Don’t Rob From Your Future Self!

Thank you.

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey Show, where we help people build wealth, help them do work that they love, and create actual, amazing relationships. You can give us a call. The number is 888-825-5225.. My name is Jade Warshaw. I am joined by George Campbell.

So fun.

It's great, because, look, we both have books out.

That's an exciting time. I love it.

If you're not watching YouTube on podcasts, we have them both displayed. George's new book, Breaking Free from Broke, pre-order today. And then you've got this one. Well, George, you're supposed to announce mine. I know it's yours.

And Jade Warshaw's new book, Money's Not a Math Problem.

There you go.

Can I say, my wife saw your cover yesterday, and she was like, that's such a cute cover. Oh my gosh. I was like, you didn't say that about my cover. Oh, wow. So I just want you to know, Whitney's a big fan of the cover.

I love that. It's supposed to look like a magazine. And I feel like, do you feel like it does?

100%.

Yes. And I feel like yours is.

Mine looks like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, but you know, that's fine.

Oh, I was going to go more for like, Incredible Hulk, like, move these walls, like something.

I get that a lot. If I had a nickel, Jade, for every time I got compared to the Hulk, I'd be broke.

Real talk. I love it. But you can get your copy. I would say just go on and get both of them. Read them both, or take one for yourself and give one as a gift.

Love it. Ramseysolutions.com slash store. That's right.

Ramseysolutions.com slash store to get it. Get involved, people. I'm going to get involved with these phone lines. We've got Chris from Minneapolis, Minnesota. What's going on, Chris?

Hey, how you doing?

Doing good.

Hi.

So it's your line of makeup. It's your line of makeup that you're selling?

Yeah. Well, it's private labeled. currently. We're looking at different ways to do custom stuff, because I know a lot of customers are asking for that, with the movement in the industry of having things be homemade and USA made.

When you say custom, what does that mean for makeup? Because let me tell you what I have in my head, because I want to make sure the listeners understand. I'm thinking the same way. I might go to the drugstore and buy, like Revlon, right, brand. And you've got your own brand of makeup that you're selling.

Yep. Well, it's private. So when I say own brand, I work with a manufacturer here in the U.S. So it's not my own recipe. So it would be something that I go there, find out what I want to sell through my online store and to the stores.

You slap your own label on it.

I got it.

Yep. So yeah, exactly. Our box is here in Minneapolis.

Okay. What are you bringing in right now? What's your top line revenue?

Well, that's where this... So my wedding business, where we do makeup on location, is actually the top revenue. Okay. It's a two-part business. So that is where...

Right. Right. And I love that, by the way.

Yeah. So where the whole brand came from is I had bridal clients who were like, oh, you know, how do I touch up? You know, I need my own lipstick to carry in the day. And that's where the brand idea came from. My brand is Gunpowder and Gloss Beauty.

So do you have some stores that want to carry this?

Yeah. They're actually already carrying it. I have 11 locations right now. I just got Delaware, which is pretty cool. I'm trying to basically small boutique stores that don't have necessarily a brand.

So are you not... Is the problem that you're selling it to these stores, people are buying it and you're not making any money? Is that what the problem is? I feel like...

Well, I feel like the wholesale piece, I... Like. for instance, I get a hotel order and it may be, you know, $300, but then I buy the goods and it's costing me $300 to buy, you know, the product, the cost of the product and the box and all the things. So I'm just trying to figure out... Because I have one store right now, I'm testing this to do consignment with them.

It's just what you make is what you make.

Right. So I give my ignorance. Where's the other 10% going? I'm just curious.

Oh, sorry. 30.. I don't know. Okay.

I was like, something is not enough here. Okay. So...

20.. Sorry. Yeah. 70-30.. Sorry.

I feel like it's... In a lot of ways, it's kind of like a basic math problem, right? You've got to start with some margin in mind. And if there's no margin, then there's a dollar amount that's got to shift either on the cost that you're selling it to them or on the cost that they're selling it to the consumer. So some of that ends up back in your pocket, right?

Right. Right. Okay. So could you just increase what you charge for the wholesalers?

I could. I just feel like in the beauty industry, when they can go into Walmart, per se, and buy a $5 lipstick. Of course. Mine is a high... It's a good quality lipstick, no pyramids, all the different things that we try to not have in there.

So probably what's happening is a lot of times. what I see is it's like, okay, like I'm wearing a hoodie sweatshirt, right? That I made. Right. If I were to buy this in bulk and get tens of thousands printed, it's a lot cheaper than if I go and say, hey, I just need to run a 10, right?

But start small. Try to go grassroots. Try to incentivize the folks that are buying from you currently to share, spread the word. You can give them free product, work with influencers. There's a lot of things you can do.

I love that social media angle, George. That's, hey, that's where the money is right there.

