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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 with your money, in your work, and in your relationships. The phone number to jump in is 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by George Camel. We're Ramsey Personalities, and we are your guides this hour.
George will help you out on the money questions. I'll weigh in. I'll take any work-related questions. You're feeling stuck, but you're in the baby steps. Can I move? Do I start a side hustle? What do I do to bring in more income? Think of me as just the bigger shovel guy. Shall we say that, George? What does that make me? Chop liver. No, you're the financial guru. You're the guy.
I don't want to be anyone's guru, but I see where you're going with this. All right. The point is, people are going, okay, they're new to the show. Okay, where's Dave? Money and work. Money and work. And that's what we're going to do today. We're going to help you out there. So let's get started. Heather is waiting for us in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma, Heather, how can we help?
Hi. Okay, so my question is, my husband and I are currently on Baby Step 2, and so a little over $700 a month is going towards our debt payments. So once we get done with baby step two and then also have our fully funded emergency fund, then the next step is doing 15% towards retirement. But 15% towards retirement is like over $800 a month.
So part of how I got my husband on board with this is telling him like, oh, look, this is an extra $700 we're going to have per month once all of this is paid off. But actually now that's just going to be going towards retirement. So if we can barely afford our debt payments, How are we going to be able to afford to put even more than that towards retirement?
Well, I would take a good hard look at this budget and go, where are these money leaks happening? Because sometimes it's an income problem, and that's where our friend Ken Coleman comes in handy to go, let's increase the income. Because truthfully, 15%, even without debt for some people, it's too tight.
Now, if you've got a dollar for every name and you're still accomplishing all your financial goals, it's okay. It's good to have a zero-based budget where every dollar has an assignment and there's not, you know, a thousand extra dollars of fund money sitting around.
But if you're telling me that just paying your normal bills and investing 15% creates zero extra margin for, let's say, saving for college or paying off the house early, that tells me we might have an income problem. Which one is it for you? Do you think you have some expenses that are also hanging out or is it both?
I mean, I don't think it's much expenses. I mean, I don't use your guys' budgeting program, but I do use the YNAB You Need a Budget program. And so I'm very aware of our expenses and all of that and everything gets a job and is accounted for. It could be an income problem, but I'm not really sure how we can make more money. Like my husband works 50 to 60 hours a week. What's he make doing that?
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Chapter 2: How can I manage my budget while paying off debt?
Hang on the line. This is a wonderful tool. It's my gift, taking about 15 to 20 minutes max. It's going to spit out a purpose statement, which is essentially a job description. showing him what he does best, what he loves to do most, and what results motivate him. And I think it's going to show him some things he's not seen before.
I'll also give you the book, From Paycheck to Purpose, which is like the guide up the top of the mountain, but the assessment points out both of those products coming your way, early Christmas present. I want to see him dream and then put some steps towards doing what it takes to get a sizable pay raise, which changes your life. You guys are good people. You're going to win. Hang in there.
Don't move. More Ramsey Show and your calls coming up. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins me. We're your guides this hour. We're here to help you win. We're going to give you some hope-filled, practical advice to help you win with your money, your work, and your relationships.
George is our money guru, and I'm going to help you out in the area of work so that you're making more money. George is going to help you keep more money. So we're happy to take any of those calls. We've got a new year coming up, George, so people are thinking about, do I stay? Do I go? Do I stay?
uh you know as it relates to making a career move so hey we'll talk to you about any of that stuff we're going to start it off with nathan in sacramento california nathan how can we help hi um well my wife and i we have had some money discussions recently because i was living check to check we were living check to check and um i recently lost my job oh no what happened
Well, it's a company that's going through some changes. And within the technology industry, where I've had a lot of experience, there have been a lot of changes lately. So I was one of those changes.
Well, you know, listen, you're not alone. Spotify just announced massive layoffs today, interestingly enough. So that happens in tech companies. They staff up, then they staff
down and I just want to acknowledge something Nathan that we know from psychology research that when someone loses a job either laid off or fired that it has the same emotional effect of losing a loved one so you know it that's a tough thing and I want to acknowledge that and I've been fired and I've been laid off so welcome the club head up you're going to be okay what kind of work was it specifically in technology I
I was the head of a recruiting department.
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Chapter 3: What steps should I take to increase my income?
I believe you're going to bounce back quickly, but let's talk about where you're at right now. How are you guys keeping the lights on? Is there other income?
Is there a severance? I did receive a severance, and that's also why I'm calling. We do have quite a lot of debt, and we are trying to figure out what we should prioritize here over the next couple months. When it comes to the industry, a lot of my colleagues have had changes over the last several months, and my concern is how quickly I can actually get back up on my feet.
And so my wife and I are having a discussion as to whether we would want to save the money or to use that to pay off debt. And we're trying to figure out if we should wait or pay things off now and then in what order we should do that.
Well, you know, I'm a big fan of debt payoff, but this is one of those times where we would call this storm mode where you want to just pause and stack up as much cash as possible to weather the storm before we go make any financial moves. And that includes paying off debt. So the goal right now is let's maintain. Let's keep the lights on, food, utilities, shelter, transportation. That's your A1.
