't manage it. She doesn't know what she's going to do. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. What's the next? I don't really know how to. What's the surgery on the wrist?

She has some kind of knot or something that's very painful, and so she's going to have to have it removed. Yeah. How long has it been there? Probably for about a year or so. Okay. All right. Well, I think this is her wake-up call.

Okay. I think it's time for her to stay at work long enough to build up enough pay in a savings account to be able to survive the time that she's off while she's on FMLA. Okay. I mean, what if you weren't there to buy this drunk a drink? They wouldn't be able to drink, right? If you weren't there to buy her drinks, she wouldn't be able to drink right if you weren't there to buy her her drinks she wouldn't be getting drunk right when you finance her misbehavior you ensure it is going to continue okay does that make sense i don't want her to die or something i'm not

trying to if this is things cancer isn't it's going to cause her hand to be cut off or something. But it sounds like this woman lives from one crisis to another and they're all self-created. Definitely. Yeah. Definitely. I thought I was reading that in the mail, but I wasn't sure. So I understand, and I'm not trying to be lacking in compassion. I want to be compassionate. But continuing to assist her in this behavior line that has been destructive to her is not compassionate. Okay.

So you just completely cut her off? Let me just tell you. I don't know. I mean, you've got to sit down and figure out how you're going to do this in layers. But maybe you assist her partially in return for her engaging in behaviors that she knows she's supposed to be doing okay but so far she has refused all help that has to do with her straightening up yeah i was a little kid my dad used to say straighten up and fly right you ever heard that i don't even know what that means i don't even know what that means i just knew we better straighten up i never

did fly so i don't know what he meant but i didn't fly right you know but you know i'm talking about straighten up behave you know yeah and you get and i did i mean because he he would have whooped us if we didn't do what he said so you know but um so so in this case we can't do that kind of stuff but but i i gotta just think that's what needs to happen here for her own good you're aggravated with her i am because you love her because you love her and you don't want to see her in pain and she refuses to do the things to cause the pain to go away that's right and you're more concerned about her behavior than she is so i just agree with that yes i think i just sit down tell her all that. Say, you know, I love you.

Because let me just tell you, when you do all this, she's going to get pissed off, isn't she? Mm-hmm, she is. Because she feels entitled to your money. Definitely. You know, that's weird. Henry Cloud calls that a boundary violation in the book Boundaries. How is she entitled to your money because she misbehaves? You're supposed to take care of your mama.

There's a cigarette hanging out of your lip and an iron lung in the closet. I mean, come on. Seriously. Take care of your mama. Oh, my gosh. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Thank you. Sandy's with us in Kansas City. Hi, Sandy. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. Boy, it's great to in Kansas City. Hi, Sandy. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show.

Hi, Dave. Boy, it's great to talk to you. You too. I have a retirement question for you. Okay. I have been a county public official for the last 15 years. It's an elected position. And this year I lost the election.

So that means at the end of the year I'm going to be without a job. Well, I found another job, so I'm going to start in January. Great. But my income will be cut in half. But I discovered that I could go ahead and retire from my county employment. One of my pensions offers me a lump sum, which would reduce my monthly income from them about $200. But that lump sum will pay off my house and my car. And so just trying to decide whether to go ahead and take the lump sum and then do the reduced every month. Just wanting to know your advice on which way to go.

Gotcha. Okay. Are you married? Yes, I am. Okay. And so with your new job, what will your household income be? It's going to drop it to probably between $75,000 and $80,000. Okay.

And how old are you guys? He is 64, and I am 58. Okay. Can you take this lump sum without a penalty? Yes. Without the 10% penalty? Yes. Okay.

Some of the nuances of the municipality things are different. That's why I'm asking, and I want you to be very sure you're not getting hit with that. Obviously, they're discounting it. And what is the amount of the lump sum? $33,000. Okay. All right. Well, if $33,000 created $2,400, that means you're making about 7% on your money.

Okay. 10% would be $3,300, that means you're making about 7% on your money. Okay. 10% would be $3,300 a year. Okay. And you're only getting $2,400. You see what we're looking at? Uh-huh. So you're making about 7% on your money. And with the pension, when you die, unless you've got a survivor on it, it dies with you.

And certainly it dies with him. Right. And we are going to do the survivor benefit. But either way, when both of you are gone, this money's gone. Right. Unless you take the lump sum. Okay. If you take the lump sum, obviously it's now your money, and if you pay it on your house,

the house is now yours, and so the money's not gone at death. Right. And your home mortgage interest rate is what uh it's like maybe three percent all right so you're making three percent by paying that off instead of seven and you're debt free and it makes things a lot better around there and you pay off the car and it's probably a higher percentage so um how much other nest egg do the two of you have other than this money? A little over $100,000. Okay.

