Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the car rental studios. It's the Dave Ramsey Show where dad is Dom Cash is king in the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of BMW as the status symbol of. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host, Anthony ONeil Ramsey, personality number one, best selling author of the book Debt Free Degree, is my co-host today.

Open Phones as we talk to you about your life and your money.

The phone number is Elite eight two five five two two five. That's triple eight eight two five five two two five. Katla is with us in Provo, Utah. Hi, how are you?

Hi. Good. How are you doing? Better than I deserve. What's up?

So I just had a question. My husband and I are getting ready to step up for a down payment on our first house. We make roughly 60 to 65 thousand dollars a year. When I plugged it into your calculator online, it said that with a forty percent down payment, we could afford about a two hundred and eighty dollar home. However, where we are at, there's really no homes that start until about three hundred thousand. I was wondering what are your suggestions for us as we're trying to save for our first house?

Well, I think to say that there are no homes in Provo, Utah, below 300000 would be an inaccurate statement. We are more in rural Utah, kind of our closest big city. So when I looked at what I've been looking just for the past while just for fun and it looks like the ones that are around 250 kind of more price range or more like your trailer homes and whatnot.

Mm hmm. So I think you've just begun your quest. You you're in the early stages of gathering information, so, yeah, the yeah, I know, and I'm. I do not know that market extremely well in the sense that I can just quote numbers to you on what they're worth, the average home price in America is two hundred twenty five thousand dollars, and that does not trailer homes.

OK, that's the average in America. And the average household income in America is fifty nine thousand. So that's right where you are. I mean, that's you know, you're you're sixty thousand dollar income and you're looking at two hundred thousand dollar house give or take up to about a three hundred. So I think you're just on the at the beginning stage of the process and generally for your first home, what you're doing is you're looking for a starter home.

You're not looking for a mansion. And and so I think you're going to keep scratching and digging and looking at a lot of properties. And it may take you a little while to find the deal that does fit your numbers. But here's the thing. You cannot get in the business anywhere in your money situation of saying, oh, well, it costs that much and I don't have that much.

So I'm going to do it anyway, because math doesn't really count in my situation, Mathcounts, in every situation, math works in California, it works in Utah and it works in New York City. It even works in Tokyo and one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world. And you can't afford to live there, so not even rent with your income. So you just don't get a pass on math because of your situation. So you're either going to watch your incomes come up or you're going to find a bargain and you're going to shop around and learn a little bit more.

The interesting thing about real estate is, is that there's always another one. Yes, yes. Yeah, yeah.

And one thing I'm going to say on this one to Dave, let's just say that it's a case you cannot find a house within your budget. Then it means you're not getting a house right now until you can find one that's in your budget. And there's nothing wrong with renting until you either get your income up or until you find a house that is within your means.

Well, and again, real estate is the most fun about the real estate business is there's always something you just keep scratching around, turn over oxymoron out foreclosure, something that something that needs a little paint, little work. And, you know, your father in law, your husband jump in there and you jump in and you put a paintbrush on a I don't know.

Yeah, but, you know, there's a lot of ways to to get at this and but just to go, wow, you know, it's just too expensive.

And so math doesn't count Mathcounts. Yeah. I mean, you don't get a pass on it. I hope that helps open phones at eight eight eight to five five two to five Ryans in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Hey, Ryan, what's up? I just got a question. So my girlfriend, a girl in college, I was going to be a P.A. and I finally introduced her to Dave yourself about paying off college and all that. But I personally have no debt or nothing.

I just bought a house in September and I'm thinking because this is the girl I'm going to marry because I've dated her for six years, freshman year in high school. It's just not going to pay anything until we're married, like you say. Or do I save to pay that off or do I add more the extra money to my home loan right now? All right, let me help you out here, day may give you a different day in terms of how old are you, right.

I'm twenty one. How does your girlfriend. She's twenty one as well. Well, you're young, all right, so I like how you're thinking about the future, but I want you to stay with you right now. All right. So my thing is, I want you to work the baby steps for you. Don't start the baby steps for a potential down the road. All right. And I'm telling you that because I wish somebody would have told me that when I was your age at 21 years old.