If nothing else gets paid, those get paid. And then minimum payments on all of your debt until we can figure this out, figure out what the next step is. Is your wife working outside the home?
No, she's not. I've made a commitment to provide for the family, and she's taking care of our son.
Okay. How old is the son?
He is going to be 12 in a couple weeks here.
Twelve? Hey, listen, I'm going to jump in real fast. Just as George said, there are times where we kind of deal with the snowball. I think there's times where we have to maybe be flexible with some principles and commitments. And I love the fact that you said, I've made a commitment that my wife worked from home. But you've got a 12-year-old, not a 12-week-old.
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Chapter 4: How do I effectively combine finances with my partner?
Sure. Just wanted to ask you quickly. So I'm 33. My wife's 32. We – We are going to be able to pay off our house here in the next probably month and a half to two months. Awesome. Just depending on what our expenses are. But really what we're looking for is the next steps, right? Neither of us are very comfortable or experienced in investing, and we're looking for...
What would be a good strategy for us being the age we are, you know, kind of what we should be looking into and what we should be putting our money into.
Fantastic. You guys are crushing it, man. You're going to be in your early 30s without a house payment, which means baby step seven, which means instead of investing 15%, you can increase that. And you're going, hey, what do we do now as far as investing?
Sure. Yep, exactly.
Cool. What's your current retirement options through your employers?
Yeah, so me currently, I get a 4% match. So I've had that maxed out since I've been working, you know, just a 4%. But, you know, I haven't personally been doing the 15%. My wife is closer to that. She also gets the 4% match, but I can't remember what. She also gets like an 8% match for some sort of stock ownership, I believe.
Okay. So let's get some clarity on what all the options are, and then you're going to filter it through this really simple strategy. Match beats Roth beats traditional. So if you both have a match, let's invest at least up to the match. If you guys have Roth options, like a Roth IRA, let's max those out for the year. Beyond that, you can go back to the traditional side.
Now, if you max out all of that, including an HSA, if you guys have a health savings account, which you can invest through, then you might want to look into a taxable brokerage account outside of retirement. Okay. Did any of that click? Are you like, what the heck did he just say?
Yeah, no, no, I do. I do believe. Well, my wife does have Roth currently through her work as an option. So I know that is an option for her. I don't. So I've been kicking around the idea of getting one, you know, outside of my employment.
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Chapter 5: What are the pressures of holiday gift buying?
Maybe you get to know them. I'm kidding. Sarcasm, folks. I'll tell you a fun story coming back right after the break. This is The Ramsey Show. Welcome back to the Ramsey Show. We're so thrilled you're with us. We're here to help you win in your money and in your work today. I'm Ken Coleman. George Campbell joins me.
Chapter 6: What strategies are suggested for managing unexpected expenses?
Folks, it is that time of the year where you've got to get that gift. And can we be honest with you for just a moment, as if we're not going to be honest the rest of the show? I don't know what that means. What a nice change of pace, Ken, that you're going to be honest. Yeah, we're going to be honest. So the amount of gifts we feel pressured to buy. in America around Christmas time.
It's endless, George. I feel it. It used to be the family.
Chapter 7: How should I approach selling a car with negative equity?
And then it was like, well, our Uncle Larry and Aunt Maude coming in. Well, we got to get him something. We got to get Aunt Maude. And then at what point you go, well, we're not going to send gifts away anymore. It's all the stress around gift buying. It's a lot. All right. Then you got the office gifts. Do you buy a gift for the boss? Do you get it for the co-worker?
Chapter 8: What are the steps to take for financial recovery after job loss?
I mean, I try to put as much pressure on you as possible to give me a gift.
Well, the Ken Coleman Show team, I know they're getting some nice gifts this year.
Yeah, the Isotoners are going to be great, thanks to Dan Marino. But, you know, it's like, okay, so what do I get? What if I get a gift that keeps on giving? And this is not the Jelly of the Month Club from National Lampoon. Is it Jell-O or Jelly? I think it's Jelly. I think it's Jelly. How about meaningful gifts in our $12 sale at Ramsey Solutions?
Our best-selling books like Total Money Makeover, Baby Steps to Millionaire, Own Your Past, Change Your Future, Don't Forget from Paycheck to Purpose, just $12 each. Quests for Human Cards, there's only 300 of those decks available. Something for everyone. Something for everybody. I think they have it for dogs at this point. I saw one the other day.
It was a question for humans octogenarian version. Wow. If you're hanging out at the old folks home. For those that have some years experience. Yeah, you know, because it's like a decade sensitive type deck there. That's true. So that's out there. All kinds of great stuff at RamseySolutions.com. RamseySolutions.com. Check it out. You can't beat that sale. So there you go. Fun stuff.
All right, to the phones we go. Detroit, Michigan is where Andrew joins us. Andrew, how can we help?
Hi, guys. Thank you for taking my call.
You bet. What's up?
A few years ago, I stopped working my 9-to-5 to do rideshare. And recently they said that we can't do the luxury rideshare anymore. So I've been going through my savings, but most importantly, my daughter helped me purchase the car for Lyft and I've been hearing her show that we should just sell these bad loans or cars with bad loans.
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