My Fiancé Broke Off Our Engagement Because Of My Money Habits

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Normal is broke and common sense is weird, so we are here to help you transform your life.

From the Ramsey Network in the Fairwinds Credit Union studio, this is the Ramsey Show.

I'm George Campbell, joined by my good pal Rachel Cruz and we're taking your calls at

AAA 825-525. Rita is in Louisville. First, what's going on?

Hi, I'm calling to... I just went through a breakup over money and I want to figure out how to heal from it and move forward.

Oh, so sorry. How long was the relationship?

A couple of months we had just gotten engaged.

Oh, what happened?

So, my, I guess, now ex-Fiancé is a very anti-debt person, which I agree with.

I have a lot of debt. I have a lot of student loan debt and credit card debt, both from taking care.

I put everything on hold after my dad died a number of years ago and I was taking care of the family for a long time.

And my siblings were still in school and I was 19 when that happened and just sort of got into a lot of debt afterwards.

And so, I have not, it's so money is like very emotional for me because I don't have a good, I don't have a good relationship with it and my family doesn't.

And so, when it came time to start going through the finances, it just, it didn't go well.

So, he panicked. Did he panic around the amount of debt there is or did he panic of your current, you know, your current way of seeing money and how you deal with money currently?

It was over the behavior. The number itself wasn't concerning to him. It was the behavior and my relationship with it.

Yes. Oh my gosh. Okay. So, he ended it. Was there any conversation around, hey, Rita, you know, if I'm going to go down this road of marriage, I want us to be on the same page, I want us to be a team, you know, would you, would you be open and consider handling money differently?

Like, did he give you options or was it a pretty like closed case?

It was started off with some options, but it ended up being pretty close case.

Okay. How old are you?

28.

How many serious relationships have you had?

I've been, I've dated seriously for a couple, I don't know, couple of relationships. I had a five year relationship in college and then three and a half years in my 20s and then in an earlier 20s.

And then this was the, this was the most recent relationship.

Okay. So, not your first heartbreak, but this one was the most serious in terms of, hey, we're going to, this is leading towards marriage and that he's the one kind of thing.

Very much so, yeah.

And what are your current money habits that he was like, I'm out, I can't do this.

Um, he was concerned because so I have, I, I moved recently for a job in my, my family moved with me and I knew because we were selling our house that I was going to have to take sort of a short term hit to, to move.

Before the household and my family could move out here with me. So, um, he was concerned that after I had, like even after I had left my house that I had still accrued something that, um, and, um,

the orange, um, I did, yeah, I, I, and, but I have, so I'm, I'm doing the baby steps right now. I'm in baby step two.

Um, and I have my emergency fund saved and I'm paying down my, my smallest debts right now.

Um, so that was that, yeah, so, so I am making progress, um, but I guess it, maybe it wasn't enough progress or I don't, I don't really know the flavor now.

But it's sort of like my, my worst fear has always been like I, because the situation with my family has been really bad for a long time.

And financially I have had a long time fear that I have no control over my money and this sort of like brought it back up again.

Sure. Yeah. Yeah. He like broke up with the, the most vulnerable part of you in your fear.

Yeah.

Did your, why is your, why did your family move with you? What's the, what's going on there?

Um, my, so my, um, my sister moved, we, my sister and I moved to the same location to get, she got married and then, um, I moved out here for a job.

And my mom, who is, um, somewhat retired, um, sold the family house back where we were, um, in our hometown, um, to move out as well, um, because she wanted to be close to her.

Right.

Was any of that a red flag for him?

Yes. Okay. Yeah, I'm just trying to place, because it's interesting to talk to you, because I'll be very honest with you.

You're kind of on the end of your kind, you're the person in the relationship that we usually don't get the call from.

We usually get the call probably from the ex fiance who's like, hey, I'm engaged, I'm nervous with these money habits.

You know what I mean? Like, should I continue? Should I continue? You know what I mean?

So to get the person that got broken up with the money, we don't, we don't usually get different.

We don't get that side. So I'm trying to, in my head, because I want to be on your team, right?

I'm like, I want to be able to help you and us help navigate this.

I'm just trying to figure out what he saw was legitimate, or if he's too legalistic, you know what I mean?

And broke off a great thing too early. I don't know, and I probably won't know in this call, but I'll just...

And you may never know, and that's the hard truth, is you can replay this a thousand ways, and it's not going to get you any closer to your future.

And so you asked, how do I heal? Well, learn from what broke, and rebuild trust in yourself, and then create the habits and become the person that you want to be.

The person who changes your family tree, it actually gets out of debt and doesn't use it anymore.

And so this just might be one of those fork in the roads where you look back and go, man, that was a pivotal time in my life.

So painful, yeah.

And it's not a fun way to learn the lesson, but now you know, and you can do better.

And so I think a lot of this is your own healing journey of, you know, it's counseling in Jesus.

That's what's going to heal you at this point, on top of the good budgeting habits and getting out of debt.

Yeah, and I think what's hard to say is true to your plan.

Because money can become such an identity marker in us, and it shouldn't be, you know, your money, your money mistakes, your net worth.

Like, none of this is who you are as a person, right?

It's a reflection of our behaviors and our habits and all of it.

But in our society today, it's become such an identity piece.

So I want you to break that apart from you, that the money mistakes that I've made.

Even the habits I'm in that are not great. It's not who I am.

Who I am is something so centered that cannot be shaken, right?

And that out of that flows a healthy Rita, which hopefully in return has healthy boundaries with money,

is able to say no, is able to sacrifice and get out of debt and all of that.

So it's so easy and I can hear from your, even your story, those being so married, your identity and money and all of it,

it's so closely linked into who you are.

And I would work at kind of starting to pull that apart because it's not who you are.

Your net worth, your money mistakes, none of that is your identity in who you are.

I keep hearing John Deloney in my head saying, you are worth being well.

You are worth being loved. You're a person who can have a healthy relationship.

And a lot of this is detaching from maybe unhealthy family baggage and going,

hey, I need to move on with my life. There's been a lot of code dependency that has been toxic and it's time I need to grow.

And so I'm going to send you a copy of Rachel's book, know yourself, know your money.

She talks about the different money classrooms and how you grew up.

I think it will be a part of your healing journey.

So hang on the line. That'll be our gift to you Rita.

.

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Nancy is in Wichita.

Next, Nancy. Welcome to the Ramsey Shop.

Thank you.

How can we help today?

Well, I've kind of gotten myself into the situation here.

I like cars too much.

In the summer, the past summer, I bought a car.

It was just an emotional decision, a bad decision, a brand new car, and with a high payment.

And at the same time, trying to pay down about $20,000 worth of credit card debt.

But I've been just kicking down the road for years and years.

How old are you?

I'm almost ready to retire.

Well, maybe not anymore.

We'll see.

Yeah, not anymore.

I am a C-H-B.

Okay.

Single or married?

Single.

Single.

Okay.

So tell us about this vehicle.

People want to know.

Let's build a team.

I know what kind of cars is Nancy?

Like I said, I love cars.

I'm like, ooh, Nancy.

What kind of cars?

I don't know.

Oh, it's a A-Bonkers Ford.

A 25-Bonkers Ford.

I just fell in love with how it looked and everything.

And it was a stupid decision.

And regretting the payments.

What's the balance and what's the payment?

The balance I owe about a little under $25,000 on it.

I'm paying $3.85 a month.

Did you put some serious money down?

That's not terrible.

Payment-wise.

It's not terrible, no.

I had a trade that was...

You had another nice car.

Yes.

I had none of them go to sport that I should have stuck with.

But I got frustrated with it's tech.

And in a moment of stupidity,

I decided to upgrade to get the better tech.

Which, you know...

