Freedom or Debt? You Get To Choose

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 Ramsey Personality, George Campbell, joined by not one but two compadres today, Dr. John Deloney and my good friend Ken Coleman. And there's a reason we went full SportsCenter today with this setup, because we are celebrating the launch of my friend Ken Coleman's brand new book, Find the Work You're Wired to Do, which comes with access to his amazing Get Clear Career Assessment. And I'm telling y'all, if you are trying to win with money, you've got to be winning at work.

One of the huge drivers.

And so how is it that you can, how can teachers or anybody become net worth millionaires doing something they're miserable at doing? And we see a lot of teachers leaving, but a lot still have a high calling in it. So the idea around meaning and purpose in the work is a huge driver to you being able to be disciplined, to be healthy enough to actually live on less than you make and ultimately yield the results of investing over time. So that's how work and money are inextricably tied together. And we found that as people build wealth, they love what they do.

I was about to say, I'm glad you called out like something like teaching. We often think that the work we're quote, unquote, we're called to do means it's pain free. We like it every single day of our life. It's never dramatic. We're never worried about losing our job or customers going away to another business.

That's it right there. And so there's really is something to having some enjoyment in it. We all understand we've got to be adults and go work and take care of our family, but at the same time, this notion that I can't do something that I really enjoy. And of course, as you know, what we teach in this book and in all the methodology that we've developed here at Ramsey Around Work, is that there's actual design involved. And then things that I suck at, somebody else is great at.

And I also think, and Ken and I, you and I haven't talked about this, but I think this is also good for supervisors, because people are leaving businesses in droves because their leaders are terrible. Like we have a leadership crisis. That's right. And we have choppy waters ahead. And if you have a good boat driver, you can get through choppy waters.

That's a great point. It's a cheat code.

It's a cheat code.

All right, George, share people. Ken and I, we had a decade of struggle trying to figure this thing out and get to this point. And you've cracked this code to help people. I wish I had this 10 years ago. So I have my Get Clear Assessment results here.

Vaping with a cherry flavor vape.

I knew he couldn't resist. Communication and discernment.

And perfect hair. Perfect, perfect hair.

Now, the things you love doing most are promoting, leading, and creating. And ultimately, what you're driven by is creation. You nailed it. You read my mail. How does that come out?

This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Hey, good folks. It's Deloney. And with back-to-school madness on deck, my family's schedule is already so packed. And we haven't even made room for things like exercise and date nights and counseling and all the other things that make our life even worth living.

Welcome back to the Ramsey Show. I'm George Campbell, joined by Dr. John Deloney. Open phones at 888-825-5225.. Tammy's on the line from Tampa, Florida.

Hi. Thank you. Sure.

How can John and I help?

Well, I'm just needing some assistance with stopping giving my ex-daughter-in-law money.

Okay.

I have an awesome tip for this, before you even ask your question.

Yeah.

Okay. You ready?

Yep. Go ahead.

All right. Do you have a pen and paper? you can write this down?

That was incredible.

I went to a lot of grad school for that.

That's called trolling, Tammy. Don't fall for it.

So why can't you stop giving her money?

Well, I did. I've been giving her money for a long time trying to help her because she's a single mom.

What's a long time and how much?

Since my husband died in September, and probably about $4,000.

Total. Four grand since September.

Yeah. I've paid her rent since January. It's $800 a month.

Where's your son in this?

He is not in the picture at all. So he is paying support.

In your life or hers?

He's paying her child support $25 a week.

Oh, okay.

A week.

Where is he?

He's in North Carolina and he's dropped out of her life, or everyone's life.

Is he legally supposed to be paying more than $25 a week?

No. That's what the courts awarded him.

So he's indigent. He's not working. So he's struggling with addiction pretty bad?

Not addiction. He's a transgender. Okay. So he's just not in the picture at all. Okay.

He just dropped out of his life. So are you giving money because you feel guilty?

A lot of it is, yeah. Well, because she's a single mom, I don't want her to go under.