Jake, you're an influencer. You understand. Yeah.

I would, look, I might influence it. Send me a couple. I want to see if it's any good. This is the Ramsey Show.

I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that people have started buying life insurance to protect their families at levels not seen since the 1980s. The bad news is many of them are still buying crappy cash value type plans. I don't care what you call them, whole life, universal, variable, adjustable, flexible. They're nothing but a waste of your money.

You're listening to the Ramsey Show. I'm your host, Jade Warshaw. I'm joined by George Campbell, and we want to take your calls today. We want to hear about your life, your money. You can even call us.

Today's question comes from Jeremy. in Kansas. I'm struggling to pay off debt. Not because I can't afford to, but because it's hard for me to let go of the cash that's in the bank. I have approximately $80,000 in car loans and $450,000 on my mortgage.

It is a real feeling.

A lot of people, when they've got all this money in the bank, it hurts because they've worked so hard to save up this money and they feel like they're making a mistake by deploying it all to pay off debt.

That's right.

But they're forgetting what's on the other side of that.

Math.

Yeah. If you owe $400,000 and you have $400,000 in the bank, that $400,000 is spoken for.

That's right.

By that mortgage company. Yep. You're not actually free. You don't actually have this giant pile of money because they want their $400,000.. You're not going to get away from it.

I think the hard part is so much of what we teach is not based on math. It's based on behavior. It's based on a feeling of freedom. This is one that is based on math.

Basic math says he's got 400 liquid cash, 200 in the brokerage, that's 600,000.. He could. Okay, so he could do both. He could still have 70,000 left over after paying off his home, after paying off all these car loans. Yeah.

And that's going to feel great.

What are you doing with 400,000 in the bank, just sitting there doing nothing for you?

I think people just like to see it. You log into your bank account and you just like to see that number go up.

But that could also be kind of a scarcity mentality. where there's just kind of this hoarding of like, it'll never be enough.

Oh, 100%.

That may be a therapy situation more than a financial one.

That's also true.

If you never had money growing up, you all of a sudden see all these zeros in your bank account, and it gives you a sense of security, which is great, but you also got to live your life.

You got to live your life.

And part of that is having no debt.

And in his case, this is great, because it's a mortgage that he's paying off. This is a forced savings account. So it's not like he's not losing the money. He's just shifting it over to another place, if you really want to think about it like.

that. That's true. Jade, people dog me for paying off our mortgage early because they went, that's so dumb that he paid off a low interest mortgage early. Haters. Do you know what he could have done?

And they don't sleep in your bed at night.

That is for sure. Only my dogs get to do that. And my wife, of course. She's there too. Thank you, Whitney.

What you're saying is for them, it's a case of they don't know what they don't know. They've never owned a house free and clear, so they really can't speak to the feeling that it gives you when the mortgage is gone. Exactly.

And like Dave always says, hey, go, pay it all off, and if you miss the debt, you can always go get more of it.

There you go.

So try it out, Jeremy. Love that. I'm proud of you, man. You're crushing it. And you could clear all this debt today, I mean, baby step, seven, living and giving like no one else.

Good stuff. Let's see what Haley, from Hartford, Connecticut, is talking about. What's going on in your world, Haley?

Hi, Jade. Hi, George. How's it going?

We're doing well. How are you?

Doing fine. So I'm asking on behalf of myself and my husband, we're wondering, should we sell our house if we think it was a mistake to buy it?

Well, what's making? you think it could be a mistake?

Okay. So we bought our house six months ago and we started listening to Ramsey four months ago.

Funny how that works.

Right? Perfect timing. But basically, we didn't really think it through. We didn't have a budget. We didn't follow any of the baby steps yet.

Well, let's see, how much, how much debt do you have?

So we have about, so we're in baby step two. We have our, our emergency, or a thousand dollar emergency fund. And then we are paying off. We had 10,000 in credit card debt and 18 on a car. So the 10,000 in credit card debt over the past month, we've brought it down to 2,000..

Oh great.

Or 8,000.. We brought it down 2,000 to 8,000.. Okay.

Oh, it's 8,000.. So 8,000 in credit card debt.

Yep. And 18 on the car.

Okay. What else?

That's it.

Okay. What's the household income?

Um, so our, like before taxes or after taxes?

Just gross annual income before taxes.

Okay. So I make, um, 48,000 and my husband makes 62..

Okay. So we've got a little over a hundred thousand gross and you're saying 34% is going to the mortgage. Then we've got all these debt payments. I don't think this is like an on fire, sell the house tomorrow situation, but I would try to increase income for both of you. Even that's temporary for the side hustle.

Yeah. So we're doing Instacart and like, um, what's the dog, dog sitting Rover.

Um, and we're talking over four grand a month going toward the debt. That's aggressive. Right now you're doing about two. So we need to double that.

