How Far Are You Willing To Go To Win?

The Ramsey Show - Ramsey Network

In this episode of The Ramsey Show, host Dave Ramsey and co-host Rachel Cruz discuss financial compatibility in relationships, emphasizing values over specific spending habits. A 30-year-old woman

Key takeaways

Financial compatibility is less about identical spending habits and more about shared values around money, humility, and long-term goals.
People can change if they show willingness to learn and adapt; however, arrogance or pride in debt and poor financial choices are dealbreakers.

Main topics

Financial values in relationships
Humility and change in money mindset

Notable quotes

"Money isn't the only thing. It's not an idol in my life. It's not something that we worship."

"If he's got 10,000 in crypto and it's the only thing he talks about, he's obsessed with it—then that's the crypto bro to me."

Conclusion

The episode underscores that lasting relationships and financial peace are built on shared values, humility,

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:04) Brought to you by the EveryDollar app. Start budgeting for free today. Speaker 2 (0:12) Normal is broke and common sense is weird, so we're here to help you transform your life. From the Ramsey Network and the Fairwinds Credit Union Studio, this is The Ramsey Show. Rachel Cruz, number one best-selling author, Ramsey personality, co-host of Smart Money Happy Hour. My daughter is my co-host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Ashley is in Boston. Hey, Ashley, what's up in your world? Speaker 4 (0:40) Hi, Ash. Hi. I'm sorry. Hi, Dave. Not much. How are you doing? This is crazy to be on the phone with you. Speaker 2 (0:47) I'm honored. Glad you got through. How are you? Speaker 4 (0:51) Yeah, I'm good. How are you? Speaker 2 (0:52) Good. Better than I deserve. How can we help today? Speaker 4 (0:55) I'm just looking for some advice when it comes to finances, money, and dating. I'm 30 years old. I work full time. I've always saved saving. I mean, ever since I was very young, I've worked really hard to save and be responsible with money. But as I'm dating and hoping to get married soon, I'm realizing that not every guy shares that sentiment. I think financial attitudes toward finances is really important, like right up there with politics and religion, I think. Similar spending and saving habits are really important, but I'm just hitting a wall with these guys. I've been really, really blessed throughout my life. I've also worked really hard to save money. I think I've accumulated a pretty solid net worth for my age. What is your net worth? About $1.4 million. And Speaker 2 (1:53) you're 30? Speaker 4 (1:54) Yeah. Way to go, kiddo. Thank you. Great job, Ashley. Really Speaker 2 (1:59) smart to not find some loser to bring you down. Good for you. Speaker 4 (2:03) I can't take credit for all of it. Part of it was about half was inheritance. The other half just saving my entire life. Speaker 4 (2:19) Worked a second job for quite a while. So, Speaker 2 (2:22) Rachel, how is the younger version of you? Because I haven't had a date with but one woman in 45 years, so I don't have any idea how to date other than my wife. Well, I'm Speaker 3 (2:35) 17 off the market. I know, I know. I'm not fresh off the Speaker 2 (2:39) boat. How are the youngins doing it these days? No, I Speaker 3 (2:43) don't know, Ashley. I think I would say, you know, when I started dating Winston, he had a credit card. He paid for most of our dates on that, right? And coming from a Ramsey family, that's like up there with a sin, basically. Then one of his friends pulled Speaker 2 (2:55) him aside and said, do you know who your dad is? Speaker 3 (2:57) Yeah, and he said, no, I don't. My dad's Buddy Cruz. I don't know who Dave Ramsey is. He didn't know who Dave Ramsey was, which was actually a gift. So that was great. Anyways, all that to say, there is something about not just cutting someone off immediately. Because number one, people can change. So just know in general is... the way they think about money, the way they interact with money, do they have the humility to listen to you, hear what's working for you, and have the humility to maybe, in essence, change and adapt? That's on the grace side of the scale, right? Now, if there's a guy and he's so leveraged, doesn't care, it's all ego, all what he presents, and that's all he cares about, you're probably not going to change that guy. But I would not be like, super, super legalistic in today's world about it. I think it's more about the value system, right? So he may be a spender and you're going to be the saver. I'm the spender in our relationship with my husband. He's actually the saver. And so you're going to have different money tendencies. But