Transcript of Live from Anaheim: The Ramsey Show on Tour

What is the most ethically questionable thing that you have done to save money?

I got this 24-hour Planet Fitness membership and they've got showers.

This is to save on your water bill?

You go to the gym every single day?

I go 3 times a week.

And you're good with him showering 3 times a week?

Yeah. When will the Ramsey dating app? Ron, describe your dream lady.

Not in public.

Oh wow. Helping my parents with their estate, a few properties, and a family as tenants. They were paying $500 a month.

Dude, this crowd's gonna start throwing stuff.

I'll pay $600. $600, Bob.

What was the last argument you had with your spouse?

Here's the truth. I never know when my wife's mad at me. I say I'm sorry every day just to sort of COVID the sins.

We are trying to combine finances without combining arguments.

You're probably not gonna go for this, but it's the last swing on the tour. Normal is broke and common sense is weird, so we're here to help you transform your life. From the Ramsey Network, brought to you by Fairwinds Credit Union, live from Seal Beach, California, this is The Ramsey Show. Alongside George Campbell and Rachel Cruze, I'm Ken Coleman. So excited. For those of you that are watching, wherever you are, however you're watching, we're so excited that you're here. Fabulous crowd in this lovely old theater. We're gonna get right to it. Starting us off tonight, we are gonna go to Mary. Hi, Mary.

Hi, how are you guys?

Good. What's your question?

My name is Mary, and this is Chris.

Chris.

Chris.

He's in the military and has been debt-free since birth. And I became debt-free because of you guys, especially George.

Oh, thank you.

Shout out George Campbell.

I didn't do any of the work, but I will take all the credit.

Thank you.

You're welcome. So I dragged him here for reinforcement. We are getting married in church in 2 months.

Congrats.

Thanks. And we don't always agree on money, especially when it comes to spending. For instance, he values saving money more and I value saving time. From small decisions like that to big decisions like applying for a VA loan. How do we handle money as one team when we think differently? Because we are trying to combine finances without combining arguments.

Well, isn't that beautiful?

I gotta tell you, that is beautiful. I feel like I saw a financial Hallmark card. So poetic. And before we dive in, I want to say to Chris, thank you for serving our country.

You're a great American.

Thank you.

It's been an honor.

Thank you, sir.

Yeah, I mean, it's a great question. And what I would say is you're going to be opposites, okay, of how you're wired, your tendencies, your personality. You're going to be different. And I think what ends up happening with so many couples is that that difference ends up being the thing that you end up butting heads with. So, a couple of things, 'cause my husband, Winston, and I, same thing. I'm the spender. I'm you, 100%. He's the saver. Like, it's the same conversations. But what I have found, and I've only been married 16 years, so Ken probably has more marriage experience, so he could probably speak into this.

It's a really nice way of saying Ken's much older than me.

He, him and Stacy have been married longer. But what I have found that I wish I had done earlier in those conversations with Winston is that he brings something to the table that I don't have. His strengths are not my strengths. And there's something really beautiful of what he brings that actually is very helpful to me. And instead of fighting against it, 'cause it's not my natural bent, I've actually started to see it more as a gift. I mean, honestly, if it wasn't for Winston, like, I probably would be broke. Like, he's been everything.

But you'd have great shoes.

I would. Oh, and if it wasn't for me, he'd have no fun. So, it's great. Like, we balance each other out.

It's fine.

But, So, seeing it as a gift. And then, if there's the level of empathy of getting into his shoes and him get into your shoes and understand how you grew up, again, your personality, how you're wired, like all of that plays in. And that empathy card is really big. That really can lead to, I think, a level of respect of understanding this is where you come from. But I am gonna say this to you as the spender. This is gonna be a little bit a nick on Chris, sorry. But Arthur Brooks talks about, 5 things you can do with money, and only one of them, 4 can actually bring happiness, one of them does not bring happiness, which is just buying stuff. But one of the 4 that actually can bring a level of happiness in your life is spending money to get your time back. And so, they have found that, so.

Take that, it's science, Kris.

I know, so when I heard that, I was like, you know what, it's not a bad way to spend it, right? You're not being frivolous with it.

Give us an example of one of those. I'm glad Rachel brought this up, 'cause I was thinking, give us a real moment of tension, if you can, where you wanted to spend money to have a little bit more time and Chris was like, I don't like that.

So for example, everybody knows nobody wants to go to LAX. So he would rather save $100 to fly from LAX when I am willing to spend more than $100 to fly from Ontario, which is 30 minutes away from, from us versus an hour plus away going to LA. So it's just the time versus money.

Well, I gotta tell you, you hit a nerve. The entire audience I was like, she's right. People were like, take a love offering, can we have an altar call? Amen. I mean, it was like, I saw it in the room. Okay, so let's have some fun. Chris, do you understand where she's coming from? You don't have to agree, but I wonder if you understand that.

I do understand. I just, I think I see it from a different perspective.

What's your perspective?

Well, in the Army, I'm a soldier 24 hours a day. So whether I'm, you know, standing at attention or I'm just, you know, working hard or, or what have you, you know, I, I'm still getting paid to, to be a soldier. So if, um, I've got to wait a little bit longer in a line or get stuck in traffic, it's no big deal to me. I do it all the time.

Okay, now my friend, and you two can weigh in, but I, I'm picking up on something. I totally get that. But I am completely a convenience monster, all right? So I totally get your point of view. And that's me and my wife. I would pay more money to make life easier, like every time. But I think what you're gonna have to do is realize you've been conditioned that way too. And you're gonna have to, you're both gonna have to figure out a way, what's the middle ground? But Chris, you're a great man, and again, a great patriot. Uh, but you're gonna have to understand that very few people, and I mean very few people, have your kind of constitution and your discipline because of who you are and how you've been trained. Do you understand what I'm saying?

I think that's fair to say.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's a high bar.

It's a high bar. You know what I mean? What do you guys think?

Well, I, I think in 2 months you're going to be a husband 24 hours a day, and I would say that takes precedence.

There's a Hallmark card.

Listen, outside of a relationship with God, I'm gonna go wife is, is coming next. And therefore, you know, you can let go of some of the things you want. And I had to do this too, because I'm like Chris. I will— listen, my wife had a connecting flight to go see the Backstreet Boys, and they gave me the hardest time. Like, you didn't send her direct. I was like, it was $200 more.

There's like 5 Southwest flights from Nashville to Vegas, and he made Whitney connect. I was like, oh dear Lord.

I said, you know what, this is what she values, and therefore I'm gonna put my money to make my wife's life easier, which by the way is kind of the reason we get married. We don't get married to make our lives more difficult. We want this to be a partnership where life is more joyful, it's more fun, it's easier in a lot of ways because we're willing to serve the other person, even if it's not how we would want to be served. And so I think there is some compromise here, and I think this tension, you need to learn how to live in it versus avoid it, or somebody wins.

That's exactly right. So I'm gonna throw something out there. This is just a conversation piece. I'm not telling you this is how you should do this, but I think a conversation is, okay, I heard I heard you tonight. You both have to say that to each other. I heard you. And I think what you got to go is, all right, Chris, if she wants to spend more money, okay, to, uh, fly out of Ontario, and then you go, all right, I'll meet you on that one. And then you're gonna have to meet him somewhere else. You understand what I'm saying? This is give and take, and I think that's the key. So figure out where those values are super important, and then go, we're going to give each other grace and we're going to compromise. No one in a marriage gets it all the way they want, especially dudes, Chris. You know what I mean? Stacy tells me all the time what I want to do. And I've—

Ken had no idea what he wanted to do until Stacy came along.

It's really true. So I've learned to love it, you know? So there you go. Hey, give them some love. That was great.

Thank you, guys. Congrats on the wedding.

See you in show prep. I do want to say to you, Mary, though, he's going to take really good care of you. Oh. He's going to be a great husband. He really will.

Hey, can I do something fun here? I have the spiritual gift of giving away Dave's stuff. Come on down, Chris. I've got a little bottle of— what do we have here? A little Prosecco. You guys need to get together on this, all right? Crack this open. Yeah. And that's on us. You know, it's two little pours, but you guys need to talk this over. Okay? That's the deal.

They need a little more than that.

I thought you said it's on us.

Well, it was the last stop on the tour. We've run out of cash. You know what I mean? So we had to get the little bottle. I kid. All right, up next, please give a warm welcome to Sal. Where are you, Sal? There he comes. Okay, Sal, where are you from?

I'm from Southern California.

Okay, great. What's your question?

So I'm helping my parents with their estate. My dad's 89. He worked till he was 70, and he has a few properties, and, family as tenants, and I'm trying to manage bringing the rent up to market rate, what it would be. Uh, they've just been accustomed to my dad subsidizing their rent. It's my family situation, my uncle that passed away and my aunt that passed away. So I'm getting a lot of pushback from, uh, one of my cousins and that they don't want to pay more rent. And so it's, you know, trying to, after the house needs a roof, it needs paint after taxes, after insurance, like, you know, they're breaking even. And so. Uh, they're just having a little difficulty understanding that part. So any advice?

Question: is this your dad's properties, you said? Yes. And you're just managing them? Yes. What are his wishes? Is, is it to be as is, how it's always been, or does he want you to manage it a little differently to tighten everything up?

Um, he actually was throwing his hands up and said, if we lose the property, lose the property, because he'd been gotten frustrated to the point where he's just paying for them to live. So I kind of spearheaded, put them on month-to-month lease agreements, uh, set high. Apparently they had a back rent that they hadn't paid my dad, so, um, just kind of help him clean that up.

And so he's fed up with them.

Yeah, he's, he's, you know, he's older, he's 89. He's actually, um, has Lewy body dementia.

So yeah, so, well, what's the difference between his emotion and your emotion? How do you feel about kicking them out? I'm, you know, there's a difference. I know, I want you to say it.

Well, I think it's, you know, they've— he's, um, he's a patriarch. He's done so much for them, carried them like for so much, you know, a good part of their life. And, um, one side of the family, like, uh, cousin Gina, she's fine paying more rent, understands. Like, they understand that, you know, he's taken so much burden on and just taking care of them so much. But there's just this family that just doesn't understand the concept of what the cost is of living.

And no, I get it. You sound like a politician on a Sunday morning show.

Yeah.

How do you feel?

How do I feel? Um, it's, it's upsetting. It's, you know, they, if they don't want it, I mean, the reality is that, um, it was a family venture. If they don't like it, they can move out. I mean, they gotta get first month's rent, second month's rent, or last month's rent, security deposit.

You think they feel that from you, that they know how serious you are?

Um, I think they're getting it, but it needs to be like, "Hey, if you don't like it, I mean, the door's right there." They're getting it.

They're just not gonna do anything until you put your foot down, is what I think. Yeah. So does the audience.

Yeah. So, yeah, I think a timeframe, you know what I mean? And you can give some grace. They're family. So, you could say, you know, if it was someone else, it'd be like, "Next month, sorry." So, you can say, "Hey, by," By August of this year, this is what we're gonna need in order for this to continue forward. Do you know what I mean? Like to have some language in there that's pretty black and white. And so the boundary's set because of that, of that date. And I think what's frustrating too, I would assume, I'm putting myself in your shoes, is just, it feels like the lack of gratitude of what your dad's done. And you're kind of like, man, I wish you guys would appreciate, you know what I mean? Have some level of humility in it. And there's none of that.

