Chapter 1: What financial issues are being addressed in this episode?
Brought to you by the EveryDollar app. Start budgeting for free today. 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, Ramsey personality, number one best-selling author and co-host of the Smart Money Happy Hour. My daughter is my co-host today.
Open phones here at 888-825-5225. Shelby is in Springfield, Missouri. Hi, Shelby. How are you?
Hi, I'm good. How are you guys?
Better than we deserve. What's up?
Well, thanks for taking my call. I'm calling today with a bit of a moral and financial question. And I'm calling to see what is the best way for me to help my husband pay off his credit card debt that we have discovered recently.
we have discovered what does that mean well you have discovered yeah i found um unfortunately uh i found some screenshots of sports betting and he ended up having to come forward with Three credit cards that added up to about $17,000.
And unfortunately, this isn't the first time that I... The last time I didn't find it, he came to me and told me about it, but this isn't the first time we struggled with credit card debt.
Was there other time regarding sports betting?
No, it was not. The last time his company had used his credit card on a trip and they paid him back and he just never... Paid the card off. He just spent the money. How old are you guys? We're 25.
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Chapter 2: How does one manage unexpected credit card debt?
We got in a car accident. We had to go get a new car. There's just a few things in those first couple months that took up the extra income that he was starting to bring in. Shelby, when you just mentioned that you guys were behind on bills, were you aware of that or did that come out with this? Secret credit card and the gambling and everything. Yes. I was aware of how short.
So he was actually unemployed at the time. I was the only one bringing in income. I work from home and usually I work from home and I keep our kiddos. But he was he was in between jobs and. So I knew we were short. I just didn't know how short we were, and I didn't have access to the bank account. I used to, but I just hadn't logged in in so long that he activated my account.
What does he do for a living? Well, right now, he works at a school, and then in the evenings, he works a retail job.
At a school?
Yes.
Doing what?
He's a teacher's aide at a school.
Okay. All right.
So part of the reason I'm calling is because I was approached by my in-laws, and they were kind of telling me that it would be better for us all around if... I just took out a loan and we paid off the card because the interest on this card is over 30%. And they said if I take out a loan and cover it and then we just pay back the bank with a lower interest rate, it would help us all around.
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Chapter 3: What steps should be taken to resolve marital financial struggles?
Thing two is with your marriage counselor, you need to get commitments from him that he's never on threat of ending your marriage. going to do any sports betting ever again, and he's never going to hide any debt from you ever again.
And we're going to be working together, so it's going to be very difficult for him to hide anything because we both are going to see every single thing that's going on.
Yeah, and pulling credit reports every year. You know what I mean? And I would almost have him – I mean, I don't know – how engaged this is. Because that, I mean, the sports betting world, it can be such a downward slope so fast. But what I would be wondering, Shelby, too, maybe you guys have talked about this.
I just want to make sure that he's healthy in that way, that there's not some level of addiction there. And that itch he was trying to scratch, that excitement that he was doing sports betting, like, what is that about, right? So, like, doing that work in the marriage counseling office is...
Could be that you were behind on your bills and he was trying to make some money fast to get the bills paid up. That's true, too. It could have been desperate stupidity.
Yeah. Yeah.
So I want a solid foundation laid, the things he's never going to do again. And the two of you see every single dollar every month for the rest of your lives. Neither one of you are in control. Both of you are in control. OK. Lastly, you need to sell the car. That was suicide.
Suicide.
You put a bullet in the gun and put it to your head. You need to sell this car immediately. Stupid on steroids. You cannot afford a $30,000 car. You've got to get rid of this now. Oh my gosh, girl. That makes his sports betting look smart when you put it up beside this car. Oh, my gosh. Neither one of them are smart. I hate sports betting. Oh, I hate them, too.
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Chapter 4: How can couples align on financial goals?
Good. How about yourself?
Better than I deserve. What's up?
I am calling to ask your advice on if I should keep working my part-time job in order to pay off our debt faster, or if I should stick to my plan of quitting my job probably in the next month so that I can focus on being a stay-at-home mom and homeschooling our kids. Was this the original plan?
Are you already homeschooling?
I was homeschooling. This year we put our kids in because we moved at the end of August. So it was a bit too chaotic, and we stopped homeschooling and put them in school. I work remote, so I'm at home. But, yeah, the original plan has always been that.
I'm sorry. If you work remote and you're at home and it's part-time, how many hours do you work at home?
Probably 12-ish a week.
Why does that prevent you from homeschooling? It doesn't.
It doesn't. Well, I'm pregnant right now. I'm 17 weeks pregnant with our fourth child. So it's more managing the home, homeschooling, being able to focus on that. I kind of hit a point where I felt like I'm being pulled too many different directions, which is partly my own doing. I do a lot. But this is the first time my husband just got a new job.
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Chapter 5: What financial advice is given for managing a $100,000 settlement?
Yeah, the whole thing. Because an 18-year-old, I wanted to go out of state. I agree. The whole thing. The child's behavior is the father's fault, too. So let's just go with that.
No.
Chapter 6: How can I organize my finances after losing a spouse?
Planning to go to an out-of-state school.
For $100,000?
Is not, oh, probably over the course of, probably over the course of four years. But I'm just saying, this is the, don't you blame this on that 18-year-old.
Chapter 7: Should I use a HELOC or my 401(k) for college expenses?
This is the dad's idea. So, no.
I'm going to blame it on the whole dysfunctional family.
Chapter 8: What steps should I take to pay off credit card debt?
Yeah. All right. Wow. Hannah's in Rochester, New York. Hey, Hannah, what's up?
Hi, I'm just calling to ask a question about my student loans and what I should do. Okay. So I'm currently a registered nurse, and my work actually pays $150 a month towards my loans. What's the balance on your loans? $4,500. Okay. I just have to pay the minimum for them to keep paying it, which is only about $62 a month.
So I didn't know if I should pay it off and keep doing the minimum payment or if I should just drag it out. No, not right now.
You're an RN. Why not? You make good money, don't you?
Yeah, we bought a house and... we are getting back to doing better budgeting.
Okay, good. So your question really is when I get back to better budgeting, do I put more on the student loan than the minimum payments given that the employer is paying some of it? Yeah, yeah. I would put all I can. I'm going to list all of my debts. Do you have other debts other than your home and the student loan?
We just have about $1,000.
No car payments?
No.
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