The Ramsey Show - App - You're Trying to Finagle The System! (Hour 3)

Episode Date: March 7, 2024

🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's The Ramsey Show, where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create amazing relationships. I am Rachel Cruz, hosting today with my good friend and bestselling author, Jade Warshaw. And we are answering your questions on life, on money, career, relationships. So give us a call and we can help you out at 888-825-5225. All right, up first we have Alex in Philadelphia. Hey, Alex, welcome to the show. Thank you very much. How are you? We are doing well. How can we help?

I'm just going to see, I'm on baby step number two, and I'm checking about pausing all investing. So I have the opportunity to invest after taxk on a Friday and get the company match. And then on a Monday, pull out my contribution to put towards my debt. And I would still gain the company match. And even at the end of the year, if I paid the 10% penalty, because I'm only 37, I'd still profit about $2,700. So I'm just trying to see if that works or not. You know, I appreciate the game. Yeah, I mean, he's a smarty pants.

You're smarty pants, Alex. You're trying to you're trying to fornagle the system. This is good. So you've got a Roth 401k. That's a really cool benefit. Plus, you've got the match on it, which is another great benefit. And it sounds like you're just trying to take advantage of it and say, well, at least I can have some money instead of no money. How much debt do you have? Let's see if it's all, what's making it all worth it, right?

I started the program in January. I was a little over $100,000. I paid off $16,178 so far this year. I'm going to have about $87,300 left. Okay, good for you. How much do you make a year? So it's about $140,000. Oh, good. So this is great. You're making headway. You've got a really good shovel. I personally would not do this for many reasons. A, you are. You're having to come back and you're making headway you've got a really good shovel i personally would not do this um for many reasons okay a you're you are you're having to come back and you're having to pay the 10 penalty and at the end of the day you're not accomplishing um fully what you think you're accomplishing because you're having to go back and pay the penalty in 10 so you're like i'm putting this money here i'm going to come back in and grab it back out, but I'm still having to pay a fee on that money.

And for us, the whole purpose is so that you have as much of your income at your disposal to put towards your debt. That's the whole purpose of this. And it's temporary. Like it's not going to happen forever. And I get it. Like a match is free money that's on the table

and no one wants to give that up, Rachel. But it's part of the stupid tax that you pay for getting into debt. Like part of the stupid tax is I have to forego this really cool opportunity in order to clean up my mess. And the silver lining of that is it's temporary. It's not forever. And it should motivate you to move faster to get this debt paid off, which it sounds like you are going really quickly. And what you've said to Jade before, that makes sense, is that on both ends, you're you're you can't double dip in the sense that like, yeah, you may be losing out on that match, but you're also losing out, keeping debt around longer and paying interest and all of that. Right. So there's

you're kind of it's both ends of it, if you will. So but yeah, by pausing it, I know I would because I think the yeah i would just pause it alex and again 2700 bucks i mean that's a yeah that's a good amount of money but it's not going to change your world i think alex is going to change this world not this 2700 but i appreciate kind of gaming the system and and if you want to do it that that's your call you're you're a grown man you can but i think I think I think just focus intensity just doing it all and saying hey there's not shortcuts like I'm going to figure this out we're going to do this and pay off this debt and you've already gained so much traction I mean like you've done a really

great job so so I probably I I wouldn't I wouldn't do I wouldn't do the gaming the system plan no I would not although I think that's the first call like that I've I don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing that so I'm just opting in to pay the penalty and just to keep going listen desperate desperate times call for desperate measures it makes you think in a completely different way yes for sure all right up next we have Tiffany in Atlanta hey Tiffany welcome to the show oh my gosh hi Rachel hi Jade hello listen y'all. Oh, thank you. Thanks for calling. How can we help? So I have a question about the every dollar budget. I just wanted to know how is it too soon? How soon is it to start the budget for the next month?

To plan it out, just to have it down visually? Yeah. I mean. I do it. Whenever, yeah. I mean, I think you may end up changing it the closer you get to that month because other things may pop up that you didn't realize or something cancels and you take it out of the budget.

