The Ramsey Show - Don't Take Financial Advice From Broke People

Episode Date: November 15, 2024

📈 Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a Free Personalized Plan 📱Watch the full episode for free in the Ramsey Network app. Ken Coleman & George Kamel answer your questions and discuss: My ex-boyfriend is on the deed to my house. My family doesn't want me to pay off my debt I was scammed by a fraudulent publisher I landed my dream job but I'm bad with money My husband won't stick with a budget Support Our Sponsors: 🌱 Get 10% off your first month of BetterHelp 🏥 Learn more about Christian Healthcare Ministries 🏡 Get started today with Churchill Mortgage 🔒 Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe 🏦 Go to FAIRWINDS Credit Union for an exclusive account bundle! 🥗 Save 15% on your first Field of Greens order with code RAMSEY 💤 Visit Helix Sleep for special offers! 💻 Visit NetSuite today to learn more 🗂️ Use promo code RAMSEY for18% off at The Nokbox 🏛 Get started with YRefy or call 844-2-RAMSEY 🔐 Visit Zander Insurance for your free instant quote today! Next Steps 📞 Have a question for the show? Call 888-825-5225 Weekdays from 2-5pm ET or click here! 💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app! 🎄 You could win $5,000 in the Ramsey Christmas Cash Giveaway! Enter today. 🏠 Find a Ramsey Trusted Real Estate Agent 🎁 50 days of Christmas deals are here! Get 30% off meaningful gifts. 🛳️ Live Like No One Else Cruise Listen to more from Ramsey Network 🎙️ The Ramsey Show   🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 🍸 Smart Money Happy Hour 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 💰 George Kamel 💼 The Ken Coleman Show 📈 EntreLeadership Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy

This is the Ramsey Show where we help you win in your life. We want you to win with your money. We want you to win in your work. We want you to win in your work. We want you to win with your relationships. 888-825-5225 is the phone number to jump in. We'd love to coach you up. Alongside George Campbell, I'm Ken Coleman. And if you've got questions about your money, we'd love those.

If you've got questions about your work, how about the income? I want more income. I want to start something. Should I do it? George and I will take those questions as well as we team up. So I need to point out George is playing hurt today. I'm so proud of him. He's huffed. So brave.

He's not feeling well. He's not under the weather, but you're flirting with it. I just think I didn't play in the dirt enough as a kid. Yeah. So you can look at me and guess that. Yeah, but you're playing hurt. I'm proud of you. We're going to make it. He's got the sinus issues. I'm doing this for America. How's your throat? I think we're going to be all right. Okay.

I sound okay. I think you sound great. So we're cheering for George today. I look good and that's half the battle. That's debatable. But he's going to give you his all. I know that. And George and I have a lot of fun. If you're new to us, know that we're going to give you the same answers and coaching you're used to. But we're going to have fun. At that we're going to give you the same answers and coaching you're used to, but we're going to have fun. At least we're going to try today. The more you say it, the less I believe you.

So let's prove it to them. Oh, I see. You like that? Well, you got the snark already. Yeah. Okay. That's why people come for George. All right.

Amber's up in Houston, Texas. Amber, how can we help? Hi. How are y'all? Good. How are you doing? Good. Good. Okay. so I own a home

I purchased it five and a half years ago. I purchased it because I was pregnant with my son And at the time my son's father and I we were just dating we never married. I Somehow Got him on the deed of the home Unknowingly at the time that that's what was happening. I asked the lender if he could be on the house in some way. She added him to the deed. I did not realize that until two years in when I refinanced my house and we were at the time ending our relationship, he moved out and he has held the deed over my head since then

and will not take his name off. So it's been a few years since we've separated and we went through custody court and he told me that if I gave him full custody of our son, he would take his name off the house and I would owe him no money. And then we had another mediation and he said if I paid him $ 100,000, then he would take his name off. So I'm going to pay him to get off the house, but what I'm trying to understand is how much does he actually get? What is a fair offer?

I know it's whatever the equity is. That's up to you and the lawyers. I mean, there's no math formula here. You know, what did he put down with the house when you guys bought it? Nothing. So he put down nothing. Did he make half the mortgage payments?

He did make half the mortgage payments for the two years he lived there and he helped pay the taxes for those two years. That's what I would do. So I have offered him, yeah, I offered to pay, he put in about $24,000, but he wants 100. He said, I will not take anything less. Yeah, well, I want to be able to dunk a basketball. There's a lot of things I want in life that I will not take anything less. Yeah. Well, I want to I want to be able to dunk a basketball There's a lot of things I want in life that I'm not gonna get he doesn't get to decide this guy said just a low life

He's a he's an absolute scumbag Yeah, so I said it's a I think it's a fair offer that I give you what you put in. It's my house appreciated Yes, it has I bought it. It was 300,000 in. It's mine. Has the house appreciated? Yes, it has. I bought it, it was $300,000. Now it's worth about $425,000. Okay. And after all of your fees, I mean, you could, maybe the lawyers decide, all right,

he's gonna get part of the appreciation on top of what he put in, but no more than that. Well, that's the whole thing is. Which is not $100,000. He's only put in 24. I put together a very detailed spreadsheet. I put down the down payment, the earnest. I've paid everything to get into the home. Is your name on the mortgage solely now? Yes. He was never on the mortgage. He was only on the deed, but he's holding it over me. And he says, if you're nice to me, I'll take my name off. If you're mean to me, I'm not going to. And it's been this back and forth. Yeah, that's what I want to dive into for just a moment.

The psychology of this. Yeah. Other than just closure and what you've shared so far, is he being on this deed at this moment causing you any other real grief or problems in life? Yes, it is. How? Well, because I want to move forward.

I'm in a new relationship and we're planning on getting engaged and it's really causing a lot of problems in my new relationship by having this tie to my past. I was going to tell you to wait him out a little bit because I think this guy's just a scumbag and I think he's trying to bully you. And I think- Yeah, 100%. I think there's two tactics here. You just go scorched earth and come with all the records

and get in front of a judge and let the judge decide. I think that's probably the one. I was going to suggest maybe you wait him out a little bit, but with this new relationship going on, it's- We need to get him out of here. You need to get this guy off and clean him up. So here's the deal. We can't help. You You're gonna need to get in touch with your lawyer. Do you have one? I've talked to three. Okay. And they told me that we could go and send him a

demand letter and I told him I was gonna get an attorney. He said I hope that you do and I hope we spend every dollar in equity to pay for these attorneys and you get nothing. Good. Well, when you win he's gonna have to pay the attorney fees. Yeah. That's gonna be part of this deal. So what you're gonna likely go for is a quiet title action which will resolve this dispute over the property ownership.

Mm-hmm. And so that, again, I'm not a lawyer, but that's, I would pursue that action, that's the only way to force him to sign something. Yeah, cause I do have a lot of evidence. I mean, he, when we went through custody court, he would record conversations that we would have that I did not know, and he would talk about the house and said, when I buy my

house and I move out, I will sign my name over. So I have a lot of evidence to show that he's very much said he would take his name off and want to know money, you know, tried to bribe me into giving him full custody of our son. That's great. It's just been a blackmail. What are you planning on doing with this current guy? You guys going to live in this house?

Let's say that you get this ex off of this thing. What's the plan? Well, I would like to keep my home. It's got great schools. It's a great house. And so we would like to get him off and then be able to move forward and make decisions without having to go to closing with him. No, I get it.

I was just curious. I was going to go a different direction if the answer was different, but I'm fine. Yeah, so he has a house and he wants to sell his house and pull the equity out of his, and we want to keep mine and then be able to make decisions after that. But yeah, it's just kind of been a headache to be able to make decisions after that. But yeah, it's just kind of been a headache to be able to make any decisions with him. Of the three lawyers, you need to go back and interview them all one more round,

and you need to put them under the microscope of what would you do? Tell me what your next three steps are, how much time you think that's gonna take. Tell them about his threat to try to draw this thing out, which by the way, I think he's full of crap because if he tries to draw you out, he's gonna have to pay legal fees.

So I wouldn't be scared by this punk. This guy's a punk. And I'd keep the meticulous records and all the evidence of everything he said he's going to do, text messages, emails, phone calls. This is not gonna be fun. I hate you're going through this, but it's part of the messiness, you know,

when you get involved with someone you're not married to. And I hope you don't repeat that with this next guy. I hope you wait until you're actually married to add him to the mortgage or the deed. This needs to turn into a PSA right now, George, for all of the young people that are listening, or middle-aged, I guess, as a matter of fact, you're thinking about buying a house,

and you think, oh, it doesn't matter to dot the I's and cross the T's. This story, I hate this, that Amber is the poster child for why we say, don't do this. I would not buy a house to anyone I'm not married to. Family, friends, boyfriend, girlfriend. If we are not legally lawfully wedded, no thank you. It's going to cause chaos down the line

and financial and legal mess. And that's the calls we get on this show. So if you need any further proof, there it is. And if you're a dude out there who thinks that what this guy's doing is okay and you think you want to do this, can I just tell you something? You're a turd. This guy. This guy needs a visit. I can't say it any better. This guy needs a visit with me and a wiffle ball bat. Just smack him around a little bit.