So they were paying $500 a month for—

Dude, this crowd's gonna start throwing stuff.

I'll pay $600.

$600, Bob. So they were paying $5 a month forever, and then like 4 months behind on $500.

How long have they been in it?

For probably 20-something years.

Okay. Dude, you stood up tonight to get permission, didn't you?

Yeah, well—

No, I'm serious.

Well, I went from $500 to $1,700, and I'm like, hey, you know, they gotta pay more, and it's family, and all these different things, and you know, they're getting pushback for the— I'm just asking for $2,000 for, you know, It's a 2-bedroom, 1.5-bath.

No, I know, we've already talked in circles about this. I'm asking, did you stand up to get— we can't give you permission, but is that what you were looking for? Like, am I a jerk for holding them accountable? Is that what you're wanting to know tonight?

Maybe, um, I guess, I guess more of like, you know, is there a tactful way, or do I just say, hey, you know, thought Rachel just gave it to you?

Yeah, they can't be tactful with these people. I think Rachel is much nicer than I would have been.

Yeah, well, it's been 20-plus years.

Yeah, precisely where they've ripped your dad off. Yeah, absolutely. I think she's being very nice, but I like her approach. Yeah, but it's clear. Hey guys, I don't care for cousins. I don't care. This is how it is.

I'm doing this for Dad. There's no relationship here anymore.

No, it's, it's, you know, they want to sit down and have a discussion of what they want to happen.

They want to manipulate you.

Yeah.

And they're entitled— by the way, they've been doing a good job.

No.

And they know that, oh, we can get past him. He's gonna be a doormat once again. And he has been for 20 years.

And so now—

Because he's a nice guy. Now you need to change the tune and say, hey, listen, for 20 years you guys have taken advantage of my father's generosity and kindness. And now it's my job to manage this well. You're a steward of these properties. And by not putting your foot down, you're being a bad steward. Yeah. On top of enabling this entitlement.

Yeah. 'Cause I, I just helped my dad and my parents the last year. And that's when I got 'em on the month to month, put 'em at $1,700. And now I'll bring it out to $2,000. As far as I'm concerned, there should be like $3,000. They should pay market value and, you know, or leave the property. We can improve it. And then, you know what market value is and just to put the money back.

I got an idea. You're probably not gonna go for this, but it's the last swing on the tour. How would you feel about getting one of the cousins on speakerphone right now? Yeah. And just tell 'em now we'll all be quiet, won't we?

Don't ruin it.

This is like cutting up a credit card in the old school days. You call up— what's one of the cousins' name? Give me the most honoring name.

You got a Vinnie? Is there a Vinnie?

Yeah, there's a Brenda.

Brenda's a problem.

I'm scared. Oh no, she's— I actually, I got in line, I was in line coming in, I tried to call her and she wouldn't pick up.

So yeah, awkward landlord calling.

But here's the deal. Everybody in this room knows that Brenda needs to hear the truth. Yeah.

They're just living on a different—

Yeah, man. So no more. We can't talk about it anymore. You know what you got to do? Yeah.

Yeah.

You can't control them and what their planet they're living on. You control you and be a good manager of what your dad's built.

Rachel, lay it out for him. I think he wants it. What if you're in charge of him on this deal? How many months do you give? What's the terms to Brenda? You role play. Brenda's on the phone. What do you say? This is gonna be great.

Hey, Brenda. Hope you're having a good day.

It's about to change.

This is perfect.

This is great. Yeah, well, what I would say, hey, here's the deal. I have probably not taken my role seriously enough, and I haven't loved my dad well enough to step into really hard conversations. And so, this is gonna be a hard conversation, Brenda. And I pulled comps. From the area. Average comp for a rental with a 2-bedroom, 1-bath is looking about $3,000. So, that's what we're gonna start charging. Now, we're gonna start that, we're gonna start charging that in September. So, you guys have 5, I can't do math, 5 months, 6 months.

September?

Well, I don't know, I'm just, Brenda is scaring me, okay? So, just let, so, we're gonna give you, we're gonna give you 5 months, Brenda, 6 months, because you're family, We're gonna, I'm gonna extend a lot of grace. It's been a long-term thing. It's been over 2 decades. So, 6 months isn't gonna break the bank. I like it. So, 6 months. So, Brenda, that's what is gonna happen and be effective September 1st. So, I'm gonna circle back 30 days before, and we're gonna talk August 1st to make sure you guys have plans either to move or to pay what is owed and up to rent, okay? And I know this is awkward and hard, but that's how it has to be.

And in silence. You're not gonna do that, Sal. September 1st? Come on, man.

What do you want?

Are you Brenda? Well, okay. Um, yes, yes, yes, Brenda, I am. I am gonna do that, uh, September 1st.

Let Sal speak. So what's the timeline for you?

It's, uh, in what— we're in what, April? It's in May, actually. It's a couple days that we're—

oh, geez, standard bury the lead because it was 30 days to get out.

Well, I had, um—

have you said that to her though? It was May.

Yeah.

Okay, okay.

So because I like that timeline.

Yeah. So because my, my, my mom approached me, says, hey, you know, your dad's, you know, you know his condition We need some help with these properties. Can you go figure it out? And I have an older brother and, you know, he's a whole different story.

And so, um, we don't have time for him tonight. No, no, no.

That'd be a whole, that's a whole different show. You know, that's gonna be like, and so, uh, you know, I said, okay, you know, reached out some help, got some, uh, California lease agreements. Uh, talked to my cousin, uh, 2 months ago and I said, hey, you know, um, we're gonna increase the rent. And she's like, well, it was kind of upsetting. You didn't give us notice. You increased the rent.

You know what, you know what you can say? When she says that, I'll call the wambulance.

Ladies and gentlemen, give Sal some love. Thank you, Sal, for your question.

Perfect.

Can I just give you a fist bump? That was so perfect, Dave. Call the wambulance.

The spirit is here.

Somewhere in Argentina, Dave just went like this.

I'm being summoned.

Yeah. All right, that is so fun. Okay, now we're gonna welcome to the mic Tony. Everybody, welcome Tony to the mic.

Yeah, Tony.

Uh, how you doing? My name is Tony. I'm from, uh, Montclair, California. Um, uh, Ryan, I don't really know how to ask it, but I'm gonna just explain a little bit. Um, I'm going through a really hard, uh, uh, divorce. Um, this is our second separation, but I know for sure from my end I'm done with it. But, um, Just to kind of give you an idea that this ain't new, the pain I feel, the loneliness and all that. I live alone. We have kids. Kind of sucks 'cause they're great kids. She's a great mother. I'm a great dad. Spend a lot of time with them, but it's almost like they wanna, they can't wait to leave me so they could go back to mom. So like, I'm peacefully alone, but also super lonely. So when I go to work, I do all these things. I'm just numb to everything because it's like the things that really matter in life, which is my kids, the relationships, like, yeah, I'm just tired of giving them all and nothing works out, you know.

I'm sorry, Tony. So like, what, what happened? What, what was the cause of this? What sounds like now you're done?

During our first separation, uh, during a breakup, uh, she, she was asking me, oh, did you sleep with anybody during a breakup? And when I returned the question back, she was being, uh, what is it called, promiscuous.

I don't know.

Yeah. So the whole 2 years that I was trying to give them all, um She'll have fake social medias, and then I'll find that she's like trying to reconnect with them. And it was just—

oh, I'm so sorry.

You couldn't do nothing because you're at work, you're everywhere, and you're just nervous what's going on at home, you know? Yeah.

So, so the kids wanting to leave your house all the time, is that because mom knows that you're trying to be financially responsible, or you're certain maybe you're more disciplined? What is, what is happening in your mind that you think the kids are like, okay, I can't wait to get back to moms?

Um, I think I'm pretty chill and not really— I'm kind of strict, but, um, I think they just miss her. They're just mommy's boys, you know?

Like, how old are your kids?

Uh, I got a 13, uh, 9, and a 2-year-old. He just turned 2.

How much time do you have with them in a given month?

So we— everything's just through agreement, so I literally just get them every single day.

Oh, so you do see him every day?

Yeah, I see him every— I pick him up every day, my choice.

I just do it. They're not staying with you every day?

No, because I work graveyard, so it's not like they could sleep with me. So the 2 days I'm off, I do.

So daytime with you, nighttime with Mom?

Yeah, essentially.

Yeah, but every single day I have him.

Okay.

And then my oldest, he's getting recruited by colleges, basketball. So like, that's what I mean, I spent a lot of time with him because I trained him basketball-wise and all that. So like, okay, they're, they're really good. So He kind of— I kind of feel he just uses me just to train him and give him rides. But I tell him, I was like, hey, Daddy's lonely, man. Like, at least check on me, like, just to say good night. But yeah, never.

Well, I'm— we're really sorry that you're going through this, and I think you are— you have been betrayed, okay? So let's just call that what it is. Um, and you need to heal. How long ago was this revealed to you?

I left her July of last year.

Okay, so still really fresh. Have you gotten any therapy, sat with a—

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Even during our first breakup, we're separate for like 2 years. Uh, I've been going to therapy. I've been doing what John Delony does for Connect With People, like, and, uh, but it's hard because everybody's married, everybody has lives. So I kind of feel like you're— yeah, they kind of look at you like, I gotta make time for this guy, you know, even though I'm busy, you know.

Okay, so I got a little something. So, uh, earlier tonight before we got started on the show, I asked how many, uh, people were single, and there was a bunch of single people. Um, how many single How many single guys are in the room? Would you raise your hand for a second? Just the single guys. Okay, will you all stand up real quick? Just stand up. This is not gonna embarrass you at all. I want you to all turn around. Tony, the guys that are in front of him, turn around and look at him. All right, Tony, I want you to look at these guys. It's not weird. Don't gaze at 'em. Just look at 'em. And then I want you to look at the guys behind you, okay? Now, guys, sit down, okay? Now here's what I want, okay? 'Cause dudes are a little different. Okay, and I'm not gonna put you on the spot, but guys, if you're willing to connect with Tony after the show tonight— I got a single guy right down here we met earlier, he's shaking his head. This guy's got money upon money, he's stacking money. He needs to— no, he needs to spend some money so you can go hang out with Tony.

Buy him a drink.

Because you got nothing else to do. And, uh, and And so, here's what I want. I'm having some fun, but I'm dead serious, guys. Listen, loneliness kills. And what I love about the Ramsey Tribe, you know, when you think about when Dave started Financial Peace University, what made it so powerful were people coming together, sitting in the room, and there were shared values through shared experiences, shared failures. Yeah? And here's a guy who's trying to win financially. Give us a picture of where you are financially.

I'm on baby step, almost done with number 1.

Come on, my man. Yeah. So this guy right here and these 2 dudes right here. So guys, I'm not gonna put you on the spot, but I mean, I'm serious as I can be. If you would be willing to meet Tony, he's sitting right down here. You guys make a beeline for him after the show, not now. And you guys connect and you need some community. You need a guy, you need guys that have shared values and are willing to walk through this dark time, 'cause this is dark. But here's the good news, on the other side of this is light. And you walking out the baby steps is gonna be a huge part in your recovery from this pain. You got me?