I hear your heart for this young lady. I pray that you do get married and have all the dreams that you desire, but there is a strong possibility that it may not work. All right. So what I want you to do is attack the baby steps for yourself. So if you're paying off, you know, things on your end, you do that, OK, and then wait down a road for them.

Hmm. Good advice, Anthony. If if when he gets engaged, would you change that? It gets engaged. Will they change that? No, that's just me personally.

You want to save up money to pay off the coming debt from the road? No, I would. You would. Yeah, because when you have a date, you're engaged.

And if your fiancee and you have a date set and you say she's got 60000 thousand hours worth of debt, I'm going to pile up cash to get ready for that during that six or eight months or whatever before we get married.

Now, I'm not talking about vague engagement that we may get married someday and we just call it off. And we really are just not even you know, I'm talking about a set wedding date and, you know, within within a reasonable period of time. And I'm going to get ready for that. So when we come home from the honeymoon, because we've often told grooms to pile up or brides to pile up, cash to pay for the wedding. Well, and to pay upon coming home from the honeymoon, pay off her debt or pay on her debt.

Because the only reason why I would say no. But I'm breaking with you. I understand what you're saying only because this generation, they say yesterday and then they're they're dying tomorrow. And he paused their whole life for. Well, then you take the cash and throw it at the house. Exactly.

That's why I said I'm rocking with, you know, but if there's an engagement, I would not do it at this stage. Got you. Like, in his mind, it's inevitable. She said yes. Yeah. So not in the end. Even after she has. It's not inevitable. Right. So there we go. But that's your point.

All the young people out there looking at me like I actually agree with you, Anthony.

We're taking a poll from the studio audience and Anthony wins. OK, open phones at triple eight two five five two two five. You jump in, we'll talk about your life and your money. Anthony O'Neal joining us. He is the author of the number one bestselling book, Debt Free Degree.

Be sure and check his stuff out at YouTube. He's got a show called The Table that is incredible. New episodes every Monday. And you can check them out on YouTube, the table with Anthony O'Neal, all kinds of cool guests and conversations like this. Yeah, except I'm not been allowed on there. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. So this is the time of year when everyone starts setting goals, going to the gym, quitting smoking, losing weight.

Good for you. But what's equally important is making sure your family is taken care of by having term life insurance. Look, I've heard all the excuses, and I'm telling you, it's not expensive. It's not complicated. And you need to do this right now.

So stop whatever you're doing and go to Zanders website right now and get your family protected. It's an absolute necessity.

Thanks for joining us, America. Anthony O'Neal Ramsey personality is my co-host today, open phones, a triple eight eight two five five two two five.

We were made a dumb decision with zeroes on the end because you didn't do your research. Yeah, me too.

Most people make choices based on feelings or opinions, especially when they're buying a home. But this is a bad idea. And when it comes to real estate market, feelings are not your friend. Facts are. So check your facts. Find out what you can actually afford. Research what's trending in home prices. Talk to a reputable real estate agent in your area. Never buy a house without the facts. Text house two three three seven, eight, nine.

That's house two. Thirty three seven eighty nine. And we'll help you connect up with an agent.

You know, that's really what we should tell that young lady from Provo. We should have that she could get with an agent who would help her navigate that market instead of just bouncing around on websites, Zillow and everything else, trying to figure out what's going on and then declaring the trailer homes are the only thing under two fifty. Yeah, a good agent can help her navigate that and go, yeah, but there are these little neighborhood over here and there.

You can move out there and you go ten miles that way and they know the nuances of the market and can help move you in and out of the home. And that makes a big difference. Thing is this, if you're going to buy a property and you've been through this a couple of times and I bought a lot of real estate over the years, but, you know, I'm looking at a property right now of a vacation home situation. And what I did what I've done is I have actually I'm such a nerd.

I enjoy the research.

And so I go to every neighborhood, look at every house, start looking at the square footage. You start looking at what drives prices in those areas, starting with a square foot price. Look at the features and what is it in that in that market, what's different and what's new. And and just learn the way people think when they're doing that market, because that's what drives prices. Yes. And then you start to figure out, OK, well, they're paying for prestige in that neighborhood, OK, in that neighborhood, they're paying for the access to the beach and that neighborhood they're paying.

