The Ramsey Show - App - You Have To Get FIRED UP About Paying Off Your Debt! (Hour 2)

Episode Date: December 13, 2021

Debt, Education, Relationships, Home Buying, Investing, Retirement, Insurance, Budgeting As heard on this episode: Sign Up for a FREE trial of Ramsey+ TODAY: https://bit.ly/3rZTUAx Tools to get you started:  Debt Calculator: https://bit.ly/2Q64HME Insurance Coverage Checkup: https://bit.ly/3sXwUn5 Complete Guide to Budgeting: https://bit.ly/3utmVXi Check out more Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3fHhbVE

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. Merry Christmas, America. We're glad you're here. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Tis the season for outrageous generosity. If you're not in a position to be outrageously generous,

this is the place to help you get there. We want to get you out of debt and on a plan so you got some wiggle room, baby. And you know what you do when you got wiggle room? You wiggle. That's what you do when you got wiggle room you wiggle that's what you do life is good open phones at 888-825-5225 danielle starts off this hour in redding pennsylvania hi danielle how are you hi there i'm good good what's up? My question is that I've been working on my snowball, and I am co-signed on some of my son's student loans. Oh, no. And I know this was before I knew better.

So do I count that in my snowball? Yes, ma'am, because co-signing means if he doesn't pay you do yes that's what we call a contingent liability in accounting class and so um now how much student loan debt does said son have that i am assigned to our co-signed on. It's $38,000 co-signed with him, and then I do have my own parent plus loan that's $19,000. Okay, and what other debt do you have? A car. How much?

I think it's about $22,000 left on it. Mm-hmm. And then a credit card that I consolidated and I'm paying it, and it's about $12,000 right now. Mm-hmm. Okay. And what's your household income? $68,000. Okay.

All right. Hmm. And you're single. how old are you? 52 Okay Alright The car is pretty expensive It's not a complete deal breaker

But you got a lot of other stuff you're peddling through And You know, you got $60,000 Before we get to Junior's loans Yeah So how old is Junior? 25 And, you know, you got $60,000 before we get to Junior's loans. Yeah. So how old is Junior? 25. How's he doing financially?

Pretty well. Well, he does manage his money well, and he makes his payments every month um right now i would say he probably makes about 17 an hour and he just moved into his first apartment out of state actually so you know he's doing his own grown-up thing yeah okay well the problem is if he doesn't do it you get to because of the co-signing yeah so. So that's why I was asking about his health financially. Well, what I'm going to do is put those at the end of your deal, and while you're working through your debt snowball, you need to share your story with him pretty regularly.

Mm-hmm. So he starts to catch on that maybe he ought to do this. You don't need to call him up every day and tell him he needs to do it, but you need to tell him all about you. Mm-hmm. So he starts to catch on that maybe he ought to do this. You don't need to call him up every day and tell him he needs to do it, but you need to tell him all about you. Mm-hmm. So you become an inspiration for him. Okay. And then after doing that for a while, you can say stuff, drop in there too,

like, and I'm really worried about these student loans. They're bothering me. They're keeping me up at night. That co-signing, oh, I wish I hadn't done that. I just feel so bad about it. And let him feel bad that his mama feels bad and he gets his butt in gear and pays them off i'm not about i'm not above shaming him into it okay because it's for his own good by the way as soon as he gets his tail in gear and starts making more the degree he did and not even in in uh professional writing okay he he was working for a digital marketing company for a while doing the writing thing and a lot more than 17 an hour then well at the time this was right out of at as soon as he finished school, and so I think that it's a small business, and the guy wasn't quite that generous with his pay.