I agree.

And if you could pay this off fast, that'll free up some income. And if you can get to keep that income up, that will lower the amount of your take home pay going towards the house. Now, all of a sudden we can breathe and this house becomes a blessing instead of a burden.

Cause I mean a longterm, I mean we, we recommend that your home, obviously, is no more than 25%. You're at 34.. You have to ask yourself, what do I need to do to get to find that 9% over the long haul? And what does that look like? And it's a lot, but it's not a lot.

And I would sell that car before the house. If we're getting to some dire straits and you're feeling the pinch.

I like that.

So there's an option.

Can I ask a follow up question?

Make it quick.

Okay. So what if we don't like the house very much?

Oh, my goodness.

That's a whole different question. That's a whole different question.

You may end up selling. I just don't want you to think this is a fire because of the finance side, but that's right. This is why we tell people only buy when you're ready. That's right. Don't get pressured into it.

One thing at a time. Pay off that debt. Try to get your income up, and then we'll fry bigger fish when we get to it. This is the Ramsey show.

This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. This is Deloney, and I'm always railing against social media, especially in the summer, because everyone uploads the highlight reels of their perfect bodies and perfect vacations and perfect kids. And I know they're not real. And I also know that I'm blessed beyond my wildest dreams, but I still find myself wishing my life was like other people's. And, based on the data, I know this is happening to you too.

You are listening to the Ramsey Show. I am your host, Jade Warshaw, joined by George Camel, your other host for this hour. Give us a call. The number is 888-825-5225.. We'll talk about the things that are on your mind concerning your money.

Just gifts or, like food, everything, travel?

That's everything, which, when you really think about it, especially if you think about travel in the mix, I'm like, that's not bad, but what I did draw from that is, if you're not on a budget, that and more will go very quickly. because I'm like, if you're traveling to grandma's house and you're cooking Christmas dinner and you've got two kids that you're buying gifts for, and if you're traveling and there's cousins and things, that can get out of control very, very quickly.

And you start to shop for yourself too.

I do.

That's a dangerous game.

It is a dangerous game.

You go, well, I'm here. It's on sale. Might as well.

Okay, James, in the booth, here's a poll for you. When you go Christmas shopping, do you do one for them, one for me? One for them?

James is too selfless.

That's another one for me. Do you do that or do you just like, no, I'm sticking to it? At the very least, do you at least buy one thing for you? Let's put it like that. I feel like I at least buy one thing for me.

Thank you for your honesty, Jade. You're looking for some justification here. What do you think, James? Are you asking me personally or to do a poll like we did the other day?

Both.

I mean, I try my best to stick to a budget, but it can be tough.

So you mean you don't buy another black hoodie? What?

I have black hoodies to spare, Jade. James' shopping list is real sad and dark, literally.

Oh, boy. We got to take a call. Let's go to Jenny in St. Louis, Missouri. What's going on, Jenny?

Hi, guys. I'm getting married soon. I'm 55.. He's 58.. He wants to sell his home and take the $50,000 in gain from that sale and apply it to my home, which has a balance of $129,000..

Well, it's kind of weird. I was expecting, because I was kind of reading up on your call before we took it, and I was thinking, oh, probably he's trying to take the equity out of his home to pay off her home, but this doesn't even clear it.

No. No. It'll just be paying $50,000 down off the $129,000 that's currently owed to get closer to paying the house off.

There's a couple problems with this. Number one, you're not married yet, so I would not think of doing anything like this or anything else with your money together until after you're married, right?

Yes. It's all going to happen after the fact.

Okay. That gives us some peace.

So, what's the idea? Because now you both have homes. You're married. What are you guys attempting? Are you trying to get in a situation where one of these houses is paid off and you can rent it?

No. No. No. He's going to sell his home, and he's going to get the $50,000 in equity. He's going to apply it to my home balance.

I see. I see.

And what is the total debt balance you have, not with the mortgage?

I have $19,000 in a car, and then I have a student loan, but I can't pay it off because it's part of a divorce agreement, and we equally pay payments towards it. It's strange.

And you can't pay your balance in full, like a lump sum to cover your section?

I can't, because the loan's in my name, and it's kind of a weird scenario. How much is it? That one is $22,000..

Is that the total amount, or is that just your half?

No, that's the total.

I'm not going to lie. If it's in your name, I might be like, try to get with the judge and be like, can I pay this off, and then he pay me back?

We can go there.

I might do that simply because it's in your name.

I just don't want this hanging around for 10 more years accruing interest while you're just chipping away at it.

It only has four years left, so I think I'm not too worried about that one.

Well, if I were in your shoes, if and when you guys get married, I'd take the $50,000 from the sale of his house. I'd pay off this debt first, including the whole $22,000, and I would do a situation where it's like, hey, I don't like fooling with this guy. It's in my past. I'm going to get debt free. If you can make it to where he pays me off, great, but I'm moving on with my life.

