The Ramsey Show Live From Chicago

Normal is broken, common sense is weird.

So we're here to help you transform your life from the Ramsey Network live in the den in Chicago.

This is the Ramsey Show.

Wow.

Wow.

How about this?

So good to be here, you guys.

this is amazing.

So, first of all, we're super, super glad that you all are here.

We're going to have a fun time tonight, yes?

Yeah.

I'm in Chicago.

I got to have some deep dish.

Ken, we got a

special

thing for you.

What do we got?

Tavern or is it actual deep dish?

Well, now this is Lou Malnatti's here.

All right.

Shout out.

Shout out to Louis.

Would you like a slice, Ken?

I'm going to get a slice.

All right.

Rachel, would you like a slice?

I mean, sure, if we're all here, I'm going to be a gentleman.

You want to give that to Rachel?

Not partake.

Pass it down.

Here, yeah, yeah.

Ladies, free.

Let me have one.

Let me have one.

Too much.

I had a gluten-free one downstairs.

Don't worry.

It was delicious.

Trust me, George's already had a show.

You had a gluten-free one?

Yeah.

They crush it.

Special.

Fun fact, I once ordered 67

deep dish pizzas from Lumal Nati's to Financial Peace Plaza headquarters.

It's on ice.

Wow.

Did you really?

Yeah.

Too good.

Okay.

You know, we're here to do a show.

Apparently.

And we are here to have some fun and we're going to answer some questions.

So let's get to our first live question.

Let's bring our guest up here.

Tell us your name and where you are from.

There she is, I believe.

Or they.

Oh, is this a couple question?

Yes.

We love it.

We don't get this on the show.

Beware.

We don't get to do this on the show.

All right.

Tell us your names and where you're from and get to your question.

I'm Shay.

I'm Arnold.

We're from Portage, Indiana.

Our question is, my mom occasionally asked us to borrow money, even though her household income is higher than ours.

So what are some tips or help to help her budget?

Oh, man.

She's not asking for budgeting help, is she?

She's asking for money.

Okay, I think this is one of the hardest lessons to learn in life.

And I think it took me thousands of dollars of therapy

for this to like settle in and realize you can't change people.

As much as you guys want her to do X, Y, and Z, as much as you want her to budget, live on lessons she makes, all the things, unless she wants it, it's not going to happen.

So, it's either in my head, a pretty strong boundary of a conversation that's probably really hard.

Of like, mom, I love you, but we have a set plan for our income right now that has to go to this.

We're not going to be able to help you in the future as of now or forever, whatever you want to say, right?

Um, and/or, hey, mom, would you be curious to learn or probably not to learn?

It's probably a little patronizing, but like, would you like to find a new way to handle your money?

Things that have worked for us, if you're curious about that, let me know and you can kind of open the door for her to walk through.

But it's hard, and we get this question a lot with families because you're wanting them to not only change,

but now in your case, they're like asking you for money, right?

And so there's a boundary that has to be.

All right, so Rachel's the nicest one of all of us.

And I'll agree.

And I think Rachel's right, but I think that's step two.

Step one is: whose mom is it?

Mine.

Mom,

no more.

You're a grown blank woman.

This is nuts.

And I'm putting a boundary up.

This is not happening anymore.

Here's why.

You don't have to attack her, but you talk about your reasons and what it's causing for you.

And at some point, you're going, by the way, you're getting to that age, and I'm really at that age.

where

you become the parent and the parent becomes the child.

This is a function of life.

And I don't know how old she is, but it's headed that direction anyway.

And this is causing strife for you.

Yes or no?

Yeah.

All right.

So, no, mom, never again.

It stops.

Never again.

I'm putting up a boundary.

Then you go to step two.

But this is, this is not okay.

And I know you're smiling about it, but I hope you walk away empowered tonight because you got to tell her to grow up.

Are you guys on the same page with it?

Like, are you both annoyed?

Like, yeah, okay.

It puts you on an.

It's his mother-in-law.

That guy is steaming Willie Beamer.

you can well here's the thing you can tell her that's maybe also kind is i love you i'm your daughter i don't want to become your lender i care about our relationship too much for it to become a business transaction and now you don't want to talk to me because you know you owe me money i want to come over for thanksgiving and give you a hug and sit down and talk about anything else other than the money you owe me And that's what really happens on the Ramsey show.

You can send her calls if things gone awry, but I do think that it starts with you saying no in love and then getting to the root of it if she's willing.

And one day she might be.

Today might not be that day, but one day when she truly needs help and she sees the way you guys have been living, she's going to say, Tell me more about how you did it.