Well, a digital marketing writer would make a lot more than $17 an hour, though. So, I mean, in the real world, if he got out here and did something, what's he right now? What's he do now? He's working for FedEx. Okay, cool. All right. And he also has a online business that he does like flipping sneakers and things. He's always been a hustler. He definitely is making money and wanted to start an actual brick and mortar business doing that. But I have already,

you know, discussed with him, there's not a chance with all this student loan that you're going to be able to get, you know, something something so you really got to work on this but i talked to somebody the other day about a sneaker thing and the kid was making a bazillion dollars so he made like 60 000 bucks selling sneakers on ebay oh yeah he when he did live at home boxes were coming and going every day it was a serious amount of moving going on there all right okay i'm are you in financial peace university i'm not okay i want you to go through financial peace university i'm gonna give you a ramsey plus membership because i want i want our team to wrap our arms around you give you a big hug and help you walk through this um and i'm

also going to give you one to give to him as a gift. And you just call him up and you just say, hey, listen, I'm working this plan and I'm so excited about it. And I just want you to know it's there. And, you know, we could even do it together, virtually long distance or whatever. And you don't need to ever wag your finger at him and shame him. But I want him to hear how inspiring you are and how fired up you are. And I want him to see the same sets of information you're seeing on how to do this so that we can get him moving along. I think he might be making more money than you think he's making, and he needs to put it all on this stinking student loan

so that you don't have to deal with it ever. Like, I want it paid off. If he could pay it off this year, it would make me happy, and then you don't have to deal with it ever. Like, I want it paid off. If he could pay it off this year, it would make me happy. And then you don't have to worry about it. The faster he pays it off, the quicker it's off your books. Meanwhile, we're going to get you out of debt. So you hang on. I'm going to have Kelly pick up.

And Kelly, Ramsey Plus for Junior and for Mom. Yeah, one for each. And let's get them in there, and let's get them through Financial Peace University and learn how to do this stuff. Then they can get on here and do a mother-son debt-free screen. That would just be awesomeness. It would be about as good as it gets. So here's the thing.

If you think student loans are a good idea, here's what I want you to do through the holidays. A lot of you have things you're looking for something to watch during the holidays. Jump on Apple TV or Amazon Prime or on Google Play and watch Borrowed Future, our documentary. Your mind will come unglued from your head. You just blow your mind. This documentary on the evils of the student loan world and how out of control just about every segment of that world is, you'll never let a person you know get in student loan debt again if you see this.

Borrowed Future, full-length documentary by Ramsey Networks. We put it together here, and it's world-class. It's very well done. Several hundred thousand folks have already viewed it. We are stirring up a holy ruckus with this thing. Be sure you watch it through the holidays. Borrowed Future, again, Apple TV, Google Play, or Prime Video. You can catch it anywhere.

Amazon Prime, I mean. And there you go. Don't miss it. It's what she's talking about. This is the Ramsey Show. You've got a lot on your plate. A job, your home, your marriage, and your growing family. While you're enjoying the present, you can't help but think about your future and your finances. As you explore your options, consider Christian Healthcare Ministries, or CHM, for your health care. Their generous maternity program and budget

friendly monthly programs have been a blessing to members welcoming children into their families. Visit chministries.org slash budget to see if it's right for you. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a Ramsey Trusted Provider. Open phones this hour. This is the Ramsey Show. Thank you for joining us, America. Just like we were talking about her, the way to get to a debt-free scream, the way to get control of your money, the way to be in a place to be outrageously generous

and become a Baby Steps millionaire is Financial Peace University. You can get that at Ramsey Plus. Just go to RamseySolutions.com slash FPU, RamseySolutions.com slash FPU. Bill is with us. Bill is in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bill, how are you? Good. How are you?

Better than I deserve. What's up? Well, yeah, I'm thinking about taking my 401k and paying off my house. I owe a little over $150,000. I've been retired for 20 years from law enforcement. And anyway, I just want to get completely debt-free. I was wondering if that's a good idea or not. Well, it's always a great idea to be debt-free.

You called the debt-free show. I mean, that's what we do here. $150,000 gets you out. How old are you? I'm 65. Okay. How much is in your retirement account? Well, I have one. My wife has one. So mine is right around $249,000,

$250,000, right around there. Hers? Hers? Probably about $250, right around there. Mm-hmm. Hers? Hers, probably about $125. But my retirement that I get from the state is totally different. The 401K is totally different. I know. You got a full pension from them. Right.

And what's your income from the pension? Right around $45,000. A year? Yes. Okay. And y'all are living on that? Well, I work also, too. Oh, what do you make?