Yeah, and I like just when you get married, then you guys do the baby steps together. That means how much money do we have as a couple? All right, we got the $1,000 starter emergency fund. We have this debt. Let's knock this out with whatever cash we have.

I'm worried about our retirement position, like where we are, and that was another wrench in this whole picture.

Well, that's even more reason to walk it through this way, because the faster you clean up this debt is, the faster that you can get three to six months saved, is the faster that you guys can really start focusing on the things that are going to build you wealth, which are setting aside some money for retirement and paying off your existing home, the one that you guys decide to live in, the one with the $129,000 on it.

Okay. So you would agree with me and getting rid of the smaller debt first, before starting to think to sock away at the house, because with just the car being paid off, it's another $500 a month that would just go towards the house.

Well, what's going to be the household income once you guys get married?

Bring home will be about $6,200 a month.

Awesome. That's great. And so how quickly could you pay off the mortgage once you guys are married, you have no debt, we've knocked down the mortgage a little bit with whatever cash is left over. We're talking a few years, right?

Our goal is five years or less.

Boom. And that would be my goal. We're going to retire when the house is paid off and over those five years, you're also going to be investing 15% of your income as soon as this debt's paid off, and you have that emergency fund.

Do you have anything in retirement right now between the two of you?

Between the two of us, it's maybe a little over $100,000, but I get a pension that covers about 75% of my income when I retire. But my next question, if I have time, is I have what's called a backdrop coming when I retire, to the tune of $60,000 to $70,000.. It's a lump sum payment that's given by the state government for every year. you work past your normal retirement, and then you get your pension.

When do you get it?

I won't get it until retirement, which will be eight years.

Okay.

I think, by then you'll be-.

We'll have a paid-for house. So I'd rather roll it and save on the taxes and use that as part of your nest egg.

And just get it as a monthly amount, kind of thing. Okay.

Yeah, because by then you're going to be debt-free, including your house, so you wouldn't need to roll it to the house.

Yes. And I was able to work it out so I could live on my income when I retire. So his income will be just on top of that.

Gravy on top. I think this is a good plan. And most people find that when they have no payments, it's easier to retire, even if you don't have a huge income and a huge retirement account. And so that's why the focus on decreasing your expenses.

I think that's a good point, George, because it's hard. We talked about this earlier. It's hard for most people to imagine a life, number one, where they have no consumer debt, but number two, where they don't have a mortgage. For most people, that's the biggest line item next to daycare, the biggest line item on their budget. So imagining a world where it's like, hey, when I get my paycheck, all the money goes to me.

You got insurance, your cell phone bill, and your Paramount Plus subscription because you got to watch iCarly. That's right. You got to have it, Jade.

And maybe you get a country club membership so you can play pickleball.

There we go. Some of the luxuries. I want to retire and have so many options. I don't want to retire and be like, oh, we got to now scrimp because we didn't save enough. And part of that's getting rid of the mortgage.

Seven years.

So they're not going into retirement with a mortgage hanging over their head and they're figuring out when can I retire? They got options.

That's the blink of an eye, George.

And our millionaire study found 10.2 years was the average amount of time for millionaires to pay off their home.

Wow. 10.2 years. And we also found that the average millionaire is not someone who's making over six figures, right?

A third of them never made six figures.

Teachers, right? These are accountants. What's the third one?

Engineers. There you go.

I like. when we debunk the myths, right? We demystify it and realize, hey, it's actually not crazy at all. It's actually pretty simple. It's just this consistent pattern, paying off debt, investing 15%.

It's almost too boring, Jade. They want something more complex and crazy. But that's it. That's how it's done.

That's how it's done. This is The Ramsey Show.

That's all you get.

I wanted them to know that you were there. I wasn't just talking. You know, the people on the podcast, they don't know. We could tell them anything.

I'm rarely asked to make some noise. I will say that much. So I didn't know what to do there.

Well, we're taking your calls about your life and money. Give us a call. The number is 888-825-5225, and we'll try to help you out. But I do want to tell you guys, number one, I'm so thankful for all of the listeners. I'm thankful for everybody who downloads the podcast, everybody who logs in and checks us out on YouTube.

Share the show. It's a nice way to do it. Hey, I love this show. You should check it out.

Thanksgiving is coming up. You're sitting down at the table. Uncle Boo Boo is talking about whole life insurance. yet again. Share the show.

Hey guys. I appreciate the time.

No problem. How can we help?