You know, and you can see what's the different things are moving around in the market and you begin. But all that comes from options and options and studying and studying and studying and studying. So you don't look at three houses and buy a house. You'll go on three dates and get married. Right.

So you need to go and look at some property you need, not just online, because I got to tell you, man, there's so many people taking pictures are really good with their picture taking.

And when you get there, you're going, oh, is this the same house now? Yeah. And you got to be kidding me. How that backyard shrink that much. And so, you know, that camera angle worked on that one. Yeah. Oh yeah. So it's just like that girl's not that pretty. So there you go.

In a day. That's a good one. Right, that you know, I like that. You just get in there and you go visit the properties and you begin to get you start to figure out what's driving the pricing. Yes.

The location, the traffic, the school.

What is it what's what's the what's the big draw that's that's making this property. OK, well, what if I move, you know. Twenty five percent off of that off of that issue and I move over here. Well, maybe schools aren't important to you. Maybe you're retired.

Yeah. You know, my shiatsu does not need to go to school. Right. So I'm pretty good on school systems. I couldn't give up less on where the school system is from my personal residence because I'm not going to have it. You know, I'm not going to be have any kids go to school there. So, you know, that's not a driver driving point, but so school's driving the price up and I'm probably not in that neighborhood.

Oh, yeah. Unless for some other reason for me to be in there.

But I mean, that's not my motivator, is my point. So you just start to look at things through that lens and do do your dadgum research. Yeah. And if you know you're not good at doing the research, that's why you reach out to one of our pros and able will do all the research for you.

Well, and they'll take you around. I mean, you got to you you need to get your arms around what's happening. Yes. And the pro can guide you in doing that. I don't want somebody else to do your thinking for you. Exactly. But but the. Yeah, you need to you know, you need a test drive. I mean, same thing with the car. You don't just go buy a car. You've never driven. Absolutely.

No. I mean, never driven that model. I've I've driven that make and model and everything else. I know the car inside and out that I don't have to drive it to buy it. I mean, I understand. I'm fine. Just deliver the thing. It's OK.

But if you've never driven that kind of, you know, a pickup that pick up that particular model, it don't go by one till you've driven it. I mean, that's just not that's common sense. Yeah.

And yet people get all wired up and fired up emotionally and jump on stuff and start making all these assumptions about, well, it's just the way it is in our world. You don't understand. You're you're a boomer. You don't get it. Yeah.

So but turns out I do. Figure. Kelly's with us in Seattle. Hi, Kelly, welcome to The Dave Ramsey Show. Hello. Hey, what's up?

So my husband and I are in baby step number two. We we have a total of three mortgages, so we have the home that we currently live in. And then we have two rental properties, both with mortgages on them. And one of the homes is older. And we're trying to debate on whether or not we sell that one. Why did you tell me why did you tell me it was older? Does that mean you probably wouldn't care? As soon as we thought it would be like.

It's not the one you would keep because it's probably not a great property over the next 10 years. Is that why you told me it's.

Well, as soon as we committed to the baby steps and the saving and setting aside, we had the savings and everything, that everything started breaking.

That's like the law of Financial Peace University. Soon as you start the clash, your transmission goes out. I mean, it's just the way it is. Oh, really?

Right. I'm sorry.

Well, so the question is, what's the house that you're thinking about selling worth about three hundred and twenty five thousand. OK, and what do you owe on it?

One hundred and twenty seven thousand. How much do you have? So we are we have twenty thousand dollars we owe on our track and twenty six thousand dollars we owe on our tractor.

OK, so 50 cents now since November 1st, we've so far we paid off fifteen thousand dollars. That was in credit card debt.

OK, the three hundred fifty thousand dollar old house work stuff breaking. And all of this discussion aside, if you just put that house in your mind and you go back ten years from now, is the 10 year now from now? Kelly, happy with the current Kelly for keeping that house?

Mm hmm.

I don't know. I have it was it was my husband and I got it. I have a lot of emotional attachment to it.