What could you sell it for?

For literally now.

I have been able to get as high as an offer as $27.2

from Corvana.

Okay.

Yeah.

I could almost get my money back.

Yeah.

How much...

How much do you make a year?

75 grand gross.

Okay.

Awesome.

Okay.

Sorry.

What's your question?

A question is, I recently found a Honda Element,

which I really love those cars,

with like 130,000 miles on it,

but they're super, super, super reliable.

And I found that for about 11, around 11,000.

And it would...

When everything's all said and done,

I'd be...

My payment would go to $198 a month,

instead of the $385.

But, you know, then I'd have an overcar,

with no warranty,

because if I add a warranty to it...

Nancy.

Please don't do any of this, Nancy.

Or find the wrong game.

Yeah.

You're back in the same game.

You're still...

You're just moving debt to debt.

Smaller debt, but you're moving debt to debt.

Do you have any money saved, Nancy?

Any money at all?

No.

That you can get to.

Any cash.

No.

No cash.

No, everything I go...

Everything...

Everything extra,

every month I just pour into the debt,

trying to get ahead and...

Yeah.

How much extra...

And then the emergency comes along.

Okay.

How much extra are you putting towards your debt?

Like, if you were to stay current on all the credit cards

and the car payment,

how much extra would you have a month?

Only like 200.

Okay.

And so that's why it's a chronic debt situation

because things life keeps happening.

And I go backwards on the credit card.

Are you bringing home like 4,500 a month?

What does your take home pay?

It's...

Because I have some stuff going in.

It's like pre-tax stuff going into...

Going out into a...

Well, paying off another loan.

That's another story.

But it's almost paid off.

You have a 401k loan or something?

It's a...

I don't remember what you call it.

It's not 401k.

457.

Is that...

Okay.

Yeah, you took a loan against your retirement plan.

Yeah.

You're deferred.

It'll be paid off out of the next month.

Mm-hmm.

Which will free up...

350 bucks a month.

Okay.

So here's what I would do, Nancy,

if I woke up in your shoes.

I would...

Yep.

When that gets freed up,

you'll have around $500 a margin.

Okay.

I would go...

I'd say that could...

I'm sorry, could you repeat that?

Yeah, you would have around $500 of margin.

Right?

After this is paid off, that frees up 300.

You said you have about 200.

500.

Yeah.

I would go and find any kind of work you could do.

Even if it's driving Uber and your new Bronco,

I don't care.

And I want you to make an extra $1,000 a month, okay?

So what's going to happen in two months?

In two months, you're going to have an extra $3,000.

If you can sell this Bronco still at $27,000,

you'll have $2,000.

That means you have $5,000 cash that I want you to go buy a car.

Okay.

And no more car payments.

Okay.

And no more car payments.

And then you're going to be driving.

You're awesome.

I just looked up cars.

I looked up $3,000 cars in Wichita,

just now on my phone.

Lots of options.

They really are there.

I mean, one of them was like a 2006 Volvo.

I mean, you know what I mean?

Like, you got to do some inspection.

Be smart about it.

But like, you can get a cheap car that will last you for 12 months.

That's all we're looking for.

Yeah, this is not your forever car.

No, this is a 12 month car.

And you tell yourself that.

You say, Nancy, this is my 12 month car.

Because you're going to start then working to get out of debt.

And then once you have your credit card debt paid off,

then you're going to be able to have so much freedom

and so much margin to save up and buy a nicer car that Nancy wants.

But I want you out of car payments, Nancy.

This game is not working for you.

Yeah, we need a big Y here.

And you said you wanted to retire.

How much do you have in retirement?

Well, I have a pension.

And I have about 50,000 is all in that for 57.

How much is your pension going to be?

It's going to be around $4,300 a month.

Okay, so about what you're making now.

Yes.

So let's make this a goal.

Let's become completely debt free with a fully funded emergency fund

as we enter retirement.

That's your goal.

And which means I am not going to quit work until I have a lot

of financial peace and security in my life.

And that becomes your why.

It sounds like you've lived a few lives.

And so now is the time to go,

what is this next chapter of Nancy's life going to look like?

Is it trading in for a different car

with a slightly lower payment while I still struggle in my 60s?

Or is it, man, I don't have the dream car

but I have the dream retirement

because I'm not making payments broke every month.

Exactly.

Yeah.

And Nancy, you really do.

I want to encourage you that, you know,

to spontaneously go and buy a new car

because you got frustrated.

You have to acknowledge that in yourself, right?

Like you didn't go on Amazon and buy a new pair

of like $12 earrings because you got mad.

Or so you know what I just want to feel good.

Like this, this is a big, it's a big deal.

I got a car.

You bought a car.

You know what I mean?

And it's not to shame you.

I'm really frustrated.

You were bad.

Nancy was crazy.

So she went on new car.

Yes.

So I want you to acknowledge when those things come up in us.

This is a day.

This is a Dave Ramsey quote for you.

I heard this growing up in my house

and on the show all the time.

But there's a level of maturity that delays gratification.

So adults devise a plan and follow it.

Children do what feels good.

And you're not a child.

You're not a child.

You are a grown woman who is smart, who's hardworking.

And I just want you to reframe some of these impulses

that you're making because it's not just at the car lot.

It's probably other places.

And really start to get disciplined in this area of your life.

And see probably for the first time ever, you know?

And it sounds crazy to do something big like this at 60 years old.

But people do it every day.

People do it every day.

So if you hold on the line, Christian's going to pick up

and we're going to give you every dollar, which is our budgeting app.

And I want you to be engaged in it.

I want you to create a monthly budget, Nancy.

I want you to dream and just do some searching.

When you get off the phone with us, just Google $5,000 cars in Wichita

and just start to make peace with this new future you have.

But because of that 2006 Volvo that you may buy,

that frees up hundreds of dollars a month for you.

Here's the three words we need to take out of a vocabulary.

I deserve it.

I think you deserve financial peace.

I think you deserve a great retirement,

which means we need the delayed gratification

to say no to the toys right now.

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All right.

Bree is an Indianapolis.

Up next.

Bree, welcome to the show.

Hi, Horia.

Doing great.

How are you?

I'm hanging in there.

What's happening today?

Okay.

I've been trying my best not to get too anxious right now.

But I am currently going through a divorce.

I've been a stay of a mom for almost 11 years.

And I'm solely financially dependent on my husband,

who is the sole provider.

I literally was just watching the video of Dave Ramsey

talking about how it is our money.

Like, my wife was a stay home mom for how many years.

And it is our money.

It is our house.

It is our cars.

And I am pretty much in a emotionally abusive,

in financially abusive relationship at the moment.

And I'm worried about him trying to financially cut me off.

I already talked to lawyers.

I already have a petition going.

But like, I don't know if it's just the narcissistic part of him.

Yeah.

And so it's a geographic part of him that he doesn't truly understand

that we are one.

Well, and the state and the judge will tell him that.

Right.

But like, I don't know if his lawyers are truly understanding that.

So it's like, he, he current, I'm stay home mom.

I have three kids under nine.

I've worked little jobs here and there on the weekends.

But nothing that was really substantial.

I've worked for MLMs from home trying to make a little bit.

But nothing has really been much.

It's mainly solely me taking care of the kids.

Sure.

And he's the one who financially provides.

Yep.

I just need to know what is the best way to legally like try to have him understand that.

Like, I am technically entitled to yes child support.

Elimony 401k and pension.

Yes.

I don't know any of the, the totals of things.

He's willing, he's trying to like, swindle and gaslight of pretty much saying yes.

I'm giving you the house to have child support.

I won't take the equity of the house, but don't touch my pension.

And it's like, I don't want to be, I don't want to verbally agree to something

that I don't have full calculations in front of me.

