[Music] sacrifice determination you can be intentional about your character he's gotta be on the same page say we're calling to let you know we're debt-free house and everything you have done really really good and you're not gonna quit than a huge witness for us to be able to share that it was time to get serious intentionality people this is your show America I knew it 22 what I know now our life would be better is the show that's changing the world now you don't just listen to the show you live it live from the headquarters of Ramsey solutions it's the Dave Ramsey show where dad is dumb cash is king and the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW has the status symbol of choice I am Dave Ramsey your host and thank you for joining us open phones at triple-a eight two five five two two five that's triple eight eight two five five two two five Yolanda is with us in Charlotte North Carolina hi Yolanda how are you hi thank you for taking my call sure what's up don't have a question I am actually just found out that I'm losing my job at the March 30th this year yes I know okay okay I'm a question so my weight loss I received my severance my husband and I just just really started on your program and just curious to know if I should take part of my favorite you know one that part just pay like one month towards our mortgage so that we can pay our mortgage like every other every other week versus paying it you know actually get another month every other week you mean by weekly bi-weekly okay no I don't think now is the time to convert to a bi-weekly you can only do that if you sign up for a service after you have the mortgage and most of those charge you to do that so I wouldn't so first let's just talk about bi-weekly okay the only reason a biweekly will pay off a 30-year mortgage in about 22 years but the reason it does that is not that it's bi-weekly it's that you're paying a half a payment every two weeks and there are 26 two week periods in a year so 26 halves is 13 payments a year the fact that you're paying an extra payment a year effectively is what causes your mortgage to reduce so you can pay one extra payment per year and have almost exactly the same mathematical effect as doing a bi-weekly and you don't have to pay a fee to some company to set up the bi-weekly I'm assuming somebody's trying to charge you to do this right mmm actually if not they didn't tell me that it would be that was one of our options is it a new mortgage for about two years okay if they will convert it to a bi-weekly at no charge at all and you want to do that fine but I would not pay a fee to do it because of what I just described you can just pay you can take 1/12 of your payment and pay that as an extra principal once a month and you'd have I mean within a penny or two of the same reaction as a bi-weekly so don't pay a fee to do it but just pay extra principal if there is no fee and you want to convert to that that's fine I would wait to convert until you get settled down on this career thing so what is your husband making what do you make currently I only make 65 and he makes 87 I'll tell you did you say 65 or 55 55 and what do you do now I am only coordinator a lead coordinator Oh leave coordinator you work in HR then okay and how long have you been with this firm seven years okay all right so this is emotional and shocking and all of that okay what I always like to remind folks is that many times if you make the decision for this to be a wonderful opportunity instead of a catastrophic event that's all it takes for it to be a wonderful opportunity what if you got a new job between now and March 30th that started April the second paying 67,000 in HR now what would happen to that severance then that severance will be like a signing bonus what would happen to this event then it would be like one of the best things that ever happened to you that's what I'm expecting God to do yeah absolutely and yeah so if you look at it that way and you go get get out there and turn over the rocks and you go get that new job if you've gotten a new job before this one ends the severance becomes a signing bonus but you got to go out there and turn over the rocks God will make it rain but you have to plant the seed right yeah he feeds the birds but he doesn't drop the worms into their mouth follow me okay go get it you got this it's going to be a blessing thanks for calling in Rebecca is with us in Fargo North Dakota I Rebecca how are you I'm good how you doing better than I deserve what's up I just wanted to know how when can you justify doing a car repair if your car isn't worth that much usually if the car repair is going to be so large compared to the value of the car that it it ends up causing you to have so much in the car doesn't make sense let me explain what I mean what is your what's the repair and what's the cost the repair is the clutch is slipping and it's so it's about she said around seven hundred eight hundred dollars so it's a clutch replacement because it's slipping yes okay because you can adjust a clutch a lot cheaper than that but it sounds like the clutch is bad okay what is the car worth if the clutch were fixed I looked on Kelly Blue Book so a private party sale and the fair price was fifteen hundred dollars okay all right and you can probably sell the car like it is let's just make up a number a thousand bucks sure okay so a thousand in your hand and seven hundred in your other hand that you're getting ready to spend on a clutch those two added together equals seventeen hundred which is more than the car is worth so the way you'd make the determination is your as is value plus your repair cost if that is more than the fixed cost the car the value of the car after it's fixed then you sell the car so you sell this car okay or or before you do that get a second opinion on the clutch okay where this bid it's our repair guy that we've gone due for years where does he have his own shop yes it's his own job yeah okay and the other repairs that you've done there for years you felt like we're very reasonable price yes and we trust him implicitly he's very fair okay well on a larger parrot there's people I trust implicitly but I always just get another opinion and this is a big deal in your life so let's just get another opinion if somebody else comes in goes 1,200 to repair this car then you go oh my buddy has been taking care of me and you just confirmed what you believed about him right and that still says you sell the car but if you get a bid that goes you know you don't really need to replace this clutch you're getting to just dial it up a little bit and I think you can get another 20,000 miles out of you dial it and I can do that for 100 bucks no I don't trust my guy so much anymore and I dial it up right so I'm gonna get a second opinion just for the fun of it from somebody else another not a dealer repair place that's expensive but just another person that does auto repair that you have a friend that you trust and try a second thing and don't tell them what your guy said just go hey this clutch is messed up tell me what you think gotta pay and just get that second fit and that'll tell you you'd be good solid information to make your decision that [Music] I assume you're here to do a debt-free scream we are so how much of you guys paid off we paid off 44,000 and it took us 39 months what financial questions you do ours yeah what started this journey why did you decide to get out of strengthen our marriage the budget making down you guys are breaks not your fanatic you weirdos beans and rice you guys are lost your debt-free I love it so you got hooked about it every third of the laptop easily one of those things we did for our marriage so what did you learn in Financial Peace University that help you bear you slaughtered debt-free screen we're dead [Music] a lot of things that we've experienced that are just kind of shape this and made us who we are I'm Vanessa Maureen and this is my husband Eli Maureen and we've been married 10 years today it's our wedding anniversary the accident that was a huge turning point for us I just said babe I just need a pray and I said I don't know what's gonna happen but I love you no matter what I love you and if I'm not here anymore it'll be okay I'm so tired of life happening to us from now on I'm gonna start happening to life and at that moment everything changed like my mindset changed I felt that the environment change the atmosphere changed we held tight and we just said this is it we said I do years back and we're gonna keep marching for we're just gonna keep going life head is really hard but a life is not bigger than God and not the God we serve it's not I know that he has great plans for us absolutely step one one thousand dollars to start your emergency fund step two pay off all debt using the debt snowball step three three to six months of expenses in savings step four invest 15% of household income in Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement step five college funding for children step six pay off house early step seven build wealth and give people all over the country are in need of a good dentist but don't want to break the bank at the same time great dentists are looking for new patients to help at one dental calm our task is to help connect the two with discount dental plans a discount dental plan is like a membership club where you pay a little each year and save a lot each time you use the plan this works because there are over eight million members dentists like this too because they get more patients and can keep their practice running to start your savings pick the dental plan that's best for you choose a dentist that's nearby and save 15 to 60 percent on the dental work you need join us today at one dental calm there's no waiting and you can use the plan immediately everyone is accepted and there are no limits on use one gentle calm [Music] thanks for joining us America we're glad you're here open phones at triple eight eight two five five two two five our question of the day comes from blinds.com upgrade your home with blinds calm the number one online retailer of custom window coverings now through February 15th go to blinds.com slash Ramsey for a guaranteed 20% off right now blinds.com slash Ramsey rules and restrictions apply Carroll is an Idaho are churches in the process of planting a new church they're trying to secure a loan for the building and they ask the congregation to pray about being co-signers on the loan I feel this goes against the Bible what do you think well the bottle is very clear proverbs 1718 says 1 lacking in sense cosines for another and as a matter fact if you look up the contemporary English version the CEV it says one of who cosines for another is stupid that's what the Bible says yeah so there you go so yeah that's it's ridiculous it not not only is it against what Scripture teaches but it's stupid the Bible is right and I'm certainly not co-signing a loan for a church who handles their money so poorly that they are planting a church with no money that means it operates poorly ok and it doesn't mean that churches shouldn't plant no they should plant but there's lots of churches that do Church plants with zero debt and they do it all the time if they start in a school a high school auditorium or something yeah you know they use the lunchroom to meet and they get started somewhere in a public facility of some kind the YMCA or whatever on Sunday mornings they use their meeting room and get started lots of people plant churches that are unbelievably successful that way so I did that in order to plant a church you need to borrow money to buy a building is pretty absurd you need to understand that 97 percent of church plants fight yeah and I've you know we're familiar with several church organizations around we know one that actually has a 95% success ratio with their church plants as opposed to a 97 percent failure rate which is the average how do they do that well I can't guarantee their own money for a building they've got a detailed system that includes all this financial wisdom that is unbelievable and it causes them to be able to plant and do that properly so and if someone tells you God told them to cosign God told them to borrow you can just say no he didn't because God does not give advice that's perpendicular to his word there you go I was just reading I was scanning through the news stuff and I'm just reading that the women on the view code said that Mike Pence when he said he talks to Jesus that's a sign of mental illness so apparently a bunch of us have mental illness but um was it Joey what's her name mayor or something I can't I don't watch the view I don't even know who's on it something like that but yeah apparently those of us they're people of faith have mental illness according to the view very interesting you know but so yeah but but I can tell you this the Bible's pretty clear and if someone says to you that you know I'll give you an example okay one that many many years ago I was coaching a young couple who had an income of $1,500 a month they had a car payment of $600 to little kids their light bill was about to be cut off their electric bills might be cut off because they weren't paying it they were behind on their rent and their I'm going guys this car how this car is nuts this car is crazy you've got to sell this car and the guy looks at me with all seriousness he goes we cannot sell that car God told us to buy that car and I said no he didn't because you you know what God told me and I said absolutely I do I know God did not tell you to buy that car how do you know because the Bible says the blessings of the Lord have no sorrow added to them and you have two little kids without food in the house and the lights are getting ready get cut off they're gonna be homeless because you bought a car you can't afford this is not a blessing it's a curse and God does not give you curses the blessings of the Lord have no sorrow added to them because why the finance manager even said it was a miracle and I said it is a miracle you got this dadgum payment on 1,500 bucks income how do you get a six hundred dollar payment on a fifteen hundred dollar income you that that's a miracle but it's not a miracle from God it's just plain straight-up subprime stupidity I saw the car you think I need to sell the car what am I saying here you got to sell the car do you think I need to sell the car yeah that are you need to move into it because you can't I mean that's just it's absurd so that's that you know when something is that perpendicular to Scripture the blessings of the Lord have no sorrow added to them let me tell you what's gonna happen that church is gonna fail because 97% of church plants fail and when it does all you people at co-sign on that note are gonna have a bad church experience and then you're gonna be mad at God what in God's fault that you're stupid don't blame God David is with us in Miami Florida hi David how are you better than I deserve sir and yourself just the same how can I help oh my wife and I are in baby step 3b we have our 10k saved up our emergency fund now we're saving up for the down payment now for our house and my wife has a 529 left over from college and that a relative had put her as the beneficiary so she has about 25 K and at 5:29 and we're trying to figure out should we pull it out and use it towards the house to speed up our downpayment saving or should we keep some of it for 11-month year old son and jumpstart his college savings plan you to double-check me on this because I'm not a hundred percent positive but I'm 90% that you cannot roll a 529 to a child you can only roll it to a sibling and so this money is going to get cashed out and when it gets cashed out it's going to be heavily penalized and taxed and so at least the growth on it will be how much was put into the 529 originally you know I do not know that okay what a basis is because the thing that's taxed so heavily and penalized is the growth and not the actual contributions so you need to double check that that information with a tax advisor so my thinking is a I don't think you can roll it to your kid you're gonna have to cash it out and use it for the kid and if you cash it out and pay the penalties and stuff I'm just gonna use it on the baby step that you're on not on your you know unless your own baby Step five we're not gonna put it in gets college and it sounds like you got debt right now and your own baby step okay we're out of debt our own David you said three B you said three B that's right you're saving for a house okay yeah that's right so we're chomping at the bit to do baby steps four five and six so we just wanted to yeah you could use it for whatever you want to use it for in there four five six three B you know wherever you want to in there if you choose to catch it out but I want you to verify that I I think she's stuck I think you have to catch it out cuz I don't think there's anybody she can roll it to without paying the penalties and the taxes on portions of it so sit down with the tax advisor or with one of our smart mister pros and get exact information on that before you make a decision because I'm not a hundred percent positive I'm right I'm just pretty sure I'm right any thanks for the call open phones a triple eight eight two five five two two five Greg is on Facebook David you ever mentioned your views on micro investing apps yeah I mean they're okay here's the thing micro investing gets micro results big time investing gets big-time results so if you if you invest all your nickels you're gonna have a bunch of nickels if you invest a bunch of hundred-dollar bills you're gonna have a bunch of hundred dollar bills so it's kind of like makes you feel like you're doing something and you're really not you're majoring in minors so if you want to do some of those things it's fine but please don't do that and call that a substitute for a legitimate 401 K Roth IRA good growth stock mutual fund pound it investing micro investing gets micro results just remember no exception to that this is the Dave Ramsey show [Music] after mommy and daddy paid off all of that debt does he tend is it okay if he's not in the shot or shows wait I'm Aaron littles and this is