And this is your grandchild still? It's not an ex-grandchild. It's still your grandchild?

Yeah, she's raising my grandchild. I gave her a car. I gave her my car, and then I bought a car so that she would have a reliable vehicle, because she was going under with the used car dealership.

Sure. Well, if you want to keep giving her money, then why do you want to stop giving her money?

I don't have it anymore. There you go. I'm 59.. I want to retire someday, and I can't just keep giving her money. But the latest was Sunday night, when she messaged me that she's going to be evicted if I don't help her pay her rent.

Is she working full-time?

She works two jobs. She gets food stamps, child support. She no longer has a car payment. I mean, I don't know where her money's going.

Here's the deal, though. Unless you want to file with the child protective services in that local area and take custody of this kid, because the kid's not safe, where her money goes isn't any of your business. I know that's hard to hear, but it's not. Yeah. You've been giving her money, thousands and thousands of dollars, and you've probably had a ton of conversations about your son who's transitioned.

Yeah.

And it seems like there's a lack of trust on your part, because you don't know what she's doing with this money, and you don't think it's going to the things you want it to go to.

That's sort of correct. I don't understand. She works, like, two towns over. It's an hour away. Why not get a job closer to home?

Are you in a position to take temporary custody of your granddaughter for a while?

I've told her, yes, she can come stay with me. I mean, I haven't done anything legally. I'm not sure what I need to do legally, but I've told her I can put up my granddaughter. I just can't have her in my house.

Sure. Of course. What does she say to that?

I'm waiting for a response. I just sent her a long message today saying no more financial help.

Let's stop communicating in messages, because that's how my teenage son communicates with his friends, and we're adults, and this is too big of a deal. Let's make phone calls, okay? Okay. Let's pick up the phone and call and say, I'm going to come pick up my granddaughter, and she can stay here until you get on your feet again. If that's what you feel like you need to do, okay?

I like that. I think I agree with that.

And she may say, I hate you, and I can't believe this, or you may bail her out for three weeks, and then she'll come over to the house and say, oh my gosh, you took my kid. Who knows what's going to happen in the back end of this deal? But at least for three weeks, that little girl's got a safe place to put her head.

That's what I want. I just want her to be safe. And I'm not trying to take her child away. I just want her to get on her feet and stop wasting money.

Of course. But listen, you don't get any say into her budget. You don't get any say into where she lives and where she works. That stinks, but you just don't, right?

Yeah, I know.

And we want the.

Um, yeah. I mean, it's, you know, it's... I think that maybe it's just being taken advantage of since my husband's passed.

Okay.

It's tough. Yeah. You know? And he would probably... He's rolling over in his grave seeing me give her money.

It's okay. Hey, you went through a period of having to survive, and you're still breathing, and you're good. And now we're going to start making some harder and firmer and more safe and rational choices, right? Yeah. Yeah.

I agree.

Okay? I'm proud of you. And, George, the one thing I always tell parents in this situation is don't pull a gotcha. Meaning, if you've been giving money for month after month, after month after month, and it's up to thousands of dollars, in my opinion, that warrants a conversation, not just an overnight cutoff. Right?

It's so hard. And I know a lot of people, not this particular situation, but a lot of people are going through some version of this where they're trying to be a good, nice person. It's turned into this, enabling. They have to have the hard boundary conversation, and it's a close person in their life. How do you even begin that?

Well, I'll take it one step further. It's not only like we talk on the show. We often oversimplify it. Right? Like you just cut that person off.

So good. Well, Tammy, thanks for the call. We're wishing the best for you. Hope this ends up with a good situation for you and your granddaughter. This is the Ramsey Show.

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Welcome back to the Ramsey Show. I'm George Campbell, joined by Dr. John Maloney. Listen, it's May, it's graduation season, and a grad in your life just spent more than 4,300 hours in class, and we're guessing that nobody figured, you know what, we should teach them how to handle money. How about that?

That's like saying, like, I just came out with a new record. It's kind of like Sgt. Pepper's for the next generation. Pretty much.