So there may be some changing, but I think you could go ahead and plan out. I mean, I think as early as you want. Okay. I just didn't know if it would, you know mess up the next month i just didn't want anything to mess up or i just didn't yeah no yeah it won't um because with every dollar two it duplicates the previous month so just copies and pastes basically into the next month and then you go in and change so for a lot of it tiffany you'll see so many categories are very consistent you know we keep pretty much food pretty consistent, you know, gas for your cars, pretty consistent bills,

cable. So a lot of them you probably won't change. But when you get, or at least for us, how we do it at the bottom of our budget is our line items that are the random ones throughout the month. And so, yeah, I mean, I think if you want to plan and every dollar you can plan out far in advance. So if you said, yeah, we have a big thing coming up in may and i want to go ahead and make the budget so i need to know how much i need to be making for may because this big expense is hitting then yeah go ahead and go ahead and do it i would just caution you that you may want to update it the closer you get to that month or double check and make sure that you're going into the month with numbers that are more realistic than if you had planned it earlier if that makes makes sense. Oh, okay. Yes. Yes. Thank you so much.

Yeah, absolutely. I'm so glad you're budgeting, Tiffany. I think that's awesome because budgeting, you guys, it is, we don't go into major detail. I feel like a lot on the show about budgeting, but it is one of the foundational principles that comes with getting out of debt, getting your emergency fund started. I mean, all of it, It really comes down to this. And it's such a peace of mind when you have it. I'm like, we love it. I really do. As a spender. I would go off the rails without a budget.

Yes. Easily. It just helps me. Like, I don't know. We're planning for spring break coming up. Our kids will be out of school. Yeah. And I was like, all right, I'm going to get an Amazon swimsuit.

And I went to the clothing category. I was like, it feels great. It is. I'm going to went to the clothing category I was like it feels great I'm like I'm gonna go spend and and buy something new and it's there it's allocated I I have my limits which I don't always like but there is a limit and but other than that it's just I don't know it really does it keeps you with peace of mind and control so every year Sam and I will sit down in January and we'll plan every budget for the year just to see. Oh, well, it's like a planning thing and it's like a two, three hour event. And we go through the whole year just to get a picture, like a snapshot. And we dream a little bit. We talk about what we want to do.

We talk about. And then for me, it's great because there's kind of just a template there. You know, it's going to change. But then like going into what next, what month is next? We just got to March. So when I set up March's budget, it was basically already there. And I got to kind of see, okay, what's changed since we last talked. And we both can look at it and see. And it's just, I don't know. It's a great planning.

Yes. You know, we do something similar. It's not a monthly thing we do at the beginning of the year, but we do look out and forecast. Okay, we do something similar. It's not a monthly thing we do at the beginning of the year, but we do look out and forecast. Okay, we're doing this. The kids will probably be in like four different camps in the summer. So we're going to put some chunk of money to the side for camps. We're going to do this for vacations, for Christmas.

Like we kind of plan out in like categories what we think we're going to spend throughout the year. And it is, it's so helpful when you're down to those decision-making. So Tiffany, we're proud of you for budgeting. Good for you, girl. This is The Ramsey Show. All right, you guys, a lot of you have questions when it comes to taxes and we get it. I mean, it's confusing. There's so many terms, so many ways to do it, it feels like, and it's a lot. But we want to help you guys get a better handle on them. So let's unpack a question from one of our listeners. I'm a new business owner. What are the most important things that I needed to do to make

bookkeeping for my business easier? That's good. Great question. Well, first and foremost, congratulations. Start a new business. We love some entrepreneurs and small businesses and starting one. So number one, if you're not already, keep a personal and business expenses, keep them separate. And we actually took a call earlier in the show where someone had them combined and it gets really hard from an accounting purpose. So keep those two things separate. Also create a regular bookkeeping routines that you're on top of tracking your expenses, your receipts, your invoices, all of that. And then lastly, try to automate any processes with accounting software or by working with

a tax professional. So it can really pay to have a CPA in your corner because they will review all of your books to help reduce risk, eliminate errors, and maximize your tax deductions, which is really big for small businesses. So again, you want to focus on growing your business and then let the people who know what they're doing in these areas, let them do their work.

