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Chapter 1: What is discussed at the start of this section?
Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's The Ramsey Show, where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create amazing relationships. I'm George Campbell, joined by my good friend, Ken Coleman. This is your show, America, so make it happen. Give us a call at 888-825-5225, and we'll help you take the right next step for your money, your work,
and your life and my friend ken here he is the expert on helping you get to that work that you love helping you get that bigger shovel help you work on that greatest wealth building tool your income so please call in with your questions for ken as well absolutely and uh we we love being together people a lot of chatter out there on social media a lot of chatter uh we we really do like each other we have some fun little jokes here and there and we're gonna have fun today you said to me right before we started let's have a little extra fun today
That was my encouragement to you since you're a fuddy-duddy normally. Fuddy-duddy. It's a great word. The youngsters don't know what that means. But we're going to help some people today, so let's get to it. Fun and practical advice. That's what we're all about. All right, let's do it.
Miles joins us up first in Nashville, Tennessee, right down the road. Miles, how can we help you today?
Hi, yes, thanks for taking my call. Question. I was in an accident on Thanksgiving. Oh, no. You okay? Yeah, I'm okay now. So the vehicle is a total loss, and at the moment I don't have the funds to purchase another car. Now, I am currently using a family member's car just to get back and forth to work, but I don't want to use that for an excessive amount of time.
What suggestions do you have that you recommend before I proceed?
Well, what the heck happened with insurance?
So, yeah, so the insurance paid out on the gap insurance. Essentially, it paid out what I owed on the vehicle. So I broke even. Now I'm starting fresh all over again with another vehicle. What kind of income are you making?
I do about $45 a month.
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Chapter 2: What should I consider before buying a new vehicle after a total loss?
Like I said, worst case scenario, I could walk if I have to, but I know it's going to be getting pretty cold here pretty soon.
Sure. But you could also, you know, if you had to Uber for a few weeks, that's not going to be a deal breaker.
No, no Uber. I'd rather him walk than Uber. Have you walked 10 miles, Ken? Have I walked it? I've never walked 10 miles. I've run 10 miles.
I'm just saying.
Walking 10 miles in 28 degrees in Nashville. I'm making a point. Sure. It's the principle. He doesn't need to be spending Uber money to get to work. I'm just saying, worst case, if he loses this vehicle, it's not a deal breaker. All right. I sound like the curmudgeon. All right. You're right about the walk. He said it. I just went with it. I'd get a bike. You can bike in 10 miles pretty quickly.
Yeah, I had a buddy of mine that lived, like, on my bedroom floor because he needed a place to crash, and he would bike to work at TGA Fridays back in the day. And he survived to tell the tale. It's been done before.
This guy is in a situation here where he's got to scramble. Yeah. And so you can come up with it. But I'm telling you, I'm looking at cars right now. Well, I can tell, Miles, you want a 3,500, it'll get you a decent car for a season, you know?
yeah i'd start i'd start looking around start doing your homework while working these side jobs but my guess is within three or four months you've got a beater car and that's okay and six months after that you can upgrade that by a few thousand bucks and you're going to be out of debt soon and this will be a blip in the grand scheme of your life but i hate that you're going through this man but i'm glad you also got rid of the car payment that's a rough way to do it but you just freed up 700 bucks a month my man
Yes, sir. I appreciate it. Thank you for taking my call.
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Chapter 3: How can I save money while looking for an affordable car?
Those are all good things. There was no red flags on any of those. And I think you are on the cusp of being ready to do that, in which case I would start that conversation. There's a SmartVestor program where you can get connected to investing pros at RamseySolutions.com.
So I would advise you to do that if you want to start to get the ball rolling, figure out which investment options make sense for you as a solopreneur, self-employed person.
Yeah.
But you're there. But the thing is with real estate people, what I found, Renee, is that they tend to want to get fancy and complicated instead of just following a simple proven plan.
Okay, got it.
So what you don't want to do is go invest this money because someone told you you can make a lot more. You can turn your $100 into $300. Instead, I want you to use it toward your very soon-to-be financial future of being a homeowner, which is going to get real expensive real quick, especially in Miami.
Right.
So you may need more than $100,000 down in order to afford a house in your budget.
What's your car payment right now? Oh, like $350,000. So the reason we want you to pay that off today is because, A, you have the cash, and now it gives you even more options because you can sell that car right now if you want to. You can hang on to it. It's not costing you any money. In fact, you give yourself a $350 raise per month right out of the gate.
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Chapter 4: What are the best strategies for tackling debt while managing expenses?
Way to kill it. Let's go over all the way across the country to Spokane, Washington. Sandy joins us there. Sandy, how are you?
