Transcript of My Fiancé Broke Off Our Engagement Because Of My Money Habits

Brought to you by the Every Dollar app. Start budgeting for free today. Normal is broken, common sense is weird. So we are here to help you transform your life. From the Ramsey Network in the Fairwinds Credit Union studio, this is The Ramsey Show. I'm George Campbell, joined by my good pal, Rachel Cruz, and we're taking your calls at 888-825-5225. Rita is in Louisville. Up first, what's going on?

Hi.

I'm calling to...

I just went I do a breakup over money, and I want to figure out how to heal from it and move forward.

Oh, so sorry. How long was the relationship?

A couple of months. We had just gotten engaged.

Oh, what happened?

My, I guess, now ex-fiance is a very anti-debt person, which I agree with. I have a lot of debt. I have a lot of student loan debt and credit card debt, both from taking care... I put everything on hold after my dad died a number of years ago, and I was taking care of the family for a long time, and my siblings were still in school. And I was 19 when that happened and just got into a lot of debt afterwards. And so money is very emotional for me because I don't have a good relationship with it, and my family And so when it came time to start going through the finances, it didn't go well.

Oh, wow. So he panicked. Did he panic around the amount of debt there is, or did he panic of your current way of seeing money and how you deal with money currently?

It was over the behavior. The number itself wasn't concerning to him. It the behavior and my relationship with it.

Yes. Oh, my gosh. Okay, so he ended it. Was there any conversation around, Hey, Rita, if I'm going to go down this road of marriage. I want us to be on the same page. I want us to be a team. Would you be open and consider handling money differently? Did he give you options or was it a pretty closed case?

It started It started off with some options, but it ended up being pretty closed case.

Okay.

How old are you?

28.

How many serious relationships have you had?

I've dated seriously for a couple I don't know, a couple of relationships. I had a five-year relationship in college, and then three and a half years in my 20s, and then earlier 20s. And then this was the most recent relationship.

Okay, so not your first heartbreak, but this one was the most serious in terms of, Hey, this is leading towards marriage, and he's the one, thing.

Yeah, very much so. Yeah. And what are your current money habits that he was like, I'm out. I can't do this.

He was concerned because... I moved recently for a job, and my family moved with me. I knew because we were selling our house that I was going to have to take a short-term hit to move before the household and my family could move out here with me. So he was concerned that after I had, even after I had left my house that I had still accrued some debt. Oh, my gosh. I did. Yeah. But I have... So I'm doing the baby steps right now. I'm in baby step two, and I have my emergency fund saved, and I'm paying down my smallest debts right now. So that was So I am making progress, but I guess maybe it wasn't enough progress, or I don't really know the flavor now. But it's like my worst fear has always been because the situation with my family has been really bad for a long time, financially, I have had a long-standing fear that I have no control over my money, and this brought it back up again.

Sure. Yeah, he broke up with the most vulnerable part of you in your fear. Why did your family move with you? What's going on there?

My sister and I moved to the same location. She married, and then I moved out here for a job. And my mom, who is somewhat retired, sold the family house back where we were in our hometown to move out as well. Because she wanted to be close to her grandkids.

Was any of that a red flag for him?

Yes. Okay.

Yeah. I'm just trying to place... Because it's interesting to talk to you, Rita, because I'll be very honest with you. You're on the end of... You're the person in the relationship that we usually don't get the call from. We usually get the call probably from the ex-fiance who's like, Hey, I'm engaged. I'm nervous with these money habits. You know what I mean? Like, X, Y, should I continue? You know what I mean? So to get the person that got broken up with because of the money, we don't usually get- Different. We don't get that side. So I'm trying to in my head, because I want to be on your team, right? I'm like, I want to be able to help you and us help navigate this. I'm just trying to figure out if what he saw was legitimate or if he's too legalistic, you know what I mean? And broke off a great thing too early. I don't know, and I probably won't know in this call, but I'll just- And you may never know.

And that's the hard truth is you can replay this a thousand ways, and it's not going to get you any closer to your future. And so you asked How do I heal? Well, learn from what broke and rebuild trust in yourself and then create the habits and become the person that you want to be, the person who changes your family tree and actually gets out of debt and doesn't use it anymore. This just might be one of those fork in the roads where you look back and go, Man, that was a pivotal time in my life. So painful. It's not a fun way to learn the lesson, but now you know and you can do better. I think a lot of this is your own healing journey. It's counseling in Jesus. That's what's going to heal you at this point on top of the good budgeting habits and getting out of debt. Yeah.

I think what's hard- Staying true to your plan. Is money can become such an identity marker in us, and it shouldn't be. Your money, your money mistakes, your networth. None of this is who you are as a person, right? It's a reflection of our behaviors our habits and all of it. But in our society today, it's become such an identity piece. So I want you to break that apart from you, that the money mistakes that I've made, even the habits I'm in that are not great, it's not who I am. Who I am is something so centered that cannot be shaken. And then out of that flows a healthy Rita, which hopefully in return has healthy boundaries with money, is able to say no, is able to sacrifice and get out of debt and all of that. So it's so easy. And I can hear from even your story, those being so married, your identity and money and all of it, it's so closely linked into who you are. And I would work at starting to pull that apart because it's not who you are. Your net worth, your money mistakes, none of that is your identity and who you are.

I keep hearing John Deloney in my head saying, You are worth being well. You are worth being loved. You're a person who can have a healthy relationship. And a lot of this is detaching from maybe unhealthy family baggage and going, Hey, I need to move on with my life. There's been a lot of codependency that has been toxic, and it's time. I need to grow. I'm going to send you a copy of Rachel's book, Know Yourself, Know Your Money. She talks about the different money classrooms and how you grew up. I think it will be a part of your healing journey. So hang on the line. That'll be our gift to you, Rita. Finally, mortgage rates have dropped. You know what that means? People who've been sitting on the sidelines are about to jump back in to the housing market. If you've been waiting to buy, this could be your window, but you got to be prepared and do it the Ramsey way. You need to contact Churchill Mortgage. Their Home Buyer Edge program gives you peace of mind in a wild market. You can cap your rate for 90 days.

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Thank you.

How can we help today?

Well, I've gotten myself into the situation here. I like cars too much. And this summer, this past summer, I bought a car. It was just an emotional decision, bad decision, brand new car, and with it a high payment. And at the same time, trying to pay down about $20,000 worth of credit card debt that I've been just kicking down the road for years, years and years. How old are you? I'm almost ready to retire.

Well, maybe not anymore.

We'll see. Yeah, not anymore. I am 60. Okay.

Single or married?

Single.

Okay. So tell us about this vehicle. People want to know. Spiel the tea.

I know. What cars is Nancy like? She said, I love cars. I'm like, Nancy, what cars?

It's a Bronco Sport, a '25 Bronco Sport. I just fell in love with how it looked and everything, and it was a stupid decision. Now I am regretting the payment.

What's the balance and what's the payment?

The balance, I owe about a little I'm still under $25,000 on it. I'm paying 385 a month.

Did you put some serious money down?

Yeah, that's not terrible. Payment-wise.

It's not terrible, no. I had a trade that was You had another nice car. Yes, I had another Bronco Sport that I should have stuck with, but I got frustrated with its tech. In a moment of stupidity, decided to upgrade to get the better tech, which I'm paying for- What could you sell it for?

What could you sell it for?

I'm paying for, literally, now. What could you sell it for? I have been able to get as high as an offer as 27,2 from Carvana.

Oh, good. Okay. Yeah.

So I could all I must get my money back. Yeah.

How much do you make a year? What my question is- How much did you make a year?

So my question is 75 grand gross.

Okay. Awesome. Okay, sorry. What's your question?

My question is, I recently I recently found a Honda Element, which I really love those cars, with like 130,000 miles on it, but they're super, super, super- Dependable. Reliable. And I found that for around 11,000. And it would, when everything's all said and done, my payment would go to $198 a month instead of the $385. But then I'd have an older car with no warranty, because if I add a warranty to it- Nancy.

Please don't do any of this, Nancy.

We're playing the wrong games. Nancy. Nancy. Nancy. You're back in the same game. You're back at your... You're just moving debt to debt. Smaller debt, but you're moving debt to debt. Do you have any money saved, Nancy? Any money at all that you can get to? No. Any cash?

No. No. No cash. No. Everything extra every month, I just pour into the debt trying to get ahead. How much extra- And then an emergency comes along.

Okay, how much extra are you putting towards your debt? If you were to stay current on all the credit cards and the car payment, how much extra would you have a month?

Only 200.

Okay.

And so that's why it's a chronic debt situation, because things, life keeps happening, and I go backwards on the credit card.

Are you bringing home like 4,500 a month? What is your take home pay?

Because I have some stuff going in, like pre-tax stuff going into, going out into a, well, paying off another loan. That's another story, but it's almost paid off a little bit more.

You have a 401(k) loan or something?

I don't remember what you call it. It's not 401(k), 457. Does that sound? Okay.

Yeah, you took a loan against your retirement plan, your deferred car.

Yes. It'll be paid off as of next month, which will free up 350 bucks a month next month.

Great. Five hundred. Okay. So $500. Okay. Here's what I would do, Nancy, if I woke up in your shoes. When that gets freed up, you'll have around $500 a margin, okay? I would go- I'm sorry. Could you repeat that? Yeah, you would have around $500 of margin, right? After this is paid off, that frees up 300. You said you have about 200, 500. I would go and find any work you could do, even if it's driving Uber in your new Bronco. I don't care. And I want you to make an extra $1,000 a month, okay? So what's going to happen in two months, in two months, you're going to have an extra $3,000. If you can sell this Bronco still at $27,000, you'll have $2,000. That means you have $5,000 cash that I want you to go buy a car. And no more car payments. And no more car payments. And then you're going to be driving. You're awesome. I just looked up cars. I looked up $3,000 cars in Wichita just now on my phone. Lots of options. They really are there. I mean, one of them was like a 2006 Volvo. I mean, you know what I mean?

You got to do some inspection, be smart about it, but you can get a cheap car that will last you for 12 months. That's all we're looking for, Nancy.

This is not your forever car.

No, this is a twelve-month car. And you tell yourself that. You say, Nancy, this is my twelve-month car, because you're You're going to start then working to get out of debt. Then once you have your credit card debt paid off, then you're going to be able to have so much freedom and so much margin to save up and buy a nicer car that Nancy wants. But I want you out of car payments, Nancy. This game is not working for you.

We need a big why here. You said you wanted to retire. How much do you have in a retirement?

Well, I have a pension, and I have about 50,000 is all in in that $457.

How much is your pension going to be?

It's going to be around 4,300 a month.

Okay, so about what you're making now? Yes. So let's make this a goal. Let's become completely debt free with a fully funded emergency fund as we enter retirement.

Mm-hmm.

That's your goal, which means I am not going to quit work until I have a lot of financial peace and security in my life, and that becomes your why. It sounds like you've lived a few lives. And so now is the time to go, what is this next chapter of Nancy's life going to look like? Is it trading in for a different car with a slightly lower payment while I still struggle in my '60s? Or is it, Man, I don't have the dream car, but I have the dream retirement because I'm not making payments broke every month?

Exactly. Yeah.