my awesome wife Madeline littles and we are coming to you from Tampa Florida I didn't learn a lot about money growing up I just mean that we didn't always have it enough I had a upbringing where I knew I wanted to have more but I didn't know how and so I went into the rink war after graduating from the Naval Academy and they just load you up with credit cards that get you on your way and start establishing your credit and I did what David Ramsey said not to do which was buy a house in every city or station did I look up and I have a good-paying job I'm served my country but then I realized I'm way in the hole in real estate debt and the recession started to happen and you know renters start leaving and then now I get other credit card debts just float these houses for a while now I was like this is not how it's supposed to work and so that's when I hit my turning point to say I've got to do something different and then he met me I took out loans to cover everything for grad school including my housing around $80,000 I was working during the day and I was getting second jobs and side jobs at night and instead of putting that money towards paying down the mountain of debt I just apparently went shopping more when I helped Mellon calculate her individual budget I think that kind of opened her eyes to see that she's working two jobs but because of all the debt and the spending patterns she was in the negative every single month and not actually even at zero I knew that I needed to change something but to see it all on paper like that was pretty overwhelming she was like oh hey here's this guy he's gonna tell us how to get debt-free but you're gonna have to sell your car as soon as we get married and I was not I was not at all receptive to that and he said just listen to this podcast and that's all I ask and I was like bye and I might listen to it and it was a number of different families that called in and talked about how the grass and their backyards felt much different because they had paid off their homes and it resonated with me and so that was when I was like okay let's talk about this maybe we will sell my car hopefully we will but that was my turning point really because he just he changed his approach once we got engaged we got enrolled in the FPU is part of our premarital counseling sure enough we did every single week and paid attention and saw the immediate transformation of having a zero-based budget and then starting to really pay down debt the first year we were getting out of debt we paid off $35,000 the second year I had an event planning business on the side and then we were really sticking to the budget using the envelope system and we were actually coordinating and helping lead others and so whenever you do that you're always holding yourself accountable to to making sure that you're following the program just as much as you're expecting other people to follow it and so that second you repeat off $75,000 in debt Madden was able to leave a job that she didn't really enjoy we just never something I ever considered because I thought I would be paying off my student loans until I was 50 this is what we've been able to do and now people are coming up to us and saying we saw you do it we know it's achievable the underlying is that they may find Jesus too and they may get a personal relationship and that's always even more special for us we paid off one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars in two and a half years the vision of freedom at the end and the possibilities of what our family could look like what our family could do for the kingdom of God and what we would be enabled to do was what kept us going getting to the finish line was the goal and we weren't gonna stop and and she married a marine and we just don't quit let's hear a debt-free stream 3 [Music] Pam and I purchased our timeshare in 1979 was a crazy time back then we just gotten married and we were young and free we went to our timeshare twice a year for years I am love to golf there boy I miss those days in 2012 I lost Pam to breast cancer I knew I had to get out of our timeshare because the thought of going back there was too painful for me and our children finally I found timeshare exit team they got us out now we all been able to move on with our lives kids and I have been able to vacation together again in fact we just got back from a fantastic trip to Mexico City time changes everything if your timeshare no longer fits your life call the team that can talk to you about options for your timeshare call timeshare exit team today or go to timeshare exit team com your life is an adventure emotionally you just been through the wringer not afraid of hard work and you have note that everything painful a very very well done you did the hard work and done so good you know when you've had it that something has to happen inside of you slow and steady live on less than you make believe that it can happen it does happen every day in America you are the answer God's blessings pouring to and through you are the answer in the lobby of Ramsay Solutions Kelvin and Nevada are with us hey guys how are you doing great doing great Dave welcome welcome where do you all live deuced in Texas Houston takes Euston and all the way here to do your debt-free screen oh yeah it's love at how much have you paid off over seventy two thousand dollars perfect how long did that take 21 months and months and your range of income during that time between 90,000 to 150 thousand all right very good what do y'all do for a living I work in sales car sales and itay teachers and a community college yeah very good what do you teach I teach psychology very good fun what kind of debt was a seventy two thousand dollars in those man's yeah most of it was student loans the majority of it okay so a lot of hard work in that I hear you cool so what happened 21 months ago put you guys on this journey well we had taken the class right before we got married so it's kind of like the premarital counseling over us and then we actually didn't start until like the end of that year and so I actually I was looking online and I saw this girl she was like I paid off $36,000 I was like honey we can do that like we can't actually do that and so December 2nd 2015 we say you know what let's get it down there's write it down and let's do it all right yeah so sorry it came alive then yeah that one testimony kind of sparked the whole memory from the class so you've been married about two years or so three years now three okay very good fun so the the classes good pre-marriage counseling oh yeah it is yeah and then it was kind of stored back there and kind of came back alive is what you're saying that University class yeah one it was more so one of those things to where I felt like we knew the information but we didn't write it down and yeah we didn't it was a moment where we put pen to paper he said we're gonna commit to doing this and there's we know this is what we need to do but we're going to do this and we're going to get this done the inspiration and the information have to be at the same time oh yeah yeah oh yeah very good way to go you guys how does it feel to not have any payments oh my gosh we're actually able to do all the things we want to do so travel we always do like a vision retreat at the beginning of the year talk about you know what we want to do and we want to we want to see in our marriage and now we're able instead of just going to like a hotel like right around the corner we can go somewhere nice you know and actually kind of really get an experience and you know dream more it feels like a car was on my shoulders and and now it's gone yeah the weight has been lifted off and so no and what's weird is you get used to carrying that car around yeah and you don't even realize it's there until it's gone right it's like wow I can breathe yeah exactly you know it's the the borrower is slave to the lender it's a very real thing nothing's very cool so what do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is you paid off 72,000 and 21 months I would say the key is I mean one of the first things writing it down writing it down and be willing to to do the the odd things or the strange things or you know there's many times where our friends would be going out to dinner and we'd say hey you know we're gonna go home and cook or there's there's a lot of sacrifices involved navantia one time I was you know teach working three jobs she was teaching at the school and she was tutoring students and she was working at an academy I was putting in a lot more hours were you know selling things we were you know we had gazelle-like intensity we wanted the question was how bad do you want right and we wanted it bad bad enough to where we stopped you know some of these spending or going out to eat or you know it feels weird to just go and I feel like bad going to my closing anyway I think I have money to go buy clothes but still like you know we just developing those habits but we we want it that bad so the question I always ask people's you know how bad do you want it you can know what to do but yeah how bad do you really want to pay off this debt are you comfortable with that car being on your back or do you want it lifted off in do you want ISM do you want to breathe if you truly got to be sick and tired of in second time they you really do I've had it you gotta have that moment and when that happens it changes everything yeah very cool and that's what happened so Wow proud of you guys well done thank you what was the biggest budget fight you had Wow well for me I probably would say like I wanted to go to Europe like right before we were about to finish and I was like honey like you know we can just go he's like honey like we're about to be done like you want to go travel like no we're not going so you know like a huge thing I was like okay honey like we're not gonna do what do you think yes I mean I got someone that came to your mind yeah I definitely agree with that but also a lot of the the date nights like wanting to go Holly so there's your different things and and for me I'm the nerd of course and so it's like it's in the date night budget we have this you know date night budget that's here we can't make it here you know for now anyways and so it's like we're gonna do we're gonna live like no one else so we can live like no one else that's you know just what I kept telling myself and so now we can I can take her on these dates that you know she definitely deserves but we had that we had to take the steps first we had to do it in the right way and I think that's what's important so many people will want to you know do things out about the wrong water they want to live this life they want to be in these houses they want to be in these cars I see it all the time in my job and it's just like you know these things are great but if you do it in the wrong order if you do it when you're not ready you're gonna cause yourself a lot of hurt and pain and you know just it's gonna hurt you and your family and your legacy in the future because now as to 25 year olds we can set up a great legacy for our children our children's children and our children and our family don't have to go through things that we did yeah because we're not getting back into it yeah I just changed how you saw cars it does because I can give a different perspective I can give advice so I can this is a thing and you know this and I can tell by the the people that call in I can't make a decision for someone right but I can give them the best advice I can say this is what you're telling me and I believe this is in your best interest for you to do and even sometimes I'd have to tell customers I do not think you should be buying this right now and and and that's something that of course management team you know fills a certain way body sometimes but I have to be I can't in clear conscious I know God has put me there for a reason and so I don't have to tell people that now if they still choose to do it right you know sure I can't I can't make the decision because in the same way they'll just go across the street make decision with someone else you know but it's it's giving that people with information and you know what's interesting is I'll bet it's causing you to sell more cars that's what I'm betting I bet your sales have gone up because yeah because of the your authentic right and people can smell they you know whether you're authentic is oh yeah that's cool good for you man and you're such a process guy buying a car from you would be I mean you're you got the rules down this is what you do step by step he's got it dialed in and I mean it would be easy because it'd be easy to trust you while you're doing and I can just see that we can we make it work I'm telling you way to go you guys we got a copy of Chris Hogan's retire inspired book for you that's the next chapter in your story yes and not only be dead free but now be millionaires and outrageously generous as you go along so well done alright it's Kelvin and the Vontae Houston Texas seventy two thousand dollars paid off in twenty one months Megan 90 to 150 count it down let's hear a debt-free scream okay three two one [Music] well done well done well done and that is fabulous Wow good for you guys congratulations open phones at triple eight eight two five five two two five Dave what do you say to people that are single that don't need life insurance doesn't everyone need it no everyone doesn't need it you you know you need enough finances to bury you if you have no dependents if no one is dependent upon you dependent upon your income and you have ten thousand dollars saved or ten thousand dollars in your 401k or whatever and that way your mom and dad don't have to pay to bury you or your brother or sister or whatever then no one is counting on your income so when your income dies when you die nobody financially notices so no everyone does not need life insurance you're not leaving behind two kids that need to eat and go to college and be raised and mom and dad that's left behind these you know your husband or wife left behind needs to be doing that when you have a family that depends on your income that's when you need life insurance and so no young singles that don't have a bunch of liabilities and have a little bit of savings I don't have a need for life insurance yet this is the Dave Ramsey show [Music] [Music] what if I told you by just checking your insurance you could save $500 in like 12 minutes ah do it okay how well I'm about to tell you insurance is one of those things in our lives whether it's car home life whatever it is that we kind of just assume okay we got their insurance rate so we're gonna just pay it I mean people pay the same rate or they don't even look into their insurance for five 10 sometimes 15 years they just keep paying the same old thing listen it's amazing if you just look at your insurance and you actually talk to someone who is in this industry you can actually save so much money we have LPS or endorsed local providers that we actually recommend to people in every city all across the country and all these different industries to help you not only save money but get the best insurance possible and I'm telling you this because it's amazing when you look at all of your insurances sometimes bundling them all together sometimes unbundling them all can actually save you money but you need an expert someone that you trust to help you with that making sure that you check out our LPS is crucial because people on average are saving $500 and figuring out your insurance stuff is so quick it's so easy and talking to these agents is so helpful so insurance is one of those things that's intimidating we don't really like talking about it can be confusing and again you get a quote and you're like okay especially when you're starting out life and you're like I have my car insurance done perfect I'll just pay it every month or every quarter or whatever it is and we don't even think to look into it so this is an area of our finances it's not super fun and flashy and great I wish I had like a great prop for this video but I don't but just the idea to look into it and use people that you trust and that are actually going to teach you this industry a little bit save you money so 500 bucks in your pocket in 12 minutes make sure to check out our LPS click the link below type your zip code and find someone [Music] listen up small business owners no one knows better than I do how important it is to keep track of your business expenses I remember those days if just one person doesn't pay it can throw your world into a tailspin and that's why I'm excited to tell you guys about fresh books fresh books is a cloud accounting software that makes billing painless it's ridiculously easy to use and it allows you to track time capture expenses and customize and create professional-looking invoices you can also get paid online right from your invoice meaning you get paid faster plus fresh books lives in the cloud so you can securely access it from your desktop phone or tablet wherever you are find out why over 10 million users just like you are already using fresh books start your 30-day free trial today at fresh books.com slash Dave Ramsey and make sure to enter the Dave Ramsey show in the how did you hear about us section [Music] [Music] thanks for joining us America and is on the line in st. Louis hi Ann how are you doing okay I just need to ask you a couple of questions one this smells an awful light an awful lot like a police car I'd saw something on the news this morning that talked about subscribing to a car I subscribe to a magazine second question is real quick I followed all your baby steps and all that Niall no others do but what about those that just need that extra help from like a food pantry or food stamps until they can get back on their feet and not live there forever but just get back on their feet and be able to breathe again I'm sure there's nothing wrong with that at all that's what that's exactly what that's for and I've been broke I've never been poor broke is I'm passing through a subscription the subscription thing is a little fad that popped up about six months ago it is less expensive than renting a