I'm good. How are you guys?
We're doing great. How can we help today?
Good. So I am a homeowner, and I had a piece of property that was deeded to me 20 years ago. And I decided I was probably never going to live on it. So I sold it while the market was kind of up. And I got about $170,000 for it. I paid off my car and all the other debts that I had. So now I'm basically debt-free except for my house payment.
But I also don't have much of a retirement because I've always worked in jobs. This never worked out. I'm 53, so I'm not a spring chicken. So I have this money sitting there, and I'm not sure if I should put it on the little IRA rollover account that I have from a job a long time ago that's got $1,500, if I should put it on the house.
And I also have now my student loans due because during COVID I got my master's in business. So I'm just trying to figure out where the best place is to put this $130,000 that I have.
Well, first order of business, you just let the cat out of the bag. You still have some debt, Sandy. You've got those student loans to pay.
Well, student loans. Yeah, well, literally my first payment is due this month. Okay, what's left on the student loans? I didn't have anything. Yeah. What's left on them? It's $18,000.
Okay. So what would you have left after you pay off this $18,000 in student loans? How much money?
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Chapter 5: What mindset should I adopt to balance my child's health needs and my finances?
You're going to retire a multimillionaire. I just want you to be debt-free in the meantime, and you're going to do it. I have full faith in you. Congratulations. Call us back and let us know how that path is going for you. Thanks for the call. This is The Ramsey Show. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm George Camel, joined by Ken Coleman. The number to call is 888-825-5225.
Let's go to Atlanta up next. Dawn joins us there. Dawn, Merry Christmas. Welcome to The Ramsey Show.
Thank you. Thank you for having me. What's going on? I am 53 years old and just started the program about two months ago. And because of where I'm at in my life with... some of the debt, needing to build an emergency fund, et cetera.
Chapter 6: How can I effectively manage unexpected expenses without going into debt?
I'm doing steps two, three, four, and five at the same time.
That sounds like a lot of things at the same time. Yes. How's that working for you?
Well, you know, I would love to just focus on two, but I have a child who's in college right now, another one who is going to college in the fall next year, so I'm real-time making payments, and I did not have any savings for college.
Why do you feel like the burden is on you?
My parents paid for my college. I feel it necessary to do the same.
Well, your story's different, isn't it? You're not in a place to do that. Are they going to in-state schools or community colleges?
The first one is going to in-state. The second one will not be.
Okay. And that was a decision that you both made or they just made?
We agreed with that decision, myself and the child. Okay.
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Chapter 7: What strategies can help me pay off debt while ensuring my child's well-being?
So we got one on the way in, one that's in there, and one that's got a little bit of time. Correct. Okay. And how much debt do you have?
I have $30,000 in debt. It's made up of car at $21,000 and... an interest-free credit card at $9,000 until April 2025.
Okay. What's your income? $225,000. That'll do. Hello. Awesome income. So what if, let's just play this out, if you do it the Ramsey way and you focused on one baby step at a time, what do you think that would do for you? Because you'd be out of debt within a few months. You'd have the emergency fund a few months later. You'd be maxing out retirement at that point a few months later.
And then you'd still have time to cash flow college.
Well, the way I've worked it out in the numbers on... I don't see how I can pay off that debt in a few months, that $30,000.
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Chapter 8: How can I create a budget that accommodates both health needs and debt repayment?
Why not?
Other bills that have to be covered.
Well, college bills, let's say we put those aside, and let's say we're not putting anything in the emergency fund. Let's say we're not investing at all. Wouldn't that free up a whole bunch of money to throw at the debt?
Right, correct. If I wasn't putting anything in the emergency fund, that would definitely help me.
And so that's why we tell people to work these baby steps one at a time. I mean, right now you're doing Don's plan, and I wish you the best, but I tell you with confidence that our plan works when you work it the way it's supposed to be worked, which is one at a time, focused intensity, until you get to baby steps four, five, six. And making 225, you're going to be there really fast.
This isn't a whole lot of debt you're dealing with. Don, are you buying what he's saying?
I am, yes. The concern is not having anything in an emergency fund because I'm concerned about emergencies.
Okay, perfect. So glad because I wanted you to poke holes in what he's saying because George is right. You should poke holes. But listen, you have enough money in your salary to be able to deal with most emergencies. And if you had to pause baby step two, which we tell people to do at times if something big is there so that you can cash flow it.
But you're going to spend more time doing it your way than you'll ever spend doing it our way. Because you're barely making any progress trying to do all those steps at the same time. You can see that, right? Your money spread so thin. But if you do what George said, you're going to knock that debt out really quick.
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