So a Ramsey trusted tax pro really can help. And our team has vetted this group of people. So they really are top notch. So head to ramseysolutions.com slash tax pro to get started. That's ramseysolutions.com slash taxpro to get started. That's ramseysolutions.com slash taxpro. All right, up next we have Christine in Salt Lake City. Hey, Christine, welcome to the show. Oh, thank you.

I'm so excited to be talking to you. We're so glad you called. How can we help? Thanks. We have a 21-year-old son, and we've encouraged him to live with us so that he could save money. But recently, my son has been watching lots and lots of these Ramsey videos where it says that's really going to stunt his growth emotionally. So I'm wondering what's the best course to take where we should encourage him to buy a house because

i've also been hearing that there's never been a worse time to buy a house or if we should just help him like find a place to rent yeah so he's 21 situation yeah tell me did he um did he go to school is he still in college like what where is he at on just kind of his life process? He didn't go to college. He just went out and he went to a technical college to recite in IT. And he has a great job. He's making about $64,000. Good for him.

I know. So he's really responsible. I mean, we've never had a problem having him here because he's working hard. He has about $46,000 saved. Nice. My gosh. Yeah. And so I told him, this is kind of a funny part of his story, but I told him, Josh, I'm so proud of you because you get this great job.

He didn't run out and buy a fancy car. He was driving the car that he had just you know driven through high school and then just that very week someone plowed into it and totaled it and drove off but he ended up he just you know paid six thousand dollars got himself a new car so he's really responsible sure that. So yeah, it hasn't been a problem. And he's great and nice. Yep. So my take on this always is it's not a black or white issue. Okay. It's definitely not one of these things. It's like, oh my gosh, he has to be out next week, or you've damaged him for life or something, right? It is not. It's not urgent. You're okay.

You're a great mom. He's obviously a really smart guy. I mean, like two years in technical school and then you're making 64 grand coming. I mean, like he's just- Wow. Right. I mean, like really, I mean, you guys have done a fantastic job.

So I think where our caution always is, and not just us, but I think, you know, other people in the space too would say that there's just this element of growing up that happens when you are out on your own and you're forced to make decisions and keep a level of responsibility that you just don't have to have when you're living with mom and dad. And so we don't want him in this situation forever, ever, amen. But, you know, they're like my sister, she had a transitional period after college for about

six months. She moved back home and then moved into an apartment you know like i mean like there's there there's a time and a place right this ebbs and flows it's not a it's not a black or white issue but the thing is is that i i would want there to be a plan at least i think the indefinite idea is really tough where it's just like oh yeah this is just what we're doing but i think for him to say yeah okay i think by October, right? Let me get through the summer. And by October, my plan is to be able to rent somewhere, rent for a bit.

He doesn't need to run in and buy a house right now. I don't think that's wise right now. I think he needs to be out on his own for a little bit. But I think having a date, Christine, for both of you guys would be wise because I don't think staying there forever and ever is a smart plan. And so it can end up being that you could look up and it's been two years and it's been the same. So I think just having a date out there that you both agree on. And again, nothing's on fire, but I would have a date out there to say we're shooting for this.

And this is when I'm going to move out because he can. I he has 46,000 dollars in the bank he doesn't have any he could move out next month that's from okay Jane's more on that side I'm like oh you can keep him till October yeah I mean my thought is like however long it takes him to find the right place like if it you know he doesn't have to find move out of the first place he sees but if it takes him a couple months I think that's good. Maybe roommates, if not, you know, or maybe he's like, forget roommates. I got money. I'm going to get my own spot.

That's good. Yeah. Yeah. I just. Yeah. That's way to go, mom and dad. That's great. Yes.

Well done. Well done. Oh, yeah. But you would tell him to rent at this point rather than trying to jump in when things are so crazy. Yes, I would. And and again, he can look at some of his goals. to rent at this point rather than trying to jump in when things are so crazy? Yes, I would. And again, he can look at some of his goals. And I think a goal of owning a home eventually is great.