car for the month from hurts if you were gonna rent for a whole month or two months but it's a bazillion times more expensive than just buying and owning a car if you were going to keep the car for a long time so where somebody's by getting a car for a month you could rent it from Hertz or Avis or national or enterprise or whatever or you could do one of these subscriptions the subscription is probably gonna come out cheaper than just renting a car for a month but but this idea that you can maintain your vehicle long term by doing the subscription no it's a whole lot more expensive even than a lease and certainly even more than financing and way more than just buying a car for cash that you can actually afford but it you're right it's an expanded version of the lease which is the most expensive way to operate a car long term and the subscriptions even worse so now you would not do a subscription again very limited application that that's going to make sense very limited David is on the line in Charlotte North Carolina hi des how are you hi how are you better than I deserve how can I help well I have a universal life policy on myself for 250,000 dollars I'm sorry and the insurance company notified me that I was at risk of it lapsing within the next one to five years unless I take corrective action the corrective action is to extend to extend the policy for about another 20 years would increase the premiums from 120 dollars a month there's 660 250 a month so you must be in your 50s I'm in my 70s 10 years 70 so it ran out in the 70s I basically have two choices I believe not in your opinion I can either take the surrender value or or keep the insurance in force until it lapses what's happened is is this is revealing the lie the Universal Life provides the lie is that you're going to have life insurance forever and the truth is is that Universal Life breaks the cost of insurance out separately and it's it goes up every year it's an annual renewable term inside of the thing and so your insurance cost goes up every year to the point that eventually your premiums don't even cover the insurance cost not only have you got nothing going into saving but you're not even pre covering the insurance cost with your premiums then they start taking money out of your cash value to supplement your premium but then when the cash value erodes they call you up and say you have to take corrective action because this is going to go away if you don't now so they just it's it's a bad bad product and that's yet one more reason that it is so in your situation do you have a nest egg saved like your 401k or your Roth IRAs or your mutual funds or paid for houses or what oh we're we're fine we both have we both have our A's and then we have we have investment that'll be your net worth all right so we're fine what's your net worth I'm not sure that woman that worth is but have been in investment counts I'm 1.1 million okay all right so if you don't have this life insurance and you die she's fine right and yeah another thing is we have already made arrangements for funeral and yeah we don't need well I mean she's got a million dollars she'll be all right he struggled through way to go you're a millionaire I'm proud of you plus so yeah drop this crap just cancel it and get your cash value out there's no way I'm supplement you don't want you any need for it number two it's a bad product that's gonna double bad now and I'm not feeding this animal No shoot it I'm not feeding it at all put a bullet in it no we're done with this you know you've got plenty of money she's okay if you die you're okay if she dies and financially speaking and so that your need for life insurance is gone you're what we call self insured by your net worth and you're very smart self that you become a millionaire in your working lifetime way to go great job and cancel it cancel it on e is with us in Boston Mass hey honey how are you I am good how I am better than I deserve what's up I did something very stupid I co-signed for my daughter to buy a car he all $1,400 the bank called me because she's in default for two months so my question to you should I paint of violence on the car yes and you have plenty of money I bet I have $24,000 in saving right now I'm doing I only have twenty two thousand and thousand dead um I I didn't pay it off because I was out of working I'm going back to work next week okay yeah I would pay it off pay off the car now what I would do on the relational side of this is if she's so broke our managers money so poorly that a book and cheating listen yeah can income me here's what I'm gonna try to get something out of this I don't know if you can or not because you got a paper off you got to pay the car off for you not from her but I would sit down weather and gently say you know what this car is killing you and we made a mistake when we took the loan out on it and I participated in that mistake I'm sorry but honey what I'm going to do is I'm going to be willing to pay this off if you'll go to Financial Peace University okay cuz I gave you a book and she I'm just getting ready yeah no but let's get her in the class code her in the class if you pay it off gets get her in the class as well make her think that she has to do that to get the car paid off you got to pay it off anyway you just to get rid of the problem but and I'd write a check and do that this week I'd sit down have that conversation with her but just say honey I'll pay the car off and you don't have to pay me back it's just a gift to you if you'll go to Financial Peace University if you don't go to financial university you got to pay me back mess with her a little bit you know but uh but for her own good because if we can teach her to handle money then we can keep her out of these situations and and bless her heart she's obviously really really struggling open phones a triple eight eight two five five two two five Dave how do I sell a current car loan of $10,000 what's the process you don't sell a car loan Murray's on Facebook how do you sell a car that has a loan on it you put it on Craigslist and sell it and when you collect the check in most states you will give the person a bill of sale and the keys and they drive off in the car you have their money you take that to the bank and pay off your loan then the bank will give you the title if they don't have it on site they will send it to you within a couple of weeks then when you get the title you sign the title over to the new buyer and complete the transaction that's how it happens in most states some states do it differently but that's the the primary way you sell a car that has a lien against it and the person is trusting you because they have a bill of sale and they have the car you're trusting them because you have their money and so then but now if the if you owe more on the car than it's worth and the person is only going to give you what it's worth you got to have that extra money to put with it to pay the whole loan off to get the title keep that in mind so make sure you do the proper transaction there and that you're ready to do the play all the way through on this well that puts this hour of the Dave Ramsey show in the books our thanks to James child's our producer Blake Thompson our senior executive producer Kelly Daniel our Associate Producer and foam screener I am Dave Ramsey your host and we will be back [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] I need to breathe for survival like many of you do which is why I'm really excited about our friends at filter by you've probably heard about them on the Ken Coleman show hey George Ken what are you doing on my front porch well it's walking by like I do every morning and some package I every morning do you live around here no listen Ken I love filters almost more than anyone but not as much as you tell me what's so special about these filters well it's not just the filters it's the filter by service they send my filters customized for my house so they're all the right sizes they ship them for free George and they ship them when I need to change them so this is my reminder I got to change these in just a bit of course you're gonna save money because you're being more efficient by changing these your HVAC system is running better and that also extends the life of the HVAC system so I'm not spending as much money long-term and I'm always happy now to change filter so I'm so happy I'm gonna do it right now we'll see you guys at the office what I got for breakfast can get how about toast bacon or eggs all right well you need filters head to filter by comm and if you need breakfast don't go to Ken's [Music] [Music] George Camel here on the set of the Dave Ramsey show to share some exciting new updates in the Dave Ramsey show app if you loved it before now you're gonna love it even more why you ask well for starters it's faster and more responsive than ever before like super snappy want to see guests from past shows just tap on an episode you can also quickly jump back into episodes and progress or episodes previously downloaded wanna listen today before falling asleep and who doesn't now you can with our sleep timer and lastly speed control is finally here including the new gazelle intense option is the care and no it won't get you out of debt two times faster now that we have those updates out of the way I wanted to share some updates that didn't quite make the cut like debt-free dreams with George and your mind's eye picture what it would be like to be debt-free and content and grateful to baby step 7 living and giving generously that was supposed to kick in after the sleep timer I stand by that one and a fan favorite the Dave rant sound board it's a horrible plan I'd pay money to hear those even without those updates the app is still better than ever just head to your smartphone's App Store to download today and if you already have it just check for updates we've got little hipsters with their growth all stunted whoops looks like I'm still in beta [Music] hey guys Rachael Cruz here with another budget makeover and I'm so excited for you to meet Jen and Travis they are a cute young family and just trying to navigate life so here's their story [Music] I'm Travis and this is my wife Jennifer and we have two girls Nora who's six and a half and Gwyneth who's two and a half so I'm a surgery nurse I'm on call every night and I'm an administrative assistant at our church so some mornings he won't be here or he'll just be getting home when I'm getting the girls up and getting them ready and leaving and then when I get home he's leaving at 5:00 a lot of time so we are literally passing each other on both ends on a good day we'll get an hour in the morning in two three hours at night but it's pretty crazy we found that we've had to be really intentional about doing a budget I made the suggestion a while back that we pinned down a day that this is gonna be our budget day at the beginning of the year it was great we did it like every week it's just not so much anymore like we still want to and then it just does not happen and one reason for that I would say I've been picking up extra work during the day I've got a knee surgery coming up so we're I'm gonna be off work for a little while so we've kind of had a trade-off where we have slacked on our budget meeting in order for me to work trying to bring home a little more bacon and it's not working because we slept on our budgeting process we're spending more and not paying attention what we spend so I have noticed that it's not really helped even though we are a team I feel discouraged and that's something that I wish you know we would have prepared better for I want it to be done and I want to know about it and I want to engage and talk about it but making it all happen is really a struggle and a challenge for me there's no way for us both to see it or see what's coming out or even what our plan is we have this folder that's you know just has bunch of papers in it you know where we've looked at the budget a month and a half ago and I think I've done it I've updated it twice since then it's just so discombobulated right now yeah there's there definitely needs to be some sort of get us together yeah like on our budget are you guys well let's go in and meet Travis and Jen great well you guys thanks for having me here and your home are exciting no need to look at your budget yes you guys ready yes okay so as I was hearing your story and kind of talking to you guys I heard one kind of overarching principle that you feel like you are doing good with the budget for a while and then you kind of fell off the train a little bit true yes yes okay so what happened Oh busy yes and I think we realized we did good on paying off debt and once you pay it we paid off some then it was like Oh totally absolutely and I get that my husband and I we kind of go through the ebon flow is what all minute I'm seasons on attack yes we're doing it sometimes you kind of fall off overall I'd say give yourself some grace so the fact that you guys even a talked about it which is huge and in the whole time thing I know scheduling can be so difficult but once and I have found is as you get going and it becomes a habit within your marriage budget meetings become so much shorter and they become faster since we're so on the go all the time and we need convenience instead of using a sheet of paper to budget I love to use this tool every dollar it's a free budgeting tool and if you plug all your numbers in and it does them that's for you you get a zero based budget and it's amazing [Music] sacrifice determination you can be intentional about your character you've got to be on the same page today we're calling to let you know we're debt-free how's that every you have done really really good and you're not gonna quit then a huge witness for us to be able to share that it was time to get serious intentionality people this is your show America I knew it 22 what I know now our lives would be better is the show that's changing the world you live it live from the headquarters of Ramsey solutions it's the Dave Ramsey show where dad is dumb cash is king and the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice I'm Dave Ramsey your host you jump in we'll talk about your life and your money it's a free call at Triple Eight 8 to 5 5 2 to 5 Michael is in Kansas City hey Michael how are you I'm doing all right Dave how are you doing better than I deserve what's up so I have a unique and not so bad problem but it's still a problem I have $4,000 a month left over and I already invest the maximum amount allowed into a Roth IRA and I don't know what else to do with this money okay cool good for you that's a wonderful problem so I take it it's still a problem if I get your debt free well I have $35 in debt but I have 65,000 in savings it's just I have a only have a small car payment and my wife student loans that we're paying off okay so you have $65,000 and savings that is not in retirement yes correct assist in a regular savings account why would you know that Ryan starts today more than that and in retirement why would you not write a check today and be debt-free well I I just got the $65,000 like last month it I wanted John next day I make yourself very I was wounded in combat and so the army put me out and when they put me out they give me a severance check yeah okay well thank you too for your service to the country well what we have found is is the shortest path to wealth financially speaking is to first become debt-free because your most powerful wealth building tool is your income you're already in a position where your income is way over what your monthly needs are which is wonderful but we're gonna accentuate that a little bit further I would write a check today and pay off your two debts okay okay now now you've even got a bigger problem there's now you don't have those payments anymore right okay so yeah then the next step that we do is call baby step three which is to have an emergency fund equal to three to six months of expenses not to be touched for anything except emergencies and so then I'm gonna use your $5,000 a month that you have free now right there's only me payments yeah to build up whatever is left in that account to the equivalent of three to six months of household expenses what's it take to operate your household for a month 3,200 for all bills and that's including food and gas okay so let's round that to four and then we'll say five times that is twenty okay so your emergency fund should be somewhere in the range of 20 grand yeah and if I paid off on my debt I'd still have about thirty thousand okay so you already have a baby step three done we're gonna set 20 of that aside in a separate account put it in a money market account never to be touched for anything okay then baby step four is to put fifteen percent of your income away into retirement and you said you're maxing out two Roth IRAs what is your household income I between my wife and I we make about eight eight thousand five hundred months does that take home or gross take-home okay and so you're making like a hundred and thirty-five a year roughly right around about yes okay and so that means we need to be saving about $20,000 a year or somewhere around seventeen hundred bucks a month give or take all right now out of the twenty thousand you could do two Roth IRAs and that would be eleven thousand you said you're married so two growths 5500 each is eleven thousand going into that now we've got eleven thousand dollars in the Roth IRA we need another nine dollars going into something and so what is that 750 bucks a month right going into that and so what are we going to put that into I take it neither one of you have 401ks at work available to you well yeah I'm medically retired now my wife she's active-duty military she has a savings plan okay yes yeah I would make sure that that's a Roth TSP and I would put nine thousand dollars a year into her TSP into the C plan a little bit into the S a little bit in the I about 80% C 10% i 10% s okay load that thing up you can get nine thousand dollars in there I'm sure and eleven thousand dollars into two Roth IRAs and good growth stock mutual funds you guys are going to be very wealthy now we got retirement under