This is the Ramsey show. It's where we help you win in your life, win with your money, win in your work, and win in your relationships. Excited to have you aboard. Triple 8825-5225 Triple 8825-5225 is the phone number. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins me today, and we are here for you. So george is our resident money expert. I'll chime in with an opinion or two if he allows.

I will allow.

Will you? All right. And I'm the work expert, so think income. All right. I'm the guy to help you make more income, and George is a guy to help you spend it and budget it properly.

Oh, I like that. It's a good comment.

You that so you're feeling stuck. You feel like you need the promotion. You can't get the promotion.

And a lot of people are like, should I move for this job? Should I take the pay cut? Should I take the raise? Is it worth it? Those are all conundrums that you can help with.

That's right. So happy to take any of those calls. Let's get to it. Detroit, Michigan. The motor city, George, is what it's famously known for.

Makes sense.

I'll explain that to you on the commercial break. But Colin is up. Colin, how can we help?

Hey, man. So, in a bit of a situation, I'm 21 years old. Three kids, five, two and 34 days. Started young, right?

Yeah.

Own a rental property, a duplex here in town, and own the home that I'm living in. So two different mortgages, two different car payments, trying to figure out what best suits me. Should I. I'm finding myself payment poor, which is probably 90% of the phone calls you guys receive. And I'm trying to see if it's smart for me to keep saving for one thing, but falling behind on the other.

What are you saving?

Or should I. Well, I'm just, like I said, I just went through a career switch. So I've. I was in the car business for the past four years, making 130 grand a year. Now I am a nurse, making about 80 grand a year.

Whoa.

And I, you know, it's what I went to school for. It's more consistent money, but definitely less now. There will be more in the future, but less now. And for these next couple years, it's going to be the income that can't afford what I have. So I'm trying to figure out it. Does it make sense for me to give, you know, does it make sense for me to take a minor hit on my credit and give car payments back to receive more money in my pocket so I can keep the lifestyle for me and my wife? Or does it make sense for me to sell everything so I can get more ahead of the game? Or just.

Okay, tell you what. Really, we're gonna. We're. George is gonna tell you what to do, but can I guide you so we can get to it faster?

Yeah.

All right, let's.

Let's go through your debts. All right, so we've got two homes, right? And. And so give us the. Not the primary home, not the mortgage, but just give us the. The rental property. What do you owe on that?

About 96.

Eight.

All right, 96. Eight. And then now list the rest of your debts out for us.

Um, you said besides the home that I live in.

That's right.

Said you had two car loans. Okay, what are those?

So two car loans, that's about 45 and 48.

Okay. And what are those cars worth? Are you upside down in those, or.

You got some equity upside down on them hard? Upside down on them hard.

How much on the 48? Give me that one first.

Eight grand.

Okay, so you have 90,000 plus worth of car loans, and you make 80,000.

Mm hmm.

Correct.

How?

Because when I accumulated those car loans, I was making 130.

That's right.

Not that.

That's a.

Not that. That's an.

That still hurts my brain, but.

Correct. It hurts my brain.

How much are you upside down?

Young and dumb.

That's. Okay. How much are you upside down on the $45,000 car?

Probably closer to twelve.

So it's only worth like 33.

Correct.

48 one.

He's eight k upside down.

That one's worth about 40.

Yeah.

Okay.

Give us the. Give George the rest of your debts. We got to see your whole picture here. Then he'll tell you what. Yeah.

For sure. So I know you guys said besides the mortgage I live in, but that mortgage is about 250.

What's it worth?

It's a manufactured home, so probably less than that. Way less than.

Okay. What? Let's keep moving. Let's keep moving on the other debt.

What's the rental worth, by the way?

Student loan. Say that again.

What's the rental worth?

The rental is worth about 130.

Okay.

We're definitely gonna sell that one, aren't we, George?

Yeah. That. Would you clear 30k worth of debt just by selling that? It is not a blessing.

I'm in the process of selling it now.

Okay.

So. Or at least talking to investment plan or, you know, property owners. Um, other debt is about eight grand in student loans.

Okay.

Is that it?

And about, uh, about 18 grand in credit card debt.

Okay, here's the deal. I would sell this rental. You'll clear, hopefully about 30k.

Yep.

That's the 20k you're upside down in on the cars, plus another ten to get you a different vehicle.

Right.

So that's going to clear the car debt. What are your total car payments?

Um, probably about $2,800 a month.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah.

Okay, well, that's going to free up $2,800 that you can now use to tackle the other debt. So you'll tackle the smallest debt first. So if you have a bunch of credit cards, I'm guessing those are split amongst a few.

Yep, yep.

Okay. So whatever the smallest balance is, you're going to free up to 2800, all the margin you can muster up from your normal income. Is your wife working outside the home?

No.

Okay. I imagine she's got her hands full with a one month old, a two and a five year old.

Correct.

When you go home, can she do something part time and you take over?

No, I work nights, so where I work afternoon, so three to eleven. So when I'm home, it's. I mean, I guess she could, but my problem is this is another kind of. I find myself in. I mean, you know, because my income is reported for the past two years in the sense of what? You know, daycares and all that stuff. Take because I made so much then, but make so little now or less now, I still don't qualify for any help.

Can you pick up more hours doing nursing?

Yeah, I mandated three nights a week already.

Okay, if you can do even more of that, we got to get this income up. But if you at least do what we say, sell the rental, you'll clear the amount you're upside down on the cars that will allow you to sell them. Then you're going to take the ten k and get you a beater car to get around in for now. Now with that freedom, 2800, you attack the rest of your 26,000 in debt, student loans and credit cards.

And at that, what, that amount? What are we talking about, George? How many months are we looking at there? He's got 26.

So we'll make an 80. And freeing up that should help you get out of debt in a year.

That's right. Do you see that path? Yeah. In one year, if you take the money, if you do exactly, just like freed up in those car payments, you can get out of this in a year.

Okay.

Do you have any savings?

Yeah, but it's very little. Probably about $4,800.

That's something. So if you're following the baby steps, which we're going to send you, financial peace University, to walk you through this, maybe step one is $1,000. Anything beyond that needs to go toward your consumer debt. So that's 3800. You would attack. You would knock out a few credit cards just like that, which frees up a payment. Do you see how the snowball starts rolling?

I put him on hold because we're running into a break.

Yeah, we did what we could. So that's the plan. Hang on the line. We'll send you a copy of my book, breaking free from broke. It'll walk you through this. It'll make you never want to touch debt again. And financial peace University, that's going to give you the proven plan to get out of debt, to build wealth. Man, you got three babies, you got a wife. You got to start taking life seriously. And that means getting out of debt as fast as possible.

Colin, I mean, George laid it out as plain as it could be. There is no margin for you to come up with your own version of that plan. That's the plan that will get you out of debt in a year and allow you to start, to begin to build wealth. Take care of all those kiddos. Try to find some sleep somewhere in there. This is the Ramsay show.

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Welcome back to the Ramsey show. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell is with me this hour. Triple 882-5522 is the phone number. We'll get back to the phone shortly. But first, George, I like to you and I were talking on Friday. We were on the show and during the breaks, we were talking about how we just peruse the old real estate listings.

Just one of my only hobbies.

Yeah. By the way, this is not an endorsement. It's just I like the usability of it. I use realtor.com dot.

I'm a fan as well.

Yeah, yeah. It just, it's a nice interface. Well, and again, this is no endorsement, sure. But these are, but it is listings by realtors. And so I find it to be fun. But the app, it's kind of fun to see what's going on. And I'll be honest with you, I'm always kind of looking at my neighborhood.

To go, okay, what's going on in the hood?

I want to know what's happening.

A lot of people do that, by the way. It's their hobby as well.

Well, sure. You want to see where you stand. How's the old equity situation?

Some of it's doom, sprawling the market going, what if a little bit of dreaming and some people are going, should I sell my house?

All right, mister money guy, what's your take on the current real estate market?

I think it's not going to change drastically anytime soon.

So what does that mean?

I think rates will slowly come down, down, but as they come down, home values will pipe up.

So you're telling me people ought to be on. No, excuse me. They should be in the game, not on the sideline. That's what you're telling me.

If you're financially ready to buy, do it. Don't worry about the rates. And if you're thinking about selling, is not going to be like, well, if I wait six months, what? Just go ahead and sell. If you're ready to sell.

All right.

There you go. From the expert himself, from the, from the old horse's mouth right there, folks. And so we've got a great program for you. Our Ramsey trusted program is the only way to find an agent that you can actually trust, keep you on track with your goals. They understand the way we teach buying and selling real estate. And so we want to make sure that you know that there are top agents in your area that we trust, and you can find these Ramsey trusted agents with years of experience by going to ramsaysolutions.com agent. That's ramsaysolutions.com agent. All right, to Atlanta, Georgia. We go next. And C is on the line. C, how can we help?

Hi, Ken and George. How are y'all?

We're having a blast. What's going on?

All right. I am in baby step number two, and in an effort to increase my income and just do something that I see myself doing long term. I'm thinking about going to get a master's degree, but I don't know if I should do it. Now or later? After I pay off all my debt.

Okay, give me a quick snapshot of your debt.

I have 22,000 in student loans.

That's it?

Yes.

Okay. What'd you get your undergrad in?

Sociology.

Okay. And what are you. What masters are you looking at pursuing?

It's something different. So it wouldn't take the standard two years. It would be three years if. Speech language pathology.

So three year program to have a master's in speech pathology?

Yes.

Okay. And what's the income range if you were to have that master's degree in speech pathology?

According to Google, about 81,000. Vortex.

Is that starting or is that kind of at the top range?

Yes. It says less than a year of experiment experience. And that's, like, the 25%.

And what's that look like as it goes up? What do you think the ceiling is on that income?

I did not research that. But that's, like, the low end, and that's, like, very beginner, so.

Okay, good. All right. And do you see yourself potentially owning your own firm? I'm not sure what you call it.

Or agency practice.

Practice. Thank you. That's the word.

Maybe, but I haven't thought that far yet.

All right, good. Well, that's. I guess that's why you called me. I'm going to walk you through all these things.

Okay.

So how much is the master's program going to cost?

Hello, C. We stumped c on that question.

Did we lose her?

All right, we'll see if.

Hello, C. Now we can. You just went into. You just. You just disappeared for a moment. We're glad to get you back. How much is the three year program that you're looking into? What. Or have you looked into multiple? And what is the range of cost?

Well, it'll be about 25,000 at the school that I've looked at.

25,000 total?

Yes.

Okay.

Well, not including books and things like that, just tuition.

Okay. And do you have that set aside in cash?

I don't have that in cash right now.

That's right, because you're trying to pay off the $22,000.

How much do you have in savings right now?

That's my thousand for baby step one.

She's working the baby steps, Jordan. Okay, good. So are you single income? Double income. Is it just you? And what are you making right now?

Yes, I'm single. No children. I'm making 31,000 as a teacher.

Okay. All right, so this is here. So here's where we are. So you're part time only. Make it 31,000 so regardless of my answer on the master's degree, can we agree that you need to be full time doing something making more than $31,000?

I said that I'm working full time and part time.

Oh, I misunderstood. Oh, my gosh.

What are you making as a teacher? They're only paying, like, 20 grand.

No, I guess. Are you full time sociologist?

Like.