I think the value system of the way you see money is really important. Like I would say that money isn't the... It isn't everything. It's not an idol in my life. It's not something that we worship, right? And there's got men and women out there and it's the only thing they focus on. And if that's the only thing they focus on in life. 24-7 is to get more and more and more. That's a different value system. If they are okay living on the edge and being super risky with investments and leveraging debt and that that's where they drive energy from, probably not a value system you would align with. Does that make sense? Like when you get into the nitty gritty of things, I would have more grace. There's Speaker 2 (4:40) a Speaker 3 (4:40) difference Speaker 2 (4:40) in having $10 million in Bitcoin versus having a car payment. Speaker 4 (4:45) Well, Speaker 3 (4:46) $10 million, I mean. I Speaker 2 (4:47) mean, that's living on the edge. $10 million on Speaker 3 (4:50) anything. No, that's living on the edge. That's Speaker 2 (4:53) in the stupid zone. And that checks the box. I'm done. Speaker 3 (4:56) Yeah, so I don't know. This Speaker 2 (4:57) guy's nuts. And so I don't want to marry a crypto bro. Well, Speaker 3 (5:01) if he's got 10,000 in crypto and it's Speaker 2 (5:03) the Speaker 3 (5:03) only thing he talks about, he's obsessed with it, then that's the crypto bro to me. But like, do you know what I'm saying, Ashley? There's a level of humanity in this when you're dating someone because they're going to be different than you. But it's the value system that I think I would really harp on of where their heart is when it comes to this subject. And you've obviously done well. And when you can find a partner that actually sees your strengths. as strengths and they're not threatened by it, like that's a pro. And like that's a check mark for me in the positive side, the positive category. Speaker 4 (5:35) I think I have a tough time seeing like what's values, what's not, because if someone's just telling me, I mean, the student loan debt in their late 30s, like just some of the things they say, the $30 on lunch every day, like I just assume that that's, we have different values, but I guess maybe I... It sounds like I should keep more of an open mind. Speaker 2 (5:57) No, the student loan debt still being there and the $30 lunch is not a value. That's a symptom of what they've learned to this point, and it could be the symptom of a value. And if the value is a loss of hope, I don't believe I can win, I'm stuck, I need the president or some socialist to come save me. If that's the value, this is not a keeper. But if the value is, hey, I'm stuck and I don't know how to get out, and you start going, well, you could do this, and they go, oh, that'd be cool. Well, that's what Rachel's talking about. That's the humility that goes with the mess. Just because someone's in a mess, I don't rule them out. But I do rule them out if why they're in the mess and whether they intend to stay there or whether they actually brag about the mess and go. Look at me, how cool I am. I've got a big car payment and it doesn't matter. Yeah, it does. Yeah, it does. And so, you know, I think so in that sense, the value system, the way the Ramsey family would go about it is we're people of faith that we would say, okay, you know, what's God telling you about this? You know, and if you can't submit yourselves to God's word, you can't submit yourself to the directions of the Lord. then that's a lack of humility. That's an arrogance that's going to get your head taken off. And I really don't want to be connected to you when your head gets taken off. And so and that's what you're saying. So if the guy doesn't have a work ethic, if he refuses to work, that's Speaker 3 (7:22) a Speaker 2 (7:22) killer. That's a killer. And there's a whole bunch of those out there for various reasons. Speaker 3 (7:26) Yeah. And money is an interesting topic because I'm like it. It can expose so much about somebody. And and there's a shallowness. At which, especially I would think as you're dating and talking to guys about money. I Speaker 2 (7:38) can't even Speaker 3 (7:38) imagine. Like the, you know what I mean? There's just like, there's a gross shallowness to it all. And if you're feeling that, like that would be a value system of mine of like, you just, you feel gross. Like with money. Like it's just like, it's all about appearances. It's all what you can get. It's all about, this is my only thing in life that I want. Like that category, it's like. No, I don't want you as a partner in life. I don't want you to be the father of my kids. But who he is as a person is going to override so much of that. And if he's a person of character, he respects you. He listens to