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Chapter 1: What is discussed at the start of this section?
Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, this is The Ramsey Show. It's where we help you win in your life, specifically your money, your work, and your relationships. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by the incomparable, the lovely Rachel Cruz. The phone number is 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. Rachel will be taking your money questions. I'll chime in if she lets me. We always want your thoughts.
I'm sure you do. We'll also take your work questions. Your income is your greatest wealth building tool. Multiple incomes is the best way to get out of debt and get through the rest of the baby steps. So if you're feeling stuck, you're not where you want to be in your work life and your financial life is being affected, I'm here to help you on that as well. So we'll take those calls.
Let's get right to it. Ross is joining us now in Houston, Texas. Ross, how can we help? Hello. Hello, Ross. You're live on The Ramsey Show. What's up?
Awesome, awesome. How are y'all doing today?
We're having a blast.
it's really good to get through to y'all. I have a, I've been trying for a couple of months, but today is your day.
What is your question?
So, uh, we kind of got in a predicament where my girlfriend got in a wreck not too long ago.
Is she okay?
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Chapter 2: How can I help my girlfriend with her debt?
I'm Ken Cullen. I'm joined by Rachel Cruz. And we are here for you this hour. The phone number is toll-free. You can jump in at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. 825-5225. The question of the day is brought to you by Neighborly, your hub for home services. The 19 home service brands nationwide.
The network of local service pros on Neighborly.com can help you with just about anything you need in and around your home. Incidentally, Neighborly was founded to solve problems like Ken Coleman, because I can't do anything.
You and George Camel are like two peas in a pod.
We are neighborly prime customers. Our poor wives. We can't do anything around the house.
Do you know George on this show said something about table saws? And he's like, I mean, you guys go spend $1,000 on table saws. He got lit up because everyone's like, they're like $100 to $200. And he thinks they're like $1,200.
Yeah, right, right, right. Well, you know, again, I'm not even sure he knows what a table saw is. He just heard it and said it. Or a circular saw or something. Yeah, he has no idea. But nonetheless, if you're like me, Please visit neighborly.com slash Ramsey to find out more and improve your marriage.
All right, today's question, it's a long one. Get ready, everyone.
Oh, it is.
Buckle up. We got Barry in New Jersey. Is my wife a princess or do I need an attitude change?
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Chapter 3: What should I do if my lifestyle is unsustainable?
I'm not mad at her.
I'm not either. But what do you say? In fact, I'm going to stay out of this and just ask a question. Let's say that Barry's wife, her name is Mary, just for fun.
Okay.
And let's say you and Mary go to tea or whatever you would do. And she says, my husband Barry has asked me. To go back to work. It's the same scenario. Sure. And she says to you, we're fine. All the things you just said.
Yeah.
But I understand he wants to knock it out. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. He wants me to go back to work and I just don't want to. What should I say to him? How should we handle this? What would your advice be to your friend Mary about her husband Barry?
mary and barry uh i would say i could understand where he's coming from i can see more for him wanting to retire early and wanting to get out of the work and stuff i see that more plausible and understandable for some reason than even the house i know but what do you say to her because he's clearly brought this up to her yep and she she's not moving fast so i would i would ask her
uh what is it that keeps you from not working yes meaning like is it that you don't have a thing that you're passionate about that you want to do uh is it that you just logically have come to a conclusion that y'all are going to be fine like you're going to pay off the house soon yeah he will retire at a decent age there's no need for this urgency at this point in our lives um so i would ask her those questions and then i would have her i would i would want her to ask him you know hey what what's really like what what is going on what's more pressing
Do you get frustrated that I'm just home? Does that bother you? Do you think I'm... Like, you know what I mean? I don't know, because some resentment could be building on his end.
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Chapter 4: How do I approach my girlfriend about selling our cars?
Will you get us there? Do you know? Do you know where we're going?
Well, yeah, but where you were going, I wanted you to tell us what you would tell her because I think this is a getting on the same page. You're great at that. You're very intentional in your life with Winston. And so here's my only take. I think he sees her as potential income and he's got some stress and he's got some urgency over a goal and he's looking at her, in this case, wrongly.
If Barry were with me, I'd go, I understand what you see. You see potential income that's not being maxed out and you're going, come on, babe. That's what I think he's feeling. So I just wanted to throw that in there. So what would you tell her? Because there's some stress on his end.
uh there is and i just wonder on her end hey is is there other ways that i can help contribute to lowering that stress with me not having to go back to work like would it make you feel better and and if we agreed on a budget and i actually stuck to my word right because if the budget's a drift then there is a level of like someone's not keeping their word which cannot it's not great um
So I'd have those conversations. But I also think that there's like a reasonableness for him to see, yeah, y'all are you guys are doing fine.
Yeah, well, if any time someone mentions twice the same phrase, is she a princess, he thinks that Barry thinks that she's a princess. And what he means by that is not the compliment. It's like, you got it good, babe. I've been out busting it. Yes, you did your part.
So I would say to Barry, hey, dude, I'm guessing there's already been a lot of tension around this, and you've got to change your tenor and how you're going at this. Because if you're asking us twice – And a thing that you know may get read on the air, is she a princess? That tells me you are feeling some resentment towards her that's got to get fixed.