Before I agree to anything.

That's fair.

And the truly benefit me and what I'm legally entitled to in the end.

Well, the lawyers in the courts will figure all that part out.

Okay.

So right now it's, it's how do you just keep yourself protected and safe right now in the interim

until this all shakes out?

Because as you know, this could be months and months and months and drag out and back and forth.

And so right now it's like, and I'm not paying your legal fees anymore.

I'm pretty much trying to force me into getting a job instead of staying at home with my,

our, our three year old at the moment.

So is he not going to take care of the household and the kids?

I don't, I think it's all threats because he's just frustrated that he paying currently

anything right now and alimony or child support as you guys are going through the divorce proceedings.

Not right now.

No, currently we're still have a joint.

Okay.

Joint checking account.

You guys are still living in the same house.

I don't even have access to that right now because it has to be unlocked through for the app.

Why is it has to go over the bank if you're an owner on that account, you have access to it.

I don't care what he did on the app.

Yeah, go down in person and get, yes, get what you need.

Because if yeah, if your name is on that account, you have as much right to it as he does.

And I would create an account at a different bank.

In consideration how much money, like I have saved, like and it saved.

He won't, he won't breathe.

He won't listen.

He's trying to scare you.

He's trying to scare you.

Yes.

And if there's any, what you said, narcissist, if there's any level of who he is and everything

you've described, he sounds like a horrible person.

You're never going to convince him otherwise.

Okay.

So I think there is, I mean, and again, this is, this is a bigger working through in your own than we just saying

that a lot on a phone call here, but he's never going to understand.

He never, ever, ever will give you the respect that you deserve.

He's not giving you that.

He never has.

That's what it sounds like.

It's one of the reasons you're leaving him.

Right.

Right.

So what I would do is didn't want to go to therapy for the relationship.

Didn't want to go to counseling for drinking.

Didn't want to talk to the pastor.

Yep.

Yep.

I know.

So he signed this up.

I'm putting my legal fees on a joint credit card.

I still have access to the debit and I'm still able to get groceries and stuff, but like he's literally limiting

anything.

How was he paying for his legal fees?

He's paying it on a credit card as well.

So here's somewhat of money already in the account.

Okay.

So, Bri, you need to sit down with your lawyer and if your lawyer sucks, you need a new one.

But you guys need to have a plan and you need to know your legal rights.

Every state is different when it comes to divorce law.

Okay.

So we're not experts on that on each state.

Okay.

You need to know what rights you have.

And then you do have to understand, Bri, there will be a point where assets are divided.

However they divide the courts, whatever you decide.

And there may be a time and it happens where this is the, this is the heartbreak of when a life you had built is no longer there.

That you may have to get a job, Bri.

You may have to sell, he may give you the house and the equity and you may look at everything and say this is too stressful.

I can't handle the property tax and the H.O.A. fees.

You may have to sell the home eventually and downsize to create financial stability for yourself.

So there's going to be probably in your future some really, really hard decisions that is not how you saw your life going.

You know, three years ago, but it's going to, but what you're working towards is a life of peace.

Relationally, out of this marriage that's been abusive and creating something for yourself.

And so what I want you to also currently living out of state.

So the custody will most likely be like a 90-10.

Okay.

Which means you're going to, which means you're going to have a big paycheck coming in every month.

Yeah, you'll be fighting for that alimony and that child support then.

Yes. So all of that should be reckoned on and you need to feel good about that.

But you need to know legally where you stand for you to have some peace, right?

Because I feel like the pieces right now, which I don't blame you.

I'd be in complete chaos too.

The pieces are not over.

I'm hiding all of it because I don't, I need to be strong for my kids.

Yes.

Yeah. Well, yeah.

Yeah. So I would, though, I think facts here are going to help you have some peace to know what rights you have in this.

And he doesn't get to, I think the biggest fear you have is he's going to just leave in the middle of the night with nothing.

And you're left with literally nothing.

That's not going to happen from a legal aspect.

The courts will step in.

And we're just like the fact that I've, I didn't go to college.

So I don't have a degree.

Yeah.

And for my name, it comes to 401k or pension or anything.

Yeah. So it's like, it's okay for you taking his money.

But it's like he doesn't understand that his money is my money.

There's going to be no guilt here.

You are entitled to probably half or more of the assets.

Right.

And so there's no guilt there.

Okay.

And you said, well, he provided for the house.

Did you not provide for the house the last 11 years?

He doesn't see it that way.

I don't care what he thinks.

I'm just telling you, you need to release the baggage of, well, I don't deserve this.

Because now it's taking a turn to where you're feeling guilty for things you do.

You don't need to feel guilty about.

Okay.

This is what narcissists do.

They gaslight to make you think you were the problem the whole time.

You're the crazy one.

And you're the one that made this all fall apart.

The way it went is enough enough.

I've given you everything you wanted.

Yeah.

This is what they do on the way out.

They have no other cards to play.

So they just try to drag you down into the muck with them.

Okay.

That's all he's doing.

So on top of all the lawyer stuff, you know, counseling and therapy is going to help as well.

And I want you to paint a picture for, like, in the next five years.

Once you have some facts, like, where is Bri going to be even the next two years?

Because, again, I don't know what's going to happen, Bri.

But there may be a situation where you are a receptionist at a dental office.

I'm making this up.

Right?

Yeah.

For four days a week.

And when your three-year-old starts kindergarten, you drop them off at school, you may go to work.

And you may bring home a paycheck.

But you are capable, Bri.

You're capable of doing something and earning money if it comes down to that, okay?

So just know that in yourself.

The things and the tools and the giftings that God's put in you, Bri, is valuable.

It is.

And so you're going to survive this.

But getting some facts on your side, I think, is going to bring you some peace right now in the midst of all this chaos.

But we are so sorry.

Call us back if you need more help.

Well, Dave, you know, on the show all the time we get calls about cars, used cars.

What's one thing you want folks to know?

Well, really a couple of things.

Number one is always buy used, unless you've got a million dollars.

We don't buy new cars.

And if you're going to buy used number two, you want it to last.

And that means regular, proper maintenance.

Yeah, that's a big deal.

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Donald is in Toronto up next.

Donald, what's going on?

Hey, how are you guys?

Great.

What's your question today?

Hey, so just how to be comfortable with using my emergency fund when an emergency has happened

as I recently got the baby step four.

Cool, congrats.

Nice.

How much do you have in the emergency fund?

So I have 15 in there and a slight job, not changed recently, but better security recently.

So that may be a factor as we go into this.

Great.

Okay, so let's talk about this emergency.

Give us the most recent one where you went, I just can't dip into that.

Okay, hit by bus yesterday.

Good gracious, Donald.

Donald stop.

Stop.

Are you being for real right now?

I actually am.

Yes, I'm not lying to you at all.

How are you?

I'm okay.

Luckily, the incident was completely fine, and that's why I'm much more focused on the finances at this point.

Are you?

I'm okay.

Everyone's okay.

Yeah, I got checked out.

I'm already.

Oh my gosh.

I got hit by a bus.

No one can ever say, well, I feel like I got hit by a bus today.

Yeah.

Donald's like, no, I really did.

I raised you.

Oh my gosh.

Well, that would be a reason for the emergency fund.

I think we can all agree on it.

Okay.

So just answer these three questions.

Is it urgent?

Is it necessary?

Is it unexpected?

I think we can all agree getting hit by a bus is all three of those things.

You with me?

I think it's a little unexpected.

Okay.

I think you check that off, yes.

You didn't plan for it.

There was no maintenance you could have done to avoid it.

Maybe look at both ways, but now.

Now, was there police involved?

Like, are they going to cover your ER bills?