And Nancy, you really do. I want to encourage you that to spontaneously When you actually go and buy a new car because you got frustrated, you have to acknowledge that in yourself. You didn't go on Amazon and buy a new pair of $12 earrings because you got mad. You know what I mean? You're like, I just want to feel good. This is a big deal I bought a car. You bought a car. You know what I mean? And it's not to shame you. I was really frustrated. Nancy was pissed, so she went and got a new car. Yes. So I want you to acknowledge, when those things come up in us, this is a Dave Ramsey quote for you. I heard this growing up in my house and on the show all the time. But there's a level of maturity that delays gratification. So adults devise a plan and follow it. Children do what feels good. And you're not a child. You're not a child. No. You are a grown woman who is smart, who's hardworking. And I just want you to reframe some of these impulses that you're making, because it's not just at the car lot, it's probably other places.

And really start to get disciplined in this area of your life, Nancy, probably for the first It's the first time ever. And it sounds crazy to do something big like this at six years old, but people do it every day. People do it every day. So if you hold on the line, Christian is going to pick up and we're going to give you every dollar, which is our budgeting app. I want you to be engaged in it. I want you to create a monthly budget, Nancy. I want you to dream and just do some searching. When you get off the phone with us, just Google $5,000 cars in Wichita and just start to make peace with this new future you have. But because of that 2006 Volvo that you may buy that frees up hundreds of dollars a month for you. Yeah.

Here's the three words we need to take out of our vocabulary. I deserve it. I think you deserve financial peace. I think you deserve a great retirement, which means we need the delayed gratification to say no to the toys right now.

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How are you?

Doing great. How are you?

I'm hanging in there.

What's happening today?

Okay. I'm trying my best not to get too anxious right now, but I am currently going through a divorce. I've been a stay-at-home mom for almost 11 years, and I'm solely financially dependent on my husband, who is the sole provider. I literally was just watching the video of Dave Ramsey talking about how It is our money. My wife was a see-home mom for how many years, and it is our money. It is our house. It is our cars. And I am pretty much in a emotionally abusive in financially abusive relationship at the moment. And I'm worried about him trying to financially cut me off. I already talked to lawyers. I already have a petition going, but I don't know if it's just the narcissistic part of him, the sociopathic part of him, that he doesn't truly understand that we are one.

Well, and the state, and then the judge will tell him that.

Right. But I don't know if his lawyers are truly understanding that. So it's like, Stay at home, Mom, I have three kids under nine. I've worked little jobs here and there on the weekends, but nothing that was really substantial. I've worked for MLMs from home, trying to make a little bit, but nothing has really been much. It's mainly solely me taking care of the kids, and he's the one who financially provides. I just need to know what is the best way to legally try to have him understand that I'm technically entitled to, yes, child support, alimony, 401(k) and pension. Yes. I don't know any of the totals of things he He's willing... He's trying to swindle in gaslight of pretty much saying, Yes, I'm giving you the house. Do you have child support. I won't take the equity of the house, but don't touch my pension. And it's like, I don't want to verbally agree to something that I don't have calculations in front of me before I agree to anything. That's fair. If it's going to truly benefit me and what I'm legally entitled to in the end.

Well, the lawyers and the courts will figure all that part out. Okay. So right now, it's how do you just keep yourself protected and safe right now in the interim until this all shakes out? Because as you know, this could be months and months and months and drag out and back and forth. And so right now, it's- Right.

And he's like, I'm not paying your legal fees anymore. And he's pretty much trying to force into getting a job instead of staying at home with our three-year-old at the moment.

So is he not going to take care of the household and the kids?

I think it's all threats because he's just frustrated that he's being- Is he paying currently anything right now in alimony or child support as you guys are going through the divorce proceedings? Not right now, no. Currently, we still have a joint checking account.

You guys are still living in the same house?

I don't even have access to that right now because it has to be unlocked through for the app-wise. It has to be unlocked through his phone number.

You can go to the bank. If you're an owner on that account, you have access to it. I don't care what he did on the app.

Yeah, go down in person and get, yes, get what you need. Because if your name is on that account, you have as much right to it as he does.

And I would create an account at a different bank.

He's not even taking into consideration how much money I have saved.

And he won't, he won't, Bre. He won't. In childcare for the last 11 years. Listen, listen.

He's trying to scare you.

He's trying to scare you. Yes. And if there's any, what you said, narcissism, if there's any level of who who he is and everything you've described, he sounds like a horrible person. You're never going to convince him otherwise, okay? So I think there is. I mean, and again, this is a bigger working through in your own than me just saying that out loud on a phone call here. But he's never going to understand. He never, ever, ever will give you the respect that you deserve. He's not giving you that. He never has. It's what it sounds like. It's one of the reasons you're leaving him. Right. So what I would do is- He was a combination of didn't want to go to therapy for the relationship, didn't want to go to counseling for drinking, didn't want to talk to a pastor. Sure. Yeah, I know. So he signed his fee.

And so now I'm putting my legal fees on a joint credit card. I still have access to the debit, and I'm still able to get groceries and stuff, but he's literally limiting me, saying only spend $300 million.

How is he paying for his legal fees?

He's paying it on a credit card as well, even though we have somewhat of money already in the account still.

Okay, so, Brie, you need to sit down with your lawyer, and if your lawyer sucks, you need a new one. But you guys need to have a plan, and you need to know your legal rights. Every state is different when it comes to divorce law, okay? So we're not experts on that on each state. You need to know what rights you have. And then you do have to understand, Brie, there will be a point where assets are divided, however they divide the reports, whatever you decide. And there may be a time, and it happens, where this is the heartbreak of when a life you had built is no longer there, that you may have to get a job, Bre. You may have to sell. He may give you the house and the equity, and you may look at everything and say, This is too stressful. I can't handle the property tax and the HOA fees. You may have to sell the home eventually and downsize to create financial stability for yourself, okay? So there's going to be, probably in your future, some really, really hard decisions that is not how you saw your life going.

Three years ago. But what you're working towards is a life of peace, relationally, out of this marriage that's been abusive and creating something for yourself. And so what I want you- She's also currently living out of state, so the custody will most likely It would be like a 90/10. Okay. To you?

Yeah. Which means you're going to- I'm pretty much. Which means you're going to have a big paycheck coming in every month.

Yeah, you'll be fighting for that alimony and that child support then. Yes. So all of that should be reconciled, and you need to feel good about that. But you need to know legally where you stand for you to have some peace, right? Because I feel like the peace is right now, which I don't blame you. I'd be in complete chaos, too. The peace is all over.

I'm hiding all of it because I need to be strong for my kids.

Yes. Yeah. Well, Yeah. So I would, though. I think facts here are going to help you have some peace to know what rights you have in this. And he doesn't get to... I think the biggest fear you have is he's going to just leave in the middle of the night with nothing, and you're left with literally nothing. That's not going to happen. From a legal aspect, the courts will step in.

That and/or just the fact that I didn't go to college, so I don't have a degree, and I have nothing for my name when it comes to 401(k) or pension or anything.

So it's like, I'm guilty taking his money, but it's like, he doesn't understand that his money is my money.

There's going to be no guilt here. You are entitled to probably half or more of the assets. And so there's no guilt there. You said, Well, he provided for the house. Did you not provide for the house the last 11 years?

He doesn't see it that way.

It doesn't matter what he... I don't care what he thinks. I'm just telling you, you need to release the baggage of, Well, I don't deserve this. Because now it's taking a turn to where you're feeling guilty for things you don't need to feel guilty about.

Okay.

This is what narcissists do. They gaslight to make you think you were the problem the whole time. You're the crazy one. And you're the one that made this all fall apart.

When it's enough, enough. I've given you everything you wanted.

This is what they do on the way out. They have no other cards to play, so they just try to drag you down into the muck with them.

Okay.

That's all he's doing. So on top of all the lawyer stuff, counseling and therapy is going to help as well.

And I want you to paint a picture in the next in the next five years, once you have some facts, where is Bre going to be, even in the next two years? Because, again, I don't know what's going to happen, Bre, but there may be a situation where you are a receptionist at a dental office. I'm making this up, right? For four For four days a week, and when your three-year-old starts kindergarten, you drop them off at school, you may go to work, and you may bring home a paycheck. But you are capable, Bri. You're capable of doing something and earning money, if it comes down to that, okay? So just know that in yourself. The things and the tools and the giftings that God's put in you, Bre, is valuable. It is. And so you're going to survive this. But getting some facts on your side, I think, is going to bring you some peace right now in the midst of all this chaos. But we are so sorry. Call us back if you need more help.

Well, Dave, on the show all the time we get calls about cars, used cars.

What's one thing you want folks to know?

Well, really a couple of things. Number one is always buy used unless you got a million dollars. We don't buy new cars.

If you're going to buy used, number two, you want it to last.

That means regular, proper maintenance.

Yeah, that's a big deal.

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Donald is in Toronto up next. Donald, what's going on? Hey, how are you guys? Great. What's your question today?

Hey, so just how to get comfortable with using my emergency fund when an emergency has happened as I recently got the baby step four.

Cool. Congrats. Nice. How much do you have in the emergency fund?

So I have 15 in there and slight job, not changed recently, but better security recently, so that may be a factor as we go into this.

Great. Okay, so let's talk about this emergency. Give us the most recent one where you went, I just can't dip into that.

I got hit by a bus yesterday, and- Goodness gracious, Donald.

Donald, stop. Are you being for real right now?

I actually am, yes. I'm not lying to you at all.

How are you?

I'm okay. Luckily, the incident was completely fine, and that's why I'm much more focused on the finances at this point. Because it's like, I'm okay.

Did you go to the hospital?

Everyone's okay. Yeah, I got checked out. I'm all right.

Oh my gosh. I got hit by a bus.

No one can ever say, Well, man, I feel like I got hit by a bus today. Donald's like, No, I really did. I raise you. Okay.

Oh, my gosh. Well, that would be a reason for the emergency fund. I think we can all agree on that. Okay.

So just answer these three questions. Is it urgent? Is it necessary? Is it unexpected? I think we can all agree getting hit by a bus is all three of those things. You with me?

I think it's a little I expected. I think it checked that off. Yes.

You didn't plan for it. There was no maintenance you could have done to avoid it. Maybe look both ways, but no. Now, was there police involved? Are they going to cover your ER bills? It was the city bus?

It was a city bus. Unfortunately, due to how old the vehicle is, it's a beater. Because of it, how the insurance claim would work.

Oh, your car got hit by a bus.

You were in a car? Yeah. Donald.

Can you lead with that next We thought you physically- I thought you were walking across the street. No, that's why I was talking about the car. Okay.

Oh, Donald. You almost gave us a heart attack.

No wonder. Okay. Oh my gosh.

Okay, I'm glad we thought the same thing, George.

You tell me it Hey, I got hit by a bus yesterday. I assume you were walking.

Okay, so, Donald, you were in a car. Thank God. Okay. So the car is not... Wait. So go back. Tell us what the car, car situation.

So car's old, but it's in, obviously, not workable shape anymore. It's done for. Yes, I expected a car upgrade to come in the future. I got 4K aside for that. But obviously, now I need to pull the trigger on it much earlier than expected.

Got you. Is insurance going to write you a check?

I can't really get anything out of the insurance because my comprehension and collision wasn't on there. I had enough insurance to be legal. I didn't have the proper insurance to get much out of this because my car is so old. Basically, they're just going to write it off, and then I might get $2,000 out of it if I'm lucky.

But again, because I don't have collision, it'd be a lot of fighting with the city, and we all know that's never easy, no matter your municipality.

Yeah, sure. Okay, so you're just saying it's a wash. It was an old car. I have money saved. How do I use this emergency fund? Yeah. Okay. You're obviously low maintenance when it comes to the type of car because you're currently driving an older car, right? So how much money do you think you need to have a car? Maybe it's a little bit of an upgrade that will last you longer, but what price range feels right to you?