Well, um, my mother-in-law has recently purchased a house here in Kansas City where my wife and I live. and, uh, she, she kind of told them, you know, hey, in the future I might move back, um, be closer to family and whatnot. And she kind of came to us and said, or not, kind of, but she did and said, Hey, you know, I think you guys should live there, and, um, you can live there, rent free. Uh, you know, I, just, if you guys want the house, um, I just don't want to deal with a renter. Um, but you can live there, rent free.

Interesting. So your mother-in-law doesn't live there?

I know it's a weird.

Is that right? This is an empty house?

Uh, the one that she has?

Yes.

Yeah.

She's not living there with you?

No. Well, she, she lived a little over an hour away.

What was the purpose of her getting the house?

Oh, just for hopes of possibly moving back closer to family.

So in the future at some point, what, um, what happens if next, you know, what happens if, a year and a half from now, she's like, I'm ready to, I'm ready to move back. What happens?

Then I think we would just move back into our current home that we're in because we don't plan to sell it.

Okay.

Interesting. Ooh. This is a very interesting predicament. Um, does she have a mortgage on that house?

No.

Okay. So it's paid for. So she's still paying insurance and property taxes. Is that just her gift to you? Yeah.

Uh, so that's, that's the kind of thing we don't really know. Like, I'm guessing that you would advise us to get that in writing, you know, like-.

A hundred percent. Do you see where I'm going with this, though? Like all these little nooks and crannies, that we thought life was going to work out perfectly, and now the roof needs to be replaced and she goes, well, you guys are renting for free. I feel like you should cover it.

I don't like the deal. Yeah. I, I, I don't like the deal, um, because of what George just said and the, the, here's another part of it. Um, I feel like when you buy a, when you, if you purchase a piece of property for the purpose of renting it, your heart goes in a different place. You're like, whatever.

I mean, we've seen worse situations on this show. If mother-in-law was living there, this would be a different situation. If she had a mortgage, this would be a different situation. So there's just a few red flags that make me pause and go, is this the right move? Do you guys really need the money?

Right, and that's actually one of the reasons why, because I think we would like to eventually become landlords. And so this is kind of a get your feet wet scenario, where we don't have a whole bunch invested and it's like something kind of goes wrong. We still have a place to live that we're, you know, doing rent free for.

Here's a wild scenario. I just thought of, Taylor. What if you got a tenant in your mother-in-law's house and you guys were kind of the property managers?

Interesting.

And maybe she gave you the majority of the proceeds, that way, you're not having to make this move. Oh, that's good, George. It's two birds, one stone. here. You get to taste the waters of the landlord life.

You get a little bit of money back.

You get a little bit of money back and the risk is still on her. She needs to know that.

And you get to keep your house.

But either way, the risk was on her. If the roof needs to be replaced, it was either going to be on her or on her, not on you or the tenant. So I would offer that as another scenario versus uprooting your current life.

George, that is, that's the move. I vote that. that is the move, Taylor.

Okay, that's what we do on the show.

There's no downside and it takes the risk totally off of your plate. And it takes anything that could possibly happen with repairs and all this stuff. that makes those awkward money conversations, right? With family, where it's like, hey, you know, grandma, we need some money for the pipes froze. You know, it's just, it takes that away, because the more conversations that you have like that, it just eats into the relationship just a little bit every single time.

Thanks, Jade. At least one time a day, I have a decent idea.

That was good. I'm going to tell Whitney about that. I'm going to be like, George came through with a great idea today.

She'll be shocked.

Mark, it. Put the tally on next to what do you think, George? Can we talk to Julian in San Antonio? Let's do it. What's going on, Julian?

Hi, guys, I'm going to get straight to it. I'm a police officer from my county. I've been there for nine years and I've built a retirement there. Now, I have an opportunity to go work as a security guard on security guard at a school district at a higher pay rate than what I am getting paid right now as a.

police officer. And safer, I gotta assume.

Yes, but I am not so sure if I should make the jump because my county has a great retirement system where for every dollar I put, they put two.

So you get a match.

Yes, two for one.

What's your new retirement plan going to be?

It's the TRS, the teacher's retirement system.

And so they just pull a little of your check and throw it in there.

Yeah, they. I would explain that it was years of service times two point, three percent times average salary.

How old are you?

And now thirty five.

And how much have you put into retirement thus far?

So far that.

You're breaking up on us, Julian, speak right into the phone.

Oh, I'm sorry. At thirty three thousand six hundred and seventy seven.

OK, and how much debt do you have? Do you have any debt?

No, no debt.

How much higher paying is this job?

Well, right now I get paid twenty forty five an hour, and the other one I'd possibly be making thirty dollars an hour.

OK, I'm going to be honest with you. Working somewhere nine years and you're at twenty bucks. I'm taking this leap, man.

Me too. And it's safer.

It's a safer job and you can make up for it through retirement. You're thirty five. You got another, you know, twenty five, thirty years to start investing, and you'll do that. since you don't have any debt. I'm taking this higher pay.