And really our perspective for the most part with the housing market is that when you're buying a home, making sure that you're in the right position, not that the market is in the right position, right? So I really think if he has a great down payment for a house that he can afford within 25% of his income, he has at least 5% down, he's going to be in the area for the foreseeable future, and he wants to get in, then yes, he can. But being 21, his first step really out on his own, I would rent for a year or two. You know, even stuff with, I don't know know the election's coming up this year i don't know there is a part of me that i'm like there's no rush in this um but he has a great cash position

to put a down payment on a great condo or a townhome you know he's a single guy like he he could get into something sooner than later which is great but for the first year or two i think renting an apartment i mean he didn't need he didn't need a lot of space yeah because when you when you live for by yourself on the for the first time there is that feeling of man okay like you're getting used to that and I do think that rushing into home ownership I mean there's a layer of stress and responsibility that it's like oh this is doubling down on that yeah like this is real and so it'd be nice to like you said have a year or two to kind of get your footing under you and then enter into that yep um ease Um, ease in. All right. Up next we got Michelle in Atlanta. Hey, Michelle,

welcome to the show. Hey, how are you guys doing? Well, how can we help? Um, I'm 59 years old, $335,000 in debt. Um, half of that is, is my home and the other half is mostly student loans and a couple of consumer debts. I am in a situation where I'm wondering, I think my house has like 230,000 in equity and I'm wondering if I should sell my home, which by the way, my monthly mortgage is only $1,069. Should I sell, try to get out of these student loans that seem to never disappear? What were they from, Michelle? Are they from your education or a kid's?

A little bit of both. I have four sons that I helped through college as well as my college education. Okay. How much are the student loans? The student loans in total are $100,028. Okay, $128,000. And then you've got other consumer debt?

Yes. I unfortunately two months ago had to buy a pre-owned used car, but it wasn't $5,000. It was $37,000 before that. I know. You know what, Michelle? We're up against a hard break. I'm going to keep you on the line, though, and we'll come back to you if that's okay after this break.

So hold on. Don't hang up, Michelle, the line, though, and we'll come back to you, if that's okay, after this break. So hold on. Don't hang up, Michelle, because there's some numbers here we want to unpack and kind of figure out this puzzle for you and hopefully give you some clarity and a plan. So, Michelle, stay on the line. We'll be back with you. This is The Ramsey Show.

Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I am Rachel Cruz hosting today with my good friend and best-selling author, Jade Warshaw. And we are answering your questions. 888-825-5225. So give us a call. All right. We have Michelle on the line from the segment before. We held her over because she's in a situation that

we kind of wanted to walk through more with her numbers. So what we learned from her is she's about $330,000 in debt. About $128,000 of that is student loans. $37,000 of that is credit cards or a car loan. And then the rest, a little bit more consumer debt, and then the rest is her mortgage. So, Michelle, was that a fair recap, would you say? That is right on point. Okay, perfect. So what's the other consumer debt you mentioned?

So I had a medical scare last year, and so I have like $23,000 in medical expenses. Wow, okay. And a $10,000 personal loan that I had before everything happened. Okay. What do you bring in every month in income? Every month I bring in $5,960. Okay. And that's after 401k and medical and everything that comes out of my check. How much are you putting into 401k every month?

Five percent or every check five percent which is the max match amount for my company. What's the dollar amount, just so I don't have to do that math? So it's like $270 every paycheck. Oh, every paycheck. Okay, great. Yeah. Okay. I think that your initial question is, should you sell your house to access the equity,

which is around, you think you'd pocket 230 in equity? Is that what you think if you were to sell this house? I think I would pocket anywhere between 200 and 230 after all of the fees. Michelle, what do you have in retirement? Less than a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Okay. And tell us more about this house. Like, is it the right size for you? Is it where you ultimately want to end up? Tell us more. Well, it's the house my children grew up in. It's about 23 years old. I've kept it in really, really good shape.

And my mortgage payments are like $1,069. You can't find rent without right here in Atlanta. Yeah, we hear you, totally. So I'm just kind of between a rock and a hard place. And also thinking about retirement, which hopefully will be soon. I think you have to look at this. I think you have to look at this on a 10-year play. So you're 59. There is a world that if you get crazy about this with your income, $6,500, because I'm going to pause investing. And I know that feels so counterintuitive for you right now. But if you

were to pause investing, that'd give you another $540. That gives you $6,500 a month. It's just you, right? Okay. So you want an extremely tight budget. You're only paying $1,000 a month in mortgage payments. Like I, you know, I'm looking for extra work that you can pick up for yourself. And I'm going to try to knock this out the average person is out of debt in two years or less and that's what I want to leave you with and with the amount of debt you have it's a lot you know you're uh 50 60 70 you're you're you're knocking on the door of two hundred thousand dollars of debt consumer debt but I think that there is a possibility here um because I agree with you to sell this house.