Man, pickleball. Well, a pickleball paddle and a Whiffle Ball bat. Just smack him around a little bit. Man, Pickleball. Well, Pickleball Tattle will do some damage, but not really hurting. This is The Ramsey Show. Mortgage rates have dropped, so if you're thinking about buying a home in the next year, contact your local Churchill Mortgage Team right now. If you wait, more people will be in the market,

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NMLS ID 1591. NMLS ConsumerAccess.org. Eagle Housing Lender. 1749 Mallory Lane, Suite 100. This is a paid advertisement in MLS ID 1591 in MLS consumer access org equal housing lender 1749 Mallory Lane suite 100 Brentwood, Tennessee 37027 The Ramsey show continues thrilled to have you with us alongside George Campbell, I'm Ken Coleman Triple eight eight to five five two to five is the phone to jump in. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the early Black Friday sale is here. I just don't like where we are at as a culture, to be completely honest, that we've got to have an early Black Friday, but here we are! We're trying to get it knocked out.

You know what I mean? I don't want to be that guy. Now if you're shopping on Black Friday, you're too late. See there's the problem. This is a sign of the apocalypse. At what point do now we go past early Black Friday? Have you seen the movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger and he's trying to get the toy for his kid? That's what I feel like is happening in today's world. It really is. So hey, Ramsey Slusins didn't start the problem, but we're going to meet you where you are.

So we've got an early Black Friday sale. You can tell I'm thrilled about it. We get your hardcover books for only $12, the audiobooks for only $8. That's a really good deal. For instance, Money's Not a Math Problem by our friend Jade Warshaw is on sale right now. Total Money Makeover, the OG is on sale. And so many more great books. Go to ramsysolutions.com slash store to check out all the Christmas go to ramsay solutions dot com slash store To check out all the Christmas deals ramsay solutions dot com slash store You can click the link in the show notes if you are on youtube or pod the show notes We love the show notes, lots of good things in the show notes. Let's go to Raleigh, North Carolina Kennedy is joining us there Kennedy. How can we help?

Hey, how are y'all doing? Well, we're having a blast. What's going on with you? Good. So, what I asked the girl when she called was, I just graduated last October with my Cosmology last month. And you guys may know, or like your wives, like it takes a while for like a clientele to build up. Yeah.

So, you're not like a guaranteed paycheck, you know, every two weeks, once a month, you're kind of just stepping out, especially me as a Christian, just stepping out and saying, just knowing that I'm going to have clients this week that are going to pop up that I didn't know I had scheduled on Monday. So to know how to budget but not having a set paycheck for ties, groceries, rent for the salon, rent for my house because me and my sister are just going to move out just coming up Saturday into a house right down the road from my parents. So learning just how to budget everything, but also I don't know what I'm making, you

know, one week to the next. How long have you been doing here? Full time since March. I started renting, the rent is $450. I have a girl that rents the other slots, I rent the whole building. She gives me $300 a month, so I just have to pay $150 out of pocket. So I've been paying that since two months ago, but I've been doing here since early March.

So what have you been averaging since early March? What have you been averaging income? What's that look like? I wouldn't say that it would go over $600 from the salon that I make each month. So I would say somewhere between like $450-$550. Some months it can be closer to a $600. How are you surviving? How have you made it since March? That's well below poverty level. It is well below. So my rent, like I told you, the rent for that place is $150. So I've been living at home. My car is paid below. So my rent, like I told you, the rent for that place is $150.

So I've been living at home. My car is paid for. I don't have any payments that are going out. So just moving out. My rent each month is, I know you guys are going to laugh. My rent is $375 for the house and $150 for the salon. Mama and daddy told me, they said, I know that you don't have enough for it, but because of the house, it was a good friend of my dad. My dad wants to eventually buy it. So he said, if you budget and you're smart with it,

he said, me and mama got this wherever there's any lack. But he said, if you and Saylor want to move out, he said, I think it would be a good idea, he said, if you guys would like to go ahead and go and we'll cover everything else you know as long as you guys are out shopping and blowing it. So you're saying mommy and daddy are gonna pay your rent if you move out they'll pay 1200 bucks? No, so I don't pay 1200. I'm saying if you moved out. No she's already told you they've moved into a house. That's 375. That was a friend of their dad's

and the rent's 375 for both you and your sister. Yes sir. All right, but still, I mean, sweetheart, you've put lipstick on a pig. I'm telling you, you're still absolutely, you had no money, even with that rosy picture you just gave us. Yeah.

So, I mean, I feel like it's the wrong, I mean, George, I want you to answer a question, but. Yeah, I'll, I can teach you. You gotta do something in the meantime, because there's not much here to budget, is my point. Yeah, I can teach you at a budget with an irregular income, but right now, like Ken's saying, it's not enough to pay the bills.

And so we need to get something more stable, because right now, let me tell you the math on this, you are making $3 an hour. Yeah. Three. I know. Count that, three. Yeah. There is this. You are making $3 an hour. Yeah. Three, count that, three. Yeah. There is no job in America paying $3 an hour. You somehow found it.

And so you need to go get other jobs while you get clientele. And if that means word of mouth and I get them on a schedule, great. But we're not gonna sit around the salon for seven hours a day, hoping we get a single client. Yeah, you would be better off. Go ahead.

Sorry, I do have a part-time job, so I work at a grill that is right down the road. So my salon, we're out in the country. So I work at a grill that's on the other, like, little small town in between, like, my house and the salon. Well, how much money are you making off of that? That's no more than 120 once a week.

Again, you are... One shift at the grill is not gonna pay the bills. There's nothing funny about this. And you are just broken up. You are chuckling your head off on the other end of the phone. And I don't know how to say, sweetheart, this is awful. You need to make more money. You're not making any money at all.

Is anyone doing salon work full-time in your area? Well, the girl that rents it from me, she just graduated too. So we're both quote unquote full-time, but building clientele. But you just told us you live in this little teeny tiny area out in the middle of sticks. Is that what I heard? Not in the middle of sticks, but it definitely is not like, I'm about an hour and a half from Raleigh, more towards the beach. So it is a small town, but it's not out in the sticks.

But it is definitely small. I apologize. I was a little loose with my description. No, you can say, no, you can say sticks. Point is that I think you need to be moving into Raleigh and get yourself a full-time job at a very successful salon. Like, you've gotta make some moves because I just don't know how much clientele

you can build in this little place that you're at. Am I right? Yes, or without. Yeah, was that, well, that's what- We gotta steal everybody else's? And now we don't wanna, I'll tell you what, I can't imagine that would go over well in a small town. I'll tell you what my barber did, Kennedy.

You work for a place that's booming, you build up your clientele there, and then eventually you can go out on your own and those people will follow you. Yes, sir. That's what I did when he started off on his own, left his old place that was kind of giving him leads, if you will, giving him the clientele,

and then he moved out. And so that's what I think you need to do. We need to stair step this into just going go well hopefully I'll have you know 70 people on the books in a few months because it's been it's been a while it's been six months and we're still making a few hundred bucks a month yeah can you do anything else besides cutting hair like can you do nails like who's doing nails in that little town well there's nobody that does nails and people they've asked me they're like would you do that?

I know I could, even though that's not like... People get their nails done like once a week, once or twice a month. Kennedy, listen to me. We've got ourselves... Kennedy, I threw that out there as a Hail Mary. And I threw a touchdown pass. Start a nail salon this afternoon or do it in your living room for crying out loud. Little small town, these women need their nails done.

We're talking hands and feet. That's money. Yes, sir. So if you can do it, do it. My point is, what you're hearing from George and I is, they appreciate the budget question, but in order to make a budget work, we must have something to budget. I would start doing nails and if I could be the person in your little town that does nails, then I can grow the hair thing too. But boy oh boy. And this is a word of mouth business, so maybe you do a referral bonus if they send someone to you. Where do the women go in your town to get their nails done? Well where I'm at that's where they all come because the closest town would then be maybe driving 20-25 minutes. So I got some lady who retired. I got some of her clients but she had a couple girls in there before me but because they

would all quit and leave then all her clients because she had a good amount of people probably you know she was booked up she told me she's booked up every day so I believe her. Well again your first reaction was priceless. You said, people have told me I need to do nails. So I think we just found the next business for you. And then you can expand over time. Unless you move away. Right now, you don't have the luxury of doing whatever.

