🔗 Share the Ramsey 101 Playlist! Ken Coleman and Jade Warshaw answer your questions and discuss: "Should there be a cap on credit card spending or is it not necessary as long as 15% is saved?" "I sold my home and cashed out my retirement. I still have $63,000 in credit card debt and no way to pay it off" "How do we get ahead while living paycheck-to-paycheck?" "My girlfriend hasn't paid me back the money I loaned her," "My husband entered into a debt consolidation program without me. Is there a way for us to get out of this?" "I leased a car and now owe $50,000 in mileage fees. I'm trying to settle with them but they won't send anything in writing" "My girlfriend is pressuring me to buy a house, should I listen to her?" "Is it okay to encourage my wife's family to sell their property?" "My fiancée and I make less than $1,500 month, how do we get by with so little income?" Next Steps: ✅ Help us make the show better by taking this short survey! 📞 Have a question for the show? Call 888-825-5225 weekdays from 2–5 p.m. ET or send us an email. 📱 Download the free Ramsey Network app! 📈 Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a Free Personalized Plan 🛡️Protect yourself with the right coverage—take our coverage quiz! 💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app! 🏠 Get organized and prepared to buy or sell a home. ❤️🩹 Get trusted insurance coverage that fits your budget. 📈 For help with investing, get connected with a SmartVestor Pro. Connect with our Sponsors: Stop paying more and start shopping smarter at ALDI Get 10% off your first month of BetterHelp Go to Boost Mobile to switch today! Learn more about Christian Healthcare Ministries Get started today with Churchill Mortgage Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe Go to FAIRWINDS Credit Union for an exclusive account bundle! Save 15% on your first Field of Greens order with code RAMSEY Find top Health Insurance Plans at Health Trust Financial To find out more about student loan refinancing, check out Laurel Road Use code RAMSEY to save 20% at Mama Bear Legal Forms Visit NetSuite today to learn more Use promo code RAMSEY for 18% off at The Nokbox Learn more about Timothy Plan Get started with YRefy or call 844-2-RAMSEY Visit Zander Insurance for your free instant quote today! Explore more from Ramsey Network: 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 🍸 Smart Money Happy Hour 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💰 George Kamel 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman 📈 EntreLeadership Ramsey Solutions is a paid, non-client promoter of SmartVestor Pros. Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: How can I manage credit card spending effectively?
For sure.
Are you all running all of your expenses on a credit card? Is that what you're doing?
Not everything. For instance, we pay our credit card off each month, our house notes taken out of our checking account, and our house note is really our only reoccurring debt, fortunately. What's your take-home plan? And that's kind of a hard question. So I work on commission, and through a job change a few years ago, it's been hard for me to – my wife's asked me the same question.
Well, what's a good month and what's a bad month?
It's hard for me to give an amount that stays the same. Yeah, but what's – $6,500 to $7,500 take home. And then a higher month could be closer to, you know, it could be $20,000 plus. It kind of just depends.
So tell me, what's the purpose of the credit cards in all this? Because for me, that just creates, there's already the unknown with the fluctuating income and then adding the credit cards with no real...
feeling like no real boundaries around it feels like it's just adding more chaos to the equation so why do you and your wife and let me also add you make a fine income so what's the purpose of the credit cards and your what is it serving it's a really good question I've considered getting rid of them
I don't really have a good answer as to why we have them. I have had a credit card since I guess I got out of college, and I've fortunately always been able to manage it, at least as far as I can tell. I haven't racked up a bunch of debt, so I've just kept the credit card, and when my wife and I got married, got her one too.
Is it a credit building thing for you or is it a we can just spend on here and not really have to think about it until it's time to kind of tally it up sort of thing? If you had to point to one reason, what do you think it is, even if it's not you, your wife's reasoning behind it?
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Chapter 2: What should I do if I have a significant credit card debt?
How much money out of the 5,000 that she's spending, do you want to earmark to something else, which is what's created stress for this call?
I would like to have at least $2,000 of that year marked towards savings, investing, charitable, other things, not just spending.
That's the starting point, Jade. I want to give you the jump in here, but I think that's where he's got to get to with her.
Yeah, and the way to do that right now, you're doing the budget the way I used to do a budget, which is I plan for all the things I know I have to pay for, house, car, phones, things like that, but everything else is up for grabs, treat-yourself money. You need to take that treat-yourself money and plan every dollar of that money as well.