I love that. I love that he has the opportunity. Yeah. Ooh, George, that does it for this hour.

Fifty percent raise right there.

I know. It's a good day. It is a good day. I love it. That does it for this hour of the show.

Yes. Just to let you know, I have been listening since Ramsey started.

Wow.

It's been a long time. I have grandkids that are still using his principles. My situation is in June. I was in Budgetel Motel in Tallahassee, Florida. Couldn't stay the night because there was prostitution going on in the room next to me.

For one night?

I didn't have any recourse whatsoever.

Wow. Was this a one night stay or was this multiple nights?

It was a three night reservation. I didn't even spend the first night there. I got back to the motel with family. that took me to my motel room at 10 o'clock. Within a few minutes, I knew that it was only going to escalate and be worse in the middle of the night.

So you paid the two ninety. you want a refund because this place was terrible and it's frustrating you. that book, that. OK, what was the name of the hotel? You said Budgettel.

It was Budgettel. It is now been changed to OYO Motel in Tallahassee.

So what you're saying to the public is don't stay at OYO Motel in Tallahassee.

Thank you for the PSA, if nothing else.

Let me tell you, can I just set your mind at ease, Judy May? You coming on this radio show and telling these millions of folks not to stay at OYO is worth more than the two hundred ninety dollars. You just, you jacked up a little bit.

For that one person who's on Booking.com right now going OYO.

Yeah. So if just just understand that, number one.

Um. Your best bet, I mean, of course, you can try Booking.com and try to escalate it a thousand times up to, you know, supervisors and management. You can keep going back to the hotel and explaining. You can go to the credit card company and keep trying to get the charge back. Those are your three best bets here.

I did that. They don't, even they don't respond to me at all. OK, I've tried numerous times.

Here's the problem. At the end of the day, at some point, your time is worth something, isn't it? Yeah. So at some point do we go, all right, listen, we've expended 18 hours worth of energy. Now I get that based on principle, you're willing to fight this thing till your last breath.

Unless someone who works at Booking.com goes in the chats and says, Judy May, contact me, I'll help you out. So if you work at Booking.com and you can help her out.

Make this right.

Or you work at OYO and you can help her out. Hit up the chats and say, Judy May, come holler at me. I'll make this right for you. But I agree with George. At some point, you've got to just go back and chalk it up to a loss.

So the longer the time goes on, the harder it's going to be to get it back. Yeah. So I'm sorry you're going through this, Judy May. That's a real bummer. I I'm especially.

I get it. But I get it. Look, I would be like her. I I hate when something I've forked over my money for does not turn out the way.

Also, cancel the Sam's Club credit card, Judy May. Come on. You've been listening to us for too long. Good call. Cut that.

I love it. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. That's crazy. Sorry, I'm thinking about that.

At some point, is this worth taking a small claims court and getting lawyers involved to try to get this money? It's not. Probably not.

It happens to the best of us. We all get in these situations. And at the end of the day, you just have to be like, well,

lesson learned. Lesson learned. Number one, BookDirect. That's an important note for a lot of people out there. Some of these websites, you have trouble when it's through a third party.

I never use them. I almost never use them. And if I do, and this is not a none of this is plugs or ads for anything, by the way, I always go on TripAdvisor first.

Look up the reviews.

And look at the reviews. And for me, it's the photos when it comes to a hotel.

Actual user photos, not the one uploaded.

Actual user photos. That's what I want to see, because they will show you the photos from the day the hotel was renovated, you know, on the actual hotel.

You know, on the actual hotel room you're getting. It's like, here's our sample room at its peak.

And I want to see. I want to know, did anyone find a bug? I want to know, did anyone see a hair on their pillow? Because all it takes is one. That's all I need to know about.

That's true. But you can also, when you, when you find the best deal, then call the hotel directly and say, hey, I found this deal. They'll generally match it. They want your business. They don't want to have to give a cut to the third party website.

I like that hack. Do you have any more of that, George?

Any more travel hacks out there? I mean, we could be here all day talking travel hacks. There's a few good, you know, apps and things like that that can help you find the best deals. But I found one of the best ways is, you know, you want to? if you're booking flights, for example, there might be a time when that flight becomes cheaper.

So it's not you booking an additional flight and then going and canceling the other one. It's you taking that existing flight, rebooking it. That's it. Or is Southwest the only one that does that?

That's the one I've used. There may be others that do it, but that's an easy way. I wish they would just tell you, hey, the flight is cheaper and we're going to refund you the difference. That would be really nice.

I mean, that would be really nice.

If I owned an airline, that's what I would be doing, Jade.

So we got to stay on top of it is what you're saying. You got to stay on top of what you're spending.

The best hacks always have some effort involved, but they're always worth it.

Oh, I love it. I hate what happened to Judy May, but it happens to the best of us. Thanks for the hacks, George. Thanks for the tips to save money. This is the Ramsey show.

Fake it till you make it. It's popular career advice, but it doesn't work for very long. If you don't love what you do, you can't fake the enthusiasm and energy you need to win at work. You also can't fake your physical health and energy. Everybody knows we should eat more fruits and veggies, but fruit chews and veggie chips don't count.

You are listening to The Ramsey Show. I am Jade Warshot, your host. I'm joined by my co-host today, George Camel. George, by the way, you have a new book out. Am I correct?

That is true. Yes, it's on presale right now. It's called Breaking Free from Broke. Jade, you're like the Vanna White over here. Here it is.

at the same time. Put some meat on the bones.

So I'm excited about it.

You really slid by the fact that you went from broke to millionaire. I mean, you just said that like like it wasn't a. how fast did you do that?

That took a decade. And so this wasn't overnight. There was no life hacks. I literally. this is so boring, Jade.

I love that. And, you know, at 10 years, 10 years, you can see that as, oh, my gosh, that's such a long time. But in my mind, when we're talking about net worth, millionaire status, that is so short the time, the time that you accomplish that, George. So very good.

Part of it is having a spouse. that's on board. So I know that's a big piece of it. And you and Sam, that was a big piece of your story, paying off over half a million. And I'm excited to tell people about your brand new quick read.

And I say it's the holidays. I say go on ahead and pick them up, pick up both of them.

Yeah. Mine's 20 bucks to preorder. Yours is 10 bucks. 10 bucks. Yeah.

Life change on your hands. Yes. I love that.

And we're younger and more energetic than Dave. Well, maybe not more energetic. That guy can outrun me on a bad day.

But I think we bring a youthful energy.

We do, to our books and to what we do. And I think, if you got younger people in your life, millennials, Gen Z, you know, this is the book for them. And we have hair.

So there you go. All right. Let's head it straight to the phone lines. We got J.D. in Seattle, Washington.

All right. Thank you for taking my call.

Speak directly into your phone. I had a hard time hearing you there. Can you hear me better? I can. What's going on?

So recently I lost my grandfather and about a week later, my grandmother was in a really bad car accident. I had to fly across the country. Yeah. To facilitate the funeral. And then I moved my grandmother into assisted living and also just finished selling their house and actually closed this week.

So when your grandmother sells her house and goes to assisted living, how much? what's the take home off the sale of the house?

So we got. they made around 200 and over 200,000 from it. And of which my grandmother, her assisted living, is paid for. OK, I was going to ask by by pension. And my concern is my grandmother's pension covers just her assisted living and no additional expenses and won't increase over the rest of her life.

OK, so the pension is just enough to cover her stay there. It doesn't account for anything else. Correct. And what are what are some other potential expenses that you see with her stay at?

I could see in the future her going into memory care, if, you know, if that's necessary. I sadly live on the other side of the country, and my sister does as well. And my mom is just not really capable of helping.

So what would it look like if we took this 200,000 and we parked it somewhere and we said this is this is money to take care of grandma, aside from the pension? Because if you, if you foresee that you need that money, it feels like that's maybe the better use of this. And then, you know, when grandma's, when grandma goes to heaven, whatever money is left, you guys can decide. Is that used to help mom buy a condo now? or what do we do with that?

I. that was my first instinct, too. However, my mom would not have a place to live. Before my grandfather passed, they were paying for not only her rent, but her living expenses.

When you say recover, is this just a financial thing, or is there anything else involved in that?

Is she disabled physically?

She's not.

How old is she?

She's in her early 60s.

What happens if she lives to be in her 90s? Who's going to cover the tab for the next 30 years?

Yeah, that's one of my my big worries as well.

I think we need to help mom get on her feet, even if it's difficult, because that's the best long term plan for her. Aside from the situation with grandma's money. and do we buy her a condo? This feels like just more enabling. And I want to give your mom some dignity of having a life and having some purpose to get up every day.

Yeah, we've. we've tried to work on that, too, with her. So I guess it's just.

Well, is your mom going to be in that way? Is your mom going to live on the streets if you don't buy her a condo? Or do you have faith that she will figure out? I have faith that she'll probably figure out a living situation, whether it's renting a place on her own or figuring out a roommate situation, if she can't afford to live on her own. There's part of this where the cord kind of has to be cut or she's got to get kicked out of that nest, so to speak.

She does. Yeah, she's very she wants. she knows how my mom is, how irresponsible she is. Right. And and I do think that she would.

Buying this condo is just a bandaid. It doesn't actually fix the problem. And there's going to be more expenses and there's no more money. Now Grandma's out of money and can't support her. That's right.

Yeah. Get with a smart investor pro and get that two hundred thousand invested so that you guys can use it for her care. This is The Ramsey Show.

Really? Yes. From who?

Will Rutter, who's over there in the production booth. I'm calling him. I'm naming names. Will, this is The Ramsey Show. Give us a call.

Yeah, it felt like it was going to be a trio. They really let me down. Washington Post.

Trying to do a Johnny Cochran moment and it failed. But the state of tipping in America is, in a word, a mess. Americans are divided and confused over when to leave gratuities and how much to tip for all kinds of services, according to a new study published Thursday by Pew Research Center. Many don't like recent trends such as these added service fees and suggested tipping amounts. Tipping is one of those things in American society where there just aren't clear rules, they said.

Yeah, people are. the consumers are just expected to pay gratuities. Seventy two percent, say tipping, is expected in more places today than it was five years ago. Part of that is due to technology, right? I mean, you see the iPad.

Well, the worst part is where I come from. I mean, I'm talking about food specifically and service where I come from. You need to get a chance to see if you need a tip, right?

Like, oh, yeah, you need a chance service first.

Was it good? Of course, you go to a restaurant. Let's be clear. You go to a restaurant. You must tip like the.

I went to the other day, which will remain, you're standing in line. You get to the counter. I haven't even seen it yet. And then they go, it's just going to ask you a few questions. I don't even know.

Did you get the order right? And let me tell you what happened the other day. Right, quick. I go to a coffee store, which shall remain nameless. Place my my order.

How can you run a coffee shop and not offer straws?

How are you going to roll my eyes at my eyes? How are you going to roll your eyes at me when I just gave you my hard earned money?

I don't want to be on that side of Jade Warshaw.

I'm just saying, you see what I'm saying? If I had tipped first, I would have been right back there. Give me my five dollars back, because you eye rolled at me.

Yeah, that's a tough one, for sure. There's, and there's a lot of confusion, too. People, I think we all want to be decent, good human beings. We're not trying to be, you know, jerks and stingy. But at some point we have to just go, I'm not going to tip for when I.

I got my own frozen yogurt. I put it in the cup myself.

Self checkout. Some of these self checkout are asking for a tip. You order something online, a piece of furniture, and it's like, hey, you want to tip the crew? Yeah. No, you have to build in their their own income into the product that you're selling me.

I think the I think the most, the craziest part is, it's that it's before the fact. I think that more industries probably could ask for tips. Like, I'm not mad for saying, hey, did you like your service? Show it. Show us.

It's now gone up. It starts at 20 and then it goes up 30, 50 percent. No. And some coffee shops have just started doing. you want to tip one buck, three bucks or five bucks.

And, like my order will show you the percentage.

My order was two dollars. Yeah.

Because they're playing with your psychology. You go, oh, one dollar. That's not a lot. Or five bucks. That's not bad.

it could have been a 38 percent tip. That's right. Hey, yeah, that's what you tip on to go orders. What's your take on to go?

If it's a, if it's a to go order that I have to that I still have to get out of my car and go in and pick it up. I probably won't tip much because I'm like, I did everything, like you didn't do much different. Now, if it's one of the car services where it's like I just pull up and you bring it out, I'll tip on that. That's fair. Like I'll tip extra on that because I'm like, if I still have to get out of my car and go in, I'm still like.

You're still doing the most. There's a lot.

Now, I will say somebody told me they were like, well, Jade, they have to put it in the boxes and they have to do that. I'm like, but they were going to put it on a plate. Are you telling me cardboard?

You can't win with these people, Jade. I'm just saying. Everyone's going to be upset at you. But, you know, we love generosity. What I hate is forced generosity, which is very, very different.

That's right. And at the end of the day, there's a lot going on because we've got inflation. Right. And then there's the fact that you're choosing to go off site, like go out of your home and get food anyway. So you're paying more.

And now why I'm doing take out is because I don't want to sit there and get service and have to pay an extra 15 percent.

And that used to be a tip of saying, hey, I'm just going to do take out instead of sitting into the restaurant. And now they're, they're taking it away from us.

The latest one, I got a health fee added to my bill at a restaurant. Nice restaurant. And it said healthy. And so I looked into it and said, hey, you're, you're supporting the health care for the workers. here.

That's interesting. No.

What a time to be alive. It doesn't make sense.

I'll tell you right now, I will always tip when I get my nails done.

Always. There you go.

Because it's absolutely important to do that. I will always tip when I go to a restaurant, because it's absolutely important to do that. I will always tip Instagram or not Instagram, Instacart, Uber, you know, people who deliver your groceries.

Someone who went to Costco on a Saturday for me. Yeah. And went to my house and brought me my 32 pack of water. You know, they're getting a tip.

Yeah, because I order, you know, you got boxes of pull ups like expensive, like heavy things. And I kind of live out in the boondocks. So it's like you're driving on these crazy roads.