For safe reliability purposes, our markets out here, I would say between 8 and 10 is going to get me a car that's between 2015 and 2020, and somewhere between the 60 to 100,000 mile range. Okay.

That's great. Yeah, I would take the 4K, and then 5K of your emergency fund. Go get a 9,000.

It still leaves 10 in your emergency fund, and then you begin the process of replenishing the emergency fund. And that's how you feel better about using it. It's not a, this thing is depleted forever. It's all right, now I got to rebuild it. That's not fun. But hey, at least it's an inconvenience instead of a crisis, and you're going into debt on a credit card, 25 % APR. So that's the move. Okay. And the truth is, the better you get at this stuff, the less emergencies you're going to have. When you're broke, you have everything as an emergency. And as you get to this place, baby step four, you buy a better car. You have nice That's your stuff that you can maintain better and pay for repairs and all that. And so I think it's in your head that you're going to have to dip into this emergency fund all the time. I can't tell you the last time I used my emergency fund, because at some point you go, we can probably just cash flow that at a next month's budget. It'll be fine.

Yeah. Okay.

Yeah. So use some of this for it, though. So hear us say that, please. Yes.

Use enough to make sure that it's reliable, but don't go good and crazy, obviously.

You don't need a $25,000 car because yours got totaled. So that's what most people do. They go to the dealership and say, I need a brand new car because look what happened. Last time I had a Beader car, I got hit, and it got totaled.

Yeah. And that's what my brother and others have already said to me about, possibly paid in the future, not now. And I'm like, That just doesn't fit my lifestyle.

So no. Totally. Yes.

So you do you. Pay cash.

Yeah. Take four or 5,000 out. It's not a big part of your world. It's not a big part of your world.

How much do you make a year?

Sixty.

Awesome. I would work on upgrading that $9,000 car in a year or two. So set a sinking fund and go and put 500 bucks a month.

Yeah. We were trying for a $15,000 car, and then this obviously made it that I couldn't... I was planned to be able to do it by October of the end of this year, but now here we are where I got to, I guess, finance myself as compared to finance with somebody else.

Exactly. You are the bank, and it's zero % interest with no payments. That's a deal, my friend. So thank you for the call. I'm glad you're okay.

I'm glad that you were in a car.

Next time you tell the story, make sure you lead Hey, a bus hit my car.

He probably thinks we're just crazy. He's probably like, Duh.

I was just... The mental image was just... It was like replaying over and over my mind of what happened to poor Donald. Okay. Glad he's okay. We're going to get through this. Thanks for the call. Crystal's in Boise up next. What's going on, Crystal?

Hi. So as a family, we've been reading Total Money Makeover, and we've been working to implement the principles and just started Baby Step 2. But my question today is regarding term life insurance. So I've had a whole life policy with a term rider for a million dollar death benefit since 2016, has a monthly premium of $315 a month. I called Xander, found out that I can get a 20-year term policy for a million dollars for $104 a month. Awesome. I'm 45. My spouse is 55. Our kids are 16 and 17. So my question is, do I do the 20-year term, or should I less with the kids being older?

It's a good question. You need life insurance until you no longer need life insurance. So think about the kids are grown, house is paid off, retirement's funded, your spouse would be okay without your income. And so if that's 15 years for you guys saying, Hey, the house is definitely going to be paid off. We're going to have a serious nest egg. The kids are grown and gone. They're not going to be relying on us. I would say 15 years sounds a lot closer.

Okay, what would be a serious nest egg?

I mean, I'm just saying if something were to happen, is your spouse going to be okay? Okay. The kids don't need to inherit $5 million to be okay. They're going to be just fine. It's if something happened, you lost your income, now we have this policy plus this retirement, okay, they will be okay if they need to take some time off or not work.

Okay.

So I would go 15 based on what you've just told me. I don't have all the full picture.

Do you both work, Crystal, you and your husband?

Yes.

Okay. Yeah. Because if something, realistically, if you're past that 15 and the house has paid If there's no debt and you guys have, I don't know, three. I'm just making up a number, 300,000 in retirement, and you still wanted to work, you still had the ability to make an income if you needed to, right? So that factors into it, too.

Okay.

I'm proud of you. I know that hurts because you've paid into this whole life policy for what? Ten years now? Yes. Oh, my goodness. I'm so sorry to whoever sold that to you. Who was it? Was it a family friend? Yes. It always is.

I don't know how I guess that. It always How do I guess that? They are, though. Everyone we talk to, like, Well, my brother-in-law or my cousin.

It's always a dude. Let's make that clear. Some dude out of college- 99%. Went, Oh, dude, I got this sick job. I sell insurance.

The women do the The men do the whole life insurance.

That's true. We all have our toil in life. The guys go insurance. It's cool. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Well, it's a good reminder to anyone listening out there. If anybody relies on your income, you need term life insurance. Not whole life, not permanent life insurance. Term. So that's for a specific amount of time. 15 to 20 years is good for most people, maybe 25 if you're really young or you got young kids. Because the goal is, hey, once this term expires, we are self-insured, meaning we don't need this policy anymore. We're going to be okay. And you want to make sure that you get 10 to 12 times your annual income on that death benefit, on the face value of the policy. So you make 100 grand, you need a million to 1. 2 in term coverage so that you could invest that money, and the growth of that could help create the income and replace it. That's all insurance is. It's a risk transfer to replace your income. Xander are the folks that we trust. The people I have mine through my wife has hers through Xander. You can call them at 800-356-42-82 or just jump on xander.

Com. Get it done today. Dave, we got a lot of calls on this show where life happens. One day someone's healthy, they're working, providing for their family, and then a curveball hits. We hear it all the time, a car accident, a cancer diagnosis, a heart attack, and suddenly everything changes. Yeah, and that's why you've always said that having term life insurance from Xander is essential because it protects your family if the worst happens.

Yeah, that's right. You need 10 to 12 times your income in coverage. No gimmicks, no whole life junk, just straightforward term life protection.

But there's another piece that people often overlook, and that's long term disability insurance. Yeah, it's important to understand the difference between them. Life insurance steps in when you die. Disability insurance steps in while you're alive but can't work. So it replaces a large part of your income so the bills still get paid while you get back on your feet. Now, if your employer gives you free disability insurance, great, take it. If it's discounted there at a better price, take it. But if not, Xander can help you find the right plan.

Whether you're single or married, it's not optional.

If you're going to be out of work for a while, then you need to make sure the money is still showing up. That's why Xander is our go-to. They make it super simple to get the right coverage at the best price, no pressure, no upselling.

I've trusted Jeff Xander and Xander Insurance for over 25 years, and so has my family.

So don't wait. It's fast, it's easy, and it could make all the difference. Go to zander. Com or call 800-356-4282.

Protect yourself, protect your income, protect your family.

Welcome back to The Ramsey Show in the Fairwinds Credit Union Studio. I'm George Campbell, joined by best-selling author and my co-host of Smart Money Happy Hour, Rachel Cruz. We're taking your calls at 888-825-5225. Up next, we head to Charlotte, who is in Columbia, South Carolina. Charlotte, welcome to The Ramsey Show.

Hi. How are you?

We are doing great. How can we help today?

My question is, well, my husband and I, we have $100,000 of student loan debt that we just started paying off. And my dad had promised that he would help pay this debt off. However, in the last year, we had to cut time for him to- Sorry, you're breaking up with us, Charlotte.

Can you speak directly on your phone or try to get to a better spot? I heard your 100,000 student loans. Dad said he would help pay them off, and you recently had to cut him off?

Yes, we did. We had to cut ties with him. And so we are now- Like the relationship is over?

Mm-hmm. Okay. Yes. Got it.

Correct. Yes. So we are now just looking into this debt now for our own to pay off. And my question is, what tips would you have to pay this off quickly? I don't want this to be looming over our heads for longer than it needs to.

We agree.

What did you get your degrees in?

My husband got a law degree, so that's.

Oh, got you. Okay, perfect. So is he practicing law right now? Yes, he is. Okay. And how much is he making a year?

He is making a little over 100K.

Okay. And what are you making a year?

I'm just making a little over 20K. I'm We're talking part-time. We just had our first child back in October.

Okay. Congratulations. Thank you. Okay, great. So, yeah, I mean, the most efficient way to do this, Charlotte, is if you have multiple student loans, do you, or is it all one loan?

It's just one loan.

Okay. Yeah. So it's just going to be- Attacking the mountain.

Throw in as much as you can every month on top of the minimum payment, just throwing as much as you guys can. So it's make as much as we can every month, spend as little as we can, and use that difference, that margin, to knock out this debt fast.

Because if you guys make 120 a year, if you lived on 60,000, Charlotte, and you guys basically had no lifestyle, you're just like, Listen, we are just going to just live on what we got, and you threw 60 at it. I mean, in a year and a half, you guys will have this paid off.

Okay.

So you got to live like a broke law student and not like a lawyer. And that might be, I don't know what your lifestyle is like, but that's going to be a big shift.

Yeah. Do you guys have margin every month in your budget?

We definitely could. We could have more.

Yeah. So make it a goal. Could you, this month, with the next paycheck's coming in, throw $4,000 on top of the minimum at the debt?

Yeah.

You're done in less than two years. I mean, that's the math of There's no life hack shortcut. Now, if you're doing the debt snowball and you had multiple debts, we'd say, tack the little one first, minimums on the rest, and create some progress. This is a little bit harder because it's like paying off a mortgage. You're just staring down this mountain going, All right, I would celebrate the wins. Every $10,000 you pay off, you guys have a little fun, whatever you decide to do. And that'll keep you motivated along the way. Maybe make it visual. Maybe you have like, rings and chains across the house or on the fridge, whatever you guys decide to do. Making it visual, having a deep why. Maybe this child is your deep why of, I want this kid to grow up in a house that doesn't know debt, that has financial stability.

Yeah, and it's probably a painful element, too, right? That it came, you guys are doing this because of a relationship that was fractured. You know what I mean? It's like the sad reminder, too, of having this around, of why we have to pay this off. So there is a part, too, of like, Oh, I just want to have it.

You don't want it to drag out.

I just want it out of my life.

Definitely. Is your husband on board with this?

Yes, he is. We're in the very beginning stages of really talking about it, which I feel behind because it's been almost a year that we've had to cut ties with my dad, but it really does just feel like the dust has now settled more with that and then with having our son. But so, yeah, we're just in the beginning stages of really coming up with Tell me this, Charlotte.

Your dad wasn't paying your husband's debt for law school, though. Just yours, right?

He never paid any debt, because when all this came out with my dad, we had just maybe for two weeks been put on a payment plan for the debt. Okay. Because he had not paid that.

However- Yeah, but was the expectation that he was going to pay your husband's law degree?

He had said he would.

Oh, okay. So it was the whole day. Because I was thinking, if he just promised your debt and yours is 10,000 of the 100,000, I was going to ask why you didn't address. But it was said out loud that it would even- So this wasn't on your radar, and all of a sudden, relationship's broken, and now you've got 100,000 sitting in your lap to pay off on top of the grief.

And so this is a lot.

Yeah, it is sad.

And it's going to be tight. But less than two years, the baby won't remember it. It'll be a memory for you guys. Remember that time we worked our tails off for two years to get to a place of financial stability? And you will not regret the sacrifice you're making right now. I'll tell you that much. Yeah.