way you have children I have three kids okay baby Step five the next step is to begin to work on kids college and so whatever money we have left over after the emergency fund so it sounds like we got about 10,000 bucks left over after we put 20 in that emergency fund a while ago I'm doing your whole financial plan right here okay but just because it's a good example for other people you just work your way right through and we'll take that 10,000 bucks and then I'm gonna take a bunch of your monthly money that you're not whatever doesn't get sucked up in that TSP that we just increased and I'm going to start funding these kids college funds liberally and how much do you owe on your home I actually don't have a home okay cool then I'd start saving aggressively past the past the kids colleges start saving aggressively for your first home okay and yeah my kids get a free bachelor's degrees in the Yellow Ribbon Program because I'm a higher percent disabled veteran okay then we don't have to save as much for college but yeah they and actually they get a stipend as well in that program as a plus tuition right yes yeah so they're they're pretty well set as long as the government doesn't change their their program between now and the time those kids go to school and I that would be a dirty rotten shame if they did I don't think they will but just in case let's save some money up for college so we've got some money for housing and you know you'll have to put a bunch in there but let's just set aside some money in the air market college so that we we've got collagen then some you know we're done you're a big saver anyway so that's easy for you and then basically we're down to baby step 6 which is pay off your house or in your case save up and buy a house and then pay it off as quickly as you possibly can and I think that's a really good plan so thanks man i I'm sorry about you're sorry about the wound but uh I'm glad our program currently in the u.s. takes care of our veterans that pay a price like you have in particular and thank you again for your service we appreciate it open phones at triple eight eight two five five two two five maybe 2018 is the year you plan to buy or sell a house like we were just talking about if so the markets really competitive out there in fact the typical home sells in about three weeks five years ago it was 11 weeks fewer homes are on the market means more competition and there are fewer things and there's a few things you got to keep in mind if you're ready to buy number one you gotta have your budgets set up you gotta have to know what you must have in the home you need to have your loan pre-approved and you need to be ready to dedicate some time to looking at homes hire a real estate agent from the go shade on your behalf jump on Dave Ramsey comm and click ELP and our endorsed local providers are rated number one in timeliness and willingness to go the extra mile when compared to the competition so they'll be a buyer's rep for you you can get the house you want somebody on your team that knows what they're doing to walk you through the complex process I strongly recommend click ELP for endorsed local provider for real estate if you're thinking about buying at Dave Ramsey calm [Music] [Music] what if you didn't have a car payment how much more could you be investing or listen what if you attack the house with baby step number six you've got a list of the baby steps at the front of this section and you didn't have a mortgage anymore and some of you is sitting in here you're like Chris I'm a little bit behind what if you were to take that mortgage payment because you paid off your house and you started to invest that mortgage payment how much ground could you catch up on how much traction could you gain and so you start to look at that I want you to realize regardless of where you are this plan works for any age at any stage and that's what I want you to do is start to wake up and see it for what it is so use baby step six as your house as an investment yes start to pay that payment toward investing sit down with an investment professional and really walk it through and talk but there's one thing that we're never gonna allow to go with us into retirement and that is debt I don't want you to carry debt into your retirement I had one guy he was a economics teacher at a university he goes Chris I was coaching him he goes mathematically speaking he said you and Dave talk about paying off the smallest card first that is mathematically incorrect and I just looked at and he goes you should pay off the highest interest rate first and I thought oh I can't wait for this one I said sir if we're doing math you wouldn't be in debt to begin with they just looked at me and he said proceed and he shut up right because you and I know it ain't about math this is about getting mad mad at the opportunity cost mad at stopped building their legacy and let's start building your own so it's about momentum I want you to pick up that little debt you got first you know that little tiny one the little three $400 one it's probably like a Lowe's or store Department card attack it and I want you to put a line through it because what that line represents is yes you can and then I want you to take all the other payments and pay minimums on the rest and attack this next one have a garage sale sell some stuff get this debt out of your life and what happens using the debt snowball is as you gain momentum and you attack things you start to move forward and get these out of your life you know some of you sitting out here you may have some student loan debt those are a little bit bigger they take more time but don't ever consolidate your debts I want to keep them separate so I can attack them and feel the momentum surge and listen if you've got debt it can take 12 to 18 months to attack it and get it out of your life it depends on how big it is but you've got to see and understand how important it is the opportunity costs and that's your income is your number one wealth building tool [Music] we all have smartphones isn't it time for a Smart Plan pure chalk USA offers simply smarter Wireless it covers 99% of Americans stop overpaying for Wireless unlimited plans start as low as $20 per month and include the same great coverage you never pay for any data overage fees and pure talk USA never turns off your data no contracts no hidden fees no surprises if you're thinking are absurdly low cost means less coverage think again if your doc USA operates on the largest gsm network in the u.s. to ensure you're connected virtually anytime anywhere and our 4G LTE network provides the fastest internet speeds like more expensive carriers you can keep your same phone and your same phone number add multiple lines to save 20% off your total bill go to pure talk usa.com and do something smart today unlimited talk and text plans start at $20 per month no contracts no activation fees no reasons not to try come to pure talk USA calm you see how much you can save enter this promo code to receive 50% off your first month [Music] [Music] thank you for joining us America we're glad you are here Greg is with us in San Antonio Texas I Greg how are you I'm doing better than I deserve what's up awesome awesome I have a question I am a church accountant to a church that has been active for two years we are currently renting a recreational center on Sundays so we ramped five hours so we spent anywhere from 800 to 1100 dollars a month depending on how many Sundays on a month for only five hours we have about twenty thousand dollars saved and I actually have everything ready to send off to a loan officer to see about purchasing a building the church is that free right now but if we purchase something obviously working to be in debt what advice can you give me what is a you found an actual building and we have no we were the reason we looked at winter loan officer is because we want to see how much the church will qualify and that would go off of the pastor either co-signing or and being under his name yeah okay and how many people attend we have about 200 members okay and in two years that's a pretty good growth congratulations and show your annual budgets running what 400 the annual your annual budget for the church before okay yeah I don't know last year the church brought in eighty nine thousand dollars that's okay this young congregation is not yet giving them okay correct yes they're all fairly young and it's in the a my side of town where you know the income ratio is not that high gotcha okay so here's what we have seen in working with about 75,000 churches in the last 15 years some of them because Financial Peace University is in there are very open with us about their struggles and what appears to make sense on the surface if you project your current income and project your current growth trends out into the future it appears to make sense to buy the problem is when people buy the dynamics and the chemistry of the church changes even the giving changes and it's not unusual for you to actually get some shrinkage mmm and I've got a good friend who's a pastor of a church that was about 600 people and they bought and moved eight miles and it went to 200 people oh wow and guess what that did to that debt problem it made his life miserable he's got less staff now I had to lay off a bunch of people and you know and when the financial troubles hit the church that heard it even more on its growth curve and so what I would tell you all to do is just sit right where you are spend your 5 hours there are some people who it's actually should be their ministry to set up and tear down that can obviously do when set up and tear down yeah lots of people do this all over America as a matter of fact it's a wonderful thing and I've actually had people I've talked to people who when they the new Church one that search bought the new building you think everybody would be relieved but the guy doesn't have a job anymore he lost his ministry he is set up and tear down ministries gone he leaves goes someplace else with numbers you lose people to something that wild so it's not always the way it seems on the surface that this is a no-brainer as a matter of fact it's far from a no-brainer so I'm gonna tell you to Bible says the borrower slave to the lender I'm gonna tell you save up and pay cash for whatever you buy you've already got twenty thousand set aside that's pretty dad-blamed good in two years you've grown to two hundred folks the two hundred folks you'll probably grow some more in numbers but I think they'll also grow in their faith walk which will affect their giving as well and and that will then in turn affect your budget and how fast you can save your budgets a little low for a church your size is my point not just being in the neighborhood it's in but also the fact that it's a the spiritual age not the chronological age of the people involved you got a young you got a lot of people that just met God in the last few years and they're you're doing a good job of reaching out into the end of the white space instead of sheep swapping right mm-hmm am i guessing right on that yeah yeah right and so usually the the process is when somebody first meets God they don't walk in start tithing it's not that's not a normal that's not normally the first thing they do because when I first met God I couldn't spell tithe I didn't even know what it meant you know and so it takes a little while in their spiritual maturity for the giving to God to come up and not always sometimes pastor does a good job of preaching or teaching on it sometimes it can the generosity can become a part of their faith walk early and I hope it can be so all of that to say I would sit there and save up and pay I would avoid that bank like it was the plague brother I think you're gonna get yourself in a mess it may not be what you guys want to do but you asked my opinion and I'm an expert on my opinion so that's what I would tell you to do hey thanks for the call open phones a triple eight eight two five five two two five Erica is with us in Portland Oregon hi Erica how are you I'm good how are you mr. Dunphy better than I deserve what's up so question for you I lost my job my husband's the only one working I'm blue save money for the step one and step two we're looking to save some more money but since I lost my job we're trying to figure out which steps should we take now oh so my husband has taken out his 401k twice and so he has a little bit money on there so what do you think it will be are like steps okay don't touch our 401k ever again that's killing you every time you do it they're hitting you with a 10% penalty plus your tax rate so you're getting hit with about 35% or somewhere around there and money's going out the door when you do that so leave that stinking 401k alone from now on now number two what did you use to make it your job I used to make $45,000 a year okay how long ago did you lose a job that was back in December last year okay so what you gonna do well I'm looking for a job right now I'm receiving unemployment right now any leads no not yet how do you know you're lucky what do you do I'm an I'm an administrative assistant okay all right well the economy is pretty good in Portland Oregon I think you'll probably lend something if you get out there and hustle and grind and knock doors and turn over rocks something will run out I need you to get something get back in there in the meantime what I would do is not do the baby steps I would just push pause on this video and pile up cash and protect cash any case you got protected and any case you've got extra coming in out of a monthly budget and you do it really tight beans and rice rice and beans budget and have a big garage sale and let's pile up as much cash as we can because you will interview better if you're not starving when you're desperate you when you're desperate your interview doesn't go as well you know I'm saying yeah but when you go in there all cool calm and collected it you're cool calm and collected it just makes you more appealing as a potential hire and so I want you to stay in that position rather than going in there on the two knees and you know in the prayer position going you know you don't want to be in that position right so the the pile up cash as big as you can pile it protect it don't spend any money on anything and don't pay extra on debts until you get this new job land it but go get you the new job and this time I want you to make 55 not 45 you aren't making enough okay then that layoff turns into a blessing you're catching on hey thank you for joining us open phones a triple eight eight two five five two two five Dave speaking of the tithe the tithe off your tax return well that depends I guess on what you tithe down in the first place a tithe is a tenth of your income for evangelical Christians Orthodox Jewish folk and those of us have Paul in that category we give a tenth of our income or were called to scripturally we believe as a part of our faith walk to our local church now I tithe on my gross income meaning before taxes not gross revenues to the business growth gross taxable income i tithe on my taxable income if you do that then your refund is you've already tithed on it because you tithe before there was withholding and a refund means you had too much withheld so you just got some of your own money that you'd already tithe Don back you just have a bad savings account at the IRS that's what the pays no interest but that's what a refund is so if you're tithing on your net after taxes then mathematically you would tithe on the refund but again God loves you either way kiddo don't get all twisted up about this stuff just be in the business of giving this is the Dave Ramsey show [Music] [Music] we've collected all of your numbers for September and so if you go and you look in October what happens is it just pull over from last month and so you can go through and be like yeah you know our waters from NSYNC Internet's pretty much the same cell phones the same and most of this stuff is pretty reoccurring and then it's just having to look to say okay what's different you know are you having to throw a baby shower for a friend or are you guys going on vacation is something happening different in the next month that's the challenge is it seems like something always comes up that's a little different yeah I think that's dumped us because that's nice because it'll we can look at it and then put things in what we were doing is on paper and then we would do our budget and then halfway through the month something would come up we're like oh shoot gotta redo this whole thing yes we're here we could just add it in and it already calculates it does exactly and then another great thing too is there's a mobile app this is like a lifesaver especially you know cuz you're on the go gonna both have one login information your login information would be the same and so your accounts the same so if he has to update something any text use like hey I got a update out to eat because I'm doing this this we're gonna lower this category he can do it and it just automatically updates so it'll update both of ours on our phone yes exactly yes and then last but not least you guys have mentioned this earlier but the debt yeah yes paying off the debt and so I would say to you know because you you feel like you've gotten off track with the budget I think with paying off debt just comes in line with that it's just the idea of just not being intentional you know with money and I know you guys surgery right yes I'm having surgery yeah next week next week okay and so you how you guys felt about that um well apprehensive yeah just like surely it'll work outs on that because we slipped on our budget we're not where we thought we were yes and we've paid off some debt that we may think we have to put back on there just to take care and that's that's frustrating in a little disheartening because yeah yeah if we had kept doing what we were doing since January it wouldn't be an issue and so what would you say are in those those transactions mainly going out to eat you're picking up a quick lunch at work what I would say for you guys here I see that restaurants and entertainment are in one category and I would