I work. I just started another job, but I was making like $75,000 a year. And then I just went down to about $ do something totally different okay so i make right around 100 000 a year okay uh okay so you got 100 uh two three hundred,000. Yeah, so if you pull out, like, to start with, you and your wife own both of those accounts. You realize that even though it's in her name. Right. If something happened, you've got each other as beneficiaries, and even if there was a divorce, you'd get half, she'd get half. So even though it's got one of his name on it or the other one.

So I'm looking at the total in retirement as being about $400,000. That sounds about right. Yes. And if you cash out $150,000 of that, it'll cost you $200,000. You'd have $200,000 left, plus you've got $100,000 of your income. Correct. Yeah, I'd do that. Okay.

And you don't have a house payment anymore. Correct, yeah, and i owe everything else too so oh so that's your only debt left is that what you're saying that's my only debt correct yeah yeah very good very good well done well done man yeah i'd do that i'd be out of debt as soon as i could thanks for calling in bill's with us in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hey, Bill, welcome to the Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. Thanks for taking my call. Sure.

What's up? I've got a whole life policy with a unique situation. I'm sorry. It was purchased in the early 90s, and I paid into it for four or five years, and then I found out there was a class action lawsuit against the company or deceptive sales practices. I joined the class action suit. And part of that settlement was that the settlement was that I no longer had to pay into it, but the face value was guaranteed until the day I die. And my question is, should I continue to hold it, or should I turn it in for the surrender value? The policy was $300,000 for face value, and the surrender value is about $80,000.

Well, here's what's going to happen. When you die, they're going to send your beneficiary 300 000 bucks right what happened to your 80 000 they keep it so you really have 220 000 worth of insurance okay that you're paying 80 000 that you're paying $80,000 for. That you're paying $80,000 for. Okay. Because if you took it out, you'd have $80,000, right? That's right.

And how old are you? I'm 55. Cool. Do you need insurance? Yeah, right now, yes. Okay. Are you healthy? I can take out. I'm healthy.

Overweight or smoke? I'm a little overweight, but I don't smoke. Okay. No hypertension that you know of? No. Okay. All right. I mean, you can buy $200,000 worth of 20-year level term for nothing compared to $80,000

worth of loss. My point is the free insurance is not really free, my brother. Okay. See what I'm saying? I do. You put $80,000 in your pocket today and buy term life insurance until you don't need it anymore for a couple of grand here or there and uh you know have seventy thousand dollars or seventy five or seventy eight thousand or whatever it is left plus whatever that investment actually yields

which it ain't yielding nothing in that whole life policy yeah i'm cashing it out after i get my term life in place okay great that's it that's what i was hoping you would say yeah i wouldn't pay eighty thousand bucks for a two hundred twenty,000 term policy, which is in effect what's happening here, boys and girls. Yeah, that's the problem. Open phones at 888-825-5225. You jump in, we'll talk about your life and your money. That was an interesting question. I've never had one where they had free insurance because of the lawsuit, but it's not free.

The whole life business is um they got sued for deceptive practices they all should be sued for deceptive practices the whole business is a deceptive practice cory's in cincinnati hi cory what's up hi uh hi dave how you doing better than i deserve how How can I help? Thanks. So my wife and I are trying to send our kids to private school. We've got a four-year-old, a two-year-old, and a two-month-old. And right now she's staying home with them, and I did the calculation for her to go back to work. When the two-month-old is in school, it costs us about $70,000 up to there for private school expenses up to that point where she can start working.

We break even on my salary, and we're debt-free. We've always been debt-free, but we're not saving. We break even. So she's got a $75,000 403B. We were wondering. I know you want us to roll that out because she's not teaching right now, but we're wondering if we roll that out, you know, the best way to use that for private school expenses. I think we'd probably have to take that tax kit.

You can't. You can't use it. Put in the 529 right away. You can't use it for private school expenses. Not even with the 10%? You're going to get a 10% penalty plus your tax rate. You're borrowing money at 30% to 40% interest to send your kids to private school. That's dumber than a rock.

You don't want to do that. But even with my retirement completely good, like I'm 30. You don't want to borrow money at 30% to 40% interest to send your kids to school, man. That's just dumb. That's just dumb. That's just dumb. Yeah, I know, but okay, but then what else is our option? Where I feel like that money is there. Would it be 30% to 40%?