Good job, George, good job. That's what Harry Styles is to me. Good job. So lots of gifts over there. If you're looking at grads trying to work on their job search, check out Ken Coleman's brand-new book.

Questions for Humans are all up. Those are all up. Building on Anxious Life. They finally put it on sale. They've never put it on sale.

About time. I know. I'm not paying retail.

Never. Go to the store, man. Pick up some good stuff.

Our loss is your gain. Go to ramsaysolutions.com slash store. Shop till you drop. The grads will thank you. And put a $20 bill in there along with the gift.

Put some coal in there.

There we go. John's real angry today.

I'm 100 years old, I guess. I wouldn't even know where to find coal.

Does Home Depot sell coal?

James has some.

The little Kingsford briquettes, does that count?

Yeah, that's charcoal. Okay. Man, that was the most outdoorsy, manly thing I've heard you say. Coal in briquette form.

Let's go to the lines, because I prefer talking to strangers than John. Cindy is joining us in Richmond, Virginia. How are you doing, Cindy?

I'm fine. Thank you for taking my call. I have kind of a complicated question.

We have a complicated answer, most likely.

Great.

Hey, wait a minute. You're in Richmond, Virginia. You know where there's coal, right?

No, I don't.

She's so excited.

George thinks it's at Home Depot. All right, go ahead. Go ahead.

Okay. So, six years ago, my mother moved in with my husband and myself. She sold her home. She built onto our home. She put $100,000 in our home for an apartment for her.

Does she have the money?

She has the money. She lives off Social Security for—she gets about $1,700 a month, but she has $300,000 in investments.

Do you have siblings?

I have a sister. She is hands-off. Okay.

But is she going to be entitled to this money and be really upset that you spent it? Because I'm feeling like your mom put her $100,000 in, and so whatever y'all got out in equity of that home, you just absorbed that and made that your money, and that would be money I think sounds right to go to— we all chose a house that's not accessible, and so that sounds like that's where that money would go.

So, okay.

Because you've absorbed that equity, right?

We did. Yes, we did.

But I'm sure it didn't increase the value by $100,000.

Yes, it has. It has. We've made a lot of upgrades to this house, and I know that that has put built-in financial equity in the home.

Okay, Cindy, can I—.

And I do— Go ahead. I'm sorry.

We don't have a ton of time. I would be much gentler in this approach, okay? So it's going to sound like I'm coming at you pretty hard, but I just have to ask this question. It sounds like you are getting frustrated in your role, and you're looking almost for back pay. Like, you deserve this, and she deserves to pay for it.

You know, that could very well be.

I don't think that's right. I think y'all came to an agreement.

Yeah.

I know that's— Tell me if I'm wrong. Tell me if I'm being unfair.

You know, I don't know what's fair, but I want to be fair because I'm a Christian and that's how I live my life. And I just—.

Are you exhausted?

I don't know. I'm completely exhausted.

Okay. Let's say that. Like, that stinks, man. Like, what you're doing is really hard. My oldest best friend on planet Earth is a paraplegic, and his brother takes care of him, and his mom takes care of him full-time.

Yes.

Right?

Yes.

It's exhausting. And when you get exhausted and you don't have people that you spend your life with, it's real easy to start saying, like, well, I deserve and I should have. And those things make your heart hard. And then you start thinking, well, I'm going to bill mom for—see what I'm saying? It's just one step, and one step and one step.

Right. And I don't want to do something—.

I know. I know you don't.

—that is wrong by my mother. She has been a good mother. I know. She is a good mother. And for the circumstance that we're in, she has made it as easy as she can.

Have you already bought this house, and you've already moved, and all that stuff's running and gunning?

We're in the process of moving.

So you're already sold, or have you not closed yet?

We have bought a home, and we are almost ready to put our house on the market that we're living in.

So, whatever happens with the proceeds, I'm guessing you're going to have a—what number do you think you'll have at the closing? From the sale of the house?

I think we're going to—I'm hoping that we're going to close around 700.

Okay. Do you have a mortgage?

This house is paid off.