That's the day you can start to introduce some of our principles and teaching to her.

Are you prepared emotionally for her to get really pissed off and cut you off for a season?

He's shaking his head.

No.

Oh, she won't do that.

No, because I, the last time it was like more assertive, like, why would I give this to you?

or if I give this to you when are you gonna learn so a little more mean than I have been

but she wouldn't cut me off okay well that's great that's a good have you been giving her money thus far

yeah how many times how much total oh boy I'd say like twice a year and it can range from a couple hundred to her refrigerator broke so like a thousand or two and she has she ever paid you back she's always paid me back how how what time frame is it an agreed last time was the next day which makes me most angry because you should not be that tight with money.

Was it like, hey, I just need to get to the next paycheck and I'll pay you?

Probably tomorrow, yeah.

So you're her payday lender, essentially.

Yeah.

What is this causing for you, young man?

You need to, your wife needs to hear this.

This is your moment.

You stood up.

What kind of stress is this causing?

Step towards the mic.

Step towards the mic.

Step towards the light, my friend.

I'm so excited.

Do you want pizza?

Do you want the pizza?

We'll give you it.

Get out.

Get out of the situation.

Rachel only had two bites.

I'll give her her slice if you tell the truth.

So you said.

Get up on the mic.

Get up on the mic.

You said, what kind of stress does it cause?

What's it doing to you?

It like puts me in the middle because

I want to, you know, we, the Bible says we're the lenders, not the borrowers.

So I want to be that, but not every time.

And I don't want to be,

you know, the only soul, you know, every time they're coming to us saying, hey, we need this.

So it kind of puts me in the middle when I'm like, it's your mom, but we shouldn't be doing this.

So it's hard.

Yeah, it's So, are you prepared tonight, ma'am,

to draw a line in the sand?

Yeah.

Why are you smiling and laughing so?

Because it's hard to explain.

Because I've tried, so I've bought her every dollar.

Get up on the mic.

We got to be able to hear.

I've already done all the things.

I've bought her every dollar.

I've tried.

We talk about it.

They work together.

So, like, they talk about every single thing she knows.

You work with your mother-in-law?

That's how we met.

Oh, wow.

So, So we've done all those.

Like the next thing would be like inviting her over secretly and just for nine weeks straight doing financial peace.

That's called staging an intervention.

I would have snacks.

I would have fun stuff.

No.

Snacks.

But

a no would be easy.

So it's not that.

It's just like.

She told you how to clear her.

She doesn't want help in that regard.

But like, I want to help her.

That's right.

That's right.

You want her to help herself.

Yeah, right.

I'm more of like step one.

Yes.

You're an idiot.

It's like it is together.

Yes.

So I'm more like on the how do I help her step.

Yeah, first of all, I did not say that she's an idiot.

No, I did.

I did.

Yeah, and I and I think honestly the

idiotic behavior is you.

Helping her.

Yeah, and I'm not calling you an idiot.

That's okay.

All right, the crowd's like, ooh.

But...

But I'm saying if I was going to label some really dumb behavior, it's actually you.

She's broken.

You're not broken.

Gotcha.

And she's going to have to hit rock bottom financially.

I hate to say this

for you to be able to get through to her.

So I do think it's a clear boundary.

Love.

I'm going to be your daughter, not your lender.

Son-in-law, this is a weird deal because she's like in the cube next to you doing TPS reports.

You're going to have to figure this out too.

So you guys got to come together in very clear boundaries here.

And mom needs to get a very clear but kind message.

This is over forever.

And at that point, you're going to have to move on.

It may not be ugly in that she cuts you off, but she's going to come back, by the way.

I don't think she's going to get this stern message the first time.

Gotcha.

So what are you going to do?

You got to prepare for that when she comes back a second, a third, a fourth, and maybe even a fifth time.

Gotcha.

So you guys are brave.

Thanks for standing up and asking this question.

Y'all give them some love.

So good.

And let me say this too.

The borrowing is different than the giving, right?

So both need boundaries around it.

But when you are lending money and expecting to be paid back, like that's a no all the way around.

Now, if there's a giving element and there's a family member, a friend, whatever, and you as a couple decide that we're in a good place financially, we feel like, yes, we can do this.

We want to do this.

We feel like they really, truly need help.

It's not creating, you know, this sense of like entitlements.

And we choose to give it, that's a whole other prerogative.

So there is a difference between the giving and the lending.

So I would cut the lending off hardcore right now today, 100%.

And probably the giving.

I think there's an element of that.

That's all true.

Yeah, the question asks, am I enabling misbehavior or am I helping someone who's hurting right now?

And there's a big difference.