We've got to find the thing that's gonna pay the bills, then we can expand. I tell you what, if I lived in that area, I would invest in her. I'd go, what does it cost? What do we cost? What do we need? What's the start of? How much nail polish would we need to buy, Kelly,

to get started? I'd want to know. And I'd go, we're starting it today. What do we need? A couple chairs? I'm gonna buy the chairs. I need a little tub with some water. Tub with water? For the mani-pedis, you know? I don't know what my wife does.

I gotta ask Stacey. But I think I would go, let's start it right now now Ken goes more than Stacey. I think we can all... True story Stacey has talked me into a couple pedicures. Change your life. I don't like it. This is The Ramsey Show. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. This month is all about gratitude and most of us have people in our lives that we're grateful for. One of those people for me is the wonderful Marilyn Fannin. She gave me a chance.

She taught me poise and professionalism. And she challenged me. But there's one person that we often don't take time to thank, ourselves. We don't always acknowledge that we're barely surviving or that we're moving forward or that we're working towards a better life and better relationships. And in a world where everything seems to have gone bonkers, it's not always easy to be

grateful. So here's my reminder to thank the people in your life, including you. And sometimes to do that, we need some professional help. We need to talk to someone trained to help us discover true gratitude for ourselves and others, especially in the holiday season. That's why I recommend BetterHelp. BetterHelp is 100% online therapy and you can talk with your therapist at just about anywhere so it's convenient for your schedule.

You just fill out a short online survey to get matched with a licensed therapist and you can switch therapists at any time for no extra cost. This season, let the gratitude flow with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash deloney to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash deloney. Welcome back to the Ramsey Show alongside George Campbell. I'm Ken Coleman, excited to have you here with us folks.

888-825-5225. Today's question of the day is brought to you by WhyRefi. WhyRefi refinances defaulted private student loans. Defaulted means when the borrower can't make the required payments. So if that describes you and your private student loan, we'd love for you to contact WhyRefi. They can offer a low fixed rate loan built for you. Go to yrefi.com slash ramsey today, that's the letter Y, r-e-f-y dot com slash ramsey. It may not be available in all states. Today's question comes from Claire in Illinois. My mom has asked me to pay $20,000 for a parent plus loan. My parents had planned to pay a good portion of my school debt so I can be

financially independent and set for my future. As I was going into my last year of college, I paused school to take care of my dad who was ill. I also worked to save money to go back to school. My dad passed away and things have changed for us financially. He was the breadwinner and my mom stayed home. She does not have a very well-paying job now and has additional debt of about 60,000.

I still owe 10,000 on my student loans. She also wants to charge me rent while living with her after graduation. I have a job ready. I still owe 10,000 on my student loans. She also wants to charge me rent while living with her after graduation. I have a job ready once I get my degree, but I was hoping to live at home to get my financial situation set for my future. The average income for the career I'm pursuing will be 45 to 60K.

Am I wrong to ask her to pay her portion? Ooh, loaded question here. Man, there's been some trauma to the family. Yeah, feels like there's a lot of tension. There was a lot of plans. My parents had planned, we planned, we planned. Well, dad passed away, the plans changed. And now mom's asking you to pay

for this Parent PLUS loan they took out for you. And the Parent PLUS loans are tricky because parents are cosigning for their kids with a very high interest rate. So they are very difficult to pay off and if you didn't agree ahead of time on who's going to pay, it gets messy. So it sounds like they said, hey, we'll do the Parent Plus loan, we'll take care of it. Now mom is in a different situation. She's broke and stressed.

And so I think, you know what, we go, mom, I'm going to take this on on my shoulders it may set me back for where I wanted to go but it's the right thing to do for the family yeah that's my take as the daughter I'm gonna go alright this was a loan for me for my degree you're probably gonna be making more money with than mom is so I would just go alright I'm gonna pay my share as I can I agree I don't I wouldn disagree at all. I think now the tension about, I wanted to live home and not pay rent, mom's making me pay rent, I would also get over that too.

Because if mom wasn't there, you didn't have that supposed safety net, you'd have to be paying rent. So mom says- It's not a punishment. It sounds like mom needs the money. I agree. All this is gonna require some mature conversation for sure.

So interesting stuff. Oh man, that's tough. Also, reminder for everyone out there, get term life insurance in place today. I know, listen, there's no stat, Ken, that says you have a higher chance of dying if you get term life insurance in place. There's no correlation.

So get it in place because you don't know what life's gonna throw at you, and it can cause a really difficult situation for your family if you do pass away. So 10 to 12 times your annual income, a 15, 20-year term should do it to get you self-insured by then, and head to zander.com,

and they can help you get that set up. All right, 888-825, 5225 is the phone number. Back to the phones, Paige is joining us now in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Paige, how can we help? Hi, George and Ken. Yes, I wanted to reach out. I just started my journey.

I just got introduced to the Ramsey Show and everything, so I'd like to start my journey, pay off debt. The only problem, you know, I have a question, and possibly asking for some guidance here. How should I introduce this goal, you know, of being debt-free to my husband? He is a farmer. We both work full time. He's also, you know, a farmer outside of work.

And that tends to be, you know, him purchasing a lot of tractors, parts, any equipment to the farm. And he's going into debt for this? Currently, he only has one loan out for a tractor, but he likes to purchase a lot of the older tractors that need a little work. How much is he making off of this farm? That I do not know.

I have a sense that you guys have separate finances. What's that? I have a sense that you guys have separate finances. What's that? I have a sense that you guys have separate finances. You got your accounts and he has his accounts. Am I right? That's partially true. Yeah, we do have a joint account that we kind of just throw money into. The joint account is here's what I'm comfortable sharing as part of my life.

And then you have separate accounts that go, this is none of your business. Right? I'm my own man. my life and then you have separate accounts that go, this is none of your business, right? I'm my own man. I mean, I'm pretty open and honest with like the stuff that I have. I don't really have much I have. But he's not. My vehicle and then a card.

He's not. Yeah. You just told us he wasn't. A little bit more. Yeah. Yeah, and you're just chuckling, just like this is just fantastic. This is normal.

Everything's fine. My husband's not telling me what he's got in his account. I don't know how much debt he has. I don't know what he makes and I'm on my journey. You said my journey. That sounds like a solo journey. You're about to go eat, pray, love while he does his thing. Yeah, Paige, we are not. George and I are, well, George is in a bad mood, but he's always in a slightly bad mood. I'm in a great mood. I'm in a great mood today. We're not trying to be dark, but there's nothing funny about what you're telling us. Right. Nothing.

No, it's the hard truth, really. And I think you're laughing not because you think it's funny. I think you're straight up worried about it and you're nervous. So first of all, welcome. I also laugh to numb the pain. Right. I get it. My therapist is saying the same thing to me before.

Do you find that funny? Right. And then I immediately start sobbing. Yeah. But here's the point, Paige. My therapist is saying the same thing to me before. Do you find that funny? And then I immediately start sobbing. But here's the point, Paige. I'm trying to kind of get your attention. So glad you called us. The heart of the question is, how do I introduce this to him? And you're going to have to introduce this to him, not as a demand, because you guys are

already literally on separate pages. And so I think this has got to be a secondary conversation, George. My take is we bring up the Ramsey way and all that as a secondary item to what we believe is fundamentally the most important conversation. And I might suggest marriage counseling on this, even if he doesn't feel like, and you don't have to go, hey, I'm leaving you and they're not threatening anything. And I don't sense that from you. You're a very sweet person.

I think you're a very positive person. But I think this has to be a, hey, you know what? I'm rethinking some stuff and blame it on us. Say, I started listening to the Ramsey Show. And I actually called, and these guys, George and Ken said that they, for decades, through this company and through this program, recommended that married people have joint finances. And here's the reason why.

And do we have an article or something, George, that we could give her? I know we've got some resources that we could give her to where she could kind of read it and set her up for the conversation. But I would like to give her that if we can do that. And Kelly will help you with that, I'm sure, in some way.

But I think that's the first part of the conversation, George. What do you think? Well, you wanna lead, like Ken said, you don't wanna be on the attack. He's gonna shut down like he probably has before. And so you wanna lead with I statements and then with we statements, not with you. Hey, you need to be more transparent.