Okay. So, outside of fees, you will take every penny and put it in the bank, and you're going to roll most of that over to the next house? What's the next house cost?

$589.

Okay. So you'll be able to pay cash and afford a $100,000 addition?

Yes.

Or a remodel.

I like this plan. I like the plan. It doesn't send you guys back. You're not going into debt for this. You have the money.

Or, worst case scenario, you're going to get sued for the money that your sister thinks you spent.

Well, I hadn't thought about that.

If you use a portion of mom's investments, now she passes, sister goes, whoa, they already took $100,000 out of their inheritance, so I deserve that back.

Then they charge mom another $75,000 to make the new house ADA accessible, and now it's $150,000, right? See how it just gets messier and messier and messier?

Yes.

I would find somebody to go sit with, whether it's a couple of friends, whether it's a counselor, whether it's somebody that you can just exhale and say, I didn't see. this is how my life was going to be right now. And I'm tired, and I don't like it. And it's right, and I know what I'm doing is holy and good and all that, but I'm also allowed to say I don't like it. And find some people.

I've been doing this show for over 30 years, and some of the saddest calls I have taken are from situations that are completely preventable. Yeah, and what's so hard is I feel like one of those, especially the ones that I'm like, oh, it's terrible. People that call in and their spouse has passed away suddenly, and they don't have life insurance. When you have to think through how am I going to pay my bills? How am I going to eat next week?

This is the Ramsey Show. I'm George Campbell, joined by Dr. John Deloney. If you're listening to the show, do us a quick favor. Wherever you're listening or watching, hit the share button and share this with someone in your life who might enjoy it.

Thank you, guys.

What's going on?

Honestly, I have a, I would say, a base platform that I'm trying to build from. I just recently had a two-year-old son, so that's kind of motivation. in a lot of different manners. I'm trying to build credit, looking at buying a house, things of that nature, but I'm basically starting at the complete bottom.

What does that mean?

Financial literacy. I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing. I work for the post office, so income is decent.

Are you married?

No, I have. No, sir.

Okay. Are you a single dad?

Yes, sir.

Okay. How old are you?

32.

Hey, welcome to the gang, man.

What's up, guys?

Hey, look, man, if you knew how many questions I asked Dave off-air, because I don't know either, man, you were right where you need to be, and I'm glad you found us.

And someone who's 52 is going, oh, I wish I was, Tyler, learning this stuff at 32.

Roughly $3,200 a month.

Okay. And what does child care look like for the two-year-old?

I'm paying about $750 in child support a month.

Okay.

None, besides, maybe a few medical from years ago.

Okay. And how much money do you have in the bank?

About $2,300.

Okay. This is a good start.

That I can just set to the side, yes.

So you're better off than most people in America. I know that sounds crazy. That's how bad things are. But you're ahead of most people. Okay.

What's your rent every month?

I actually don't have it. I did a while back, but then I moved out. It was time for me to step out on my own. My family was like, all right, Gorns, let's go. So they kind of pushed me out, and I'm starting fresh.

So do you have rent or a mortgage right now?

Not in a bad way. Do I have rent for a mortgage?

Do you have rent or a mortgage?

The ability? Oh, negative. No, sir.

So what's your living situation?

I actually live with a friend. They've been gracious enough to open their door and give me an opportunity to build.

What do you mean to build? Like to build your financial life?

Yes.

Okay. So are you paying them any rent, or is this just free, just being a bud?

Yes. Now, I will help out between $200, $300 a month and or fixing things around the house or just random things. But it's not a, hey, I need this to melt. They're secure in themselves.

Okay. Well, I think long term, I want you to have a place for yourself, even if that's just renting for a few years, as you start to save up a down payment to become a homeowner.

The problem I'm running into, because I did look into apartments recently, is it falls back to credit score. And I have never established credit, so I have no credit score. I don't have bad credit. It's just no score.

When you say running into a problem- You don't need it. Here's the truth. I've rented many apartments. I've called different apartments across the country. I did this on my YouTube channel.