You got some catching up to do there because we're using a bunch of it here. But this pays off your home and your car, and does that make you 100% debt-free? Yes, it does. Wow. Okay. So we're going to take those two payments that you don't have anymore, and we're going to jack up your retirement savings, okay? Okay. So we're going to take those two payments that you don't have anymore, and we're going to jack up your retirement savings, okay? Okay.

So that we end up with a lot more as a result than this $33,000. Okay. So not only do we have the benefit of the house being paid off, the car being paid off, but now you're going to end up wealthier at retirement because you're going to use that money that you used to pay in payments to build that nest egg faster. Okay. You see what I'm doing? Yes, I do. Only if you do all of that is this smart. Okay.

But if you do those two steps, one is you're debt-free, and then two, you use your debt freedom to take that money and grow more wealth for retirement, then you're in good shape. And yes, that is exactly what I would do. I would do that. Be very careful that you're not good shape and yes that is exactly what i would do um i would do that be very careful that you're not getting penalized if you need to wait just a little bit of time and not get penalized to 59 or something you might want to do that but uh it sounds like possibly you're under one of those municipality pensions which the rules are you know they're varied and so you can possibly pull that out i think you might be right, but just double-check that. Catherine's with us in Montgomery, Alabama.

Hi, Catherine. How are you? I'm good. How are you, Mr. Ramsey? Better than I deserve. What's up? Okay. I'm calling because, unfortunately, I think my husband and I have made a bad move as far as trying to lease a car.

Uh-oh. And I've looked up on KBB, and it looks like I may have a negative equity of approximately $10,000, and I'm trying to receive your advice to see if I should just roll it over onto a new used car, since I've been listening that you suggest used vehicles, or just go ahead and take out a personal loan instead and pay the difference okay and so what is the early buyout on the fleece have you gotten that number approximately 28 000 and where'd you get the number kbb no that's the value of the car. I got it from my USAA online payoff quote. Oh, okay. All right.

And so the USAA holds the fleece then? Correct. Okay. Got it. Okay. So it's $28,000, and KBB says the car is worth $18,000. Yes, that's correct. Okay.

All right. Wow. Yeah, you got burned, didn't you? Yes,'s correct. Okay. All right. Wow. Yeah, you got burned, didn't you? Yes, I did. Okay. And what's your household income? Combined, $86,000, my husband and I. Okay.

And what's your other vehicle worth? Maybe $2,500. It's an 08 Toyota Corolla that my husband drives, and he's thinking of taking out a new vehicle. I'm sorry? And he's thinking about taking out a new vehicle, my husband. Taking out a new vehicle. What's that mean?

He's talking about buying a new car? He's probably buying a new vehicle. And going into debt to buy a brand new car. Yes. Well, it would be kind of stupid for you to go to all this trouble and try to get out of a lease if you're going to turn around and go back into debt to buy a new car, kiddo. Correct. Now that we recently started listening to your audio Total Money Makeover.

Okay. Okay. And so is he still thinking about after listening to the total money makeover, or is this just you doing this? We've actually discussed what our best option would be. Yeah, it would not be a new vehicle. We haven't gone through with actually doing it. Yeah, it would not be a new vehicle, right?

Looking at price differences, he's considering possibly getting a new vehicle. Okay. Apparently, he didn't listen to the total money makeover. No, not yet. I've been explaining to him what I have been listening to. Okay, you've been trying to teach him what you learned from me.

Alright, that's what I'm... Yes. Here's what we need to do. We need to stop worrying about these cars right now until the two of you get on the same page. If the two of you can come into agreement and get him to listen to the audio book, you know, that you've got, and you can get him to listen to some of these podcasts, you can come into agreement about,

hey, new cars are the largest thing we buy that goes down in value. And so unless you have a net worth of over a million dollars, buying a brand new car is stupid. You cannot afford it. And so, no, he does not need to do that. And so the two of you need to get on the same page as to where we're going. Right now, you're heading in one direction away from a new car, a bad lease deal, and he's heading right back into another bad deal.

And so we've got to solve that before we start saying sell your car um once we've solved all of that then we can talk about yeah we might take out a ten thousand dollar loan and just get rid of your your lease and get you a little five thousand dollar car of some kind and get it paid off as quickly as possible um or you can decide to keep this lease through that you just did through the end of it. I don't know how long it is, but you can decide that. But you guys need to decide where you're going, because right now you're going in different directions. You call me up saying I want to get out of this bad decision, and he's getting ready to make another bad decision.

So you can't get out of a hole while somebody else is digging out the bottom. That doesn't work. So let's take the time for the two of you to get on the same page first and foremost. That's going to be the number one data point for you all winning. Car decisions are the secondary thing that will be the result of you all being on the same page. So, hey, thank you for the call. We appreciate you listening. Open phones at 888-825-5225.

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