I wasn't what I asked what I asked is ten years from now, are you going to be really feeling wise, smart, happy because you kept this house? And if we stay on track, yes, OK, then I'll probably keep it. Just work your way through. OK, but I mean, OK, I've owned I've owned things that I look out into the future me and I'm going the future me thinks the current me stupid if I don't get rid of this thing, you know, I mean, you can kind of look at it and think that.

Right. And that might not be true on this house. And it sounds like it's not. So that's cool. But I mean, I look at some of the stuff and I'm going I'm just going to throw that away. Why have I been storing that for two years?

You know, that just needs to leave. I need to have a minimalist moment here and start cleaning out crap, you know, because I just we're all pack rats in our lives.

And you can do that with big items and you can do that with investments and, you know, with all kinds of things. You just go just because you've got it doesn't mean you have to keep it. I agree. Look into the future and go. But it sounds like that the future is happy with you for keeping it. So I'm fine with that too. That's an OK answer. Then you would keep it and you would go forward. Now, it sounds like she's happy keeping it because of the emotional tie, not because of the financial investment.

I think she's really tied to this house emotionally.

OK, well, that would be a mistake if that's the only reason. But I'm guessing, too, that it's probably a mystery for 2000. Our house. It's not a it's not a bombshell.

Yeah, not a bad house at all. Yeah. So this is not a this not slumlord here now. It's not. So I'm thinking the thing's got to be making some money. I'm just not sure she got good equity in it too. So. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. I'm kind of counting on her. Right. I see. To manage her emotions and her financial you go by looking into the future. That was my that was my play there.

I don't know if it worked, but that was my play. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Free at last, it was one of the best decisions of my life. That's what Neil M. said about using time-Share exit team to get out of his timeshare after the resort refused to let him out. Listen, I've said it before. If you've tried selling your timeshare and can't. If the resort refuses to take it back, call time share exit team.

The people I trust call eight four four nine nine nine exit or time-Share exit team dot com.

Anthony O'Neal Ramsey personality is my co-host today here on the air. This is The Dave Ramsey Show in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the debt free stage. Roger is with us. Hey, Roger, welcome to the show I had. How are you? Better than I deserve. Good to have you. Where do you live? San Francisco. Oh, wow. Bit of a trip over to Tennessee. Yeah, but I definitely ought to come out and try all these fresh cookies that you kept mentioning on the show.

Well, they are pretty good bait. They will lure in lots of people. I've noticed. So. So you're here to do a debt free scream. How much have you paid off? Fifty one thousand dollars and fifty one thousand ninety two. Mm hmm. And how long did it take? You take me 16 months.

Six months. Way to go. And your range of income during that time.

About seventy six thousand to ninety three thousand. Very good. What you do for a living. I'm in health, health and safety consultant for a worker's compensation company. Oh, very good.

OK, so what kind of debt was the fifty one thousand dollar. Yeah.

So I had about six thousand dollars left on my car, about 7500 from a debt consolidation from previous credit cards. And then the rest of it actually was all spread amongst like five other different credit cards. So one of the main reasons why I wanted to come up here and do this debt free scream is because I didn't really find a lot of other people that didn't have, you know, that weren't working to pay off debt. That wasn't any student loan.

So, you know, I felt a little bit embarrassed that, you know, a lot of that was on student loans because everyone else I've heard had it. But, you know, it's just a really bad consumer. But it's great to finally own up to it and, you know, finally have it all paid off.

I love it. Well, this is the completion of the healing. I love it. Well, congratulations, sir. How old are you, Roger? Thirty three years old. What was the hardest thing throughout this process? For me, the hardest thing was just saying no. So many of my friends just wanted to keep enabling me and just I'm not the kind of person who likes to say no. And so that was just the biggest part. And then really the other second part thing was really just trying to build a momentum.

And I'm sticking to the budget, I think was the really difficult part.

So what happened that caused you to decide to do this? What was the process?

Yeah, so I basically had my I've had it moment. And so being in San Francisco actually had the opportunity to interview for something in Los Angeles. At this point, my finances had kind of caught up to me and I was kind of starting to feel the weight of it. And so instead of shelling out for my flight, I decided to take a bus. And then I said that I would rent a car to go to the job interview, come back and then take the bus back home.

