From Ramsey Network. It's the Ramsey show, where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create amazing relationships. I'm Jade Warshaw. Next to me is the magnificent Kenneth Coleman.

Wow. Magnificent and Kenneth in the same sentence. It's going to be a day.

It's going to be a good day. All afternoon long, your life, your money. Hit us with all the questions that you have, and we will hit you with an answer, a solution, a way forward, or we'll just spitball creative ideas with you. Whatever it takes. The phone lines are open. Triple 8825-5225 let's get involved. All right. Let's go straight to the phone lines. We got Joe. He's in Anaheim, California. What's going on, Joe?

Hey. How you guys doing?

Doing great. How are you?

Doing good. Doing good. I've been watching you guys for a while, and I got a quick question. I'm just looking for a little bit of affirmation here.

Okay.

I have a girlfriend of about a year and a half, and we do live together. And she asked me, actually, last night if I could loan her money to pay off a debt that she has on a credit card. So. About 12,000? About $12,000 in debt.

It's not a little bit.

Myself, I'm. Huh?

That's not a little bit. That's a lot.

Well, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. Not a little bit, but, yeah, she had asked me that, and I gave her. I told her I would call you guys. I kind of know the answer.

I'll get back to you on that, baby.

Let's put it on Jade and Kenneth to see what.

Sure.

Okay, so it's $12,000. Did you say it's for a credit card?

Yeah. Yeah, for a credit card, yeah.

And just to clarify, this is a loan. So when you say the word loan, that makes me sound. That makes it sound like somebody's got to pay it back.

Got to pay it back. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. She had gotten to it. Yeah. She had gone to a little situation, I guess, with her last partner. He ended up using it without her permission, and she ended up being in that situation.

Can I ask you this? How do you feel? How would you feel being in a position where your girlfriend owes you $12,000?

That's the thing, too. Cause like I said, I've been looking to you guys for a while, and I remember one thing Ramsey says is, you know, you know, dinner tastes a little different, you know, when you're sitting across to somebody that owes you. And I know I wouldn't be the one owing anyone. But, like, just the fact that, you know, that that kind of tension would be there, I wouldn't necessarily feel too comfortable with.

Yeah, Joe, how's that gonna feel when she starts missing payments that she owes you? That's gotta be weird. Hey, we're going to Red lobster tonight. How's that payment plan coming along?

But she still got her nails done and still got her hair done.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Can I, Jake? Can I. Joe, listen, I appreciate that you told your girlfriend you were gonna call us, but what was your gut reaction when she hit you with this idea?

My gut reaction was, I'll be honest. I was like, okay. Like, am I in a position to do so yet? Like, yes. Like, yes. Can I. Can I help her like that? Yes. But I just think, like. Like, just, like. Like, character wise, I really feel like, you know. You know. You know, attacking debt is, you know, a character builder, too. And I. You know, I definitely want us to grow in that regard. I want her to take her finances serious, too, as well.

Joe, Joe, Joe, listen to me. Joe. Jade and I are on Team Joe, okay? Why don't you stop spinning and just tell us, how did you feel when she hit you with that? Did you want to do it? Yes or no?

I got you. I got you. No, no.

There we go.

I'm with you, Joe.

And there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah, you're not that she. You know, I do have more questions just because I want to know. And I want the people to also get a clear picture of this. You know, first off, we're not big on loaning money here. You know, to a friend, to a family member, somebody loaning money to you. Debt in general is just. We're anti debt here. So now, if you called and said, hey, she's asking me if I can give her this money, that might be a different conversation. And you're like, I have it to give. And if I don't ever receive it back, it's no big deal. Like, that might be a totally different conversation, but the aspect of loaning it, you're right, it does put a different taste in your mouth. And it's going to make the whole relationship. The power shifts, right? You become the lender, and she becomes not the lender.

I gotta ask a question, Joe. Cuz Jade's here, and I love getting the female perspective on this. Are you worried about her reaction if you tell her? Because I think you called us to get us to go, well, this guy, this guy and this gal said this. Are you worried about what her reaction is gonna be if you tell her? No.

She can be. Yeah, no, no, she can be definitely emotional, you know, when it comes down to things like that.

Emotional like crying or emotional like, I'm gonna hit you with this cast iron pan.

Maybe a sandal. I don't know about the cast iron, but she'd probably do something like that. Yeah, but I think that's important. Yeah, yeah, no, no, it definitely is.

I know.

Like, she's not the type to, like, flare up if you tell her no, but I just wanted to. Yeah, I just want to get, like, affirmation on that. Just to say, like, you know, like, hey, you know, I mean, maybe in the position I'm in is because I've listened to these. You know, I've listened to these people, and, you know, I really want to. You know, I'll call. Like, I'll call them, and maybe they can give you some more clarity, too, on my standpoint.

Are you going to marry her?

That's my question.

Yeah, that's. That definitely. That's definitely the plan, for sure.

Okay.

Does she know that?

Yeah.

Does she know that?

I wouldn't say that. I mean, well, you've talked about it, but as far as, like, a timeframe on when we're going to get married, that hasn't been.

All right, so here. Here's the deal. So since you called us, and I know where this is going, you need to give her a legit, legitimate explanation as to why we think what we think, and if you agree with us. So the reason that we want to keep this separate is you two are not married. Now, if you go down to the courthouse tonight, and I'm not trying to get you to do that, but all of a sudden, this debt becomes your debt. But right now it's her debt, and the relationship needs boundaries, and this is because you believe in a healthy relationship. And so you need to explain to her that that is your debt, not my debt. And the minute that I give you money, it changes our relationship. And I don't want that because I'm looking long term. I missed anything on that.

I agree exactly with Ken. There's a protection for both of you, legal speaking, you know, when you become married. And so, if nothing else, this is a great time to start that conversation of what, you know, the define the relationship. Now's the great time to start talking about that. And I think it will reassure her to say, you know, if the time comes and you agree that we should be married as I believe that we should be married. Then I am happy to take on your debt. It would never be alone. It would be us working together. And, you know, I look forward to that day. But unfortunately, we're not there today.

I have a question for you, Jade. And this is for you, Joe. But it's to Jade. I overthink everything. So the giant asterisk here is I overanalyze everything. My brain right now is going, if he says that, which you and I are on the same page, does she put pressure on him to get married? And does this fast forward marriage proposal? I'm a little nervous.

I hope not.

Do you see? What would you say he needs to guard himself with?

I hope not. If you sense that, if you sense that now, all of a sudden, she's trying to, you know, rush you, then I think that could be a bit of a red flag.

That's good. That's what I want him looking out for.

Now, let me then ask you this question. How long have you been dating? Because if you've been taking her for a ride for five years, then she might.

It's been a year. It's been a year and a half.

Okay? I mean, in my mind, now's a good time to start talking about it. If she does say, well, you know, Joe, I've been trying to get married for the past, you know, six months, and you're the one stalling. Like, if she starts saying stuff like that, then you have to be open to the things that she's saying as well. At the end of the day, if you both want to be in a married relationship, make steps towards that. And then to Ken's point, that's when things become one. French. Oui, oui. That's what Dave Ramsey would say. This is the Ramsay show. Hey, guys, it's Rachel Cruz here to tell you about a faith based alternative to health insurance that can make healthcare more affordable. Christian healthcare ministries. CHM allows members to share each other's health care costs, and it's as easy as one, two, three. Step one, choose the health care provider you want. Step two, submit your eligible bills. And step three, get reimbursed. CHM members take care of your eligible medical bills. With no network and the freedom to choose your healthcare provider, ChM is the best option for christians who want to take care of their families and help other believers find out more@chministries.org. budget.

That's chministries.org budget. You're listening to the Ramsey show. I am your host, Jade Warshaw. Joined by Ken Coleman, author of the best selling book, find the work you're wired to do. Inside of it is what Ken the.

Assessment called the get clear assessment. And it measures three things. What you're good at doing, what you enjoy doing, and what results motivate you. And it's a self awareness tool. You cannot grow who you are until you know who you are. And that's what it does, sets you up for what's my professional path, where I have the opportunity to make the most money. That's what this audience needs to know. You want to make the most money, you got to be in the right seat of the bus doing work you're wired to do.

But it started with the tool, and I love that the tool leads to, you know, being able to have the outcome.

That's right.

And it's the same thing with every dollar, guys. We talk about every dollar all the time. It's the best budgeting tool out there. Okay? So look no further. It's here. It's the best way to make the most of your money. And it does that by helping you create and stick to a monthly budget. Out of all the things that we talk about here on the Ramsay show, the baby steps, all of those things, the budget is the crux of all of that. It is the chief cornerstone, if you will. And so every dollar makes it simple to plan your spin in there. You can track your transactions. You can do your saving. It's all in one. And it's easy to use as an app that fits into your lifestyle. And better than that, it fits into your pocket because it's on your phone. So if you don't have every dollar, get into that. And if you don't have the premium version, I'd advise you to look into that too. It'll help you keep a pulse on your spending. It'll help you make progress with all of your money goals. So if you haven't already, be sure to download every dollar for free.

You can do that in the app store or Google Play today. All right, let's go to Chris, who's in Houston, Texas. What's going on, Chris?

Good afternoon. I was calling just for some career type advice. I was eleven years in the military before I was asked not to reenlist because I did not take the COVID shot. I'm calling because I was trained to do a job, and that job doesn't really translate into the civilian world very well. So I've been doing entry level jobs. I've got three kids. I'm married. We're going to be at nine years next week, and I'm tired of scratching by.

Tell me what you did in the military. And I want. I want you to lay out the skills and experience that you had, that you got. Yeah.

Yeah. So a big aspect of what I did was just boat driving. I was in the coast guard. I did search and rescue, and I did ace the navigation, which is all the little buoys and signs that you see going up and down rivers, bays, channels. My job was to fix those. I've got a myriad of random little skills that have tied into that with electrical, even hydraulic construction type work, but none of it really translates directly over. I've done odd jobs fixing elevators and pest control. I've done a little bit with merchant marine work.

What were you making in the military?

At the time that I got out, I was making just shy of five grand each month.

Okay, so $60,000 was the top. And you said you drove boats, and you also did some mechanical work on these same boats. Is that what I'm hearing?

More maintenance for those. My job didn't do the mechanical. I'd help with it. I got a little bit of mechanical knowledge. I've never been trained mechanically.

Sure.

Anyway, I'm just tinkering.

All right, let's go back. Let's go back. Before you got into the military, if I were to meet you on the side of the road or at a coffee shop, because nobody meets on the side of the road. I'm not sure why I said that, but if we met at a coffee shop and I said. I said, tell me, Chris, what you do naturally, really well, your whole life has just come easy to you. People compliment you on this type of thing. This is pre military. What would you have said to me pre military?

I was in high school. So my answer. I don't honestly know what my answer would have been. That's part of the reason I joined the military.

Yeah. I think that's because you don't have a lot of self confidence. Is that a true or false statement?

I'd say that's probably a true statement.

What's going on there? Where do you think that comes from? The lack of self confidence?

Honestly, that probably goes back to a childhood.

Yeah.

Issue, which I've been working on that.