recommend probably splitting those out so I won't restaurant to be restaurant when you go out to eat when you have to go through the chick flick drive-thru or whatever it is this is the money that's coming off a race entertainment here and we have restaurants so realistically how much do you guys think you spend in restaurants in a month went 200 yeah sure wanna be foodies two dates a month that's $100 for just food each day okay yeah that's reasonable yeah we can when you break it down like that yes okay so what did you decide on 200 for the rent for the month perfect for our restaurant that's great you guys you know kind of fallen at the Manor I can feel like if you have been doing this whole surgery thing probably wouldn't take you out as bad you know emotionally and mentally and so having an emergency fund in place is key and I think that's gonna be your cushion do you guys feel do you guys have a thousand dollars we've got a thousand dollars emergency we do that so we had a written plan we had it all on paper but it just didn't it didn't come to life yeah she's been a challenge for me because I I sort of feel like you know being the leader of the family that I maybe dropped the ball a little bit and put a little guilty for that yeah I find was interesting in the relationship aspect of money is that men and women relate with money so differently like for women not in a healthy way but a sense that we do find security and and the fact that like if things are taken care of and guys their pride is kind of shots you know if there is a struggle with money that's what I hear a lot of guys say so for you guys to kind of help ease the pain a little bit when it comes to the whole surgery thing and getting this emergency funds you know fully funded every dollar and myself would love to give you 250 dollars oh wow yes absolutely to help again kind of settle that during this during this transition in the next few weeks ahead how you guys feel with with everything that we've done this this relieves that feeling of guilt or slack because using the app it's right there with each of us and when one interacts that's a huge thing with us because we are doing things separately and won't know until the end of the day the end of the week when we meet again well it gives me hope that we'll be able to you know sustain yeah you know this time yeah absolutely so great well thanks you guys again your sort will be so encouraging so thanks for letting us be able to tell us so I remember you guys to use every dollar free budgeting tool it's the best way to handle your money into budget and Rubright budget doesn't limit your freedom a budget gives you freedom our high health care costs getting you down are you confused trying to navigate the health insurance world do you wish you could find an affordable biblical solution to your healthcare costs based on New Testament principles Christian health care ministries are CHM helps christian families churches and businesses join together as the body of Christ to share their major health care costs as a CHM member you can go to any doctor or hospital you prefer you aren't bound by an approved healthcare provider list and all treatment decisions are made between you and your doctors no treatment approvals are ever part of the CH and experience for tens of thousands of Christians CHM is a trustee affordable and biblical health care solution and it can be the solution for you as well visit us online or call today to learn more about how we can serve your family church or business christian health care ministries one eight hundred seven nine one six two two five CH ministries dot org [Music] you remember all those grand plans for resolutions you made at the new year well statistics tell us that by valentines day this week that most of your New Year's resolutions have gone by by as a matter of fact there's room at the gym today did you notice you can get on the treadmill today hey we're all crowded about three weeks ago don't you remember yeah and now you can get on there no trouble the same thing happens when people are trying to get out of debt same thing happens when you promise yourself I'm gonna sit down with someone get my investing started this year sometimes it's not easy to have a conversation with people in the investment world it's like they speak a different language and they're kind of some of them are kind of condescending have you ever noticed that it's like you already feel dumb and they help you feel dumber you know I'm talking about I mean I've been there I mean I was sitting in one of the meetings of the day the people weren't making me feel dumb because they work for me but I just felt dumb they wouldn't their fault because I was sitting in the with a bunch of our web developers and they're working on a web app thing and I honestly I sat there for about 10 minutes and I think I understood about maybe 15 or 20 percent of what those people were saying I really don't and they work for me I'm glad they're smart I just have no idea the the the process is the way they think and the how it's amazing and sometimes it's just like it sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher when you sit down with an investment person right Wow yeah you just come away going I'm just so dadgum confused I was confused for came in here it's worse now if that's what you get when you're meeting with an investment professional you don't have a good investment professional you don't have a good advisor a good adviser has the heart of a teacher and that's only about 15% of people in the business about 85% of our sales people and they sound like Charlie Brown's teacher and no idea what you said my Roth IRA why our mutual fund my liquidity our diversified portfolio I have no idea what you just said see if that it's your freaking money don't put people don't put money with people like that you won't meet with someone with the heart of a teacher and you will know you have met with someone that you that has the heart of a teacher if you walk away knowing more than you did before the meeting you were taught they're not a teacher if you weren't taught hello that makes sense and so years ago in this business I decided I was not going to refer we don't sell investments here so I don't care if you're buying investment or not it doesn't affect my dadgum income at all but I decided I was not going to send you as my listener as someone going through Financial Peace University or a reader to one of my books to somebody that was going to talk at them like Charlie Brown's teacher instead we said we want somebody that has the heart of a real teacher that teaches you and guides you and you understand and you develop trust in them not because they give great advice but because they teach you and you are able to make your own freaking decisions Wow how bright is that you know people lose money with an investment with investment professionals they put money and stuff they don't understand because they were intimidated and they didn't call out and go I don't know what it is let me just tell you one of the things I've done one things one of the benefits of me going broke in my 20s is I got real comfortable my own skin if I understand something it does not embarrass me at all to go I have no idea what you just said you're gonna have to try again because those words it didn't go together in my brain would you please explain that to me again I and I'll tell you with the technology implications and applications around this building I have had to have that conversation a lot in the last 36 months where I go guys I have no idea what you just said try it again you're gonna have to tell me cuz I own it and I gotta understand it before we're gonna you want me to put hundred thousand dollars in that well yeah I gotta understand it same with your investing right you got to understand it last year over ninety thousand of you used our smart Wester program to find a smart Wester pro with the heart of a teacher in your area now there's no reason you can't do this you can getting started isn't difficult and it doesn't have to be intimidating and you don't have to be you know made to feel stupid or feel stupid you just go in and go I don't understand teach me and until you understand don't put money in something don't do it because I said do it don't do it because somebody's a good suit said do it or a bad suit said do it don't do it cuz you're your father's friend Charlie over at the church said it was a good investment that's a good way to lose your butt right there right don't put your money in stuff if you don't understand it because someone else said to do it this is how all these NFL players end up broke you made ten million dollars he's got nothing why cuz I had a man watching over my money I had no idea what I was doing that's what they always say when I sit down with them and there's tears running down their face it's sad they break their bodies in half to play a game and get paid big money and then they got nothing and that's what's gonna happen to you if you don't get somebody in your corner that teaches you and you make your own decisions so you need some help jump on Dave Ramsey comm click on smart investor put in your info it'll drop down a list of the smart investor pros in your area you pick out one that you like you sit down with them you learn you decide you control your money you you don't allow anyone to talk down to you you don't allow anyone to drop their glasses down on the end of their nose and be condescending ever in the financial arena again this investing parts part of it the insurance world's part of it if your insurance guy or gals got an attitude well just send them on their way there's two words that fixes that you're fired if your real-estate person's got all you know they have to decide they're gonna speak a bunch of gibberish about a mortgage instead of actually explaining to you what the flip you're getting into get you a different real estate person right I got an estate planner that is dumb one of the smartest people I've ever met in my life and I have to sit my stupid estate plan to keep the government's hands off the money when I die after I've already paid taxes on it is unbelievably complicated to the point I have to sit down with a guy once a year and just go over it again and I'm fairly smart but I have to learn it all again because it's so it's such a barrel of fish hooks this guy's so smart but one of his gifts is he can teach old Dave hillbilly Dave's got it figured out I understand at least once a year for a few weeks I understand I have to get revamped every year and plus we change stuff and move things around but you know financial people of the world's worst weather any segment of the financial world because the most of us that are attracted into the financial world are nerds and we learn the nerd language to impress ourselves and our compadres that we know the learner Drang guack but regular people don't know the nerd language man and you just got dude you can have to speak American because you're speaking nerd I can't understand nerd you have to translate and put it in like America and I can't get it I don't get I can't I don't speak nerd that's what you need to tell them and if you and just slow down and speak louder I don't know whatever you got a right where you understand I told my guys are there big technology I don't speak I don't speak Ruby on Rails I don't know the language man I don't know the syntax I can't put those verbs together you're gonna have to tell me what the flip you people just said or we're not moving forward until you do and then they're smart enough guys and gals they were able to tell me what was going on and then I was able to grasp it but yeah that's how life works you guys we spent an awful lot of our time doing stuff because someone else is doing it and we don't even understand what we're doing you know the number of people that pick their 401k you're looking at your 401k options and you know the number of people that pick their 401k options based on what the guy in the cube next to them picked and that was the extent of their understanding of their 401k options and the guy on the cube next to him you know how he learned and the guy that cube next to him you know how he learned he never did learn all of you're screwed okay seriously you got to make your own decisions here you got to learn a little bit it's a good thing and that's how you become wealthy is knowledge that's what this shows here for we're here to Jack you up and make you think this is the Dave Ramsey show [Music] you know I almost went when I hear your question because I know you're carrying a lot of pain and that means you've got to find some healing that's the first step in this process is to find that heal and that takes time when you have suffered a betrayal when you've been betrayed you're gonna carry that pain for awhile and that's gonna cause you to put your defenses up so you've got to have someone in your life a mentor of a minister a counselor somebody that can work with you to recover and to get through that and then the second thing that is so important is to re-establish trust and there's practical things that any good counselor or mentor can help you do on that front so I wish you the very best and I say a prayer for you too [Music] hey guys I'm George camel host of the Dave Ramsey show video channel you know everyday people from around the country come to our lobby to do their debt free scream on air and we celebrate that so much because we know what freedom from debt can actually mean it means that people are free to do amazing things and live like no one else like jet ski the great loop or start a dream business or retire early and travel the country in an RV or maybe it's simply giving more of their money or their time through volunteer work or ministry so here's the deal if you're doing something entirely outrageous and out-of-the-box and it's all because you're debt-free we want to hear from you sharing your stories can encourage other people who are making their way along those baby steps just send an email to Dave on-air at Dave Ramsey comm with the subject line live like no one else and let us know what life looks like for you now we can't wait to hear your stories [Music] I'm Dave Ramsey and I'm so excited to tell you about a brand new movie called I can only imagine it's hitting theaters this March yes it's based on the popular song from my good friend Bart Miller but it actually reveals parks journey to why you wrote the song and how powerful the redeeming love of God is Bart it's amazing song how did you do this you know I've never told anybody in my story my dad was a monster I saw God transform him and you've got can forgive everybody else why can't he forgive me so I wrote this soon I can only lie I can only imagine I absolutely loved it my wife Sharon loved it go see it [Music] try again here Melanie is in Bakersfield California I'm Melanie welcome to Dave Ramsey show thanks Dave my husband and I are just starting to save for our first home good for you and we were having a little debate on the best way to go about purchasing homes so my I told him that I've been listening to your show and that you suggest people have you know they get a 15-year fixed-rate loans and he said well that doesn't make sense wouldn't it make more sense to get a 30 because you can start paying into your savings account sooner and then and then refinance into the 15 and I said no I think it makes more sense to save more money and put in a larger down payment and get the 15 that begin with the FDIC the FDIC says that 97.3% of loans in America including mortgage loans are not systematically prepaid so this idea that you're going to systematically prepay a 30 like it's a 15 all motion never happens 100% of the time a 15-year mortgage pays off in 15 years or less okay my suggestion was that we wait a little bit longer and fill up a larger down payment and then a place for the 15 years we've gotten to the real root of your husband's problem he wants to buy a house that you all want can't afford right well that's what I'm afraid of Joe that's really what it comes down to and he's trying to rationalize that but I'd like to make it a little bit more comfortable exactly yeah he's just trying to rationalize it with some intellectual gymnastics but bottom line is you just can't afford to buy the house he wants to buy it right now unless you do it in a dumb way which is a 30-year mortgage and that would be dumb so we tell people 15-year fixed-rate where the payments no more than 1/4 of your take-home pay put down a good strong down payment and you have your emergency fund left over after you do the down payment and you don't have any debt when you do this now you're in Bakersfield California you have a high cost of real estate there so you're probably going to on a first one time home purchase in that area you may be moving from the area that you're in and have a bit of a commute in to get your to get to some real estate prices that you can afford it's you know it's it's a tough market because real estate of course and in that area is very very expensive but just because real estate's expensive doesn't mean you get a pass on math like I'm in California no they don't they still do a math in California you know you still have to do it and so it's tough it's legitimately tough but don't get into a bunch of intellectual gymnastics where you just basically are trying to figure out some way you feel cool about buying crap you can't afford and that's what people do I could buy it I can invest and I can do this and you know I don't do any of that just take a 15-year pay your house off the average millionaire pays off their home in ten to eleven years ten and a half years and they become a millionaire as a result of not having a house payment and as a result of having a house that was affordable to them in the process that's the averages and so that that's the thing to keep in mind Chris is with us Chris is in Memphis hi Chris how are you hey Dave thank you so much for taking my call and on the front end thank you so much for what you do for everyone that calls in and even people that you talk to so greatly appreciate it you're very welcome hey so I have