I don't know what's going on with this farm. You need to say, I don't feel safe financially. I don't know what's going on financially. And I think we could do better as a family. I wanna see us build wealth. I wanna see us have margin and options and freedom. And to me, that means debt freedom. And I've been following these folks at Ramsey

and it's a common sense show. And if you're a farmer, you're probably a common sense kind of guy. So I would try to level with him in the language he understands. And then go into, I've been learning about ways we could handle money that make life a lot easier.

Can I show you the plan? And maybe you watch a video, maybe you read a book, my book, Breaking Free from Broke, or go through Financial Peace University and go, what do you think about this? And start the conversation. It's where you leave it open

instead of a tight, angry conversation. But you also need to lead with the why. Why do you wanna do this? What is the emotion that's underpinning all this? And if he loves you, he better care when he sees you opening up about this. And I assume he does. Yeah. OK.

Yeah. Then it becomes, OK, what's the game plan now? We both agreed this is where we're at. This is the reality. This is where we want to go. And now we should align that this is the best plan to get there. That part's easier. OK.

It's the first part that's going to be more difficult, these hard conversations where he's tended to shut down. Let's load them up, shall we, George? Here's what I'm thinking. I'm thinking financial peace. Let's load them up, shall we, George? Here's what I'm thinking. I'm thinking financial piece, let's get them connected in that. Let's get them Breaking Feet from Broke, your great book. Let's also do the OG, Total Money Makeover.

And the reason we wanna give you these things, Paige, is because if you just start going, hey, I'm reading this and I'm watching this YouTube video and you share with him, he may think it's a fad or bad pizza, but if you continue to bring it up and talk about it as a part of this, hey, I want to get on the same page, here's why.

I think that's gonna lead to the ultimate conversation, which is you don't want to have any debt. So hang on the line, Kelly's gonna take really good care of you. Paige, we're excited to have you here. Stay with it, don't guilt him, don't nag him. Just dive into it, and I think he'll get to it at some point. I think he's a common sense guy.

And I think he'll really eventually get to this point where he goes, oh, this makes a lot of sense. So hang in there. All right, quick break. We'll be right back with more calls. This is the Ramsey Show. Hey you guys, I'm not a fan of the big banks and you probably already know which ones I mean.

But I do like credit unions because they're non-profit organizations that focus on their members. And I'm proud to endorse Fairwinds Credit Union because they share the Ramsey mission of helping people get out of debt and live generously. In fact, they design products to help keep you from going into debt in the first place. Fairwinds has been in business for over 75 years, and they serve hundreds of thousands of members worldwide. You can feel secure because your deposits are federally insured by the NCUA up to $250,000. It's easy to join and Fairwinds partners with more than 5,000 credit union locations around the country so you can bank in person wherever you live.

But if you prefer the online experience, you can log on to Fairwinds and do anything you could do at a physical location. So go to fairwinds.org slash Ramsey to learn more and while you're there look at the combined checking and savings account bundle they created just for Ramsey fans to help you take control of your finances. That's Fairwinds F-A-I-R-W-I-N-D-S dot org slash Ramsey. Welcome back to the Ramsey Show alongside George Campbell. I'm Ken Coleman.

Thrilled to have you here. We're taking your questions about your money, about your income, your work moving up and your relationships. And always thrilled to have you folks with us because we do this show for you. 888-825-5225, 888-825-5225. Let's go to Miles in Fresno, California. Miles, how can we help? Hey, good afternoon guys. Hey, I had a quick question about paying off my student loans.

I have about the $55,000 left to pay off. I have the funds, I just want to pay it all off at once. But you know, family members are like, oh, don't do that, just do big chunks at a time. But if I have enough cushion after I pay it off, I just want to take care of it. Do you have enough cushion? Well, I guess in my standard I do.

So I think after I pay off my loans, my family and I would have about 35,000 left after that. Yeah, it's no brainer. When you say my family, who are these people? Oh, my wife and my, and we have a daughter that's almost two and then my wife's pregnant right now. No, no, no, no. No, I'm saying, you said who's telling you not to pay it off?

Is it your wife or like in-laws? No, no, no. In-laws, my parents, they say, oh, just do it chunks at a time. Okay, follow up, follow up. Do they pay your bills? No, they do not. Why are you letting them have a vote

in what you do with your money? I think I just try to, if it's a big decision like this, I try to get as much information as possible. And then sometimes that kind of backfires. Yeah, but you know what? The answer is you respect them, and so that's why you called us. Presumably you respect us as well.

I would hope. Maybe not. I don't know how. I don't know how. It's as good as Ike. Yeah, I think we do. I think we do, okay. It's gonna set up your family for success

by paying off the loans. And you have $35,000 worth of cash left over. It's not like you're down to zero, and even then, we would tell you, pay it off, keep $1,000 in your savings for an emergency fund. But this case, you're in great shape. I'd pay it off as soon as the phone call. In fact, I kinda want you to do it

while we're on the phone here. I don't even understand their financial argument for why to pay it off in chunks. We don't care. We're not even going to discuss it because it's not you made a great point. It makes no sense. I loved your question. Do they pay your bills? I was going to ask, do they tell you what to wear every day? Are they doing meal planning for you? They don't know. I do all that. No, I take care of my family. I know you do, Miles. You know why you called us? Because your gut and everything in you has told you to have a backbone

and do what you wanna do, but you thought, well, I'll call these two guys and see what they think. It's like being in handcuffs and saying, well, don't unchain all at once. I mean, you wanna just take, you know, snip off a link here, a link there. Just get rid of it, man. It's not doing you any favors.

What's the total payments add up to for these student loans every month? Oh, 700 a man. It's not doing you any favors. What's the total payments add up to for these student loans every month? Oh, 700 a month. It's ridiculous. You just gave yourself a raise. Yeah. Miles, am I right? You wanted to do this,

but you called us for one last opinion. That's exactly what it was. Then do what you were going to do. George and I agree with you. It's not you agreeing with us. Pay it off. I'm putting you on hold right now because you need to be paying it off now.

There we go. Inside of two minutes. Go onto the website and hit pay. If this were a video call, like if we did that, we would have him go right now and do it in front of us. And watch him do it. 100%. To celebrate the payoff.

Yeah, you know what we would do? Then we'd make a snarky video to his parents and his in-laws. Say, Nana Nana Boo Boo? Yes. I hope they don't say, I'm not trying to disrespect. No, I'm kidding. Of course we wouldn't do that. I won't rub it in their face. I'm sure they're wonderful people. But again, it's his financial life. He's paying all the bills. He's going to be the one with a freed up $700 payment.

George, I don't know that I've ever respected your snark more than what you just did. I just wonder, am I the crazy one? Am I so common sense that it's now insane? No, but I thought I loved how you just went, do they pay your bills? I mean, you challenge his manhood. Wow. He challenged- I've never done that before. Miles, you're the only guy that I've ever known to get challenged by George on the manhood scale, and George just did it. So add that to my resume. that on my LinkedIn guys. Miles I hope to have you hanging up on us here momentarily to go pay this off.

I still see you in the queue. He's hanging on for dear life. Yeah Miles there's nothing else to say my friend we're moving on to Paige. Paige is joining us in Kansas City. Paige how can we help? Yeah okay I didn't think I'd be nervous actually I'm like oh why you know what? George gets us all the time. Everybody's nervous to talk to George. Just act like you're talking to me. I'm the every man. What's going on? Sounds good. Hey, so we are military. We're getting ready to move in the next six months and we'll be buying what will be our third home that we've bought and sold and moved. Wow.

And Dave briefly mentioned like that he didn't fully agree with like a VA loan, but it wasn't the best kind of loan to get. And my question was like we will be doing probably close to 50% down payment rolling off the equity of our current home and Looking to do a 15-year mortgage So that's still like I guess what is his reasoning behind the VA loan that it yeah good question Well, generally when people go after these VA loans They do it because there's virtually no down payment needed, no PMI, and no minimum credit score. And so people do it because truthfully they're broke

and it allows broke people to buy homes, which makes them broker. And I hate that for our veterans. I think they deserve more. And on top of that, there's funding fees between 1.25 and 3.3% of the loan amount, which can make your overall payment and overall interest higher.

And so a lot of the times it just seems like, wow, what a benefit I'm getting. And you're actually not getting the benefit you think. There's also strict property requirements. And so you also have no equity when you enter the home, which is risky in a market like we've seen the past few years where it hasn't been gangbusters like it was years before.

Now in certain situations, which might be yours, with 50% down and if you have a service-connected disability, you can get the funding fee waived, which can make these a decent option. Is that you guys? Okay. Well, no, we don't have, he's still active duty. Okay. So we wouldn't have that. I didn't realize that was attached to the VA loan. So here's what I would do. I would contact our friends at Churchill and have them run the numbers.