Yeah, you're going to get hit 10% plus your tax bracket. Which right now with three kids at home i get money from the government it's crazy with tax write-offs uh you know i pay zero federal tax they actually write me a check on my 70k that i make let's just call it let's call it 20 you want you want to borrow money at 20 interest to send your kids to school no you don't i mean you figured out how you want to use this in your brain and there's no talking you out of it apparently but it's a dumb idea dude don't do it you guys have got to adjust your budget or you've got to adjust your expectations it may be with three kids and making 70 000 they're not in private school

ouch then we'll hear that because what happens when the 401k that you cashed out and took the hit on the chin is gone or the 403b then you're really going to be screwed because you got everybody's expectations set on private schools now and you can't afford them anymore because you don't make enough to send them to that school without your wife working outside the home so some choices are going to have to be made cashing this 403B out is not going to be the magical answer there's no magic dust in that deck nope, not going to happen this is the Ramsey Solutions on the debt-free stage, Joe and Ashley are with us.

Hey, guys. How are you? Hey, Dave. Hey. I love it. Way to go. I'm looking at your T-shirts, man. Mortgage-free by 33.

That's right. You paid off your house. We did. Y'all are weird people. Very. I love you. Amazing. I'm so proud of you.

Where do y'all live? Greenville, South Carolina. Oh, I love Greenville. It's a great town. Very cool. How much debt did you pay off total? It was $253,170. Got it. And how long did that take you? Took us five and a half years. All right. Way to go. And your range of income during that time?

We started at around $135,000. We jumped up to $200,000, and now we're back down to about $170,000. Cool. Good for you. Turn off the hard work once the debt's gone. That's exactly it. Love it. What do you all do for a living? I'm an engineer. I'm a project manager. All right.

Way to go, you guys. So what's this house worth? Probably about $300,000. You know, the market's going crazy. Isn't that fun? Yeah. You're 33, and you own a paid $400,000, $300,000 house. You're so whacked.

I love it. Way to go, you guys. Oh, man. What got all this started five years ago? So, go ahead. We were gifted an FPU class when we got engaged, and we let it sit for about two years. Finally decided on a whim, hey, we're going to do this. Probably not going to change very much, but we went ahead and did it, and we changed everything.

I did my first budget, and I said, we can't afford these whole life payments, and we changed everything i did my first budget and i said we can't afford these whole life payments and we just turned everything upside down oh you got rid of a whole life policy huh right there in the middle of it huh there you go and then game on knock out the debt and then we're looking up there's the mortgage and five and a half years later you're done yeah we actually had started we paid off student loans in a car loan about seventy nine thousand dollars worth uh saved up the emergency fund and the down payment. And then we sat down and we bought a house and everybody said, yay.

And I said, I now owe $174,000 and that's more than I owed before. So we said, it's time to start hammering on that mortgage. Yeah. Okay. And it took the next four years to do that. So the discomfort with debt continued. Yeah. And you said, oh, that's not okay.

I bought a house, but I bought a mortgage too. Exactly. Yeah. Way to go, you guys. I'm so proud of you very very well done who are your biggest cheerleaders outside the two of you uh so our families have been extremely supportive my sister is on her own debt-free journey we're hoping she'll be here in the next year or two and i want to give credit to my grandparents we lost them both in the past year and they left us a little bit of money that helped us to cross the finish line with the house. How much did they leave you?

$30,000. Wow. Yeah. So when that house gets paid off, Grandpa's just smiling from heaven. They would be thrilled. I love it. Yeah, that's who he was. Yeah.

I love it. Very cool. Well, very, very good, you guys. Okay, you've been through Financial Peace University. You paid off everything. You get the house. You got the emergency fund. So we're getting rid of the house.

And you get rid of the house debt. And you're on your way to being a Baby Steps millionaire. Tell folks what the secret is to wealth. The secret is to getting out of debt. You got to get on a budget. If you're married, you got to do it with your spouse. Get in control of your money. You got to be content and not max out your lifestyle.