Is it with the city bus?

It was a city bus.

Unfortunately, due to how old the vehicle is, like it's a beater.

Because of it, how the insurance claim would work.

Oh, you're in a car.

You're in a car.

You're in a car.

Yeah.

Donald.

Can you lead with that next time, bud?

We thought you were walking across the street.

You're basically talking about the car.

Okay.

Oh, Donald.

You almost gave us a heart attack.

No wonder.

Oh, my God.

We thought the same thing, George.

Do you tell me, hey, I got hit by a bus yesterday.

I assume you were walking.

Okay.

So Donald, you were in a car.

Thank God.

Okay.

So the car is not waiting.

So go back.

Tell us about the car.

Car situation.

So cars old, but it's obviously not workable shape anymore.

It's done for.

Okay.

So I expected a car upgrade to come in the future.

I got 4K aside for that.

But I obviously now I need to kind of pull the trigger on it much

earlier than expected.

Gotcha.

Is insurance going to write you a check?

I can't really get anything out of the insurance because my

my comprehension and collision wasn't on.

I had enough insurance to be legal.

I didn't have the proper insurance to get much out of this because my car is so old.

It would basically they're just going to write it off.

And then I might get $2,000 out of it if I'm lucky.

Okay.

But again, because I don't have collision it would be a lot of fighting with the city.

And we all know that's never easy no matter your municipality.

Yeah, sure.

Sure.

Okay.

So you're just saying just it's a wash.

It was an old car.

I have money saved.

How do I use this emergency fund?

Yeah.

Yep.

Okay.

So what kind of so you you're obviously low maintenance when it comes to the type of car

because you're you were currently driving an older car, right?

So how much how much money do you think you need to have a car?

Maybe it's a little bit of an upgrade that will last you longer.

But like what price range feels right to you?

For safer liability purposes, our market goes here.

I would say between 8 and 10 is going to get me a car that's between 2015 and 2020.

And somewhere between the 6,000 to 100,000 mile range.

Okay.

So take the foot.

Yeah, I would take the 4K and then 5K of your emergency fund.

Go get a 9,000, you know,

it still leaves 10 in your emergency fund.

And then you begin the process of replenishing the emergency fund.

And that's how you feel better about using it.

It's not a this thing is depleted forever.

It's all right.

Now I got to rebuild it.

That's not fun.

But hey, at least it's an inconvenience instead of a crisis.

And you're going to debt on a credit card of 25% APR.

So that's the move.

Okay.

And the truth is the better you get at this stuff, the less emergencies you're going to have.

Like when you're broke, you have everything as an emergency.

And as you get to this place, baby step four, you buy a better car.

You have nicer stuff that you can maintain better and pay for repairs and all that.

And so I think it's sort of in your head that you're going to have to dip into this emergency fund all the time.

I can't tell you the last time I use my emergency fund.

Because at some point you go,

we can probably just cash flow that at a next month's budget.

It'll be fine.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah, so use some of this for it though.

So here I say that, please, please.

Yes.

Yeah.

Like use enough to make sure that it's reliable.

Yeah.

Don't go good and crazy, obviously.

You don't need a $25,000 car because yours took got total.

Yeah.

So that's what most people do.

They go to the dealership and say, I need a brand new car because look what happened.

Mm-hmm.

Last time I had a beta car, I got hit.

And it got totaled.

Yeah.

And that's what like my brother and others have already said to me about like possibly paid in the future.

And I'm like, that just doesn't fit my lifestyle.

So no.

Totally.

Yes.

So yeah.

You do you pay cash.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We're trying for $15,000 car.

And then this obviously made it that I couldn't.

I was planning to be able to do it by October of the end of this year.

But now here we are where I kind of got a, I guess finance myself as compared to finance with somebody else.

Exactly.

You are the bank and it's 0% interest with no payments.

That's a deal, my friend.

Yep.

So thank you for the call.

I'm glad you're OK.

I'm glad that you were in a car.

Next time you tell the story, make sure you lead with, hey, a bus hit my car.

He probably thinks we're just crazy.

It's probably like duh.

I was just the mental image was just, it was like replaying over and over my mind of what happened to board Donald.

OK.

Glad he's OK.

We're going to get through this.

Thanks for the call.

Crystal's in Boise up next.

What's going on, Crystal?

Hi.

So as a family, we've been reading toll money makeover and we've been working to implement the principles and just started baby step two.

But my question today is regarding term life insurance.

So I've had a whole life policy with a term writer for a million dollar death benefit since like 2016 has a monthly premium of three hundred and fifteen dollars a month.

And I found out that I can get a 20 year term policy for a million dollars for a hundred and four months.

Awesome.

I'm 45.

My spouse is 55.

Our kids are 16 and 17.

So my question is, do I do the 20 year term or should I do less with the kids being older?

It's a good question.

You need life insurance until you no longer need life insurance.

So think about the kids are grown, houses paid off, retirements funded, your spouse would be OK without your income.

And so if that's 15 years for you guys saying, hey, the house is definitely going to be paid off.

We're going to have a serious nest egg.

The kids are grown and gone.

They're not going to be relying on us.

I would say 15 years sounds a lot closer.

OK.

What would be a serious nest egg?

I mean, I'm just saying if something were to happen is your spouse going to be OK.

OK.

I don't need to inherit $5 million to be OK.

They're going to be just fine.

It's if something happened, you lost your income.

Now we have this policy plus this retirement.

OK.

They will be OK if they need to take some time off or not work.

OK.

So I would go 15 based on what you've just told me.

I don't have all the little pictures.

Do you both work crystal you and your husband?

Yes.

OK.

Yeah.

Because if something realistically, if you're past that 15 and the house is paid off, there's no debt.

And you guys have, I don't know, three.

I'm just making up a number of 300,000 in retirement.

And you still wanted to work.

You know, you still had the ability to make an income if you needed to, right?

So that factors into it too.

OK.

I'm proud of you.

I know that hurts because you've paid into this whole life policy for what?

10 years now?

Yes.

Oh my goodness.

I'm so sorry to whoever sold that to you.

Who was it?

Was it a family friend?

Yes.

It always is.

It was a family friend.

It is.

They are though.

Everyone we talked to, like, well, my brother-in-law or my cousin or, you know, yeah.

And it's always a dude.

Let's make that clear.

Some dude out of college.

99%.

Oh, dude, I got the sick job.

I sell insurance.

The women do the MLMs.

That's true.

We all have our toil in life.

The guys go insurance.

It's cool.

Oh my gosh.

Oh my gosh.

Well, it's a good reminder to anyone listening out there.

If anybody relies on your income, you need term life insurance.

Not a whole life, not permanent life insurance term.

So that's for a specific amount of time.

15 to 20 years is good for most people.

Maybe 25 if, you know, you're really young or you got young kids.

Because the goal is, hey, once this term expires, we are self-insured.

Meaning we don't need this policy anymore.

We're going to be okay.

And you want to make sure that you get 10 to 12 times your annual income on that death benefit,

on that the phase value of the policy.

So you make 100 grand.

You need a million to 1.2 in term coverage.

So that you can invest that money.

And the growth of that could help create the income and replace it.

That's all insurance.

It's a risk transfer to replace your income.

Xander are the folks that we trust.

People I have mine through my wife has hers through Xander.

You can call them at 800-356-4282 or just jump on Xander.com.

Get it done today.

Dave, we got a lot of calls on this show where life happens.

One day someone's healthy, they're working, providing for their family,

and then a curve ball hits.

You know, we heard all the time, a car accident, a cancer diagnosis,

a heart attack, and suddenly everything changes.

Yeah.

And that's why you've always said that having term life insurance from Xander is essential.

Because it protects your family if the worst happens.