Hey, I want the 15-year fixed rate conventional, and I wanna see the 15-year VA loan with our down payment amount and our home purchase price. And they'll show you the numbers. They'll show you what the closing costs are, what your monthly payment will be. And I'd encourage you to go with one that makes the most sense,

that has the least amount of fees. Okay. So if that's the VA loan, it might win in this situation where we go, okay, that makes sense. But you might find the 15-year conventional with your down payment where you guys are at might be the better deal. Okay.

Yeah, we're all about better deal. It's not a never. It's just that people who tend to trend toward these loans have nothing down and they're broke and they're about to take on way more than they can chew. Okay. That definitely makes sense. Yeah, well thank you for your service. Yeah, absolutely.

And well, it sounds like they've done it right. Like just can- 50% down, that's amazing. That's cause they're rolling equity and they didn't get upside down. They didn't get too much going on in their previous stops. And they didn't hang on to the properties where they went, well, we should keep it as a rental

and be long distance landlords, cause that's smart. That's right. And you got three mortgages. I could tell you had a warm feeling on your face when she said 50% down and a 15 year mortgage. I mean, that warm, you don't get that question very often on the show. What do you think about this, George? How about 50% down and a 15 year mortgage?

You probably thought you were being punked. Honestly, that is a very rare situation to get. Most of the time it's, hey, we can put 3% down on a 30 year. That's the calls we get. And they have a bunch of debt, no emergency fund, and they think, well, home ownership is the right next step because everyone told me, all my family, Ken, said we gotta buy a house.

What are you doing? Why are you throwing money away on rent? I'm tired of that rhetoric. It's causing a lot of people to stay broke and become broker. Going to hit you with a post-election question, see where your head is at. You've seen where mortgage rates are at. You're watching this stuff all the time. Tick back up a little bit. Do you have a gut, a feeling about the real estate market in general for our audience? Because a lot of people are thinking, do I buy now? Fed has kind of moved another quarter point, didn't do much. What are your thoughts on

real estate and should we buy? Should we be sitting? I think rates won't change drastically over the next six to 12 months. So if you're sitting on the sidelines waiting for some magic to happen, don't. Because if things do change drastically, I'm guessing home values will spike up even if rates go down. And so you're not going to really get a benefit. So if you're ready to buy a home, you're out of debt with an emergency fund and a down payment. Go ahead and buy. Don't wait until, you know, Trump, you know, gets into office in January.

Don't wait for the housing market to do a special thing. Just buy when you're ready and don't let anyone else influence you. All right. Good. There it is. There it is. But I don't think anything drastic is going to happen. Yeah, it's my take. I love it. That's essentially your tick tock of the day That's it because people are out there watching all this stuff and I thought I want to see what you're thinking Clip that to your tick tocks. There you go tick tock tick tock We got to get out of here good hour george always good you held up good. I got it cantankerous, but joyful spirit

Yes, absolutely. This is the Ramsey Show. Do you ever feel like you're finally making progress towards your goals only to get quickly distracted by something else in your feed? Well, that's why we created the Ramsey Network app, your single source for content that keeps you motivated. The Ramsey Network app is designed to keep you laser focused on reaching your goals. Loaded with over $7,000 of Ramsey shows, this free app is the best place for uninterrupted content and no distractions. Plus, you can search specific questions to get more personalized content in seconds. So, for the days you need some extra motivation, you'll have proven advice at your fingertips. It's time to get serious about your goals and shut out the distractions for good.

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I'm Ken Coleman, George Campbell is alongside in his snappy Gap Kids denim coat. And looking good. It's actually Oshkosh B'Gosh. Thank you. It's a good guess. Oshkosh is the better brand. And it's been around for a while.

It's high quality. Yeah, it's good stuff. Trey is gonna start us off this hour in Cleveland, Ohio. Trey, how can we help today? Yes sir, so me and my wife are having a bit of a disagreement when it comes to rental properties. And we started off getting into real estate about five years ago, and we purchased our first house and turned it into a duplex. Um, and her, her parents have been in the real estate industry for like 20 years and they have a specific way of doing things. And I recently discovered, uh, Dave Ramsey, and you know, trying to remain debt free while building wealth. And you know,

they, she, uh, is more along the lines of pulling, getting a HELOC to snowball, being able to purchase more properties. But I'm more along the lines of, you know, just save money, pay for it with cash. Because if you do the HELOC, well, yes, you might be able to buy more quickly. You're not really building wealth. You're just building debt. And adding risk.

If that makes sense. Right, right. So you know what you want to do. We're going to give you the same advice you would give your wife. You have a better chance of convincing her. Why is she not convinced yet? Is she just so starry-eyed at the, what's going to happen with this property and all the money she could make?

Well, I think she trusts her parents, because her parents have been doing it that way for like, say, 20 years, and then they're more towards the end of, you know, they have a couple dozen properties. And now that about everything's getting to the point where it's paid off, seeing the big dollar signs at the end of it, and I guess trying to explain to her that you can still do that but without the risk and paying cash, she just, I guess she doesn't see it as having a hard time. Yeah, she wants to expedite it with a short time.

And to her, that's the HELOC with the variable interest rate that puts your home at risk. How much of a conversation have you had around the risk part? Because it feels like, I'm going to take a guess, tell me if I'm wrong here, Trey. My guess is because that's the way her mom and dad have always done it, she loves her mom and dad, she looks up to them, massive respect, so they have huge influence, but because of that she's never even looked at the downside of this. Is that true or false? It's true, but you know, I grew up in a very poor family and I'm not gonna say I've made the best financial decisions

in our marriage and you know as we've had kids I've tried to change the way I do things so you know even though I might have some good points there's maybe a trust thing there that it might not be the best decision based off that. Okay, so you're saying she doesn't trust your opinion? Pretty much. Okay, but that's really not the question that I asked. The question that I asked is, have you sat down with her and talked about the risk of all of this and walked through it and forced her to confront it?

And when I say force, I don't mean in your attitude and your posture, but just confronting her with, hey, if this doesn't go well, because you were laying it out beautifully a moment ago, and I just wondered if you've actually sat with her and showed her a worst case scenario, because that's what we would do if somebody called. If somebody called and asked George that question, should I take a HELOC out to get into the rental game, he would walk through all of the risks. And I'm wondering if you've done that with her. And you said no. Is that true?

Yeah, that's correct. Yeah, blame it on us. But I don't think that her trusting you has anything to do with you making a good case. These are facts. George, what would your three or four talking points be for him if you were coaching him up and then going, all right, Trey, head into the kitchen.

She's waiting for you. Well, most people are either motivated by the math side or the emotion side. It sounds like she is, again, starry-eyed with the math on paper going, Trey, this is a no-brainer. This is a no-lose situation, right? Right. Because she's never gotten burned

on a real estate transaction. And maybe her parents haven't. And she's about ready to cash in on some stuff, right? Is that what you told us? Well, I heard her parents have. Her parents have. That's my point. So there's a fallacy here that because I haven't been burned in the past, everything's going

to be fine in the future. And Dave tried that. He went bankrupt doing real estate the risky way. And then he restarted and went, all right, I'm only gonna pay cash for my next investment property instead of short cutting it. And yes, it takes longer, but listen, when you get there, that thing cash flows amazingly with 100% equity and then you can roll that into the next property,

in the next one. And you move slower, but you move with less risk. But it sounds like she is convinced her parents way is the best way and therefore the math may not work here. And so you may need to go, listen, I'm a part of this marriage, I have a vote, I'm not comfortable moving forward with this and putting our home at risk

with a variable interest rate HELOC with extra fees on top of that, let's just move slow. And if that means we're not real estate moguls by the time we're 40, so be it. We can build wealth despite not having 17 rental properties. Right. But truthfully, people who are into real estate like that, their risk meter is broken. They generally don't have a lot saved. They're not putting money away for retirement. They're

just hoping the next house deal works out and that that will provide them their retirement income. But we get the calls when they took out the HELOC and things didn't work out. And so I would encourage you to show her some of those calls from the Ramsey show. You can just Google HELOC rental Ramsey on YouTube and probably find 17 calls where things went sideways. What do you think about that one Trey? No, no, I like that.

I like that a lot. Just say, hey, will you watch this clip? Tell the horror stories. Watch this clip with me real quick. I'm legit nervous. Well, that's not gonna happen to us because I figured it out. We're gonna do it the safe way.

And the truth is, helox add risks to your life. And here's the- The bank can take away your home if you miss or default on a payment. And the other thing that I'm concerned about for Trey is that all of the stuff we're telling him, I think is potentially effective. The challenge, George, that I'm worried about for Trey is her mom and dad.