two quick questions the first one is a year ago my wife and I got on the program and we had fifty five thousand in debt and we have that debt down to about fifteen now in 12 months the 15 will be paid off on March 16th that is when I'll be debt-free but I'll be left with a primary mortgage and a secondary mortgage the secondary mortgage is $300 a month it's 38 grand and principal off that is like 70 bucks but it's nil I mean it's not very much at all my question is do I need to treat that secondary mortgage as one of my baby steps to pay off in my snowball or do I treat that as my you know my step 6 where I'm I'm going up and and paying the mortgage off yeah we know it we put a second mortgage and baby step 2 in your debt snowball yeah okay if it is less than 1/2 your annual income what's your household income 160 and yes it's definitely under 1/2 and we're all over the place yeah it's somebody's donated item okay awesome awesome thank you so much and then the next question shortened to the point the 15% investing is that on the growth or the net gross oh man you're awesome all right Dave thank you again so much man I really can't tell you how much I do appreciate everything my wife and I because of you have been laser focus but but Dave our lasers are armed and and they burn everything in sight that that never last and that's all because of you sir so hey you're doing it man congratulations I'm proud of you keep it up open phones a triple 8 8 2 5 5 2 2 5 samantha is in Salt Lake City hi Samantha how are you doing well how are you Dave better than I deserve what's up so my husband and I so I'm 28 years old and my husband is 30 and I run a small business and he is in law enforcement and so my question is on his pension and he has 10 and a half more years until he can essentially retire so at 41 he'll be able to retire and start collecting on his pension now what they do for his pension is they take his highest three years and they take an average of it and he at that point he'll be 20 years in and so he'll get half of those high of the three highest paying guard regardless what we tell you to do is you guys need to be when you're at baby step for you and him need to be putting 15% of your income not the pension doesn't calculate a pension is just gravy on the biscuit because here's the problem you don't have control over this pension you don't have control over it if if that City does a bad job of managing money that pension could get in trouble and that's happened more than once and I don't I don't predict that I don't know anything about Salt Lake City's pension plan being in trouble I'm not saying that at all but but when you do Roth IRAs or you do 401ks that money is in your name you choose what it's invested in and if you leave you take it with you as a rollover into a direct transfer rollover to an IRA and so you've got control of not only what it's invested in but you own it it's not gonna go broke pensions you can't don't control it you don't know what they're gonna do they can manage it well they could not manage it well it's just out of your control I love that he's got this great pension that's a wonderful benefit I'm glad that's there but that doesn't mean you guys as a couple can't put in 15 percent of your household income into retirement investing somewhere and I would when you're at baby step four I certainly would thanks for the call Jeff is on Twitter Dave how do you feel when someone says they're going to file bankruptcy instead of doing the work well um a lot of times when folks file bankruptcy it's because it's not because they didn't have options it's because they lost hope and their emotional gas tank was completely run dry and I've been there I mean I filed bankruptcy it was it was a disastrous mess I was 28 years old so it's 30 years ago and it just gutted me it was an awful awful experience and a shame condemnation and I just wouldn't wish it on anybody and so I always fight with you not at you but with you I'm beside you I'm fighting on your team so that you don't have to and I'm gonna show you every possible option and give you hope that you can get there then if you still file I'll still be your friend you got enough shame and condemnation without me he pending on you so you know it's like I've got some friends that are going through a divorce and I think they could have turned it around if they would both get sit down with a good counselor and they would both not be so bad blame immature and they would both not be so that blame selfish I think they could turn it around but I think I want it for them more than they want it and so am I gonna be mean to them no but it's still just I can see how they can do it so I'm kind of sad for them that's how I feel feel sad for him when they could have turned it and didn't feel sad for that puts this hour of the Dave Ramsey show in the books [Music] [Music] hey guys i'm rachel cruz and i'm happy to announce that we have a new addition to our family that's right baby number two is here Winston and I are so excited but as every parent knows when your family grows your priorities begin to change suddenly you find yourself making decisions for your kids future over your own after all it's all about them right it's their future you want to preserve and protect that's why term life insurance is so important for you and your spouse I'm so grateful that dad taught me the importance of life insurance early on as I travel the country I hear so many stories about young families left with nothing but debt struggling to survive it doesn't have to be that way term life insurance is so affordable and so easy to get for almost 20 years Xander has partnered with the Dave Ramsey show to help families like yours protect their legacy give them a call or go to their websites I know they will take good care of you and your family [Music] [Music] [Music] life is gonna happen so you decide if it's happening to you or if it's gonna happen through you so my name is Blake it's my wife Courtney and over both 35 we live out here in Denver Colorado we have two children Hadley and Nolan there's seven and five and it was just over five years ago that we discovered that we needed help with our finances cornea was listening to the Dave Ramsey show on the radio told me about his book and his radio program after listening to the radio program with her we got the Tula Money Makeover book and read through that and like one night probably over we then found out that our church was hosting Financial Peace University and we said that's that's something that we need to do a month or two into it whatever the life insurance lesson was what struck us oh yeah we have a family now what happens so after the lesson and Financial Peace University on insurance we called Zander insurance and got ourselves set up with life insurance both of us [Music] six months after taking Financial Peace University I was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer I'm so thankful that I have the life insurance prior to that because right now I would be uninsurable during the cancer I feel like it's harder on the spouse then it is on the person going through cancer as a spouse supporting your best friend your partner through any illness it takes a certain level of strength I don't think you realize the amount of strength until you come to the other side you kind of in a survival mode you want to fix it you want to help you want to take control of it and then you have to come to the realization it's it's out of our control [Music] it's my last treatment for my cancer was in December of 2014 and I'm happy to say that now here in December of 2016 I'm cancer-free still and so it's the longest time I've been cancer-free which is great I mean life insurance is just part of life part of the budget we never thought at 30 years old I'd have cancer it happens so definitely encourage anyone out there who doesn't have it and they have a family to go get it some life insurance through your company through work it's not enough I mean at any point we've learned through him losing his dog once that's not a guarantee the life insurance doesn't stay with you when you lose your job you need your own personal policy for yourself as an individual your family to leave a legacy to be a blessing to your family rather than a burden should anything happen there's a purpose behind being in debt we got there and God's gonna tell a story of getting out of debt in the same ways and tell a story of getting out of cancer and so we just have to use our story to help others and that was a big revelation for us and I would say going through cancer has brought us closer together in our marriage it's definitely one of those things that will draw you closer to one another because it's all you have is each other and it's through those moments of going through cancer that you realize really what's important time a life insurance has been a huge blessing to us having a peace of mind of knowing that if something happens and the kids and I are taking care of you don't drive your car without car insurance like you shouldn't have a family without that insurance to protect your spouse your children no matter your age [Music] we spent two and a half years of our life losing everything we owned we were bankrupt changed my life so I know how it feels to be there I've been there done that that began a quest to figure out how money really works you've probably not had anybody tell you that you can do this we must understand we've got an opportunity we came here because we want to make smarter decisions what you can conceive and believe you can achieve because I think it's time for you to take control [Music] is there anything in that we can take more seriously we get focused and we start to get intentional things can happen you are you need to choose the opportunity and avoid the chances your marriage it is that fears your finances it is that serious you being here today it is that serious if you can be focused and you can be intense you can do this stuff [Applause] sacrifice determination you can be intentional about your character you gotta be on the same page today we're calling to let you know we're debt-free house whatever you have done really really good and you're not gonna quit and a huge witness for us to be able to share that it was time to get serious intentionality people this is your show America yeah I knew it 22 what I know now our lives would be better is the show that's changing the world now you don't just listen you live it live from the headquarters of Ramsey solutions it's the Dave Ramsey show where Dad is dumb cash is king and the paid off Home Mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice I'm Dave Ramsey your host this is your show America thank you for joining us open phones at triple eight eight two five five two two five you jump in we'll talk about your life and your money Rachel's with us in Philadelphia Pennsylvania hi Rachel how are you I'm great Dave how are you better than I deserve what's up so as of today my husband and I have completed baby step three and we are about the start of family we're currently renters and our abuse does not allow for any children in our current rental so my question for you is after just completing step three we don't have any money really saved up for a down payment so would you recommend once a baby would come to move into another rental to see about that ten to twenty percent down payment or really just hitting it as hard as we can and moving into a home due to rising interest rate and maybe not have such a happy down payment to cut down for that home yeah I'm not worried about the rising interest rates oh my god therefore instead of three and a half I mean it's not like you're talking to a guy used to sell real estate when the rates for 16 percent so yeah that that's rising interest rates but the but the point is is that you guys are going to make two moves or you're gonna make one move and you're going to do that sometime in the next nine to eighteen months right okay so how much can you save above your emergency fund in the next nine to eighteen months we're thinking about ten thousand dollars is what we would be able to save up to and you would be moving in debt-free with that as your down payment and an emergency fund above that in place phenomenal man I love that that's that's that's great I would do that yeah definitely everyone seems to be getting out have authorized the the rising interest rates and that we you can't rent anymore and you got the so it seems like there's a little sense of urgency which is kind of freaking us out a little bit yeah I don't worry about that's just people yakking that are that are out of control with their finances honestly run though just pull up a calculator and run the difference on your payment at three and a half versus four it doesn't even matter I mean I'll buy you a biscuit you know it's just it but the day you know and if interest rates continue to go actually this bump and interest rates might be good for you because it might slow the market down in terms of the you know there might be more homes available and the prices might not be shooting up because right now when a house goes on the market it lasts about three weeks on average and multiple offers come in you know and if the rising interest rates might push some of the buyers back a little bit might scare them and you know might make some more stuff available for you so I wouldn't worry about that I'm I'm not sweating that at all the thing is when you buy something because of external forces making you afraid you very seldom make the correct decision when you buy something when you're ready to make the purchase that's the correct decision and you're at a point you're ready to make the purchase as soon as you have some money saved in addition to your in addition to your emergency fund and the fact that you're dead for a you're in good shape you're ready and of course you're you didn't tell me you're pregnant you just said you'd like to be correct and if we're trying not yet so we're trying to plan for the future to answer but I mean you know the fastest possible would be nine months which would also be unusual by the way okay I mean but you know so it's you know that that's like your financial worst-case scenario meaning likely you have more than nine months to save does that make sense yes it does thank you so much deal and then just work that through in conjunction with your lease now when is your lease up its month-to-month now it was up a few years ago we've been in there for a few years at this point okay cool cool well and then you know the thing is as you come right down to it you don't want to move in your last month of having a baby now and so you know you may work with the landlord and go look can you give us 60 days with a you know a seven pound infant you know while we while we get the baby home and get the other house closed and most you know they basically just don't want 42 Rugrats in there turn up their house that's all they're saying right but an infant's not gonna do a lot of damage okay so that's usually where the landlords objection to kids and dogs and so forth so we allow children in our properties we do not allow pets in our properties and we love pets I've got them in my property at home but the rest of the rental properties new no no no no $10,000 cat that's what those cats will cost you when you're the landlord so you know that kind of stuff say anyway that's what you're looking at just just work it through work it through but don't don't do this out of fear or freak out over the baby or freak out over the interest rates just do it at the at the pace so right now we're gonna stay on beans and rice and start saving like crazy towards the house and every time you go out to eat you mess up your down payment every time you go on vacation you mess up your down payment so we're gonna we're saving for a house baby that's what we're doing we're on game all and so you know and you know you may buy the house and get settled you know and it may end up being that that all occurs in your second trimester you know and that might be 18 months from now and that would be you know like perfect yes I would go ahead that's the bottom line on the discussion thanks for calling you jamie is with us in Charlotte North Carolina hi Jamie how are you I'm great how are you better than I deserve what's up I wanted your opinion on a prenuptial agreement kind of what you thought of them and both of those are hard divorce and I think that she is saying I know here's a much better financial position than I am and I already went through with the last and I want him to feel like he's protected and I feel like it's a good idea if he kind of feels like we don't need one yeah well here's what I used to say never do a prenup if you need a prenup you don't need to get married I used to be that hardcore I've lightened up on that where I'm dealing with people with extreme situations if he has 5 million dollars and you have nothing yeah he needs a prenup because it's not him I'm and you I'm worried about it's a bunch of the rest of weirdos that are in your family that are affected by that and it starts affecting everything and then the prenup just shuts all them up you know and that kind of a thing but only in extremes so I don't know what you mean when you say he has a lot more than you have what do you mean well all of the assets are organized before shacking up we have this trees the houses in his name and then know what is what do you said he's got a lot more what's his net worth roughly a million how many my ever seen I would say under 10 okay and you have how much maybe right now a couple thousand I would get him a prenup I would that's an extreme enough situation and it's not that I'm worried about you it just takes all this other stuff off the table because the extremes are there it's just the extremes I'm worried about and you know but I had one lady call up and he wants a prenup for his classic Mustang don't marry that guy he likes his Mustang morning likes you [Music] [Music] is a thirty year mortgage really that much different from a 15 year mortgage you bet it is let's take a look at the math behind both a thirty year in a fifteen