Yeah.

All right, you willing to receive these guys' friendship?

Yeah.

All right, we'll see what happens. Thank you, man, appreciate you. Thank you. All right, so we had a write-in question. Um, this is for us.

Oh wow, is she in the room?

Is Sarah here?

Okay, interesting.

Okay, okay, Sarah wrote this question. This is for us, apparently, turning the tables. You ready for this one, George? I think you're a little nervous.

I am.

Uh, what was the last argument you had with your spouse?

Money argument or life argument?

Say money. Oh boy.

Oh.

Who wants to go? This is fun.

Here's the truth, I never know when my wife's mad at me. I have to like check in. Like, I say I'm sorry every day, just sort of COVID the sins committed.

That's classic. And by the way, he's telling the truth.

That is true. I'm aloof to the argument.

Money, you know, yeah, we had— yeah, we had one. Uh, what is today? Thursday? Yeah.

Is this the one you shared with us at lunch?

I did, in Phoenix. We talked about this. This is a good one. I think you should go. And y'all were on on my side, which I appreciated.

I was. In fact, I almost texted Winston to say, "Dude." I know. Go ahead.

Your story. So, my daughter, she's in 5th grade. She goes to middle school next year, and she's had 2 best friends since kindergarten. So, it's been the little 3 of them, like, through all elementary school, and they've just— and so, the 2 moms, naturally, we become friends. Like, we were on a big text— we were texting right before the show. Like, we're on a text group, like, for 6 years, we've been friends. So, one of them had the idea that before the girls go to middle school, we should do, like, a little overnight somewhere. Or maybe 2 nights, like, take them before they all go to middle school. So, we landed on Disney. Not only 'cause I like it, but in the world, not the land. I'm so sorry. I know. I felt it. I felt the disappointment.

It's closer to Tennessee.

I felt the disappointment.

Okay, here's a hot take. I've been to both. The one in Florida is better. Let's be honest.

I don't know if you can say that.

Well, yeah, it's my opinion. Doesn't mean I'm right.

I will say, though, the one in Orlando, you get— it's like the crazy Disney people, because there's nothing else in Orlando. If you go to Orlando, you're going to Disney. Here, it's like you have a ton of things to do, and you happen to go to Disneyland. Does that make sense? Okay, anyways, anyways, this is— we're off track. Anyways, we're gonna do Disney, because one of the girls, her parents live in Orlando, so we're gonna go stay there for free. And I don't know how much I wanna, like— I wanna do something bougie. I wanna do something bougie. And I wanna get one of those like little tour things, you know? 'Cause we're only going for one day.

Like they take you on a golf cart?

Live like no one else, so later, you can play.

You're really soft selling this. This is the VIP guide.

Well, I don't wanna sound too bougie.

Well, I just told everybody.

We're going low bougie.

They know.

But y'all, okay, so it is. Okay, between all of us and America who's watching, Winston's gonna kill me probably. He's gonna be like, Rachel, why did you say this? It is expensive, I get it. It is. But here's my thing, y'all. I'm like, I was like, what else at this point for us, right? We're Baby Step 7. We've been married 16 years. We've done it. Like, I kept telling him, what else are we gonna do? Like, we're gonna die. Let's die with zero. Let's just like enjoy and spend.

Can't take it with you.

Yes, that's so my philosophy.

You wanna tell him what he said?

And he's not put his foot down like this in a long time in our marriage. And he said, I'm absolutely no. He's like, Rachel, that is the dumbest idea "thing to spend money—" I mean, no, he didn't say that. That's the dumbest. But he was like, "That is not— it's not wise. Why would you spend that amount of money for like 6 hours?" Anyways, we went around and around, and I just said, "All right, well, we'll talk next week." Anyways, we probably won't do it, and it's fine. But I like to throw it out there, you know?

My money's on you doing it. You think so? I think you're gonna do it. You know what my take is? Here's what I said at lunch.

Are the others pitching in? The others pitching in. I haven't even floated the idea, and I probably wouldn't. I would just be like, "Yeah." No, that's not—

you don't wanna do that. That puts pressure on them. And Rachel's so nice. So, I said, if— now, I'm on the other side of this. So, Winston's in the thick of it. My youngest is my only daughter. She's gonna be 18 in December, and I'm a mess when I think about her leaving. And so, if I could go back to Amelia at 11 and do this, I would 100% do it. I know. It's a text Winston, right? Yeah, I was like, I wanted to say, "Hey, as a dad," as a dad of a daughter, man, make those memories now. You know what I mean?

Yeah, and we are going, so like we will have memories. It's going. Well, we're gonna go, but that little extra cherry on top, if you know what I mean. It's an expensive— Yeah. It's an expensive sharing event. It's fine. Okay, that's ours. That was ours. That was last week.

Word, you got one. I can't top that. I mean, here's what happens in my house. I get transaction alerts for every single thing that comes through. Of course you do. And I know how much things cost. So I see a transaction come through for like $34. I'm like, wasn't it just— how did you spend that on lunch for just— and so that's where I get in trouble is then she gets defensive and I text her, I said, hey, what happened here? What's going on? You know? And she's like, well, I got the gluten-free bread, I got a latte, got a little dessert. And then I calm down. I go, okay, it's fine.

I love that you lead with the what happened here. Like it's a major offense. I got questions.

I think it was fraud. And I go, no, it's just my wife. Somehow works. I think the fraudster wouldn't have spent that much. Yeah. That's the honest truth.

You know, I don't have a great story, but this— I have a pattern that happens with us, and it's terrible. But the kids— I don't know if it's this way in your house, but I have 3 kids, and they all go to mom first with everything. Sometimes I feel like I'm just a financial donor to the institution. And so what'll happen is they'll— soft sell Stacy on something that they want, and she'll be like, "No," for whatever reason. And then they hit me about 24 hours later, and I don't even think to say, "Have you talked to your mother?" And I just go, "Oh, absolutely." And that's been a bit of a problem.

I think they're gonna be great lawyers one day. Very strategic.

No, no, I'm learning from it. That was good. Uh, fun stuff. Well, we also have another write-in, Rachel.

Oh, yes. Okay, so this one's from Kristen, and she's here, actually. I think we met her earlier. She said, "My husband, Wade, is retiring this fall." He's gonna be 55 years old. "I'm already retired at 57. Once he retires, we will need health insurance. We're both in good health, require minimum care, and are debt-free. We have no big— we have big plans to travel the U.S., being nomads on the road for about 3 years in our off-season." "road adventure rig." How fun. "Do you recommend Christian Healthcare Ministries for us until we qualify for Medicare? If so, why?" Well, first off, congratulations, you guys. What a fun season to be in. I love it. Yeah, I think for sure, Christian Healthcare Ministries, yes, I think would be a great option. So, Christian Healthcare Ministries, it's kind of an interesting it's an interesting thing because it's not health insurance, but it's a health cost-sharing ministry. So, people pool their money, and then when something happens, you submit your eligible bills, and they take care of it. Like, it's basically, that's the system. It's actually a biblical way of what healthcare was. And so, they emulate that. And so, it is, it's amazing.

So yeah, I would say for sure, for sure, in the gap before Medicare, and then, You know, some people love it so much, they just, that's what they use for the rest of their lives. They just keep paying into it because of how great it is. So, yeah, but it's awesome. So, yes, I would say, yes, Christian Healthcare Ministries, it would be a great option. And it's much, usually very cheap. It's cheaper than COBRA or any other of those, you know—

Marketplace health insurance. From any, yes, that's right, for sure, yes.

So, what's great though, is right now, CHM is offering new members a 50% credit towards their first month of membership. So, you guys can check that out. So, you can go to chministries.org/health. Healthcareministries.com/budget and use the promo code Ramsey. And yeah, if you guys have friends that are talking about it, looking at health insurance, it's expensive. Health insurance is expensive. So for a lot of people, they do find that it is less, Christian Healthcare Ministries is, from a month-to-month standpoint.

While we're out here in Southern California, I thought I'd hit the streets and harass some strangers to find out how they're handling money and how they feel about it. What's the worst financial decision you've ever made?

Get a girlfriend and spend all your money on her. Ooh. It's a bad investment.

This girl really burned you, man.

I say so. What was the nicest thing you bought her?

Lake Tahoe trip. Got her a helicopter, everything.

Helicopter? Like a helicopter tour? Pretty much, yeah. Okay. I didn't think you bought her a helicopter. And then, you know, ski trip, all of that. What did that cost for that trip for her? Total trip was probably like $7,000, $6,000.

Probably purchasing a lot of materialistic stuff like clothing and accessories, and they didn't really gain any value.

Probably buy a car. Were you in debt? I'm not now, but I was in the beginning. And how much was the car? How much do you have so far? Like around $30,000.

I'd say probably not investing earlier. If we were able to learn that maybe in school or have our parents kind of explain that earlier, I think you could become further ahead now. So just investing at a younger age would've been nice.

If you had like watched my YouTube channel at 16, you would've been like, oh gosh, I gotta get investing. I gotta stay outta debt.

Totally. Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

Reason to subscribe. Hey, you know what? We talked about Fairwinds Credit Union. You know, they are the sponsor of our studio, our gorgeous studio back in Franklin, Tennessee, which by the way, while I mentioned, if you guys ever have a chance to come watch the show. We're live in the lobby from 1 to 4. We'd love to have you there. And Fairwinds, of course, has helped make this tour, uh, possible. So we just want to continue to say thank you to— they're great, great people. George Fairwinds, like, we can't recommend them enough.

Oh yeah, they've been such an amazing partner, and they believe in the Ramsey principles. They encourage their own team members to become debt-free and stay debt-free, which might be the only bank in America to actually do that. They believe in it. They have changed their— the way they do business to serve our fans better. And they have a great Smart Bundle you guys can check out at fairwinds.org/ramsey.

Yeah, so thanks again to Fairwinds. Okay, so now we've got our first of two of these segments that are a lot of fun. The audience tends to like these. It's called Flip the Script. So where you have been asking us questions, now we're going to ask you questions. Okay, we got mic runners in the room. Okay, so we're looking for for fun people that want to just throw an opinion out. So George, I'll start with you. You got a question you want to get an answer on?

Yeah, because this is something I struggle with as a guy who's frugal. What is the most ethically questionable thing that you have done to save money? Where maybe you tell someone, or your spouse goes, ah, that feels like it's on the line. That's true.

Anyone got a good one? Here it is.

Oh, we got someone.

All right, stand up so we can see you, and we're gonna get a mic to you.

Okay, um, I'm a youth pastor, so it shouldn't be too— shouldn't be too bad, but— well, we're about to find out. All right, so I'm gonna get married soon in about 2 months with this lovely lady right here. Oh, congratulations. Thank you, thank you. Anyways, so we are thinking about just things that we're gonna spend on now instead of, you know, living with our folks anymore. And one of it is water. So I'm thinking to myself, oh, I got this 24-hour Planet Fitness membership and they've got showers. And I'm like, Jenny, like we could do this, all right? Like, you don't have to do it with me, but I could go every single day Planet Fitness, work out, take a shower, and then just go on back, do day-to-day things afterwards. What do you think? She's like, "Austin." It's not, it's not what she thinks.