Would you take out... We have a high-ish amount of money in a CD account, a two year CD account. So I don't think we can't touch it for another year. How much is in there? I guess we're not supposed to. It's a little over 75,000.

Fantastic. Well, I would also look at what the penalties are for taking it out before it matures, because if you're going to pay more interest in student loans than the penalty is, then it's worth cashing out.

Okay.

And that gets you out of debt so much faster.

Yeah, yeah.

What was that money earmarked for?

We didn't really have any plan for it other than just to keep it in there. And then maybe once it was done, give it up more, we were probably going to buy another house, or sell the house, or now buy a little bit bigger house as our family grew. That money actually was given to us from the death of my grandfather, so it was unexpected. So we really didn't have much of a plan. And then it was like, we got that. My husband started paying the student loan debt, and then everything happened with my dad. So we did not. We didn't. I haven't thought about it that Okay.

Got you. Well, the other part you have to grieve is, Hey, this was going to be house upgrade money, and now it's paying off debt money, which is less exciting.

But I would do that in a heart rate, Charlotte.

100%. I would look into that tonight to see what the penalties are.

And then depending on how aggressive you guys want to move up in house, still look at cutting back some lifestyle and saving up some margin and say, Okay, if we were to replenish this, you could do that in a year and a half still and get that money back. But I would go ahead and guess.

This new plan is we're out of debt in six months. By the summer, we're debt free.

Yes, I would do that in a heartbeat. Then you guys save your income and decide how quickly you want to save, how slow, but no one else is determining that for you. Or you guys could say, No, we're good. For the next year, we're going to just enjoy our life.

Yeah, and maybe you can quit the part-time job after you get the emergency fund.

No one's making you do it. Where a student loan, you have to make this payment. Yeah.

Life is going to be on your terms soon enough. And so far, life has just been happening to you, and everything's been unexpected. I hope soon you can Start to get intentional and happen to your life, Charlotte. We're rooting for you. Thanks for calling.

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Scott is in Bowling Green up next. Scott, what's going on?

Hey, George. Rachel, how are you all today?

We're wonderful. How can we help you?

Hey, I am I am completely debt-free.

Yeah, you are. Great job.

Baby Step 7, paid off house?

Paid off house, yes, sir.

Oh, everything. Oh, my gosh. Well done.

I can He was still in his voice. He had an ease, and he was flexing.

He was like, I am debt-free.

How old are you?

I am 65 years old.

Wonderful. Good for you. Okay. What's your question today?

I'm at that point. Well, let me go back. I do have to replace some money back into my fully-funded emergency fund, a fully funded emergency fund, because I pulled that out to pay the house off about $12,000. Nice. Anyway, it's a little over $12,000. But my fully funded emergency fund is... My goal is 50,000 there, and I've got about 25 into it right now. Okay. So I got to put 25 more into it, and I'm completely out. So a couple of things here. My questions are, at this point, which I've already got a traditional IRA that has about 214, 215,000 in it. And I've got two mutual funds, it was probably about 36,000 in that. I want to be able to go in to put more money into mutual funds. I think from the total money makeover, it was something about a high cap, low cap, mid-cap, and a foreign cap, and a foreign cap or a foreign mutual fund. And I want to learn more about that. And then also put some, I guess, part of that 50,000 into a high yield interest savings account. Are these the smart moves that I need to make?

And also I want to look at maybe doing a Roth IRA to balance out the taxable versus the non flexible.

Yeah, I would be focused on those retirement accounts right now, taking advantage of those tax advantages accounts first. And so that would be the strategy here. And do you have a 401(k) through your employer?

No, no. It's something I've done for the past 15 years.

You're self employed?

I've been listening to Dave and- No, I'm not. I work for a company, but we don't have a 401k program.

Okay, no retirement program.

I have done that all on my own over the past 15 years.

Good for you. Okay, so your options would be then maxing out that IRA every year. What is your income?

My income is about 100 a day.

Fantastic. Okay, so maxing out the IRA is a great start. That'll get you pretty far. I would keep that emergency fund in a high yield savings account, and you can open one up with our friends at Fairwinds Credit Union online on your phone within minutes and keep that parked there. I think the rates are currently over 3%, and so you're at least keeping up or beating inflation with that money instead of it sitting at zero % in your local bank savings account. So that's a piece of homework. Fairwinds Credit Union, you can go to fairwinds. Org/ranzi, and they've got a bundle there with an online checking and the high yield savings, and it's no fee on that. And they've been an awesome partner because they have the same goal in mind. They want people to be like Scott, financially free with a paid off house. So you've got that. So once you've funded the emergency fund, park in the high yield, maxing out the IRA, the next move would be a non-retirement account if you've run out of retirement options. Like you said, those mutual funds and a taxable brokerage account would be the move.

We do say to diversify across four different types. A mutual fund just is a giant basket of stocks. We're going to even go further by going into a growth and income fund, which that would be your high cap. Then you've got the growth fund, which is more the mid, aggressive growth, which is the lower, and then the international fund to balance it out. Because what we've seen, which especially 2000 to 2010, that period, the US market took a dive and the international market balanced it out. And so that's what you want to de-risk your portfolio.

That's the foreign account, right? That you were asking about, Scott?

Do you work with a financial advisor, or have you ever?

I do. I've been working with this guy for about 15 years. That's what got me started on things of doing this. That's why I've been... A matter of fact, I was in Sam's the other day, and he was walking through Sam's, and we got to talk me, and I told him where I was at and everything. He's like, Cool. Let's talk. Awesome.

Yeah, you're in a different place now. Baby Step Seven, it's live and give like no one else, build wealth. And so you can max out all the accounts you can. You could pay cash for real estate if you wanted to do that, the world is your oyster at this point, especially making 100 grand with no debt.

How much is your house worth, Scott?

It's about 325,000.

Okay. Amazing. Well done. Yeah. That's so great.

What is your plan for retirement? To replace your income and cut your expenses. Work.

Just work. I'm going to work until the good Lord says, Hey, look, you can't work anymore. Or somebody, and I'll just say this, pisses me off, and I'll say, No.

There I'm done. There we go. So far, that hasn't happened. That's good. But yeah, that's the Dave Ramsey strategy is, Why would I stop working? I like what I do, which is great. And so maxing out those retirement accounts, if you work another 10 years, that nest egg will just continue to grow with compound growth. And so we are rooting for you to have an awesome retirement.

Yes, that's one thing I know, too, is I'm 65 now, 67, I can double dip, so I can go in and get my regular paycheck and then also get a drop of Social Security. And that's just more money that I can start.

Yeah. The longer you delay it, the more you'll get in that Social Security. So if you don't need it, just kick it down the road and take it at 70 to get the max amount. And so you've got a lot of options here, and you have catch-up contributions, which is great, Because of your age, you can actually put more into those retirement accounts than the average person, the young bucks like me. Love it. I needed to win today. I love talking to Scott. That was awesome. Scott, so great. John is in Cincinnati up next. John, how can we help?

Hey, George. How are you doing?

Doing great. Can you hear me? Yes.

Great. So my question is, me and my wife were just hit with a little other $15,000 bill for a car that was repowed that she had signed off on in a previous relationship.

She was the cosigner, and her ex didn't pay and got repowed, and now dinged her credit.

And now the deficit is back to you at $15,000.

Exactly. Okay. Gross. I'm sorry.

Yeah, it's okay. The dilemma is, though, we're nine weeks pregnant with our first baby. It's super exciting, but we're unsure how to tackle this You know this deficit, we don't know if we throw some emergency fund at it.

How much do you have in savings?

If we fight it, about $10,000 in an emergency fund.

Okay, great. And you guys have no other debt?

No, we do. So I owe 6,000 on my truck. She has a car that we owe 20 on, and then some student loans. So we have a significant amount of debt that we were paying on before the baby. And then we pivoted into saving, trying to stack up some money for the baby. So we're a little unsure on what direction it going right now.

Yeah. Well, the good news is you don't need to just keep saving for nine months until the baby's here. You don't need $50,000. I would figure out what your out-of-pocket max is going to be on your insurance and your deductibles, and make sure that you at least have that as your baseline. And then I would move on and hit play on the debt snowball.

Okay.

And so smallest to largest balance. And when you get to that $15,000 bill, you'll get there.

Got it.

And maybe they'll settle at that point. I don't know. If you say, Hey, I've got $10,000 lump sum cash, or $5,000, will you take that?

Got it.

But you've got how much in student loans?

About $20.

Okay. And what's your household income?

A little over $100.

Oh, fantastic. Will that change at all after baby? Is her income part of that?

It is, yes. She makes about She's 40. She's a teacher, and I make about 70. Okay.

Will she go back to work, do you think, or will she stay home?

We're unsure. We're trying to figure that out. That's all a little new to us.

Yeah, totally. No, that's great. I would definitely keep a big emergency fund in place, considering babies on the way. So yeah, what George said, if you get to a comfortable spot that you feel good and you want to throw some extra cash to get that credit card paid off, or I'm okay if you guys pause it and do stork mode, is what we call it, where you just stay current, but you just keep saving and saving and saving and saving. And then once baby's here, mom is good, everyone's good, throw all you have at the debt, which means you'll probably knock out, I would say, the credit card and the $15,000 bill for sure, and maybe part of that truck. So either way, you guys are doing great.

It's going to feel good to get that behind you. I used to be that guy who bragged about running on no sleep, and then I realized being tired all the time is not a flex. To show up as the best George Camel I can be, I need real rest. And that's why I got Casper mattresses in my home. The experts at Casper designed their mattresses to help you sleep deeper, cooler, and more comfortably. And they've been top ranked in both the foam and Innerspring mattress categories by Consumer Reports. You and your entire family deserve great sleep. So go to casper. Com/ramsey and use code Ramsey for 25% off mattresses and 10% off everything else. That gives you up to 1,200 bucks off the Snowmax mattress, which is the exact one I sleep on. That's casper. Com/ramsey. Code Ramsey. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm George Campbell here with Rachel Cruz. And in studio this segment, we have a very special guest. You know him, you love him, Mr. Ken Coleman. It's always good to be here, George. I got to get my ears in. I wasn't quite ready. It's fine. Hey, take your time.

Take your time. It's your show, Ken. We're here for you, Ken.

Well, here's what we're doing. Here's why we thought Ken should join. We are about to do some 2026 financial predictions. I love a good prediction. And we're going to play this back at the end of and find out who was right because Rachel is very competitive. That is fun. Is that right?

We are going to do that? We should. We have to.

We have to.

You guys are in trouble.

It's going to be two, zero, Ken.

Now, if we're wrong, we're like the weathermen.

It's fine. You get to keep your So there's no stakes here. We're just having fun. Don't hold us to this. But here's what we think will happen for your money and in the economy.

Okay, I'm going to go first. All right. Okay. I think mortgage rates will continue to slowly go down.

That was a safe It's a good prediction.

I like that. So we started at around seven %, and now it's sitting around 5. 48 % on a 15-year fix, is what we pulled.

That's actually incredible.

That's pretty great. People were waiting. I mean, that's a pretty good. So I think we're going to slowly throughout the year, it keeps seeing that crypto. I don't think we'll get back to 2-3 %, but I'm going to see. I'm going to rest in the low fives, high force.

Yeah, the Fed has been moving pretty slowly on this, Ken, with good reason. You can't do it too fast. That'll mess up economy, and you can't do it too slow. So they're just incrementally doing their thing. Not to mention the political tension that has gotten fever pitch, as in like, WWE wrestling match back and forth between President Trump and Jerome Powell. It's getting intense. It's getting intense. It's getting intense. President Trump and Jerome Powell. Powell expected to step down. So new chairman expected in 2026. What will that do?