And yes, it can include some of the fun things your wife wants to do, but it also needs to include the really important things like planning for the future that you want to do.
You guys got to get together and talk this out. Share your feelings around this stuff and then come together with a plan.
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Chapter 3: How can we budget effectively while living paycheck-to-paycheck?
Only my mom's government income. And how much is that every month, Ann?
That is $2,300 approximately.
And Anne, how much did you have in retirement? How much have you gone through? I mean, we know there's the credit card debt, but how much retirement have you gone through?
I went through all of the retirement because I had a disease that nobody understood while I was coming up paralyzed for years. And I ended up entering a lot of it then. I'm trying to get different people to tell me that it ended up being toxic mold and toxic chemical poisoning, causing my my immune system and my body to fight back. And so I was in hyperbaric treatments and everything.
The company I was with. put me in a lot of those after they realized what was really going on with me. And so now I am the youngest child. The other two are estranged. And my mom lives out on our family farm where my grandfather and grandmother built it in the 30s. And she does not want to move. Can you tell me how much the farm is worth? Right now, I can sell it on the market for half a million.
Half a million. Okay. And can you tell me, can you go back? Thank you for telling me all the backstory. That does help. Can you tell me how much of your retirement you went through, how much you've spent on this move, taking care of your mom, trying to get the diagnosis? How much has that cost you so far?
I have no idea. The move itself was $11,000, $12,000 from Dallas. Right.
The reason I'm asking, I'm trying to get a clear peg on this, Ann, because I want to make sure we help you in this call. That's why I'm trying to stick to all the facts. Sure. You said that you went through all your retirement. I'm trying to get a peg on how much that was so that I can make a fair call on this.
Okay. My guess on what I had just in retirement right before I came down, came to my mom's was about 50, 60,000. 50 or 60. Yeah. Yeah. 60,000 max. I've already used the other part.
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Chapter 4: What alternatives do I have for debt consolidation?
Well, here's the deal, Ann. Our time is running out. I understand. And so, Jade, I want to give you the final word here. I mean, she can make money, needs to start making money right now.
Yeah, you're only 56 years old. You've got a lot of working years ahead of you. And I also want to know about this farm. Are you set to inherit this farm? I know you said the other kids are estranged. Tell me what the deal is with that. Well, we got 40 seconds. Yeah, tell me in 10 seconds.
We have a trust and it's me.
OK, great. So here's what I want. Like ideal in an ideal world. I hope your mom does live till she's 102. But I really want you to get yourself out of this survival state and into a more like homeostasis state.
uh state of being with your life because when the come time time comes that you inherit this money i don't want you to be in this mode of like survival because then that money is going to go like that you're going to sell that farm and it's not going to be the blessing you want it to be so spend these next 10 years getting yourself in order like ken coleman just told you and i think that that money and that farm will end up being a great blessing to you
Rachel, do you ever get these sketchy text messages that are like, hey, you need to update your address and verify so we can get you the package you didn't order?
Yes, I have. George, sketchy and never trust them.
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Chapter 5: How can I settle my car lease mileage fees?
Yeah, I got news for you, Caleb. You're not going to like the sound of this at all. But sending hundreds of applications out and with no connection to anything, you might as well be trying to spit in the wind in a convertible going 90 miles an hour. That's how effective that is. It's like playing the lottery. I'm going to put out hundreds of applications. Listen, I've coached this before.
And Kayla, I'm not beating up on you. I'm just telling you, people think rightly so. Well, I sent all these applications. I heard nothing back because that's the only exchange. But you've got to get out in your car and drive up to construction sites. What did you do in construction? What was the actual skill set that you had?
Mainly sheetrock.
Bro, don't tell me you can't hang sheetrock all over Orlando, greater Orlando. If I came down to Orlando today, let's see, I can catch a flight probably in about an hour. That means I'd get in around 5. I could drive around construction sites with you and we'll get out and say, get over here, Caleb. And I'm going to walk in and I'm all slick and I look like a city slicker.
I got white tennis shoes on. I can still walk into there and go, hey, who's in charge of this area? Operation. I am. Some dude would tell me I'm the contractor. How's your sheetrock crew? You got a good sheetrock crew? You got any losers on there that are all drugged up and they miss three days a week? How about my guy, Caleb? This guy's responsible. He's got a baby at home.