No, I'm a teacher, so I'm in a. I work at a small christian school. So, yeah, my income is not, like, the average.

Can you go work at a different school and make, you know, 35, 40, 45?

Well, I did get it. I did get a raise this upcoming year. This is just. I just gave you my numbers for what I'm making right now, so.

Well, but this is all informing my decision. Here's the challenge. See, there are times where I give people the advice of cash flowing. A master degree, okay, while they're doing the baby steps. And in your situation, you've only got the student loans, 22,000. But you've got to get your income up before I would ever say to try to do both. Okay. The challenge is you got a three year program. Okay? And that's all. That's a good chunk of time. And you're going to have to be working, I'm guessing, full time during that process. Correct.

Right.

Okay. So to me. To me, it's. There's no wrong answer, but I would be more comfortable saying, yes, cash flow your way through this if you were making more money. You know, if you're working two jobs, I'd like to see that number be around 60, 65, not two jobs at 31. And I understand you were giving us your current numbers, but going forward, you know, you're going to have to play this out. And, George, I'm going to throw it to you, because this is a budgeting issue. If the income gets up higher to the tune of. See, listen to me. My qualifications on you. On me saying, yes, you should go get this. This graduate degree. I like that. It's a path to a lot more money. And in this case, I want to be clear with the audience and, see, I'll let you answer the question. A master's degree is the only way to be a speech pathologist. True or false?

Sure.

Okay. So I want the audience to know that I've got a two part framework that I. That I always run by people, and then they ask about a furthering education degree. Is it the only way, or is it the best way? And if the answer is yes, then I say, pursue it, but we still got to be smart with our money. In this case, I'm bringing you in here. George C. Needs to have this. So there's no question that the master's degree is eventually required. I would be more comfortable if she doubled her salary, but I'm going to leave an asterisk there. If she could double her salary and get more, let's say she gets in the 60 65 range. From a budget standpoint, I want you to walk her through what she'd have to be able to figure out to pull the trigger on this. Yeah.

Well, when you think about even paying off your 22 grand and student loans, let's say you could do $1,000 a month toward your loans, right? That's 22 months. That's almost two years. 32.

Yes. I'm sorry.

Okay, so at a grand a month, if you were able to throw that, it would take you almost three years to pay off the debt. Then you still need to get your emergency fund, save up, and cash flow to college, then do three years. So you're talking about, like, a seven year plan. Would you agree that kind of sucks? Don't you want to get there faster?

I do.

So now the question is, what if we could do two grand a month? Well, that changes the equation. 2500 a month. When you create that kind of margin, it's going to get you out of debt faster, allow you to cash flow this faster, and get you through school. So that's the goal you need to be thinking through, is how can I create more margin? The only way to do that is by spending less and making more. And right now, I'm going to heavily index it toward the making more side.

So, see, based on how GeOrGE walked you through those numbers, I want you to press pause on the master's degree. Let's get the income up, get some more headway on that debt, and get to a point where, you know, you can budget and you can live and you can cash flow your way through while continuing to pay off baby. Step two. Other than that, I'd say you're gonna have to press pause and get out of debt first before we even think about the master's degree. This is the Ramsey show.

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The Ramsey show continues. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell is with me, and we are here for you this hour taking your money questions, your professional and work questions related to your income. How do you make more income? Is it a side hustle? Is it a pivot? Why are you not getting promoted? I'll take any of those questions. We want to help you get some more money in, by the way. That helps us get through the baby steps faster. The George here to be the primary here on your money questions. 888-825-5225 Triple 888-825-5225 Tallahassee, Florida, is where we go next. And Ryan is joining us there. Ryan, how can we help?

Yes, sir. And, Ken, George, great to hear from you. Thanks for taking my call.

You bet. What's happening today?

Yes, sir. So my wife and I, we're in baby step two. We've been going at it gazelle intense, like you guys say, for about the last year and a half, and we're doing really good with it. Uh, my big question and my main question is, how do you keep the intensity on your debt payoff? Like, as far as making sure that you're just, you keep going at it and you don't lose any steam on it and you don't get disgruntled because we have, like, our two loans that we have left, the big ones, and that's all we have left. We've paid off all the small, fiddly, doink stuff, like credit cards and affirm and stuff like that.

So how much debt do you have total leftover?

I have about 40,000. And we started with about. I want to say it was 89,000. We actually, my wife, we had, before we started, we had bought her a brand new Honda Accord and then start, I found you guys on YouTube, and I was like, we. We got to get rid of the car.

So, Ryan, here's my question. You called us, and I love this question. How do we keep the intensity up or how do we stay the course? I'm just curious, where are the temptations or where are the frustrations? Give us what you guys are actually dealing with in this journey right now.

So we're just working so much I work. I'm a commercial truck driver. Locally, I work anywhere between 65 to 75 hours a week. And my wife works about probably 55 to 60 hours a week. And that's just on our regular jobs. And then I'll do, like, uber eats and stuff on the side.

So you're exhausted? You're just exhausted?

Yeah.

Okay. So, George, this is an interesting question. This is kind of fun to tackle. I may have a different position than George, but I think that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Would you agree with that, Ryan?

Totally agree. Like I said, that's why I was asking, how do you just make sure that you keep that intensity and the fire does not die out in your.

Well, I'm going to tell you what you're doing. I'm going to tell you because I think there's a difference between. When Dave, for decades has said, be gazelle intense, there's a difference between that. I think I could be wrong. I don't mind if George disagrees with me here and maybe some of our audience. I think there's a difference between that and literally the physical sprint the entire time. And I think there might be times. And I ran a half marathon. I only did it once. I'll never do it again, by the way, I was one and done, George.

You know, this famous first and last half.

But here's one thing I learned, and I took away from my half marathon. You have to. You have to pace yourself. And that means you can't always keep the same pace as I mapped out the course with a good friend of mine. You share the friend. He's intense. And we mapped out. All right, so this. This part of the course is a little bit more hilly, so you're not going to be able to naturally keep your pace up there. It's just physically harder. So let's drop our pace back here. But then we pick up our pace coming down the hill. And so I think the journey at this moment is similar to that, George. And I don't mind if you disagree with me, but I'm going to lead off. This may be controversial, but I think I would back off if you're working. Did you say you were working about 75 hours a week right now, roughly, or is it 80?

No, like. Well, on my full time job.

No, I mean, everything. I took into account everything you're doing.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Everything's probably about 80 to 85 hours a week.

Yeah. I.

You've.

You've paid off so much money. You're on the downhill of this deal. You've paid off 80.

Uh, you got less than half to go.

I would pull back, and I'm just making this up, but I would pull back to maybe 60 hours, see what 50 looks like for two weeks. That's obviously commensurate to you're not bringing in as much money. But again, you guys have learned how to budget. I'd like to see some gazelle intensity on keeping rice and beans and all that kind of stuff, but maybe give y'all give yourself a little bit of a physical break. Uh, you know, maybe budget in a steak dinner instead of rice and beans every night. I think you gotta pace yourself. George, do you disagree with that advice?

Not necessarily. I think the way I would pace it is just breaking it down into smaller goals. It's not necessarily we want to have less income, but I think there's ways to not make it a giant slog, which right now you've got the big dogs, so you've got the mountain staring you. You've knocked out the little ones. You've got those wins, and now you're like, oh, crap.

You can't keep doing 80 hours a week forever.

No, 80 hours, that's a lot like with the uber eats. Are you guys just not making enough with your full time jobs? What's. What's the current household income with the side jobs?

Current household income with the side jobs, the net is, like, just shy of 11,000 a month.

Amazing. And how much of that are you able to throw at the debt?

We throw about $2,757 at the debt every month, and that's according to the budget, so.

Okay.

Going hard in the.

My question is, why do you guys have $8,000 in expenses?

Well, I have my. My truck loan, which is one of the. That's the biggest one we have left. I owe 26,000 on that.

Okay.

And then we. We have a $13,800 personal loan that we had took out after we sold the car to buy my wife her little hooptie truck that she has now.

Okay. I'm just. It still seems like you have a lot of expenses. So if we can figure out a way to spend less, because what we're talking about is making more. The other option to get margin is to spend less. So I'm wondering if there's lifestyle choices we can make. We're shopping at a different grocery store. Less stops at the, no pun intended, at the gas station. You know, are there other things we can do on that arena to bring our expenses down to 6000? So you're not having to work as much. But you also don't lose progress. That's where I'm trying to get to.

Okay. I know. My big thing is we own a home, and our mortgage is 3564 a month.

Goodness gracious. That's a lot of mortgage.

Yes, sir.

That explains how big is so tight.

What was that, Ken?

How big is the house? How many square feet are you got on that?

Just shy of 2300 sqft, man. And it's a four bedroom, three bath.

Okay. Well, I think this mortgage is a. That's another thing to look at down the road, because that may not be a sustainable mortgage for you guys.

It's a big mortgage on a house.

That small, because once you go back to your normal full time jobs, what's going to be your take home pay?

It would be like $9,400 a month.

Okay. So this mortgage is taking up a big old chunk of that. We're talking, you know, upwards of 40% of your take home pay going toward the mortgage.

Yeah. You guys on the water?

No, we're not. We're just. I live in. In Florida.

Yeah.

And when we had originally bought the house right before. Ironically, we bought the house right before we discovered you guys, and I told my wife, I was like, if we had only found the Ramsey show maybe like, a couple of months before.

Well, usually you make a bad decision, then you find the show. So you guys did it in the right order.

That's.

That's.

How much is the house worth?

The house is worth 400,000.

Would you pay for it?

400,000 with very little down, I imagine.

Yeah, we actually. We had the down payment assistance plan when we bought the home.

Okay.

Kind of. They put in, like a. It's all included in the mortgage, I guess, but it's.

What's the.

What's the truck worth?

My truck is worth 18,000.

Okay. I'm just wondering if push came to shove and you were just done going this hard, you could sell the truck you need to cover the amount you're underwater on, plus enough to get you something different.

That's his main income.

But I don't. Well, the truck is not the one you're driving for work. Right. That's your personal vehicle.

It is.

Oh.

I really would. I think it's time for them to get out of this deal and rent.

George, that's a lot of house. I would consider that you probably can get out of debt first. It's gonna take you another year. I'd keep up the intensity and look at your lifestyle choices. But if you can't sustain it, you gotta slow down a little bit. Don't burn out.

But if you can't keep up those hours, at least take a week off and then get back at it. But my goodness, that's, I think those are other fixes. I think I try to get out of that house. I wouldn't normally say that, George, but I think that would be a big, big fix.

That's a lot of house. You gotta go from disgruntled to gruntled. That's what I've learned in life, Ken.

Ooh, I like that. I'm gonna quote that George Camel. Folks, this is the Ramsay show. 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? Whats 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.com deloney. Welcome back to the Ramsey show. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins me this hour. The phone number is 888-825-5225 you got a question about your money? Come on. You got a question about not making enough money? You want to make more? I'm here to help on that. George is going to coach you up on your budget, how to keep it. So let's get to it. Is it Joan? I think we're going to go with Joan or Joanne. What do you think?

I'm going to go Joanne.

You're going to go Joanne? I'll go with Joanne. Toronto, Ontario is it Joan or Joanne?

It's Joanne.

Joanne. All right. Way to go, George. Way to help me.

I won a prize. Thank you.