Live well within your means. And you got to get passionate and fired up that you are buying options we're buying your freedom by paying down debt yeah so uh did you come i mean while you're working on the house i know you were gazelle intense on the first part but when you're in you get the house and then that five-year period or that four-year period or whatever was left on the house to knock it out um you did have you said content sometimes people say well those ramsey people they don't do anything they don't dave ramsey doesn't want me to have a life i want you to have a life you're

33 with a paid for house and almost me so that's pretty good life but uh but but during this time you weren't like living in a cave and collecting lint no no no we we ate we took a vacation or two we took a vacation okay all right what kind of vacations did you take while you were paying off the house some minor stuff more visiting family and friends trying to keep the cost down yeah and then after we paid off we went to arizona oh good yeah good nice cool trip good yeah good so what's the next big thing now that you're completely debt free what do you want to do now? Really? Whatever we want.

Yeah. Maybe more vacations and just more options with the future. Yeah. You'll be able to do most anything. Like I said, you're on your way to being Baby Steps Millionaires without a doubt mathematically. The contentment piece is a big deal. The Bible says godliness with contentment is a great gain. I'm convinced contentment might be the most powerful financial principle,

that if you can be content, you can do almost all the other financial stuff. You can invest and give and get out of debt, and that's a big deal. Did that change during this journey for you? I'd say, yeah. I mean, you kind of watch your friends and everybody rationalizing know, rationalizing to me why they need a better car. My car is 325,000 miles on it. You need a better car. It's in the parking lot. Hey, I love Carla.

Carla needs to be retired, dude. You paid off your house. I love Carla, but she served her purpose. It's time to go on to the next one. We'll get a nice one when she goes. Cool. All right. Well, that's the thing.

And, yeah, so they were making fun of that and for you it was just okay right it's great it's a great car and i appreciate what we have more i mean having a house that's all ours i look at it differently yeah you know what's weird all these years later i mean it's been decades for for sharon and i since we stood in that same place but uh today we've got you know nice cars and you know whatever we want like that kind of stuff it's kind of ridiculous our life is but the weird thing is is i don't i used to buy cars for what other people think now i buy cars because i like them yeah and that that really is that sounds subtle and people go oh well i bought it for no i really don't care what you think i really don't care what

you think i bought that i drive a Raptor because it's a bad truck. I love that Raptor, man. I love that truck. And so it's my daily driver. And I didn't buy it because you thought it was cool. I just like that truck. And it's different. So poor Carla, she's moving on now.

You need to buy a car not for somebody else but for you. You've earned it, brother. I'm so proud of y'all. Thank you. Very've earned it, brother. I'm so proud of y'all. Thank you. Very, very cool. How does it feel to have no payments? It feels really good. It's kind of surreal at first.

You just kind of make the last payment, and a couple weeks later, a letter shows up in the mail. You don't get the streamers, but I guess that's why we're here. There's a lot of breathing room in our budget. We're going to give you digital streamers. There we go. Get ready. Yeah, very cool. We're going to give you a digital streamer. There we go. Get ready. Yeah, very cool.

Well, good job, you guys. We got a copy of the Baby Steps Millionaires book for you. It comes out in January. But I know a guy. I'm going to get you an early release copy because I think you're right on your way. That's the next chapter in your story for sure. How ordinary people built extraordinary wealth and how you will, too. You can, too.

And a copy of Total Money Makeover to give away. Pay it forward to somebody because I know you've been talking about this stuff. Somebody needs that book. And you probably got somebody in mind you can give it to. So well done, you guys. Very well done. Very fun. Joe and Ashley Greenville, South Carolina.

They're heroes. 33 years old. They don't have a mortgage or anything. 100% debt-free. $253,000 paid off in five and a half years, making $135,000 to $200,000 to $170,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one.

We're debt-free! Yeah! Woo-hoo! This is how it's done, and girls yeah baby i love it you want to know how to get rich that's how you get rich they're on their way you want to be in a position you can help other people with money that's how you do it right there there's a lot of people out there there's a lot of get rich quick going on right now nothing down real estate's booming people are trying to get rich and nothing down real estate taking on a bunch of debt people are buying single stocks and you know they're out there

buying crypto and they're trying to get rich quick some way or another i got a big announcement are y'all ready we're going to do a huge event January the 13th. George Campbell, Rachel Cruz, and me building wealth in 2022. We're going to show you how to really build wealth. This is not pie in the sky. It's not microwave. It's crockpot. And if you ever had any food out of a microwave and you had food out of a crock pot,

you can tell me which tastes better and which will turn out most of the time. That microwave stuff's rubbery. Y'all know what I'm saying? It just, it's chewy. So we're going to do this January the 13th here in Nashville. We only have 1,000 tickets. Oh, wait, it was on the Internet overnight.