What's he going to do?

I don't agree with Rachel on that one. Wow. You think they're going to go up? I think they're going to hold.

Okay. So you think it's going to be at 5. 48% in December of 2026? That's what I'm holding you to.

I can't wait for the. I think what anyone would call a hold, I think it's going to hold. All right. Okay. Moving on. Here's mine. Sports betting will continue sabotaging young men's lives. You guys are really going out on the end of it. Again, it's a safe prediction, but we've just been seeing more and more of this. The stupidest. And as more states legalize sports betting, as more people jump onto these apps and the companies ramp up their marketing.

They make so much money. That's right.

2025, Pew Research study found 36% of men under 30 had placed a sports bet within the past year. It's becoming normalized. It's just socialized gambling. It's, Hey, I'm having fun with the buddies, and we're going to see who's going to win the parlay. That's right. This is a higher rate than any other age group. So these young men under 30 are going to get hit by the hardest. Who don't have money. Who are already broke. I can tell you, as a father of a high schooler, I hear stories all the time of Chase's buddies. Oh, my gosh. They're betting on crazy stuff. Like stuff you wouldn't think. It's not just a- It will become It becomes some fun game of like, Is he going to be wearing blue or red today? What shoes is he going to be wearing?

It is so stupid.

It's disheartening. I think it's so stupid. Mama Rachel with a strong opinion. I like it.

It's the most unattractive thing.

It's unattractive now. I don't own a home.

Oh, my God, the housing market.

You heard it here first, boys.

Who can own a home? But I'm going to go in freaking sports bet because I'm not athletic enough to play the game.

So I'm going to have to just- Can't afford to take my girl out because I've lost the parlay last night.

I like that. No. All right.

Very good. Strong prediction. You guys went really, really safe.

I think it's so stupid.

I'm going to step out a little bit. This might not be a popular prediction. Let's talk about Airbnbs. All right. Became a very popular real estate venture. As you know, everybody thought, this is my path to prosperity. It's going through a pretty complex shift. In other words, demand still remains pretty strong. But what we're seeing is the cheaper Airbnbs, less cost, smaller, smaller areas is you will see a continual decline, but your luxury listings will go up. The people who have the money will still be spending. Other people are more price-conscious. That's right. If you're in the Airbnb game, if you've got a luxury listing, I think you're probably in good shape. The demand will remain strong.

Which is a small percentage.

Small percentage. But if you have over leveraged yourself, do not think that you're going to eventually rebound in 2026. In other words, if you can sell, I'd sell. People just go, Well, it's easy money. People are going to be booking this 30 days a year. And it doesn't always work out like that. The reason that the cheaper market, just to give you a why, really quick, is because it's oversaturation. Everybody got in the game thinking, Oh, I'm going to buy a place down at the beach. So anyway, too saturated, too much supply.

That's why. There you go. It's the same dude that Sports Bet that's also on TikTok, and it's like, I own eight Airbnbs. And I'm like, You are so annoying.

Rachel, you're right. Rachel is exhausted by you, young man. By the way, Rachel's coming for the bros today. She's got the bros and the crosshairs.

I feel like you all need a little shake up.

I agree. Because you're not cool. She probably hates creatine, too.

I take creatine. In my protein shake, so when I work out. Good for you.

I'm glad. Look at you. The bros and you can agree on one thing, at least. All right, here's the next one. I think the stock market will actually stay relatively consistent. We've had a few good years, and everyone now goes, There's going to be a crash. It's all coming down, and everyone's got their predictions. I think the US economy is strong. I think AI and tech will carry us for the foreseeable future. If it went, it dips. Everyone's going to assume it's a crash. It's is going to be just a little low. I think it will come back up pretty quickly in level eight. You're not saying steady throughout the year. You're saying it ends the year pretty much at a level mark. At what it was. We had a few years that were negative 20%, and in the past few years, it's been plus 20%, plus 16%. I think we're going to have a positive year. Wow. No camel crash.

No. Okay. I think the trend of buy now, pay later. I'll get mad at the girls who shop, because sometimes he uses this. I think they're going to become worse and worse and worse for the consumer, meaning I think there's going to be more fees. I think that you're going to be able to loan, stack, take multiple, keep moving. They are making so much money. Stores are making so much money when people take the buy now, pay later option. They end up spending so much more. They see the money, the banks and the stores, the retailers, and they know I'm going to make so much. So they're going to continue to expand that.

Can I affirm your prediction, pun intended? I just saw Firm as rolling out a rent buy now, pay later option. So you can put your rent on buy now, pay later. That really frightens me. With the amount of money that you're putting on a short term loan, that frightens me. So I think you're right. Can I tell you, I want to tell the viewers and the listeners, I have never seen the lovely sunny disposition of Rachel Cruz so cloudy. I can see it across the desk. She's just sour.

I was mad at sports betting.

It's not because of her. It's this topic. She's got sports betting, buy now, pay later. She is disgusted. We're pushing all of her buttons. I love seeing disgusted, Rachel. America needs more of that. Let's get you back on the horn, Ken. Okay, last. Let's talk about the job market. This is the biggie. Oh, yeah, this is you. Everybody's always thinking, what's going on with my job? Because it's not been great. It's not been great. We saw a slowdown in 2025. Here's My theme, you know me, I got to go with a little phrase. You love a theme. I love a phrase. Is it a- 2026 job market will be, you ready? Low higher, low fire. In other words, you won't see... Now she's laughing.

Kelly says, Oh, wow.

You know what? Kelly doesn't appreciate that this is rooted in accuracy. Low higher means we're not going to see a hot job market. It's going to stay pretty stagnant. I think you're going to be in the 4. 5%. You may see a spike getting near 5%, depending on some situations. We still don't know where all the tariff situation, where all those tariffs, how is it going to shake out? We're still in a wait and see mode, which is why a lot of companies are on the sidelines as it relates to hiring. What I mean by low hire is I don't expect to see companies hiring a lot a lot of people. I think it's going to be a wait and see for 2026. But here's the good news. Because companies are also in a wait and see, they're going to be reluctant to fire talent. We're okay with who we got, and we're going to stay in a holding pattern. That's what I mean by low fire. Now, a couple of quick things, growth sectors. I think there will be hot sectors regardless of low fire. That is health care. Skilled trades. Don't sleep on the trades.

They're blowing up. Logistics and some AI-adjacent roles. It's not replacing jobs, but they're connected to AI. White collar jobs right now, specifically white collar tech, is getting killed because that's where we're seeing already how AI is beginning to kick people out.

How is it effective? Are you seeing numbers? Yes.

You're not seeing a lot of young people that are moving into the technology sector as what we would call white collar tech. They're not getting the jobs because those jobs have been replaced by AI. We're seeing private equity come in, buy it, clean house, and go, We don't need all these. You know what I like to say about private equity? What's that? Private equity equals public misery. This is why we bring Ken on, guys. He brings the heat.

Ken, he's all about the words. I appreciate it.

I'll be here for 30 more seconds. Here's the truth. Nobody knows what's going to happen, so just stay the course. No, I do. Okay. I take it back. Take those predictions to the bank.

We will come back December of 2026. Oh, we will run the tape.

I got how competitive you guys are. I was going to put Ken on hold. That's my dream in life to have a hold button for Ken. Thank you for joining us, Ken. We had a great time. Hope you appreciate our predictions. Control what you can control. Control. That's all you can do. All right, guys. Listen, if you have some money goals this year, you want to get control, you're making good money, you got to download the Every Dollar app. It is the way people get control with their money in a very tactical way. And here's a quote from someone who downloaded it. Love this app. It makes it super easy to budget with my husband. That's right. We've got a new spouse feature there. Here's what they continued to say, We've implemented this practice since our wedding day, and we've had zero money fights because there is full transparency, and we're on the same page. And you can do this, too. You can take control of your money. You can change your family tree. You can live like no one else. Go download the Every Dollar Budget app for free in the App Store or Google Play.

Amanda is in Toronto What's going on, Amanda?

Hi. Hey. This is my question. How can my mom and I budget our emergency fund and travel expenses, given that my father's ICU expenses are climbing? I'd like to still have some left over for my dad's rehab, since not everything is covered by our Canadian health care coverage.

I'm so sorry. He's still in the ICU?

Yes. Basically, what happened was that earlier this month, my dad had a stopover flight in Seoul, South Korea, where he had a cardiac arrest and is now in the ICU. My mom and I would like to fly over and bring him back to our hometown in Canada Canada once his heart procedure is scheduled. We have travel insurance, but we're not sure what would be covered since my dad's claim is still under review. I've already paid $18,000 Canadian dollars and The translator said the total cost of the hospital would potentially exceed 47,000 Canadian dollars. But of course, that's just the baseline, and it could go up from there. So I'm overwhelmed to navigating of this as an only child.

Wow. Gosh, Amanda. How old are you?

I'm 25 years old. Okay.

What is your parents' financial situation? Where your dad and your mom, what they have built as your parents, where are they at financially?

So my father, he has been on a disability for quite some time. So he's unemployed and receive disability payments from the government. My mom is the sole breadwiner winner. I believe she earns about 65,000 Canadian per year. Okay. And they do have a mortgage for the condo that we live in. So that's their financial situation at the moment.

Okay. Do they have savings at all?

Yes. I don't have access to my dad's bank account, but from what I know, my mom has $71,000 in an emergency fund. Okay, good. $10,000 was borrowed from her home line of credit. Okay. And she borrowed $10,000 from her sister and 5K from my grandmother.

Why is she borrowing all this money when she has the money to just pay for it?

I just found out about this after the fact, so I wasn't looped in on it. I think my mom is just, I think maybe panicking, given that the hospital keeps calling us every other day, asking us to pay a deposit.

Yeah. How much is owed right now? What gets you guys by right now? Because the other medical bills, you can get on a payment plan and pay that off over time. But what are they demanding right now?

So they were demanding 17 million Korean wands. So I believe that was, I'd say, 16,000 or so Canadian dollars.

Okay. And is that it? At this point, do you know how much longer he'll be over there before you guys can bring him to Canada?

No, we don't have that information. The doctor said they want his information to go down before they start the procedure. So he's just an observation at this moment.

Wow.

Okay. Well, I would make sure to use your dad and mom's money before you're using your own. Is that the case, or are you expected to pay out of your own salary for this?

What my mom and I discussed is that for my own travel expenses, I would be paying for my own.

Okay, that's fair.

That's what we have decided.

So how much will the travel be? Oh, so travel- All in for this trip. For my mom's- Travel, lodging, transportation, all of that.

About 5,000 just for travel and lodging. Okay.

Amanda, if I were in your shoes, we would never tell someone to go into debt and all of it. But when there's a health crisis, our number one goal is for your dad to be okay, right? And so what do we have to do to create that? And then we can deal with the money stuff on the back end. Now, we don't want to be irresponsible or make bad decisions in the process. We want to have a clear mind about it. But yes, I would be 100% spending five grand to go with my mom to see my dad, who's in a different country, who had a horrible medical situation, get him as healthy as possible. Sounds like the surgery is going to be there. There's going to be a lot. There's going to be a lot. And then getting him back to Canada. Those would be my priorities. I would ask, and I don't know how the communication with the hospital there. But a part of me would be hesitant to start paying something until we know and have some answers. There's a part of me that I would want to get there in person and to know how their...