Okay, so, Chris, I'm not gonna do that with you here on the show. We don't have time. But I. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Relax. I could. I could tell you were like, please don't go there. The goal in asking that question, Chris, was not to make you cry or to try to do therapy. I love that you're working on that. I would really recommend that when you get a little bit of financial space, and we're going to talk about that a lot here, that you finish that job and get there, because when I ask someone to tell me what has come easy for them in their life, what people complimented them on, and they can't give me an answer right away. What that tells me is you actually know an answer, but you don't believe it. Does that sound about right? And I'll leave it at that. But I want to know, does that describe you? Well.

Yeah, probably.

Okay. So why don't you, just, for the heck of it, tell your brain to shut up, and why don't you just tell me one or two talents that even as a high schooler, your whole life, you can look back and go, I was able to do these things a lot easier than other people can.

Can I just.

No, I won't interject one. Can I please get his answer?

Okay.

All right. Go ahead.

I actually really enjoy studying.

Okay.

Learning.

Learning. Okay. And doing what with the learning. What kind of stuff did you enjoy learning the most about?

Mmm.

I've got several answers to that.

Good.

Give me the first one.

Okay. I really enjoy aviation.

Okay.

All right.

So go ahead, Jay. I'll come back to this. I didn't want. I just wanted to get that from him. Well, but I'm going somewhere.

The weird thing is what you said was exactly what I was thinking in my head when you. When you listed out all the jobs you've done. I'm like, oh, he's a quick study. Like, he. He sees something. You see something and you pick it up very quickly.

That's right.

Which is really of high value.

That's right. So where I'm driving, Chris, is the reason I'm going back is I'm trying to get you to a point where you see some patterns and driving a boat and flying a plane. A lot of similarities. True or false.

Yeah.

Okay, so there's something there. Let me tell you something, Chris. You, because of your coast guard training and background, if I were you, I'd be looking into, in the Houston, Texas area, the opportunity to operate large machines, because you're going to be very attractive in a job application. Somebody who learned how to drive a boat. Right. Somebody who learned how to do all those things and do it for the coast guard of all people, of all organizations. I think there's something to the precision. There's something to the efficiency of the driving a boat and flying a plane that make you get a little excitement. Am I right? Absolutely, my friend. You have so much from your experience that's transferable. It's not even funny. Jay just hit something that I thought was very profound. The quick study. You figured how to turn a wrench and do some stuff on the boat just by paying attention. If you did some type of mechanical school, you can make really good money. Listen, you could go into welding. Let me tell you about guys that are welding right now. Welding is a. Is a do as much as you want and you could be making $60 an hour.

Chris, I'm just ideating. I'm not putting any of those things on you to wear today. Like that's your future. But I'm trying to drive this message home that you don't believe you have anything to offer and that comes from your childhood. But here, two strangers who've only known you for a couple of minutes, we both see evidence that you have a ton of skill that is very transferable. And maybe your greatest skill is the fact that you're a quick learner.

100%. Yeah. Before we get off this call, I definitely want to get you set up with Doctor John Deloney's book. Own your past, change your future. I think that's going to be great. And I agree with what Ken said. I hear very clearly you're a quick study. You're a person who's not afraid to get their hands dirty and learn a new task or learn a new skill. And I think other than what Ken said, I don't have anything else to add.

Well, I do want to give him the book. Find the work you're wired to do. Chris, that's our gift to you. So hang on the line. This assessment is going to take you about 20 minutes, and what it's going to do is give you a self awareness that you've had not had maybe in a long time, if ever. Okay? And it's literally going to help. You see, this is what I do best. This is the kind of work I enjoy doing. I'm motivated by this. We got a lot of it out on this. But then the book is going to help you see where these opportunities are in the world of work to do the stuff you're wired to do. So hang on the line. We're going to get that to you. But Chris, it's time for you to start thinking highly of yourself and seeing I'm really good at operating big things, and that's a skill set that's in high demand and oh, by the way, high income. Come on Chris, stand up straight. Believe and go do. This show is sponsored by Betterhelp. Hey, it's Deloney and wow, 2024 is flying by. So let me ask you, what's something you're proud of so far this year?

What's something you wish you could change direction on? Its important to take a moment to celebrate your wins and its also important to make adjustments for the rest of the year when you need to change. Therapy can help you take stock of your progress and set achievable goals for the next six months and beyond. Therapy is a safe, effective place to learn how to say hard things out loud and make a realistic plan for moving into the future. Ive personally been blessed to have a great therapist who helps me get heavy things off my chest, and you can find a great therapist, too. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give betterhelp a try. It's entirely online, convenient, flexible, and suited to fit your schedule. You just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and you can switch therapists at any time for no extra money. Take a moment and be intentional for the rest of 2024 with Betterhelp, visit betterhelp.com Deloney today to get 10% off your first month. That's Betterhelp help Deloney.

You're listening to the Ramsey show. If you are at home or at work or in your car and you've got a burning career question, if you got a burning money question that you want answers to, we can help with that. The number is triple 8825-5225 and myself and Ken Coleman, we'll do our best to give you some good advice. Karen in Columbia, South Carolina, has chosen to call the line. So let's see what she's talking about. What's going on, Karen?

Well, I have received an email quite recently that my personally identifiable information has been compromised, and it came from a well known utility company. And in inquiring further, not taking the number on the email seriously, but going back through past receipts and invoices, I found a number and I called them and it has been confirmed. My name, my previous address, my phone number, my Social Security number, my banking information.

Mm hmm.

And, yeah, I'm not sure what to do next.

I'm, is it just you or was it like, you know, every once in a while I'll get one of those emails that's like, you know, we had a data breach in your name. You know, your, your information may have been part of some of the information that was leaked out. Is it, is it something like that or.

Yes. And then after the utility company said to call the Experian, am I saying that correctly? And that they would offer free protection for a year, which I did. But then after doing that, I received an email stating that my phone number was visible on the dark web and that kind of freaks me out.

I just want to make sure that yourself. I just want to make sure that you're following valid information the way that. And it may just be the way that you're saying it, so I don't mean any harm, but the way that you're saying it, it sounds a little bit scammy and I'm not. It might not be a scam. However, I will say this. If you haven't seen any, if you haven't seen any evidence of this, if you haven't had any fraud take place, if you haven't had anybody, in many cases, it's like, okay, you're fine. What I would do if I were in your shoes is I would go through and I'd probably change my bank login. I would change the passwords on those really important accounts. I'd probably call my bank and say, hey, I got this notification. Just be. Just reporting it, being on alert. I'd probably keep an eye on my credit to make sure no one's opening any accounts. And then what I would suggest, I would not do anything through Experian because they're a credit monitoring, like their credit agency. They sell you a lot of debt. I would go through Xander insurance and I would do the Zander identity protection insurance.

I do it. It's super cheap and they monitor everything for you. And here's the thing, Karen. If something does happen, they'll go to bat for you and they'll help you to recover anything that you know may get stolen. But nothing like that's happened yet. So I think you're kind of worried about the future. And I'm not gonna lie, this sounds scary to me. I don't like that. They're, like, telling you who to call and telling you what to do and it's just you. It feels off to me.

Yeah, well, that was my first inclination and then that's why I didn't do anything for several weeks. But it, then it just kept haunting me.

You know what?

If this isn't a scam, here's the thing.

Even if you're not, I mean, I'm not trying to. I'm not trying to make light of your frustration. But I do want you to see that how, how big of a deal this may or may not be. If you just google someone's name, you can usually find their phone number. So whether or not it's on the dark web or not, it's on the real web, it's on the light web. So it's, in many ways, it's not as huge of a deal. You know what I mean? I don't want you to lose sleep about it, but what I do want you to do, I want you to call up Xander, because that is going to help you sleep and feel good that someone's monitoring it. You don't have to do the hard work. And it's like $12 a month. It's so cheap.

Okay. I did. Prior to getting that email, for.

Over.

A year, I've had, because of other personalities, situations, I've had my. My credit frozen.

Mm hmm.

At all three credit.

Okay, then nobody's going to be able to do anything.

So just call Xander. That's all you got to do. She gave you two clear check item checklist items. That's all you got to do. And you're going to sleep really well.

Love it. Yeah. For anybody. If you're afraid of identity protection, Xander offers a really good product. Everybody here at Ramsey has it. And like I said before, it'll monitor all of your accounts for you. And every couple of months, I think once a month, they send me an email to say, hey, you're all in the clear, or, we saw this and we're going to monitor it. And if someone were to steal my id, I don't have to be the one to hunt them down and track them down. Xander will do all of that for me, which is really, really great to have. So let's take another call. We've got Ryan, who's in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. What's going on, Ryan?

Hey, guys, thanks for taking my call. A little bit real quick about my finances. I make about $2,500 a week after tax, and I am looking for some green flags and some red flags when looking to set up a Roth Ira.

Okay, what do you mean by that? Green flags and red flags?

Just like, you know, what are, like, some things that I can look for that may set one company apart from another as far as, like, returns or, like, how I should invest my money and stuff like that.

Okay, well, first, the first thing I'd want to look for is if you're ready to start investing. So what we would teach here is the person who's ready to invest is the person who has paid off all of their debt except their mortgage. You don't need to have paid off your mortgage. And the person who's ready to invest would also have around three or six months of expenses saved. And then at that point, the purpose of that is to just make sure that when you do start investing, your investment is protected because it's not riddled by the risk of debt, and it's protected by the fact that you have savings in case something were to happen. So you don't have to dip into those investments. So do you have those boxes checked?

So I don't have any current debt right now. We don't have our three to six months nest egg saved up quite yet. But other than that, I don't have any outstanding debts.

Okay, good. I'm glad you don't have any debt. What would it look like? I mean, you're making $10,000 a month, right?

Yes.

So how quickly could you save up three to six months of expenses? And I mean, when I say that, I mean basic expenses. It doesn't have to be your full bells and whistles budget.

I'm gonna say probably within six to seven weeks, I could probably have that comfortably tucked away.

Love it. So at that point, once you get that stacked away, the next thing is the amount. Right. So we would say 15% of your gross monthly payment, since you're going to be doing this monthly. Yeah.

Mm hmm.

Okay. And then what we're looking for, you said Roth Ira. I'm guessing at your work there's no 401k with a match.

So I, through, I'm a union employee, I have a structured annuity plan, and I have a regular retirement. And then I also have 401k.

Okay. And the 401k, there's not a match towards it. It's just, you put in, what you.

Put in there is a match from the, from my contractors, but I don't know what it is off the top of my head.

Okay. So what we would say is to take the match first. So with what, 15% of your income, go over and meet that match. And then after that, you go to the Roth Ira. Now we get to your question. So I just wanted to set all that up for the folks listening. So for you, what you're looking for is you want to invest across four different types of mutual funds, growth, growth and income, aggressive growth and international. And what you're looking for, you want to take a look at their track record. I look back sometimes I'm looking for funds that have been around for a long time. I want a long track record, a long history, and I'm looking for the annualized rate of return. Okay. I want to see that. This has been making money over a long period of time. And we usually find just the s and P 500 has had an annualized rate of return of above 10%. Okay? So that's what we're looking for, and that's what I want you to be looking for. And if you're finding that you're not able to do this, or you're confused, get with one of our smartvestor pros.

They're not going to tell you what to invest in, but they are going to help teach you. And I think that's what you're looking for. And once you get on the right track, you'll be off to the races. This is the Ramsey show.