This is to save on your water bill? Yeah, so.

A water bill I don't even know I'm having anymore, so yeah.

Do you go to the gym every single day?

I go 3 times a week right now, but things could change.

And you're good with him showering 3 times a week? Yeah? That's what he does every day?

No, he said he's gonna go every day.

Yeah, you need to go every day if that's where you're showering anyways.

Yeah, so we'll see what happens.

So, oh my gosh, can I tell you, bless you, the only people I've heard do this are people who are literally living in their cars. So I'm gonna highly recommend a better quality of life. Enjoy water. Yeah, you sir, uh, this is a special award, the highly coveted award, it's the Frugal Camel Award, and I can't think of anyone better this should go to. So come on up.

All right, and, uh, This one's on me.

I got it at Goodwill. That's how frugal I am. I'm not paying retail price for this thing. Yeah, there you go, my friend. Good luck with your marriage, you're gonna need it.

Yeah, and yeah, I gotta tell you, that's a horrible idea. In case we didn't close the loop, just take a shower.

Is it worth the athlete's foot you're gonna get? Constantly showering? Are you kidding me?

And I don't know if you've been to many gym showers, but the old dudes in there Yikes. I'll just leave it at that. Uh, okay, what do you got, Rachel?

What do you want to know? Um, okay, I want to know what's the dumbest thing you've ever done with money? Oh, who has one? Who's dumb? So bad. That was so dumb. Come on, regretful.

No shame, no shame. There we go, right back there.

Thank you, sir.

I was gonna say, in a room this large, I know you all have done some dumb things.

These are fun.

Hi there. My name is Edward. The dumbest thing— well, I've done many, but the one thing that came to mind when you asked the question, I had a perfectly good paid-off 2000 Acura TSX, but I wanted an ILX, which was really dumb because it's basically just a fancy Honda Civic. So I kind of went back in time. And so I took the perfectly good car that I drove about less than a mile round trip to work. Traded it in and leased a car.

Yes. What was the lease payment?

Oh God, it's like $499. Ouch. Or $399. It was really dumb. I actually went back trying to give them back the car and get my other car back when I kind of woke up the next day and realized the stupid move I had made.

Did they say no takebacks?

No. I even called like Honda, Acura, was trying to fight with them and they're like, we don't get involved between you and the dealership. And so that was my stupid tax. And then since then I've not leased cars, but my goal now, I got one paid off and I'm working on the second one.

That's nice. That's good. That's good. Way to go. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. We got a, we got a little, uh, oh yeah, a little piggy bank for you.

Yeah. It says stupid tax.

Uh, it says stupid tax. Is there money?

Just to remind you.

This is your guy.

We couldn't even put money in for the guy.

Come on. I know. Okay, but that's like that, and that is— yeah, I hear you, the stupid tax.

Throw that to our volunteer right there.

I'm not that athletic.

I'm gonna say that's a pretty normal—

that's a normal mistake. Wes can catch that. Please, Wes. Nice. Yes, well done. So athletic. Go team! That's good. Go sports. Go sports, all of them. Okay, let's go— let's get away from money for a moment to the other major topic that always comes up on the Ramsey Show. Relationships. So here's what I want to know: what is the biggest red flag that you've ever had in a relationship? You didn't see it at first, and then whammo, you saw it.

Or maybe you ignored it to your detriment.

Ignored it to your detriment. Who's got one of those? I see a hand right over there. Yes, what is your name? My name is Bree. Bree, tell us about this.

He got a girl pregnant while we were together.

Red flag! That's all the flags at once, I think.

I don't think we have a color for what that flag— that's black flag. Like, with a pirate thing on it. We're gonna kill him.

He convinced me it was gonna be the best thing for us, so—

Wait, what? Tell us about that. Okay, wait a second. Okay, wow. Okay, here we go. How long had you been— were you married or dating? We were dating. And how long had you been dating? 4 years. Oh, no! And how did you find out that he got another woman pregnant? She showed up at our door.

Of course she did. To out him? No, to try to beg for him back.

So he was like dating this person. This was like an emotion, obviously.

No, they'd been dating for a couple months. I found out while you were dating.

Yeah.

And tell us this, this logic of his that this was the best thing that ever happened. Narcissistic. Well, of course. But what did he say?

What was the spin? That we would come out stronger and better on the other side. Wow, this guy's special. Was he in Salem? No, no, he should have been though.

I agree. Yeah. Wow, I am so sorry.

Have you— That's okay. He, I, one day he was not home and he simply came home to nothing but a key. So. Nice. Go girl.

Good for you. Go girl. That's awesome. Thanks for sharing that. I didn't see that one coming.

This turned into Maury real quick.

Yeah, let's go.

I know.

True. Wow. You are the father.

He is, yeah. Yeah, and he was. Yeah, he was. At least he owned up to it.

Okay, let's go back to money for a second. I wanna know, what is the craziest thing you've done to pay off debt? Ooh, I like this. What's something that you've done in your debt-free journey that you're like, wow, that's pretty—

Crazy. Like, it might have been desperate.

Like, didn't pay for water and went to a gym to shower, right? Like, that would be in that category. Or like that side hustle that you had that was kinda funny. Something weird. Like a quirky something.

There we go.

Oh, so this is my lovely wife Lisa. So Walmart will match ads. I don't know if I could say that, but you know, that there's— they would match ads. So she would load up two carts, find up all the ads that she had, like go through the newspaper, and you know, they would like match the price.

Okay.

She would go and have like— every time we do our grocery run, she was like determined. And you know, she'd find— there's a tactic, right? You find the youngest cashier that has energy, like, you know, you know, not, not somebody's like kind of jaded and like, yeah, what is this, you know?

Brenda would definitely be that cashier.

You want to stay away from Brenda.

Yeah, but she, uh, she did that for— we did it for, I think, a couple years where she was just, you know, determined.

So what was the average amount you think you saved on it, on your order?

$100. Wow.

Oh yeah, that's good. That's a good one. That's good. The price matching. Yep. Anybody else? We got time for one Any more?

Any other crazy— we're looking for some fun, crazy. Oh yeah, where? Right here, right here. Okay, tell us your name. Hello, I'm Tatiana. First time. Nice. Well, it's not that big, but I'm from Costa Rica, and when we moved to LA, my friends called, do you want to meet up in Miami?

So I started going to this plasma center to blood drop.

Plasma. Donated plasma to go to the Miami trip?

Yes, to go to Miami with my friends, and I came back. I didn't do it again. How much did you make? The first time, $200, and I brought him with me, my husband, and he got another $200.

You roped him into the Miami trip, he had to donate too?

No, it was a girls' trip. He didn't go.

He didn't get to go?

It was a girl— oh, so you had to give plasma?

That's what I'm saying. But I got—

I didn't catch that. Were you married at the time?

Yes. That's true love. Keep him around.

You know that if you go, you get a referral, so I have to bring him. You get a referral bonus? Yes.

And he stayed at home, and I went to Miami with my girls, and it was fun.

Wow. I love that you didn't go into debt though. I really respect that. You're like, we're going to figure out a way to pay cash for this.

I mean, you know what, I got to tell you, that's a great side hustle.

Your body just keeps moving forward.

Okay, yeah, yeah. That's good. All right, very good. Okay, up next to the mic is Gloria and Christopher. Welcome them with a big hand. Here they come. Woo! Yes. Hi. Hi.

I'm Gloria. And my name is Chris. And we're from Orange County. We are in our 30s. We're on Baby Step 3B. We just paid off all our debt at the beginning of this year. Woo-hoo!

Nice. That's a big deal.

Thank you. And so we're starting already starting to experience some like growing financial discrepancy with our family and friends, as well as discrepancies in our worldviews because of the finances, like explaining, you know, why we're making certain purchases now and what our end goal is and things like that. And so do you have any advice on how to navigate through these relationships long-term? Like what can we do now and what can we maybe set as goals for the future.

Give us a little bit more, maybe something specific, and what is the issue and who are the family members? Is it friends too or just family? Both. Both. I would say through this financial journey, our wealth has grown tremendously. So it's been showing, you know, in how we live our lives.

In what ways?

Is it trips, cars, a house? Yeah, trips, cars.

Are you guys flaunting it, bragging in front of them, or are they just kind of like, Or do they just see it and they go, "Wow, I guess they're doing good." I think they just see it and—

Who's they? I wanna lock in on that.

Like my siblings, you know, of course we all live nearby. And then, you know, obviously we go to church, we have friends that we see regularly and then, you know, we're sharing life together. So all of a sudden we're making like bigger purchases, traveling more often. And then, and I don't know what they are thinking. Nobody's come up to us and said like, why are you doing that? Or kind of try to rebuke us in some way or whatever. But we also need to be kept accountable, right? So we are sharing with certain people, I guess, like the mindset behind it. But then— Are they asking? I think there's an understanding that there's accountability, at least with my friends, that there's an understanding that, oh, hey, I want to be kept accountable as well as them too. So—

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, accountable for what?

I guess just the accountability in like spiritual aspects.

Making sure we're not flaunting what we have. So, you bring it up so that they can hold you accountable to not flaunt it.

I guess the— we're sharing life already, okay? So, there's accountability in all aspects of life. And then now we're traveling more and they have not said anything to me or to him either, but—

I'm scared this is all in your mind. I do too. It's not even a reality. There's been no snide remarks. Okay, okay. No side-eye.

Is a new way of life for us.

Yeah, I think maybe that's what—

I think you guys are uncomfortable because you feel like you've outgrown them financially, and it might be more you guys projecting than the reality of the situation.

Could that be true? Yes, I think there's that too, of course. But that's my question is we don't know exactly where to go. Like, we do feel that. And so you feel what? That we've some— and I don't want to say outgrown, but we are on that trajectory. We do see that, and we have all the makings now to be successful in a way that maybe maybe they won't be.

Okay, so here's my question on that. So, I think that now we're on this, okay? So, do you feel that they are celebrating you? Are they excited for you? Or is it just real quiet, standoffish on this stuff? I mean, what's really happening in conversations? Do you feel like they're for you?

I think generally, yes. With my friends, yes. With my family, it has not yet— I think they have not seen enough but I do, I think it's maybe, you know, inside me, I do anticipate some conversations or maybe implicit judgment coming from their end about how we live our life. And I'm not apologizing for that, you know, because we are really trying our best to live right before God, and that's all that matters. But then I think there is, how do we just navigate those relationships? Like, for example, maybe like my brother, I'm gonna have to put him out there, but yeah, he's on a different trajectory. He's a late bloomer. And so—

When you're saying trajectory, you mean because he's in debt and he doesn't care to get out of debt and he lives paycheck to paycheck? Yeah.