Yeah, that's right.

You need 10 to 12 times your income,

in coverage, no gimmicks, no whole life junk,

just straight forward term life protection.

But there's another piece that people often overlook,

and that's long term disability insurance.

Yeah, it's important to understand the difference between them.

Life insurance steps in when you die.

Disability insurance steps in while you're alive, but can't work.

So it replaces a large part of your income,

so the bills still get paid while you get back on your feet.

Now, if your employer gives you free disability insurance, great.

Take it.

If it's discounted there at a better price, take it.

But if not, Xander can help you find the right plan.

Whether you're single or married, it's not optional.

If you're going to be out of work for a while,

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And that's why Xander is our go-to.

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So don't wait. It's fast, it's easy,

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Go to Xander.com or call 800-356-4282.

Protect yourself, protect your income, protect your family.

Welcome back to The Ramsey Show,

and the Fair Winds Credit Union Studio.

I'm George Campbell, joined by bestselling author

and my co-host of Smart Money Happy Hour, Rachel Cruz.

We're taking your calls at triple 8-825-5225.

Up next, we head to Charlotte, who is in Columbia, South Carolina.

Charlotte, welcome to The Ramsey Show.

Hi, how are you?

We are doing great.

How can we help today?

My question is, well, my husband and I are,

we have $100,000 of student loan debt,

so we just started paying off.

And my dad had an officer,

but he would help pay this debt off,

so I'm in the last year.

We've had two cutbacks.

Sorry, you're breaking up with a Charlotte.

Can you speak directly in your phone

or try to get to a better spot?

I heard your 100,000 students.

Dad said he would help pay them off,

and you recently had to cut him off?

Yes, we did.

We had to cut ties with him.

And so we are now...

Like the relationship is over?

Okay.

Yes.

Got it.

Correct.

Yes.

So we are now just looking into this debt

now for our own to pay off.

And my question is,

what tips would you have to pay this off quickly?

I don't want this to be moving over our heads

for longer than it needs to.

We agree.

What did you get your degrees in?

It...

My husband got a law degree,

so that...

Oh, got it.

Okay, perfect.

So is he practicing law right now?

Yes.

Okay.

And how much is he making a year?

He is making a little over 100k.

Okay.

And what are you making a year?

I'm just making a little over 20k.

I'm working part time.

We just had our first child back in October.

Okay.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Okay.

Great.

So...

Yeah.

I mean, the...

The most efficient way to do this Charlotte is...

is if you have multiple student loans,

do you or is it all one loan?

It's just one loan.

Okay.

Yeah.

So it's just going to be...

You know, taking the mountain.

Yeah.

Because you can every month on top of the minimum payment,

just throwing as much as you guys can.

So it's make as much as we can every month,

spend as little as we can,

and use that difference,

that margin to knock out the steadfast.

Yeah.

Because if you guys make 120 a year,

if you lived on 60,000 Charlotte,

and you guys basically had no lifestyle,

you're just like, listen, we are just gonna just live on.

What we got...

And you threw 60 at it.

I mean, in a year and a half,

you guys don't have this paid off.

Okay.

So it's just you got to live like a bro-cloth student

and not like a lawyer.

And that might be a...

I don't know what your lifestyle is like,

but that's gonna be a big shift.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Do you guys have margin every month in your budget?

We definitely not good.

We could have more.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So make it a goal.

Well, could you this month,

with the next paychecks coming in,

throw $4,000 on top of the minimum,

at the debt?

Yeah.

Yeah.

You're done in less than two years.

I mean, that's the math of it.

There's no like life hack shortcut.

Now, if you're doing the debt snowball,

and you had multiple debts,

we'd say attack the little one first,

minimums on the rest,

and create some progress.

This is a little bit harder,

because it's just your...

It's like paying off a mortgage.

You're just staring down this mountain going,

all right?

I would celebrate the wins.

Every $10,000 you pay off,

you guys have a little fun.

Whatever you decide to do.

And that'll keep you motivated along the way.

Maybe make it visual.

Maybe you have rings and chains across the house,

or on the fridge,

whatever you guys decide to do.

Making it visual,

having a deep why.

Maybe this child is your deep why.

I want this kid to grow up in a house

that doesn't know debt.

That has financial stability.

Yeah, and it probably is...

There's probably a painful element, too, right?

That it came...

You guys are doing this,

because of a relationship that was fractured.

So every...

You know what I mean?

It's kind of like the sad reminder, too,

of having this around of like why we have to pay this off.

So there is a part, too, of like,

oh, I just want to add something.

You don't want it to drag out.

I just want it out of my life, you know?

Definitely.

Is your husband on board with this?

Yes, he is.

We're in the very beginning stages

of really talking about it,

which I feel...

I feel behind,

because it's been almost a year

that we've had to cut ties with my dad,

but it really does just kind of feel like

the dust has now settled more

with that and then with having our son.

But so, yeah,

we're just in the beginning stages

of like really coming up with a plan.

Okay.

Tell me this, Charlotte.

Your dad wasn't paying your husband's

debt for law school, though.

Just yours, right?

He was going...

He never paid any debt,

because when all of this came out

with my dad,

we had just like maybe for two weeks.

And put on a payment plan for the debt.

Okay.

But...

Yeah, but was the expectation

that he was going to pay your husband's law degree?

He had said he would.

Oh, okay.

Okay, okay.

So it was the whole deck.

So I was thinking,

if he'd just promised your debt

and yours is 10,000 of the 100,000,

you know, I was going to ask why you didn't...

But it was set out loud that it would even...

So this wasn't on your radar

and all of a sudden relationships broken

and now you've got 100,000 sitting in your lap

to pay off on top of the grief.

Right.

And so this is a lot.

Yeah, it is sad.

And it's going to be...

It's going to be tight.

But, you know, less than two years,

the baby won't remember it.

It'll be a memory for you guys.

Remember that time?

We worked our tails off for two years

to get to a place of financial stability

and you will not regret

the sacrifice you're making right now.

I'll tell you that much.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Would you take out...

We have a high...

a high-ish amount of money

and a CD account.

A two-year CD account.

So I don't think we can't touch it

for like another year.

But...

How much is in there?

Yes, we're not.

It's like a little over 75,000.

Fantastic.

Well, I would also look at what the penalties are

for taking it out before it matures.

Because if you're going to pay more interest

and see what it loans,

then the penalty is,

then it's worth caching out.

Okay.

And that gets you out of debt so much faster.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What was that money you're marked for?

We didn't really have any sort of plan

for other than just to kind of keep it in there.

And then maybe once it was done,

give it up more.

We were probably going to buy another house.

Or like sell the house we're now

buy a little bit bigger house

as our payment grew.

We...

That money actually was given to us

from the death of my grandfather.

So it was kind of unexpected.

So we really didn't have much of a plan.

And then it was like,

we got that.

My husband started paying the student loan debt

and then everything happened with my debt.

So I can't be...

And I haven't thought about it that much.

Okay.

Gotcha.

Well, the other party off to Grave is,

hey, this was going to be like house upgrade money

and now it's paying off debt money,

which is less exciting.

But I would do that in a heart of a chart.

100%.

I would look into that tonight to see what the penalties are.

And then depending on how aggressive you guys want to move up in house,

still look at cutting back some lifestyle

and saving up some margin and say,

okay, if we were to replenish this,

you know, you could do that in a year and a half.

Still, get that money back.

But I would go ahead and guess.

What's new plan is we're out of debt

the six months by the summer.

We're debt-free.

Yes, I would do that in a heartbeat.

And then you guys save your income

and decide how quickly you want to save,

how slow, but no one else is determining that for you.

Or you guys could say,

no, we're cutting for the next year.

We're going to just enjoy our life.