And by the way, Tyler, both George and I have bought a house with a manual underwriting with a credit score of zero. You can do that too.

And our partners at Churchill Mortgage, they've been doing this for decades. They are the number one experts in manual underwriting with a no score loan. So I don't want that to scare you into doing what most Americans do, which is go, I got to build my credit. Let me get a credit card or seven. Let me go get a car payment because that helps my credit score.

Here's something I learned about the credit score, Tyler. And since you don't have a lot of financial literacy, this blew my mind, and I'm going to tell it to you early. If I gave you $5 million in cash right now, it would not change your credit score one bit.

Okay.

Okay.

So that solves it. Now you go, well, what should I be doing? Well, the Ramsey Baby Steps give you a great filter. And right now, outside of clearing up that medical debt, I would just go ahead and call them and say, hey, what do I owe? See if you can settle for the, you know, how much is this?

Maybe $1,500, $2,000 minimum to maybe $4,000.

Okay. Well, you've got, let's say you have $1,000 starter emergency fund. That gives you $1,300 to play with. What? if you said, hey, can I settle this debt?

Don't give them your checking account either, so they can tell you.

That is part of the plan. I just, I didn't know which step that would be. I'm halfway through Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps book.

Right now. Great. Okay.

So that's your step. one is to clear up that old collection debt. You have $1,000 in the bank. Now we move on to step two, paying off all debt. You don't have that.

Okay.

And so your next step would be how much of my income can I push towards savings and not spend it? And that, probably for you with your expenses right now, will happen pretty fast.

Yes.

And so the next step after that is let's begin investing. Baby step four, invest 15% of our income. I'm guessing you have an employer retirement plan through the postal service.

Yes.

And you're not currently investing?

Not yet.

Good.

A lot of that was within your first 60-day window, and I was so busy with the job I didn't actually get into it yet.

That's totally fine.

I can start at any time.

Well, start it. once you have a fully funded emergency fund. That's when you can turn on that dial for 15% in that retirement plan. Okay. Then, beyond that, it's saving for the kid's college, and obviously, in all of that we've got to be saving for a house.

Awesome.

You're the solution, man. So hang on the line. I'm going to send you a copy of my book, Breaking Free from Broke. I spent a lot of time poring through the research and the data and the objections, talking about credit scores. There's a whole chapter on that, talking about credit cards, to kind of unlock what John's talking about, about solving for freedom instead of playing kissy phase with banks and lenders your whole life and then wondering why it doesn't feel like the American dream.

They think that everything's coming down, and they realize, no, you're pretty good, actually. Most people call it, and they're underwater. You're on dry land. You're not in the mountains, but you're on dry land, dude.

And there's no unplugging from the Matrix. You don't have to deprogram all the crap and beliefs and myths. You just go, I don't know what to do, tell me. They're going to be way better off than the people who are stuck in their own limited beliefs, believing the debt system is the path. It's simply not.

Hi, George. Hi, Dr. John.

Hey. How can we help today?

Okay, so I'll just lay it out, and I guess we can go from there. I'm 30.. I am in about 102, to be exact, K, in debt. And I decided to not renew my lease. last summer.

Do you have a support system at all, or are you all by yourself, hon?

I'm by myself. I live in Phoenix, just me and my dog. I moved out here a couple years ago. All of my family is back on the East Coast, and I'm just figuring it out.

What is in Arizona?

I originally came here for a job. I got laid off from that job. Thankfully, I did get another job three months later, as of March 23.. So I've been with them for about a year.

Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Honey, you live on the street.

Yeah.

What's in Arizona? This is not a life for you. If you're my sister, if you're my friend, I don't want this for you. What's in Arizona?

Nothing anymore, since I'm not with that job. The current job I have now is remote.

Okay. What is so—and tell me. This isn't a judgment question. This is just me asking. What is so unsafe about going back to the East Coast and staying with a relative or a friend for six months to get your feet back under you?

A lot of trauma, PTSD.

Okay. If it's abusive, don't go back. I'm wondering—that's what I'm digging at. So, if it's a mess, don't go back there. Okay?