He's got a bum knee, but he's going to be full speed in about three weeks. Guy can hang sheetrock with his eyes closed. You got any work for Caleb? Well, I do or I don't, but I got a buddy who does. I'm telling you, Caleb, you got to get in the truck and start driving around to construction sites. And you got to tell your story. And you will get work.
None of this, I've sent out applications and it took me six months to get a job at Publix. Yeah, because you were playing the lottery. You're actually lucky you got a job at Publix. That is true. You got to get some boots on the ground. I know I'm a little fired up on this, Jade, but this is an income issue. And if you can hang sheetrock, then you can hammer a nail.
And you can do about six other things.
Or even the car detail. I feel like you've got a couple of skills and a couple of businesses that are just sitting in your pocket. You said that you detail cars. You said that you did the FPU, or I'm sorry, the coaching. I'm like, put this stuff to use. You got to go out and make it talk.
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Chapter 6: What steps should I take if my partner's debt is affecting our marriage?
Okay, $25,000. So what I think, and you guys have to sit about this, but I kind of think, Lisa, you're in charge of the money from now on. Not just your money, but all of the money. Because if he even takes the $2,000, he's a recovering addict, right? So it's not wise for him to have even the money that he's earning in his possession to make decisions with. That's what I would say.
So going from there, I think, I mean, that's a decision you guys have to make tonight. Is that something that's possible?
He's sitting right there, isn't he? Yeah, he is. He's sitting right here. Can he hear us?
Um, I took it off speakerphone. Oh yeah.
Don't, no, no, no, no. Cause that'll affect the quality for everybody else. But you know, he's listening to what you just told us. Uh, I agree with Jade. If he wants to save this marriage and it sounds like you guys have hit some pretty nitty gritty talk, what you just sit in front of him like he knows he's got one more shot. I agree with Jade.
I couldn't agree more, actually, that he needs to relinquish all control of money because he's broken so much trust. And the only way to build it is to take his hands off of it and behave and get healthy and let you manage the money. But I would just say this from an income standpoint. What did you say about your professional status?
Currently, I'm on disability for Social Security because I'm an end-stage renal failure.
Oh, bless your heart. So you can't do much, correct? No, no. Okay.
Now I have, I feel like I'm coming in with a wrecking ball and I apologize, but I really am saying this because I want you to find some peace in the time that you have. A big issue guys right now. So there's the gambling, right? And there's the issues going on between you guys relationally. But financially, the biggest issue, like the biggest elephant in the room is your mortgage.
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Chapter 7: How do I approach a loan issue within a relationship?
Yeah, I think, again, we've given you our best advice. You've got to try to get somebody else on the phone and see if you can get them to work with you. She's not going to play ball. And by the way, she's not incentivized to do so.
And if you truly think it's an illegalality, then get with a lawyer and see if they can look at it.
Yeah. Yeah, I'd get that retired cousin.
Vinny.
Vinny. Get him on the phone. Vito.
Yeah, all of them. Dude, if your name is Vito, you're a boss.
I know. I wish my name was Vito. It'd be a much bigger deal.
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Chapter 8: What strategies can help with financial difficulties during a medical issue?
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All right, how many of you out there that are listening and watching are sick and tired of being sick and tired and living paycheck to paycheck? Yeah. So the first step is you've got to get a budget to figure out where the money is coming and going. That's the deal. So we've got some free budgeting trainings this month. You can sign up for free at everydollar.com slash webinar.
Everydollar.com slash webinar. No, this is free. And you're going to learn step-by-step how to make a budget and then stick to it using EveryDollar. Sign up for free at EveryDollar.com slash webinar. All right, John is up in Denver, Colorado. John, how can we help?
Hey, guys. My wife has joint ownership of a property worth about $20 million. Whoa. And, yeah, I wasn't sure if maybe it's time to – Cash that out and start putting it to work for us as a family. And how would I if I should even have that conversation with her?
Well, you got to tread lightly. So it's her and it's your wife. And who else? Who else are the joints?
It's my wife, her two sisters and her mother.
Okay. And what's the deal? Like, what do you know about it? Is it in a trust? And what's the timeframe?
Exactly. It was in a trust for a while. The youngest sister just turned 18. So now it's, it can be sold. So, I mean, I just see it sitting there and it's like, maybe we should just take it now. Well, you know, I mean, I'm not expecting it to go down to nothing, but you know, that's enough to change our lives if we just cashed out right now.
What's your wife saying?
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