And maybe you can quit the part-time job.

But no one's making you do it.

We're a student loan.

You have to make this payment.

Yeah.

Life is going to be on your terms soon enough.

And so far, life has just been happening to you

and everything's been unexpected.

And I hope soon you can start to get intentional

and happen to your life, Charlotte.

We're rooting for you.

Thanks for calling.

Add this.

Add your time.

We're here for the next year.

We're here for the next year.

We're here for the next year.

We're here for the next year.

Pு.

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SCOT is in bowling green up next. SCOT, what's going on?

Hey, George. Great to have you all today.

Where wonderful. How can we help you?

I am completely get free. Yeah, you are.

Great job.

Baby step seven paid off house.

Payed off house. Yes, sir.

Oh, everything. Oh my gosh. Well done.

I can tell in his voice. He had an ease and like he was kind of flexing like I am debt free. How old are you?

I am 65 years old.

Wonderful. Good for you.

Okay. What's your question today?

I'm at that point. So, you know, well, let me go back.

I do have to replace some money back into my fully emergency fund. I'm fully funded to emergency fund.

Okay.

Because I pulled that out to pay the house off about $12,000.

Nice.

Anyway, we'll over $12,000. But my fully funded emergency fund is my goal is $50,000 there.

And I've got about 25 into it right now.

Okay.

So I got to put 25 more into it. I'm completely out. So a couple things here.

My questions are at this point, which I've already got an hour.

My traditional IRA that has about 214, 215,000 in it.

And I've got two mutual funds. It is probably about $36,000 in that.

I want to be able to go in to put more money into mutual funds.

I think from, you know, the total money I could have something about a high cap, road cap,

and a foreign cap or a foreign mutual fund.

Yep.

And I want to learn more about that.

And then also put some, I guess, part of that $50,000 into a high yield interest savings account.

Yeah.

Is that all these smart moves that I need to make?

And also, I want to look at maybe doing a Ralph IRA to kind of balance out the taxable versus a non-taxable.

Yeah, I would be focused on those retirement accounts right now, you know, taking advantage of those tax advantages accounts first.

And so that would be the strategy here.

And did you have a 401k through your employer?

No, no. It's something I've done for the past 15 years of...

Is self-employed?

No, I'm not. I work for a company, but we don't have a 401k program.

Okay. No retirement program.

I have done that all my own over the past 15 years.

Good for you.

Okay.

So your options would be then maxing out that IRA every year.

What is your income?

Yep.

My income is about an under the grade.

Fantastic.

Okay.

So maxing out the IRA is a great start.

That'll get you pretty far.

And I would keep that emergency fund in a high yield savings account.

And you can open one up with our friends at Fairwinds Credit Union online on your phone within minutes.

And keep that park there.

Well, you know, I think the rates are currently over 3%.

And so you're at least keeping up or beating inflation with that money instead of it sitting at 0%

and your local bank savings account.

So that's a piece of homework.

Fairwinds Credit Union, you can go to Fairwinds.org slash Ramsey.

And they've got a bundle there with an online checking and the high yield savings.

And it's no fee on that.

And they're...

They've been an awesome partner because they have the same goal in mind.

They want people to be like Scott financially free with a paid off house.

Okay.

So you've got that.

So once you've funded the emergency fund, park in the high yield, maxing out the IRA,

the next move would be a non-retirement account.

If you've run out of retirement options.

And so like you said, those mutual funds and a taxable brokerage account would be the move.

And we do say to diversify across four different types.

So mutual fund just as a giant basket of stocks.

And we're going to even go further by going into a growth and income fund,

which that would be kind of your high cap.

Then you've got the growth fund, which is more of the mid aggressive growth,

which is the lower and then the international fund to balance it out.

Because what we've seen, which especially 2000 to 2010, that period,

the US market took a dive and the international market kind of balanced it out.

And so that's what you want to kind of de-risk your portfolio.

That's kind of the foreign account, right?

That you were asking about Scott yet.

Yeah.

Do you work with a financial advisor or have you ever?

I do.

I do.

I've been working with this guy for about 15 years.

That's what kind of got me started on things of doing this.

That's why I've been a matter of fact, I was in sales here the day.

And he was welcome.

We're saying when we got to talking to him, I told him where I was at and everything.

He's like, cool.

Let's work.

Let's talk.

You know, so.

Awesome.

Yeah.

You're in a different place now.

Maybe step seven.

It's living give like no one else build wealth.

And so you can max out all the accounts you can.

You can, you know, pay cash for real estate.

If you wanted to do that, the world is your oyster at this point,

especially making a hundred grand with no debt.

How much is your house worth?

It's about three hundred twenty five thousand.

Okay.

Amazing.

Well done.

Yeah.

That's so great.

What is your plan for retirement?

To sort of replace your income and cut your expenses.

Work.

Just work.

I'm working to the good Lord says, Hey, look, you can't work anymore or somebody.

And I'll just say this kisses me off.

And I say no.

There we go.

There we go.

So far that hasn't happened.

That's good.

But yeah, that's, that's the day range of strategy is, well, I want to stop working.

I like what I do, which is great.

And so maxing out those retirement accounts, if you work another 10 years,

I mean, that nest they will just continue to grow with compound growth.

And so we are rooting for you to have an awesome retirement.

Yes, that's one thing I know too is I mean, I'm, I'm 65 now, 67.

And I can double do it so I can go in and, you know, get my regular paycheck.

And then also get, you know, drops of security.

And that's just more money that I can start.

Yeah.

And the longer you delay it, the more you'll get in that social security.

So if you don't need it, just, you know, kick it down the road and take it at 70

to, to get the max amount.

And so you've got a lot of options here.

And you have catch up contributions, which is great because of your age,

you can actually put more into those retirement accounts than the average person,

the young bucks like me.

Love it.

I needed to win today.

I love talking to Scott.

Scott, that was awesome.

John is in Cincinnati up next.

John, how can we help?

Hey, George, how you doing?

Doing great.

Yeah.

Yes.

Okay.

So my question is me and my wife were just hit with a little other $15,000 bill for a car

that was reposed that she had signed off on in, in the previous relationship.

Oh, she was the co-signer in her, in her ex didn't pay and got reposed and not dinged her credit.

And now the deficit is back to you at 50,000.

Exactly.

Okay.

Bro, I'm sorry.

Yeah, it's okay.

The dilemma is though, we're nine, nine weeks pregnant with our first baby.

We're about, it's super, super exciting.

But we're unsure how to tackle this, you know, this deficit.

We don't know if we throw, you know, some emergency fund at it.

How much do you have in savings?

About 10,000 in the emergency fund.

Okay.

Great.

And you guys have no other debt?

No, we do.

So I owe $6,000 on my truck.

She has a car that we owe $20,000 and then some student loans.

So we have a significant amount of debt that we're paying on before the baby.

And then we kind of pivot into saving, you know, trying to stack up some money for the baby.

Okay.

So we're a little unsure on what direction to go in right now.

Yeah.

Well, the good news is you don't need to just keep saving for nine months until the baby's here.

You don't need $50,000.

I would figure out what your, you know, out of pocket max is going to be on your insurance and your deductibles

and make sure that you at least have that as your baseline.

And then I would move on and hit play on the debt snowball.

Okay.

And so the smallest, the largest balance.

And when you get to that $15,000 bill, you'll get there.

Got it.

And maybe they'll settle at that point.

I don't know.

If you say, hey, I've got $10,000 lump sum cash or $5,000, will you take that?

Got it.

But you've got how much in student loans?

About 20.

Okay.

And what's your household income?

A little over a hundred.

Oh, fantastic.

Well, that changed it all after baby.

Like, well, is that, is her income part of that?