I'm sorry. Oh, no, they're almost gone. If you want to come, tickets are a whole $15. There's going to be about 1,000 folks here at the event, January the 13th here in Nashville. A one-night special event. Discover the money plan that will help you live the life you want. Go to ramseysolutions.com slash events. You can get your tickets right now.

This instant that you're hearing this is the first time that I've said this on the air publicly, and so this won't be, these tickets will be gone very quick. $15 tickets are like stocking stuffers, right? Thursday, January 13th, it's the Wealth Building event. Building wealth the real

way for 2022. January 13th here in Nashville. I'll see you there. Thank you. open phones this hour i'm dave ramsey your host thank you for joining us so there is quite a rage out there i i have noticed several times in my life a an ebb and flow of the get rich quick stuff uh the infomercials came on the scene in the 80s and midnight television was completely clouded with people sitting by the ocean selling you a nothing down real estate course get rich quick was everywhere there's been get rich quick it comes and goes depending on the the psychology of the culture what's going on with the culture other times we bear down and we say okay i'm

gonna hustle and grind and i'm gonna be the tortoise other times we want to be the hair and we want to just run run run run run run go in circles and chase our tail and and um right now there is a particular you know sometimes uh get rich in multi-level marketing right that was a big thing in the 90s and various times that has popped up and been a big deal and people have made some money in multi-level they made some money nothing down real estate they made some money in crypto but but in none of those cases is it normative meaning it is it a high probability process that you're going to end up wealthy but it's tapping into a spirit of I want to hit the easy button. And I got to tell you, I've been in this a long, long time now, and I really want you to be wealthy so that you can have a quality life

and so that you can help other people with the generosity. Yeah, I mean, wow, we just did. I mean, the money we spend around Ramsey on Christmas, just on blessing our team members and the Christmas party itself is unbelievable. And all of that happens because we have the money. And the charity acts and ministries we're able to support all through the community and things we were covering a bunch of them in our staff meeting this morning. It's just amazing.

Just amazing. And so it's something for you to think about, about what is smoke and mirrors, what sounds too good to be true because if something sounds too good to be true, it's because it is too good to be true, or what really works. And really, that's why i ended up doing this book baby steps millionaires i haven't done a book in eight years we promoted and launched books with our remsey personalities but i haven't done one since rachel and i did smart money smart kids together and it was a number one bestseller and so baby steps millionaires how ordinary people

built extraordinary wealth and how you can too is a full-on detailed plan and the math is there Baby Steps Millionaires, How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth and How You Can Too, is a full-on detailed plan, and the math is there. The research is there from the Ramsey Millionaire Study. The stories are there. And even all of the things that people tell you why you can't be wealthy in America are addressed. You can do this, and I can show you how. That's what this book is about. And you can get it for 20 bucks. And if you order it now, you'll get over $150 worth of bonus items,

the audio books, the e-books, including the Legacy Journey audio and e-book as well. You're going to get tickets to events. You're going to get all kinds of things when you buy this book now in advance as a pre-purchase it actually comes out january the 11th baby steps millionaires ramsey solutions.com just hit our store and you can pick it up there katie is with us katie's in grand rapids michigan hi katie how are you i'm good how are you done better than i deserve what's up um so my husband and I are 30 years old. We typically save between $20,000 and $30,000 a year. Way to go. And we've kind of just been, yeah, we've kind of just been holding on to that cash. We're in the middle of a fixer-upper.