Yes and no. I'd rather—I'm the type of person to figure it out on my own. I can move back into an apartment, at least, but I figured that money could go towards debt instead.

You're in—I can't tell you how unsafe your position is right now.

This is not a two-month plan. You're going to be living in your car for four or five years at this rate.

Yeah. Even if you apply for an emergency housing voucher there in Phoenix, Arizona, you've got to find a place where you can have four walls over your head.

What kind of car is this?

Such a great question.

It's like a mattress-in-the-trunk situation? You said you converted it.

Yeah, no, I converted the whole thing. It's a Kia Soul.

Right now is not our time to eat, pray, love, and travel. That's a distraction from facing your real life.

Yeah.

We need to clean up this debt before we go on another road trip.

That means you're going to have to get some stability and get yourself a full-time job and two part-time jobs and pay this stuff off.

Maybe you get a few good gals and you have a few roommates.

$44,000 a year. with my full-time job. I've done some Ubering on the side, so that probably brings in about $15,000 to $20,000..

Okay. Well, Phoenix just moved all their Ubers to Autonomous, didn't they?

I'm not sure.

A big chunk of them?

I do the Uber Eats. I don't do the pickup people.

You're making about $60,000 and you have $100,000 in debt. What kind of debt is all this?

$38,000 is for a student loan. $47,000 is another student loan. $17,000 is car and the rest is credit card.

Okay. What was your degree in?

Communications, broadcast journalism.

And what are you doing for work right now?

HR.

Okay. Would you want to be doing something closer to your field?

Yes.

I think it's possible. I think you took whatever job was there, which is totally fine, but I wanted you to move into something that you're really passionate about, because that's going to end up increasing your income over time and going to help you pay off this debt. Because, right now, how much money can you throw at the debt every month between the payments and the extra?

Maybe $1,000 or $2,000 a month.

Have you done the math on that?

That's 10 years, not including interest.

$1,000 a month is 100 months for you to become debt-free.

Yeah, I should be definitely throwing way more.

That's a bad plan. We need to be throwing more, like $2,000 or $3,000 a month. Okay. That's $33,000 a year. You're done in three years max.

Yes.

I'm guessing you're underwater on this car. I doubt you're going to be able to sell it after you converted it like that.

Very much underwater.

Well, you're going to debt snowball all of this and pay off the smallest balance to the largest. That means splitting up all the student loans, splitting up the credit cards, and paying off the smallest one first.

If you're going to keep living a nomadic life, pick a place that's cheaper so you can get an apartment. Phoenix is incredibly expensive for somebody making $40,000 just trying to find two pennies to rub together. Move to Kansas. Move to Nebraska. Move to somewhere that's cheaper to live.

Yeah.

And listen to me, you cannot outrun this debt. You can't pretend it never happened and you can't just wander off, like, wanderlusted away. At some point it's going to come for you. And my fear is you're not going to listen to a thing George and I say, and you're going to look up in five years, and that $100,000 is going to be $175,000 with penalties and late fees. And they'll garnish your wages.

I was going to send you a book, but you don't have an address right now. So instead, hang on the line. I'm going to get your email and we'll send you the digital versions of Breaking Free from Broke, the e-book and the audio book. I hope it helps you get out of this cycle. You're going to break it.

Bethany asks, My husband and I are in our mid-30s and self-made millionaires. We are debt-free and have a fully funded emergency fund, retirement accounts, education funds for our children, and we own three rental properties. Our combined after-tax income is about $600,000 a year. We could be investing more, but we're not on the same page on how to invest. I'm more conservative and lean towards mutual funds, but my husband prefers to invest in venture capital funds, startups, and real estate.

Yeah, this is one part of a much bigger story, which is your entire life. And I love that. you're at least on the same page with the fundamental principles of we're debt-free, fully funded, emergency fund. We've got three, I assume, paid-for rentals if they're debt-free. So you're doing a lot of things correctly, but I don't like the arrogance and pride that he's projecting with this idea that, like, I know better.