you. Like all of that, a lot of these issues really do start to take hold because actually a lot of calls on this show we get. a spouse calls in and they're having a massive issue, either about financial infidelity or something else. And it's rarely a money issue. It's so much a breakdown of their marriage. So finding a quality man would be my number one. Now, if he budgets and he's out of debt. Speaker 2 (8:32) That's a double plus. Speaker 3 (8:34) I see on top. Speaker 2 (8:35) That's a slam dunk then. Speaker 2 (9:02) One of the biggest mistakes homebuyers make is talking to a realtor and shopping for houses before understanding their real budget. And that's how you end up falling in love with a house you can't afford and trapping yourself in a bigger payment than you can handle. That's why you should talk to Churchill Mortgage first. Churchill. shows you what you can actually afford, not just what a bank will approve. And with their certified homebuyer program, your financing is completely secured before you shop, so you won't miss out on your dream home while you're waiting for pre-approval. I've recommended Churchill for 30 years because they help you buy a home the Ramsey way. So here's your plan. Contact Churchill, know your numbers, and then when you find the perfect house, you're ready. Go to churchillmortgage.com slash Ramsey offer for a special offer only for Ramsey fans. That's churchillmortgage.com slash Ramsey offer or click the link in the description. Speaker 2 (10:10) Tyler's in Nashville. Hi, Tyler. How are you? Pretty good, Speaker 7 (10:14) Dave. You Speaker 2 (10:15) doing good yourself? Better than I deserve. What's up? Speaker 7 (10:18) So me and my wife, I'm 30, she's 29. We have a paid-for house with 15 acres, but the caveat there is it is a double-wide trailer that was manufactured in 97. And this 15 acres is part of my grandfather's farm that I bought back in 2017. And here in the last couple months, The house that he built in 82 has come back up for sale that's attached to this farm that was a part of it at one time. We're thinking about buying it and moving into it. I just need to know if you think it's a good decision or not. And how much is Speaker 2 (10:57) it? Speaker 7 (10:59) He's asking $185,000, and I think we could fix it up for like $50,000 to fix it up and live in it, move in it. Speaker 3 (11:09) So probably $220,000-ish all in is what you're thinking, $225,000? Yeah. Speaker 2 (11:14) And how much money do you have? Speaker 2 (11:17) We have about 15 % now. Okay. And what do you guys make a year? Speaker 2 (11:23) About $130,000 Speaker 7 (11:25) to $140,000. Speaker 2 (11:26) Okay. Well, it sounds like you're a bit familiar with what we do. I can't tell for sure, but I think you are. Yeah. We tell people when they're buying a home, don't take out more than a 15-year mortgage when the payment is more than a fourth of your take-home pay. In your case, you're doing that from a paid-for property. Which, you know, it's kind of hard to do because I'm sitting here with no payments and all of a sudden I'm getting ready to saddle myself with payments. Speaker 7 (11:54) Yeah. And that's emotionally hard Speaker 2 (11:56) to do. You've got a particular reason to do it. It's adjacent to property you already have paid off. That's cool. It's family property. That's cool. It's a rehab. That's not cool. Because those things are always cost twice as much and take twice as long as you think they're going to. But. But the whole thing, I mean, it's within our guidelines of what we teach. Never take out that. I don't tell people to borrow money, and the only thing I don't yell at them for is a mortgage where it's no more than a 15-year with no more than a fourth-year take-home pay. But I don't want to do this flippantly. And if I were in your shoes, I would get that rehab done ASAP, and then I would. begin to pay that mortgage off because I'd want to be back to no payments. It's got to feel good to have no payments. Speaker 7 (12:48) Yeah, me and my wife have sat down and talked about it. We think we can pay it off in seven to ten years if we hunker down like we paid off the last one. Speaker 2 (12:56) I think you can, too. And then we'll be Speaker 7 (12:58) back there for you. Speaker 2 (12:58) Yeah, I think you can, too, with what you're talking about. And so, yeah, it fits within our guidelines. So I got to tell you, I mean, and it's there's a lot of reasons to do it. Speaker 3 (13:07) Yeah. And I just ran the numbers real quick. Tyler, you guys bring home what? Probably eighty four hundred a month. Speaker 7 (13:12) Yeah. Give or take a little. Yeah. Depending on the month. Yeah. Speaker 3 (13:14) And your mortgage will be about twelve hundred dollars. Right. Speaker 7 (13:19) If you put 15 % Speaker 3 (13:20) down on the... Plus taxes and insurance. Speaker 7 (13:22) Yeah. Probably Speaker 3 (13:23) around all that, yes. So that's within the... Speaker 7 (13:27) then we would take the double wide there and rent it out as well. That was the plan. Yeah. Okay. Speaker 3 (13:33) Yeah, so it does. It fits within that 25 % of your take-home pay. I wouldn't do the deal Speaker 2 (13:38) if it was dependent upon the double wide, but the double wide cash flow that comes in just helps you do the rehab faster. Yeah. Speaker 3 (13:45) And actually the numbers I plugged in was the 225 with the rehab. It wasn't the 185. So, yeah, so you guys, from a financial perspective, yeah, the numbers play out totally fine. Speaker 2 (13:55) I Speaker 7 (13:56) just know Dave says not to take out money on rental properties. Well, that's not a rental property. You're moving into it. But I would have the double lot as a rental property, and I would have that. Oh, yeah, yeah. But, I mean, Speaker 2 (14:07) if it was detached and it was somewhere else, I would tell you to sell it and put all the money on this house. Speaker 3 (14:13) But Speaker 2 (14:14) what we're doing here is we're gathering back up old family land that's contiguous to each other. So I would do what you're doing here. but for reason of the land being attached, not because of the double-wide rental. Speaker 3 (14:26) Yeah, and the good thing is, Tyler, too, that it's not dependent upon the renter, just your income itself. You can do Speaker 2 (14:32) it Speaker 3 (14:32) on that. So if the renting becomes a hassle and it feels like it is a second job that you hate, you know, you can always be done with that. Well, there's a number of Speaker 2 (14:42) years from now that that double-wide is not going to be inhabitable. And so you're going to tow it off somewhere and mow over where you used to be and you're not going to have a rental anymore. Yep. That's just that's out there in the future somewhere. And you've got to decide what that is. But, yeah. Oh, and here's the thing. All of you listening. The whole thing we want you to do is just not normalize keeping debt your whole life. Mortgage doesn't mean slavery forever. Speaker 2 (15:12) And it shouldn't have a plan. He's got a plan seven years. It'll be done again like he was last time. But we've just normalized. Like the neighborhood I grew up in, people say, you're always going to have a car payment just the way it is. You're always going to have a house payment. Might as well get inside. If you normalize it and you give up and you surrender to these banks, they will own your butt for the rest of your life. And so you have to villainize them and say, this is a war for my freedom, and I'm going to fight for my freedom. And in Tyler's case, he's surrendering some of that temporarily only with a plan to get it back as soon as possible versus, well, it's okay. It's no big deal. Ramsey just said, you know, no, there's a reason we do this because not having any payments is the shortest method to becoming very, very wealthy. It's the shortest path. And the more payments you have, the more held back you are. Especially Speaker 3 (16:13) a 30-year mortgage, if you run the numbers. If you had it for 30 years, how much do you pay in just interest? Go on a mortgage calculator and just look it up. I mean, that just makes you sick, where you're like, oh, my gosh. So part of it, too, is getting that money back, yeah, in your pocket, like what you're saying. When you have nothing, you're not paying out all of this. It's wild. Speaker 2 (16:34) Mathematically, your most powerful wealth-building tool is your income. If you invest $100 a month from age 25 to age 65, you'll have $1,176,000. So if you have a $500 car payment from age 25 to age 65 because car payments are normalized, that's a $5 million car you're driving. Hope you like the car. If you keep a mortgage, your whole stinking life, because every time you get one paid off, you can't wait to go get another one. The number of people in America that pay off their car, get out of debt, and the way they celebrate getting a raise at the office is going and taking out a new car payment. And that's just stupid, people. You're playing the car company's games. You're playing the bank's games. You're playing the FICO score game. You're playing the Samuel L. Jackson, what's in your wallet game. And what's in my wallet is none of Samuel's dadgum credit cards. Instead, there's some pictures of Uncle Ben, John Mon Franklin. That's him. So that's how that works. I mean, you just got to think this through, guys. That's how that works. And so. That's what we want. And so when that's the way we think and how what we're going to measure your question against that idea when it comes in. And, you