All that. Okay. Yeah. And he's, um, yeah, so he may not understand, right? And part of our journey here, we're so excited and this is a truth, right? So we're trying to, we want to share certain things with our family so that they understand as the trajectory goes, it's— we're getting further and further apart. He's staying like this, as far as we know. He's staying like this, we're going like this. And so there's going to come a time when we have to make, you know, decisions, like family decisions or whatever, that he's not going to understand what worldview we're coming from. He doesn't understand now. So then how would I—

I guess you got to let it go, because when that time comes, right, where maybe you have to make a family decision or something about the parents or something. I'm getting where you're going. And at that point, you know, then if he leans in and says, how have you guys been able to do this and this and this, you can begin to talk about the principles that you followed and how it's allowed you to build wealth. I think with the friends and everything, I think I, I do get what you're saying. I, I think that when you begin to experience wealth and, you know, uh, you want to be around people that are celebrating it. And you don't strike me as a couple that's flaunting it. And so as long as you're not flaunting and you just are sensitive to that and be aware of that stuff, then, you know, with siblings, I would never talk about money with siblings unless they ask specifically about, "What is this Ramsey plan that you're doing, and I'm interested in that?" But to talk about your success and all that, I mean, I just think that's such a sensitive thing.

Wade, you wanna weigh in on this? How someone feels about your success is none of your business. You can't control it. And so, all you need to do is ignore it. And like Ken said, listen, we deal with money for a living, and I don't talk about money ever unless someone point-blank says, asks me for advice. Otherwise, I don't butt in and go, "What's the payment on that, huh?" I don't go to my neighbors like, "Is that a lease? Looks pretty fancy." You know, I don't get involved. We talk about the kids and the weather, and you know, so I would just avoid it unless it comes up naturally and it's a spirit of they actually want to hear from you versus they want to make petty remarks.

Yeah, and the fact that there's been nothing explicit said to you all, something's stirring inside of you, and I and I don't know— I don't know you, so I don't know what it is. I think it could be a little insecurity in your own self of like, "I don't know how to handle these decisions we're making, and what people are gonna think about that. And that makes me feel insecure of what they're thinking about me," right? And that's more your problem than theirs, 'cause they may not even have a problem— That's true. —with it. Also, the accountability thing, like, I don't know, there could be something that you're like, like, maybe we are being a little— I mean, I'm not saying you are, but like, if you are being flippant with money, like going to Disney World with your daughter, you know what I mean? I don't know, I don't know, I'm saying it to myself. And you're like, "Oh," and you get that gut check of like, "Oh gosh, are people gonna think that this is too much?" 'Cause maybe it is too much right now, and maybe we really didn't need that, and I was trying to satisfy something inside of me with that purchase.

Do you know what I'm saying? Like, there's so much psychology in this for you, and so that's the questions I would be asking. From the accountability standpoint, make sure that those are people that want to talk about that with you, that you're not forcing them into a conversation that then they kind of feel awkward, or they don't know how to be truthful with you because, you know what I'm saying? Like, that whole, like, I get the accountability thing, but also, like, y'all could just be great partners in that too. Like, you don't have to rope people in specifically. Do I share specific numbers too? Like, unless they're like great friends and there's a lot of trust there.

We have not shared numbers, But that's a good point.

Yeah, so there may just be a hot season of like, yeah, maybe this is something that between us. And do you wish you had people in your lives that were excited when you got a new car and they're like, oh my gosh, show me, I wanna see it. Oh my, you know, sure, that would be nice, but that's probably not the reality for a lot of people and that's okay.

And people will judge. And Rachel was just featured in People magazine because of some flack she got for flaunting her pool. And I'd like for her just to share what happened.

It was a Smart Money Happy Hour episode. Oh, you did? Y'all see it?

Yeah, y'all made it. Who saw it? Okay, wow, we got a lot of fans out here. That's great.

Anyways, I just did a quick— okay, I just did a quick Instagram picture the other weekend. It was warm in Nashville. My kids are swimming in our pool. And I'll be honest, I did look up and our Tennessee flag was flying perfectly. I thought, "Ooh, that's pretty." So, I did. I just took a picture of the kids in the pool swimming and I just said like, "Happy Saturday." I don't know. I don't know. Well, Jonathan came into my DMs. Oh, Jonathan, golly.

He's related to Brenda.

I think Brenda and Jonathan are related. No, but Jonathan was like, "Wait," I can't even remember what he said. "Way to just tell everyone you're rich. You're so tone deaf." "Look at you with your pool." "You have a pool. You're tone deaf." It was like this whole like, "Meh, meh, meh, meh." So, I voice memoed him. So, yeah, we're live on Smart Money Happier.

I said, Rachel, you know the life hack? How to get against these hecklers?

You just send them a voice memo, 'cause then it goes, "Oh, it's a real person." It reminds them, it's like me, like I check stuff, like I'm a person. There's tone. So I did. So I was like, "Hey Jonathan, I'm so sorry my pool picture triggered you, and I did not mean for it. That was not my intention. And yep, so I won't post about my pool anymore 'cause I don't want you to be offended." And then I jumped back on 'cause like, well, that was a lie. I probably will. So I was like, "Oh, sorry Jonathan, we're going into summer months." "and I might post a picture of my family in, you know, the pool, so you can unfollow me. Totally fine.

Have a great day, though." No response from Jonathan to this day. No.

Anyways, that was a hater.

That was a hater. I love that. Hey, last thing, I'll tell you this, because you guys are a young couple, okay? And here's what is going to happen. And Stacy and I never saw this happening, but we're now middle-aged, and there are going to be couples that you're really good friends with right now, that you may not be, and probably will not be, really good friends with 20 years from now. And it's not over some nasty thing. It doesn't have to be a breakup.

And not even money stuff. It's not even anything negative.

I'm saying just a natural drift. And it's kind of weird and sad, but it's really natural. So, I just wanted to give you that. Like, life is gonna keep moving, and some people won't move with you. That's all I wanted to tell you. But hey, give them some love. It's great young couples there. Awesome.

Thank you. Y'all are awesome. And hey, congrats on all the hard work. Y'all been— So intentional. It's amazing.

Our next question's brought to you by Yrefy. Thank you. When you fall behind on paying back your private student loans, it can feel like your life is being held hostage. But Yrefy helps borrowers explore a fresh start with a low fixed-rate refinancing and a payment plan designed around their ability to pay. So visit yrefy.com/ramsey to learn more. That's the letter Y, R-E-F-Y, .com/ramsey. May not be available in all states.

Up next, we've got Jennifer coming to the mic. Everybody give Jennifer a hand.

Hello, this is so exciting.

My name's Jennifer. My husband and I have been married for 25 years, and we've listened to Dave Ramsey the entire time. Because of that, we're completely debt-free, including the house.

All right, there we go.

And because of that and saving and saving, we have a large net worth. And so, we are going to be giving, if we don't spend it all at Disney and all the fun stuff and die with zero— Yeah, girl. So if we don't do that, the nephews will be inheriting a large sum of money, but they have no idea, and nobody has an idea of that. And so how can we— we want them to find their own way in life, but what can we do to ensure that the money, if they do inherit it, they don't blow it?

Oh wow. How old are they right now?

They range from 6 to 24.

There's 6 of them. Oh wow. Okay. And you all don't have kids?

We don't have kids. We have 3 dogs. Those are our kids.

Does your sibling— what side, uh, is it your family or his family's side?

2 on my side, 3 on his side. Oh, okay. So it's both.

Do this. You guys are great. I know.

And the mom and dad, the brother— no, my brother knows. He's our executor, but nobody else has any idea. They have no idea what it could be.

Okay, so 5 kids, 6 to 24, and is this after you pass? Whatever's left would go to them?

The majority, yes.

Okay, so we don't have to cross that bridge today, but we're sort of planning ahead for the future. Do you guys have a will or a trust in place right now? We do.

We have a trust, and right now at— it's like age 25, age 30, if there's like a medical issue or something, they'll get, uh, special money set aside. But I had a thought, like, could I make them take Financial Peace? Like, what could I have them do so that they don't blow it?

You want— because it's your money.

We literally— Winston and I We just redid our will last week, actually. We sat down, because we hadn't done it since Amelia was born. So like, it's been— so we literally have just— Winston and I just had this conversation, because yes, in the living trust, you can put a lot of stipulations in. And so, I think there is a very— there's one that's pretty normal, I think, in that world, which is like the— it's the moral code. If there's drug addiction, if there's, you know what I mean? Like, there's a lifestyle that that money could absolutely ruin someone if they're stuck in a cycle like that. So, that's a pretty standard clause. So I know we had that in there. And then, Winston and I said that one of the— what's really important to us is that they create a lifestyle themselves and learn to live amongst what they are bringing in on their own income, and they create a baseline for years, for a couple of years. So, we actually delayed some of our stuff going to the kids. I think like, we staggered it, like the 25, 25 years old, 30, we did the very similar.

And so, in that stipulation, I would put for the executor to oversee and make sure that yes, that they are working, that they are floating their own life. Does that make sense? Yes, that's a really good idea. Because you start, you learn to live there, and it's great. And you have the dignity as a young 20-something-year-old that that is your life. And then, when it's handed to them, what's gonna happen is the habits that they formed, the good habits there, are magnified. When they start to enter into the money that you all have left. So, the hard thing is you can't control, right, exactly what they're gonna do. But yes, you can put in there that they have to go through Financial Peace University. I mean, some, you know, I don't know if you want a clause about debt in there. You know what I mean? You could go as—

You could say, "Must pull credit report. Can't be any debt. You have to do a drug test." I mean, you could do all the things you want.

You could go as crazy controlled, but also, you know, I don't know how controlling you want to be either. When you're gone, right? From the—

Right. I'm not gonna know. Yeah.

You're not. Yeah. Yeah. That's right.

But I would work with your estate planning attorney to say, hey, what have you seen work well that actually is a blessing to families instead of, you know, makes things blow up. And so I love the idea of, hey, anytime you can use it for education, you can have this much when you get married for a down payment. You can use this much at 30 and you'll get 25% more at 40, 25% more at 50, and the rest that, you know, you can set all of that up however you guys decide. Side. And I love that you're being so intentional with it because it does ruin people's lives more than it blesses them if you do it wrong.

Yeah, and if you trust your brother as the executor, you know, you can have in there Plan B where they would extend longer if he doesn't feel like they're doing well with it. That can get messy quick sometimes. But yeah, there's definitely like tons of different stipulations you can put in.

Fabulous idea. You know what else? I've heard this question many times before, and I've never had this idea before. You may hate this idea, So, you can do it. Let me hear it. I think you should do a video, a heartfelt video to all of 'em. Ooh. And just pour your heart out. Or you can write it. But I think it'd be really cool, a heartfelt video as to why you're giving them the money and what your hope is for them. I think that'd be pretty amazing.

And that's— sorry, I know we keep talking, but the ages are up here again. I forgot. One's 24. So, I would— can we ask how much? Or would you rather not say on camera? I'd rather not say on camera. Yeah, yeah, that's fine, that's fine. I would start having conversations with that 24-year-old. Because he's gonna have to learn the responsibility of handling that. And if he has no idea, and it's just thrown, right? I mean, like, at him, like, that's not good. And so, there is a level of mental and emotional preparation of the weight, 'cause it's a weight. Like, they're gonna have a responsibility that they're gonna carry with them. This. But I would— he's old enough. I would start having, yes, age-appropriate conversations. And you'd have to loop in the parents, obviously, and give them a heads up of what's going on. But I feel like that's a good manager. As a manager, you wouldn't just hand the keys, you know, to a Ferrari to a kid and just be like, "Here, have fun." You would, you know, you wanna have those steady conversations, though. So, I would, at the 24-year-old, I'd sit him down and talk to him about it.