Do you have any data on startup funding?

I haven't looked into that to see the percentage that fail or the percentage that, you know, the volatility of these.

Yeah, my understanding is that it's kind of like the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. It's like, you don't got to go to college. You don't need to get any kind of training. Look at Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Well, good, guys.

Everyone's just like, well, just go back and invest in Uber 20 years ago. It doesn't work like that.

Exactly. People are like, man, I made a trillion dollars. Like, Ashton Kutcher made so much money. You're right, he did. He's better at this than y'all are.

You guys are probably going to be fine because you're not over leveraged. You don't have a lot of debt. But I would say, hey, let's have some guardrails about how we invest. You like to invest here. I like to invest here.

Oh, I like that. So let's say, what's 15% of $600,000?.

Is that 90?

Let's say, let's pretend, it's 90.

That was right, John.

Let's say it's 90,000.

We're going to max out both our 401ks. We're going to fully fund the backdoor Roth IRAs. And we're going to fully max out the HSA. And then, beyond that, here's how we're going to spend our money.

Go play.

And I think, being in agreement on that and letting him have, you know, hey, you're going to have $20,000 in play money.

Or maybe, since we make $600,000 and we have maxed out everything and we're all, everything's paid off, I'll double it. Yeah, of our $600,000 a year, we're going to take home about $450,000 of that. Go play with $50,000 of it. Go play with $75,000 of it. Go start up whatever.

Go start a business.

We're going to continue to be conservative with these basic principles over time.

I just like having a little compromise here. I don't think he's doing anything wrong, but he's not listening to her and he's not giving her a vote. And that, to me, is the part that's wrong in all of this.

Yeah. So, Bethany, your question, can you offer some advice on how we can find a mutually agreeable way to decide what we invest in? Let's start with, okay, we're in our mid-30s and we've made millions of dollars. Our marriage is now different. He's married to a different wife.

And asking, what are we really after?

What do we want this thing to look like?

If we hit $5 million, what then? Yeah. If we hit $10 million, what then? And most people find they just had an arbitrary number and it just was exciting to chase the next thing.

And then you hit $10 and it's like, well, let's double the business. Maybe you're not the kind of business leader that can run a $20 million company, but you can dominate a handshake $10 million company. Awesome. You can be that guy and do it well. Or get some people in your life that can help you with it.

Yeah. Hope that helps. All right. Eric is in Portland up next. What's happening, Eric?

Good morning. Thanks for taking my call.

Sure.

I've got a nine-year-old daughter who is fortunate enough to have inherited about $7,000.

Crypto, man. Buy crypto. Just kidding. Don't do that, Eric.

Someone's going to clip that call.

My father passed away a few years ago.

And this money is now sitting in a bank account somewhere?

Correct. Yeah, not doing anything.

And is it in your bank account?

No. My sister was in control. And so it's sitting in an account that she has at the moment.

Okay. But you can do what you would like with this money now?

Correct. Yeah.

I think college is a great place to store this money because of the tax advantages. It acts similar to a Roth IRA. To where you put this money away, it's going to grow tax-free for college-related expenses. Worst case, after I think it's 15 years now with the new Secure 2.0 Act, you're able to roll that over to a Roth IRA with no penalty if they don't end up needing or using it. Oh, okay.

And Eric, this is terrible money advice. This is just the heart behind it all. I like thinking when there's some sort of inheritance, I like thinking, what would make the person who left the money just sit back with that shoulders-dropped smile? Like if your dad's a car guy, and he'd love to see your daughter pulling up in a car that's paid for in cash, and he would just sit back and get a big grin on his face, I don't know, man, I kind of lean that way. And if your dad was all about, you go to college, you're getting educated, you're getting educated, and the thought that his inheritance that he left to his daughter is going to grow and pay for part of her first semester, like whoever your dad was, just that sitting back and smiling, I like to let that guide me a little bit.

Yeah, absolutely. Now, you said with the Roth IRA, if she doesn't use it after 15 years, we can roll it into a Roth if she decides not to go to school?