know, and we you know, whether you go in debt or whether you go broke, it doesn't really affect us. We're just going home. Don't turn off the microphone a few hours. I'm going home. Speaker 2 (18:05) And Rachel's kids will never know what happened to you, and she'll be okay. You know, it's okay. So this is all for you. We're helping you because we love you, and we want you to win. And we've done that for almost 40 years now. And consequently, there's tens of thousands of Baby Step Millionaires out there that have followed these ideas because they freaking work. And these ideas come from the Bible and from your grandmother who got them from the Bible. It's live on less than you make. Get out of debt. Always be generous. Always be saving. Always have a written plan with your money. These are common sense things, and I can back every one of them up scripturally if you want me to. I mean, this is how this works. And people that, you know, on TikTok that want you to do something else. Come on, guys, really think about your sources. Garbage into your brain. You know what your brain turns into? Garbage. So, you know, you just. At Speaker 3 (19:04) least you didn't say tic-tac. Speaker 2 (19:06) I need to clean that up. I'm sorry. Tic-tac. You've come a long way. If Speaker 3 (19:10) you're Speaker 2 (19:10) using tiki-taki. Speaker 3 (19:11) You've come a long way. Speaker 2 (19:13) It's a dad joke. No, I know. Speaker 3 (19:15) But, well, and I think the hardest thing for people is when you feel stuck. You want the fastest way out and the fastest way out, the quote unquote, get rich quick. You get quick results. Yeah, you can always borrow your way into anything. Right. It does not end up on the other side. And so actually the more methodical, slow paced, consistent plan that is backed by common sense. That's the one that works. It's not as shiny and flashy and exciting, but it is what it is. Speaker 5 (20:08) Hey, George Camel here. Listen, if you're behind on debt payments and drowning in debt, I already know what you're thinking. I can't afford a lawyer to help. And honestly, that's exactly what creditors are counting on. But here's what most people don't know. Guardian Litigation Group doesn't work like a traditional law firm. There's no massive retainer. There's no hourly billing that costs more than the debt itself. Guardian is a law firm built specifically for people in default, behind on payments, or staring down bankruptcy. And their model is designed so people in that situation can actually access real legal protection. From day one, you're assigned an attorney. If a creditor sues you, you have someone who can actually represent you, not a call center that isn't built to defend you when things escalate. The best path out of debt is still doing it the right way. Budgeting, working the plan, changing the behavior. But if you've already hit a wall and you need real help, Guardian delivers. Their attorneys have settled over $600 million in debt for more than 55,000 people. So go check it out for yourself, guardianlit.com slash Ramsey. That's guardianlit.com slash Ramsey. Attorney advertising. Results may vary and no specific outcome is guaranteed. Speaker 2 (21:32) Maria is in New Orleans. Hi, Maria. How are you? Speaker 4 (21:36) Hey, I'm all right. How are you? Speaker 2 (21:39) Better than I deserve. How can we help? Speaker 4 (21:43) I owed $27,000 on my car, and it was giving us a lot of trouble. I've been working the plan since the beginning of the year, and because it was in my husband's name, he went to trade it in for what was supposed to be a cheaper vehicle. And instead, he came back with one that was $50,000 negative equity, $90 a week in gas, just to get me to work him back. So I went back to the dealership to see about... trading it in for something less or giving it back, I was disgusted. And they told me, well, you can give us $20,000 and we'll take it back, or you can trade it in for something that is more fuel efficient. And I just want to get out of this situation that my husband put me in. Speaker 3 (22:33) What's your husband saying about this? What was his reaction when you... Probably Speaker 4 (22:39) flipped out. Well, Speaker 3 (22:39) when Speaker 4 (22:39) I went back to the dealership and they told me exactly how much it was, his response was, I didn't know. They had just told him what the monthly note was going to be. Speaker 2 (22:52) So I'm not sure if we need to trade the husband or the car. Speaker 3 (22:57) both would be nice. Speaker 3 (23:00) She's like, I'm so Speaker 2 (23:01) tired of this. Speaker 3 (23:02) How Speaker 2 (23:02) long have y'all been married? Speaker 4 (23:06) Oh, a very long time, almost 20 years. Speaker 2 (23:09) Yeah. Speaker 2 (23:12) Okay. So Speaker 4 (23:12) usually I'm the one that takes care of all of the finances. But, you know, it's been a long time and, you know, we've grown, we've supposedly matured, and I trusted him to go in with, okay, I have work, take it in, trade it in, get something cheaper that we can pay off. Speaker 3 (23:29) And he comes back. Well, I will say, not that this is an excuse for him by any means. He's a grown man and he should have known what he was paying for at the end. But car dealers are notorious for figuring out that monthly payment and then they add on this and this and this. And you really don't Speaker 4 (23:45) know Speaker 3 (23:45) when you walk out. But when he signed the papers, he should have seen and known and asked for it. So it's not an excuse. I just know if you're not. If you don't care, it's almost like if you're not engaged at all in the purchase, that can just happen, right? But that's what frustrates me about it is like you weren't engaged in the process at all. Like you did completely the opposite of everything we talked about. So that's the issue that I see. And he rolled negative equity into it. So how much have you sold this Speaker 2 (24:18) car? They said she's 20,000 upside down, the idiots that sold it to her. I know, Speaker 3 (24:22) but I wonder if you Kelly Blue booked it for a sale of an individual, a sale, what it would come up as. Speaker 2 (24:28) So let Speaker 3 (24:30) me tell you that your finances are Speaker 2 (24:32) not going to get better if you keep handling them the way you are. Speaker 4 (24:37) Mm-hmm. Speaker 2 (24:38) where this guy is loose, out there running around, doing whatever, because you sent him over to the car dealer, and you thought he could handle it. The two of you need to sit down, look at numbers, and when the item is over $1,000, you need to wait overnight, talk about it, and the two of you pray about it and look at the numbers. Slow your butt down and both of you be involved. And the two of you... need to be looking at your monthly budget, and the two of you need to be leaning into getting this cleaned up. All of your verbiage has been, I'm the only adult in this conversation, and I'm dragging this little boy along with me. That's your verbiage. Speaker 4 (25:21) And that's what it feels like. Speaker 2 (25:23) Yeah. And that's got to stop, because you're not going to win financially doing that. All of our data points of all the millionaires we've studied, all the people that are successful in their marriage, all the people that are successful with their money, are teams. They work together. They respect each other and they make deals with each other and they keep their word and they don't cop out with incompetence or direct conflict against the goals that we have agreed to. But you guys are not on the same page. And so the boy child is going to have to man up and you're going to have to get used to other people speaking into this other than just you. The two of you together got to look at this and go, this is a freaking mess. And together, we're going to clean this freaking mess up. And then if you take that set of principles and apply them to this mess, then it's going to sound like, well, let's look at 14 different ways we can get rid of this stupid butt car because we got screwed. Speaker 2 (26:20) You let it happen, both of you, you by sending him over there, him by being asleep at the wheel in a coma in a car dealer's finance office, which is a good place to get screwed. And, you know, both of you together watch this happen. And then the car dealer just, you know, if you ask an alligator if it's hungry, it's going to say yeah. And so guess what? That's what they're going to do. So that's, you know, now you've got to figure out how to get out of this. The two of you got to sit down and go, OK, we're going to go to 14 dealers. We're going to analyze this car. We're going to get this car sold and we're going to get a freaking hoopty. a $2,000 car, and we're going to roll up our sleeves. Everybody's taking extra jobs. We're not going to see the inside of a restaurant unless we're working there. We're not going on vacation. All that money you piled over there to buy your fishing boat is going to go to clean this dadgum mess up. Whatever it is, you've got to scrape all this money in the middle of the table, clean out the nickels out of the corner of the couch, and get the mess cleaned up as a team. But until you team up, you're not going to win. You're not. It's going to happen over and over because it sabotages the progress that you make. That's why one person, people ask us all the time, how can I do this without my spouse's approval or involvement? You can't. Speaker 3 (27:36) It's tough. Speaker 2 (27:37) Yeah. That's where it is. And so I'm sorry. I'm sorry you guys are