Hey, listen up. Everyone is at risk of identity theft. I don't care if you're a hermit living off the grid, listening to the show on a battery powered radio. All of your data collected by every company you've ever done business with lives online. Your bank, your doctor's office, retailers, the apps on your phone, the gas station where you have loyalty rewards. They all store your info online, making them ripe for a cyber attack or data breach. That's why I've been telling people for almost 25 years they need an id theft protection plan. And the only one I've ever recommended is from Zander Insurance. They monitor your personal and financial info, even your home title, and take over the work if you become a victim. It's the most thorough and affordable plan out there. I even have it for my family and our entire team. Visit zander.com or call 803 564282.

You're listening to the Ramsey show. Hey, if this show has provided any value for you, if you just like listening for entertainment, or maybe we've helped you pay off some debt, do us a favor. It's totally free. We would love it. If you were to like this show, subscribe to the show. If you're watching on YouTube, if you would share the show or, you know, head over and check out our Ramsey network app, you can, and watch some of the episodes in there and share them through there. That would be great. It's totally free, and it's a way for you to kick up, you know, this show and other people's algorithms so they'll begin to see it. And that life change can just spread like wildfire. Like I said, it takes 2 seconds. It's absolutely free. And it's a way to kind of get involved in this life change movement that we're doing around here. Ken, we talk about money in ways that culture doesn't talk about it. You know, we talk about, you talk about people's careers and the work that they're wired to do in ways that culture is not talking about that.

And so it's a very important message. Doctor John Deloney is talking about relationships, and these are voices that need to be heard, and they have the ability to change lives. And you can be a very, very big part of that for a very small portion of your time, a very small portion of your day. So we would love it if you got involved. All right. Thank you so much for doing that. Let's go to the phone lines. Jared. He's in Little Rock, Arkansas. What's going on, Jared?

Hey, guys. Thank you all so much for taking my call. How are y'all today?

I'm very good. I'm. I'm holding myself back because I want to go ask Jared.

Oh, I see what you do. He's only heard that a few minutes.

I know, I'm sorry. I can't resist. What can we do for you besides sing to you?

Yes, that's right. I'll take it. Okay. So my dad passed away towards the end of last year. And so I got an inheritance from him that he left me. And the short of it is, I'm wanting to know the best financial plan going forward for my family to be able to handle this, to not make us irresponsible decision to be able to take care of us in the future. We've got two kids, young kids, and also to be able to bless others in the process as well.

How much was it so total?

Between 401k, life insurance and checking account that he had, it is after paying off the little bit of debt that we have. It is 539. 539,000.

Okay. That's juicy. What a gift. Wow. 539,000. Okay, so clearly you're wanting to be really good stewards of this. Can you give us a little picture of your current financial situation aside from the inheritance?

Besides the inheritance, we, my wife and I both work for a ministry here in Arkansas. Household income is right around 69,000. That's not bring home, that's before taxes and stuff. So, I mean, we have no mortgage or anything we are looking at possibly buying are building a house in the future. That's kind of part of the question here on when that the proper time would be and how to do that. But other than that, we have about a little bit of medical bills, total debt and all is right around $6,000. So we've got everything else paid off. That's all we have left. No car notes, nothing.

Excellent. So the 6000 in debt you're renting right now and do you guys have any other money saved?

Yes, we have savings. We've got right under 32,000 there.

Good. Okay. And would you call that three months of expenses? Six months of expenses. What would you call that?

I haven't figured that 100%. It could, I'm going to say three to be on the safe side. It could be six.

I mean it's closer to six. I mean, you said your, you said your gross income is 60. So after taxes, I mean that's a big chunk of your income that may be close to 75% of your income, correct.

Okay. Yeah. Yes sir.

I mean, it's up there. Just rough math. So you're already at the three to six month level. I'm pretty confident of that at 32,000. So what are the big ticket items besides building a house that you guys have on your list?

Really? That's the, that's the biggest one. Anything else? I can't really think of right off the top of my head where. I mean, we're pretty good as far as vehicles go. We were able to buy buyer of the newer, a newer vehicle, 2013 model last year, pay cash for it and I'm good. I inherited my dad's truck, which is a 14 model, and we're good there. So there's not really any other big expenses moving forward that we can think of. And we're okay where we're at right now as far as the house, the ministry has actually provided a place for us to be able to stay. Oh, cool.

So you're not spending any expense, you're not spending any renting expense.

Correct.

Okay, that's great. So I mean, if you were looking to buy a house, which I think is, I mean, that's the point that you're at, right. So you're right in line, what would you want to spend? What are you looking to spend? And are you, or is your goal to 100% cash flow it?

Well, that's kind of the question because here's the thing with the 401K side of the inheritance that dad had, it goes into a non spousal beneficiary account. So from my understanding, I have to take distributions on there and exhaust the account within ten years. So the biggest question is what I can do with that because of the taxes that are going to hit and everything. So I don't know how much I'll have left and to be able to work with. So I don't even know if I'm able to cash flow it.

How much is in this situation? How much is in the 401K versus the life insurance? I should have asked that.

The 401K as of today had just over 453,000.

Ah.

So the bulk of it was there. And then you've got less than 100,000 in the life insurance.

Correct.

What is it, 80 or 90? Yeah. Okay. That does change things greatly. And then what was the other component of it? You said it was a 401K life insurance.

What was the third component out of his checking account? It was right at 29,000. But after we pay off that six, I figured eight. So it's going to be 21 in that. Okay, we'll say 21.

So really accessible cash that's not tied to a 401K is really like 100,000, is that right?

Yeah, that would be, yes.

Okay. I would want you to get with a smartvestor pro to find out what the stipulations are on this 401K, because to be honest with you, I can't sit and tell you on the phone whether or not you can get to that. And even if you could, it would be in, like you said, distributions. It wouldn't be you going in and take all this, taking all this money. And honestly, I wouldn't advise you to. So the question is, what is a, what does a $100,000 down payment do for you? Because I think that's a pretty good gift. And then even if you allow this four hundred one k to continue to grow, I mean, that's pretty, that's pretty awesome.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, either way, I mean, it would work out great. It's just trying to make the smartest decision that we possibly can, you know, while not being selfish about it, because we are. A big passion of both of ours is we want to get to a point to where we can bless other people as well, and we're already there to where we can. And moderation, we want to get to where we can do even more. So we want to make the best decision to where we can still do that as well. We don't want to be selfish with it.

Yeah, I love that. I think for you, the next step is to get with one of the Smartvestor pros. Christian will pick up and give you that information, but I don't want you to do anything that's going to cause you to be penalized or for there to be extra fees because you pulled out early or because you took a greater distribution than what you could. It sounds to me I may be wrong, and I'm likely. Well, maybe. But it sounds like only that you've only got really safe access to this 100k right now. And, I mean, that's a pretty sweet down payment, depending on what you were hoping to spend on a house.

Yeah, which we never got an answer to that. Let's circle back to that. So you said early in the call that you wanted to build. What size? Excuse me? What price were you looking at building at?

I mean, realistically, somewhere between 150 to 200,000 is what we would be.

Okay, then. So there's a massive down payment. So I don't see why you couldn't move forward on that with 100 grand in cash. Okay, but again, this is up to you. I mean, we can't give you what you should do with this, but based on what I'm hearing, Jade, I think they should take a percentage of this hundred and give it to something that they really believe in. Not a massive percentage. Yeah, but more than they could normally do.

Yeah.

And then they still have a massive down payment, and they have no rent right now, so they can take their time.

They can take their time. And it sounds like they're. There's no bad. There's no bad choice here. As long as you're not being penalized or doing anything out of order, there's no bad choice here. And that's what's great about this. What a great blessing that was left to you. This is the Ramsay show from the Ramsey network. You're listening to the Ramsey show, where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create actual amazing relationships. I'm your host. I'm Jade Warshaw. Next to me is Ken Coleman. We'll be taking your calls all afternoon long. Give us a call. You can talk about your life, talk about your money. We'll give you. Give our best take on your situation and try to help you out. And, you know, Dave Ramsey used to say, some say the advice is what you pay for it.

Yes.

So there you go. Give us a call. The number is triple 888-825-5225 and we'll do our very, very best. We've got dawn, who's in New Haven, Connecticut. What's going on, dawn?

Hey, guys. Thanks so much for taking my call. My question is this. My husband and I have been following your plan for about. Since about 2008, we have achieved a net worth of just over 2 million.

Wow.

And yeah. Yeah, we're pretty excited. We just hit that recently.

Congratulations.

Thank you. And we're wondering, how do we protect what we've accumulated? It's kind of a litigious world out there, and we're not really sure if there's anything that you can advise us on that might be helpful.

Let's start with where are you concerned that you might get attacked in order to ask a question like that? How do I protect myself?

Yep.

Absolutely nothing going on at present. But my thought was, you know, you get into a car accident, we have good insurance, but there are limitations to that. Or you own a property, someone has some sort of an accident, they turn around, they sue you. And yeah, we do have an umbrella policy for a million dollars in addition to our parents. But we're 54 and we intend to continue our wealth. And as grows, it feels like our insurance isn't going to grow with that. Or maybe it will. I'm not sure.

Okay.

This is new territory.

Really good questions, dawn. And just to let you know, your phone's breaking up a little bit, so make sure you're in a spot where we can really hear you. It just sounded like. It sounds like you've got all the right things in place. Because I would have suggested an umbrella policy on up to a million bucks, which is just right. Long term disability is something that you can consider if you don't already have that in place. It sounds like you've got the right auto coverage. If you wanted to, you could go on ramsaysolutions.com and do the coverage checkup and just, it literally goes line by line through all of the different coverage that you should have and the amount that you should be covered for. So that's really good. It sounds more like you're worried about somebody suing you than you are something kind of outside happening that's random that you can't pay for, like a health thing or is that right?

That's correct. And we have. We've had Xander insurance, the identity insurance plan, for years, which is great. We do have disability insurance. We've got term life insurance in place. So I feel like we've got a pretty good amount of protection. I will definitely check the website.

No, you're stacked up. I think you're great. Here's the thing. I think $2 million in net worth is amazing. If you had properties or something and you wanted to drop those into llcs to protect those and kind of have them individualized. You could do that.

Is real estate your primary residence?

Say that again.

Do you recommend that for your primary residence?

I wouldn't. It's not something that we would say here. But if you had, you know, if you were saying, hey, my net worth is comprised of all these separate real estate deals, then that might be something you look into. But it doesn't sound like it. It sounds like you guys, for lack of a better word, are just, you know, everyday folks. And you've done well with your money, and you've got. Got nice, strong 401 ks and investing. And for that reason, I don't think there's as much of a target on your back as you think. My guess is to look at you, don, no one would go. That's who we need to go after. You know what I mean? Right? Am I. Am I wrong? I don't know. Maybe you. If you're flashing your wallet and, you know, flashing cash all the time, but I don't think that's you.

No, we live very conservatively. I mean, our condos, under 400,000. We drive, you know, used cars.

They're decent.

Nothing and fancy. Yeah, we're pretty conservative.

Do you have a property? One of the scenarios you gave us was a property. If somebody gets hurt on your property, does that even exist?

It does.

So.

Well, it's possible if someone was, say, inside our condo and something happened. We do have our previous primary residence. We converted to a rental and just found out about the two and five rules. So we are selling that property. And that aside from a rental property that my Roth IRa owns, which I am also selling, that's it for investment properties. And we just kind of want to take a beat after that. We did attend the Ramsey investment webinar a couple weeks back, which was really enlightening. And it was my husband and I said, we're never doing this the wrong way again. This. We're following Dave's plan. He's gotten us this far.