How can we help?

Okay, so we have a 15 year old son who we have been Dave Ramsey followers for years. So he has done the 60, 30, ten principal. Now he is working 50, 60 hours a week, and we are starting to see an unhealthy money habit where everything is about money and saving.

Be more specific. What's showing up in his actions and his comments that's got you concerned about a 15 year old working 50 to 60 hours a week? I'm having a hard time being concerned yet, but I want to hear more.

Okay, well, and maybe this is where we don't need to be concerned, but he is an avid soccer fan and he would rather work than go to his soccer game.

You mean, mean playing in his. In his. Correct.

Okay, correct.

And what's his job? What kind of work is he doing?

He's now into landscaping.

And what's he making per hour?

$19 an hour.

And what kind of goals does this kid have with this money? Have you heard him talk about some of his goals?

Oh, yes.

What's he got?

He wants to buy a house.

Uh huh. And why does he want to buy a house?

He wants to buy a house when he's 20. And yes, in Canada, in our area, you don't get much of a house for 400,000.

Right. And what is he, what is he saying about his future besides buying a house? Is he saying anything about a professional future? Things that he may want to do one day?

He does. Like, he's leaning towards running his own landscaping company.

Okay, there's your answer.

But when it comes to college, it is off the table. He doesn't even want to think about it because he can make money instead.

Fantastic.

He's making 4500 a month. At 15 years old, what does he need college for?

I couldn't be happier. Joanne, you have nothing to be concerned about at all. You have a 15 year old who has discovered the value of working his butt off and stacking cash, and he's thinking five years ahead on a house. He's thinking probably seven to ten years ahead on owning his own landscaping company. And he's going, I'm never going to play in the, in the MLS, and I'm probably not going to make the Canadian World cup team. So maybe I'll just skip my soccer game and take care of my future. I wouldn't be concerned if I were you, Joanne. I'd be throwing a party.

Okay.

That's good, George. Am I wrong?

Here's my take. Now, there is. I'm. The only concern is that he has skipped childhood and went straight into adulthood. We want him to grow into an adult who is excited about work.

I like that he skipped childhood. That's a dramatic.

Well, I just don't want him to look back one day and go like, I just. What did I do this for? I just worked my whole life. My concern, Ken. And here's where I've seen this play out. There's not a why behind it.

He's got a why.

Well, he wants to buy. He wants a house.

No, he wants to run his own landscaping company one day.

Yes.

He likes landscaping work.

At 20, who cares about that?

That's just a 15 year old. That'll work itself out. She's wondering, is he working too much? Is he too concerned about money? And I don't think he is.

Does he have to be in school?

We homeschool.

Okay.

And he's doing his high schooling. Instead of four years, he's doing it in three.

And he's getting it all done. He's doing his work. He's studying. Oh, absolutely right.

This kid's a machine.

Work and make money.

Yeah.

Yeah.

A lot of people get it.

He hates the homeschooling, but he's so bound and bent. He can make money.

He's very disciplined.

Instead of sitting behind a desk.

Yes, but that's what schooling does to a lot of entrepreneurs. In fact, I could tell this story over and over and over and over and over against all about all the great entrepreneurs. They hate being behind a desk. They hate the process they're about doing. And my guess is he really enjoys the outdoors. Is this something he's always been? Bit of an outdoorsy, handy kind of guy.

Oh, absolutely.

100%.

Again, this is. He's. Listen, I wrote a book called find the work you're wired to do, George. This kid is wired.

Figured it out very early.

Yes. I'm telling you, I'm so excited, I could barely stand it. This is. By the way, this is rare.

Very.

But to say this kid's not had any fun. He's had a fun childhood. Yes.

Yeah. And trauma. Lots of trauma.

But. Okay. Tell us about that. Whatever you're comfortable with. We don't need to know the details. But what kind of trauma?

Um, he lost his brother when he was seven, so that's really tough on him.

That'll make you grow up quick.

That's exactly what I was.

So sorry.

Yeah.

Yeah. And a year later, his dad and me split.

Okay. So would you say it's possible that this is a big distraction for him and it also is a potential win for him? He sees a big life win. He sees something that he can control. He couldn't control losing his brother. He couldn't control you all divorcing, but he can control how much money he makes?

I think so. And potentially it makes him focused on something other than his pain.

That's exactly what I'm getting at. That's why I said it's a distraction and something that he can control.

It can be both.

Listen, I think getting him therapy on a consistent basis and encouraging him to do that is okay. I understand your concern. I was having some fun. I am in no way minimizing the trauma that he's had, but this is actually. He's not. He's not some weird situation. He's rare, but he's not weird.

Okay.

George, I keep thinking about my friend Graham Stephan, who's a big financial youtuber. He had a very similar experience to your son, Joe. Joanne, where he went, he was in school going, wait, I can go make money doing this aquarium photography stuff. Why am I sitting here in school making $0? So there is a bent to him that he's going to be very wealth minded. And that's okay. I'm just in the boat of. I think a little bit of balance is good as long as he has some hobbies. I just. I don't know that I don't want to be working 60 hours a week, let alone a 15 year old. So that was my only thing was, I love where he's headed. His mindset's right. His discipline is there. I just want him doing it for the right reasons and have some real depth to it, instead of just going, I got to build wealth. I got to have a million by 21. Or else.

Or else.

Or else. And as I dig into it with people, there's no why behind it. I just want him to have that deeper why.

And I appreciate that. But, Joanne, I would just be aware. I think George makes a very good point there. I just keep your eye on it. But really encourage him and really just speak positive life over him that he's working so hard that he's put money away, and just remind him, hey, have a little bit of fun with some of that money, and force him to give some, too.

You said you're doing the 60 30 ten. I assume that's saving, spending, giving.

Yeah, but he. As long as we've done that, which is all he ever actually remembers. He's never spent 30%.

I think we get him way less to enjoy some of it more. Because what I'm the only concern is that he has a flat tire. Where he goes, I'm great at saving and investing. I have a harder time giving and having that open hand. I have a harder time enjoying the fruits of my labor. So I think we can work on those things with them. But I don't think this is a, you know, a crisis.

No, no.

Okay.

Just make, make sure he doesn't get too unhealthy. And that's the only issue. And the unhealthy would be that he's just working, working, not enjoying, not giving. So be that positive focus. Hey, I think you should go do this. I think you should have some friends over and do community, I think, is huge at 15. Here's the interesting thing. It may be very hard to find other 15 year olds who get him.

He'll be hiring his buddies to work for his business at this point.

Right. You know, so they come over to play poker or something. He goes, hey, let's get outside and knock some boxwoods out here. Let's plant these suckers, you know? But I think you got a great young man who's been through a lot. And I think he's been forced to probably mature a little bit too early on certain things. And so lean in, mom, and love him. Don't be concerned. Cause he'll pick up on that. And I just don't think you need to be concerned right now on the.

Spectrum of 60 hours a week doing video games or working, I'd rather him be toward the work side, so it's better.

I love that. Good stuff. All right, good hour, George Camel.

Good stuff.

Praying for your voice. We'll get you medicated. More honey during the break, thanks to Kelly Daniel keeping us on the air. And the fearless crew. This is the Ramsay show. This is the Ramsey show. Thrilled to have you with us. We're here to help you win in your life. Winning with your money, winning in your work, and winning in your relationships. That's the goal. Triple. 888-825-5225 is the phone number. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins me. And we're here together for you this hour, taking your money calls. George will take lead on those. And then how about your income situation, your professional path? Are you making enough money? You want to make more? I'm here to help with that. So we'll combine together to help you out. Let's get started. This hour with Emma, who joins us in Provo, utah. Emma, how can we help today?

Hi. Thanks for having me.

You bet. What's up?

I've been married two and a half years, and my husband and I have two homes between us. And up until last month, we've done our finances about 90% separate. And I'm just not sure where to go from here. I've accumulated $20,000 in debt, and I'm really struggling to pay it off. I make 31,000 a year.

Okay, let's go back a second. I want to go back here and get some details on this. You guys have two homes, and you said, up until I thought you said two months ago, 90% of your income, I mean, 90% of your finances were separate. I don't quite understand that. Are you guys living in different houses?

Yes.

For how long have you been doing this? The entirety of your marriage, or is this a new development?

The entirety of our marriage.

So are you married?

Like, really?

Yeah.

Can I ask a weird question? Why did you get married?

Well, a couple weeks ago, my husband shared with me that he actually didn't want to get married, that he was too afraid to tell me because he would hurt my feelings. And so I've wondered that we did have a plan to find a home together that kind of met halfway, and we'd both compromise. And that has since been blown out the window since we've been married. So I've just. We've both been just trying to make.

It so this whole thing was built on a lie to avoid hurting your feelings.

That's how it feels, yeah.

So you got. So you guys get married. Do you go on a honeymoon?

No.

So no honeymoon. And from day one, he had his house. And you had your house.

I'm actually in a rental. Yes.

Oh, so you're renting?

Yeah, we're 30 minutes apart.

And do you guys confused?

Yeah, I am too. I'm gonna keep digging. George. So the house that he lives in, are you on the deed for that, the title? Do you own that together, or is it his house?

No, it's his house. And this is what I've struggled with and why I wanted to call is I've really struggled financially since we've become married. I've changed my jobs, trying to contribute the best that I can. And he does help me now, but I've had to, you know, ask for help, and I don't want to put him down, but I have had to ask for it.

Does he know that you make 30 grand? You've been going 20 grand to debt. You can't afford your life. You're continually unable to make ends meet. And what does he say? He stinks to be you.

Well, he doesn't want to be married. Let's be honest. He just. He told you. How long ago was this? And he said, hey, I never wanted to be married. This was just. I just said yes. I didn't want to upset you. Like, how long ago did that conversation happen?

That was two weeks ago.

Yeah. I think from there, we're operating from that statement. There's. This is not even a situation where I would say there's counseling, that this has never been a marriage.

Yeah, I've actually. I've been in counseling the last two and a half years.

And what is your therapist telling you?

Kind of what you're telling me, but my husband assures me this is where he wants to be. Just has a slow time moving forward.

Assures you this is where he wants to be. Like, this is what he wants his life to look like?

No, I don't think it does. But he continues to want to keep trying.

I'm not sure we. There's no things he says anymore.

There is no trying. Do you guys even have.

He doesn't want to make this.

There. No, I need to know that. Is there any, like, marital intimacy at all, or do we have a conjugal visit? You guys live in separate houses?

Yeah, we go back and forth, and I have sat with him to have the conversation.

Wait a second. Wait a second. So that is happening?

Yes, that is happening.

Well, this is even more bizarre.

Just like a friends with benefits with a legal arrangement.

That's exactly what I'm getting at.

Is that fair?

And your therapist is telling you that you need to get out?

He hasn't said that specifically, but he's just. He has acknowledged that my husband.

Two and a half years of counseling. How are we. How have we not come to a decision?

Listen, I'm not upset at you, Emma. I'm upset at this guy. I think this is manipulation. This is so wacky. This is not a marriage. George nailed it. It's friends with benefits in a legal arrangement.

I would have to assume there's other women in his life at this point. He's not getting what he needs, even emotionally, from you.

I don't think he wants emotion from her. This is a dude who told you two weeks ago he never wanted to be married. But we're doing the conjugal thing. This is wacky. Listen, I'm trying to act like your older brother right now, I would be like, no, this doesn't make any sense. This is not a marriage. You're not happy, are you?