year and then you can decide if it's really that big a deal a thirty year mortgage on a two hundred and twenty five thousand dollar home with six percent interest has a payment of thirteen forty nine now on a 15-year mortgage the payments would be eighteen ninety nine that's a five hundred and fifty dollar difference doesn't really seem like that much right wrong when you pay 1349 a month for thirty years at 6% you're actually paying four hundred and eighty five thousand dollars for your two hundred and twenty five thousand dollar home now let's do the math for a 15-year mortgage on that same house a monthly payment of eighteen ninety nine for 15 years of the same interest rate is a total of three hundred and forty-one thousand dollars for the home so when you do a 15-year mortgage you save yourself a hundred and forty four thousand dollars did you get that by going with a 15-year instead of a 30-year mortgage you saved yourself a hundred and forty four thousand dollars it's a lot of money and you end up saving yourself about fifteen extra years of bondage still aren't convinced let's take another look say you still have that same home with the same payment amount now fast forward ten years the two hundred and twenty five thousand dollar loan on a 15-year note is paid down to about ninety eight thousand dollars after ten years on the 30-year mortgage that house is paid down to about a hundred and eighty eight thousand so what does that mean it means that if you got a 30-year mortgage you've paid almost a hundred and sixty two thousand dollars but you've really only knocked thirty six thousand off the loan let me put it another way over the past ten years you've given the bank a hundred and thirty thousand dollars and if you're thinking about getting a 30-year mortgage and paying it off in fifteen think again vacations prom dresses home improvements something else will always seem more important but you know the cool thing about a 15-year mortgage it always pays off in fifteen years or less the bottom line is this if you think you're getting a better deal with a 30-year mortgage just because you're saving a few hundred bucks a month you're only thinking short-term if you open your eyes a little bit and start thinking long-term you'll see that you're literally throwing away hundreds of thousands of dollars don't sign up for a 30 year mortgage just because everyone else is hey everyone else is broke [Music] think about all the passwords your brain has to remember it's impossible right so instead of coming up with new passwords every time you open an account most people just give the same password over and over and over again that's not a good idea remember the yahoo breach you know that one breach alone affected over 3 billion users yeah that's why I'm a huge fan of LastPass LastPass generates and stores and creates strong unique passwords to keep you safe and secure no more guessing your password and getting you locked out of your account LastPass manages and organizes all your accounts with your logins and unique passwords in one safe place and you can access them from your computer or your mobile device I personally use LastPass and I love it so join over 13 million LastPass users including myself and start managing and securing your passwords today try the LastPass premium for personal use or LastPass families for your entire family visit LastPass calm slash Dave and try it for free [Music] now here's something fun you know one of the most satisfying aspects of the show is when it clicks you guys hear it when I'm talking to someone and the light bulb goes on over their head and they go oh yeah you know what I'm talking about and they go I can do it I can do it you see the hope you can hear it in their voice you that yeah I can do that yeah got it got it got it we're gonna do it you see what I'm talking about our video team has worked really hard to capture the fun part the dreams that happen after the debt so we launched a live like no one else video series the first episode is now available at the Dave Ramsey show YouTube channel and a sneak preview from Ken in Alaska Ken's everybody's favorite gotta love Ken he's awesome he sits down to review his finances realizes he's $400,000 in debt goes through an incredible journey knocking out the debt saving for his dream trip you got to see this it's a great these are these videos that they're miniseries posted on YouTube on our YouTube channel are just amazing our video team is doing some really good work so Dave Ramsey show channel on YouTube watch the first live like no one else video it's posted out there today first in the live like no one else series if those of you that are a little bit new don't know what that means around here we've been saying for about twenty years if you will live like no one else later you can live and give like no one else they pay a price to win you don't win if you don't pay a price you know that right the great motivator Les Brown says people change their lives when they finally say I've had it I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired I've had it things are changing that's the beginning and then you pay a price no one accidentally wins at anything if you meet an old person who's been married for 53 years and you ask them how to be married they always tell you our son you got to work at it sometimes she's not that lovable that's what they'll tell you every time none of them go oh it's skittles and rainbows and unicorns and it's all easy and it's no trouble and it's just it's icing on the cake all the time if they say that they're lying anybody's been married more than 10 minutes knows that no less a marriage is horrible it's not I've got a wonderful marriage I'm glad I'm married I have a great wife 37 years we've been going so I mean this is all right but the point is is that anything you're gonna win at you're gonna work at know what you see these people were these great bodies I mean physical condition unbelievable they got an 8 pack you know they don't have a 6 pack they got an 8 pack man I mean they're there they're jammed you know what I'm talking about chisel that does not act they don't accidentally get that I don't wake up one morning go would you look at that you know that doesn't happen no there's a lot of hours and sweat and a lot of push ups and push back push back from the table and push ups in the gym right I mean there's a price to be paid to win at something you got to live like no one else and then you get to look like live like and give like no one else but there's a price to be paid to win and that's where that lived like no one else thing comes from the Bible says it this way in Hebrews no discipline seems Pleasant at the time but it yields a harvest of righteousness I did a 6 mile run this morning because I'm trying to get ready for this Country Music Marathon and I've challenged half marathon I don't do marathons I challenged my whole team to do there's seven hundred of us and I'm trying to get at least half of them to do it I got 275 to do it so far I need to get under 75 to get us up to 350 about 350 Ramsey runners in this race there's 35,000 people so we will disappear into that crowd but I haven't run I've run about fifteen half marathons of my life and I haven't run one in five years I did smiles this morning it was ugly it was ugly it was nasty I mean Dave waddling down the sidewalk calling it running uh it was ugly my times are awful I got hurt it's awful but I got all the way it's not the race until April 28th so I still got ten weeks or whatever I'll make it it's all good I'll get there I did six six this morning and I'll be back up you know didn't take me long to get back up to six but oh no discipline seems Pleasant at the time but it yields the harvest of righteousness you got to live like no one else so that later you can live and give like no one else very few people wake up and say how did I become a millionaire I have no idea now when I talk to these millionaires on the millionaire theme matter they can tell you exactly what they did did you use debt no did you inherit it no what'd you do I work my butt off for 20 years and I saved and invested in my 401k and I got my house paid off that's what they usually tell me right there if you listen these millionaire themed hours that's what they say over and over and over again what was your GPA 3.0 you mean you're not a genius no bright but I'm not a genius this is what they tell me all the time very steady methodical process then you become a millionaire live like no one else so later you can live and give like no one else drive a car that no one else would drive so that later you can drive a car that no one else can drive that's fine it's fine I'm a boy I like cars I got me some cars I tell you what when we were broken when I drove a guy loaned me in 1978 Cadillac with four hundred and seventy eight thousand actual miles on it the predominant color on this puppy was bondo vinyl roof across the top was torn loose and when I drove it it filled up with air looked like a parachute with bondo hanging off of it I'm driving that thing down the road the cops are following me I'm doing this in a town in that car where you doing over here son I live over here no let me see your address be driving that car is a hundred on her car man and they won't even mine it was loaned to me man I drove that car for ten years one three-month period I felt like 10 years there's only three months I still remember that thing man the Blue Goose man was a blessing because I've been walking if I didn't have that it's smoked it's smoked like like your mother's chimney man I mean it's smoked you know as unbelievable fill up with smoke look like Cheech and Chong right along there you know I mean it's unbelievable I drove that car because I was never gonna borrow money again you know I saved during that during that three months we saved a thousand dollars and bought a thousand dollar car I thought I was rich I'm not borrowing money anymore ever I'm gonna live like no one else so later and live like no one else drove that thousand dollar car for about a year when we bought a three thousand dollar car cash we drove it for about four months and I totaled it got $4,000 for it but I had saved a little bit of money and bought a six thousand dollar car you know what I Drive now anything I want if you don't like it you can kiss my butt I paid a price to get here my cars are a very very small percentage of my income and a very small percentage of what we give to ministries and to charities every year and if you don't like the fact I've got a nice car you can kiss my butt I paid a price to get there live like no one else later you can live and give like no one else we travel I'd stay in the Quality Inn there are roaches in there doing ninja moves don't stay in places like that now man I don't stay in places like that well you're a snob no I'm not not the dadgum money I don't have to put up with that crap go in someplace and a hand I don't eat at the Golden Corral y'all I'm just telling you but we ate at Sharon's restaurant for a long time Sharon's really good with leftovers I'll tell you that we paid a price to win you'll pay a price to win we'll live like no one else check out this we'll check out this thing on YouTube y'all this is how it's done there's no shortcut to any places worth goin you can do this you live like no one else later you can live and give like no one else [Music] hey guys George Campbell here today's minute money hack is a tasty one my every dollar budgeting app says I only have a few bucks left to spend for lunch so I'm headed to one of my favorite spots Chipotle let's go alright so I placed my order ahead of time using the app avoid the burrito and get the bowl I'll explain later now little-known fact you get up to 3 customizations on your meal which means extra stuff here's some options go half and half with your meat beans and rice which usually means extra food and get a tortilla on the side to make your own massive burrito let's pick this thing up and see how we did [Music] here's your average burrito weighing in at 24 ounces but when you order a maximize bowl with a tortilla on the side it weighs in at a massive 34 ounces for the same exact price on a tighter budget order two tacos and follow the same steps for under five bucks I don't even tighter shoestring budget order a single taco loaded up for two dollars and 40 cents and there's your minute money hack I'm joy and I do the afternoon show at Way FM radio that a Steven Curtis Chapman on Way of M or Carlos enjoy well just enjoy today Carlos is gone and I heard about Dave Ramsey right after college because I was in a whole bunch of debt I went to one of those private Christian colleges and I was dead set on going even though I couldn't pay for it so I came out with a whole lot of loans to pay off and unfortunately Christian radio doesn't pay it tons of money so I decided that I wanted my life to look different and as I started asking people questions like how do we how do you budget how do you make it when your income isn't quite enough what do you do and all of my friends pointed me towards Financial Peace University and one of my first co-workers at yfm it had an amazing experience with Financial Peace University so he said you got to get in this class I found one at my church and as I started working through it I was learning the basic skills of how to handle finances for the very first time it was new it was difficult learning about it really helped me to get into a place where now I can't believe three years later that I'm gonna be debt-free that I get to do this debt free scream [Music] right after I took Financial Peace University for the very first time I knew I had to get out of debt but I didn't know what to do because my salary was barely giving me enough just to survive on so I saw a second job opportunity come my way I mean I do a radio show for my normal job but I found another job where I could voice track another radio show and I did it in the evening so I've been doing that job for three years and while it's still a great job it's been really difficult like doing that job for three straight years I worked holidays I worked every single day and there's been moments in the middle that I thought I just want to quit I just want to do this anymore and it's been hard to prioritize my life that income from the second job has completely gone towards my debt so you here to do your debt-free scream yes I'm so excited I love it well welcome all right so how much debt would be paid off joy I paid off $35,000 I love it way to go and how long did that take it took me three years it was it was a long long time but it was wonderful okay well we're honored that we were able to participate a little bit with a fellow radio personality here 11:00 turn you were able to see you turn this around and I'm glad we were a tiny part of that you're there you're the hero I'm proud of you all right joy from Nashville $35,000 paid off in three years making fifty thousand a year count it down let's hear a debt free scream three two one well done well done well done do you get embarrassed when all your co-workers are around the watercooler talking about the latest Dave rant and you have no clue what's going on what do they know that you don't well they're on the inside because they get a notification every time a new video gets uploaded to the YouTube channel and you can - all you have to do is hit the little bell icon next to the subscribe button so stop missing out and hit that Bell icon now our water-cooler still thing do people know people that's not a thing anymore okay that's what I thought [Music] one of the things that we've discovered is is that people's lives are transformed not only by the inspiration to do it but by knowledge you know my good friend Dave Savage out in Oregon they've developed a product several years ago called the total cost analysis they took like a 30 year and a 15 year and it shows you the comparison an exact boom it's a no-brainer exactly also we found a great product that is tied into the MLS the product that we found provides you our borrower your caller with complete access to every home listed in the MLS anywhere in America right now and so it is it is amazing we provide it to our customers for free they've got instant access to current information depth and make a really really good decision they'll probably with it is I need put my reading glasses on on the phone that's it [Music] thanks for joining us America Jewell is with us in Sarasota Florida welcome to the Dave Ramsey show jewel ok thank you for taking my call sure what's up okay my husband I are not on the same page and so I'm wondering if I should start investing a little now a little now yeah start doing some investing in science 53 years old and I have no retirement at all okay what it's very difficult to have a great marriage when you don't work together on money and it's very difficult to win on money when you don't work together on money yes so where are you not on the same page and why well I've been trying for years to get him on a budget and it just won't happen a couple years I've got him on you know one sort of one or two months and then all of a sudden it just stops or I find out that he's not telling me everything so pretty much I try to pace get off but of course every time I get it paid off it seems like comes right back on so I am kind of banging my head against the wall you're gonna continue to there's not a fixed for that except a marriage fixed you guys are gonna have to get on the same page and we're cuz you can't fill up the hole as fast as he can dig it out and so it's just it's just it's imperative that the two of you get to where you have trust and respect for him because he is trustworthy and respect worthy right now he's in his mind he's just kind of doing whatever he wants to do in your mind he's lying and broken a contract when he when he violates the budget that you agreed to but he hadn't heard loud and clear that this is signed in blood and right so we need to sit down and do a game plan and say honey we have got we're 53 we're broke we have got to do something I can't stand this it's driving me nuts and you wandering off after three