Yes, you'd be out of debt. But my guess is you'd want to go right back into debt by getting another property. Exactly. And then you're starting from scratch. And so for me, I'd probably walk this out and see if I can get this debt cleaned up and see if I can keep going and get this house paid off on down the line. Even the car, Michelle, it's $37,000. How much could you sell it for today? Well, I'm glad you asked that question. Last Friday, I went and a dealer offered me $30,000. So I would be upside down still $7,000. Have you Kelly Blue booked it? Because sometimes dealerships will lowball you because they want to make they want to make a margin of spread on it when they resell it actually one dealership offered me twenty two thousand then I

went to another recommended dealership that just makes good offers and they were right at thirty thousand which is a lot more than the previous one sure um i haven't looked at the blue book uh i thought about doing it you know a private sale but i know there's a lot of work around test driving and again me being alone i don't i don't know if i would want to okay do that yeah i would just run some numbers i would just look it up on kelly blue book because it may come because if it comes out to even 33 000 right that's that's a i mean three that's three thousand bucks so you don't have to pay which is awesome so so i would look at that but i probably would sell this car um just okay just overall the situation you're in and your income um it's bumping up to that half half of

your annual income is in this car and i and i don't like that. So you may have to take out if you can get it. Do you have any money saved that's liquid cash, not retirement? I have, well, of course I have my starter emergency fund, and I do have vested stock that will be maturing between the next month and this December. what's it worth what's it worth um well today's market is said it's worth about 63 000 hey yeah we got the golden tickets oh my gosh michelle look at that okay wow okay i'm like absolutely I mean if you were to sell this car Michelle and get a crappy five thousand dollar car yes uh you know you'll be that'll be seven

thousand because you'll have a little you're underwater a little bit you'll need some cash to um to buy something but seriously Michelle I'm like get a I'm like, get a car that you get a deal on and it's great. Because if you knock that out and then this stock matures, I'm like, oh my gosh, that knocks out medical, that knocks out the personal.

Yes. Oh my gosh. And then you have, how much is that left? About 20K left, I think, in that. Which can go... Now you've got 108 on the student loans and that's it yes that's right that's right um okay so when i sell the stock um because like i said between

you know the end of this month and the end of the year total will be 68 000 should i initially knock out the some of the consumer debt and then target the student loans? Yes, exactly. So you'll want to pay off the smallest debt first. So knock out that personal loan of 10K and then knock out your medical debt. And even that, Michelle, is going to feel so great. I'm like, just even getting that out is going to be awesome. And then, yeah, and then throw the rest at your student loans. And by the time you do all that, you've gotten your consumer debt from over $200,000 to right around $100,000. Yeah. And if you can find $4,500 a month to put towards that, you're out of debt in two years.

Oh, wow. And I know you can find that. Yeah. I'm sure I can. Yes, Michelle. I was driving my 2007 Camry forever and someone hit me and totaled it. So that's why I'm in this predicament of this car. I'm so sorry.

I want to sell and try to find something else. I really would because your peace of mind and getting this traction, Michelle, is so key. And I hate to put ages on it, but especially at your age, you're 59, you're 59. And you want to feel some really fast traction and a car is not worth this level of stress. The freedom is going to feel so much better. I mean,

a great Honda civic that's 20 years old. Give it to me all day. Right. I'm like, you will feel better in that. So let's keep playing it out too. So you, you pay off the 108 in two years. And then by then you've got better in that. So let's keep playing it out, too. So you pay off the one hundred and eight in two years.

And then by then you've got your mortgage, which you owe what right now you owe one hundred and sixty seven on. But after two years, it'll be, you know, a good amount less. And then, you know, you will have felt, hey, I paid off one hundred and eight thousand in two years. I can pay off one hundred and fifty seven thousand in two and a half or three years. Three years. Right? Do you see what I'm saying? In five years, Michelle, you could be completely...