We talk daily about starting a business, that type of thing. But we had purchased a house when we first got married that we had turned into a rental before the pandemic. And then with the increase in the real estate market, we over doubled our money by selling it. So we paid off the mortgage of the fixed upper house that we're living in now. Great. And we still have, yeah, we still have about a hundred thousand dollars in cash though which is an excellent problem to have yeah really but i know i'm not complaining but um now we don't really know what to do with it so you are 100 debt free absolutely you don't have a debt on

anything anywhere you don't want you own one piece of real estate that's a fixer-upper. Yep. What's it going to take to fix it? So we've done most of the work ourselves, and we're a good chunk of the way. Like, the main floor is all done, just, like, trim and stuff. At this point, it's mostly just cosmetic. We finally have a bathroom. What will it take to finish it? It will probably take about, I don't know, $10,000 to $15,000 of just random stuff. Trim is not going to be cheap, that type of thing.

Okay. All right. Here's the thing. I would use a little bit of your cash to speed up your process and get finished. Yeah. Living in a fixer-u a fixer upper is uh emotionally draining absolutely especially more for you than him because guys can live under a bridge i know but it's difficult to have christmas in a fixer upper i mean it's just the sawdust smell is

it's cute for a while but after a while it's just sawdust. Can you tell I've done this? So, yeah. So, one of the failures of my life and my marriage, but anyway, yeah. So, here's the thing. Go ahead and spend some money. You made a little money. You don't have to go crazy, but it's time to turn up the schedule with a little money. So, here's what I'm going to do. You told me 15.

I'm going to say set aside $25,000 aside 25 to 30 000 of this money over to the side and get your budget redone and finish this stinking house now now okay does that feel good yes good now then you got 70 000 left over to do some other stuff what's some other things you need to do are you needing to buy a car you need to do? Are you needing to buy a car? Are you needing to do something? Or are you just going to invest it and give it? We probably do need to buy at least one new vehicle. We've never purchased anything. Good.

It's time. Yeah, you guys have been living on the cheap for a long time. And that's a good thing because it got you where you are. And I'm not suggesting you act like you're spending like you're in Congress. But I am suggesting you've earned the right to drive a decent car and finish your stinking house. All right. So let's do, this is investing into the quality of your life. And the difference, you're driving a $3,000 car, right?

Yep. The difference in a $3,000 car and a $10,000 car is substantial. Okay. In terms of your quality of life, your dependability, your creature comforts, you're not going crazy. I didn't say go buy a $50,000 car. I said buy a $10,000 car. It's three times more car than you got now.

So what I want you to do is go through your life and say, all right, we've been living life at a 2 out of 10. And what I'm doing through this conversation together is I'm dialing it up to a 5 out of 10. Not a 7 out of 10 or a 9.9 out of 10. Okay? I'm just dialing your lifestyle up a little bit. And the difference of the quality of your life within six months of doing all these things, you're going to see substantially, oh, and here's's what's weird you're going to prosper even more financially

because when you're not working on a stinking house and a broken down car your brain is freed up to work on your life yeah and that's why we do all this stuff so i want you to enjoy some of this money with a little bit of turn up the lifestyle knob, a couple of clicks here on the cars, the eating out a little bit, maybe a trip is in the future. And then the rest of it we can invest and start thinking about buying another property that we pay cash for and we don't live in. And live in the nice one that you just got finished.

So I am not suggesting that you go crazy here. But I am suggesting that your frugality and your care and your cheapness has earned you the right and put you in a position to get the quality of your life increased. And the weird thing is, is that will actually cause you to prosper. So that's the thing. How many of us know that the when you're broke your life looks like a country song i mean i've been there it's like the worst pot i mean when when nothing is going right is when the old car won't start the stinking alternator's out the stupid battery's corroded.

This is how, I mean, but if you get just a little bit better car because you save up and you've gotten yourself out of debt and you're moving along like they've done, they've done such a good job. Aren't they an impressive people? That was impressive. And you move up to a decent car that when you put the car in the ignition or you push the little button, whatever you do nowadays, the thing just starts. It's magical.

Whoa, what's that noise? Yeah, it's fun. It gives you the quality of your life goes up. This is The Ramsey Show. Hey, it's Kelly, associate producer and phone screener for The Ramsey Show. If you would like to do your debt-free scream live on the show, make sure you visit theramseyshow.com and register. We would love for you to come to Nashville and tell Dave your story.