Let's.

Let's keep going. And we're both 100% in agreement with that.

Listen, I agree with everything that Jade said. I personally know Jeff Zander. I've known Jeff a long time. And if I were in your situation, because I get to know Jeff, I'd call Jeff, and Jeff would probably tell me who to talk to in his shop, but I would just call Xander and talk to them and just say, here are my concerns. Just walk through your situation with Xander. You're a client of theirs, correct? Did I hear you say that I am. Yeah.

Yeah, we are.

You know, Jade and I have an opinion, but they're on the ground experts, and it's who we trust and it's who I use. So I call them and walk them through this and go, I just want to make sure that I'm not, you know, wringing my hands and clutching my pearls unnecessarily. And I think when they walk you through all that, everything that you've got from a specific insurance standpoint, along with the coverage check, and I think this is a little more nuanced with your question. So, do both things. And I think you're gonna sleep great tonight.

I think so, too. Well done. You're a person who dots their I's and crosses their t's. I mean. No, no. No doubt about that. Very, very good. Very good question.

It's almost like we're to a point where if I had some land like that, I was just sitting here thinking while you were talking to her, I was like, I'd have some. I'd have a lawyer draw up some, like, type of something.

Like, if you step, like. So I have to sign a disclaimer. If I step foot on your land.

Let'S say I had some land, and you and Sam come out, you know, and we're riding four wheelers, or who knows? I'm making all this up riding four wheelers. So that's why I never get.

That's why I said, playing pickleball.

Yeah, like pickleball, right. But it's like, yeah, if. If a legitimate insurance expert said, you probably don't have to do it, but you could. But we just live in a world today where, you know, I get the point of the call here. You know, if you've got strangers, somebody.

Cleans your house, acquaintances.

And it's like, yeah, yeah, I'd probably have people sign stuff, too, to go, listen, you know, if you do something dumb and you get hurt, I'm not paying for it.

Yeah. I mean, that's what the umbrella policy is for.

That's true. I think she's fine. I'm just bringing.

She's fine, too.

I think she's extra scared. But you know why? Because she's worked so hard. And you acknowledge the fact that they've worked so hard to get where they are. I don't want some jerk coming along and, you know, trying to take some on my nest egg.

That's true. The thing, though, is because with most of our everyday baby steps millionaires, it's not like a flashy thing like, you can't. There's more people driving around in expensive cars that you would think had a high net worth that's actually broke than the people who really do have a net worth. And they're driving a used, paid for vehicle that looks completely unassuming. They're wearing normal jeans that they got from target. It's not. No one would know. So I don't think anybody's drafting a plan to get at them and take their money, take them for all they're worth. So I think she's done a good job, and she's trying to be a good steward and good on her for doing that. Dawn, thanks for the call. This is the Ramsay show. You're listening to the Ramsay show. I don't know about you, Ken, but I feel like the last couple of calls we've gotten have had something to do with protections.

Yes.

Making sure that an inheritance is safe. Making sure that the money and the net worth that we've amassed is safe. Making sure that my identity is safe. It all has to do with insurance. And everybody wants to have the right insurances. After all, insurance is there to mitigate risk, right? Whether it's health insurance, home insurance, renters insurance. All of these things are out there to protect you in case a cost comes up that you yourself cannot cover. Your insurance is there to kind of fill that gap for you. And it can be very confusing to navigate all of the insurances and doing, you know, going through. I don't know, Ken. That is something that if we start talking about insurance, my eyes glaze over, and I want someone to handle it for me.

Yes, I would concur.

And so our Ramsey trusted pros, they shop the market, and they compare all the insurance quotes so that you don't have to and so that I don't have to. And your pro will compare the quotes, they'll look at the discounts, and they will bundle the deals for you at no extra cost, which is great. When my husband and I moved here, Ken, we were, you know, in a new house. We had to have the housing insurance for that. We needed to get the umbrella coverage and all that. And they shopped all the quotes. They rolled it into one nice, neat bow, and we got more coverage for less money like that. I love that. So Ramsey trusted pros will make sure you have all the coverage you need and nothing that you don't. So there's not going to be any fluff here. Ramsay trusted pros, they're interviewed, they are vetted, and they are coached to make sure that they're market experts. And here's the best part. They truly do have your best interest at heart. I've experienced that, Ken. I know that you have experienced that. So the question you need to be asking yourself is, do you have the right coverage based on your individual needs?

Okay? And so to do that, go to ramsaysolutions.com coverage. Again, that's ramsaysolutions.com coverage. And let me just add, because I hear it in the wind, insurance, guys, is not a baby step, okay? It's not something that you wait until you're after, you know, after you've paid off your debt or after you've saved up your savings. To do insurance is something that you do the moment that you've learned about it. And so if you've been listening to this show for a couple of segments, or even just this one segment, and you're like, oh, you know what? I don't have life insurance. That is your signal that you need to act on that today, not once you've paid your debt off. Okay? If you don't have health insurance, check out health trust. That's the partnership that we have. You need health insurance today. If you're a renter and you don't have renters insurance, this is your sign from. Oh, this is your sign. You need renters insurance. You are out here with no coverage. Anything can happen. If you don't know, if you have the bare minimum of auto. You need to do our insurance checkup and make sure that you are covered.

Because if you get in an accident and your coverage isn't what you thought it would be, you're about to be up a creek without a paddle. So please, please, please prioritize this in your every dollar budget. It is so, so very important to get the coverage you need today. Our Ramsey trusted pros will help you do that. All right. Let's go to the phone lines. Tyler in Buffalo, New York, is here. What's going on, Tyler?

Hi.

How are we doing today?

Doing good. How can we help?

Hi. So I'm looking into possibly starting up a home inspectors business come this winter here, and I was just curious on what the right steps would be to do that.

All right, so home inspection, why did you pick that problem or that solution? What drew you to that?

I guess the big part that came out of it is the flexibleness because I have a job right now that's kind of, it's seasonal. It pays very well with the seasons on, but then wintertime, you don't have hardly anything going on.

Okay.

All right. And what's the homes inspection business like in the brutal winters of Buffalo? I'm guessing you Buffalo folks, I mean, you just know how to handle that kind of snow. I mean, you guys were in the news last year during the football season. Crazy snow. Is it a normal rhythm? And there is not a big drop off in the wintertime in Buffalo as it relates to home inspection.

Nothing too crazy. You know, at that time right there. I actually live south of Buffalo and there's a lot of new builds going on, so.

Okay, good.

A lot of possibility for it.

Um, you have a background and some expertise, some skill set that lends itself to doing that? Well.

I did plumbing for about five years. I shadow an electrician. I worked with carpenters. You know, I. When it comes to the nuts and bolts of it, I.

Trust me, you had me at plumbing. I mean, I was like, okay, you've got the skill set for that. You enjoy the work. It can be a pretty good business. I mean, you can build this thing and to where it could replace your seasonal income. So I'm not seeing any red flags on this. How much is it going to cost for you to get qualified to do that? Is it a certification?

Yes. The bits I've looked into, you can go online and file through a course and then that right there is roughly probably about 2525 hundred bucks.

Do you have the cash for that?

Yes.

All right. I like that. So no red flag there. And is the market saturated? Is the market moderate as it relates to people out there that are your competitors or is there hardly anybody doing it?

In my micro area, there's two. And they, you know, honestly, the quality of the work they do, it's not very well. And it's something I actually seen an issue when I was working in the trade still.

Okay, so you've heard this from viable sources that these guys or gals aren't doing a good job?

Yes. And even seen it myself.

Are they covered up in business or are they, what's their business like? The flow of business?

They seem to stay fairly steady, but at the same time, the exact grid of it, I'm unsure.

What's your gumption level as it relates to talking to realtors, bankers, mortgage pros? Are you a guy that'll get out and connect and shake people's hand, look them in the eye and go, I'm the newest home inspector on the block and I come from the trades. And I'm telling you, my competition, they ain't so good. I'm fantastic. Give me a shot. Are you willing to do that?

Absolutely.

All right. Jade, I ran him through my questions. I turned the balance of my time over to you. I don't see the word gumption.

I love that word. I love that.

Because this is a. The reason I asked that question, Tyler, is because this is a business where you, sir, are the product.

That's right.

And Jade and I are in that same business. Jade's the product. I'm the product. So you gotta have that gumption necessary to put yourself out there.

And the realtors that you want to work with are going to be the type who are doing high volume, because they're going to be able to give you a lot of work. And if they are high volume realtors, they know how to talk, they know how to command a room. They know how to, you know, their B's level is very low. Right. So it's like this guy, you know, but if you come in there and you're like, listen, we need to work together. Here's why. I love that. So my question that I. The only question I wrote down, which I kind of feel like that's what we're into now, is how do you get clients? Like, what's the strategy for you to go in there? Because it's not like you're trying to railroad anybody or Steve, you know, you're not intentionally trying to, like, steal anybody's clients, but at the same time, you want the work. Does that make sense? So it's like, how do you see yourself getting in there and kind of pulling the boat close to the dock and getting those clients?

See, that's. That's one thing I'm kind of unsure of. I don't know, really where to start with it. I wasn't sure if it's something you get in with banks or, you know, you contact realtors, or if it's just a matter of, you know, just talking to everybody you can to get your name out there.

Okay. Well, it's the list that I ran through earlier. But I would start with your mortgage. Your mortgage companies in the area, they're the ones that, when a house is going for refinance or the actual initial financing, they are the ones that are getting the home inspector out. I know when I've refied the company I refied with, they're the one that chose the. They have their guys and they get their gals.

Okay?

So for certain. For certain mortgage, I would check on the realtor, realtor side. I'm gonna say, I don't know, I think that's more of a mortgage play.

Okay.

Because, again, the mortgage company are the ones, the banks, they're the ones that need to know what the house situation is. You know, now realtors do it as well. I'm not saying realtors don't, but I'm saying realtors and mortgage companies, when they do refinancing, they'll have a. I'm sorry, I've confused the whole situation. You're talking about home inspection. I apologize. I got in my head. Home appraisal. Sorry. Mortgage company is our appraisers.

That's right. Okay.

Home inspection is Realtor. You're right. I got. My brain just got all cobweb.

That's all right, Ken.

I got the broom out.

You're all swept.

Appraisals. So home appraisers, that's different than the home inspector. So realtors. Realtors, realtors all day.

And.

Hey, listen, can we tell him? Tyler, if I were you, I'd start with this, the. With the website ramsaysolutions.com, and find. Find our. Those pros.

That's it. Those realtors right there.

Start calling them and go. I called the Ramsey show. I'm a big Ramsey listener, and you are a trusted pro. Can we talk? Can I help you? So that's where I would go.

Look at this guy. Come on, kid.

I had to get the cobwebs out of the way first.

It's what he does. It's what he does. You're listening to the Ramsey show. I'm Jade Warshaw. Next to me is Ken Coleman.

Let's go.

Selling author of many books, but most recently find the work you're wired to do. Home of the get clear career assessment.

Which is very, very great, very fun, very fun tool. And it's always good to be with you. By the way, you're a best selling author, too.

Yeah. Money's not a math problem. Pick it up. You can find them all at random. Ramsaysolutions.com store. Get into it. Get involved. I want to get involved with these phone lines. And by the way, if you want to get involved with us, call us. The number is 888-825-5225 and we will pick up your call. Let's pick up Alicia's call. Alyssa, actually, is how we're going to pronounce that. Green Bay, Wisconsin. What's going on? Alyssa?

Hi.

Thanks so much for taking my call.

Did I say it right?

It's Alyssa.

Yeah.

Okay. Yeah, you do?

Yeah. Yeah.

Thanks. So I have another insurance question for you.

Wow.

The day of insurances. Wow. All right, hit us with it.

Mine's about life insurance. So my husband and I were actually in disagreement on how much we should have.

Okay.

So. And we're actually on the same page about most everything else when it comes to finances, but this one. So I'll just lay it out.

Yeah. What does he think?

Yeah.

How much?

Okay, so we both right now have 500,000 on each of us. And he is completely fine with that.

Okay.

And I used to be, but then I've been listening to you guys a lot more and now I know that it should be ten to twelve times our annual income.

That's right.

And so we're just not at enough. And he is like not about it.

Well, this makes him wrong and this makes you right.

Well, yeah, I agree with Ken and let's talk deeply about it. The purpose of insurance is to, if something, God forbid, were to happen to either of you, anybody that's dependent on your income, they will be set up. Right. And it's not just for the moment, it's ongoing. And so what's your income and what's his income?

So mine's right at about 100 and his is about 130.

Okay, so yours is at 100, his is at 130. So if something, God forbid, were to happen to you, he's, he's got five year salary, basically. But you're saying, hey, I'd love for this to be even better. I'd love for you to be that. If we do what I'm saying, which is you'd have, you know, over a.

Million dollars of coverage, 2.5 is what I'm recommending. I'm bumping it up.

Okay. Yeah.

You got them at 230 combined income.

Yeah, but I'm saying individual policies.

Right, I know, but my total is going to be 2.5 between the two.

Yes, exactly. Exactly. But if something were to happen to you, like, for you to be able to provide 1010, basically ten years of your salary to him, what a great gift.

Yeah.

I mean, that allows. So what's the difference? Like, he's probably thinking about quarterly payments or monthly payments. What does this look like? Have you priced out the numbers with Xander?

Yeah, actually I did. And so basically, like, he thinks it's a waste of money. And honestly, we probably would have none if it weren't for in the military. So we have to take that 500 each. And so, thank goodness. And he does have a point. Like he says, if one of us were to pass the other one with that 500 could easily pay off everything, and then we each make enough to live with our daily expenses. So I get it. But I was telling him, because I heard you say, actually not that long ago, and it kind of made me really look into this and, like, be like, wow, I never thought about this before because we'd always had that same mindset as, like, he has now. But you said, you know, the intent is that if they pass, it's not just to, like, oh, here, pay off your debt, and, like, not a retirement plan. It's like, hey, invest this. And then the interest should pretty much make up for the income that you're losing. And I was like, oh, my goodness, that makes so much sense. So I really want to do it.

Mm hmm.

Yeah. But he is, like. He just doesn't. He thinks it's a waste of money. And, of course, like, he jokes when I mention it, and he's like, you know what? I'm not gonna die until we're way older anyway, so it doesn't even matter. And I'm like, well, I love your confidence.

That makes me a little uncomfortable almost.

I think he's uncomfortable. I think. I think the whole, like you said, it's the 500. It's part of work. It's required. So in many ways, for him, that was a no brainer. But when it's time to actually turn on the, you know, turn on the lights in his brain and start thinking about it, it's an uncomfortable conversation. You're talking about what happens when you, you know, kick the bucket. And that's not.

I'd flip this. I'd flip this on him. I think he's real cavalier about this. I think he's too cavalier about it to be completely honest, but. Okay. Play it his way. Go. All right. I did the numbers. I did. Ran the numbers. Got some quotes from Xander. Let me show you the quotes. And since you're okay if I die just living with the 500, turns out I'm okay with that, too. But tell you where I'm not okay if you die early, Sparky McGee.

There you go.

I don't think 500 is enough for my safety gland. And I got some numbers I ran, and I'm pretty much telling you that we need to do this. I'm not asking your permission. I'm just getting you to buy in from my peace of mind. And I'd lay the real numbers out. Which, by the way, I'm just curious, what would it. What would the total increase be year over year, with the numbers you got from Xander? I'm just curious.

I want to know, too.

Okay?

So, yeah. And actually, I was really impressed. So I did a quote on just mine for another 500 because that would put me at a million.

Perfect.

And that's only going to be like $17 a month.

So I go back to Sparky, and I'm sorry, I'm calling your husband Sparky, but he's kind of irritated me a little bit, and I'm trying to be nice. I'd go back to him and go, hey, listen, I know you're good with the 500k if I kick the bucket early. I'm not. I just bumped it up to what this guy Dave Ramsey's been teaching for decades, and it's $17.

I mean, come on. That's one drive through, by the way. One time through the drive through the month.

Yeah, that's two. Starbucks, you know. Come on. So I would just present. I present it that way and say, I'm doing this.

Yeah.

Oh, by the way, do we do.

Have to agree on everything? Like, that is something that.

I know, I know. I'm having some fun with this. I'm not.

But.

But we're also talking about real $17 a month. I don't think this is a knockdown drag out is my point.

He being stingy? Are you guys still in debt? Is that why he's being kind of tight with the purse strings?

Okay. Yes, we are. We do have debt, but it is not out of control.

Okay.

Is he super tight?

Yes. And the thing is, it's not that I don't understand it and I value it and everything, but I just think that he thinks it's unnecessary. So we are not about unnecessary spending. No, we're completely covered. He is like, oh, no, if the 500,000, that would take care of everything. And we both make enough income that all of our monthly expenses are good. There's just no reason for it.

Let's go back to the basics of this to. And this is what you tell him. And, hey, play the call. Like the whole. This. This is documented.

Oh, I can't wait. Sorry. Sorry, man, for calling you Sparky.

So here's the thing. Let's go back to the basics on this. Because when we, what we teach here, right, the baby steps and getting out of debt, the whole entire purpose is. Is to change your family tree. It's all legacy built at the end of the day. It provides peace now, but it's also providing peace for. For the future and for the people that come after you. And such a huge part of that is insurance. Until you can self insurance. Because in self insure, because we're building wealth, not just for us, but to be able to pass down. And until you can self insure, depending on insurance companies to help you with that is such a huge part of the wealth building process for you. Because, again, I hope you guys live unto be as old as Methuselah. I don't care. Live as long as you want. But if for some reason you don't, this is here. It's kind of just that fail safe that kicks in. And to spend. Sparky, Marky, mark, biff, whatever your name is, to spend the extra $17, bud.

It'S dollar 204 a year.

It's dollar 204 to make sure your family has half a million more for.

By the way, for your peace of mind, I keep playing that card. I wasn't, I was having fun with it, but I'm not joking around. He's tight. Play to that. Go. You're tight because you're fearful about money and stuff. And I appreciate that.

There you go, Ken.

But guess where? I'm tight. I'm nervous about this. And it's $204 a month. So go. So you know what? Yes. We got to be in agreement, I'd say, sparky, it's time to have a new budget meeting. We have. It's like calling Congress back for a special session. We're having a special mid month budget meeting. And I am going to find $17 a month.

Yeah.

To make sure that I'm not stressed out when you die early. Cause you drink too much Diet Coke or whatever. Sorry. Diet coke drinkers, you mean.

Sorry. Sparky.

Sparky.

We love you, Sparky. We want the best.

We do love you. Help your wife out, dude. Come on.

This is the Ramsay 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@ramseysolutions.com. agent ramseysolutions.com agent, you are listening to the Ramsey show.

Thanks for listening. I'm Jade Warshaw. Next to me is Ken Coleman, taking your call. Let's get into this Ramsey show question of the day today. It comes from our buddy Robert, who's in Dallas, Texas, he asked.

My wife and I started a pest control company three years ago when I left the military. We've always had the dream of starting our own business and taking control of our lives. Growth in our first three years has been good, but the seasonal aspect and weather dependent demand caused me to continue working full time in another career with only so much time in the day. I fear we are treating this business like a side hustle when it has become much more than that. My question is, how do you balance both or know when it is time to dive into your business full time? Well, I have a simple, simple equation on this. It's not actually equation, it's just a number, Robert. When you can bring in what you are making in your day job in this pest control business. So in other words, you can pay yourself what this other company is paying you. You. That's when I'd go full time. And I would add one small caveat to that. I'd like to see six months, at minimum of your salary in the pest control bank account. So I kind of. It's like a version of the emergency fund that we teach in our baby steps.

Yes, but I want to see someone who's walking from a day job where they're getting paid by somebody else. They got healthcare and all the things, and we're going to go to their own business. I want six, six to twelve months somewhere in there of your salary in the bank account so that you don't walk from the day job into this thing, working for yourself and you're stressed out of your mind. That's how you turn a dream into a nightmare. So in this situation, I don't know from this, this email if in fact he's done this. And the. The seasonal issue is what's telling me that's why he stayed in the other career is because it's not making enough money due to the seasonal. So what you got to do is be patient. You got to build it up. And I would also point out he's got a delegation issue. He might need to hire a couple of people to do some of the work so that he's not double dipping as it relates to time and build that business up to where he can walk from the day job to this full time job.

That's. That's the way I coach. I wish I knew a little more what his income was or what he could pay himself.

Yeah, I agree with that. Nothing to add.

I just. Just very quickly, I want you to talk about from your point of view. You know, I love this entrepreneurial spirit. 70% of Americans actually want to work for themselves, but only 6% do. There's a massive gap there. One of the reasons is very, very hard. But I don't want people stepping too soon into this dream entrepreneurial thing, because when you got to put food on the table and you don't have enough money to put food on the table, you can break your dream into a million pieces really quick because it just becomes this thing that you resent, and you're exhausted, you're scared, you're starving. Just wait. If it's dream worthy, it's weight worthy.

I think so, too. I think it's weight. Yeah. It depends on how you want to view this thing. You know, if you have the comfort of kind of a nine to five that's meeting your needs, and you can kind of do what this guy is doing, which is little by little, step by step, get closer to that dream, whether it's the income goals that you stated, it's like, okay, we're almost there. Let's just keep stepping, stepping, stepping, as opposed to, like, I know when Sam and I first started, we didn't have a main career that we were tethered to. It was kind of like, all right, everything is a scrap, and, you know, your life kind of depends on it. You're not eating until you do this thing. So in many ways, I think if you do have that, it's buoyancy, right. It's keeping your head above water and giving you. It's kind of like renting before you buy a house. It's buying you time to set this business up in the right way. And I think, in many ways, that's a great security to have there. And there's no shame in taking your time to Ken's point and building it the right way.

Very good. I'm with you, Ken.

Yep.

I like it. All right, let's go to it. Savannah, Georgia. We've got Rebecca on the line. What's going on, Rebecca?

Hi. So I am curious, y'all thoughts on buying a house in the town where our daughter is hoping to go to college for her to live in with potential roommates in terms of versus living on campus and how that may help us financially to get her through college.

Do you live in the town where your daughter lives? Do you live in Savannah in the same college town?

So this may seem a little premature, but my husband and I are. We don't make any financial decisions quickly, and so she's actually about to be a senior in high school. And so there's a lot of variable of, you know, if she gets into school, but she wants to go to University of Georgia in Athens. So it's about three and a half hours away.

Yeah.

And then we also have four younger children that several of them say they want to go there. You know, I understand that may not happen, but we're kind of thinking long term down the road, if we have several children who go to college in the same town, does it make sense to cycle them through something that's, you know, I mean, putting five kids through college is going to be expensive enough.

I would. No, no, I wouldn't do it. But I don't know your cash situation. I mean, do you have a. Doesn't sound like you have the margin to where this is a no brainer. Just by the last statement you made, sounds like it's going to be expensive enough. And now you're going to buy a house and take. Can you pay cash for a house in Athens? That would be acceptable.

Not right now.

Okay. How much would you be able to put down on a house in Athens?

We would be planning for at least 20%.

What's that gonna put you at?

I'm sorry?

What would that put the down payment at? 20%. What is that gonna be?

The house like? I mean, who knows what the market will continue to be. But a house we were looking at like 1500 or four bedroom would be between 354 hundred. That's kind of what we were thinking. You know, nothing fancy, of course, just something for a college student and some roommate.

And this is all to avoid the cost of a dorm?

Well, I just. I mean, I think a lot of times they live in the dorm their first year, which is what we would want. But a lot of times they move off campus. So more like apartment living versus. We've had a few people who have sent their kids to college who said, man on the back end, I wish we would have done this. And so we were just trying to think, would that be a smart decision or not?

I don't. I feel like it's a lot. I want to ask more. More questions about your financial situation. Are you guys out of debt? Tell me more about your financial snapshot. I'm. I'm pretty sure my answer is going to be no, but tell me, tell me more.

Step seven.

Okay, good.

So we have zero debt, and we are, you know, we currently have 529. We are saving for college at this point. This first child of ours should receive the Georgia scholarship to pay for tuition.

Fantastic.

So we, you know, we're. And she has done some dual enrollment in high school, so there will, you know, hopefully, she'll only have three years of college instead of four.

Do you foresee being able to. Do you foresee being able to pay for all of your kids college?

That's the plan. We do not want them to come out of school with any student loan.

Okay. And everything is in place for that to take place?

Yes.

Okay. My thing is. My thing here is if we are teaching here is if you're going to buy real estate to pay cash for it. And so if, you know, I don't know how long it would take you to stack up the cash you needed to do this deal in cash, that's the only way I would do it. And also, the other thing, the sidebar that bothers me is unless you guys are planning on going to Athens as well. Like, I just.

Long distance landlord is not good.

Yeah. And there's no guarantee that all your kids are going to go to this college. It just feels. It almost feels like it.

I'm okay with the idea here, but I'm not okay with the idea now.

Yes.

I'd like to see where first child goes. What's the rest of the situation look like? It's too soon to even be entertaining this. You guys are such over planners, though. I understand how you got here, but I would chill.

I'm not. I'm not sold on the reason behind it, either. You know, I think in many ways, if you're saying, hey, we can avoid the cost of room and board, and we'll make more on the equity, there might be some math there that shakes out for you, but I don't like that it's based on the other kids say they want to go there, too. And this university has the ability to be in our life for the next, I don't know, however many years. I don't know how your kids ages overlap, but it feels like a more of a permanent solution for something that's kind of temporary.

And what happens if Kirby smart moves on, God forbid, Georgia fans and Georgia football gets mediocre? I'm just saying a lot of variables, and that's just one.

I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna do it. Are you gonna do it?

No way.

All right.

No, I'm not doing it.

All right. The fat lady has sung. This is the Ramsay show from the Ramsey network. You're listening to the Ramsey show where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create amazing relationships. I'm your host, Jade Warshaw. Your other host today is Ken Coleman. And we are in the house taking your calls. You can give us a call. The number is triple 888-25-5225 talk to us about your life and money. Talk to us about the business that you're trying to start. Talk to us about if you think the Mavs or the Celtics should win the NBA playoffs.

Please. I think that thing is done. Over.

I know. I'm sorry.

Put a fork in the maps. And I'm not happy about it.

I'm not happy about it.

Me and my boys have been pulling from the Mavs.

I know. Me, too.

If you're out there and you want to be making more money so you can get through the baby steps faster, I'd love to help out on that. If you're getting better, your paycheck is getting bigger, so we want to help you do that. I'd love to take some of those calls. We got a lot of insurance calls. I can talk about how some people can make some more money.

No more insurance.

I can't. I don't know if my brain can handle another insurance question.

That's right.

They are important, though.

We got it. Okay. We've got a good one on the line here. We got Caleb and Boise, Idaho. Let's see what's going on. Caleb.

Ken, how you doing?

Doing good. How about you?

Good. Okay. So the question that I have for you guys is, is it worth it to sell my recently paid off dream car?

Oh, whoa. Okay. I got a lead off of some questions here. Tell us what the dream car is and what it's worth.

Okay, so it is a ram 1500. It has a specialty package, the Rocky Ridge package. And I probably. I did pay more than I should have for it. Would you pay about 88,000.

Oh, wow.

What year is it?

It's a 22.

Did you pay cash for it, or was it on payments?

So I pay. I had a pretty good down payment of about 33,000, and then my wife and I made the last payment about a week or so ago, so we had it paid off in just under a year.

All right, what is it worth?

So, private sell, I could probably push to get about 50,000, so I'd be losing, like, $37,000.

And I'm just curious, Caleb, how old are you?

32.

Yeah. I gotta tell you, I'm a little disappointed, Caleb. By the way, everybody's dream car is their own, but I was thinking this was gonna be some classic, but I'm also a lot older than Caleb. So I'm sitting there going, oh, so my answer is immediately yes.

Well, what? We don't know why.

Because he wants us pay off debt. Okay, I listen to the question.

All right.

Yeah.

He said, should I sell this dream car to get ahead on the baby step? So what would it do? Give us.

Is he on baby step two, though? Is it baby step two? Caleb?

I'm on baby step three.

Oh, okay.

I miss that twisting. Okay, so you're on baby step three. How much do you need to get saved and how much do you have saved?

So we want to save. We want the full six months, which would be about $35,000. We'd be able to save that up in about eight months.

I'm changing my opinion.

Okay?

I wouldn't sell it now. I'd keep it. You worked really hard. It's a great truck.

Yeah, I know.

I just. I just flipped.

Yeah, you flip the script, you could keep going.

Okay, I've already decided. I've already made my decision.

You're like Missy Elliott over here. You put the thing down, flipped it, and reversed it.

Well, because he's out of debt. I thought this was paying off debt. It's a truck. It's a Dodge truck. To me, it's all I'm.

And again, I got you.

It's my vote. But because he's trying to get the. The emergency fund through this.

Yeah.

And he can get there in eight months. You need a car anyway. There might be some emotional reasons as to why you called. I've already.

I might be with you, Ken. I might be with you. Let me dig further, Caleb. Okay, so. So without the car sale, it would take you eight months to save up 35k? Is that what. What you're telling me?

Yes.

Okay. And then after that, I want to know about your home situation. Are you renting, or do you already own a place?

We own a home.

Okay. I think that's a key component to this, as well. You already own a place.

Um, what's your income? I should.

About 151,000.

Oh, yeah, 151. And then what's your wife's car like? Base? What's your wife's car worth? What I'm trying to get at is I want to make sure you're not more than half of your income in vehicles.

Yeah. So her just about 23,000 also paid off. Okay.

Yeah, you said 23, so you're right. You're right at it. Okay. There's not a wrong answer here. The vehicle's paid off. If you can cash flow the savings in eight months. I'm not mad at that. You already have a home. It's not going to keep you from saving up a down payment. It's not going to prolong a longer time period, like a longer timeline, if you will. What do you own your house?

About 300, 6360.

How old you guys?

32.

Yeah. Are you investing? No. You're not investing it because you're. You know what? There's not a wrong answer. If you want to do this, you can. And if your wife agrees, and you both agree, you can, but no one here is going to say, you need to do this.

Were you leaning this way that you were thinking about selling it and you called us, or was your wife suggesting this? And you're like, ooh, I mean, you called us for a second opinion. What was your opinion?

Yeah. So, honestly, it depends on the day. There are days where I absolutely love it. It makes me feel awesome. I love being able to do what I can in that truck. But then other days, when we're thinking about our goals in the future, being able to cut eight months off is appealing to us, but then it always comes down to losing the $37,000 and what we could get for it now based off of what we paid. Yes. It was a dumb choice. We should have done it in another way. I just can't stomach the 37,000, and that's where I'm having the biggest issue with that.

The $37,000 hit the hit because it lost the value. The value is lost whether you sell it or not.

Yeah, I'd get over that part. I'm with you. The question that I would be asking if I were you is, is what would I downsize into from a cost standpoint? So if I sell it for 50, I'm getting 50 back. So you got 50 to play with. What kind of truck are you going to buy? And then that's going to dictate or what car would you buy? And that's going to dictate how much you have to put towards the emergency fund.

He's got like 15 to spend. If he takes 35 of it and puts.

No, he's already paid this off. He just paid this car off.

I'm talking about to go towards. Because he's got to have 35 go towards the eight, the expenses, his savings. So he only leaves himself.

I know, but I'm not saying he's doing one fell swoop. He's got to buy a car. You can't do it on one car. Correct?

Correct.

All right, so what are you thinking? You've thought through this. What, what, what would be your, your purchase price on the other car if you sold this truck.

So if we did do it, whatever excess we'd have after funding the emergency fund would go towards car.

And so that means you only got. If you're going to do it that way, then Jade's right. I don't think that's smart. You really want to buy a $15,000 car now?

If the whole purpose is to do the emergency fund, and that's all he's.

Got, I think you're overdoing it.

I do.

I don't think you have to fund it all with the car, so.

But if he's going to sell it, then he may as well do it. What he saw, what he set out to do. I would say that I get.

I think you're going to regret driving a $15,000 car after working your butt off to pay off this dream truck. Yeah, I'm just trying to keep it real.

I do, too. If you owed payments on this, it would be a totally different story. But you don't owe anybody anything. You paid it off. You're in baby step three. You have some savings. You just don't have all the savings you want. You're 32, you're not 56. I think I agree with Ken. I would keep it unless it makes you sick. If it makes you sick to keep it, then get rid of it. But I think selling it and losing the 36,000 and feeling that's gonna make you sicker makes you even sicker. Yeah, that's what I would do. You know, get with your wife and you guys decide. This is the Ramsay show.

Are you planning to sail with us on the live like no one else cruise? Then you better book your cabin before they're sold out. If you're on baby step four and above, come aboard March 22 through the 29th of 2025 as we set sail for Turks and Caicos, St. Thomas, San Juan, and the Bahamas. Join me, the Ramsey personality, and a ton of special guests for the ultimate debt free celebration. Book your cabin because they are going fast. Head to ramsaysolutions.com cruise. Today.

You'Re listening to the Ramsey show, where we give you advice about your life, your money, your career, your relationships, all of it. You can get in the action by calling 888-825-5225 and we will get into it with you. We're always telling you the services we provide. We're always telling you the right way to handle your money, the right way to handle your insurance the right way to buy a car. We just want to make sure that you understand what you need in order to have good financial footing and make the good choices and the right choices as it relates to managing all of your assets, managing your money. And one of the things that goes along with that is home ownership. It's a big, hot ticket topic right now, Ken. We got interest rates going up. We got low supply on the market. It's tough out there.

Where are you on this? Let's just assume. Let me turn into CNN, CNBC, Fox Business, whatever host. And I go, Jade Warshaw. What do you tell people if they feel like they need to sit on the sidelines right now on buying or selling? What do you say?

What I would say is that right now, house prices are up 47% since 2020. 47%. It's a lot.

Thank you, Lord.

Okay. That's a lot. And people are like, jade, what's going on? Why is this happening? And of course, we know interest rates are higher. That's deterring a lot of buyers. And then you've got the supply. The supply is so low, Ken, and some of that is because, you know, some people might argue, you know, government is not offering enough incentive to build, you know, more. More housing. Some people. What I think is the biggest factor to low supply is right now, 60% of home buyers have an interest rate lower than 4%.

Yeah, home sellers.

Home sellers, yeah. So they don't. It's almost like they're golden, handcuffed to a home that they don't necessarily want to keep. But they're like, am I really going to trade less than 4% for seven, you know, a little over 7% right now. And so that's what's got supply low. And so if you are out there, you're thinking of selling, there's already a lot of uncertainty. The last thing you want is to not have a real estate agent you trust, you know, not, you know, just feel like you're alone. And so for that reason, if you are selling a home, we want to make sure that you're doing it the right way. If you're buying a home, we want to make sure you're doing it the right way, the Ramsey way, so that it's a blessing and not a burden. And so the Ramsey trusted program is the only way to find an agent that you can trust, really, to keep you on track. There are people here that they value what we teach here at Ramsey, and they will get you the best offer on your house, and they will help you also find the right house.

House for you. And so we send. We set you up with top agents that are in your area. These are folks that we trust. And you get to review their stats. Like, you get to, you know, interview them and decide who it is that you want to work with. But at the end of the day, Ramsey trusted agents. They've got years of experience, okay? And they're going to help you make wise decisions when it comes to pricing, marketing, and choosing the right offer. Because here's the thing. There are. It's so desperate out there right now, Ken. And just to break away back to our CNN or, you know, Fox News segment here. Yeah, here's the thing. Because it is so crazy out there. People are getting desperate, right? And you know what comes after desperate? Stupid. Right? And so we're seeing, right now, we're seeing an increase of really kind of like. Like early pre 2007, 2008 housing market crash. We're seeing a lot of those things surface up again. We're seeing a resurgence of 40 year mortgages, Ken.

Oh, we are seeing zero damage down arms as well.

I'm guessing adjustable rate mortgages can are up 15% just in the last three weeks.

Yeah, that's where people get hurt.

That's where they get hurt. Because if you survey, if you go back and survey the folks you know, back before zero eight who took out arms, 70% of them say they wish they'd never done it. And the foreclosure rate on these things are so high, guys. So. So work with a Ramsey trusted pro, because if you even try to bring that mess in, they're gonna go, don't do it. That's not smart for you. And you need someone, one who's going to hold you accountable. So these Ramsey trusted agents, like I said, they've got years of experience. And if you're looking for one, you can find one at a Ramsay trusted agent for free, by the way, at ramsey solutions.com agent. That's what you're looking for. All right, Ken.

Love it. Love it.

Thanks for the media.

Yeah, you know, sure.

You know, that's what we do. All right, we got Joseph in Charlotte, North Carolina. What's going on, Joseph?

How are y'all doing?

Doing great. How are you? You?

I'm doing all right. So me and my wife, we are kind of talking exactly about what I'm about to ask about. We are looking to buy a house. And like you said, the market is insane. And, you know, we've taken all the steps to buy a house, but now that we're provided with the numbers and the pre approval letter and all that. It's. It's honestly disheartening because we don't know what to do. We have. I'm 23 and my wife's 23. We have no debt. We've saved up some money planning for this. But when you look at the monthly payment on a house that we would be looking for, it's. It's ridiculous.

Yeah.

I mean, it would be. It would swallow us up and there's no way we could do it.

Yeah.

My question is where, what steps do we take? Do we wait, do we rent? I mean, we kind of, we live with her parents and we're trying. We have a, we have a two year old and so we're trying to get out and, you know, grow our own family, but we don't know where to go or what to do.

Can I ask a quick question, really quick? I'm going to get out of the way because this is Jade's expertise. But I. But I am going to ask this question from a, from a provider standpoint. And I've been where you are. Forget where you are right now. Let's just take a real number. Okay. What is realistically, based on what we teach, what's the number? That is a very smart and safe down payment and mortgage. Like, what's the price of a house that you can buy? And it doesn't stretch you at all. What is that price point.

As far as, like, the down payment?

No, I'm sorry, I kind of led you the wrong way. I don't care about down payment. She'll talk to you about that. She's got the formula. Look, I'm saying, what is the price point? That is a reasonable purchase price for you with your income, where you guys are in your life right now. What's that? And reasonable housing price, honestly, would probably.

Be from like 280 to 300.

Okay, I'm going to get out of the way because, because Jade's great at this in coaching you, but I'm going to tell you what I think. If I were you, I'd be looking at places where I can get a house between 283 hundred. This is really not a grand mystery. Now, you may not like that, and I get that, but that's where the renting question, she'll walk you through the rest of it. But I thought I'd jump on the front end of that. Yeah, because I feel like that needs to color the rest of the conversation ago. This is what your realistic situation is. So waiting versus renting versus maybe we can't live where I'd like to live right now. In other words, when Stacey and I started out, Jade, I could take you to the place in Franklin where, you know, never in a million years would I live there now. But we thought it was the greatest thing ever. Back in the day when we had no kids. It was our very first home. And by the way, it was $198,000. And I thought that I had lost my mind.

I mean, you're right, Ken. You can only afford what you can afford. And then there's certain parts of the country where it's like, what I can afford is just not out there there. And so you got. Here's what I want to say. You guys are 23. If you rent for five, six, seven years, it's not the end of the world until you can afford it. I don't think it's going to take you that long. The houses that you were looking at, now that you got the pre approval on, what was that price point, real quick?

400,000.

Okay, so you're looking 100,000 more than what you can afford. And then you have to ask yourself, okay, what does the down payment have to be for us to get in at the bottom of this thing? 400,000. What does my down payment have to be, and what do you have saved so far? So what do you have saved so far, and what do you need in order for this to balance out? And if you don't know the numbers, it's okay. You can go on ramsaysolutions.com dot. We have a really great mortgage calculator there. We'll put it in the liner notes, and we'll make sure you get that information. But that's what you need to figure out. And if you can save up that down payment. And in the meantime, if interest rates can go down, that'd be even more, you know, that. Help everybody out a little bit bit. But the key point is, you're a smart, smart guy. You looked at this and said, there's no way in the world I'm going to get a mortgage that's 50 or 60% of my income. Right. And for that reason, you're on the right track. What we want to get you to is to where it's no more than 25% of your take home.

Right?

So where were you at when you were looking at these?

So we sat down and we. We've been, like, been binge watching all stuff. So we're trying to put all the numbers together, but we have, like, 36,000 saved. And for, I bring home about four to five grand a month. Okay, so overtime or not.

So you guys, you guys got to keep crunching those numbers. Use that calculator, because when you use that, it's going to tell you exactly what you need to have saved. And then you guys can say, okay, what's the timeline in order to make that happen? Okay, so that's what you want to look for. No more than 25% of your take home on a 15 year fixed rate conventional mortgage. That's the homework. This is the Ramsey show.

Here at Ramsey, we talk a lot about building wealth, and a big part of protecting your wealth is insurance. Having the right insurance is key to taking care of the things and people that are most important to you. When you work with our Ramsey trusted insurance pros and partners, you'll have the peace of mind knowing you're not paying for gimmicks. You're only paying for what you need. Get connected with a Ramsey trusted insurance pro@ramseysolutions.com. coverage.

Thanks for being with us. You're listening to the Ramsey show. I'm Jade Warshaw. Next to me is Ken Coleman. We're taking your calls, so if you want to talk with us, get your call in now. Triple 888-25-5225 this is a live show where live callers come in, they get screened, they get put on the board, we pick up, and instantly we are talking to someone live in real time. So if anybody's ever wondered, that's what it is. If you didn't know, now you know. So we've got Ryan live on the phone lines from Washington, DC. What's going on, Ryan?

Hey, Jade. Hey, Ken. Thanks for taking my call today.

You bet. How can we help?

So I needed to get your, your advice on what to do with my wife's old 401k while we're still trying to tackle baby step two, we started this about a year ago. Actually, just yesterday was our, was our year mark and baby step two, we've paid off a little over 90,000 and we have 30,000 left.

Way to go.

My way. It's been a lot, so I'm real proud of us. But so now our income has changed drastically. So my wife decided to stay home with our two boys, which I fully supported.

Okay.

She's working for her mom now as a 1099 with a travel agent company.

Okay.

I bring home anywhere around $3500 to $4,500 per paycheck.

Take home how many paychecks, too.

She went bi weekly.

Okay. 4500 per person. Okay.

Yes, ma'am. And she. She was making about 2400 bi weekly, and now she's down to 1500 a month, which is. Which is fun.

So about 10,500 between the two of you?

Yes, ma'am. That sounds about right.

Okay.

So I pick up overtime where I can, I take work trips. Really been crushing it over this last year. And now that she's not working for that company, she's got. Like I said, we have about 30,000 left before the mortgage, and her 401K is sitting at a little over 26,000. And it's a traditional. So she doesn't contribute to it right now, just with her 1099 being lower. It's a newer company for her mom. So eventually that'll bump up and she'll contribute. So we're wondering whether.

With her old job. Right.

It's with her old job. So we didn't know whether to knock out debt with that or roll it over into a Roth.

Yeah. You need to do it.

And. And I know what I want to do, but, you know, what do you.

All want to do? What do you want to do?

She. She wants to roll it into a Roth and just take the, you know, the income tax hit because it wasn't a traditional or isn't a traditional. Yeah, I'm on the fence because we're so close.

No, do that. Your wife is right. Do a direct transfer rollover into the Roth Ira. That's what you want to do with this. It's for. The money was set aside for retirement. That's what it's for. And if you take it, you're taking a hit on retirement funds. And so you would be hit with taxes and penalties because you're taking it before the time period of 59 and a half. So for that reason and for, like I said, this money was earmarked for retirement. So much of money is about behavior. Right. And so if we say this money is for this, that's what it's for. And we kind of learn how to discipline our behaviors in that way. So that's what I would do. And that's what you should. Truly. That is what you should do in this situation. Way to go. You paid off $90,000.

Yeah. It's amazing.

That's really, really great. We're celebrating with you. Very good question. Yeah, Ken, never touch the. No, never touch the retirement. I know it's tempting, but don't touch it. Very good question. Good call. We got Robert, who's in Cleveland, Ohio. What's going on. Robert.

Hi. Good afternoon. Thank you for taking my call today.

Yeah. How can we help?

Yeah, I was calling because. Because I have been wrestling with my mother over the past three to four years on her finances. She's in her mid seventies, and the only income that she receives is Social Security and VA survivor benefits. Her total income is exactly $2,352 a month. When I add up her monthly expenses, they come out to just a hair under $1,900.

Okay.

And what I did was, is to help her out. During mother's day, weekend, I went ahead and paid off her first mortgage. And as a gift.

How much was it?

The difference was about $4,000.

Okay.

It wasn't a lot, but I figured if she. If I paid off that for her, then I would eliminate a couple hundred dollars a month.

Yeah. Now she's just. Taxes and insurance.

Right. Taxes and insurance. Now she's got a home equity line of credit.

Okay.

That's. That's small. It's about $18 to $19,000. And the bank that she's working with has given her a fixed rate of two and a half percent on it.

Okay.

So her monthly, her monthly expense, about $200 a month.

Okay. So how can we help you today?

I just need some advice, because she's given me a lot of pushback on helping her out. Whenever I ask her, you know, I like to take control of your finances to where I see where her income comes in. And my wife and I would pay her bills for her because she has. She struggles paying her monthly bills.

Yeah.

She gets her mail and sticks it in the corner and doesn't want to. Yeah. I've tried every avenue possible, and I've been working in finance for 31 years, and she's the toughest person out of my 31 years.

Yeah.

That. She'll say, it's own. None of your business. I don't want to tell you what's going on.

Yeah. She's embarrassed. She's embarrassed.

She.

And she's a strong personality.

She's also right. Her finances aren't your business.

Yeah. She's your mama, but she needs help.

I didn't say that. I'm just saying. I get it.

Yeah.

This is a boundary issue, and he's a great son. I'm just saying, when she says it's none of your business, it's technically none.

Of your business, I think you keep doing what you're doing, she's not going to sign over the keys to the kingdom to you, which is kind of what you want. And that's okay. Just keep doing what you're doing. And, you know, reach out when you see things that are like, ooh, that's a hot stove. Like, reach over and turn it off. You know, reach over. I love what you did to help her out with that first mortgage. I think that was really kind of you and really generous of you. And I think you keep doing the things that you've been doing, Robert, and the time will probably come where she realizes she doesn't have much of a choice. But I don't think that day is today.

Yeah, we're coming to critical mass, I think, at some point, because I just recently discovered that her auto insurance was about to be canceled for non payment. I stepped in, paid that for home insurance. It's not being canceled because her old escrow had paid for it. Yeah, but the problem just recently discovered is property taxes are due in the middle of July in my county, and it's about $3,000.

Do you have access to her account at all?

You know, great question. She. I set her up with bank accounts at a local bank here, and then she transferred that money to a different bank and didn't tell me about it.

And I don't know. She doesn't want you involved. I know why it's none of your business. Now, one thing I want to bring up, Robert, just a question. Yes. You know, not saving the money for property taxes, not being able to pay insurance. Insurance. Is she capable of change to be able to deal with these things? Yes or no? No, she's not capable. Meaning she does not have enough money to be able to do these things.

Well, she has the ability with that. With the income, but it's a matter of her being financially.

Okay, that was different. So, Robert. So the answer to my question. You gave me the wrong answer. The answer is she's capable. Meaning that the income is there for her to be able to do it.

Yeah.

Every time you step in and fix something, she's allowing you to do that. You just stepped in and paid her insurance. She ain't gonna change as long as you're there to be the good son. That's the point I'm making, Ken.

You're right. I mean, here's. She's 70. She's not 90. You know, my dad is 70. There's no way in the world he would let me step in and just be like, you know what, dad? Let me handle it. He'd be like, you need to step on. Get to step it. Like, there's no way he would let me do it. And so unless you told me, like, she's, you know, she's showing early signs of dementia, or there's, if there's that, that's another case. But if you're just looking at her and going, yeah, I don't like the way you handle your money. You're not doing it right. You gotta, you gotta step off. This is the Ramsay show. You're listening to the Ramsay show. Hey, thank you for being here with us. Our scripture, unquote, of the day. But you take courage. Don't let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded. That's second chronicles 15 seven. I love that. And then Steve Jobs said, the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking and don't settle. I love that.

I agree with that one.

That's exactly it right there. All right, guys, thanks for listening. If you want to get your call in, the numbers triple, and we'll try to scoop you up right quick. In the meantime, we've got Susan, who's in Spokane, Washington, the city I was born. What's going on, Suzanne? Did I make you laugh? Yeah, I was born in Spokane.

Oh, that's cool.

How can I help?

So I, when I went to college, 2008, took a break, went back, graduated in 2015. And I did make the mistake of consolidating my student loans from, into a private bank, but, yeah. And so I had, I had been paying on those loans, you know, since then, about ten years. And last October, I started getting emails from the federal government saying that I, you know, deferments ending.

You're going to have to be paying.

And I was like, I don't have anything. I consolidated them all, and I went into it, and there is, like, saying that there was, like, $20,000 of loans from, like, some even from 2008 that had, like, my name on them, my parents names on them. Neither of us had any idea they existed. We had never paid on them before. And I, you know, called the place or whatever, the company, and they're like, oh, that's because of the deferment. You know, there was no, you know, penalty. And I was like, well, no, I haven't paid ever. And this is almost 20 years, some of them. And, like, how is that possible? How did they exist? There's no hit to our credit, neither of us knowing. I mean, my parents have purchased, like, multiple properties and stuff.

Are they on your credit? If you check your credit score, are they on there? And what does it show as the origination date.

I guess I. My credits. I haven't checked a credit score since I bought a car. The origination origination date on some of them is 2008. Some are, like, later 2012 and such.

But the time that you.

Before 2015? Yeah.

Yeah. I would double check on your credit report and see if they're there and see how long they've been there and how long they've been reporting. And then, you know, you might just have to do some basic math and kind of go back and see. Okay. How much did it cost me to go to school? What do I know that I paid out of my pocket? I think these are your loans. It's very possible that when you went to consolidate, maybe some of them were taken and some of them weren't, and something was left out. What I'm curious of is what did the loan start at and what is it now? Like, has it been accruing interest? Because, I mean, there was only. I mean, the. The pause was only from 2020 to what was that, 23 or whatever it was, so.

Oh, sure.

Did it accrue during those other years?

Not that I could recognize, no.

Okay, well, that's the. That's the upside of this whole thing. The thing that makes me feel like it definitely is you is it was during the time that you went to school. It's got your name on it. It's got your parents name on it.

Sure.

And you kind of said, yeah, I haven't really been checking my credit, and student loans aren't going to necessarily keep you from buying a car.

I mean, is it just me, Susan and Jade? I'm jumping in here. It feels like you should be talking to somebody and maybe you have. You just didn't tell us in this call, but emails popping up and this is like, I'd want to get on the phone with some people and I'd like to get to the bottom of this.

Yeah, I mean, I did call the company because I guess that it all sprang up when, I guess, whoever these loans were originally with sold them to a new company. And.

Yeah.

And so I did. I mean, I called multiple times and I was like, well, can I talk to your supervisor? Can I talk to that supervisor? Supervisor, you know, trying to go as high up as I can. And they were all just like, oh, and actually, at the end of, you know, as far up as they take me, they just said, we don't know.

We don't know what they probably got. It sounds like they got sold off and they don't know who sold yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, they don't. They don't know, like, how these loans have existed with no penalties, because my thought was, like, well, maybe like, these work ones that were consolidated, but then, you know, there was some error or something and they're just popping up.

But is that the answer what I'm digging into? Is that the answer you're trying to get? I don't. You don't want to be digging into why they haven't been. There's no penalties.

Right.

I'd slow your roll on that, but do you question whether or not they're actually yours?

I'm questioning whether or not. Yeah, basically, whether they are ones that, hey, I've been paying on, that were consolidated, that they were just like. I don't know.

Well, I do know what you mean, but again, I'm playing dumb here because I'm probably dumb, all right? But if I'm sitting there with you at your house, I'm going, okay. Do you have some paperwork on when the initial loans were taken out? I mean, this is not. You did take out loans?

Yeah.

Do you have the paperwork on them?

Probably my parents.

Okay.

In their file.

Okay, so now. Okay, so actually, dumb guy finally figure something out. That's the problem. Go to your parents house to get the paperwork. We've got to know what we're dealing with. It sounds like you don't even know. And if you're trying to dig into. Are these actually my loans? I want to make sure that I'm not getting overcharged, by the way, all things that I would be doing, digging into. But I would be starting with the original paperwork, and let's track this.

That's tough, Ken, because you. I mean, do you think you have that original promissory note? That's a long. That's a long time ago.

I mean, I have. I have no clue.

Should you or somebody who took out.

A loan should have some records of what you took out? I know I did.

Yeah.

I mean, they probably do.

Yeah.

If the loans that they were co signed on, because, you know, I mean, they're the. They still keep their checkbooks and stuff.

Here's the thing. What are they. Are they parent plus loans?

I honestly, I.

You got to dig into. You got to dig into more.

She doesn't know enough to even make this phone call to us.

You got to dig into this more, because what could have. I mean, what. What could have happened is you had a semester come. Came up, and if mom and dad are on the loan, they could have been like, well, we don't know. We'll just. We'll sign for this loan. Like, you. You're telling me it's 15 years ago. I mean, I. I.

You don't.

I don't have any memory.

Yeah, Susan, and I'm not being unkind. I'm just telling you, you can't even hold up under my basic questioning. So you got some homework to do. And I get why you've called, and I get that you're trying to make sure you don't get overcharged, but, my goodness, you don't know anything. Go find out what's going on with the original stuff and track it. Okay. All right. My loan was with. My loan was for x amount of dollars, and it was with this company. And I didn't make any payments from x date to x date. And then I've tracked it, and I figured out that this company sold my loan to this company. This is not difficult stuff. You do not require an investigative degree to be able to figure this out. Well, I want to figure it out.

I do feel bad for though, because can you imagine? You're like, yes, I'm paying my debt off. And then you. This zombie debt from whenever pops up, and you're like, couldn't I. Could I get a phone call? Could I get an email? Could I get a letter in the mail telling me about this? I agree that on that, Susan, I feel your pain, and I hate this for you, but to Ken's point, become a detective.

We've paid so far, and we just got to match it up.

Yeah.

Because I'm concerned about what they could do to her, come after her, you know?

Well, they are now.

Well, I know. And so this becomes very stressful. And I've take the stress out of it by going, I now have a clear picture of what I'm dealing with.

What I think happened is whatever her loan servicer was probably prior to Covid was probably lackadaisical. They probably, for whatever reason, it may have gotten lost in the shuffle, and she didn't hear. And, Susan, I hope you're still listening. She may not have heard much about it, but then in 2020, after. After the pause and all of these loans got resold and re, you know, they all resurfaced and went to different providers. Maybe that specific loan went to a provider that is on top of their business and that is collecting, and that does see her. And I think that's what happened. And now suddenly it's like, oh, yeah.

The new company is like, we. We bought this. We're going to collect on it. There's no question about that.

And I think that she owes the money. I think when she looks back on her credit report, she's going to be. It's been reporting.

Yeah.

All this time since 2007 through 2015.

I didn't hear about it. No, no. It was just kind of cha ching, cha ching.

And I'm going to say she's lucky that she didn't get hit with any fees and late fees and crazy interest.

Boy, oh, boy.

Count it all joy. All right, folks, this was the Ramsay show. Thanks for hanging out with us. Until next time, we'll see you on the flip side.

If you're a leader, your personal growth matters for your organization, because whatever you lead can only grow as much as you do. I know from experience, I've been CEO of Ramsey Solutions for over 30 years. And now I'm sharing that leadership and business coaching experience with you on the Entrez Leadership podcast. I'm taking your calls and helping you figure out how to overcome challenges within your organization. One episode could change your business. Check it out on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or on the Ramsey Network app.