Now, it's going to be a lot of hard work. It's going to take a lot of discipline. And with that stock, I want you to talk to a SmartVestor Pro because there's going to be some tax implications. We want to make sure that you do everything correctly in that regard. So Christian's going to pick up. He's going to help you get connected to a SmartVestor Pro. And then we're also going to give you Every Dollar Premium and Financial Peace University

Which is our crash course when it comes to money It's nine lessons It teaches you everything And Michelle, you are at such a great point right now Golly, there's so much hope I'm so thankful you have this company stock It's really going to be a gift to you Really going to be a gift to you

So thanks for calling This is The Ramsey Show. Our scripture of the day comes from Lamentations 3, 22, 23. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Serena Williams says, I really think a champion is defined not by their wins, but how they can recover when they fall. Good one. I always love when there's quotes like that from people that win all the time. I know, right? I'm like, Serena, you're a really great tennis player, though. Can we just throw it out there but it is true it is true how you recover when you fall love it all right up next we have joseph in atlanta hey joseph welcome to the show

hey thank you for taking my call absolutely how can we help so i have a question about um i guess the order of debt or how i should go about um paying off some of the debt my wife um has a house with a car it's not much but on my side i have about fourteen thousand dollars of credit card debt that's in the red like they're you know uh in collections and i have like another twenty four thousand from chase that's a charge off and i000 from Chase that's a charge off. And I was just told it's a charge off, but I don't exactly know what that means. So I was just kind of wondering, should we focus on paying off my wife's debt and the vehicle and all of that? Or like, how should I go about it? So you said the house is in your wife's name or does she have a separate property that she brought into the marriage?

No, it's in her name okay uh yeah and then she's got a car um what's what's the debt on the car it's like 34,000 okay and so all that's it it's just the car the credit card and the chase charge off right yeah um i definitely would start with whatever is late or in collections just to get it current to be the youngest the youngest listen to which happens the youngest debt which happens to be the smallest debts too which is which is great how much do you guys make a year together um without my side business it's around like right under 90k

90k and how much do you bring in with the side business uh after like expenses and everything like on a on a good year it could be 50 on a bad like bad year like this year like 30 okay that's pretty good yeah excellent okay so y'all are it's it's 120 on the low ends but could go up to 150 or more yep okay great that's awesome what about your wife does she work yes she works from home okay uh she she does health care and do you guys have any savings uh yeah we have um a thousand on the side and then she has another 10 on just for herself because she likes to keep it i guess just in case

listen i what i peeped it out earlier it sounded like there was a lot of separation there, but now here it is again. Yeah, I don't like some of the vocabulary I'm hearing, Joseph. Well, I mean, I don't mind. It's not like, you know, I have access to it, but I like to have her safe, keep in mind or whatever. She's like, she likes to keep it. Well, I mean, I'll just be honest with you. You know, here, the way we view money is when it's

a married couple we view it as one and if it's truly if there's ten thousand dollars it should be our money not yours or mine because when it comes down to it you together have a life and you together have debt and man oh man that ten thousand dollars sure would come in handy right now to pay off a credit card debt that is both of your debt. And so there's a piece to this that, you know. It's a different mind. Yeah, it's a total different mindset shift with this because if you guys have functioned so long,

she does probably feel protective and has this ownership over this 10 grand. But what if you guys sat down together and didn't have names on anything and all of that, and you just put everything in a pile, if you will. And one night you just went down the list and said, okay, here's what all we have. Here's our savings, all of it. And you kind of just, you changed your mindset just for a night and just said, okay, what if all of this was ours? Our income is all together. Everything is together. How fast could we get this paid off?

How fast could we build back the emergency fund? How fast could we is together. How fast could we get this paid off? How fast could we build back the emergency fund? How fast could we be investing? How fast could we get to a million dollar net worth? How fast and start just dreaming big, Joseph, like with you guys together as one, with one unit in one mindset doing it. And again, it's a different exercise with a mindset shift because you have been, well, this is mine over here. I don't want her money to have to pay off my debt. It's this tit for tat kind of situation. And in a marriage, y'all are one. You are all one. And the more you

can be unified, Joseph, I'm telling you, we talked to so many couples. If you're in a somewhat of a healthy relationship, we've taken some calls here that we're not good. But if you're in a somewhat of a healthy relationship we've taken some calls here that we're not good um but if you guys have that mutual respect you love each other you're in this together there is something that deepens in the intimacy of your marriage when you truly go all in when you truly say we are one we're going to do this life together and so that would be my my encouragement for you joseph is to is for you guys to have that conversation. And I would start with keeping your $1,000 emergency fund. You got $10,000.