It is.

Yes.

She makes about 40.

She's a teacher.

Okay.

And I make about 70.

Will she go back to work?

Do you think?

Or will she stay home?

We're unsure.

Okay.

Yeah.

We're, we're trying to figure that out.

Yeah.

That's all a little new to us.

Yeah, totally.

No, that's great.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I would definitely keep a big emergency fund in place, considering babies on the way.

So yeah, with George said, if you get to a comfortable spot that you feel good and you want

to throw some extra cash to get that credit card paid off, or I'm okay if you guys pause it

and do stork mode is what we call it where you kind of just stay current, but you just

keep saving and saving and saving and saving.

And then once babies here, mom is good.

Everyone's good.

Throw all you have at the debt, which means you'll probably knock out.

I would say the truck, or I'm sorry, the credit card and the $15,000 bill for sure and maybe

part of that truck.

So either way, you guys are doing great.

It's going to feel good to get that behind you.

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Welcome back to the Ramsey show.

I'm George camel here with Rachel Cruz.

And in studio this segment, we have a very special guest.

You know him.

You love him.

Mr. Ken Coleman.

It's always good to be here.

George, I got to get my ears in.

I wasn't quite ready.

Take your time.

Take your time.

It's your show, Ken.

We're here for you, Ken.

Well, here's what we're doing.

Here's why we thought Ken should join.

We are about to do some 2026 financial predictions.

I love a good prediction.

And we're going to play this back at the end of 2026 and find out who was

right.

Rachel is very competitive.

That is fun.

Is it right?

We are going to do that.

We should.

I have to.

I have to.

You guys are in trouble.

It's going to be 2-0, Ken.

You know, if we're wrong, we're like, you know, the weathermen.

It's like it's fine.

You get to keep your job.

So there's no stakes here.

We're just having fun.

Don't hold us to this.

But here's what we think will happen for your money and in the economy.

Okay.

I'm going to go first.

All right.

Okay.

I think mortgage rates will continue to slowly go down.

Okay.

That was a safe prediction.

I like that.

So we started at around 7% and now it's sitting around 5.48% on a 15 year fix, what we've

pulled.

That's actually incredible.

That's pretty great.

Like, people are waiting.

I mean, that's a pretty good.

So I think we're going to slowly throughout the year, keep seeing that crypto.

I don't think we'll get back to 2 to 3%.

But I'm going to see.

I'm going to rest in the low five's high force.

Yeah.

The Fed has been moving pretty slowly on this, Ken, with good reason.

You know, you can't do it too fast.

That'll mess up the economy and you can't do it too slow.

And so they're just incrementally not to mention everything.

Political tension that has gotten fever pitch as in like WWE wrestling match back and forth.

It's getting intense.

President Trump and Jerome Powell.

So Powell expected to step down.

So new chairman expected in 2026.

What will that do?

What's he going to do?

I actually, I don't agree with Rachel on that one.

Wow.

I think they're going to go up.

I think they're going to hold.

Okay.

So you think it's going to be at 5.48% in December of 2026?

That's what I'm holding you to.

Yeah.

I think it's good.

I think what anyone would call a hold.

I think it's going to hold.

All right.

Okay.

Moving on.

Here's mine.

Sports betting will continue sabotaging young men's lives.

Wow.

I guess we're really going out on the end of it.

Again, it's a safe prediction, but we've just been seeing more and more of this.

Stupidest.

And as more states legalize sports betting, as more people jump onto these apps and the

companies ramp up their marketing.

They make so much money.

That's right.

2025 Pew Research study found 36% of men under 30 had placed the sports bet within the

past year.

So it's becoming normalized.

It's just socialized gambling.

It's, I'm having fun with the buddies and we're kind of going to see who's going to win

the parlay.

That's right.

And this is a higher rate than any other age group.

So these young men under 30 are going to get hit.

Who don't have money?

Who I already broke.

I can tell you, as a father of a high schooler, I hear stories all the time of Chase's

buddies.

Wow.

And they're betting on crazy stuff, like stuff you wouldn't think it's not just a

one.

Well, it becomes some kind of fun game of like, is he going to be wearing blue or red today?

So what shoes is he going to be wearing?

That's right.

It is so.

It's sad.

It's stupid.

I think it's so stupid.

Wow.

Mama Rachel with a strong opinion.

It's the most unattractive thing.

It's unattractive.

It's unattractive.

I don't own a home.

Look.

Oh, my God.

The housing market.

You heard it here first, boys.

You can own a home, but I'm going to go and freaking sports back because I'm not athletic

enough to play the game.

Yeah.

So I'm going to go forward to take my girl out because I've lost her parlay last night.

So I like that.

No.

All right.

Very good.

Strongly connected.

You guys went really, really safe.

I think it's so stupid.

I'm going to step out a little bit.

I'm going to step out a little bit.

This might not be popular prediction.

Let's talk about Airbnb's.

All right.

It became a very popular real estate venture.

As you know, everybody thought, this is my path to prosperity.

And it's going through a pretty complex shift.

In other words, demand still remains pretty strong, but what we're seeing is the cheaper

Airbnb's less cost, smaller, smaller areas.

You will see a continual decline, but your luxury listings will go up.

Oh, you're going to have the money will still be spending.

Yeah.

Other people are more price conscious.

So if you're in the Airbnb game, if you've got a luxury listing, I think you're probably

in good shape.

The demand will remain strong, which is a small percentage.

Small percentage.

Because if you have overleversed yourself, do not think that you're going to eventually

rebound to 2026.

In other words, if you can sell, I'd sell.

Yeah.

Well, people will just go, well, it's easy money.

People are going to be booking this 30 days a year, and it doesn't have to happen.

The reason that the cheaper market, just to give you a Y, really quick, is because it's

over saturation.

Everybody got in the game thing, and I'm going to buy a place down at the beach.

So it's going to be too saturated, too much supply.

That's why.

There you go.

You know, it's the same dude that sports bets.

That's also on TikTok.

And it's like, I own like Airbnb's.

Great.

You are so annoying.

Rachel, you're right.

Rachel is exhausted by you, young man.

Rachel's coming for the bros today.

She's got the bros in the cross here.

I feel like you'll need a little shake.

Wow.

I agree.

Because you're not cool.

She probably hates creatine, too.

Wow.

I hate creatine.

Oh.

And my protein shakes when I work out.

Good for you.

Why?

Look at you.

The bros and you can agree on one thing, at least.

All right.

Here's the next one.

I think the stock market will actually stay relatively consistent.

We've had a few good years, and everyone now goes, there's going to be a crash.

It's all coming down, and everyone's got their predictions.

I think the U.S. economy is strong.

I think AI and tech will carry us for the foreseeable future.

And if it went, it dips.

Everyone's going to assume it's a crash.

It's going to be just a little low.

I think we'll come back up pretty quickly in a while.

So you're not saying steady throughout the year.

You're saying it ends the year pretty much at a level more.

At what a cost?

Yeah.

We had a few years that were negative 20%.

Right.

And in the past few years, it's been plus 20%.

Yeah.

Plus 16%.

I think we're going to have a positive year.

Wow.

No camel crash.

No.

Okay.

Okay.

So I'll hit, I'll get mad at the girls who shop.

Okay.

That's sometimes who uses us.

I think they're going to become worse and worse and worse for the consumer.

Meaning I think there's going to be more fees.

I think that you're going to be able to loan sack, you know, take multiple, keep moving.

They are making so much money.

Stores are making so much money when people take the, by now, pay later option.

They end up spending so much more.

So they're, they see, they see the money, the, the banks and the, and the, and the stores,

the retailers that, and they know, I'm going to make so much so they're going to continue

to expand that.

Can I firm your prediction?