I don't even know how their health care works.

You got to figure out the insurance claim and all of that and make sure that everything's verified and you're not paying for things that didn't happen. So there's a lot of pieces on the back end you can do. And I wouldn't worry about that right now.

Before you start writing checks, right, though?

I mean, I would- If they're needing a deposit for whatever, that might be the one thing to cover today out of mom's savings. Leave her debt. Don't allow her to go in any more debt, but just pause on her debt right now until all of this is squared away. We got dad home. We know next steps. She's covered the medical expenses. And maybe she pays over time, and whatever's left of her savings, she uses to knock out the debts, and then she rebuilds the savings. Do you have 5K for the trip, saved up, or are you going to save up quickly?

Yes, I have 5K for the trip saved up.

Okay, good. Well, the key is that you are not mixing finances together. And they have the money, so you don't need to give money to your mom and, Hey, this is a loan. I would just cover your trip, like she said, and let them handle the medical expenses out of their savings and then pay off whatever debt is left when you get back. Do you have any debt, personally?

No, I have no debt.

Good. Okay.

Yeah, Amanda, I think George is exactly right that they're... Again, a boundary sounds so harsh in a situation like this, but your parents have $71,000. You know what I mean? That needs to be taken... That's the pool at which you pool from. And it sounds like your parents have had separate finances because you can't get- Yes. Okay. So your mom, I mean, Is she under the emotional awareness of that this is my husband, and even though it's, quote, unquote, my savings, that I'm going to be spending some of this on him, right? Will she do that?

She will. I I think she's a bit, I guess, panicky about it, but she will.

Okay. Yeah. Because that's it, right? If your husband has a medical situation, you have $71,000, we're not going to go to my sister to ask for money at you. She has the money. And so I would not be spending your money right now, Amanda. Now, if all this gets drained and there's something horrible and you feel like as a daughter, you're like, I want to contribute and help, that is totally your prerogative. But I would not be paying money out of pocket for any of his medical expenses, again, right now, because they have $71,000.

And then it's up to your mom to figure out, Hey, what's going on with dad's financial situation? And we need to make sure that he's able to communicate all this. If he's incapacitated, she needs financial power of attorney. To use his money. To use his money and access it all if it is not tied to her name. And so there's just a lot of other pieces to this, but I would just take it one day at a time. Let's get dad well. The money pieces will solve themselves. We just don't need to go further into debt. We need to limit the damage financially and just take the trip, make sure he's good, get him back home, and deal with the medical situation. But, man, I'm so sorry.

That's a frightening situation. I'm so sorry. That's a frightening situation. That is so tough. Then being in a foreign country, different language, different health care system. Yeah, as a translator.

I mean, that's difficult.

That's a lot. That's a lot, Amanda.

For a 25-year-old to be dealing with.

I know.

Well, we're wishing the best for his health and the financial piece we will figure out. And that's why we to have an emergency fund. That turns this crisis into an inconvenience to drain it. But at least we're not in crippling debt coming out of this thing. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show in the Fairwinds Credit Union studio. I'm George Campbell here with Rachel Cruz. Taking your calls at 888-825. 5225. Elizabeth joins us in Columbia, South Carolina. What's going on, Elizabeth?

Hey, how are you all doing?

We're doing great. What's going on with you today?

Well, my father, 87 He's 17 years old, he's a widow of seven years. He's been seeing a... Excuse me. He's a widower, and he's been seeing a widow who's 88 years old. They live about an hour away from all of us here, and he is buying a house at 87 years old with a VA loan. We're trying not to read into it. We want him be happy, but this is one of the worst financial decisions that he will be making. He's not married. He has no intention of being married.

Where does he live now? What's his home situation now?

Well, he doesn't live in our town. He's been living with her for about six months.

Okay, so he doesn't have a home. He doesn't have a home.

He does have a home. Yes, he has a home here.

He has a home here. An hour away that he's not living in because living with girlfriend. Correct.

Okay.

Is he going to- Because she refuses to move to his town. Okay.

Yes. Is he going to sell his home where you are and pay for this home?

I only have a few minutes for this call. We could get into it.

I mean, I'm not making light of it. Well, I'm here. I'll eat some popcorn and listen up, Elizabeth.

Yeah. Very long story short. Well, my younger sister had financial problems, and she got recently foreclosed on and He moved into his house and didn't tell anybody. And so the last thing he's going to do is kick his daughter out into the street.

So he's going to take on- We all originally told him, We have no problem whatsoever if you sell your house, right?

Use that money and buy something down there. We have no problem with that whatsoever. But now that's not going to be the case, and he's still going through it with it. And he didn't tell anybody, learned about it the hard way. And he promised me face to face that he would tell me if he did anything financially like this, because I'm his executor, I'm his power of attorney, I'm on his account. I think she's manipulating him.

Wait, you think the girlfriend is?

Why else would he be buying- Because he wants to be near his girlfriend.

Why? You know what I mean? He's manipulating is the sister living in the house that he needs to sell. Now, the girlfriend's not going to be on the house, right? The loan and the deed and everything.

Well, I don't know. He hasn't really talked about it because he hasn't really talked about it. I mean, I had to call him out on it when I heard about it, and he Well, I don't know. Yeah, it's hard. She doesn't have money. She needs his money.

Oh, okay.

How much money does he have? She's not that she's living with him. She's got a house.

She's renting. And, yeah, she's renting.

Okay, so she has no money. She's broke. Yeah. At 88? Is she 88?

Yeah. Her husband, I think, financially, his health wiped him out. Okay. I feel horrible for that.

Sure. How is she health-wise at 88?

She's got her issues that, again, my dad has now become, it seems like a caretaker. Oh, shoot.

So you do see your dad. You're like, Dad, you're 78. You could have another 10, 15 years. Well, he's 87. You said 87? No, he's 87. Oh, he's 87. Oh, I wrote down 78. I'm sorry. Correct. Okay. So they're...

Oh, man. This is a wild one. Well, here's the deal. It sounds like you've been pretty combative, accusatory, and he's getting defensive, right?

Well, to a certain degree that this isn't our relationship, and that's why it's so hard.

Yeah, it's heartbreaking that he did something that you guys promised, the integrity of the situation of dad, you're going to tell me, and he didn't. That's hurtful. That's hard. Even though he's a grown man, obviously, That's correct. Have you encouraged him?

I'm sorry.

Have you just encouraged him? Hey, here's the things that I'm personally worried about. This isn't about me. I'm just worried about you. Here's what's on my mind of keeping finances separate. What happens if the relationship goes south? Making sure that it's only in his name and not her name and not all co-mingled at this stage of life while they're not married.

Well, hopefully he's at least doing that. I mean, but he shouldn't be doing this, I mean, it's... Okay, my concern, yes, my concern, we just want him to be happy. I mean, there's four children. We all just want him to be happy.

What is his financial situation, Elizabeth? What does he have? What's his net worth?

Okay, Well, he's got his house here, and if he had to sell it outright, I'd say he'd get $400 for it, and he's got about $200 in an IRA.

Okay, what does he owe on his current house? Nothing. Oh, he owns it outright? Correct. Okay. And then how much do you know how much the house he's looking at when he's going to pull the VA loan?

$425.

Oh, gosh. And that's going to be nothing down?

Correct. Because that's what he keeps saying, the VA doesn't need anything down. I'm like, That's not the point.

Well, How is he going to afford a $425,000 mortgage?

I guess between- Like his payment? Sharing expenses with her.

I mean, you told me she's broke, and it doesn't sound like he's rolling in money.

Well, she's got She's got enough, apparently, to live on for the next five years, and I haven't asked her exactly what that means. But she's got enough to be paying her rent, so I believe that they are sharing some expenses. But my concern is, what if my father passes away, and she's living in this house.

Yeah, it's under his name.

We need a clear on-day plan.

Then she goes back to renting, right?

Well, what Let's just say a year after they move in, my father passes away. Then what? I mean, I doubt we're going to be able to boot her out. If she fails to make the mortgage, then I'm sure he's putting up his current house.

I mean, if they're not married at that point and the estate plan is clearly laid out, then you have options. And so that's where I'm saying the best thing you can do right now is say, Dad, I can't stop you from doing this, but I need you to slow down and think clearly, and we need to put protections in place because I'm the executor. I'm going to have to deal with the fallout of all this. Correct. And so I just need to make sure we're updating wheels, we have the correct beneficiaries, we're looking at the whole estate plan so that we all have a clear plan of what's going to happen when inevitably one of them passes. Because he's creating a nightmare for the girls that he loves.

And what are you going to do with that? And what are you going to do about the sister? If he passes away in a year, what's your sister going to do? Because she lives in- Oh, my jeez. She lives in the- Now we have to evict her? It's the most of his whole estate is this $400,000 paid off house. House. And then that's got to be split four ways. So she's not going to buy you all out. So that's going to be... These are the conversations that need to happen before he passes away with the sister and him and his girlfriend. I do feel Yeah, I'm with you, though, Lizbeth. I'm like, How do you kick out a... If this is in two years, a 90-year-old woman.

Yeah, exactly.

I mean, from like- I would sit down with an estate attorney as a third-party mediator because between you dad, it's going to get too contentious and just say, Hey, dad, we have an estate attorney coming by.

He's going to look at all this and make sure that we've got our eyes dotted, T's crossed before we make any financial decisions so that it doesn't create a nightmare for all of us down the line.

But the hard thing is, George, is that he is a grown up. He can do this.

He's a grown man.

So you're going to...

That's... You can't stop people from doing dumb things, but you can try to slow him down.

When an 87-year-old has his mindset, I have a feeling.

Gosh, man. That's a wild time I fall in love, but hey. You know what? Good for him. Again, you want him to be happy. I'm so nice. Hey, guys. Dave Ramsey here.

Every day on this show, we help people work through real money problems and figure out what to do next.

Now, you can get that same help anytime with Ask Ramsey. Ask your money question and get answers built on Ramsey principles we use on the show.

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Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. Rachel, it's time for a question of the day, and it comes from YreFi. Defaulted private student loans, they don't fix themselves, but they can be fixed. Whyrefi? Yrefy helps you by refinancing defaulted private student loans into a low fixed rate payment that fits your budget so you can clean up the mess and move forward with a plan. Visit yrefi. Com/ramsey to learn more. That's Y-R-E-F-Y. Com/ramsey. May not be available in all states.

Today's question comes from Derek in Vermont. Excuse me. What's the point in marriage? Okay, here we go.

Start strong.

What's the point in marriage? My girlfriend and I are not religious, and we think traditional marriage is an outdated religious ceremony. We don't like the idea of spending money on everything that surrounds a wedding. We thought about doing a marriage at City Hall, but we already combined our finances, do our taxes together, and call each other husband and wife. So what's the point of getting the official marriage certificate I get.

Okay. Well, Derek. A pointed question, but a fair one that a lot of... There's a generation of people who are going, What's the point in this? Why do we need to make it official? We're cohabitating already. We do our thing. It's been going well. Why move forward in this outdated, old-timey thing where we have a ceremony and go to the courthouse and get a certificate?

What's your take, Rachel? Well, I would say from the non-emotional, non-spiritual side, there's a level of protection with getting legally married from a financial perspective. If you ever have kids in the future. I mean, there is something to be said that you have a system in place that helps protect both parties. I do think of along those lines, George, again, I don't have stats on this, but I'm like, there is something to be said. When you commit something, even legally, there's a level of commitment there, where this, it's like, okay, the wind blows a certain way, you're not feeling it, and one's just out, and then you're just stuck with what you got. So that's the more legal, non-spiritual side. But I would say from a... Gosh, I wish I had Deloney on here because he was talking about- He's been studying this stuff. He was talking about the marriage advantage, and there's something emotional, psychological, all of these elements.