I would throw it at the credit card debt. That gets it down to $4,000 that's in collections. And if it's in collections, you may even be able to negotiate, Joseph. I would call the collections company and ask them, tell them, I got $10,000. Yes. My wife's money. No, I'm just kidding. I have 10 grand.

Yes. Will you settle? Will you settle this? Will you settle this debt? Right? I mean, in collections, they may be able to do that. And if they do, number one, do not give them access to your checking account for them to get it themselves.

You send them a cashier's check, number one. Number two, get it in writing. Have them email you. But I would try to negotiate the ones in collections because those are more easier to negotiate. And then you guys start working this plan and start working to pay this off. And I mean, yeah, you got 58 grand left after that $14,000 credit card. And you guys could have this knocked out in 18 months. I do got a quick question.

What do I do about the charge off thing? Because it's like one of them six years. I'm sorry, I'm a ghost i've been i've been they can't find me i'm the gingerbread man like what what does that mean yeah a little bit i mean they they they they you know they'll send sheriffs to the house looking for me for the oh whatever listen listen pay pay it joseph you got you got to pay your bills i'll pay it you can't like escape the law he said what does that mean um it's well it's destroying your credit i'll tell you that not that you care much about the credit but at the end of the day if it's money that you owe you

need to pay them it's it's like beyond collections yeah i mean you're you're on the map you freaking got you got mastercard you got capital one or whoever you're with i mean you're you're on the map you freaking got you got mastercard you got capital one or whoever you're with i mean like yeah they're you can't yeah you yeah you can't you we're not gonna we're not gonna uh sidestep uh the situation we are gonna tackle it head on joseph uh but my man said he's the gingerbread man i've not heard that that's hilarious pay your debts but you can negotiate you can negotiate oh man jay that is uh yeah look rachel i gotta go back we gotta go briefly back to this my money his money thing because it's just for me it's a level of trust like there's something there at the when you whittle it down to all of its, you know,

to its lowest common denominator, it's, it's a trust thing. It's, I, I trust you with these areas, but I don't trust you with that. And it's kind of, it's a weird way of thinking because it's, it's not balanced, right? Like if you want a commitment, I want a 100% commitment from my husband. I can't say I'm committed to you in every way but leave this 10% there that I'm not committed and that's my finances because here's the thing listen you put that in any other context if my husband says Jade I'm committed to you Monday through Saturday but you know Sunday that's my day like that's for me I'm like what like yeah I will come for you you'll be on the moon but and it's the same thing with your money. You can't say I'm committed to you and all these other areas, but my money, like that's my

thing. Right. Commitment is. And what's hard is money has become such a security place for people. It feels like, oh my gosh, it's, if something happens, this is my escape out. Right. And again, if you, the asterisk always is you guys, if you are in a situation where again, Jade, I feel like we've taken a few of these together hosting. Like, yeah, there are times to protect yourself. If there is abuse, if there is addiction, you have the, what is it? The smart? Keep your money safe.

The safe, yeah. So you seek counsel. That's the S. Seek counsel if there's any type of addiction, abuse. That's the A. Financial infidelity, financial abuse. That's the F. And then with the counselor, you evaluate your options.

That's the E. And for a lot of people, it is, you need to remove yourself from the situation. It's not to say that you're getting divorced. It's not to say that it's over, but you're removing yourself and getting yourself and your family in a safe position. If that's it.

But then for all of you other couples out there, I'm telling you, when you see yourself as one, there is a stamp of approval or something that happens when you say, we're combining it. We're combining our lives. And we see people win faster. Your net worth goes up when you say, this is all of us, all of our income. Well, thanks to all the guys in the booth for a great show.

Jade, thank you as always. And thank you, America. And remember to take control of your money and create a life you love. you