All right.

Jennifer, you may be the greatest aunt of all time. Seriously. We love our aunt.

What an amazing woman.

Give her some love. Let's hear it. Thank you. All right, up next, I hope I'm saying this right, welcome to the mic, Redwald. He's coming. Where? There he is.

He's running like he won The Price Is Right.

I like it. Great. Yeah, he actually is running. I feel like, come on down. Here he comes. Now he's coming back together. Audience clap for him. He's got her. There he comes. He's making his way.

I thought he was going to crowd surf over there.

I know.

How are you, sir? Hello, hello, I'm good, I'm good. Did I say your name right? Yeah, yeah, but, but I go by, uh, Ron. That tracks. That would have been a little easier. Redwell, Redwell is my real name, but I go by Ron. Right, I like Ron. I'm gonna call you Ron, is that okay? Yes, yes, yes. All right, all right. Yeah, so, um, I'm an engineer. I'm in, uh, Baby Step 7. Hey, congratulations! And I'm also a Ramsey Certified Financial Coach. Oh, awesome! Thank you, sir. So yeah, big fan. Um, I do have the Ramsey Network app installed in my phone. I do have the EveryDollar app installed on my phone. So my question is, do you have any fun? Just it. My question is, uh, when will the Ramsey Dating App. Come on, listen to the crowd. There were a lot of single people in here. Yeah, we asked earlier. We gotta—

we got a single lady. There she is.

Where? Where? She's waving. She's waving. Would you like to be— would you like to be in the app?

Are you interested in a Baby Steps Millionaire?

Take a good look at Ron over there. Huh? Baby step 7. He's an engineer, right? That's great. What kind of, what kind of retirement portfolio do you have, Ron? I'm gonna make this happen tonight. Who needs an app? How much money you got socked away, Ron? Uh, no, I'm kidding. Would you just let it roll?

He was gonna tell us. I know he was.

All right, Ron, uh, well, well, let me give you the name.

Think about that. I've been working on this. You have? There I'm like, you guys get to pick the names. Thoroughbreds Only or Endorsed Love Providers. Interested in either of those? Do anything for you, Ron?

I'm gonna— I got another one.

Live Like No One Else.

I was gonna say Love Like No One Else.

The name of the app is Love Like No One Else. That was mine. Way better. Yeah, uh, Love Like No One Else.

There you go. How old are you, Ron? I am 52. Wow.

Ron, describe your dream lady. Go ahead, you asked the question. Not in public. Oh wow, wow, got dark real quick, Ron. I was thinking PG, pal, you went R. Uh, you know what's funny? We have a, we have a Ramsey Big Shot in the audience tonight. We got an executive in the house.

Okay, tell me more.

Jeremy Breeland's right down here on my right. Jeremy, is there ever a chance that there will be a Ramsey dating app? You have heard the people tonight, sir.

He's nodding very slowly.

Where is he? Oh, you're right there, Jeremy. Oh my gosh, the boss is here.

Yeah, yeah, no comment.

I think we need to pray about it.

Okay, very good answer. Great answer. Good answer, folks. So there you go. I mean, we're talking a big honcho there at Ramsey. He has been advised, he's heard heard you. That's all we can say. We don't know.

It's just like a big liability issue.

I do like the name, Love Like No One Else.

Yeah, that is strong. Trademark that, Ken.

But you know, here's the thing I gotta call out, Ron, and all you other folks who want this. For 3 decades, Dave has said, be weird. And he's talking about obviously countercultural, counterculturally. But that does bring out some actual weird people. So the app could be kind of a jungle.

Well, then you're only searching— you're filtering by Baby Step 7. That feels gross. You know what I mean?

Like, Ron, would you, would you date a, would you date a Baby Step 2 lady?

Yeah, of course, of course. Yes, it's love.

All right, where are my single Baby Step 2 ladies at? Raise your hands. Do we have a date on the books?

So, okay, so here's what we're going to do. I got something in the box here for Ron. Yeah, the treasure box. Ron, I got some flowers back here. Hey, come on up, Ron. Ron, Here's some flowers. Find a nice fetching young lady and shoot your shot, little lady.

You know what, forget the dating app. We should do The Bachelor with Ron on the Ramsey Network. Now we're talking.

Yeah, I don't have to consult Jeremy on that one. That's never happening.

I wanted to host it.

Thanks, Ron. I would love to host that. Thank you, Ron. You're a great sport. That was fun. That was really fun, team. All right, uh, how about another flip the script? You guys a little— I love to flip the script. We're gonna ask you some questions. Questions. All right, um, oh boy, this is fun.

Has anyone fallen for a scam?

Oh, a scam, that's a good one.

Have you fallen for a scam?

Oh, where, where we got— we gotta—

yeah, we've gotta— we've got someone and someone down here. Oh, we got two.

This will be great.

We have, um, AT&T cell phone people showed up at our house to sell the plan, and my husband cannot say no. So then I'm driving and he's like, you need to be here now, he's gonna save so much money on our bill, on our cell phone bill. So we already have all the phones paid, our bill is pretty low. Oh no, but it's gonna be much lower than that. So I get the house and we fall for the scam, and they promise us one specific phone. I said, is this financed? Because I'm not financing anything. No, not at all. And then what happens? It was financed. And then you're gonna get this one phone, the 17 whatever, whatever. And we get 17 Pro Max and we get the 17 in the mail. So like we got the wrong phone. And then I complain. She was like, well, you cannot do anything right now. I said, watch me. So I call back to the old people and we move back over there. But you know, all of that cost us the stupid tax. Oh. And my husband, it was my fault.

I was like, really? So it was actually the cell phone company.

It wasn't like they were faking No, no, no, it was a cell phone company.

Oh man, just— wow, not great morals on their side. George, have you ever— we had someone down here. Yes, someone down here was her right here. Sorry, what were you saying?

Well, I was going to ask George if he had been scammed before.

I was a young man, but I, I sent a pair of shoes, uh, I was selling Nikes on Craigslist, and a man in Nigeria— it's not a— this is not a knock on Nigerians, he just happened be from Nigeria. He said, I'm buying these for my cousin, I'll pay extra for shipping. I get the email from PayPal saying, hey, he actually paid me the money. I shipped the shoes out and realized that was not a real email from PayPal. He scammed me and the shoes are now in Nigeria. And 6 months later, I got the shoes back and it said return to sender. So I just lost out on the shipping money, but I got the shoes back.

Well, there you go. That's actually a really happy scam story.

Thank you, I appreciate that. Yeah. All right, sir, what is your scam? Smart.

I'm shocked that you felt—

I was shocked too. So I, I had gotten a legit email from Ticketmaster about a presale on a rugby match. It was South Africa versus New Zealand. I love that matchup. I, I logged on to Ticketmaster. Every time I tried to click the button to do the pre-order, it wouldn't go through. So I Googled Ticketmaster number and a number came up. I called it. This guy answers, walks me through, order the whole tickets. He says, you'll have your— gives me a confirmation number, everything. Says you'll get your tickets in your email within 24 hours. I waited 24 hours and it wasn't there. I called Ticketmaster. They're like, that's not a good number. And so I went to my credit card— sorry guys— I went to my credit card and it was a charge to an airline in India. Oh wow. No. Yeah, I mean, I Googled Ticketmaster phone number and then I did some research later and And I guess that there's ways to raise these fake numbers to the top of Google. The worst part was that by the time I realized I didn't have tickets, it was sold out.

So I didn't get to go to the game.

Oh, did the credit card company refund you? They did.

At first they said, "Well, you gave them the number." I said, "But I gave them the number thinking it was Ticketmaster and it was not." And so yeah, I did get the reimbursement, but that's how easy you can get scammed out there.

It gave it all, I know. They had pity on you, that's nice.

Oh, that's tough.

What about anybody got an impulse purchase that you just absolutely regretted? We love hearing the impulse purchases. Anything? Anybody got one they want to share? Everybody's embarrassed. Here we go, right back there. Yes, ma'am, your name? Hi, Stephanie. Stephanie, tell us about your purchase.

Well, it's not my purchase. Oh, well, that's— but it is my fiancé's purchase.

Oh, throw him under the bus!

Is he okay with this? Yeah, he'll be fine. He'll be fine.

This is the rest of your life, man.

Just know that. We went to— we were in Europe like 2 years ago, and we were in Monaco. Mind you, we had been together 6 years, and I was waiting for a ring. Uh-oh. He decided to buy a $3,000 Louis Vuitton duffel bag. Right in front of you? For who? For himself. Oh, man. He did buy me a purse. Purse, but that's besides the point.

Yeah, we can tell.

Oh, and we have the ring now, so it worked out.

Wow. And you still have the purse, right? I have the purse. It's a win-win. What about the duffel?

I told him to sell it. He did not. He still has it.

Still has it? Yeah. Okay, that is a big impulse. That's a bold move to buy the bag right in front We haven't sold it yet though.

I'm thinking about it. The duffel? Yes, sir. Okay, I mean, you're— are you gonna get good money for it at this point? What's the resale value on that? I have to do my homework, sir. All right, well, at least he's thinking ahead.

Did you pay cash?

Oh my God, no, I put it on my card.

No, you went into debt for it. I was gonna say daiwa zero, but no, you went below zero.

You went negative Mam, your father would be mad at me.

No, it's fine. He's not here.

I got the points though, the travel points. What would Dave say?

You got the points. Well, that's just stupid. How about that? Well played. That was before I started listening to Dave Ramsey. We got it. No shame, man.

Thank you for sharing your story. That's great, that's great.

And you got the girl, so you, you somehow pulled it out of the ditch. But that was an all-time move right there. They're in Monaco. She thinks the ring is coming. He goes, I want that duffel.

All right, last one. I got, I got a good one. Who has loaned money to family or friends and it went sideways? Oh boy, maybe a cosign situation. Oh, we got one up here. We got—

oh, we got two down here. We got—

oh, this is fun.

Um, yeah, I, uh, I grew up with this, uh, kid. His name's Skyler. Uh, he was trying to be a comedian on YouTube. He was actually— he was actually getting the first red flag. No, no, no, but, but he was actually doing a lot of skits with a lot of popular ones, so he was like blowing up. And one day he was like, hey, can you let me borrow $600 so I could, uh, um, get a better camera? I'm like, boom, okay, go ahead. And then, uh, 2 weeks later he was like, hey, I'm trying to get a $2,000 loan can you be my cosigner? And I was like, how about your family? He's like, oh, we haven't paid our phone bill. That ticked me off so much. I've never done this, but I cussed him out and I was like, F you, F this friendship, like this is over. Oh, but it's because it was 6 months later. Sorry, 6 months later, not 2 weeks. 6 months later, he only gave me $20 in 6 months. But I'm the type that I don't be like bugging, so I was just waiting on him. I was like, I can't believe you don't— yeah, though.

The courage to come and ask me for more. Like, cajones.

Thank you for cleaning that up. It's a family show. Yeah, well, I thought that was going to get darker.