There's benefits in every area.

Financial, all of it, yes. When you commit yourself to a partner. So there's something about that The long term trust and the shared sacrifice, stability for the kids, the financial benefits.

There's a lot. Emotional safety. If you're a person of faith, which Rachel and I are, marriage is a covenant, and we believe it was designed by God. So There is a reason there to become one. Totally. If you don't do that, it's fine, but you're roommates with benefits at that point. Some people make that work. I'm not saying that you can't have a successful relationship. I've just found at some point, one of you wants to go to the next level and have that commitment, and there becomes resentment, and it doesn't work out. We've seen that where we've been dating for nine years, but he just doesn't see the point. I'm like, Yeah, because you've been cohabitating for nine years. So he's going, Why go further with this? I can just I can have all the benefits without having to have the full commitment. And so there's a lot there. But again, I think the better question for you is, why are you scared of commitment, Derek?

Come on, Derek. Step it up. There we go. There's a rebel in there that people are like, I'm going to do something totally different, this outdated religious ceremony. I would go to City Hall, make it official, be husband and wife, because you're not. It's not about the ceremony, the wedding. No.

If you want to I'll skip that, whatever. Fine. But it's about building a life together, and I don't think you can fully do that when you're cohabitating.

I don't think from an emotional spirit. Yeah, I don't think that. All right. Derek, I don't know if we helped you.

We said what we said, Derek.

That's how we feel.

To each his own. All right, Dustin is in Indianapolis up next. Dustin, what's going on?

Good afternoon, George and Rachel. It's a pleasure to talk to you guys. You as well. I just started listening to you not too long ago. And long story short, I want to get much as your guys' advice as I can. I'm about 40K in debt right now. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I've been listening to you guys as memos, and I want to do something really different this year with my money. To be honest, I suck at budgets. I just downloaded every dollar yesterday, just bought a total money makeover yesterday as well.

Awesome.

Good for you.

I've been very blessed with the opportunity job. I'm expected to make about 120 to 140K a year starting this month. And I just want to know, how can I attack this rapidly right now? Guns blazing, Rambo. I also found a side hustle. I started doing in December, so I'm able to squeeze an extra 2-3K as well a month.

Amazing. Good for you. Break down the debt for us.

So I have 40K, I have about 15 in the I have about 25 in credit cards. 8,000 of it will be paid off the end of March, and then the rest, 17, will probably be paid off in about May, give or take.

Yeah, good for you.

I want to be able to get emergency fund as well. I hear people talk about that a lot. And I'm behind in my 401k. I only have about 10, 15k in that. And I want to know how can I max that to catch up from the year.

How old are you?

I'm 29 years old. Turn 30 next month.

Oh, amazing. Good for you, Dustin.

You got one of the biggest blessings of all, which is time. And that's what you need to build wealth. And you will do that if you follow the principles that we teach. Because guess what? By the end of the year, if you follow this plan, you're out of debt with a fully funded emergency fund with your incredible income.

Yes, sir. I love the year. Can I ask, Dustin, what are you doing for a living? Because I think this 120 is new, you said.

Yes, I'm a truck driver. The past couple of years, the pay has been fluctuating, but I've learned a great job, luckily here. I travel for work. I'm going to be able to travel two, three weeks at a time.

Okay. So it's pretty guaranteed, the 120. It's not like, if you sell this, you could make it. It's a pretty locked I'm like, Okay, if I do the work, I'm going to get it. Amazing. Yes, ma'am. Okay, so Dustin, you're incredible. Okay, so George is exactly right. I think all of this can be taken care of. If you want to be paying your debts off small to largest, so the 17,000 that's going to be left credit cards. Is that multiple credit cards or just one? Just one. Just one. Okay. So what I would probably do, Dustin, is pay minimum payments on it, and then I would actually probably pay off your car, your $15,000 car loan, and then go back to that 17. I mean, it's a $2,000 difference. It's not like the end of the world.

Yeah. The way you're headed, it's going to be so aggressive. It really won't matter all that much. But the momentum you create by using the debt snowball to a T and just smallest balance is next, smallest balance is next, freeing up the payment. If you do that, and are you bringing home like 9K a month, you think, with this new gig?

Give or take about gross, about 10K. Okay. About 19K a month.

So then if you think about it, could you throw 5,000 at your debt every month, total?

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

That's been possible. Okay. That's impossible. That means you are done in seven months. Yeah. 5,500 bucks get you done in a little over seven months, and it'll take you three or four months after that to get a fully funded emergency fund. Yeah.

What's your expenses every month, Austin?

Right now, I'd say about 1,500. I was blessed to come to stay with a family because I'm a truck driver.

So it was really low expenses.

So 1,500. Okay. You married kids, anything? Single?

Single. That's what I mean.

Okay. Because a fully funded emergency fund for you could be more, we say three to six months of expenses. Yours could be on the three-month side. Yeah. Because you- You're pretty nimble.

Yeah.

You don't really have a lot.

Not a lot of people to take care of. I mean, you can make it 10K and be done in two months. And so I'm telling you, man, by the end of the year, This thing's over. Just chunk as much as you can at the debt every month, minimum payments on the rest, smallest one, attack it with a vengeance, and you'll be done in no time.

Then once you get your emergency fund, then you can start looking at your retirement that you're asking about. You're going to have plenty. Can you pull up a calculator, George, for us? Yeah.

15% of 140, that's 20K a year you'd be investing. So think about that. You're investing 1,600 bucks a month.

If you put that into an investment calculator, George is going to do it.

Let's say by 29, you start investing, right?

We'll give you a year. Yeah. He's got 15,000 already in his 401k.

15,000. We're going to contribute 1,600 bucks a month, 10% rate of return.

Are you ready? Okay, Dustin, are you ready for this? Big reveal. If you do this, guess how much money... What's the age?

29 to age 60. You can retire at 60 if you want to.

How much do you think would be in your account, Dustin, at 60 if you did this? Just take a guess.

I'd say about 1.

5. You ready for this? 4. 3 million.

Triple it. Okay. That's not us making up numbers. If you follow what the stock market has done and you do this for 30 years, you never get a raise. This is the amount you make and you consistently invest. You will have multiple millions.

Well done, Dustin. Congratulations. Stay the track. Read Total Money makeover, do every dollar budget, you're going to freaking kill it. We are cheering you on.

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

Ramsey trusted agents aren't just experts who guide you through buying or selling.

They're people you can trust to have your back from the first call to closing day. Find a Ramsey trusted agent near you at ramsey solutions.

Com/agent. That's ramsey solutions.

Com/agent. Well, tax season is upon us. Rachel, I've got my appointment scheduled. I'm very excited. We're making it a date. My wife and I are going to go get a nice lunch afterwards to celebrate it being done.

And do your taxes.

Yeah. So if you need help with this, we've got tons of resources, free checklists and guides that will help you file. Just go to ramsey solutions. Com/taxis, and you'll feel a whole lot better about tax season. Maybe you'll even get excited about it. Like I do. You're so excited. I can't wait to see what I owe. Will I get a refund? Who knows? Oh my gosh.

I know.

Do you usually- Will I get close to zero?

I'd say we usually owe. Yeah, I've owed the past couple of years. I go on the other end of the spectrum versus wanting a refund.

You want to hang on to your money versus the government hanging on to it for you.

Put it in that fair wins, high yield checking account, high yield savings account.

I like to get it done early. Because here's the thing, the money doesn't come out of your account until April 15th. That's right. So I want to know ahead of time how much I'm going to need to pull from savings to pay the bill. So don't wait till the last minute. Go ahead and at least get your ducks in a row here. Ramsey solutions. Com/taxis. All right, Ashley is in Atlanta up next. What's going on, Ashley?

Hey, how are you guys? Great.

What's going on with you?

So I bought a car, and I don't struggle paying the payment, but I mentally struggle with the payment.

Are you mad at yourself? You feel like it was a mistake?

Yes. Because I drove a paid-off car. I was doing the total money makeover.

You went back to the dark side, Ashley. I lost a wagon. And I went back.

Yes.

What caused that, do you think? I'm curious.

Well, I needed a new car, or not a new one. I needed a car, and I made the mistake of buying a new one instead of just getting something that I could pay cash for or even less expensive than what I went with. So our car- Your heart went ahead of your bank account and went, he wants it now. I'm like, oh, this is awesome. It's so nice and it's comfortable and it has so many options.

Yeah, it's so beautiful. It's a brand new car. You know? Right. You sit in it, smell it, see it, and you're like, Wow. It's enticing.

And then now I get in it and smell it and won't run up it because my kids have already destroyed it.

Yes, and I meant- That's the problem with cars. What did you get?

I got a 23 Palestine Limited.

Okay.

Nice. All right. So what do you owe on it? And what's the payment?

So I owe 37,000. The payment, 805 a month.

Is that how much a palisade costs?

Yes.

So- Goodness gracious. It thinks very highly of itself.

It does. It really does. So if I keep going with the payment, it's actually going to be $41,000 after interest. Interest, yeah. Yes. So I got on Carvana, put in the information, and they offered me whatever. It was like a $3,100 difference that I would have to pay them.

Got it. So they were offering 34.

Yeah. So my question is, do I take the $3,100 loss and just know I made a mistake three years ago? Or do I continue to pay?

Yes, because that's basically four months of car payments. Right.

The other option, if it feels like too much to take the hit, you could always go private party. It's going to be a little more work because you have to deal with it and list it and all of that. But you'll probably get 37 or more for it. Yes. Because Carvana needs to make money, so they're going to give you less so that they can then jack it up to 38 and sell it to someone else.

Do you have any money saved, Ashley?

I do. We have three months emergency fund.

How much is that for you guys?

$20,000.

Okay, good. Great. Yes. Get rid of this car. If you want to do the work, do it private sale. Yeah, do it private sale if you can. If you don't want to do the work, you want to take the hit, you can. And then take, Girl, $6,000 dollars out of your emergency fund and go buy a car. Well, so we already have two other paid-off cars like that now.

So when I got the car, we needed a seven-passenger vehicle. But our kids have grown up. Some of them have grown up and moved off.

How many kids you have? Oh, okay.

Yeah, so we have five total.

Oh, my gosh. So you have a car sitting there. That you could drive. Great. Ashley, sell this car.

Your problems have been solved for you.

You've done it. You didn't even need to call us. You don't even have to work.

It's all right there. How much do you guys make as a household? Oh, you broke up on us.

Oh, wait. Yeah. How much? Sorry.

Around 140 a year.

Amazing.

Oh.

Okay. And what's the total value of all the cars in your life right now? Everything with wheels and motors.

I mean, they're older. The value, I don't know, probably $20,000 if we sold the other cars.

I was going to say, if you love the car and just hate the payment, you could always aggressively pay off the car.

Yeah, you could.

Yes. But that's another version of sacrifice.

Yeah. Do you want to sacrifice lifestyle for a few months and throw money at this?

Live like you're broke and pay it off in four months, five months.

Yeah, I've considered that, too, because I do the 10% into our 401k, and then I do $2,100 into our high-field savings account. It's not that we struggle to pay it. It's just like, I don't know if I want to pay it anymore. And I didn't know if it was better to just get over it.