No. I've struggled. This has been a hard.

I think there may be some sunk cost fallacy here and there might be some shame spiraling of. I've spent all this time trying to make this work, but it's not working. And it's been two and a half years, and here you are struggling with debt, not making a lot of money. I think we need to. I'm not going to tell you on air to, you know, cut ties with him. You need to make that decision for yourself. But I would strongly figure out what life looks like for Emma on her own as she starts a new chapter.

Which means he has to decide to actually be married. Why in the world you are renting a place when he has a house and you're his wife?

Does he not want you living there?

Well, that's partly my fault. In my divorce, my kids have to go to school at the school district where I'm at. I have four kids at home. He doesn't have any, and my kids did not. I know it's not all about my children, but I felt like it would hurt our relationship to move them over there into a new school district. Everything, which I couldn't do anyway. So I do my best to just meet his needs and go back and forth.

It sounds like he's getting any benefit, as literal as there is, and you're getting zero. And he sounds controlling and manipulative. And as soon as you bring up this conversation again, he's going to. Well, you know, we can make it work. What do you need? Okay, we'll figure this out. Even though he's already told you he doesn't want any part in this.

Yeah, we can't keep skipping over the. What he said to you two weeks ago.

So he said that, but then he says now that he. He wants to be here and he wants to work it out.

I don't care what he says. What is he doing then?

He needs to sell his house and move in with you.

Unless his actions reflect all of this in the next week.

Yeah.

This is not going to go anywhere. He's going to say whatever he needs to say to get out of the conversation.

Let me tell you. I'm going to give you the real, real. He's saying whatever he needs to say so they can keep up this crazy arrangement. Bachelor all week, and then I get to play husband when it suits me. If you know what I'm saying? I mean, let's be honest. So he needs to. If you can't legally get the kids out of the school district and they've got to go to school where they are, then he, as your husband needs to go, I'm coming to you and I'm going to be married to you.

That would acquire being a man and currently he is a child. So I don't know that we can get that to happen. But you've got to create your own life. You're going to have to get the income up, get out of the debt.

And plan a session with a financial coach. Hang on the line, Christian. We're going to get you, Emma, with one of our financial coaches. Because in the midst of all of this, you have to get your finances is in shape to take care of you and those kiddos. So we're gonna, we're gonna walk you through that. We're gonna be with you the whole way. This is the Ramsay show.

I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that people have started buying life insurance to protect their families at levels not seen since the 1980s. The bad news is many of them are still buying crappy cash value type plans. I don't care what you call them. Whole life, universal variable adjustable, flexible. They're nothing but a waste of your money. Don't be confused and let someone sell you a plan that sounds better than it really is. Look, term life is the only way to go. Rates are back to all time lows and the process to apply is easier than ever. With many companies no longer requiring exams, you need to protect your family and use your money for much smarter things than investing in a ripoff cash value insurance policy. Go to zander.com or call 803 564282 and just compare pricing. You'll see why. These are the only plans I recommend. Take care of your family and do it in a smarter way.

The Ramsey show continues. Thrilled to have you with us. Triple 8825-5225 I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins me. We're here for you taking your questions this hour. Let's go to Toronto where Benjamin awaits. Benjamin, how can we help?

Hi, Jordan.

Ken, thanks for taking my call.

You bet. What's up?

I have been listening to the show for a few months now and I know the attitude there towards whole life insurance policies. I have one that's fully paid up that my parents purchased for me when I was young. It's fully paid up now and I'm just trying to decide whether I should surrender it and invest the cash surrender value or at this point, should I just keep it going given my age?

What is your age?

I'm in my early forties now.

Okay. And what is the policy worth? What's the death benefit?

At the time it was for 100,000, but now, because it's self sufficient, it's adding on to the value for it. And I believe it's close to about 120,000 now.

So 120,000 is the cash value?

No, is the death benefit on it?

So the death benefit is 120. What is the cash value?

The cash value is, I believe, just over 15,000.

Okay. And have you paid money into this? Who's been continually paying?

I paid it for the last year that it was active, and then ever since then, it's just being covered by the dividends.

Okay. I. If I'm in your shoes, I'm going to surrender this policy. I'll take the cash value. But before you do that, you need to get term life insurance in place.

And even in your 40 in place already.

What's the, what's the policy is for.

650,000 for myself and 500,000 for my wife.

Perfect. Okay. And what's your incomes?

Right now I'm at about 90,000 a year and she's at about 40.

Okay. And where are you guys at financially? In the baby steps. Are you debt free?

Yeah, actually that's probably the best part. Fortunately, we, we are safe for car note, but we are mortgage free and we have weather expenses other than our month to month.

That's amazing.

Or anything like that.

Yeah, I'll, you know, if you don't need that 15k, just cash it out and you can invest that and it'll turn into six figures later for you in retirement.

I mean, I wasn't sure, like, at this point, if, you know, it's not that I don't need the money, I could certainly use it in other areas of my life. And if money approximately doubles like every seven years or so, given sort of basic formulas, I wasn't sure whether to take it out now and maybe have a shot at enjoying it in this life or using it to. At this point, should I just leave it?

You don't need the extra death benefit of the 120 on that whole life policy. It's not going to do much for you anyways. And I imagine the fees will continue to eat away at that versus watching it grow. You can. You can do better investing it on your own than what the life insurance company's doing.

Yeah, that's what I would think. So it's really like, I think it's just over 2% with what they're doing with it right now. I could even put that.

Yeah, you'll get 5% with a high yield savings account. I would absolutely cash this out. Your parents were doing a sweet, kind thing. It was a very expensive way to get pretty terrible coverage and Roi. But it's okay. Avoid the sun cost fallacy. Just cash it out. Live your life. You're doing great.

All right. Good stuff there. All right, let's go next to New York City. Joe is there. Joe, how can we help?

Yes. So my question is around. I moved from Florida to New York because I have a special needs fund and there was more services in New York and I couldn't make more money. I've been saving for emergencies into a high yield savings account, but it's starting to cause a bit of a tax liability in terms of that extra income and interest. I was wondering, should I opt more for a brokerage account for my emergency.

Fund or what's your game plan with this money that you've been saving?

So I sort of like my emergency fund for any issues. Like I said, I have a special needs fund, so they'll have some debt around, medical costs and things like that. I do have debt that I have to take care of, but I just wanted to make sure, just in case of an emergency, something happened that I have access to money.

How much debt do you have?

Between my student loans and some medical bills and some personal loans, about 100,000.

Okay, and how much is in the savings account?

I have about 25,000.

Okay, so when you're talking about a tax liability, you're not going to pay much on this. The 25,000 is growing at what interest rate right now?

Well, you know, the growing rate right now is about 4.9843 is what you.

Said it is on yours.

No, 4.98,498.

Okay, so we'll call it. We'll call it 5%. Right. So let's actually crunch the numbers to show you. That's 1250 a year and divided by, you know, monthly, it's about $104 a month. Now, you're not going to pay taxes. You're going to pay, you know, your tax rate on that extra 1250 for the year, $1,250, which is going to be $200.

Okay.

So I don't think this is worth worrying about over a $200, you know, extra that you would pay in taxes for that income. Just like if you got a raise, we're not going to tell you. Well, don't take the raise because you're going to have to pay more in taxes. It's the same idea.

Okay.

I wouldn't worry about that. I would focus on paying off your debt because that's going to put you in a better financial position for the future to take care of your son, to have no payments. So I would be aggressively trying to tackle that. What's your income.

Net? About 80,000 a year.

Great. So what is your payoff plan to get rid of the hundred thousand in debt?

Considering the snowball method, then I would.

Highly suggest that one. So let's say you make 80 net, you got 100k in debt. Can we clean this debt up in two and a half years? What are you thinking?

If I could do it quicker, that'd be great. Give me so much peace of mind.

Agreed. And so I would be less concerned about the savings account. You know, if you follow the baby steps, baby step one is a $1,000. Then baby step two's debt. Snowball. Obviously you have a special needs child. I would try to forecast what kind of, you know, medical bills we might have, what are the actual costs associated with taking care of this child that we actually need in the bank. And you might realize it's less than you think.

I guess over the years you just kind of get a little bit worried. So you want to have a nest egg just in case.

I agree, but I think the worry should be more focused on that hundred thousand in debt versus the future costs, because that's going to free up a lot of payments. When you look at what are all those payments add up to on the 100,000 right now? Just the minimums.

Between the loans. Think give or take like 1000 a month.

So you would give yourself a $1000 raise.

That's right.

Just by getting rid of this debt?

Yeah. Think of that as a margin and peace, flexibility.

So I would consider taking a chunk of that savings account and trying to chip away at some of this debt, especially those smallest balances, and then just keep what you need. Maybe that's the max out of pocket for the deductible on the health care plan, what have you. But I think we're doing a lot at once right now and I want you to make progress instead.

Absolutely. Thank you for the call, job. All right, George, here's a fun question of the day for you from Caitlin in Florida. Boy, oh boy. I may need to give you a Tums right before this all right. I co signed on two vehicles with my now ex boyfriend. Our relationship ended two and a half years ago in a domestic violence situation. He kept possession of the vehicles, but has stopped making payments on them. The loan companies have been trying to repossess the vehicles, but have not been able to locate him to do so. And now I've been sent a letter saying that if I don't pay the loans, hand over the vehicles, they will be pursuing legal action against me. I don't know what to do. George, what would you say to Kalin?

I would be tracking this guy. I hope you find my iPhone on him. And I would get those cars back to those people so they don't come after you. But at the end of the day, here's. Here's the. The TLDR. The too long. Didn't read. Here it is. Spark notes. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. And this guy's a deadbeat. He owes money on the cars. You owe money on the cars because you co signed, which is the reason we say never cosign anything, especially with someone you're not married to. And so the only way against this is getting those cars back.

You know what? I don't feels like a bad show.

On USA or some, like, a bounty hunter type show.

That's what I think. Find some seedy redneck bounty hunter will find this guy.

You owe the money, and until you.

They.

You get the collateral back to them because you stop paying. It's not gonna solve this. Find him.

Find him.

This is gonna be, like, taken.

Yeah.

I have a special set of skills.

Yeah, it's gotta be somebody in the everglades down there in Florida. That's what they do for a living. They just find people. What do you think? This is the Ramsay show, helping you win with your money, win with your salary, win with your relationships. This is the Ramsey show. Thrilled that you are with us. My name is Ken Coleman. George Camel joins me this hour. The phone number is triple 8825-5225 George, what's the best way to make the most of your money?

Is this a trick question?

Could be if you don't answer it properly.

Budget. Final answer.

Budgeting. That is correct, sir.

And I used to think, Ken, that budgets were, like, for broke people and excel loving accountants. And it turns out I was broke until I started doing a budget. And it was actually a major key that helped me go from. From negative net worth broke, stressed, frustrated, to net worth millionaire. And it's not because a budget's magic. It's because it gives you a plan on paper for where your money's going to go. And that's why we created everydollar. It's a budgeting app that you can get in the app store. It makes it super simple to plan your spending. You get your income, your expenses. You can even drag transactions in, connect it to your bank. There's all kinds of cool features, super easy to use. If you got a spouse, they can log in and have that transparency and accountability, and it really becomes freedom to spend. And you just actually made a plan for it instead of going, well, we.

Make good money, and I don't know.

Where any of it's going. It's because you're not paying attention. And that's what a budget does. It helps you keep a pulse on spending, helps you make progress on your goals. So go check it out. Everydollar.com George, you can get started for free and thank me later when you're a millionaire. Making progress.

Look at you. Very bold. Bold prediction.

Bold prediction.

I like it. I like it a lot. How about Andrew? Andrew's joining us now. How about Baltimore, Maryland, rather. Andrew, how can we help?

Hey. Yeah, so I'm thinking about buying a house, but also at the same time looking for a career change. I already know what that career change should be, but it's going to be a lot more variable pay. Less pay, but it's like chasing your dreams job. So I'm curious if buying a house, even though I can afford it now, is still a wise investment now, what does that mean?

I can afford it now. In light of the variable income of this new play, can you give us a little more detail?

Yeah, I'm like 25. I have 200k saved up, and that's across different types of investments and savings accounts and whatever. So, you know, I can afford the down payment with, you know, room to spare. You know, my goal is to get, you know, with like a three bedroom house and rent out two rooms.

How much is the house going to cost?

Ideally, like 300k.

Okay, so 20%. So you got the 60, the 20% easy. And then you said we. Is that you and your wife renting this thing out? Oh, is it just you? Are you single?

Just me? Yeah.

Yeah.

I don't even know why I said we then.

And I may not have reminding me. Yeah, right. Oh, I apologize. Yeah.

Salt in the wound.

Too soon? Too soon. No. Shame in your game, man. I'm sure there's plenty of lovely ladies that would love to meet you. My question is, what is the, the variable in this new industry? What is this industry? What's the variable look like?

Yeah, so basically currently I'm a comedian on the side, and that's paying decently, but not enough to actually live off of quite yet. So variable in that sense is it changes month to month.

Did you go all in on this? Did you go all in?

Did I go? Not yet.

Okay. But that's what, so the way you presented this is I've, I'm getting ready to go into this new thing and it's going to be variable. My question is mentally, I'm fully committed to it.

I can't necessarily quit a job until I have more ways to make money. Perfect the other side.

That's going to be my response. I wouldn't actually fully go into being full time comedian until the opportunity is there and it'll be obvious.

What are you making right now per month? What do you take home from normal job?

Whatever that comes out to be about like ten k per month on my standard job and about two k per month and stand up.

Okay, great.

Is that all local gigs or are you doing them regionally now?

Both.

Good. What do you anticipate? I know this is an impossible question, but just for fun, what do you think, knowing what you know now you've dabbled in it, you're obviously good enough to where you're getting some regional gigs. What do you think it's going to look like to how long to get the amount of gigs you would need to get to make the money you're making in your day job?

Probably. I mean, that could change of quote unquote overnight. But if I'd be hyper realistic, yes, you should be another four to five years.

Yeah. George, for that reason. And I, by the way, I think that's very realistic, Andrew. I really like that answer, George.

I, here's the variable.

I don't think I buy the house right now.

If you really want to do comedy, now is probably not the time to saddle up and get house because you're gonna be on the road for most of the year anyways. Right. And so that's the question. What's the urgency to buy the house versus pursue comedy? It sounds like you'd rather pursue comedy and just rent and you'll be okay.

And keep the 60 grand.

And so here. And if you're going to do this house, let me give you these parameters. No more than 25% of your take home pay on a 15 year fixed, which means if you put 60k down on a 300, that's going to be about $2,500 a month, which you can afford if you make ten k, twelve k a month, take home.

It's too much.

Or you can put 150 down, put half, 50% down. Your payment comes down to 1700, which allows you to do more comedy, less full time, have a little more wiggle room with your finances.

Or, or can I give option three?

I like it.

Keep working this day job, the comedy. I know, I know, I know you're smart guy, but I'm just saying, I would, I would build this thing up and I would say, you get the.

Comedy to five or six k a month. I just like, okay, I wouldn't buy this.

I wouldn't buy the house until you know, what full time comedy looks like. So you don't even know what that's going to look like. And I think at the age of 25, I love that you're going for.

It and you're single and 25. What if you move to LA or New York? Or one of the market? The comedy hubs?

Yeah. Or what if you find this one market? You go, I end up flying through this city, making this up. Nashville, 60% of my gigs, I end up flying through Nashville or Atlanta. My point is, as this thing takes off and you get to a point where you're full time, then I think about a house arrangement. But until then, I would rent and stack your money. Take the pressure.

You just have too many variables in your life right now, and house is a long term purchase. You want to be able to stay there for five plus years to make it worth it.

Yeah, right, right.

And for those reasons, I would pause, but you're doing great. Laid out. You're amazing, dude. Send me a DM with your comedy info. I want to check it out and see.

I was gonna say, have you ever get to Nashville to do a show?

What are, what are your, what are your handles? Because I'll be honest, I'm a, I'm a poor viewer.

Oh, that's all right. George K. A George camel with a k on instagram and everywhere else. So send me a message.

Have you done a show in Nashville yet?

I'm actually coming August 1.

Where are you going to be?

The Thursday where zanies.

Yes.

George loves zany. I think we should be the. George, will you remind me to go and let's support.

I'm marking my calendar.

I need you to mark my calendar too, because of the, of the two of us. Andrew, I'm the disaster of details.

George, the Thursday night. I'll get the tickets.

This is, I'll pave my way. I'll even get you a beverage.

What a guy. Well, there's a two item minimum, so you're gonna need to.

I'll get well versed.

Oh, yeah. I was just there last week. I saw the ovon. Oh, hilarious.

That's right. George and I were at the Seinfeld and.

That's right. The next night.

The very next night. Yeah.

Look at us. Comedy buffs.

Yeah. Yeah. There you go. Who's your favorite comedian, Andrew?

Me. All right.

I like that answer. Come on.

Yeah, right now.

Yeah, right now. Let's go, mister big shot.

I'd say Joe.

List.

Oh, list.

Okay. Very good. All right. Fantastic.

Very exciting.

Well, Andrew, we're very excited for you. Please do what we say, because I think it's going to make your comedy career a whole lot less stressful. And, yes, they're due.

I just won't do anything.

I would not buy a house right now. George. State agreement.

Keep that money invested. Let it grow. Keep stacking on top of that, and who knows? Maybe one day you can pay cash for the house.

Yeah, I like that.

That'd be pretty sweet.

Tell you what, what we need to do is you need to send Andrew. If he's going to connect you on the gram, you need to send him some of your ideas, my comedy bits.

Maybe I can open for him.

Maybe you open for it. Maybe he pulls you up there for two minutes.

That would be a real treat.

I. Because I'm going to be there. I'm putting a little pressure on Andrew to get George up there.

Maybe we get old Kenny boy up there. I'll tell you, give him a tight five.

I'll do it. I gotta tell you, I'll just do a rant on all my, I gotta tell you, it's about all things that irritates.

Anytime Ken says, I gotta tell you to start a sentence. It's gonna be a good story. I love it.

Oh, my goodness. We're just getting started, folks. Don't move. Quick break. We'll be right back. This is the Ramsey show.

All right, let's cut to the chase. It's easy to get discouraged about crazy house prices and interest rates. But when you have the right real estate agent to help you buy and sell the right way, you'll have confidence to make, 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 ramsaysolutions.com Agent.

Welcome back to the Ramsey show. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins me this hour. The phone number is 808 855225. Let's go to Dave, who's in Detroit, Michigan. Dave, how can we help?

Hi there. Thanks for taking my call. I'm 36 years old and I just need an advice on. I've racked up about a million dollar debt before I apparently started listening to you guys.

Wow.

My mortgage from $900 a month has gone up to about $4,500 a month. And I'm just trying, I'm just very concerned because I've been constantly listening to you guys and Dave to see, okay, what's the best way to tackle some of this? I've got two investment property in my primary house, and I'm trying to combine all and, you know, with the current market. I just don't feel like I should sell. So what would be the best advice in terms of getting financially out of the situation?

I guess so when you say you have a million dollars in debt, is that consumer debt? Are you including all these mortgages?

Just the mortgages. I had some car loans. As soon as I started listening, I had the money already saved up, so I paid off my car. It was about $1,200 in the car, car loan that was left. I was planning to buy another car. I stopped that already. So I've got a two under three year old baby. So I was planning to buy a minivan. Already stopped that plan.

Okay, so you have no consumer debt, you just have a mortgage and then a rental mortgage and another rental mortgage.

Correct.

And you're saying your total payments add up to 4500 a month or is that just on the one mortgage?

Just on my primary house mortgage. Both the other houses, the investment properties are more or less self sustaining. The other one, I have got bit of a positive cash flow for about $900 a month.

Okay, so if you sold both rentals, what would you net after paying off the loans?

I would probably have $60,000 additional because I bought all those houses maybe around the peak, one of the houses around the peak of the market. So I may have to sell for maybe less. Yes.

Okay.

And then the current house, the previous house, I mean, make about $120,000 on that.

So why? You said your mortgage went from 900 to 4500.

So I used to live in one of the properties that I'm renting right now. I just moved last year, so.

Okay. And you have a wife before I.

Yes, I do have a wife. She was working before the maternity leave. Now she's no longer working because of the two kids.

Okay, so just your income. What do you make a year?

I make about $160,000 a year.

Okay. And that's before any rent. I'm sure the rental income isn't much at this point. Like you said, it's barely cash flowing.

Yeah, I got maybe about $900 from one house.

That's per month you called in because you don't want to be in debt anymore. And so to pay off these, you know, to have your. You know, the idea is people get into real estate investment thinking, well, the renters going to pay my mortgage, so it'll just be super easy and no stress. Well, as you know, it doesn't really work out like that. And so that you have a few options. Number one is you just tackle these mortgages on these rentals or you sell the one you like the least and you start to help. I would, if I'm in your shoes, I would probably just start from scratch. Get rid of the rentals, pay down your primary home, because $4,500 a month is not sustainable for your income.

I agree. I make about $10,000 a month.

So half of your income is going to the mortgage?

Yes.

Yes.

Which tells me there's no way to. We're not going to be able to get this mortgage lower unless we just sell and downsize. Could you sell and downsize to a different home?

I would rather not, since it's a, you know, something that I bought for the kids, and I'm trying to live this for the kids.

They're two years old. They don't know what. They won't remember this house. Don't say it's for the kids. The kids are gonna watch you and mom be in stress for the rest of your life because half of your income is going towards this house.

It was a very hard decision to buy the house, and I just don't feel. But, yeah, I think. I think you're right.

Okay, you tell me, what do you want to do?

Yeah. Yeah. I want to be financially free. That's all I.

But what do you want to do? What is your next step? Let's say you hang up today and you say, forget those guys on the.

Show who I called to get their opinion.

You tell me what you think is the best move for you.

So I've got about 650,000 on my primary house as a mortgage, and the rest is on those two houses. So even if I were to sell those two houses, I could make a bit of a dent on my primary house and get a. Maybe a bit lower on the mortgage and then start to pay off. Maybe like every year I could save maybe about 60, 70,000 and start to pay maybe in the five year plan. Or the other option, like you said, is just downsizing to a smaller house. Or maybe move to my older house, which was. Which is the one that's cash flowing about $900 a month.