If they're cheerleading on the other side, I don't know how, what kind of position. You don't wanna get in the middle of that. I think it puts you in a tough spot. Now you're the bad guy. Trey, is that possible? That no matter what you say, they're cheerleading on the other one?

That's completely possible. The only result is that it drives a wedge in your marriage. That's it. Right. And I think you make this conversation bigger than that and say, it's not about the HELOC. This is driving a wedge in our marriage. We're misaligned on our strategy for building wealth for the next 20 years. And I want to get alignment on that before we make any moves. No, actually. That might take some time. I don't know that there's one conversation that's gonna convince her. Might be some marriage therapy there. Because here's the thing, the hold that your in-laws have on your wife is massive.

Massive. And what does she think this next house is gonna do for her? Is this just a stepping stone to get another HELOC for the next one? Yes, yep. Do you see where this is going? This is gonna be an endless chase of more for what? What is the reason? I want to know why Because her mom and dad because mom and dad they've got I want to build up like mom and she sees them going Well, we made this and she wants to do the same thing

They did you compound how much she loves her mom and dad how much respects them, plus mom and dad have a couple of trophies. This is a tough situation for Trey. Here's an idea. When mom and dad pass, we'll inherit their real estate portfolio. Boom. We don't have to add risk to our life right now. Let's wait. We'll inherit their hard work, and we don't have to put our lives in jeopardy over the

next house that's going to make us wealthy. Mmm. Tough, tough conversations coming for Trey. Hang in there, man. Share your heart. Hold the line. Because this is gonna take a while, I have a feeling. This is The Ramsey Show.

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instead of stressing out about money. Head over to the app store and download Every every dollar right now to get started for free. Welcome back to the Ramsey Show alongside George Campbell. I'm Ken Coleman, 888-825-5225 is the phone number, 888-825-5225. So we've got new people joining all the time. We've taken a couple of calls today, people that have been just tracking with us for just a few months. And so if you want to find out more about the Baby Steps, the stuff we talk about, find

out where you are. Are you on track? You can take a quick quiz that'll check your progress and you get a personalized plan just for you. This is super encouraging for you. Just clarity to know where you are and where you need to go. So head to the show notes and click on the link titled, Are You On Track With The Baby Steps? Are You On Track With The Baby

Steps? And take that quick quiz and it'll help you out big time. 888-825-5225 is the phone number. Naples, Florida is where we go next. And Beverly joins us there. Beverly, how can we help? Hi, I'm in trouble and I need some help. Okay, we're here for you. What's going on? Okay. I wrote a book. I hired a company to market it and distribute it in the whole nine yards. And it started off at $2,000 and escalated into $60,000. They never told me in the beginning I had to pay for the printing of the books. They never told me that I had to, they were going to set up a website and they would,

they never told me that I had to have a domain and a hosting company on top of that $6,000. So they were just big shysters. The end of it was they kept telling me, yes, my money's coming, my money's coming. They owed me like $140,000 in royalties, which never came. And the end of it was that I did a merchant dispute because they were supposed to do an audio book, which they never did. So I put a $4,000 dispute in on that. And they said that unless I paid up my whole amount that I owed them, which was that $4,000,

they would cancel my account, which they did and never did the book. So they canceled my account, so now I'm out $60,000 trying to figure out how to pay it. I assume none of this was real. Yeah, I know. The royalties weren't there. There was never a book. Did you ever get a copy? Well, the book was there, yeah. Did people buy the book?

Yeah, I wrote the book. I wrote the book. Right, but my question is, is if they told you you were owed royalties, that implies that you actually sold the book. It takes a lot of book sales to get 140 grand in royalties. A lot. Right. Well, they promised on their promissory, their original contract thing

that they would distribute 8,000 books. Yeah, but I got a new- All over the world. Yeah, but I got news for you. All over the world. Selling 8,000 books doesn't equal to $140,000 in royalties. Both George and I are bestselling authors, so you just got completely scammed.

Do you actually have the book in your possession now, at least, the electronic version? Oh, yes.? Oh yes. Oh yes. And do you have the rights to sell it on your own now? Yes. Okay, so is this publisher a real publisher? Well, I thought they were.

Well, no, have you done any homework to see, do they actually have, is this a phantom company or is this company exist somewhere? Well I've been doing a lot of research on this since this happened and I found out that they have six different websites that I can connect to each other. Only one of them is registered in the state of Florida and the other five are not registered in either New York or Florida. Yeah, this is a scam company.

They might actually put the book out to tell you, oh, look, we actually printed the book, but I would get a lawyer involved if you want money back. I mean, you're going to have a tough time telling the credit card company, hey, can you clear it for me? It was fraud. You spent the money. Well, the problem is I've been trying to get an attorney,

and I called the biggest one in the country and they said, no, it's too old because this is going on a year and a half, even though the last final thing was only a couple of weeks ago. You know, I've been working with them this whole time. And then the next person, the next little attorney they called, they said, well, have you ever been turned down by an attorney? And I said, yes, well, they don't want me. So I've been trying to find an attorney and no attorney will take the case at this point.

I mean, you know, I don't know what you do for work. I go about getting them. I'm retired. Okay. And the other, the other problem is I'm 79 years old. So what is your income? 24 years. My personal income and the business is about

1,700 a month, which I have one of those debt reduction programs working. Oh no. Yeah, I know. Beverly, you need to never get on the internet again. You are getting scammed left and right. I know. No.

These companies, what they do. So they're paying off one. Well, what happens is they tell you, stop paying your debts, instead give us that payment, let your credit score tank, let the creditors come after you with lawyers and lawsuits, and then we'll try to settle the debt for less. Yeah.

Right, that's how it works. Yeah, yeah, well, yeah. There's red flags in every corner. That's why I'm calling you to. What can I do? And I hate that they, I mean, you're preyed upon by these companies. And so you need to go be on the defense

for the rest of your life to go, I'm not gonna ever get scammed again, and I'm gonna fight to get this resolved. And you may not get a resolution. That's the hard part. You may need to swallow the harsh pill going, this money, I'm never gonna get back. And it hurt to get scammed.

Yeah, I tracked it to a real person. I found a real person that has a real address and a real house. So I have a- What are you gonna do? Roll up to their house with a baseball bat? You gotta get a lawyer involved. I might. I might.

I told him, and at the beginning I said, you know, hell has no fury like a woman scorned with a computer. It's the truthed with a computer. It's the truth. With a computer. That's the truth. Yeah, but you've got to find some upstart young lawyer who's looking to make a name

for themselves. And I would contact the credit card company, explain this, and say, listen, this was, you know, obviously you took out the debt, so it's not a straight-up fraudulent activity, but you were defrauded, and therefore you have no ability to pay back this debt Do you have anything in writing saying they were gonna give you this hundred forty grand? I Have a service agreement. Yes. Okay. I mean I would find a lawyer who's a year and a half is not you know 50 years old and I hear something in your voice Beverly really But you just spouted off one of the great quotes

of all time, by the way, one of the truest quotes of all time, that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and I would put that scorn into finding a young lawyer who is not some big firm and I would, I'd find somebody that's straight out of law school, that's looking to make a difference. I'm telling you, I would put that energy into that. That's the only shot you have.

You know what your only other option is? I mean, you're gonna have to pay the 60 back over time. And you have an income of $1,700 a month. Yeah. Do you not have social security? And a lifespan of 10 years. Well, I hope you got longer than that. But do you not have Social Security coming in?

Yeah, yeah, that's part of it. That's what's... Oh, I thought you said... Well, you said in the business. In the business. You said something about your business. No, no, the whole everything is... I mean, that's my income.

My husband gave me $500 a month to live on, and I have a small pension. I only worked part-time my whole career, and then I have my Social Security. So is your husband still alive? Yes. But the problem is, all our money is his money. He retired at the age of 50. Beverly, you buried the lead here. This is a whole different phone call now.

Well, I know, but he got screwed twice because of this company. Beverly, you buried the lead here. Yeah, this is a whole different phone call now. Well, I know, but he got screwed twice because of this company. What? The same company? This one that, yeah. Did he publish a book too? No, no, no, but they told him that the money's coming, all they need to do is get $5,000 to pay the distributor.

So I begged him, please let me do it for five days. He says, I'll have the money by Friday. So I said, let me loan that money for five days. I did five days, third and then 10 days to turn it. So his money is in this too. Well, he got his money back. He was able to do a charge back and get his money back. See, this is the problem.

And now they... You guys are living separate lives and you're 79 years of age and your husband's like, well, sorry, Beth. That's on you. Figure it out. Yeah. I know. But it's his money and his, you know, from his parents that he inherited.

How long have you guys been married? I can't really. Forty-some years. Forty-three years. The chances of you guys combining finances after 40 some years I mean, I hope it happens Well, no we do You just said it's his money

You literally just like gave him a pass He's like, sorry Bev Good luck with the $60,000 debt I got my money back I'm over here playing parcheasy and golf with the fellas and you're stressed out of your mind This doesn't make any sense to me. Oh This dude needs to help you out. He's your husband if we don't laugh we cry

That's a tough situation Beverly. I'm so sorry Oh, I'd file all the complaints get try to get the charge backs do whatever you can to fight this But just know you might not get a resolution This is the Ramsey Show. I've been doing this show for over 30 years and some of the saddest calls I have taken are from situations that are completely preventable. Yeah, and what's so hard is I feel like one of those, especially the ones that I'm like, oh, it's terrible, people that call in and their spouse has passed away suddenly and they don't have life

insurance when you have to think through how am I gonna pay my bills I'm gonna know next week yeah how in the middle of all that grief like it's just it is it's terrible so life insurance is the one thing especially as a mom with three little kids that I'm like so big on for people to get because it's inexpensive Xander is the place that Winston and I actually get all of our life insurance and it doesn't cost much because Zander shops among a gazillion different companies. It doesn't cost much. You just have to admit that someday you're not going to be here. You got to say it out loud and you got to say I'm going to say I love you to my family by taking

care of them and taking the time to put this stuff in place. It costs those stinking pizza. To get a free quote call 800-356-4282. That's 800-356-4282 or go to zander.com. Folks, the Ramsey Christmas Cash Giveaway is here and you could win big. We're giving away $500 prizes each week and one grand prize of $5,000. Enter daily for your chance to win at ramseysolutions.com slash giveaway. It's that easy. Plus our 50 days of Christmas deals is on right now. Get up to 30% off bestsellers and life-changing gifts that won't break the holiday budget. Ramzesolutions.com slash store.

Welcome back to the Ramsey Show. 888-825-5225 is the phone number. 888-825-5225. Alongside George Campbell, I'm Ken Coleman. Excited that you're with us. Let's go back to the phones. Detroit, Michigan is where we go. Delise is there. Delise, how can we help today?

Hi, yes. I am trying to figure out if I should sell my RV at half price and just cut my losses now. Tell me more about the RV and what the debt is on it and all the nine yards that we don't know. Okay, so it's a $125,000 18-foot RV. I now owe $105,000 on it. I've sold, I've gotten out of bed out of everything else.

My house is gone. My car is paid for. All my credit cards are, um, now gone. Um, and so this one thing I've had online now for a few months, um, for $85,000, um, is seeming to go down more and more. Now I have $100,000 from the sale of the house, and I was just wondering if I should just go on and eat that, try to sell it,

and meet the other costs, which is anywhere from $40,000 to $50,000. Yeah, because this RV is gonna continue to go down in value. So what do you think you should be listing it for? Because clearly $85,000 isn't low enough if it's been online for a couple months. If you want to get rid of it quickly, we've got to lower it. So that would be the difference that you would have to eat, right? So what do you think the right price is?

Well, when I went back to the dealer, which I know is the worst place to go Yeah, they'll give you about some pocket change for it Yeah, they were talking about 60,000. So and and the one or two buyers that I did have got away from me either because The van wouldn't start at that time because I didn't I hadn't been driving it for three or four months. As I say, I moved. Not a great first date when you're trying

to sell a $100,000 vehicle. It wasn't, and I'm truly afraid of this whole $100,000 thing. Plus, I understand now that this over $100,000 that I was gonna use for my retirement will have a capital gains tax against it and I don't know how much that would be. Like how much should I even put aside for that?

It depends if it's short term or long term and how long you've held the asset and what your income is. I just sold my house in April and my income is 150 a year year, $160 a year. Okay. And where are you living now? I live in downtown Detroit, Michigan.

Are you renting? You said you had the profits from the home. Where'd you go next? Right, I'm renting an apartment. Okay, so you're renting an apartment right now. You have $100,000 from the home sale. Do you have anything else in savings or retirement? You have $100,000 from the home sale. Do you have anything else in savings or retirement?

I have a small retirement from the government and probably a pension, I guess. I'm 61, so I'm kind of downsizing everything for a possible retirement in the next five to 10 years. Okay. Well, remember, retirement is not an age, it's a financial number. You need to be able to retire and cover all of your expenses and still have margin left

over. So that's the plan I want to get you to and getting rid of this RV is likely part of that. Why did you get the RV in the first place? Crazy lady, I got it during COVID. I had to get out of the house. Everybody was living with me in the house and both my parents passed during that time. So it was just an emotional buy more so than anything. I did make 48 states but it still was an emotional buy.

Okay, so you owe $105. Top dollar, do you think you could get $75 or $80 private sale? I think so. I'm new to this. 75 yeah it's at 85 now so yeah. Let's say worst case you sold it for 75 you would owe 30 in order to clear the title so you take 30 out of your hundred thousand profits that leaves you a 70 grand. Right. But it frees up that giant payment. What's the payment on this thing? But it's 7668 a month. Okay. So you'd get a raise right there just by getting rid of that payment and the interest. Exactly. It's $700 a year for the registration.

Well, and you got insurance and all the other maintenance and I mean, it's, it's, it's an, that's an expensive toy. So I would get rid of it ASAP. There may be a better seasonality with the RV in your area. I don't know how many people are trying to buy an RV in November. Yeah, I know I'd have to wait till spring again, but I just didn't know if it would be good. If you're thinking like I'm thinking, I need to...

Well, think about it. You make an $800 payment for the next six months until we get into warmer weather. You just spent a lot of money to try to hope to make more profit while this thing continues to go down in value. So I might cut my losses now and take 75 for it instead of 80.

I absolutely concur. That is exactly where I was going when I asked you that question on what do you think the right price is in the open market, not to a dealer, and let's make this thing attractive and get rid of it. Thankfully you got the cash to be able to get hold on it and get it out of your life.

Yes. And then we need to figure out for the next five or 10 years, we need to make up for lost time and start shoveling away money into retirement accounts so that we have a nice nest egg. Exactly. Will I get caught on the capital tax thing

if I put the money on the van. Capital gains? Do you know that there's capital gains tax on the sale of your home? I've never heard about it. Because generally... First time hearing about it. Okay. You may not have capital gains tax.

I would talk to a tax pro to have them look into your specific situation. But if it was your primary residence, you were there two out of five years, you know, in your single, you'll likely have up to, I believe, $250,000 in appreciation without taxes. $250,000 in appreciation. So if you bought it at $250,000, you sold it at $500,000, you're fine. What was the purchase price? I bought it at $285,5. I sold it at close to $400 I think. Okay, so you're likely fine. I want to speak out of turn depending on your

situation but you're likely not going to have capital gains on that $100,000 that ended up in your account. And even if you did, you're talking 0 to 15% for your situation if you hold it long enough. So again, I'd get in touch with a tax pro, make sure you're fine on the tax side, but I'd use that cash and get out of this RV and never go into debt again on a depreciating asset. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, Delice. Oof.

That there's an RV. There's a lot of zeros on the end of RV mistakes. Yeah, that's so true. Let's go to Holly in Columbia, Missouri. Holly, how can we help? Hi guys, it's an honor to talk to you. Well, I'm a little nervous, but I'm excited. You're doing great. My question is, I've worked part-time my entire life, and I've never been responsible with money. I even have a bankruptcy. How old are you? I'm 32. Yeah, I had a really bad

marriage and we did some really bad things with money and just went into a lot of debt. But now I've been offered, honestly, the opportunity of a lifetime. Honestly, and I'm worried and I'm anxious only because I'm going to be making really good money and I really don't know how to manage it. So I'm calling in. I've listened to you guys for a long time. What do you make now and what will you be making? Well right now I don't have a job because I just moved to Missouri.

So I'm just now getting back into the workforce. But I will be making $20.17 I will be making 20.17 an hour. 20 dollars and 17 cents an hour? Yes, sir. Okay. Yeah. So that's about 40 grand? Yes. Okay, and you're going, I don't wanna screw this up,

how do I make sure I make the most of this? Okay. Is that your question? Right, oh yeah. We got about a minute. So here's the deal, if you can learn to manage a little, you can learn to manage a lot. And so that is, you haven't had a great track record,

but that doesn't mean you can't improve. And so I'm gonna gift you one year of every dollar premium to help with this, and a budget is going to be your best friend. It's going to be the boss, and you're gonna be the boss of it. When you make it, it's gonna be the boss of you during the month.