Is he a successful comedian today? You know what, um, he ended up cheating on his wife, so I think that put him downhill. Yeah, that's hilarious. It sounds like—

yeah, but in the comedy world, you guys are real jokesters. Yeah, but— oh no. Wow.

Okay, that's a good one. Okay, someone down here. Someone else. Yes. Oh, right here. Yeah.

So I separated from my kid's dad in 2022. We tried to make it work in 2023. He came back and he had a loan payment for a truck and his interest rate was about 11% at that time. We thought we were gonna make it work forever and I had money saved in a money market for my kid. It wasn't transferred yet for my kid's college fund. So I pulled out $37,000 to pay off his loan, which he was the person that owned the truck. And we agreed verbally that he was gonna make payments at 0% interest for 5 years. Um, he paid for it for about a year that we were together, and then we separated again in 2024. And yeah, that's never, not another payment. $29,000 of a truck he's currently driving.

Ouch. That hurts.

And that knowing that it came from it, my children's college fund.

That adds insult to injury. That's hard. Oh, I'm so sorry, man.

That's a tough one.

That is tough. Okay, that was fun. Thank you guys for sharing. It was— you know what, we ended on a low note, but I think it was worth it. All right, quick, raise your hand if someone in your life depends on your income. A spouse, kids. I'm in it. All right, that's, that's great. Now, how many of you that have your hands raised raised, have term life insurance? Keep it up. All right, we saw some hands go down, but I like how many people are actually doing this stuff. So here's the deal, we've taught this stuff for over 30 years now. If you have anybody depending on your income, you need term life insurance. And people get confused because they go, well, once I'm out of debt, then I'll maybe get term life insurance once I have the money. This is not a baby step, this is a non-negotiable you do before any of the baby steps. All right, this is playing defense for your family. It's a way you say I love you. And it's why we've recommended Zander for term life. It's who all of us have our life insurance through.

Yeah, Zander's awesome. We've been partnered with them for over 30 years. And when, you know, you can look at whole life, you can look at term life. Term life is way less expensive than whole life, and it is a term, so it will end up, right, depending on what you buy, how long you have it for. But the idea with the Baby Steps is that eventually you will be self-insured. You'll be to a point that you don't need it, that there's— everything's paid off, you have enough in the retirement, everything's good. So term life, inexpensive, and especially if you are healthy, you You guys, like, I'm telling you, and if you're young, if you're a young couple in here with like little kids, you need to get it. You need to get 10 to 12 times your income. And if you're a stay-at-home parent, you need at least $500,000 on you. I'd probably do even more these days, because it's gonna be a lot to take care of those kiddos. And so, it is one of the saddest calls we get on the Ramsey Show, people that lose a spouse and there's not life insurance, and they have to plug in and figure out financially.

So, this covers that. It is, it is well worth it, you guys. And yes, Zander's great 'cause they're an independent broker.

Yeah, so they shop the top-rated companies to get you the right coverage at the best price. And if your income has gone up, if you've had a job change, a life change, you need to maybe get another policy to stack on top of that, maybe 10, 15, 20, 25 years. And the goal is when the term runs out, you're self-insured 'cause you've followed the principles. Your home is paid off, you've been investing for decades, so your family's gonna be okay at that point. And so if you don't have it or you need more of it, go talk to our friends at Zander. You can jump onto Zander with a Z, zander.com for instant online quotes. And how much would you have to make per year to feel financially secure right now?

I'd say probably like 7 figures.

A million bucks per year, you'd feel financially secure?

Yeah, you gotta shoot for the stars.

What's the minimum you need to just make it work? Like cover the bills, to cover the living out in West Hollywood?

I mean, it all depends on your lifestyle.

Probably like 5, 6K.

You can make that work with high cost of living, high taxes. My taxes.

You just got to be careful with your money and how you spend it.

I feel like right now I'm sick, like I'm secured with what I have. It's just like usually if you get more, you just spend more.

I kind of feel the same. I feel like I'm rich at the moment, um, and I'm not making millions of dollars. So I think it all depends on the lifestyle you want to live.

$150 grand minimum. Okay.

Yeah, that's in LA, the cost of living out here in LA.

Yeah, $150 grand, I say it's like, it's a comfortable amount. It's a good amount to, you know, go go out to dinners at least 2 or 3 times a week. Love it. Speaking of friends, obviously the tour brought to you by our friends at Fairwinds Credit Union, and we're so grateful for them as well. All right, back to your questions. Please welcome to the mic Madeline. Madeline, come on down.

Hi, this is a full circle for me. When you had your book, uh, Smart Money Smart Kids, I was there to ask a question too. So that was cool.

Oh, no way. And that was what, 2012? Yeah.

I think '14, but it's okay.

Do you know that?

Well, because I wasn't working at Ramsey in 2012 and I was there when the book launched.

Oh, George, what a good friend.

I'm an encyclopedia. Anyway, so I'm also a Ramsey Certified Coach. Oh, thank you. And thank you. And I I want to grow my business on the side because I have a full-time job. My husband was a Riverside Sheriff's Department sergeant and he retired, so he's at home all day and I go to work and I come back from work and I wanna work on my business because we still need my income and I don't wanna jump to get to just work full-time on my business without the income. And, but then he gets resentful that I get home and I want to work on my business. And so sometimes I go sit, he's just watching TV and just playing his game and I go sit there, but I'm like, I got stuff to do. I wanna do other things. And there's the house and all that. So how do I balance in a way that I can grow my business but also maintain my life kind of going so I can not have him resentful with me. I cannot control what he feels, but you know, that tension. And but at the same time grow my business so I can actually have it a full-time— what is the business?

Um, financial coaching business.

Okay, gotcha. Right. And so ideally, uh, if you could snap your finger right now and you're spending time with your husband plus doing the coaching, how many hours a week would you like to be coaching to get where you want What would that be?

Well, right now I see my full-time job as my investor. Sure. Right? Right. For me to be able to quit that job, I work for a university. So then my daughter gets tuition for free and we have the health insurance. So then it would, I would probably using AI the way I've been using, I would need once everything Everything's— my program is together, then I would need like probably a few, I don't know, um, I would say 18 hours a week right now. But once everything is set, then I would be able to maintain just doing like a live coaching call once a week. So probably about 5 hours a week. Okay. But until I get there, I cannot like try to launch and refine.

Okay. Gotcha. Well, the reason I'm asking you this, because I I think you're gonna have to back into this with his feelings, but then your goals as well. And I think, you know, when I heard you say, you know, he gets resentful when I'm doing this financial coaching work, but then when I'm not doing it, I just sit in the living room with him and he's kind of preoccupied or watching his show. And so you're confused, like, what are you resentful of? Is that a fair assessment? Yeah. It's not like you guys are going out on No. Okay, so, I think, you know, this is a relationship issue. I think you've gotta serve the ball back to him and go, "Hey, you have—" Has he expressed that he resents that you're doing the cooking? Yes. Okay, so, you know, if you haven't already, you've gotta say, "Hey, okay, so, when I'm not doing it, I spend time with you. We're not spending meaningful time together. We're just in the same room." Right. And I think I would push back gently on that to say, "Well, that doesn't seem to make sense because I could be growing this business and I'm doing this for us." So, this may be sitting down with a marriage therapist just to kind of have a person who can sit in the middle and get both of your feelings.

I'm wondering if he is not resentful of the time you're spending on the coaching, 'cause he's not acting like he wants to, you know, go out and do all this— holding hands and walking around and all this. This stuff. He's playing his video game in the living room with you. So, not knocking him, but I wonder if he just resents that you've got a vision and that you've got a higher purpose and you're going for it and he's not. Because I think that's a very natural place for a guy to be in when he's— he doesn't have anything going on. And you've got two things going on. And I'm gonna bet you, that a therapist will pull that out. But I'd almost bet a large amount of money that he resents your activity. He resents your drive. He resents your vision. And not because he's a bad guy, but it's because he doesn't have it. And every time he sees you hustling, it reminds him that he's stuck.

That's my gut. Yeah, and probably salt on the wound that you guys aren't connected. Right? And so, I mean, if you both were in a place that you were like, "Okay, yeah, I feel so known by him. I feel so loved by him." And he would say the same thing about you, and your marriage was in a really good spot. And you're like, "Hey, there's gonna be a season of like grind for me to like, kind of get this thing going." I think the support would be there. So, I think that when you look at, at the very bottom, your marriage is not in a great spot, right? Because of— not because of your stuff, by any means. It's just the marriage. So, yeah, I would go to him and talk about you, which you long for, not business. I would do marriage, talk marriage. Like, "Hey, here's what I long for. This is what— how I feel loved. This is how I wanna connect, and I wanna know you. I have a desire for X, Y, and Z." Like, you guys start rebuilding this connection within your marriage. And then, out of that, these life choices of a little bit of seasons of sacrifice, You know, he may still miss it.

And I think to Ken's point, I think that his identity stuff is gonna have to be addressed, and that's his stuff to work on. But yeah, the marriage piece is really important. And I don't want that to be pushed aside. And I know it's not, but I do wanna make sure that it's—

I really agree with Ken because he had a purposeful job. He was protecting people, right? So then, I thought that he was gonna have an identity crisis once he retired. And I thought, now he's gonna find something that he wants to do because he doesn't have to do it. But he also resents that we— he doesn't have the money to— he just says, we don't have the money for me to go do this and this and this and this. So I'm like, so let me go work on my business so I can start making some money, right?

So here's the tactical next steps. Number 1, he needs a hobby and he needs a part-time job. He needs to get out of the house. Number 2, You guys need a shared calendar with date nights on it. And on top of the date nights, you're gonna have your own work schedule for your side business, which keeps you accountable and lets him know, "Oh, she's on the clock. Not gonna bother her here. We have the intentional time on the calendar." It sounds unromantic. It's one of the most loving things you can do to set those expectations in your marriage so that you're not hoping that connection happens. You're planning on it.

That's really good. Hey, thank you so much.

All right, thank you.

Give her some love. That's awesome. Alright, up next is Sherry. Welcome Sherry to the mic. Sherry, come on down. Let's go. I was singing in my head. I was going, "Oh, Sherry." Nice. You should have went with that.

That was just in my mind. I want to let you know what's going on.

Alright. So, I'm a single mom of 3 boys and baby step 2. And in October, my boss had come to me and had said, "I'm not laying you off, but I'm cutting your hours to 20 hours a week." week. So I found a new job kind of out of desperation because I can't do this in 20 hours a week. And even though I have side hustles, but I started a new job of the industry I actually really like. When you talk about finding work that you're wired to do, I found an industry that I love, but I felt like I settled on the pay. It was the same pay. I've been at the same pay for the last almost 4 years now. Now. And I— as soon as I started day one, I realized I'm overqualified in the role I'm doing. There's room for growth. But my question is, how soon after starting a new job can you go to your boss and ask for a pay raise? Yeah, because I was also offered benefits which I have not yet received. Okay, what industry are What are you doing? I'm working in accounting right now.

Okay, and let's just talk for your future for just a moment, then we'll come back to this moment. What would be an ideal role for you down the road as you continue to learn, get the experience in the accounting field? What would be an ideal job?