So now tell me, which of those plans gets you the most peace in the quickest amount of time?

I think selling my current home would. I may have to take a big hit though, about $120,000 on that one if I were to sell it.

Because you can't get what you paid for it.

Yes, sir.

You can pause as long as you want to make this decision, but half of your income is going toward that mortgage. And these properties aren't cash flowing, which means you're losing money. It's adding stress to your life. I would sell the rentals, take that 60. I would sell your house, take that 120. That gives you 180 to put on your next residence as you downgrade. And hopefully we can get that mortgage lower to about 2500 on a 15 year fix. That's your sweet spot. Making ten k a month. That's the problem to solve for. I don't know that. I mean, I wish that I could change the numbers and snap my fingers. Dave, I want to be helpful, but there's a lot of. Just a lot of debt. And you can undo a lot of it because it's just sitting there in the properties. But I don't think continuing down this path is going to be a blessing for you.

I just wish my wife would have started working, maybe with, with the kids, maybe she was making about $100,000 before, which is not Dave.

It feels like, Dave. It feels like George laid this thing out for you about as clear as anybody could lay out. And you're just sitting there in pain, realizing how dumb your decisions were. And then you're. Then as soon as he lays that out and he's just going, look, you can. You can get out of this. It's going to be painful, but it's more painful to stay in it. You're laughing about it and then your first comment is, I wish my wife had been making more money. Like, I feel like it's lost on you. What's. What. What is going on here? Which is just owning the fact that you didn't make some good decisions and now you got a chance to get out of it. It's going to be painful, but you got to do it. It just feels like you're not. I mean, again, you do what you want to do, but it doesn't feel like you really locked in and accepted personal responsibility. Am I right or am I. Am I wrong?

Yes, you are right, sir. And I'm sorry if I'm laughing.

No, no, no.

One of the things that I was. I was just listening in, maybe previous calls, was, like, looking at some of these Instagram realtors and, you know, trying to get into the real estate. And that's how I got into this.

Apparently, you saw an Instagram reel and they're like, you need to get investment property.

Now, there's a crazy idea. I watched an Instagram reel and got myself stuck.

Any Instagram reel that causes a million dollar mistake is one worth unfollowing.

Yeah.

So I'm glad you learned a lesson, Dave.

I guess I'm trying to just lay it on you here. I'm trying to spur you to action. Stop talking about your wife and her making a hundred and not make it a hundred. You got into this because you watched the wrong Instagram accounts. You got under that. You got into this because you wanted to get rich quick.

Yes, I know.

So it's okay.

Okay.

There's no shame. All right?

And you will survive this. This is not life or death. You're not in a crisis situation. But we need to make some drastic changes. And whether you do that now or three months from now and hope the market does whatever, I don't know what the market's gonna do. It may get worse for a while before it gets better. But I do know this. Your life is real tight right now, and you got two little babies, and you want to see them flourish and grow and you want to have joy. I don't want to see you distracted by money stress during that. As they grow up, they're not going to remember the house. I promise. They're going to remember their dad being there, making eye contact, and they channel your energy. It's contagious. Their nervous system will take on the stress that you have.

So true. Yeah. I just kind of hoping there's one more instagram reel. Dave was like, maybe there's one more I can watch. I don't. Maybe it's kind of George light.

Unless it's me talking real estate, telling you not to do it unless you're ready. Maybe unsubscribe. Unfollow that account.

Oh, my goodness.

Keep scrolling.

Ugh. Good stuff there, George. Good advice. I love it when you lay. I love it when you get tough.

I just, you know, when I don't feel good, I get just a little grumpy. Yeah, a little grumpy. I'm sorry about that.

Go get some mets. This is the Ramsey show. This is the Ramsey show, where we help you win in your life, win with your money, win in your work, and win in your relationships. Phone number is triple 8825-5225 I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins me, and we're here for you this hour, George, to lead out on your money questions. I'm here on your income and getting promoted, growing, maybe starting this, that business. Income, income. Income is where I'm here to help. So let's. We'll team up together, make you more money. Keep it, invest it, save it. Well, is our goal triple 8825-5225 Mike is going to start us off this hour in Charleston, South Carolina. Mike, how can we help?

Hey, guys. How you doing today?

Good. How are you?

Good, good. So, yeah, I was calling in. I have a question, obviously, about what we're all talking about here. So I have a. About 70k in debt. Make close to 70k. Don't have a house yet, and I'm in one of those debt management payment programs, which puts me about two years out of paying off. So I'd be thinking to not do that, especially when going toward trying to buy a house eventually or just do bankruptcy.

Now, why did bankruptcy come into play?

Yeah, that was a little aggressive.

Well, because that's what I first thought before I started reading George's book. I was. That's the route I was going to take just to kind of start fresh. Now that I have a different outlook on mindset on money and all the things that we have possible and available to us. Made dumb mistakes when I was younger trying to fix that. Now that I have a phone.

What about $7,000 in debt makes you think? Well, I had to file bankruptcy.

70. 70.

And you make 70?

Yeah, with commissions.

Okay, so let's talk about this debt. What kind of debt is this?

A little bit of everything. Like a little. Little bit of car, a little bit of student loans, a little bit of credit. Probably about the least is the car.

Okay, what's left on the car loan?

Twelve.

And the student loans?

28. But half of that will be paid by my job if it takes about five years.

If you stay with the job, what happens if you leave before the five years?

Well, then obviously, you know, you're, you know what happens. I don't get it. But I don't plan on going anywhere. Knock on wood.

So if you stay there five years though, they'll pay off half in full. Like a. With a lump sum?

No, there's currently paying off through it. It's just that it'll take about five years to hit half.

Got it. Okay. And then your credit cards.

24 ish.

And that's everything?

I think so. Oh, I do have a personal loan and a personal loan. Okay, about twelve.

What's the car worth?

Probably a couple thousand more.

It's probably worth 15 or 16.

Yeah.

Okay. So number one, you do not have to file bankruptcy and you shouldn't. Number two, these debt settlement programs are a borderline scam. I think you probably know that by now. Did you pay them money and they said, hey, we'll take care of it, stop making payments, your credits gonna tank and then we'll negotiate. Was that their plan?

No, that's. No, that's the consolidation. I'm working with one of those like, non not for profit ones where like, they've reached out to my creditors to negotiate better interest rates.

Okay.

Like, I'm still making payments. I pay, make them the payment, and then I watch as they distribute the payment to the creditors.

Okay. Can you get out of this?

Men do it.

I mean, probably you can negotiate interest rates on your own. You can call and say, hey, can you lower the rate? I'm trying to pay this down.

So I tried that last year and I only got headway on two out of like the twelve I have. I know, that's another story of an idiot.

Well, the interest rate's not the problem here. We need to make some headway on the debt. And right now it feels like you're delegating all of this to other people. Your work, this debt settlement place, you need to start pounding the pavement, throwing as much as you can onto these payments using the debt snowball method. So your next smallest debt is the car loan.

Yes. Just not to cut you off, but to go back to what you just said. I'm using the budget app. I'm under by $900. And that's with the better payments, lower payment, lower interest rate through the program.

So you're in the red by 900. What would you say is the reason for that? As you look at the budget, is your renter mortgage too high?

A little bit of everything, I guess.

Is it lifestyle?

I mean, I know I eat out too much, but it's not $900 worth.

Well, you need to actually. The budget is going to reflect the plan, but it doesn't reflect reality of how you're spending. So what you need to do my.

First month, some I just read the book, just started the budget, some wonder now get a better view of it after this month of where you have.

The premium version of every dollar.

No, I just started with the basic.

Okay. With the book you'll see the QR code in the book. It'll give you three months of premium. It'll connect your bank account and you can track the transaction. Great. So here's the deal. I show people how to go from negative 1000 every month to positive 1200. But what it takes is sacrifice. So look at every single line item. Here's the question you need to ask. Can I do better? Can I do better? Which means my insurance. Let me call and call our friends at Xander and see if they can re shop my insurance. I just saved our friend a coworker here $80 a month just by having her reshop. She got better coverage for cheaper. Next, look at all of your lifestyle and go, I don't need this subscription. I'm cutting this gym membership. I don't need this over here. I'm going to cut eating out altogether. I'm going to meal plan switch my grocery store. I'm getting a tax refund. So I'm going to change my tax withholdings. All of that combined. It may not feel like a lot at once, but as you start to do seven or eight of these things, and in that margin is breathing room chapter of my book, it's going to give you a lot of tips on ways you can cut down.

Then the other side is make more. You said you've got commissions as well.

Yeah. The job is a good thing. This all started when I took the job, which involved about a $18,000 pay cut. But in the long run it's better.

Yeah. And I want to jump in. Listen, Mike, a lot of this to me is mindset. I really hope you come off of this call realizing that you do not need to file bankruptcy and that was never a good option, that you can actually figure way out of this and it's going to be a lot better for you. That's what I want you to understand is, is I want you to believe that you actually can get this under control. And to be honest with you, what you're going to come away with this, Mike, having done this on your own and not using the bankruptcy kind of panic button and kind of doing the restart is you'll actually get into a place where you'll never be tempted to do this stuff again. Am I right, George?

Absolutely. And look at the numbers, Mike, because I want you out of debt in two years. So what does that mean? You have 70,000. That's 35,000 a year. That's going to be, you know, if you did 2900 a month, you would be done in two years. Now you're going, well, dude, I don't have 2900 a month to throw the debt. Well, this is a solvable problem. Now we need to find $2,900 of margin by spending less and making more, like Ken talks about. So whether it's commissions, whether it's side hustles, everything you can do to create $2,900 a margin will get you out of debt in two years. Do you believe that?

I mean, I believe it, but I also believe, and I'm not. I also believe that with that program, that's saving me over, like, $300 a month in payment.

What's your rent right now?

1100.

You got roommates.

I know. No, sorry. 20. 2100.

Yeah.

You make four grand a month and 2100 going to rent.

Yeah, there is. I mean, I'm. This is me calling.

So I didn't get into it.

So there's a little money coming in.

You just made excuses again, Mike, you said this program is saving me. Instead of you going, I can save me 300 and 410, you know, 1000 and 1500. You need to do it. I don't think you got anything that George said. I hope you do what we tell you to do, because it's going to save you a lot of heartache. And the bankruptcy is not your friend. This is the Ramsey show.

Hey, guys. Rachel Cruz here. You know, some people think budgeting means they can't have any fun with money. And I know this because that was me. But the truth is, budgeting doesn't limit your freedom. It actually gives you freedom. A budget is simply telling your money where to go. And the best way to do this is with everydollar, my favorite budgeting app. It'll help you create a plan for your money that fits your lifestyle. So whether it's a spontaneous date night or an epic Disney cruise, budget for some fun, download every dollar for free today.

Welcome back to the Ramsay show, where we help you win in your life, win with your money, win in your work, and winning your relationships. Triple 8825-5225 Gennaro, I hope I'm saying that right in Atlanta, Georgia, is up next. How can we help? Hello.

Good afternoon, sir. Thank you for having me on.

You bet. How can we help?