in the middle of this mess. But that's your answer on how to fix it. Fix this relational dysfunction. Yes. And that'll fix the overall thing. Because Speaker 3 (27:48) resentment's going to start to build if it hasn't already, Maria. So honestly, like that's for him to come to the table and have a seat at the table and actually have an opinion. And you listening to it. Speaker 2 (28:00) And responsibility. And Speaker 3 (28:01) responsibility. All of it. His involvement. Speaker 3 (28:04) vice versa with you i'm like that's that's part of it but i'd be pissed too so i think i don't blame you that Speaker 2 (28:10) part of it's true i'll go with you on that dave is in fort lauderdale hey dave what's up Speaker 7 (28:32) Did you not have insurance? Speaker 7 (28:35) Okay, Speaker 2 (28:37) so how much is your out-of-pocket with Medicare on the surgery? Speaker 7 (28:47) $7,000, $8,000. Speaker 2 (28:48) Okay. And you don't have any money. Speaker 7 (28:51) So it's not that I don't have any money, but I didn't want to have to use my monthly expense because everything that I own, I pay for every month. I don't have a car payment. I have a car, but I don't have a car payment. How much money do you Speaker 1 (29:08) have? Speaker 7 (29:11) Uh... I have my assets of about $165,000. Speaker 2 (29:16) Okay. Just pay off your medical debt. Speaker 3 (29:19) You don't have that in cash, though, Dave, do you? No. Okay. What do you have in cash? What's Speaker 1 (29:24) it Speaker 3 (29:24) in? Assets. I think house and car and stuff. Dave, how much money do you have in the bank, cash, available to you? In Speaker 7 (29:31) the bank right now, about $2,000. and monthly expense, all the time left over. Speaker 3 (29:38) Get to the end of the month about $1,500. $1,500. Speaker 2 (29:42) Do you have any money that you can get your hands on that's in investments? Or Speaker 3 (29:47) anything you can sell? Speaker 7 (29:50) Oh Speaker 7 (29:52) Not right now, no. Speaker 2 (29:53) Okay, what's the $165,000 in? Speaker 7 (29:57) It's the place that I own. Speaker 2 (29:59) The home that you own and your paid-for car. Speaker 7 (30:02) Yeah. Speaker 2 (30:03) Okay. So you have $1,500. How old are you? Speaker 7 (30:07) In my 70s. Speaker 2 (30:09) Okay. How old are you exactly? Speaker 7 (30:12) 77. Speaker 2 (30:13) Thank you. And how is your health now that you've had the surgery? Speaker 7 (30:17) Thanks. Speaker 2 (30:19) Good, I'm glad. Okay. And what is your monthly income? Speaker 7 (30:25) It's about the 20... Speaker 7 (30:29) $2,600. Speaker 2 (30:31) Okay. All right. The first thing I'm going to do is go revisit that inventory and see if there's anything other than the house and the car that I can sell to pay this debt down. The second thing I'm going to do is I'm going to call the medical people and say, I don't have any money. This is a Medicare deal. I don't have any cash. What kind of a deal can you offer me on this and see if you can get a discount? And if you can, I'd scrape together the money barely out of your monthly, which your monthly's really tight. I agree with that. But I'd do my best not to borrow on the cash out. I don't want you to go back in debt at 77. You finally got out. Speaker 2 (31:20) Let me tell you what I get asked all the time. When should I get... Term life insurance. How much do I need? Is it affordable? Those are the right questions to be asking. So let's take a quick review. The fact is, term life isn't a baby step. So if anyone is dependent on your income, you need to have 10 to 12 times your income in life insurance now. And most people are surprised by how affordable term life really is, even if you're not in perfect health. Look, I understand the hesitation, since most insurance companies make it more of a hassle. than it needs to be. Not at Zander Insurance. They're not an insurance company. They're a broker that works for you. That means they'll shop and compare the top term life companies to find the most competitive options on the coverage for your family. For almost 30 years, I've recommended Zander for straight answers. competitive rates, and coverage that actually protects your family. Call 800-356-4282 or go to Zander.com for a quick and easy quote. That's Zander.com. Speaker 2 (32:46) Sarah is with us in Fort Collins, Colorado. Hi, Sarah. How are you? Speaker 4 (32:51) I'm good, Dave. How are you? Speaker 2 (32:53) Better than I deserve. What's up? Speaker 4 (32:56) So I wanted to ask, how do I get comfortable investing for the future when the future itself just feels so uncertain? Speaker 2 (33:07) What do you mean? Speaker 4 (33:11) And I know this is a bad, like... comparison or example, but, um, you know, there's just so much negativity on social media and, um, and I see so many