months of being on the budget and going back in debt again is driving me nuts this is no longer okay Dave I've tried everything and it's just not going to happen so I'm kind of well and I think you need to go see a marriage counselor because I can tell you darling I mean I've been doing this for 30 years I have never seen a single person when financially when their spouse is going the other direction they just don't because it's easier for him to get into debt than it is for you to get out it's easier for you to get into debt than it is for him to get you out if it was the other way around and it going into debt in America today I mean you don't even have to have two brain cells to rub together you barely sign your name make your little ex and you can be in you can be in $10,000 in debt but in 20 minutes just walk through the mall I mean it's nuts and so until there's a sense of Destiny and a sense of control in a sense of vision for your finances you guys are going to struggle and so and I got to tell you you're either gonna kind of bump along like this and you might bump along like this and stay this way but my experience is eventually you do erupt and you get so disgusted and disillusioned and you've lost all respect for him and it starts to it starts to tear every part of the marriage apart after a while and so I just I I can't give your finances hope until I give your marriage hope so I'm gonna send you not to Financial Peace University but instead to a marriage counselor Lola is with us in Tampa Florida hi Lola how are you I'm trying Thank You mr. Ramsey oh you better than I deserve what's on I was calling because I was recently laid off and I have a 401k that I'm going to have to make a decision on what to do with it I was trying to see if I could get some suggestions from you okay I never I always take a 401k with me when I leave a company I always suggest you take a 401k with you when you leave an organization and the way you take it with you is you do a direct transfer rollover to an IRA there's no taxes on that at all and the way to do that is sit down with your investment advisor if you don't have one click on smart Wester at Dave Ramsey comm and you pick out the mutual funds that you want your IRA to be in you fill out the paperwork they send the paperwork to your old job and they send the money directly into the mutual fund if they give you a check they have to withhold 20% on it and you're required to put the whole amount into an IRA to avoid taxes but you only got eighty percent of it and so don't let them give you the check you want to roll it on a direct transfer rollover into good growth stock mutual funds and I spread my investing and I recommend others do across growth growth and income aggressive growth and international growth growth and income aggressive growth and international Craig is with us in Tampa hi Craig how are you pretty good Dave area better than I deserve what's up my wife and I are starting to look at housing and wanted you to get your input on purchasing like a duplex living in one half and renting out the other would eventually like to get into the real estate and thinking that I might be able to kind of start in that way and help pay off the first house while we're still living it as their first it's an okay idea it's not as glamorous as it sounds because the bad news is your renter is next door the good news is your renter is next door so it's easy for you to be the landlord next door it's also easy for them to come over there every time one little things broken and drive you bananas plus you see every little thing they do coming in and out of the car and everything else it is difficult to have your renter next door so that heart that that part is difficult the other downside of it is this duplexes ninety something percent of them will sell when they sell to an investor and so what price range of home our duplex would you be looking at probably a hundred and fifty two hundred thousand okay so we got two hundred thousand dollar duplex and two hundred thousand dollars single-family home the 90% of the single-family homes there two hundred thousand when they sell we'll sell to a retail end-user buyer ninety percent the duplexes will sell to a wholesale investor who's trying to buy a deal because they're mine bargain real estate to make money on they're not gonna live in it consequently that $200,000 single-family home will go up and value more than the two hundred thousand dollar duplex will go up in value over the next seven years or whatever because of who the buying market is when you get ready to remarket it does that make sense yeah so there's nothing wrong with duplexes but the problem is your renters next door and they're not going to go up as much in value the good news is you've got somebody paying for half the building or more than half the building by paying your rent but you are also living in half the building instead of the whole building and so I it's not my favorite thing to do I would probably say I love real estate and I love the idea of you having some investment real estate that you pay cash for I'm probably going to put you in a nice single-family home get that paid off let that go on up in value and buy your rental real estate later with cash that's separate and you know maybe you buy a single-family home that's gonna go up in value right now is yours as your rental real estate I've got a bunch of those and they're wonderful wonderful investments and there's almost always a market to rent them I never have trouble getting renters in our area in particular so I I'm a big fan of rentals I'm a big fan of real estate as an investment I do a lot of it personally but I would i usually for most people i would say let's get your let's get you through the baby steps get your home paid off then save up and pay cash for your rentals while you're doing your 15% of your income going into retirement over in mutual funds so you've got a mix between you know your 401k mutual funds and your paid for rental real estate that's how I've done it and I've seen most people have success doing that so hey thank you for the call appreciate you listening this is the Dave Ramsey show [Music] [Music] hey I'm Kristie ray and I help women all over the country start and grow their side businesses many of them love their product or service and they believe in their business but they don't know how to sell it I get it we've all been bothered by or burned by pushy salespeople and we don't want to be anything like them I totally understand but the problem is that many of us have unfortunately left those few bad experiences define what sales means to us too many people sales represent someone that is pushy aggressive and will take advantage of you but that's not what sales is at all sales is serving it's taking care of people it means meeting needs sales means sharing your story and ultimately sales is just influencing for example I'm in sales I influence people all day every day through blogs and videos and coaching on how to reach their goals and start their businesses or get controlled their money or love their families well or take care of themselves or countless other things and you know what no one ever responds to one of my blogs or videos by saying you're so pushy and aggressive why because I'm just influencing by serving and sharing but it's not just me we're all in sales do you have a close friend great you influence someone to let you in their inner circle are you married great you convince someone you are worth spending an entire lifetime with that's a big sale did you get your kids to eat last night great you sold them on the idea to eat their veggies see sales is just influencing by serving so the next time you're talking about your business don't get caught up in your idea about sales instead share your story and serve the other person and trust me the actual sale will naturally follow for more encouragement on leadership and life visit Christi right calm one of the things that makes the Dave Ramsey show unique from other shows is that we genuinely care about our listeners that's why we're intentional about choosing advertisers that we know will serve our listeners wealth blinds.com is no exception for years I've been telling you how amazing these guys are blinds.com offers high quality window treatments at unbelievable prices and their customer service is unbeatable they make buying measuring and installing blinds fun affordable and shockingly easy and if you accidently miss measure or pick the wrong color they'll remake your blinds for free when you're looking for window blinds the only place you need to go is blinds comm with blinds comm you get free samples free shipping and when you use the promo code Ramzi you'll save even more take advantage of this week's special promotional offer when you go to blinds.com and use the promo code Ramsey [Music] [Music] our scripture of the day proverbs 22:6 train up a child in the way he should go even when he's old he'll not depart from it Frederick Douglass said it's easier to build strong children than to repair broken men Cathy is with us in Boston hi Cathy welcome to the Dave Ramsey show hey Ann how are you better than I deserve what's up I'm so lucky to get a hold of you today I had scary scary news your phone is breaking out your phone all right I'm sorry can you hear me now yes I can okay I'm near a window now but I got the front my local paper today and there's a scary headline saying my financial advisor has been accused of scamming clients more than 1 million dollars mm-hmm how much have you got with them more than 1 million dollars you do we do what's it invested in it's invested in mutual funds do you have statements that show it I get statements from a company called pursing every month does it show the money in the investments it does it does a there's about 14 pages that come every month with the investments listed ok but Pershing's not the that that must be the broker that the advisor was with but not the actual mutual funds right right person is the broker I believe do you have the actual mutual funds the statements from the actual mutual funds or do you know what funds you're actually in and what your account number is with the mutual fund not with the mutual funds no just for person I know but I'm saying you don't know the name of the mutual fund that Pershing has put you in I'm sure it's on the statements correct should be so well one thing you can do is immediately call the SEC the Securities and Exchange Commission er who's probably after this guy and you know tell them you're freaking out and what can they tell you okay about the investigation and what you should do is your next step that's that's one thing you would do a second thing I would do is I would pick up my statements and say all right I'm supposed to have money in a BC mutual fund and my account number is so-and-so call that mutual fund and go this is Kathy so-and-so you know I'm supposed to have X number of dollars in this mutual fund and I need to verify that there's actually money in that fund in my name okay okay okay and he is I'm not familiar with the name pursing so it is that a larger firm or that he's supposed to be a local branch of or is that the name of his firm he's actually a local branch of United planners I called I looked up on I was on up on the internet and they're in Arizona okay call them to okay and start you know tell them what's going on that you need to know how to take your statements apart and here's my hope okay that your money actually got into those mutual funds if it actually got into those mutual funds you're probably safe okay but if he's if he's diverting it with as a complete crook a complete fraud a bank robber basically if he's diverting the embezzling the money and then printing off falsified statements then you may have a real problem that's possible okay so on the SEC the Securities and Exchange Commission is your ruling body on this get in touch with them immediately in your area they'll have a location or a an agent assigned to the Boston area that you can get some help from and then call united planners whoever that is that they're a part of that he's somehow a part of get some information from them number two number three try to reach the actual mutual fund company and so mutual funds are there called families of funds which is the brand name okay and so an example would be fidelity is a brand name and Campbell's is a brand name now Campbell's has chicken soup and they have vegetable soup fidelity has you know a whole bunch of different mutual funds so fidelity is not what you're looking for you're looking for the actual fund fidelity Magellan would be an actual fund right if it's American funds an actual fund is an investment company of America ICA and American funds and so it's not just American funds you need to get a hold of its ICA with your account number to try to figure out if you've got money in that account literally and if you do then your that's going to give you a lot of rest and you're gonna get some sleep in addition to that the vice president of our smart Buster program that this guy's not a smart investor I'm sure okay he isn't because I tried to find one when we was getting ready to roll over this I know this 401 K and there wasn't one in our area okay all right well the guy that is the vice president of our that runs that whole program for us inside of our company here is brilliant on this kind of a thing and so even though we've got nothing to do with it just to help you I'm going to put you on hold and Kelley is going to connect you to one of our vice presidents and he'll be able to give you some also some better advice maybe even than I have on getting in here and getting you some peace that your money has not just been flushed down the toilet somewhere so what a scary horrible thing yeah you roll a million dollars into something you look up the guy you're working with on the front page as being the next Bernie Madoff oh my gosh what a horrible deal yeah that take your breath away right there cause your pulse rate to change ouch so hold on and Kelly will pick up Cathy and will try to help you and get you some help on this even though as you and I said it's not not one of our guys by any stretch of the imagination but but but I hate it when one of these guys does this because it discredits and makes everybody scared about doing investing then and then they shouldn't because 99.9% of people in the business or wonderful people bin is with us in Gainesville Florida hi Ben how are you hey Dave I'm doing good how are you better than I deserve what's up that's good so I recently got engaged to my girlfriend and we've been going over you know the important questions like finance mm-hmm and she told me she has twenty four thousand dollars in student loans so fun she's out by dental school and I don't know where to go from there go where what do you mean in terms of you know how we should worry about that should we not even look at the student loans you told after we graduate she has some private and some things are better alone are you both in school we're both in school we both have two years to graduate okay what is she studying she's studying those things and I was reading and you're studying what engineering engineering good and you don't have student lunch no say why because I did my first two years at a public college not a university and is transferred oh yeah well you pay and how do you pay for it I work oh there's that okay so how much does she work she works about and I was a week it makes about four thousand a year not enough of course yeah okay and so the first thing I would attempt to do is do you all have a date set yet that you're gonna be married oh cool okay well until the end of June there's not anything you can do actually mathematically to combine this at this stage of the game but between now and then I want you guys working on a plan we're beginning at that date your first goal is for you both to graduate with no or debt okay if you can pull that off between the two of you you know everybody working all hands on deck everybody's doing everything they can we're all combined finances we're married after June and we're gonna both get through the remaining of our school without any more debt that's so that's a win if you can just freeze the 24 and deal with it after graduation and pay cash for this point forward that's a big win a bigger win would be if you could even do that and reduce and reduce her debt but by far the first goal is have enough in the bank for both of you to graduate debt-free then go back and do that so hold on I'm going to send you an early wedding present called the Total Money Makeover book and I want you guys to use that as your guide to work through this process together you'll get through it you can do this but you just need to have a very intentional discussion about where we're going from here that puts this our that ever MZ show in the books we'll be back with you before you know it in the meantime remember there's ultimately only one way to financial peace and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace Christ Jesus [Music] let's face it life can be crazy between work school kids church and everything else under the Sun it can be tough to find time for the things that matter most even breakfast once we're good grains comes in good grains is an innovative cereal company committed to delivering health and happiness to our communities and beyond how good grains makes tasty wholesome cereal that you can buy online and have shipped straight to you they offer one-time and subscription purchases and they support local schools looking for a better version of your favorite cereal try Golda knows when something gluten free for the kids check out their love grown line need a diabetic friendly cereal who may have got that too each good grain cereal contains nothing artificial so you know what you're eating if you sign up for a subscription you can save time and money plus it all gifts back that's good grains sound good listeners of the Dave Ramsey show can receive a special free trial pack today just visit good grains comm slash Dave welcome to the best cereal on the planet [Music] [Music] [Music]