So I'll try to keep this brief. So, I am an independent contractor at 1099. I make roughly $900 every single week. And I am a disabled veteran making $755 per month. My situation, I've always been financially pretty competent. I've taken out personal loans, I had credit card debt, and, you know, and I've always just kind of paid the minimums and always been floating. Recently, I was involved in an incident that landed me briefly in the hospital and I got $11,000 bill. My parents came in, they actually kind of gave me a second chance. They swooped in, took care of it, and with the promise that I would pay them off sometime next year, they didn't give me a date. And that really gave me a wake up call to take a hard look at my finances. I have actually been able to after taking that hard look and having that lifestyle change, I've been paying my debts off with about $500 every single week. And my question is, I'm hoping I'm not about to do something pretty dumb and the ambition to pay them back as soon as possible. So I have roughly $1,700 left of this personal loan and about $5,700 left in my car.

And I should have that personal loan paid off. And within the next two weeks with my $500 per week plan and the car loan. Sorry, sorry, I forgot. I've been putting away about 25% of every single paycheck still into this other separate savings because tax seasons and I'm new to being a 1099. My question, I don't know if this is going to be a really bad idea, but I was hoping to. When I started on my car payments, I'm still putting away that 25% into my. Into my tax savings for next year. I was thinking of when I lower the car payments to the equal amount that I have saved up for taxes next year. I was planning on dumping everything I have into that account into the car loan to pay it off, and then dumping roughly 40% to 50% of my paycheck to recoup that throughout the remainder of the year and preparation for taxes, and hopefully to pocket some to build on my savings more to start paying off my parents. I don't know if that would be a bad idea or no or not.

So let me recap to make sure we understand here you're wanting to use the money you've set aside to pay taxes as a contractor and instead pay down your car loan once you have the amount in full, but then you need to turn around and use way more of your future income to save back up the tax fund.

Yes, sir.

The part that worries me there is I don't know if your budget can handle that if you're going to be able to cover all of your expenses with the remaining percentage.

So I'm pretty lucky. I live in a very low rent area. I pay with all utilities included, about 675 per month. And my job is literally a mile and a half away from where I live. So since I've cut out eating out and stuff like that, I literally, and filling up my gas tank about once a month.

And so what's your total take home pay.

Without me taking like a 25% aside and stuff like that?

Yes, let's take out the 25%. Let's say take home minus that 25% because that's set aside for taxes I'm.

Bringing home per week.

900 per week?

Yes, sir.

Okay. 3600 per month. And then what are your actual expenses for the month to cover all your bills and minimum debt payments?

I mean, I have like my, like my Internet bill, my streaming subscriptions, all that totals up to, you know, a total to around $300. I haven't the exact number.

Everything with your rent, insurance, debt payments, all of that, what does that add up to in a month?

Me. Let me take up the calculator. So 675 is my rental per month. $80 is about my Internet bill. The other subscription services are going to say roughly about $250 to $300, sir.

Okay. But we still haven't put food on the table. We still didn't get gas. So here's the overall thing. The numbers are less important. I'm trying to make sure that 50% of your income going towards taxes is actually sustainable. It sounds like a great plan on paper to get rid of debt faster, but you also might be shooting yourself in the foot later on down the road where you go, oh, crap, I need to save up ten grand for a tax bill and I can't do it in time because you have to pay that tax bill on time regardless of when you file the money is due on tax day.

Yes, sir. Yeah, that's, that's what I was afraid of because this will be my second year filing as a 1099. And the first year, you know, I had a lot of deductions because I was buying everything for the job and, you know, I only put aside 10% and I was lucky enough to walk away with, with $900 on that.

But I'm just saying your plan got you here so far. It doesn't sound like you're doing a budget. I'm going to gift you every dollar premium to help you get on a plan so that you are very aware of all of your numbers, what it adds, adds up to, and then you can make the decision. But if it slows down your debt payment process but you have the tax money, I'm okay with that.

Yeah, just do not use the tax money for anything taxes, period. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is the old phrase that comes to mind.

The tax man cometh and you got to make sure they get paid first, man.

Yikes. I wouldn't do it. Joshua's up next in Ottawa. Boy, that's always fun. Joshua, how can we help?

Hi. So I'm in a bit of a fun but unique situation. I am a disabled veteran. I have a great setup for that. But we're trying to sell our house and we actually want to move on to a sailboat with our five kids for the next two to five years to see the world with them. Yeah, so the question is about the fully funded emergency cushion. So I have about 24k left in debt that I'd be paying off. My house is on the market for 1.9 million. That's where I've been spending all my extra hours for the past decade and a half rebuilding an old farmhouse. So the thing is, even if I go with six months of my total income, I end up with $67,000 in my emergency cushion, pushing through step three and then step four being retirement savings for 15% moving forward, I got covered. Kids university is covered because my kids get the benefit through the VA, through me. Obviously we'd be paying off our house in full. And then when we sell the boat in two to five years, that becomes the budget for the new house, period. No more dollars.

So we can just stay on step seven for the rest of our life in sort of one fail shot. The question I have is that in the crazy event that, like all four of my kids grandparents die successively and my boat ends up somewhere where it gets hit by a hurricane, my insurance deductible goes to 10% of the value of the boat from 2% of the value of the boat, meaning that my $67,000 emergency cushion wouldn't even cover my $75,000 deductible on the boat. And my question is, should I be adjusting my emergency cushion in light of the fact that this quite unusual circumstance could necessitate if, like every negative star aligned, or should I just stick with.

The six months man, that feels like an apocalyptic plan. But if you wanted to go to 75, which covers your deductible, I think that's a fine move.

I have a question.

Is this the move?

Yeah. Well, before that, I guess I have a question. Let's say it happened today. This apocalyptic scenario happened today. What would you do if you didn't have the emergency fund to cover it? What would your reaction be?

I mean, right now, being in the house and not being in the circumstance where we're cruising on the water and the boat has to get.

I'm playing out your scenario. There's, there's a method to my madness here. So let's say you're in the boat, all these awful things happen, and you don't have the emergency funds to cover it. What would you do?

The deductible?

Yeah.

I mean, what would you do?

Given the fact that, given the fact that it would be less than a ten k gap, I would try to bridge that out of my cash flow.

Right. And what if you couldn't do that? What would you do.

Then? I'd be stuck doing what I don't want to do, where I might have to borrow something.

Could you sell boat?

Oh, yeah.

I'm not so Joshua.

Yeah. But if I sell the boat and it's hurricane damage, right. I lose a lot.

But I just, do you see what I did there? I just kind of walked you right up into, like, come on, man. Like, if you want to do it, that's fine. But if you're so worried about all of this, is this the right decision for us to sell the house and go on the big giant exploration? I think that's where George, George was going. And I have some questions about that, too. But, man, you've just come up with the absolute worst case of all worst case scenarios and then said, what do I do?

So overplaying that for sure.

I think you are, and I think you're going to be okay. Appreciate the call. Watch Gilligan's island first.

Hey, folks, the total money Makeover 20th anniversary edition is now here. I believe the success of this book is all about the hero stories, people who felt over overwhelmed and stuck until they found the least complicated money book they ever read and learned how to work the plan and actually build wealth. Go to ramsaysolutions.com store to get the total money Makeover 20th anniversary edition and become one of the new total money makeover heroes.

Welcome back to the Ramsey show. Thrilled to have you with us. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins me me the phone number is triple 8825-5225 well, I don't know how many of you watching or listening were around when the pandemic happened and we had our cruise planned. You and I were ready. I think we even. I think we bought matching outfits for one day.

Our trunks were packed. If you can even call them, it. They're more of a Borat situation.

I think it was. Yeah. And no, we're kidding. But the live, like no one else cruise is actually back. George, have you heard? You and I are. You and I are heading to the high seas.

I actually can't wait.

You're excited about it?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I've never been on a cruise as an adult, so. To get to go.

Oh, I see.

I know our tickets are paid for. Thanks, Dave.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I. I'm looking forward to it for a lot of reasons. The actual sailing and on the sea, the high seas, I don't do so well. I don't see how I do. Maybe I've only done it once, but other than that, it's going to be a lot of fun. Fun and all the Ramsey personalities, including the big man himself, Dave Ramsey. I think I'm going to try to get him to wear the skipper hat from Gilligan's island. I doubt he'll do it, but I'm going to bring it with me and see if I can get him to.

Put it on and maybe do a little steering of the ship.

No. You know, he'd love that. Certainly. Photo horn.

That's a good photo opinion. So anyway, it's an ultimate debt free.

Seven days at sea.

George, that's amazing. March 22 through the 29th. Here's the deal. Deal. This is not for everyone. In fact, it may not be for you if you're listening or watching, this is for those who are debt free, meaning you're in baby step 4567. We want to celebrate with you. Please do not go on this cruise. If you're drowning in debt and you just want to hang out with us, we'll go another time, I promise. But if you've paid off the debt, you've worked hard, now's the time to celebrate.

There you go.

Bring the spouse, bring a friend. Come solo, bring the kids. Have a good time. All of the personalities will be there, Dave included, as well as special friends.

Yeah. Steven Curtis Chapman, Monit Shohan, Deanna Carter.

And more, I'm told magicians, comedians, musicians.

And then Ken, George and I will be doing balloon animals for the children near the pool one day.

That's always some people have called me a clown. So I think that we can market that.

Guess where we're going, George. Turks and Caicos, St. Thomas, San Juan, which is Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, the capital. Lovely place. Downtown area. Gorgeous old Fort area. Maybe I'll do a little historical tour. Maybe I'll do an excursion.

I think for the senior citizens who just want to take a nap. That'd be a great tour for you.

Oh, George, why do you hate me so much? I don't understand it.

Every time you talk about history, it makes me not want to learn about history.

Okay, I got it. And the Bahamas will also be going to the Bahamas, so I'll take a tour. There you go. Vip upgrades already sold out. Most of the suites are sold out. Many of the cabin types are completely sold out. But if you want to get in, now is the time. Because it's going to sell out. You need to get your deposit in now if you want the few remaining ocean views, or else you're going to be down in about the 6th level where George is going to be with all the cargo.

So that's where they put me. Yeah, it's a weight distribution thing. They need me down there.

Yeah. So book your cabin now at ramsey solutions.com cruise. Ramsaysolutions.com cruise. In fact, we met a lady earlier in the show today out in the lobby coming to the cruise. So that very exciting boy. Are you going to need to bring a vat, and I mean a vat of sunscreen. Of sunscreen. Because you are very, very pale.

I'm going to have one of those giant sun hats that will cover my entire body.

That'll be great. All right, let's get back to the phones. Eric is joining us now in Toronto. Eric, how can we help today?

Hi, Jordan, Ken. How are you guys doing?

We're doing great. What's going on?

So when I initially written into the show, I was planning on asking about potentially visiting some family over seas. However, something happened to me recently that has gotten me pretty shaken, and I was hoping to sort of talk to you guys about it.

Yeah, hit us. What happened?

So I was laid off on Friday, man.

What happened there?

So it was my first job in the trades. I was originally a bartender for a while, but I was looking for something more long term as a career. And so. So I thought I was doing well and I felt like I was cut out for it. But as time went on at my job, then I felt like my boss and I were not getting along very well. I felt like all the sort of issues I had with the way work was going and I had with my boss was sort of impacting my job. However, I. Let me see. I don't want to delve too deep into it just because I think it's more productive to me to look introspectively and I think about how I can better myself.

Well, the only thing I would want to know on this. Is this something where you feel honestly you could have done anything better, or is this just a very difficult boss situation?