So I took the bus, I got to the rental car, but I noticed that in my wallet I only had the credit card that I had already maxed out. And so going to the credit card company, I knew that they weren't going to accept that credit card because it's maxed out. And so when I got there, I told them that, you know, I didn't have any credit card and or or any money, like a debit card to possibly do the rental.

And then and then, you know, they swipe it. And then I said denied. And so I was kind of in a pinch. And so luckily, my Uber app still had my other credit card that wasn't maxed out, saved on there. And I was able to do the job interview and then come back. But I was just so embarrassed and I you know, I felt like I needed to do a change. And so that night I when I got back, I added up everything and I found out just how much actual consumer debt I had.

And I was really scared. And so, you know, I had Google search, you know, debt consolidation and, you know, like how to get out of debt. And obviously, you know, Dave Ramsey shows up. And so that's how I started that journey six months ago. Good for you. Well done. Well done. Yeah, there's. There's a lot of emotions that are gross, embarrassment might be one of the most gross ones.

Mm hmm. I can't stand I can't, especially when it's my fault. Mm hmm. That's just awful. Yeah.

And I've been right exactly. In that situation where you get your card tonight and you can't you can't move around, you're stuck. And man, that broke feeling. And so I was traveling a little while back and we're staying and it's really nice resort.

And I walk up the counter and my card had apparently hit the algorithm and my debit card had hit the algorithm for fraud. And so the bank had shut it down, unbeknownst to me. So I go up there and I can't check into this hotel now.

I've got plenty of money, but that don't. But that activated these emotions down inside. Remember when I was going when I was broke and I could, you know, and the embarrassment of not being able do that and I got so mad. Oh, yeah.

And all it was, was that those old emotions from from being broke and being embarrassed were down inside of me.

And I had to I had to call the banker back and apologize after I called her the first time. So about my bad card getting cut off for no freaking reason and leave me stranded out here. So, yeah, it's the same thing that that'll get you going. And you had you definitely had a never again moment. That definitely very cool. So, you know, you found us on. Go ahead. I'm sorry. Go ahead, Dave.

You're fine. OK, thank you, Dave.

So you went through all this embarrassment, you paid off all this debt. How do you feel now? I'm just so curious about that. Like, you have a lot of energy on stage right now. So I'm like, how do you feel? What's next for this young man?

You know, it's still a very surreal feeling. You know, it's it's really weird. Like, I think one of the things that gets to me is sometimes I'll hop in my car, start driving to work, and then I just think, like, I actually own this whole car.

It's hard for me to just embrace that idea, you know, like this whole thing is the reason why I have, like, a positive net worth right now, you know? So, you know, instead of knowing that, you know, the bank is going to be asking me for more money, you know, being upside down or something like that. But then also the other thing is it's very true. What you guys mentioned is that, you know, it feels like I have a raise now because now that I've learned to budget now and know how to plan for my money, I mean, I'm not rich, obviously, but I definitely feel like there's a lot more than I can afford now.

And I know that, Dave, you say, you know, right now you're better than you deserve, but right now I feel like I can afford what I deserve now. And so that's really like. Yeah, that's how it feels right now. It's a sense of power. That's that's very good. Good for you.

I like that statement we made. We made it so that I can afford what I deserve. Yeah, I like that. Yeah. And if you can't afford it, you don't deserve it.

Definitely. Yeah. That's good man. Well done. Well done. So the credit cards are all cut up.

Mm hmm. Well you ever go back in debt. Oh no. I was, it was great because I planned this whole trip with, with my debit card and then also I made sure to go dollar to get my my car rental. And I did it with a debit card. So it felt, you know, it felt really nice to know that I was still secure with a debit card, just like you said.

And when you go into the Nashville airport with Dollar, with us endorsing them, they definitely know what's going on. And they got it. They got to figure it out for sure. They're so well done, guys. Well done. And I'm proud of you. That's just beautiful.

We've got a copy of Chris Hogan's book for you every day, millionaires. And that's the next chapter in your story for real. And we're very well done. Proud of you.

Yeah. Thanks, Dave. If you don't mind, I'd like to like to thank my biggest cheerleader, actually. Who's that? So my biggest cheerleader is about my now fiancee, Monica.