Well, I was an office manager before. Right now, I'm running the front office for this very busy accounting firm. I just finished tax season there. Okay. And I loved it. Awesome. So this is a role— I'm 48— I can see myself doing for the next 10, 15 years.

But you see some growth in the industry, is what I'm saying.

I mean, at the job I'm at now, they do payroll, they do bookkeeping, they do a lot of stuff, so it keeps them busy all year round. Okay. But I don't want to do it— like, I don't want to go through another tax season at the pay rate I'm doing right now.

I get it. Okay, so here's the answer to your first question: how is it— when is it too soon? There is no universal principle or law that says wait 6 months to ask for for a raise or wait 12 minutes. There just is no— there's no data. There's just common sense, right? And, and so I do think it's too soon for you to ask for the raise, um, but I don't think it's too soon for you to go to him and say, hey, when you hired me, you talked about benefits, and I'm just following up on that. I'm a single mom with 3 boys, and as you might imagine, sir, or, or ma'am, you know, uh, that's a big deal. So you can follow up on that because that was promised to you. You don't have to slink into the office on that deal. Yeah. Now, if, if it's a bad person and they just sucked you in because they needed another body for busy tax season, then you know, okay, this is not a place that I'm going to stay because they're dishonorable.

Well, there is a very high turnover there. Yeah. And especially with the demands, especially— I mean, during tax— last week during tax season, I was working— I worked 55 hours there. 100%. And during tax season, I was working 50 hours a week Right, right.

Well, you got to have benefits. You have to, you know that. So that's conversation number one tomorrow morning. Okay, so that's the first thing. Second thing is, um, the way to ask for a raise, in my opinion, is not to ask for a raise. Because when you sit down with a, uh, your leader, your manager, and you say, hey, I want to make a raise, no matter— I want to raise, uh, no matter how you position that if you just make it that blunt. Hey, what do I need to do to get a raise? It immediately puts that leader on the defensive, okay? And many times— and I'm saying this to the broader audience as well— many times your leader, your manager, doesn't have the ultimate call on that raise. So not only are they defensive because you put them in a situation where you kind of said, I'm hitting the ball at you, you got to hit it back, and they're not prepared for that, number one. Number two, they may not have the ultimate authority to do that, so they got to take I'm going to make it up. So it creates a tension that you don't want.

What you want to do, for two reasons, is you want to go in and you say, hey, I like this work. I love this industry. I see myself being here. I'd love to grow. And I know that if I want to grow in this industry, I've got a potential opportunity, I hope, to grow here. And so I want to know if we could meet, not today, I'm not going to put you on the spot today, but I wonder if soon we can meet about a growth plan. And I would love to know from you, what are some skills you think I need to have in my tool belt? What are some things that are maybe weaknesses or blind spots you think I need to address? And, and you're asking them for feedback on you, okay? And then you'd say, I'd like to know, um, how I can not only just add skills or fix blind spots, but, uh, what can I do that can be measured, that we agree on in a growth plan, that would allow me to get more responsibility, and with that responsibility, more pay.

I guess a follow-up is, because I loved it so much, he was teaching me how to do the tax returns and everything. I even looked online, I saw free classes from Intuit that teach you how to do, you know, taxes and all that. Should I— I don't even mind doing that in my evenings, my weekends, and going and learning. Should I let him know that I'm—

want to do this?

100%, because it shows some hunger. Now here's the back end of that. When you approach it that that way that I just laid out, you're going to find out really quickly how valued you are. All right? If you're valued and you have a healthy leader and healthy organization, they're going to respond to that. If you're not valued or they're an unhealthy leader, they're going to kick the can down the road, and you have put them in the best possible position to respond to you. You didn't sit in there and tell them how great you are and why you deserve anything. Never use the word deserve when having that conversation. So that's what you got to do. Conversation number 1, you gotta talk about the benefits tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, you're a mama bear, 3 boys, gotta handle it. If not, you start going around to places and you ask around, and there are enough places that are looking for quality bodies who can do the job and who are hungry, and you're hungry. I wouldn't bet against you ever. I heard the emotion in your voice.

Yeah, I work 70 hours a week.

Yeah, no stopping you, mama bear. Nobody's stopping you. Hey, give her some love. This is the real deal right here. Amazing. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right, so we've been doing this at all of our tour stops, and this is really fun, okay? So George, you got your calculator out on your phone? Always. Can you get it?

You got it? It's always up on my phone.

George always has it. George always has it.

Okay, here's what we're gonna do.

Always got it. So if you have become debt-free in the last 12 months, would you stand up? Stand up all around the room.

That can be consumer debt or the mortgage.

That's right. Way to go, okay? Nice. So here's what we're gonna do, all right? I'm gonna point at you, and you're gonna really loud tell me how much you paid off. George is going to compute this. James is backing him up, and we're going to see how much debt's been paid off in the last 12 months, and then we're going to do a group debt-free scream. How's that? That's pretty, pretty good way to end the night. Yes. Okay, so let me start over here on my right. Yes, ma'am, right here. How much? Uh, $60,000. All right, you can sit down once I— just for the moment so that I can see who I got next. Right here. 32,000. 32,000. You guys can sit down. Uh, ma'am? Huh? 58. Guys, yell at me. 58,000. That's great. Right here. Uh, 260,000. 260,000. Right down front. 36,000. Okay, right here, ma'am. 25,000. Couple right behind her. Half a million. Half a million. Half a million. So good. Yes, sir. $25,000. $25,000. Yes, sir. $95,000. $95,000. Couple right here, green sweater. Yes. $205,000. $205,000. Right here. $75,000. $75,000. Excellent. Right here. $150,000. $150,000. $150,000. Okay, did I miss— oh, ma'am, I'm sorry, right here.

$350,000. $350,000. I like this number. By the way, this might be our biggest number. California, you are. Yeah, California, it stands to reason. God bless you people. Yes, sir. $35,000. $35,000. Okay, uh, let's go, uh, this young couple right Here, 90,000. Okay, there's Shower Man, he's showering at Planet Fitness. I can't wait to— 32,000. Pay the water bill. Yeah, pay the water bill, you've earned it. Uh, yes, 60,000. Okay, behind him, 55,000. Oh, over here on the wall, very nice, right here. $142,000. Yes, right there. How much? 10,000. Way to go. Okay, back corner. 60,000. Okay, and then right next to you. 10,000. Okay, right in the middle, sir. 22,000. Yes. 210,000. Is that everybody? Did I miss any?

Yell if we were missed.

Okay, this is great. All right, wow, what's the charge? What do you have?

You're gonna like this one. Oh, I think I am. $2,747,000 in the last 12 months.

Last year.

Okay, now that's amazing. Those of you just gave me the number, stand back up because we're gonna do a scream here.

And can I, can I say— you can say whatever you want. If you, if you're debt-free, if you are past Baby Step 2, no matter when you paid it off, yeah, whatever you paid off, we want to celebrate you.

Everybody who's debt-free, stand This is gonna be great. All right, I see people already turning their videos on. Oh my gosh, that's a lot of debt-free Californians! This is awesome. Wow. Okay, you guys know how we do this, okay? We're gonna count you down, and we wanna hear your debt-free scream. George, you wanna do the duties? I would love to. 'Cause you've got the number here.

I got it here. All right, here we go. All right guys, in this room alone, Seal Beach, California, Ramsey Show Live, $2.74 million paid off in just the last 12 months, with many more becoming debt-free outside of this room. That. Count it down, let's hear a debt-free scream! 3, 2, 1!

That was fantastic! That was great! That was good! I— oh, by the way, that always gives me the goosebumps. I got the goosies. Well, hey, before we, uh, sign off tonight, uh, something we've done at every, every, uh, show. And you guys have been a great crowd. Uh, George, a word of encouragement.

Well, what I noticed here tonight were people who have been through a lot of hard things. Getting out of debt is hard. Divorce is hard. Relationships broken, that's also hard. And through it all, you guys said, I'm not done. I got more life to live. I'm not going to go into debt. I'm not going to owe people "this next relationship's gonna be better. I'm gonna solve for peace. I'm gonna do the hard thing instead of phoning it in in life." And that is so rare in America today, and you guys inspire me. So, I appreciate you being here tonight. Thank you.

So good. You know, it's funny, traveling to different cities, every crowd kind of has a different vibe. It's been like that always when we do live events around the country. And you guys are just a really a really kind group. You really are. I mean, a lot of the questions was a lot of concern for other people, and things happening in your life. And it's just, it's a really beautiful thing to see, 'cause I just feel like, in the world today, I'm like, you just don't, you don't get that message. And there's people like you guys all over, all over America, all over the world. But your kindness, your goodness, your, as Dr. Don Doloney says, "Solving for peace in your life," is so beautiful. And the fact you're here, you know, that you're it. You're the answer, right? That responsibility, you all in this room have said, "My life is my responsibility, and I'm going to take charge. I'm gonna be intentional." And in the midst of it, love the people in your lives so well, so well. And I feel like we just heard that theme tonight. And so, we are so honored, honestly, so honored to be with all of you.

So, we— gosh, it's a pleasure to be alongside you and to— cheer you on in your journey as you guys continue to live like no one else, so you can live and give and change your family trees.

Yeah, so good. Well, you know, Rachel, I think you're right. I mean, we picked up on that, the heart of people, you know, to give. And you can't think about that without thinking about something that Dave has made famous, right, with this audience and with millions and millions of people. If you live like no one else, later you can live and— give! —like no one else. And you know, there's such great purpose in giving. And there's something else that comes with these Baby Steps and what we saw tonight with these debt-free screams. The word is in it, free, freedom. Freedom to live the way you want to live, whatever that looks like. Looks like. Sweet Jennifer, who wants to give away what probably is a fortune to her nephews— that is giving like no one else. I mean, absolutely unbelievable. There's a freedom that you are demonstrating there, the freedom to live where you want to live, the freedom to live how you want to live. And I think that's the message that I want to make sure that we all get tonight, no matter what baby step you're on, because this is a tough journey.

We heard from Baby Step 1 people tonight, 2, 3, all across the board. And the reality is, is that Rachel's right. You are the answer. You can do this. And it is difficult. And the community, the relationships, to be around like-minded people and like-valued people is what I saw on all 4 stops. There was tremendous community in the room. And that would be my final challenge. Don't do this in isolation. Isolation. And you can do this as a couple and still be isolated. Don't do it in isolation. Community matters. Relationships matter on this journey because it is tough, and you never know what life's going to throw at you. So we believe in you. I want to say on behalf of Dave Ramsey, our entire leadership team back in Nashville, all of our crew— which, by the way, before we sign off, I would love on our last stop for everyone on our team, would you, would you raise your hand or stand up? We got cameraman up here, all of our crew. Would you give our team an incredible round of applause? Give them a round of applause. They have done an absolute heroic job on these 4 stops.

We work with the best people, and they make us look way better than we are. So thank you to our team. And so on behalf of everybody, over 1,000 teammates back in Nashville, we believe in you. We do what we do because we know it matters, and we believe in you. Know that from the bottom of our hearts. We love you all. Thank you so much for being here. Seal Beach, you've been a great Crown. We love you.

Thank you. Thank you, guys. Thank you.

Have a great night.