Because you said, this is where my money's gonna go. Every single cent of my take home pay is going toward debt payoff, to the rent, to the bills, and you're gonna learn to live on less than you make. That is the key. And along with that, Holly, I'm gonna send you my book, Breaking Free from Broke. It's gonna walk you through this entire process, start to finish, from how to get out of debt, how to build wealth, how to avoid money traps, and how to finally get control money instead of it controlling you. But I'm proud of you. You're making great strides. Thank you so much.

A new chapter for Holly is in sight. Yeah, way to go Holly. It's exciting to see you start to make your way and do take advantage of this offer that George has given you. This is going to help you so much just to know where your money is know where it's going and half the battle is just simply knowing feels like a Saturday morning cartoon message that all came back to me yeah this is the Ramsey show all right let's cut to the chase it's easy to get discouraged about crazy

house prices and interest rates but when you have the right real estate agent to help you buy and sell the right way, you'll have confidence to make smart decisions. Ramsey Trusted Agents aren't just experts who guide you through buying or selling. They're someone you can trust to have your back from the first call to closing day. Find a Ramsey Trusted Agent near you at ramsSolutions.com slash agent RamseySolutions.com slash agent. Welcome back to the Ramsey Show alongside George Campbell. I'm Ken Coleman thrilled to have you with us. 828-825-5225 is the phone number to jump in. George, what's the best way to make the most of your money? Is this a trick question? Because I think it's the budget. It is a budget.

Every dollar makes it simple. It is our world-class budgeting tool. It helps you plan your spending track expenses and save for what matters most to you. When you keep a pulse on your spending, you start to be able to make progress on your money goals and you do all that with every dollar. You can download every dollar for free in the App Store or Google Play or click on the link in the show notes if you're partaking on YouTube or your favorite podcast app. All right, Honolulu. Oh boy, I wish I was there. I'm telling you, Honolulu. You ever been, George? No, I'd love to go. I didn't think you had been. It's lovely. Should we do a couples trip? We should. We should absolutely do that. I

think you would look great in a Hawaiian shirt. Thank you. We'll get matching ones. Absolutely. Grace is there. Grace, how can we help today? Hi, thanks for taking my call. Sure. I have been working the baby steps for about two months now,

and I love my budget, but my husband does not. So I'm wondering how I can get him on board. We've talked about it. We've sat down and done the budget together. He'll agree to it. He'll say he understands it and then he'll just blow it up. So when you say blow it up, what does that mean? What is he overspending on?

Is there a certain category? It's pretty much nonsense. He'll just try and spend money on things to keep him busy working on his car or spending on food and drinks at work. And what is your goal by doing this budget? Did you guys agree on why we're doing this? So that's where I tried to start and he likes to live life now. He can't really see the purpose of getting rid of all of our debt and then being able to buy a home and like really fulfill our dreams. Have you told him that it scares you he's okay living like this knowing that you're

going to be broke later on? Yes. What does he say when you share your honest feelings with him? He kind of downplays it. He'll apologize and then say he understands it but his behavior won't change. Well he clearly he doesn't care about you all's financial future. He's being selfish going, I just wanna do what I wanna do and no one gets to tell me and I work hard for the money. Is that about right?

Yes, he actually said that the other day. Ooh, well played. Look at that. It's like you've done this a time or two. I can just hear this guy. I know him and he means well. He's a hardworking guy and he's just like, ah, she's always nagging me.

I'm just trying to get a little snack here. He has no vision. I got a little hobby here working on cars. I gotta get the stuff for the race. You gotta cast vision. You gotta cast a vision with this or else it's just gonna feel like a process. It's gonna feel more like nagging every time.

And so number one, if he really, this is car hobby making him money? No, and it's not like a bunch of money, but it's just one thing after the other. Does he have a fun money line item in the budget? Let's say 50 bucks. We do. Okay, how much is it for him?

Well, we share it, it's $300. Okay, I think you need to split this out so he knows exactly what his amount is. Because that's confusing. Do you spend 250 and he gets 50? Do you both spend 300 and you go, oh, we're over 300, I would split it out. So you have Grace's fun money and his fun money.

And if that's 150 each and that's what you guys agree on or you get 100, he gets 200, it doesn't have to be equal. But you guys have to agree to it. And that becomes the spit shake. Because it sounds like there's two categories, food and his hobbies. Right? Yeah. If you can get those in check, you guys will make progress. Yeah. How much debt do you have? We have $27,000 that I can track and then he has a credit card I don't have access to oh boy that's a problem military star card so we can't spend it on anything but like gas and anything on post or clothing and sales okay but is there a

way you can have access for transparency and accountability? Yes, I've been asking for that for a while and he just kind of puts it off. Hmm, are you sure he can't make any frivolous purchases on this card? No. Okay, because I'm thinking, I've been to a gas station, they sell a lot more than gas. Yes.

And so I think it's, you have a right to accountability and transparency in your own marriage with what's going on with your money. So I think there's a deeper thing going on here. Usually it's one of three things. It's either there has been a lack of trust and there's a reason they're hiding this. There's been some trauma, maybe from the past,

that makes them kind of want their own separate little parachute and case. And then there's also financial infidelity where there's spending addictions, there could be more nefarious things going on here. And I think you have a right to get to the bottom of it. I agree. And it's, I don't think you need to do this

in an attacking way, cause that's gonna get him to shut down. But you do need to say, we have not been on the same page. You agreed that we need to get better with our money. You agreed we're gonna get out of debt. We said it was gonna take this long to get out of this much debt, this much a month toward the debt.

And so far it's been derailed by random frivolous spending. Yeah, that's very frustrating. I think you have a right to be frustrated. I do. I think this is a marriage issue. I think this is sitting down with a therapist if we can't get it hashed out over a nice date night. It's so funny you say that, because I know that.

Usually this is a symptom of way more. What was the other conversation about the marriage? Yeah, just about what the spending habits and how he reacts to it makes me feel, how that shows me how he cares and doesn't care, and then it applies to other parts of our relationship too where he'll kind of do the same things when it comes to feelings and opening up and yeah. It takes two healthy people to have a healthy marriage. It takes two emotionally mature people to have an emotionally mature marriage. And I'm not, we only know one side of the story. There's usually three sides,

his side, her side and the truth. But so far from what you've told me, he's got some work to do to kind of grow up and go, I got married and that means two become one. I don't get to live however I want because it affects other people. It affects your future too. Exactly. And the thing that I'm concerned about, and if he was on the phone, I'd say this, you're

not just buying a handful of Slim Jims at the convenience store with this credit card. It just concerns me greatly. Why does he need this credit card? He doesn't. He doesn't need it. Let's shut it down. Well, it's not that simple. He's cut her out of this. This is why this is a marriage. I'm with you, George, but I mean, this is a really... Well, if he's saying, I am not doing any spending on it, it's no big deal and go alright. Let's cut it up then Let's let's we have our debit card. We're gonna use our own money. That was something we agreed on I'd like them to discuss this with a therapist in the room. I think we need a third party at this point grace

He's not listening to you. I Cut up my credit cards and it made him so nervous She was like what if we need it for an emergency? And I was like, that's why we have the emergency fund. Like, we make so much money. We don't need it, but it scares him. So I can understand why he thinks he needs it. Good for you. Wait, so all of a sudden he gets to be scared and you don't? I know. Yeah, but Grace, good on you for leading this. You're modeling the way for him.

I'm trying. No, listen, you are. Keep doing it. But I do think this is a therapist in the room so that we have an objective third party who's a professional and you share your real concerns and your real feelings. He's got to address this or else this will... If you all don't address it now, meaning he's participating, this will pop back up and when it does, it will be really bad.

Yeah, that's what I can bear in mind. I want him to be scared. He should be scared. He should be scared of his financial situation. And this is just exposing it by cutting up the cards. And he should be scared of what he's doing to his marriage. Yeah. There we go.

That we got some, we got a rise out of Grace on that one. All right, Grace, you know what to do. It's not gonna be fun or easy, but it's the only path. I wish I could snap my fingers and go, well, Grace, just tell him this one sentence and he'll just change. This will be hard. This will be hard, but it is worth it. It's worth it. Well, I appreciate the motivation from you guys. Thank you. Well, listen, listen, we're rooting for you. Yeah, listen, we're rooting for you. Okay, so hang in there. All right, for all of you listening via YouTube or podcast,

this show is about to end. You can head over to the Ramsey Network app to finish the show. Distraction free. Go further with all the show there and don't miss what's coming up next. Click on the link in the show notes. For those of you on radio, we will continue.

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