Yes, and so don't let that spook you about what if she doesn't go to college? There's going to be room to switch that account over. So I think the fact you're calling in tells me you're going to make a good decision with this money. You're a great dad. Thanks for the call.

Hey guys, how's it going? Can you hear me all right?

Yeah, you sound good. What's your question today?

Hey, so just a little bit of background. My question is, how do I manage my finances in regard to vehicular repairs when I have a wedding coming up in the fall, while I'm at the same time trying to save for a home?

Sounds like you're trying to do a lot at once.

Well, a little bit, yes, sir.

The wedding has a planned date. Did you already sign a contract for the venue and everything?

Yes, sir.

How necessary and urgent are these vehicle repairs?

It's fairly mild. It's more a question of if I have too much truck. Maybe to provide a little context, I was in the Army, and I'm utilizing the GI Bill right now, and all the money I saved in the Army, I used to buy a car, and the truck I have now, which has turned into a work vehicle, started as a toy, and now I use it as a work vehicle. It's just a lot of repairs, one after the other. So the plan was, once I get married, sell her car, keep my car, because it's a little on the nicer side.

Do you have any debt on these cars, or is this all debt-free?

It's all debt-free. I get nauseous at the thought of pulling out a loan.

What kind of truck is it?

It is a 1997 F-350 with the diesel motor and manual transmission.

Bro, that truck will be alive at the end. You'll ride that through the apocalypse.

That's the plan.

Okay. So you want to hang on to this. for now. I would keep doing whatever necessary repairs, and ride it through the fall. But the goal right now, I don't think you need to be in home-buying mode yet.

Yes, sir. I guess the follow-up question to that truck is, I'd rather keep this truck than spend $100,000 on a brand-new one. I'd rather just keep fixing this one until they don't make the parts anymore.

Well, I'm guessing it's not worth much.

No doubt. At what point are the repairs—.

Clean out that dirty mouth of yours.

It's emotionally worth a lot, but what could you sell it for with the issues on it?

Yes, sir.

Could you get a few thousand bucks?

I guess what's that threshold that we crossed? Because I can do all the repairs on my own. I was a mechanic in the Army.

George is just trying to put a price tag on a piece of American craftsmanship, like that Ford F-350.

I'm with Dr. John here.

I'm sure they'll feature it on American Pickers one day, but right now we've got financial goals. I don't want you to sink $8,000 into it if it's only worth $3,000..

Yes, sir.

And I think that's the heart of your question, is how much do I really pour into this thing before it gives up the ghost? and I go, we had a good time?

I guess I'm thinking the replacement cost. If I had to get another vehicle for work, I'd much rather spend $3,000 on a transmission than sell that and get $5,000 out of it and spend $20,000 on a truck.

So it's okay to pour a bunch of money in this versus going out and buying a $50,000 truck. And because it's a work truck, I would not spend a lot of money on it. It's a very utility thing. And so, once you guys are married, I think that's the time to start making those kinds of decisions and prioritizing, hey, when do we want to buy a home? When is it time to upgrade the truck?

No, sir. No, it's just, it's just trying to, well, saying good graces with your fiancee, if you understand.

Dude, I drove a 96 and my wife was finally like, hey, you got to choose us, me, or the truck. And I was, I was a long night of sleep. I lost before I finally settled on my 15 year marriage. But hey, but listen. Actually, she didn't do that at all.

If you add home shopping to your fiance's to-do list, she will explode on top of all the details she has to deal with for this wedding. Yes. Even if it's chill for you, it's not for her. And so I would get through this. Let's get married.

No doubt.

So you're on the right path. And I would just put as much as you need to for the repairs within reason. If there's something that's like, this is going to be 10 grand, I would just say, take a picture with it and sing a song. I don't know what you do for trucks, John, when you say goodbye.

You never say goodbye. The truck says goodbye to you, George.

Oh, wow.

Ron, he knows about a good truck in Oklahoma.

How are you guys doing?

We're good, man. What's up, man?

I'm almost 62.