Who? The trip all the way out here to Nashville with me. All right, it's actually funny because I was maybe like a year into, you know, the plan and I was trying to go Dave ish instead by creating a sinking fund to actually save for her engagement ring. And then when she found out about that, she's like, what would Uncle Dave say? And then, oh, like, OK, I'll I guess I'll just throw that actually towards my dad.

And that's the reason why I was able to get out faster than I originally planned.

So I like her. Yeah, definitely. You can teach other young ladies like yourself. Yeah. Yeah. And then, you know, the biggest thing about her cheering for me was we were only together for maybe three or four months before I really came out to tell her about just how much of that I actually had and knowing that she was going to put off a lot of that honeymoon feeling of, you know, spending money, you know, in the early goings of a relationship.

And her sticking with me through that to, you know, where I am now today, I just really want to thank her for, you know, not having those fancy dates that most other people might usually. So, yeah. And she's still in San Francisco. They're not cheap either. Oh, no. Yeah, well done.

Well done, sir. Proud of you. Good work. Good work. All right. Roger from San Francisco. Fifty one thousand paid off in six months, making seventy six to ninety three. It was everything. He was normal. And now he's we're counted down. Let's hear a debt free scream. Three to one debt free.

Yeah. We go man, boy to go, that's awesome. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Anthony O'Neal Ramsey personality is my co-host today. I'm Dave Ramsey. Open phones at Elite eight two five five two two five. Brian is in Syracuse, New York. Hi, Brian. Welcome to the show.

Hey, good afternoon, Dave. Thanks for giving me some of your time here this afternoon. Sure. What's up? Yeah, I had a question for you. Luckily, my financial adviser was already on a similar mindset as yourself before I started listening to you. My wife and I recently had purchased a home in twenty twenty and we also had a baby the month prior to that. So we were already on the debt snowball method. We have about one hundred nineteen thousand dollars in a referred to as bad debt, student loans and vehicles.

And then our home mortgage is about one hundred and thirty seven remaining at the moment. So my question to you is, we have about ten thousand dollars in savings. Do you think? And you know, the debt snowball method, thousands of that should be going to savings and names for debt. My wife has a little apprehension about that. Should we be putting 9000 to tend towards our debt or should we keep that to the side now that we have a baby?

And then the second answer to that question is, with our tax return coming up now with a home and a baby, hopefully a good return back, should we also be putting that all towards student loan debt? I mean, absolutely, Bryan.

This is Anthony. And I understand, you know, both you and your wife's hesitation and why. But, baby, that one was not made and baby step two was not made to be comfortable.

One and two, we want you to be uncomfortable so you can get out of it quicker. And so, yes, I was in your shoes. I didn't have six figures of debt, but I had a lot of debt and I put all of my savings towards it. I put all of the extra income towards it. I put my tax return towards it as well. I mean, what you'll see is that when you to get Cazale intense, when you really get focused, you always get out of it much quicker and get to baby three, which is three to six months.

So I would absolutely put all of your money, all of your extra money towards it. Now they say something happens to the baby and you need to pause that. That is totally OK. We want you to take care of your family and protect your family. But at the same time, right now, if everything is going well, yes, attack attack it fiercely and put all extra money towards it. Put your household income.

I would say their household incomes are under 130 to 150. My wife's a teacher and I work in an outside medical cell. So in the last 12 to 18 months, my income's increased about 30 percent now that I'm actually in the industry a little bit longer and build built a client base. So getting back to my initial comment about a year and a half ago, we started the debt snowball method with my financial adviser. Then I started listening to you, oddly enough, right?

We had our baby now that I work from home, had Sirius XM on and a lot of his mindset aligns with yours. We already had term life insurance. We're already on the billboard message. But now that I've got more income, we have more savings, which is great.

So you said you're your total consumer debt on the car and the student loans, whatever it was, was 119.

Yes, we've got two vehicles and then our student loan debt combined. What do you own? The vehicles? The vehicles is about 18 and 15 to about thirty three to thirty five thousand between the two of us.

OK, that's good news. All right. Well, here's the thing I try to do, just big mouth, big mouth, I call it, and say, OK, I make 130 heading towards one hundred and fifty if I pay 60000 of that towards debt.