If I were to answer honestly, I think it would be the second one. But I also.

Were you struggling to do your actual job from a competency standpoint?

Not really, no. I believed myself a lot based on the things I knew and what I could do. I just think he didn't believe in me.

Okay. What trade were you in?

Electrical.

Okay. And what's the market like in Toronto for electricians?

It's okay. I see quite a few postings out there, but I'm not a registered apprentice with a college, so I need to. That's pretty much my downfall right now. I need to find a new employer who's willing to sign me on as an apprentice. It's just a commitment. So that's the next step, I think, for me.

Okay.

All right.

All right. So how can we help you specifically today?

I'm really struggling because I feel like I've lost my sense of purpose. I'm engaged and my fiance and I have bought a condo, which I'm sure you've heard, Toronto real estate is really expensive. I've lack confidence when it comes to reaching out to employer potential employers.

And is this because of the relationship with this last boss?

Yeah.

Okay. So that's why I was digging a little bit. If. Do you have confidence in your ability to do the electrical work?

Yeah, like, I've been.

That doesn't sound like. That doesn't sound very confident. Am I reading into that?

No, I think I gen. Like, I was about to do work for a buddy of mine that is cottage, and I was very excited to do it because I was excited to help him out and I knew I could finish off the job, for example. And so my biggest frustration with my boss is just that he didn't believe in me.

Okay, so you were new on the job and was the frustration, the evidence that he didn't believe in you was that he wasn't giving you work to do or he was only letting you do minor, kind of more labor intensive stuff, not like real electrical work or what was going on?

No.

Towards the very end, it was getting more electrical and work, and I was actually, like, enjoying my work a little more. But there was about a month of work there when I was kept in the shop just organizing screws and whatnot.

And that was the part that sucked the soul out of you?

Yeah, very much so. That was actually words I used to describe how I felt coming home from work every day.

Well, I get it. But you're asking me about confidence, so let me tell you what I think is the key to confidence. Number one, it's very normal for your confidence to be shaken and when you've been fired. Okay? So I can tell you that psychology experts have done research and have basically found that losing a job is the same traumatic effect on someone as losing a loved one.

Okay, that makes sense.

Yeah. And you're feeling it right now. So, number one, you're not weak, you're not damaged. You're pretty normal, and it sucks. So that's one thing. Secondly, the key to confidence is always getting clear. People who aren't clear on a certain issue will not have confidence on making a decision or moving forward on an issue. Does that make sense?

Yeah, that makes sense.

In other words, we have people call the show all the time. George has taken a ton of calls today where people weren't clear how to get out of debt, and then he makes it clear for them. Them. And then they can see a path forward, and if they can see it, then they can believe it. So here's what I'm telling you. You have to retreat back to clarity. Get around some people that absolutely know that you're good at electrical work. Remind yourself that you've done x amount of certification or qualification work up to this point. Remind yourself of that, okay? And then over the next couple days, go ahead and grieve this loss, because that's what it is. Have some fun. Be around positive people. Make a list of things you're grateful for today, and then immediately get right back up and go apprentice. Go work. Go do as much electrical work as you can do anywhere and everywhere, and you'll remind yourself really quickly that you, in fact, can do the job. But getting clear on what you can do will push you forward to do it. This is the Ramsey show. Welcome back to the Ramsey show.

Thrilled to have you with us. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins us. The phone number is triple 8825-5225 our scripture today, proverbs 21, five plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. Our quote of the day from Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it is happening, you can bet it was planned that way. There you go. All right. To the phones we go. Linda is joining us now in St. Paul, Minnesota. Linda, how can we help? Help.

Hi, Ken and George. How great to talk to you today. Thanks for taking my call.

You bet. What's going on?

So I have. So my son will be a senior in high school next year. And I grew up poor, and so my brother saved, was able to save money. So out of his life savings, he wants to send my son to college and has the whole thing paid for.

Wow.

And so, yeah. Just amazed. So two parts to my question. First of all, how do I. How do I ask? Or how do I tell my son that his whole college is paid for and not, and still instill a work ethic with him? I mean, he's got a job right now. He's been working and working, trying to save for college. And then I don't want him to just stop working through college and take it for granted. And I'm just not sure how to give him, like, $100,000. I don't know how to give him that. And then how do I. How do we say thank you for this gift? I don't. I'm not even. I get soaked up because I can't believe it.

That's great. Let's take the thank you on first. How would you want someone to thank you for such a strong and, you know, future focused gift like this? I mean, I would just think through it, you know. You know your brother well, you know, knowing him, knowing the situation, put yourself in his shoes, you know, how would you want someone to thank you that way? And it's not about pomp and circumstance. Right? It's just about a meaningful thank you. But I just wouldn't overthink that, you know? But I think you. You inherently know how to talk to your brother. I think. I think there's a thank you from you. I certainly think there's a thank you from the son. You may have to coach your son along, George. I think I would be coaching my boys along, going, okay.

Here'S how to handle this.

Maybe think about this and this and this to thank your uncle.

Well, one of the best ways to say thank you is with his actions of working really hard in school, finishing in four years, getting good grades, and not squandering this gift of a free education. And so that's part of it. And you mentioned sort of like, how do I. We just can't just give him 100,000. Well, you don't. You don't just deposit $100,000 into an 18 year old's account.

I would. I would have the brother pay.

I would have him pay directly.

Yeah. That way the money stays in your brother's hands. And, George, I was also going to throw out there, I would have a written contract of sorts, some agreement between your son and your brother, where your brother says, this 100 grand goes to four years. It does not count any failed classes. You know what I mean? Put some parameters out there so you're.

Not going to go into debt.

Your son knows this isn't just 100 grand. This is with these actions attached to it. Does that make sense?

Yes. Like stipulations?

Yeah, like, it covers four years. It's not a five year plan. It's four year plan. It doesn't cover failed classes. If he fail. I'm not saying your son's gonna fail a class, but I'm just trying to give you some ideas on where he realized this isn't a slush fund. This is for the degree and only for the degree.

Right?

And if you're going to tell him before college, you know, when it comes to college planning, it's important to say, here's our budget. Just like if you were planning to build a house or go on a vacation, we have $100,000. Here's what the actual costs are going to be. We have to stay within that, which means, here are your options. Now, he might also get scholarships, and maybe there's a cool bonus where, hey, any scholarships you get doesn't count toward the hundred. So if you get 50,000 in scholarships and it costs 50,000 to go, he might actually walk away with a big pile of money at the end. How cool would that be to start off his life? Oh, so there could be some cool. I would talk to your brother and say, hey, let's talk through some of the parameters. Let's work up a little contract and make it fun. It's not a legally binding, scary. It's just something to get him excited about the future and get him to have some skin in the game.

And depending on where the school is, I mean, it could be. Well, his cost could be well over 100,000. So hopefully I get your son thinking, well, where can I go for four years? Less than 100 grand? You know, you start looking at state schools. I don't know what the situation is in Minnesota, but, you know, you can go to two years of essentially, CUNy college in Tennessee for free. Of course, that word's thrown about taxpayers are picking it up. The child is not. The young person is not paying tuition. So looking at the full landscape of where your son wants to go, what he wants to accomplish, what are his options? How far will the $100,000 go? And it needs to be attached to tuition and tuition only.

Okay.

Or room and board and, you know, anything associated with college, I should stipulate. Is that help?

How do I. Yeah. Yep, it sure does.

How do you. What? You still got a question you're wrestling with?

How do I impart on my son? How do I. Do I tell him he's got to have a major picked out? Because I have a feeling he's still kind of undecided. Does he go to the school undecided?

And sure, a lot of kids do.

Figure it out.

Yeah.

Most people don't have their life figured at 18. I barely still have my life figured out. And I went to a four year college and graduated. It was a communication degree. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. But he'll have a direction, and Ken's got a ton of resources to help students figure that out.

Yeah. I'll give you your. Your son the, uh, the new book, find the work you're wired to do. It's got the get clear assessment in it, and I think it's a fantastic resource for him. But picking a major is different than. Than what we're talking about, where we put some stipulations of responsibility in there so that he doesn't in any way think, oh, this is just a hundred grand. This is a bank account that I get to kind of play with. That's what you called about. That's what you were concerned about. And that's what we're addressing as to how you make sure that he understands what this really is.

Yes. Because I didn't want him to go buy a car or something.

Well, again, I'd keep the funds in. It's like your brother's a steward and your brother's the one cutting the checks if he's turning in his grades. And, you know, it's kind of like, all right, I'm going to keep paying next year. You know, I think it's. I get your brother involved in this and tell your brother your concerns, and I think that's probably your brother's heart, too. Right?

Right.

Yeah. Well, then this is pretty simple.

And ask your brother, hey, if he only spends 70, because he does it really wisely and maybe does some years at community college. Can he use the extra 30 to start his adult life and get that car? Or use it toward a down payment? And so have those conversations to see what your brother's comfortable with. It's his money, and so he'll have a say in that and then make a plan for that and have. Sit down and have a fun but serious conversation with your son.

Yeah, I like that idea. By the way, having you and your brother kind of come up with a. And again, this is not. Needs to be pomp and circumstance. Doesn't need to be that, but some type of way of presenting this information. Yeah. No trumpets needed, but that was well done, George.

Thank you.

But, Linda, make it special. Make it. Make it something where you're, you know, it's a big deal. And I think your son will pretty, pretty easily figure out the way to this, don't you?

Yeah, I think so.

He's not. Is he entitled now? If you had to describe him.

Is he what?

Is he entitled now?

No, no. I mean, he. He knows that I didn't have any money growing up, so it's really hard for me to spend money, so he's really good at.

He saw mom work her tail off, and he saw that money comes from work, and so money only makes you more of whoever you are. It's a magnifying glass. And so if he's not entitled now, I don't think giving him this money to cover college is going to cause him to be entitled and destroy his life.

Right. Good.

All right, Linda.

I hope that helps. It's very exciting, Linda.

Super simple. I would bring your brother into this. It feels like even you're unsure about all of this and just let the brother and you kind of come alongside of this and let your brother lay out the stipulations. Lay out why he's giving your son this gift. I mean, this is an extraordinary thing. Good on your brother. What a good man he is.

I'm gonna. That inspires me to. Maybe I'll make that move one day. Oh, Uncle George.

Yeah.

Giving you a nice gift to go get the kids through college debt free.

Yeah. That's great. Well, I'd love to talk to you about time.

That'd be great. Yeah.

He thinks of you as Uncle George already.

He probably sees me as the creepy honorary uncle vibe.

That's about right. Oh, I love it. Good stuff. Always fun to be with you, George. Thank you, my friend. Thanks to Kelly Daniels, sitting in for the esteemed James Childs. Want to thank our crew for keeping us on the air as well. And you, America, thank you for listening to our lovely studio audience. You all are great folks as well. We'll be back with you before you know it. This is the Ramsey show.

Hey, folks, Dave here. You want to hear even more life changing content from Ramsey, download the Ramsey Network app so you can catch all your favorite shows all in one place. Like the Ramsey show, smart money, Happy Hour and the doctor John Deloney show. You'll get real talk about life, relationships, money and your career. Plus, the app lets you browse by topic, like debt, business or selling your home. Get the content you want whenever and wherever you want to listen. Download the Ramsey Network app today.