Yeah.

Unintended.

I just saw a firm is rolling out a rent by now, pay later option.

So you can put your rent on by now, pay later with that really frightens me with the amount

of money that you're putting on a short term loan, that frightens me.

So I think you're right.

Can I tell you, I want to tell the viewers and the listeners, I have never seen the

lovely, sunny disposition of Rachel Cruz.

So cloudy.

I can see it across the desk.

She's just sour.

Yeah.

And it's not because of her.

It's this topic.

She's got sports betting.

Yeah.

By now, pay later.

She is disc.

We're pushing all of her buttons.

I love seeing disgusted Rachel.

We're not going to need more of that.

Let's get, let's get you back in the morning.

Okay.

So let's talk about the job market.

This is the bigot.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Everybody's always thinking, what's going on with my job?

It's not been great.

Yeah.

We saw a slow down in 2025.

Here's my theme.

You know me.

I got to go with a little phrase.

You love a theme.

Is it a, is it a, is it a, 2026 job market will be ready?

Low higher, low fire.

In other words, you won't see, no, she's laughing.

Kelly says, oh, wow.

You know what?

Kelly doesn't appreciate that this is rooted in accuracy.

Low higher means we're not going to see a hot job market.

It's going to stay pretty stagnant.

I think you're going to be in the 4.5%.

You may see a spike getting near 5%, depending on some situations.

We still don't know where all the tariff situation, where all those tariffs, how is it going

to shake out?

We're still in a wait and see mode, which is why a lot of companies are on the sidelines

as it relates to hiring.

So what I mean by low higher is, I don't expect to see companies hiring a lot of people.

I think it's going to be a wait and see for 2026.

But here's the good news.

Because companies also in a wait and see, they're going to be reluctant to fire talent.

Okay.

So it's kind of a, we're okay with who we got and we're going to stay in a holding

pattern.

So what I mean by low higher, low fire, now a couple things, growth sectors, I think

there will be hot sectors regardless of low higher, low fire and that is health care,

skilled trades, don't sleep on the trades.

They're blowing up logistics and some AI adjacent roles.

It's not a placing job, but they're connected to it.

White collar jobs right now, specifically white collar tech is getting killed because that's

where we're seeing already how AI is beginning to kick people out.

How is it?

I mean, are you seeing numbers?

Yes.

a lot of young people to be moving into the technology sector

as what we would call white collar tech.

They're not getting the jobs

because those jobs have been replaced by AI.

And we're seeing private equity come in,

buy it, clean house, and go,

we don't know what I like to say about private equity.

What's that?

Private equity equals public misery.

This is why we bring Ken on, guys.

He brings the heat.

Ken is, he's all about the words.

I appreciate it, Ken.

I'll be here for 30 more seconds.

Here's the truth.

Nobody knows what's gonna happen.

So just stay the course.

I do.

Okay.

I take the predictions to the back.

Yeah, we will come back December of 2016.

Oh, we will.

I got a competitive, you guys are.

See.

I was gonna put Ken on hold.

That's my dream in life to have a hold button for Ken.

Thank you for joining us, Ken.

We had a great time.

Hope you appreciate our predictions.

Control what you can control.

It's all you can do.

You've got everything.

Get it.

What do you think about this?

Nothing to say about this.

Thanks.

Thank you for coming on.

All right, guys, listen.

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Amanda is in Toronto.

What's going on, Amanda?

Hi.

Hi.

This is my question.

How can my mom and I budget our emergency fund and travel expenses given that my father's

ICU expenses are climbing?

I'd like to still have some leftover for my dad's we have since not everything is covered

by our Canadian health care coverage.

I'm so sorry.

He's still on the ICU.

Yes.

Um, basically what happened was that earlier this month my dad had a stopover flight in

Seoul, South Korea where he had a cardiac arrest and is now in the ICU.

My mom and I would like to fly over and bring him back to our hometown in Canada once his

heart procedure is scheduled.

We have travel insurance, but we're not sure what would be covered since my dad's claim

is still under review.

Hmm.

I've already paid $18,000 Canadian dollars.

And the translators said total cost of the hospital would potentially exceed $47,000

Canadian dollars, but of course that's just a baseline and it could go up from there.

So I'm overwhelmed navigating all of this as an only child.

Wow.

Gosh, Amanda, how old are you?

I'm 25 years old.

Okay.

What is your parents financial situation like where your dad and your mom, what they have

built as your parents, where were they at financially?

So my father, um, he has been on the disability for quite some time, so he's unemployed when

we see disability payments from the government.

My mom is the sole breadwinner.

I believe she earns about 65,000 Canadian per year.

Okay.

And they do have a mortgage for the condo that we live in, um, so that's their financial

situation at the moment.

Okay.

Do they have savings at all?

Yes.

Um, I don't have access to my dad's bank account, but from what I know, my mom has, um,

$71,000 in an emergency fund.

Okay.

Good.

$10,000 was borrowed from her home line of credit.

Okay.

And she borrowed $10,000 from her sister and 5K from my grandmother.

Why is she borrowing all this money when she has the money to just pay for it?

Um, I just found out about this after the fact, um, so I wasn't looped in on it.

I think my mom is just, um, I think maybe panicking, um, given that the hospital keeps calling

us every other day, asking us to pay a deposit.

Yeah.

How much is owed right now?

What sort of gets you guys by right now?

Because the other medical bills, you can get on a payment plan and pay that off over

time.

But what are they demanding right now?

Um, so they were demanding, um, 17 million Korean one.

So I believe that was, um, I'd say 16 to $7,000, $16,000 or so Canadian dollars.

Okay.

Okay.

And is that it like, um, at this point, do you know how much longer he'll be over there

before you guys can bring him to Canada?

No, we don't have that information.

Okay.

The doctor said they want his information to go down, um, before they start the procedure.

So he's just an observation at this moment.

Well, okay.

Well, I would make sure to use your dad and mom's money before you're using your own.

Is that the case?

Or are you expected to pay out of your own salary for this?

Um, um, what my mom and I do.

Discussed is that, um, for my own travel expenses, I would be paying for my own.

Okay.

That's fair.

Um, that's what we have decided.

So how much will the travel be?

Oh, so travel all in for this travel, travel, lodging, transportation, all of that.

About 5,000, um, just for travel and lodging and.

Okay.

Yeah.

I mean, if I were in your shoes, you know, we would never tell someone to like go into

debt and all of it.

But when there's a health crisis, our number one goal is for your dad to be okay, right?

And so what do we have to do to create that?

And then we can deal with the money stuff on the back end.

Now we don't want to be irresponsible or make bad decisions in the process.

We want to have a clear mind about it.

But, um, but yes, I mean, I would be 100% spending five grand to go with my mom to see

my dad, who's in a different country, who had a horrible medical situation, um, get him

as healthy as possible, sounds like the surgery is going to be there.

It's going to be, there's going to be a lot.

There's going to be a lot.

And then getting him back to Canada, like those would be my, my priorities.

And I would ask, and I don't know how, you know, the communication with the hospital

there, um, but a part of me would be hesitant to start paying something until we know and

have some answers, right?

Like, there's some, there's a part of me that I would want to get there.

I'm a person and to know how they're, I don't even know how their health care works, right?

Yeah, you got to figure out the insurance claim and all of that and make sure that everything's

verified and you're not paying for things that didn't happen.

Yeah.

So there's a lot of pieces on the back end you can do.

And I would worry about right now.

Before you start writing checks, right, though?

Yeah.

I mean, I would, if they're needing a deposit for whatever, that might be the one thing

to cover today out of mom's savings.

Leave her debt.

Don't allow her to go in any more debt.

But just pause on her debt right now until all of this is squared away.

We got dad home.