Because I'm unbelievably intense and focused than I'm done in two years. Right, and I just look at it, that that's that helps me to get my head around, OK? I'm not suggesting that. You walk around with a baby and raise a family with a thousand dollars in the bank as your way of life over the next decade, but as a short term mechanism to be all in to be committed beyond belief. And a little bit of that is what Anthony says is the fear of not having that money.

But ten thousand is not going to help you anyway. It's not I mean, that's that's a small, small emergency, too. So, you know, it'll help more than it'll help more than not having it. But it's. Yeah.

When you can see that we're going to do this, we're going to do this with great focused intensity and it's going to be twenty four months.

We're going to be done or it's going to be 19 months and we're going to be done or whatever the number ends up being. Then you can go, OK, I can hold my breath that long and then when we don't have any payments but a house payment.

Oh my goodness. Then you put that emergency fund in place and I blink, then take time at home because you're used to living on nothing and you're used to pawn everything on that debt and you turn and pour it on to that emergency fund.

That baby step three usually goes really fast for people because they're so they got so much momentum.

Yes. And they've been living on nothing. Coming off that higher paying off your debt. Now you want to see all that money. Your savings account is is it's amazing. Yeah, that's very good. Very good. Good job, man. Well done.

And congrats on the new baby. Zach is in Marion, Illinois. Hi, Zach.

Welcome to The Dave Ramsey Show. I do have a quick question for you sort of listen to, but a month ago, my wife and I are on baby step two. We have about twenty one thousand in debt that I should have paid off by late summer. Good. But my bigger issue is, is we made the mistake about six years ago and I bought a manufactured home and actually put it on some land that we owned. At the time, it seemed like a good idea.

But now that I'm a little older, realizing that it was probably a terrible idea and it's losing value, I'm in it. So I just didn't know if I should move now or stay a little bit longer and take it all off and then move or what you're taking now.

So would you build on your land if you got rid of it? I think I would just sell the land and the whole package deal and just start fresh. Yeah, OK. All right, that's fine. Well, I mean, the bottom line is, what are you what's the thing worth today? About one hundred, including the land, right? Correct. Now, what's the what's the land worth without the thing on it? Probably 12 to 15000.

OK, so this is an expensive trailer.

Yes, but a brand new and different.

OK, so you got like seventy eighty thousand dollars worth. OK, so 10 years from now, that seventy eighty thousand dollars is not going to be worth seventy or eighty thousand.

Agreed. Agree versus if you had the exact same amount of property in a traditional home, it would go up in value instead of down in value. Agreed. Yeah, that's my main reason for wanting to get out of this. I just now realized that I really delaying it or getting it paid off just means you're going to lose more money.

So, I mean, there's no emergency, nothing is on fire, but I'm going to start talking about having this thing out of my life in the next 12, 14 months. That was my plan. I just wanted to kind of get your take on it, because I guess I should be on least through the summer and then I don't have a lot of other debt. So, yeah, absolutely.

I mean, I'm not a snob. This has nothing to do with I hate, you know, trailers or something like that. That's not the point. Mobile homes are manufactured housing, whatever euphemism you want to put on the thing. What I don't like is owning things that go down in value when I have an alternative to spend very similar dollars into something that goes up in value. And so that's what it comes down to. And so, you know, people mobile home, what do you hate us in the mobile home business?

I don't hate you. I just think your stuff goes down in value. I mean, it's pretty simple. And so, you know, it's I don't want to and I'm not going to tell people. But if it goes down in value. Yeah. And and a friend of mine owns a huge mobile home business, even though we do.

Even if you pay cash for it. Right. That goes down in value.

Yeah. I mean goes down in value. So why not pay cash for, you know, you know, the something that goes up in value that was very big where I grew up in a country like. Oh absolutely.

They're everywhere. Me too. Me too. And so it's not it's not a snobbery thing.

It's just a matter of mathematics and just goes one goes up in value, one goes down value, choose a you know, let's choose the right choice. And that's that's what he's doing. That's all he's talking about. Yes. So it's not a matter of we're angry at someone like that or something, but, you know, and it's honestly cheaper to rent. It is than it is for for the thing to go down in value and pay payments on it, buy a car you sleep in.

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