Yes, and that's more of the underlying issue. And I do think sometimes spouses, because our spouse is the closest person in our lives, they are the ones that we can just kind of like say it all, give it all, whatever. But I do think the intentionality – and you're great at this, Ken, asking questions –
I think in Winston, I've kind of gotten in this rhythm to instead of just say of telling, right, you do that. I want you to do asking questions, actually get to know your spouse on that level of what what's really going on. And that takes some intentionality. But I think getting to the root of all of this is key. The root for her.
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Chapter 5: What financial changes should I consider before buying a home?
My kids need shoes. Don't forget that. So we'd appreciate that. If you're looking to make a change in 2024 in your professional life to make more money or just get more meaning, you can just check out the Ken Coleman books, of course. But the Rachel Cruz wallet, I got to mention that. Black, Camel, Brown, Champagne, and the brand new Navy.
I know. We came up with a Navy.
Wow. That's pretty nice. I could get a Michigan Block M on that. Yes, you could, sir.
Yes, you could.
The week-long Cyber Monday sale is at RamseySolutions.com slash store. RamseySolutions.com slash store. All right, Sandra. We're going to go back to Sandra in Boston, Massachusetts. Sandra, you're on the Ramsey Show. Sandra. Hello. Hi. Are you there?
Hello. I'm there.
You sound like you may be in a tunnel.
Oh, I'm right in front of the window because I had to move position.
Can you put your phone up to your mouth?
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Chapter 6: How can I effectively use my emergency fund for my daughter's quinceañera?
That's why it sounds like you're in a cave. I want you to pull the phone out of your mouth and put it next to your mouth. All right, Sandra, we'll try this. Hold still. What's your question?
My question is, I'm interested in purchasing a home. And right now I live in an apartment. Purchasing a home, then the mortgage would be twice as much as my apartment. I live by myself. My child is grown.
She's not with me.
And I wanted to know if it would be a good idea to purchase a home.
Sandra, what do you make a month? About $8,000, $9,000 a month. Okay. And do you have any debt?
I have about $50,000, $45,000 to $50,000 in student loans. Okay.
Do you have any savings? But I have $50,000 in the bank. How much? $50,000 in the bank.
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Chapter 7: What should I do with my increased income?
$50,000? Yes. Great.
um and then okay so what i would do sandra i don't think you're ready to buy a house right now i would pay off your student loans today with your 50 000 i would bump up your savings back up to three to six months of expenses and then take some time to save up a good down payment after that and then you just want to make sure even though it's going to be doubling you know your a house payment versus the rent it'll be double
If it works within the formula that it's no more than 25% of your take-home pay on a 15-year fixed rate, you're fine. You're fine. Just making sure that math works out. So I would not give you the green light today.
I would pay off your student loans today, get an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses back up, and save for a good down payment anywhere from 5% to 20%, and make sure the new house is no more than 25% of your take-home pay. So if those are the parameters, Sandra, you're great, but probably not today would I pull the trigger on that.
But I would consider a different cell phone plan. That might be our first purchase. Let's go to Grant in San Antonio, Texas. Grant, how can we help?
Hey, how's it going, guys? Good.
So I am 24, and I just had kind of a massive change in income in my life in the past six months. So I just wanted some advice on how to handle this properly. I was making about $60,000 a year.
Then I got engaged and immediately got a new job right after that. So now I'm making around $140,000 to $180,000 a year. Wow. Good for you.
Come on, Grant. That's fantastic. Thank you, guys.
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Chapter 8: How do I balance my lifestyle choices with my financial responsibilities?
By the time I'm 30 to 35, you know, I want to house some kids and, you know, be very well off for myself.
Yeah. Well, that's a great question. What will she be making after you guys get married?
she's right right now she's probably gonna keep her job she's right around 55 to 60 000 a year okay fantastic i mean you guys are yeah i mean you you guys are gonna be doing amazing so i would i think paying off all your debt for sure is is the first priority and knowing why the credit card debt was there and all of that right fixing the the symptom not just the symptom but the actual problem too um right but as far as yeah where to put your money i mean i would i would do a
for sure just a emergency fund of three to six months of expenses and you could put that in a high yield savings account or a money market account that's not that's more like insurance money than investments and then when you can look on to investing 15 of your income into retirement so we look at you know good mutual funds um to go within that plan of a 401k or a roth ira
And then beyond that, grants, you could always, you know, like CDs don't always keep up with inflation. But even just opening a Vanguard account and putting some money in the S&P 500 is a plan that you could do as well. But I would always invest my money when I'm thinking long term, more than five years. and making sure what I'm investing in has a long track record.
And so for me, again, mutual funds, Vanguard account, those kinds of things is where I feel the best putting my money.
But any short-term savings that you guys have, if you're saving to buy a house or something, again, just a good high-yield savings account will, I mean, some of those percentages nowadays, that's the bad thing about everything going on with interest rates is if you have debt, it's a ding on you. But those of us that are saving, you're like, oh, dang.
Six and a half percent right here.
Doing pretty good.
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