It's okay to not struggle to pay it and want to get rid of it. There's a lot of people who take on on payment going, Well, I can afford it. It's fine. And then life happens. And so you're getting ahead of this going, Hey, let's nip this in the bud while it's still fresh. Right. And eventually, you can get your dream car. Just save up and pay cash. You got the savings muscle down.

That, too. Or if you guys want to, you could drain the emergency fund and sacrifice lifestyle for a few months, pay this off, build your emergency fund back up, and keep the car if you want. But if every time you get in that car, you're like, Oh, I don't like this. If the regret sits in. Yeah, if the regret, it's not worth that. But financially, you guys are in a place you're not... Yeah, you're in a place that you would be able to keep it if you wanted it. You just got to pay it off.

Right. Okay. Just the draining the emergency fund, it makes panic. It's like I need that just in case, like Dave says, it's not if something happens, it's when something happens. So I need that there when something happens to be able to care for my family.

Sure.

There's just a false sense of security when you owe this lender 40 grand and you have 20 grand sitting on the other side.

You're still a negative net worth in that sense. You know what I mean? If you're just looking at those two numbers. It's not really real because it's not really there. It's because you have debt.

So on paper, it's a net negative here. And so you know what to do, Ashley. You got two options. You guys make enough that this car is not a huge part of your world in income, but there's sacrifice on either side. I got to get rid of this thing. Got to drive this other older car, or you want to drain the emergency fund and go to town paying this off.

And when the kids trash it and you're paying $800 a month towards it, you're just like, I realize that as an adult now because I got little ones and dogs, and they've just destroyed all of this beautiful furniture and the vehicles.

And you're just like, stuff is going to get deteriorated.

I know. When we bought our minivan in 2020, right after Charles was born, October of '19, we got the minivan and I said, this is my five-year car because I didn't really want it.

But I was like- In your head, you could justify it if it was temporary. Yes.

Where I'm like, I want the cool mom car later, but for now, with littles, we'll do the minivan. And George, can I tell you, we are five, we are six years into this minivan. And I can't budge. I could not imagine buying a new SUV right now or a nicer car. And with my kids.

You've told me the stories. I mean, Sharpie on the white seats. I'm like, Oh, my goodness. The OCD in me.

And they're not bad kids, but I mean, and I'm definitely not the mom that's like, No snacks. Some moms do that. I'm like, No, eat your goldfish. You need to be happy back there. Starve until you get home. Do whatever you need to do back there to be happy. But then that just creates, I mean, just nasty, nasty, nasty. I don't know.

It's a good reminder.

That minivan, that odyssey will be in our lives.

I also feel like the danger of buying a new car is that becomes your new baseline mentally of what you're willing to drive. Because going from a new car- Oh, that's a good point. So I always, here's what I've done. I drove like an '09 nine, then to a 13, because I was like, if you jump too far, you're done. You're not going back to a '2016.

That's a great point, George.

You just feel like you're going back in time. You're like, I'm a pioneer woman here with my... I don't even have car play. What world is this? And so there's a real danger to the lifestyle.

What's what happened to Ashley? She said in the new car, and she's like, look at all this amazing stuff, right? Her baseline's high.

I've got a heated steering wheel. How do our parents survive without the heated steering wheel? Got to put gloves on? What is this place? Welcome to 2026. Last year is officially in the rear view, and you're fired up to finally make some changes with your money. New year, new goals. We love it. But let's be honest, old you said the exact same thing last January and the January before that. And before you know it, those money goals fizzle out faster than the fleeting flavor of La Croix. So here's the truth. New Year motivation only gets you so far. You need an actual plan. And the good news is you don't have to figure it out on your own. Everydollars builds a personalized plan based on your goals and your real life, and it actually coaches you to stick with it. Plus, the EveryDollars app will help you find extra money hiding in your budget. And trust me, there's always something hiding. The average person finds $3,015 in the first 15 minutes. That's basically like giving yourself a raise and a much happier New Year. So don't let future you down. Make Make them proud. Go download the Every Dollar Budget app and start for free right now.

Our scripture of the day, Romans 12: 9, Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Elon Musk said, For quality of life, it is better to err on the side of being an optimist and wrong rather than a pessimist and right. Did he say that? I don't know. They just give us these quotes, guys. Who knows what's real anymore?

And not on timing either in life. Let me just say that out loud.

That's right. Good call, Rachel. All right. Mary is in Grand Rapids up next. What's going on, Mary?

Hello. How are you?

Good. What's going on?

My question is, I know that Dave is a proponent of long-term care insurance, but I wondered if you ever can get to the point where you're self-insured and you don't need it.

Absolutely.

I'm 63. I'm still working part-time. My husband retired last June. He's 62. He doesn't want to take Social Security yet until he can max it out. And we have about 2. 3 in our retirement. Awesome. So we called Xander, as Dave always recommends, and we talked to a wonderful A full lady that spent a lot of time with us, and she gave us a quote for a standard policy from one of the better companies that they work with. And it would cost us about 6,800 a year for long term care insurance. And that would be going up by about 15% every seven years on the premiums. It would cover about 500,000 for both my husband and myself to dip into when and if we need it. But the first three three months would come out of our... If we did go into an assisted living or needed long term care help, the first three months are out of pocket. So I'm thinking by that time, if we needed it, probably the cost would be like 12 to 15,000 a month, and the first three months are not paid for by the insurance plan. So I was shocked at that.

It's still going to cost you. It's like a copay there. Yeah. Okay. Well, you got 2. 3 million. And so the question is, would you guys be okay if you need to dip in and pay $500,000?

Yeah, I mean, I don't know. I just think that $6,800 a year seems steep to me, and then it's going to increase. And I don't know. I just don't know if I feel comfortable paying that much. But then again, I would like- That's the rates you'll see anywhere for that at your age.

And so it is expensive. There's no hiding that fact. But the truth is 70% of people turning 65 will need some from it. The multi-year cost can reach six figures. That's the fear.

But also remember, every seven years, Mary, your money doubles. You guys will have five million, right? In seven years in your investments.

So you won't need it anymore. So you're not going to pay this the rest of your life. Or maybe you pay for it for a few years and then decide, you know what? That's what I'm thinking. We're at the point we don't need it, but right now we're still on the fence. Because it really depends on your expenses in retirement. If you guys are living pretty frugally, 2. 3 million will get you very far. And so that's the question mark, how much do you guys plan to spend in retirement and how long do you plan to work?

Well, I'm working part-time. I figure I'll work 65 so that we can go on the Medicare or whatever and not have to pay health insurance out of pocket. Because Cobra is pretty expensive as well.

Oh, yeah. What about your husband?

He doesn't want it. He In June, he's 62. He doesn't want to take Social Security until he can max out on it. So I think that's.

And you guys don't need it. You're not desperate for the cash right now either. Are you guys debt free?

Yes.

And what's your household income?

So Right now, I'm just bringing in about 4,000 a month working part-time.

And that's plenty for you guys?

You're bringing in 4,000 a month part-time. That's great.

4,000 a month. I've been having to dip into the investments a little bit because we've We've had some big chunks of money that we've had to pay out lately. We took two trips, and my daughter's getting married in the summer, so we're giving her some money.

Yeah. I mean, you've been investing for a long time. It's okay to dip in now that you're in your past 60, so there's no penalties or anything like that. So have at it. If you want to sit down with a smart vest or pro to crunch the numbers and projections of where you'll be at and when Social Security will hit and how much your expenses will be, that might give you some confidence on not needing long-term care insurance. I think, based on what you've told me, I think you guys would be okay without covering it. But the truth is, 6,800 bucks a year out of your income is a lot, considering you're only making four grand a month part-time. So I understand your concern.

I think so, too. Yeah.

And so it's okay to say, We're going to just have to cover that. And you just need to make peace with that, too. We might need to dip in a few hundred grand in retirement to cover ourselves, and there might be less that we leave to our kids or grandkids. And that's totally fine. Yeah. But you guys are not destitute.

Our financial people are just pushing us to get it. They just think that it's a real good idea.

Well, the risk transfer, when you look at it, I'm going to pay six grand a year for the risk transfer of $500,000 that I don't have to pay out myself. So when you look at it that way, it's not a bad buy, considering age, it gets more expensive as you get older.

I mean, even if you did it for 10 years, that's 60 grand, right? 70 grand for 500,000. And in the long run.

And you could dip into your retirement to pay it if you don't feel good paying it out of your income, and you'll still be okay. You're not going to deplete the nest egg. And so I think you guys have created a healthy financial picture where you may not need it. And if it makes you feel better to have it for a few years, get it. And if not, again, just make peace with the fact that this will be on you. Thanks for the call. Jared is in Cincinnati up next. What's going on, Jared?

Hey, appreciate you taking a call. Yeah.

What's your question?

So I found myself in a It's a tug-of-war situation of being offered a very generous gift with stipulations from my mother, and my wife doesn't want to take it.

Nothing like a gift with stipulations.

And nothing like a mom and wife situation. What's going on? Sure.

So my mom has offered, later in the year, to purchase me my dream vehicle. And we are currently new in Baby Step We have our own debt that that money could be used to pay off. So my wife is unhappy with the decision, but the gift can only come in the form of this one particular vehicle.

Why? I'm just curious. Is it a family car or something or what?

No. So the brief back story, my grandpa was a very good, wealthy businessman, and he offered this deal to my mom and uncles about a year before he passed away. And he kept telling I wish I had done this sooner so I could watch you all enjoy having your dream car.

Oh, yeah.

So now she's retired and she has the funds to do it. So she started with me and my brothers. My brother was first, and now it's my turn. Okay.

But that's what it's going to be. What's the car? I don't understand why is your mom mad? Just because she'd rather have just the... I mean, your wife, because she'd rather have the cash to pay off the debt.

Yeah, it's a history of these gifts. So the car would be a brand a new Ford Raptor.

Wow. Are we talking like 100 grand? What's she going to drop on this?

Yeah, 100 %. A lot.

In the area, yeah.

How much debt do you guys have, Jared? How much debt do you all have?

We have 86 $2,000 in personal debt. We just started knocking this out this year, beginning of January. And I have a plan. Our plan is to have it done in 16 to 18 months.

Yeah. How much you all make a year?

So last year was my wife's first year back working after being a stay-at-home mom, and we grossed 220,000 together.

Amazing. Good for you all. Okay, Jared, I'm going to be honest. I don't know. I'm trying to really... Now, if there's weirdness between your wife and your mom in general, and then this is just another annoying thing that your mom's doing in your wife's opinion. I get that. Okay, so that's one thing. But if someone offered me a new car, I think I'd take it.

The one thing I'm thinking- I think that's what it is. I think there needs to be a compromise here.

No, I think there's more issue. I think it's more the issue of your mom and your wife's relationship. It's not the truck.

There's a pattern of her stepping in and maybe crossing a boundary line into your marriage and finances that I think your wife is uncomfortable with.

Yeah, in a way. My wife, this is our first time having money. Her first time having money. I grew up with my mom doing stuff like this. So this is her first time having money and her first time earning her own money. We've got our plans goals, and she's thinking mom could snap her fingers and pay our debt off, but that's not what we do.

No, I'm on mom's side.

She's worried that we're going to look in the driveway every day. That's not what mom wants to do. She doesn't get to control what the gift is. That's right. The thing to think about is, can you afford the higher insurance, the maintenance, while you guys are in this debt? If you can go, Hey, mom, wait until we're debt free and then give us the car, I think that's a great compromise. That puts this hour in the books. Remember, there's ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus.