To Build Wealth You Must First Change Your Behavior

Silence.

Silence. Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's The Ramsey Show, where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create amazing relationships. I'm George Campbell, joined by bestselling author, Dr. John Deloney, and we are here for you, America, taking your calls at 888-825-5225.. You call in, we'll talk about your life, your money, we'll help you take the right next step, and hopefully, give you some hope.

Hey, how's it going, guys?

Great, how are you?

Hey, I'm doing well. Hey, quick question for you guys. I've been following the Ramsey Solutions now for a couple months, and I feel like I've made some pretty good progress on my debt. And so now I just kind of feel like I'm at the age now where friends are getting married, I have bachelor parties, I have to travel a lot to visit family and friends and that sort of thing. And I feel like every time I put a good chunk of change towards my debt, I feel like something else pops up, and I just feel like for the rest of the year, I just have so many things that I have committed to and feel like I need to commit to.

How old are you?

I am 27,, turning 28 soon.

Okay. And you're single?

No, I do have a girlfriend, and that's kind of why I started following the Ramsey Solutions, because I'm like, I'd like to get engaged this year. She somehow wants to say yes to me. And so yeah, I just want to start setting up my life.

All right, I want you to practice something with me. Are you ready? We're gonna do this in front of all of America.

Yeah.

All right, repeat after me. You have to say it exactly as I say it. Okay? Yep. You ready?

Mm-hmm.

No. All right, your turn.

No.

All right, that's it. Ta-da. Nailed it. Nailed it. Hey, this is the rest of your life.

Yeah, no, and that's exactly where I've been at. I feel like I make pretty good money, but I kind of just now realize I'm not taking any steps forward where I'm not overly struggling, but now, like you said, it's kind of one of those things where now I don't want to go, spend that much money to go on a trip and commit to all this stuff or sometimes….

Dude, stand tall. Stand tall and throw your head back, throw your shoulders back and be like, nope, I'm not gonna be able to make this one. I love you guys. I hope you'll have so much fun without me, but I'm gonna have to sit this one out. Oh, come on, bro, you suck.

We're secretly friends, openly enemies.

Very secretly, friends. We don't tell anybody. But both of us were just talking about how we thought, when you got X dollars, that all of your problems go away, that you can just get the house that you want and the cars that you want and the things that you want and the trips that you want, and it's just not true. And it sounds like you're experiencing some of that also. Like, I just thought when I got to be 27,, I had a good job, that I could just go to these things.

And they want you to rent the tux and then buy the tickets and then the Airbnb. we got to split and that's gonna be another 300 bucks. And then all three friends are getting married this year. Cool, cool, cool.

And Dan's cousin isn't even gonna pitch in because Dan's cousin's an idiot. Right? The whole thing, man. You just got to make some hard choices.

Yeah, no, absolutely. And that's exactly where I'm at. I mean, crap, to go to a bachelor party, you gotta fly. And to go to the wedding, you gotta fly. You got a couple of those a year.

That's right. But, as we've often quoted on the show, you need to choose guilt over resentment. Because what happens is you do all these things, you're gonna resent your buddies because you're still in debt, you're trying to save up for the ring, you're making all their dreams come true. And I'd rather you choose guilt and go, man, I hate that I can't go. But this is what's best for me right now.

Can I tell you a morbid exercise? Now again, you got to understand that my family is kind of different than most families. My dad's homicide detect. We talk about death all the time. But I actually went through an exercise about six months ago, writing down for myself, this is just all for me, which one of my closest friends' parents' funerals would I attend?

Yeah, no, absolutely. Well, hey, seriously, that's all the info I needed. So thanks, guys. You guys have been awesome last couple months. And me and my brother have been listening to you guys.

Absolutely, man. I'm proud of you. That's a sign of maturity is saying no. It's not a sign that you're weak or that you do just grow up, be better, spend the money. Who cares?

Or at 27,. you're starting to get invited to your buddy's second wedding. And you can just send a note. It's like, that's cool. I'll catch the next one.

You're burnt.

Yeah, exactly. There it is. Yeah. George, we can laugh about it. Telling people we love no is hard.

Well, John, you have a great article on how to set boundaries on the Ramsey Solutions website. So we'll make sure to drop that in the show notes. It's a great resource for people that, step by step, walks them through how to do this practically and with kindness, but also firmly for your own benefit. So that is a good segment there, John. I learned a lot there.

Hey,

Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm George Campbell, joined by Dr. John Deloney. People have been asking for it, John, back by popular demand. The Money and Marriage Getaway is back.

It kind of gets off the rails.

Mostly because John's involved. Rachel keeps it on the rails. John's goal is to get it off the rails, and that is worth the price of admission.

Rachel never even gets on the rails. She's in a pretty nice car out in the parking lot.

She's doing fine. She's doing fine. But this is a really great event. It was a special time last year. I got to speak at this event.

100%, no chance. TBD. No chance.

Okay, there it is. From the horse's mouth. Well, there's going to be lots of Q&A, lots of time to get your answers to real hard questions, and they bring levity to it all, which is so fun. You and your spouse will walk away with the tools you need to build a deeper connection and win with money together. Platinum tickets already sold out.

Hi.

You're doing great.

I'm going to have my third child in mid-September. My husband and I, we've been working the baby steps. We have a $1,000 emergency fund. We've paid off about $15,000 in debt already. We've cash flowed emergencies and things like that.

No, don't.

About the interest continuing to build up.

No, I understand. That's a hard thing when you look at that interest building up, and you want to attack that debt, but man, there's this life change coming for the third time, and we want to make sure you're prepared for that first, because we don't want you to go further into debt. What tends to happen is people are working on it at snowball. They're not saving for the kid. They have $1,000..

Or in my house, I thought that a package of diapers would last me a good few weeks. I didn't realize. babies poop 400 times a day. And so that got way, way more expensive than I was expecting.

Okay.

So this was largely unhelpful. Yeah. What's your household income, and how much debt do you have?

So I bring home, I protect about $4,000.. And then my husband, his W-2, said he made $100,000 last year. But his income varies. He's hourly, an electrician. So, like right now, he's working 60 hours, and he has overtime, and it's great.

Wonderful.

And we have more to throw at the debt. And then there are some months where he's right at that 40- or 48-hour mark. And so it's always different. But, yeah, so last year he made $100,000, and it's continued to go up throughout the years. Wonderful.

So you guys are bringing home, like you're making, $171,000 and bringing home probably close to $120,000?.

Yeah, well, I just started earning this. I've had this job for about six months. So my salary is new, but, yes. And so we're throwing,

How much more debt do you have?

So I have, I think I said $12,000 when I called in, but I went back and looked. So I have $7,000 left on our SUV. And we should, if he keeps working, the overtime thing is going to work. It should be paid off by next month. So we should be done with that, and that's going to free up an extra $400 a month.

So you've got about $40,000 in consumer debt.

Yes.

Okay. Well, this is a solvable problem, making $170,000.. And you'll free up that SUV payment, but then I would just stock up cash. And you're going to be able to save up a good amount over six, seven months of just saving. And then baby and mom are home safe, and you guys attack that debt with the $20,000 you have sitting in that savings account.

Yeah, go for it.

So I was able to stay home for a year with both kids, my first two. And then this would be the first one that I'm even considering putting in daycare, just so that I can get back at it, work for a few months, and then come home. I don't know. I feel really uneasy about it. So I don't know if you have any encouragement or advice on that.

So you're going to probably continue to work and put all three in daycare?

Oh, well, so I have my daughter really young, so she's already in grade school.

Oh, great.

And then our child, my second child, he's in daycare already. But he didn't start daycare until he was about a year and a half close to two. And so this would be the first that I'd be leaving in daycare.

So it's more the emotional level of leaving the children and going to work versus the financial?

The baby, yes, because my son's already in daycare, so it's more the new baby. Just the thought of doing it freaks me out. But then I also don't want to lose my dad anyways, which I know he doesn't say. It's our dad, and my husband's super supportive. He doesn't look at it that way.

The two pieces of advice I could give you is, number one, you're going to get 5,000 different opinions. The only two that matter are you and your husband sitting down and making a choice for your home. The second one is it's really tempting to feel like whatever decision you make is forever, and it's just simply not. So. if you want to try this out for a month, try it out for 30 days.

You just graduated, you got that degree, now you're staying at home. All of that's going to hit.

It's what works for you and your family. And what works for me and my family is different than what works for my friend George and Whitney. And so it's just different, and everybody's got an opinion, and none of them really matter, except for you and your husbands.

Thank you.

Is that cool?

Yeah, that's perfect. I feel like I just needed to hear that maybe.

No, you're good, you're good. None of these decisions are forever, so hold them really loosely and do what works best for each of you in different seasons.

And maybe you go, Hey, once we're out of debt, I want to stay home. That's right. And that becomes the timeline, and that's the thing you aim for. And there's no right or wrong ways to go about this. It's what's right or wrong for your family right now, and that can change.

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. Comparison is wired into us, but comparison can also become the thief of joy, because we can feel like we're not enough and begin acting and thinking in ways we would never think otherwise.

Welcome back to the Ramsey Show. I'm George Camel, joined by Dr. John Deloney. If you like this show, be sure to check out all the other shows on the Ramsey Network. I've got a YouTube channel that is doing wonderfully, John.

Yeah, it's pretty wild to see it up there, man.

That's mind-blowing. It's pretty wild. You're just sitting right next to Joe Rogan right now on the charts, which is fantastic. So congrats to you and the hard-working team that pulled this off.

It's mostly the hard-working team, but it's good, man.

Well, your face is on it at least.

It's a fun time.

A lot of your faces, actually. It's cool. you guys updated the artwork.

Yeah, I woke up this morning with a text message from the guy who heads the network team.

Yeah. It's a cool achievement, and it means people are getting helped. And so I love that it keeps moving up the charts as more and more people listen. So go ahead and check it out, wherever you listen to podcasts, and share it with a friend. Let's get it to number one by the end of the weekend.

Hi, how are you guys today?

Doing well. How are you?

Yeah. Well, hopefully we'll get better after today.

We got you, brother. What's up?

All right. I got no debt of nothing. vehicles. I got two kids. I got them through college.

What's your goal? Do you have a pile of money you want to invest, or what?

Yeah, I want to make my money make money instead of investing in something where somebody else is going to clean me out.

So you're worried that a financial advisor is going to kind of trick you into it and take all your money?

Well, I don't know about the financial part. Two nights ago I listened to you guys, and there was a 50-year-old lady on there, and she trusted a guy, and he cleaned her out $600,000..

Yeah, I was on the phone for that one. That was heartbreaking.

Okay, so that's what I'm trying to get away from here. Around here, people don't work. They just want to take your money.

Well, there's some good apples out there.

There's some great, great folks out there. That's one of those outside-of-the-bell curve situations that she worked with a friend, and the friend just absolutely didn't stab her in the back. Stabbed her in the face.

Yeah.

That's not common, is what I would say. So I would not hold on and be fearful of that. Actually, Dave worked 30 years ago to create a plan just for people like you, so that they have somebody that they trust. Because it's scary, man. It's scary to trust somebody with your money.

Right, right. It's something to fall back on. I mean, if something happens, you know, you can come home and you got cash. You don't have to worry about borrowing money and everything. I don't do that.

Well, how much money do you have?

Well, I figured it up here. I got about $460,000..

In what?

That's between checking and my CDs, and I got one annuity, one I had for the kids.

Okay.

And that's all I have.

And so you're wanting to invest the majority of that to make you money instead of just sitting there in these accounts.

Yeah. I'm only getting 1.5% and a half a percent on checking, and the CDs are only getting 1.5%.

Oh, gosh. Dude. I mean, move it all to a high-yield savings account today and you'll do better.

You'll get 4 or 5..

You don't need a financial advisor for that.

Right. Well, where should I go with that?

Well, we don't have a trusted partner in that space, but I use one called Marcus by Goldman Sachs. I know Rachel uses one called Ally. And what you're looking for here is an FDIC-insured or NCUA-insured bank. That's for credit unions, and that's going to protect your money up to $250,000 per deposit or per account.

And my account actually came through my SmartVestor Pro. I asked him, I need a high-yield savings account that you trust, and he sent me a link, and that's the one I use. And so there's a number of them, and they're online, but, man, they're pretty magical. I just got my tax statement for the year, and we did pretty well. We made some good money on the side there.

Yeah, well, that's what I would like to do. Could you mail me something like that?

We can get you a link.

We can have our team send you. Yeah, mail me all $600,000 of your dollars, and I'll send you $20,000 or $30,000 back for sure.

I'll get a link to our phone, screener, Ibu, and she'll make sure to get that to you. How does that sound?

Yeah, that would be great.

And long-term, you need to invest this money, because 4% or 5% is great for temporary savings, but for long-term investing, if you look at the track record of the S&P 500, which is just the 500 largest U.S. companies in the stock market, 10% to 12% is what it's been averaging over the long term. Now, some years it's been down. This year it's back up, and so you don't want to look at it in tiny chunks. And so how much of this money do you need to live for your monthly expenses?

This is just extra. I still got my job. This year is just my backup plan for down the road. if I totally retire, if I want to just sell everything, I liquidate, and then move on and travel.

Do you have any retirement accounts?

Yeah, this year, and then I got my pension at work.

Okay, so does the pension cover your bills, or is that just part of what you're doing?

Yeah, it would.

Great. So if this is just gravy money, you can just leave it alone in the stock market, and if you get in touch with a smart investor pro at RamseySolutions.com, they can guide you in choosing some great funds, recommending a bigger strategy, and they don't make any moves without you being involved. So they might make recommendations, but it's up to you. So whenever people call in and say, The financial advisor did this, they're not doing anything without you approving it and saying, This is what I want to do. You've got to stay in the driver's seat.

I've been in some of those meetings with financial advisors when they kind of pat me on the head and treat me like I'm a little bit dumb and a little bit young. I'm a little bit dumb. I'm pretty old now, but it's this sense of like, Oh, sweet boy, we'll take care of it. And I hate that. I hate it.

Right,

That's what I want.

Think of it this way. Instead of handing your money to somebody who's driving the car, a smart investor pro gets in the passenger side while you're driving. And they're telling you where to go, where to turn, why you might want to go this way. But you're still driving, and it's scary at first. But, man, over the long haul, you feel much more in control of your own life.

I hope that helps, Don. We'll make sure to get you those resources as well. I'll have Eboo pick back up, and we'll get you a link to the Ramsey Solutions site where you can get connected with a smart investor pro. And we'll get you a link to one of those high-yield savings accounts so you can start moving money over there and have it. You'll make 3X what you're making right now.

They're ripping you off because they're making a huge amount of money on the gap between what they're offering you.

And the interest rates on debt right now is astronomical. Right. And so the banks are making great money, but they're not passing it on to the consumer. And one of the great things about some of these online high-yield savings accounts is they have less overhead. And so they're able to pass on more higher interest rates than your traditional brick-and-mortar banks.

Hey, how's it going? Thanks for having me.

Absolutely. How can we help today?

I have a question. I'm going through lineman school in the fall. And then, after you get out of lineman school, you have a four-year apprentice. And you usually travel around to wherever they send you for four years. So, most people just buy a fifth wheel and live out of that for four years.

Do you know what show you're calling?

Yeah.

Yeah. What do you think we're going to say?

Pay cash for it.

Ta-da!

Why are you wanting to take out a loan? Or why do you feel like you have to?

Just because of the price of those.

Remind me, can you not rent in your area? What was the purpose of living in the RV?

People usually don't do the rentals because you move around. It depends on who you're with, but every three to six to eight months for four years. So, the cost to buy one over four years compared to renting in the house and always moving. That's kind of why people do it.

And I would tell you, if you continue to do financial things based on what, quote-unquote, most people are doing, you're going to remain broke. I don't know anything about the lineman industry up in Idaho. I can tell you it sounds very similar to the oil fields in West Texas where I lived for a long time. And those guys, seasonally, make an astounding amount of money. And they go buy $150,000 trucks and they buy big RVs.

And the worst part, Mason, is, what's going to happen is two years from now, you're going to call us back and say, What do I do? I'm underwater on an RV and I can't sell it. I owe $50,000.. It's only worth $30,000.. And I say that because we took that call this week.

It depends, because with your apprenticeship, you have to get certain hours in different fields. So, you could stay with a company if they have enough hours in each field for a year or something. But if they don't, you just get bumped to the next. You don't have a choice of where you go. You just get bumped to the next company.

I would just go for maybe a shorter-term lease. when you rent somewhere and go, All right, I'm going to do six months. And after that, I might go month to month if I think things might change rapidly. Or I'm going to find someone else to take over my lease. These are all things that I've done.

Go to some of these places that are so overbuilt with apartment complexes. And that might not be in all of your areas. But go to the front desk and say, I'm a lineman. I may be here three months. I may be here six months.

Okay. That makes sense.

But just stamp that on your soul. I don't borrow money. I'm just a guy who doesn't borrow money. And what that does is it forces you to figure out other options. And it's astounding how many other options there can be sometimes.

And that's the hardest thing to do. When all your buddies are going one way and you're like, I'm actually going to go over here. You could get an RV. It'll be so much cheaper. Yeah, except you're underwater on this depreciating asset.

Howdy. How are you?

Good. How are you doing? How can we help?

I'm all right.

I guess just as one time. No, I'm just kidding.

Only for aviation school.

What would that be if we were like, Hunter, you are the exception, man. You did it.

We've never met a pilot who got out of school with $150,000 in student loans and there was a downturn or one of the major airlines laid a bunch of people off. I can't remember that ever happening. So yeah, you're the guy. You're the guy, man.

How much is this going to cost?

I haven't totaled it all up completely, but it was looking like it would be around $100,000..

Okay. Over how many years?

Four.

So four years, $100,000.. How much money do you have right now?

Right now, to put towards it, I only have about $20,000..

Okay. So you have $20,000.. It's a good start. Do you have any debt?

No.

Wonderful. And what are you doing right now? Are you working?

Right now I work part-time at the UPS warehouse in my area.

Part-time, what are you making?

It makes $21,000, $21,000 an hour.

That's amazing.

It's about $30,000 a year.

That's incredible. People are always calling in. We're like, hey, you can go make $20 an hour at your local UPS. They're like, now what? And there you are just doing the dang thing.

It'd probably take a while, because now I'm living on my own, paying rent and bills, so that savings is slowly depreciating.

Do you have a roommate?

I did, but he just moved out.

Okay. So you're paying the full rent on your own right now? Yeah. That's a bad plan. Let's get another roommate ASAP.

Yep.

I had roommates all the way up until I was married, and it's one of the reasons I was able to have margin to get out of debt and to save up for things. So I'd highly encourage you to just keep your expenses low. You're a young dude, a hard worker.

How old are you, man?

23.. 23..

Yeah. It feels like the rest of your life.

I've thought about that, but I don't know if I'd be able to go away for six months with my family the way they are, because you have to go away. I don't think it's six months. It's like three months.

With your family, do you have a child?

No, I have my grandpa who's been sick lately, and my mom would just stress too much if I was gone. All right. I'm sure she would get used to it.

Well, yeah, and at some point, it's not your job to make sure your mom's okay. That's her job to get the support and resources that she needs to be okay and to help her father. That's a lot of weight on a 23-year-old. Here's the thing. You can create a world where there's always going to be excuses, and this is just the easiest path forward.

I'd go work full-time for the next year, year and a half, and then that money can be used to start this pilot journey for the next few years and cash flow the rest, working part-time. That's how we would do it, man. That puts this hour of the Ramsey Show in the books. My thanks to co-host, Dr. John Deloney, all the folks in the booth, and you, America, will be back before you know it.

Perfect, thank you. I'm glad to be talking to you guys today.

You as well. What's going on?

So one of the reasons my ex-husband left me was because I made more money than him. He struggled with the idea of me being the main financial provider in our family.

Hey, Ashley.

Yes?

Can I cut you off really quick? Absolutely. My team always gets mad when I do this, but I can't let you walk around with this thought in your head one more minute.

Thank you. Thank you.

Do you believe me?

I do. I do.

There's not a thing you could have done to stay connected to a man that has wrapped his ego with such a shallow ribbon. Okay.

Thank you.

All right. We're done carrying that brick. We're going to set that one down. All right. Back to the original programming.

Yeah. Fast forward. I'm actually getting married in about two weeks.

Are you carrying this around or is he leaning the way your ex did?

He's not. So he's definitely different. When I talk to him about this, his concern is more of like. he feels like I'm going backwards by helping him pay for his school, because I've already paid for school. I've got out of it.

So get one of your hair ties that you wear around your wrist. Yeah. And put it between your thumb and your forefinger and then bend a piece of paper around it. Then I want you to pull it back and show him this. Say, look, we're going backwards.

If the tables were turned and he was helping you pay for school, would you be OK with it?

Yeah. And I hope to, because I want to go back and get a master's after he's done. And so the tables will turn.

Oh, even better. Just tell him, hey, we're just taking turns. You go first, and then it's going to be my turn. Sucker.

Yeah. And the beautiful thing is when you actually combine finances once you're married, it's not really like you're paying for my schooling. It's we are paying for your schooling. And it doesn't matter where the money is coming from. My wife and I, when we see money in our bank account, it's like, well, this portion was yours.

But I will say this, George. And actually, like. We've talked about this in our house. My wife and I used to be very similar in our incomes. Right.

And one day, actually, you might stay home with the kids and you won't be providing that income anymore. And you might be on the other side of this thing. And so I don't like the idea of putting any stock into who's contributing financially and who's not. I just love the teamwork of. we're going to build wealth together and it's going to go faster and be more than we could have ever achieved on our own.

Kind of bummed out about that, but that's fine. We'll still send a gift anyway.

We're going to send you guys Financial Peace University, because I think it's some of the best, whether it's premarital, during the wedding, after the wedding. It's such a great way to get common vision, goals, language around this we talk when it comes to your money, goals. And I hope it alleviates some of the this tension that you're walking into.

And a quick note to men out there. If you're married to a great woman who also works. And she makes more money than you.

What is behind it, John? Is it partially control issues?

Just ego, ego, ego, ego.

Because if you make more, you feel like you have more control.

It's insecurity and ego. It's just, I mean, it just comes to, I should be, shut up.

But at some point someone told you, hey, the more you make, the more you are as a person.

I think our culture has done an evil, has cast an evil spell on us that we have distilled down. You know, you and I have talked about this. What are you worth? That answer is a number in our culture.

Whether it's a credit score, your bank account. Freaking ridiculous.

What are you worth? I'm worth this much. That's insane. It's absurd. The answer to the question, what are you worth, is always who loves you and who do you love?

And if you are dating that person, this should be a giant red flag. If they talk that way or think that way, I'd have some heavy pause before taking another step in that relationship.

100%.

This is The Ramsey Show.

Today's question comes from Olivia, not Newton John, in the Ramsey Baby Steps community. on Facebook. Olivia writes, at a recent visit to my bank, I mentioned that my employer pays my mileage. She said, I hope you're putting that on a credit card and getting cash back. I replied, I'm doing Dave Ramsey's plan and don't use credit.

Good times. This is my Super Bowl, John. First of all, I'm sorry you have to deal with bankers spewing mythology and telling you how hard life is without our debt products.

I know. My mom is a mythology professor, and I think she communicates less mythology than this person did in this banking transaction.

Yes, and I do debunk a lot of this in my book. I have a whole chapter on credit scores, debunking why they're a scam and how to live without one. And I've got a whole chapter on credit cards and why debit cards are just as safe. And here's a few things to look into. One is the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, which protects your debit card against fraud.

I've never done that, but I trust that you do that.

John trusts that I do it. So you can have your card loaded up on Apple Pay, and your number's protected. And you can pay that way at the gas pump, at the grocery store. I do this all the time if they have the tap-to-pay option. The other thing you can do for online purchases that I love is use a service called privacy.com.

Yeah, it's going to sound like a privacy.com commercial, but I use the same thing. It's cool. Here's what it does. You put your debit card in, and let's say you're going to make an Amazon purchase.

And you can even do a one-time use for some of these if you're just going to make one purchase.

I think I've got 60 or 70 different cards open for various purchases over the last four or five years. But it's really remarkable. And that way, nobody has your actual debit card. And I'll tell you something else. I did.

That's smart. And for international travel, another one we get, John, as well. The credit card, I can avoid these transaction fees when I'm traveling internationally. Well, Charles Schwab actually makes a debit card tied to their investor checking account. It's completely free, and it has no fees.

By the way, that banker sells debit cards. So I don't know. It's like going to Burger King and having them be like, you can't eat food here. That's what this banker did. It's so strange.

What a time to be alive. Thanks for the question, Olivia. Melanie is in Canada. Melanie, what's going on over there?

Hey, Dave. Thanks so much for taking my call.

We're worried about you guys.

Right. Yeah. That's exactly why I'm calling, actually. So I'm pretty new. Well, me and my husband are pretty new to the Ramsey Baby Step method, so I wish I knew about this much sooner, but here we are.

How old are you?

I am 41.. Okay. My husband is 44.. Yeah. We have five children.

I know it's all astronomical and impossible.

Yeah. As the great Gwen Stefani once said, it's B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

That's exactly it. So my husband and I, we built a house in 2021 in Alberta, and our plan was to pay for it in cash. We made some prior mistakes in the market, and the stock market didn't happen that way, so now we have a mortgage on our home, which we don't like at all.

Wow. What's it worth now?

Just over a million dollars.

And what do you owe?

Because the mortgage rates are quite high in Canada. right now, we're paying about $30,000 a year just in mortgage rates, which is not even going towards the principal. So we probably owe just around $550,000, I would say.

Okay. And is this payment unmanageable? as far as your take-home pay goes? What percentage of your after-tax income is getting eaten up by this?

Oh, no, we're fine with that. So my husband, he works in the oil industry, and he brings home just roughly, with overtime and everything, like before taxes, about $200,000.. I bring home about $35,000 before taxes. Other than the house, that is pretty much our only debt. We do have a car payment, 0% interest, with $18,000 left on it.

Whoa. That's a lot of savings. Why not pay off the car today?

I brought that up with him when I started listening to you guys, and he said it's 0%.

Hold on, but he doesn't get to be stressed about a mortgage debt, but not about a car debt.

I like it. It makes me feel comfortable.

It's because of the interest. He loves math.

Yeah, he does. actually. He's very good at math.

I bet. I bet. Well, I'm with you. This is not a fire situation where you need to sell the house, because the payment isn't what's killing you guys.

Exactly.

And then get a mortgage again, or just wait 10 years to save up and pay cash for it. So I think just stay the road you're on and attack that mortgage with a vengeance once the car is paid off.

I'd put $100,000 of that $150,000 on your mortgage and knock it down to $450,000 by the end of this weekend and have a paid-off car.

And you still have that emergency fund there with that $50,000.. So that's what I would do, Melanie. I don't know that you can talk him into it. He can listen back to this call, but we're just a bunch of American chuckleheads over here. So best wishes to all of you in Canada.

Hey, George, yesterday you and I were cutting something for social.

They keep up so that you don't have to.

Exactly. But they had us face each other across the table and do a dad joke competition.

That was some of the most fun you can have at work.

Bro, you did a joke, and I don't know why it hit me so funny, but I laughed all day. I clearly broke at the table, but I laughed.

You broke about every three jokes. I know. I stayed strong.

I like good jokes. You just stay strong. I don't think you have a soul.

Well, for you, it was the direct eye contact that I made the whole time. I think that's what broke you.

But I need you to tell America the joke that got me the worst.

The sponge joke?

Yeah, it was a great joke, man.

Okay, this one took some people a few seconds, so really think about it.

I think that's such a great joke.

The audience in the lobby, they're still ruminating on it.

They got nothing. They don't think it's funny at all.

That's great. That's why it's a dad joke. It's meant for dads.

That guy that looks like you got cloned out there. just thumbs down to you. You're an alt version of yourself, George.

I didn't come up with this. They found it on the internet. It comes from the dad joke repository.

I think it's a great joke. I feel like there's a Where's Waldo, but it's a Where's George Campbell. And you're right next to me and in the lobby. It's so strange.

To be fair, I look like if you morphed every guy that's ever worked at an Apple store and put them into one body. So, you know, familiar face.

That is very true.

Very helpful. Very excited to tell you about the latest iPhone 15 Pro.

And it does look like you shave with an electric razor, with your eyes closed. All right. Let's go to...

There we are. Mike is in Richmond, Virginia. Mike, save us from ourselves. How can we help you?

Hi, guys. Thanks for having me on.

Sure.

I'm a pretty new listener to the Ramsey program. I'm really enjoying it so far.

Welcome to our call, Mike.

At a moment, about like four or five months ago, I just about my finances and just something just hit me. And I just want to change how things are going.

You might win the competition in the worst way.

Bring it. What is it?

Exactly. But I'm in $460,000 of debt.

That's not even close.

Child's play. That is a lot of debt. That's an insane amount of debt, Mike. Let's be very clear. What kind of debt is this?

It's all student loans.

Every penny? Yeah. Are you a physician?

What's that?

What do you do for a living? Are you a physician?

I'm a dentist. Yeah.

There you go. Okay.

So I was listening to your book, Breaking Free from Broke, yesterday. And I was like the chapter on student loans. And I was like, yep, this is written about me. And when I was in high school, getting ready to go to college, my family didn't have a ton of money. So I was pretty much responsible, paying my own way.

What do you take home every year?

Last year, I made 275..

Do you have your own practice or are you a part of a group?

I'm an associate. My brother actually owns the practice. And I guess long term, I would like to become a partner.

Do you have to buy in for that, or is that going to be just a draw? I do. Okay.

Yeah, you have to buy in. So that's down the road. I like to clean this mess up first.

So, if you got really aggressive, how much can you throw at this debt every year?

So I'm planning. I mapped everything out. I'm planning about 10K a month.

That's not enough. You can do more. Are you married? Do you have kids?

I'm engaged. My fiance is also a physician, but she's in a residency program. So she's only taking in about, I don't know, 50 to 60K. So that will change in a couple of years. But we don't share any finances yet.

If you're making 275, I would love you to figure out a way to live in a one bedroom apartment. And on about $50,000 a year, $40,000 a year. And get so insanely aggressive that people around you think you're bananas. And ask your brother if you can come in on Sundays and do a Sunday practice for guys like me, who's on the road a lot. And it's hard for me to get into the dentist.

Based on your lifestyle, nobody should know that you're a dentist that makes 275.. Yeah. You should look like a broke guy who's an undergrad just trying to make it. For the next three years, if you do that, you're going to be so wealthy for the next 30 after that.

Yeah, I do live in a one bedroom apartment already. And I refuse to buy a house right now.

Good, man. When do you get married?

I think I just need to... In April of 2025..

So, about a year from now. About a year. Is she working?

Yeah, she's in a residency program.

Okay. So your income will drastically increase a year from now. Not just your own, but also with dual income.

All right. So that's going to speed this up. What's her debt load going to be?

Her debt load is a lot less than mine. I think it's about $200,000 of medical school. But she will make projected about $300,000 a year. And my income hopefully will continue to go up. It's gone up every year.

So if you guys are making $600,000 and you've knocked yours down by $120,000 a year from now, even a little more by the time the wedding happens, then you're looking at, what, $340,000 and she's got $200,000.. So you'll have a huge chunk of debt, but you'll also have an amazing income.

Yeah.

So this is not a life sentence. I feel like, right now you're just looking at the mountain going, Oh, my gosh, this is 10 years of my life. And we're saying, Dude, this is two or three if you do it our way. Yeah. Are these broken out into a bunch of little loans?

My private loans, that's just one big sum. And then my federal loans, yeah, they have little subcategories. Good. Some are $30K, $40K, and others are like $3K, $4K.

The debt snowball is your best friend. I want you to list them each out in an every dollar budget. I'm going to gift you every dollar premium so that this makes it even easier. It'll connect your bank account, all that good stuff, and it'll create the debt snowball for you.

You already bought it? That's awesome.

We'll give you an extra one so that when it renews, you'll have a year to go. Because this is a journey, man.

Yeah.

Is your take-home check about $17K a month?

Yeah, it's biweekly. Okay. And it ranges anywhere from $7K to $8K to $9K. It just depends on how busy I am and kind of what I'm doing.

So if you don't have a car payment and you live in a one-bedroom apartment, what are you spending $7,000 a month on?

Well, that was kind of when I paid up my car. Again, $20K-something in a couple months. But I just haven't been smart with my money because I didn't have this mindset. I don't lie or BS it.

You're like me, dude. We're the same team.

I was just kind of free-flowing. I bought an engagement ring. We went to Cabo for a wedding. We stayed for a week. It was just kind of a dumb mess.

Well, it was. And now it's all going to be different. now. And in 24 months, 36 months, you're going to look up and you're going to be a free man with a household income of $600K. You're all going to be so wealthy.

Hang on the line. We're going to get you another year of every dollar premium on us, Mike. This is The Ramsey Show.

Hey, guys. It's Rachel Cruz. When it comes to teaching kids about money, moms tell me all the time just how overwhelming it can feel to get started. That's why I'm so excited to tell you about Financial Peace Kids. This toolkit was designed to make learning to save, earn, spend, and give money fun for both you and your kids.

Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm George Campbell, joined by Dr. John Deloney. The phone number is 888-825-5225.. You call in.

Thank you for taking my call.

Absolutely. How can we help today?

I actually just have a question about my 18-year-old son, who is currently a senior in high school and will be graduating in May.

Fun.

He is working part-time at Target. He makes about $1,000 to $1,500 a month. right now. He has $6,500 saved. He's wanting to buy a car, and so we're just trying to kind of help guide him.

Yeah, I think all this starts with you and your husband and y'all coming up with some boundaries or some terms as to how much you'll support him with. Like, in my house, I've told my son, I'll pay half, you pay half. And that could be a guitar. That could be a car, right? But not every family is in that situation, and that's great.

Okay.