And clearly, this is a long pattern of misbehavior on mom's part.

Yes.

And this is awkward, but I have a very personal experience with this with George years ago when George wasn't making very much money at Ramsey, he asked me if I would front him some money for a very expensive blow dryer, and I had to say no.

He's got a great head of hair.

I thought Ken would know what the best blow dryer is.

So we got through it, though, didn't we?

We did.

We salvaged the relationship.

And we're here to tell about it.

I must tell you, we've been talking about this.

segment of the show for a couple of weeks.

We're going to do a settle the debate, and we've got a brave couple here

who is going to jump in and we are going to settle the debate.

Now, how many of you love Judge Judy?

Do we got any Judge Judy fans in here?

She's great.

Yeah.

Honestly, not as many as I thought.

How many of you are familiar with the Supreme Court?

Let's hear from you.

Judge Coleman presiding?

Well, no, it's the three of us.

So we are a mini Supreme Court

on this decision.

And so we're going to hear this case.

We will ask questions.

You all can applaud, moan,

laugh, weigh in with your reaction, and then we shall decide.

Are you ready, John?

I can't.

All right, young couple, tell us your names and where you're from.

Hi, I'm Jenny.

And I'm Jake, and we are from Valparaiso, Indiana.

Okay, Jenny and Jake, give them some love.

This is praise.

Okay.

I don't know who is speaking for you or if you're both speaking, but please give us this argument.

What is happening with you two?

We have the age-old debate.

I'm a spender.

He's a saver.

He thinks I should spend less.

I think he should relax and let me spend.

And also, he needs to start spending a little bit, maybe too.

But I think to add some context here,

we are not quite in step seven.

So I think the gazelle intensity should persist.

What step are you on?

Four, five, six.

Okay, boy, the crowd's turning on you fast.

This is not going to go my way.

These people over here are already ready to throw pizza at you.

Okay, what are you wanting to spend on specifically?

Is it lifestyle?

Is it restaurants?

Is it vacation?

Is it what new car?

Like, what's the thing you're doing?

Is it $20,000?

Is it $200?

That's fair.

Vacations,

clothes, just Amazon.

A cute sweater and a cart.

Nothing like big.

I don't care about cars.

I don't care about...

Okay, so it's like we have a number.

An extra, like, what, 400 bucks a month or something?

Yeah, that's a good number.

Okay.

Oh, wait a second.

You agreed to that too quickly.

Is that really what you want?

An extra $400?

By the way, she already gets that.

I don't know.

Wow, she gets that?

I'm going to ask you because this is the Ramsey show.

How much y'all make a year?

This is.

Just shy of like 160.

Okay.

Both of you working outside?

Just me.

Just careful.

Careful.

She's working in the home.

The the way he said that

what are their ages

what what are their ages

seven five three six months oh my gosh give her the money

how are you even here tonight

it wasn't easy god bless your ministry how much did you did you pay a babysitter no her parents there we go this guy's not paying for babysitters

knew it okay so you have a baby step six goal to pay off the house early Okay.

I already have that set.

That'll be done in five years.

Good.

And in your mind, is that extra $400 that should go to the house versus to her lifestyle?

Why not do it faster?

Okay, listen,

I'm a tight wad at heart.

How many tight wads are out there?

Thank you for making yourselves known.

Here's the deal.

This is where you lost the audience.

You said, we got to keep up the gazelle intensity.

Guys, gazelle intensity happens in.

One through third.

Not for this cyborg.

Once you're through getting out of debt, debt, you got the emergency fund, we move from intensity to intentionality, which means we can let our foot off the gas a little bit.

We can increase the sinking fund for vacations and upgrading the car in cash and buying clothes on Amazon if that's what you so choose.

So I think there's going to be a split here.

You're on track to do the house.

Let's move some funds over to let her enjoy her life while she maniacally gets her.

Five years is a great goal.

I mean, five years each your house paid off.

Five years house paid off.

Because

how old are you guys?

35.

You build a paid off house at the age of 40.

Incredible.

Debt-free.

Debt-free completely.

I have a couple questions here.

I'm not ready to decide yet.

You said that.

I'm locking in my vote, Bob.

Jake, you said, have you already decided, Jake?

Yeah, I'm locking in my vote.

Okay,

Jeopardy?

I said, Bob.

Is that price is right?

I'm mixing my book.

I don't know.

I don't know.

I need more information.

Jake, you said that you already give her $400 a month.

Is that like just blow money?

Yes or no?

I do the budget.

So she does the budget.

And so the numbers are all moved to where they need to be moved to.

We're $0.

No, no, but you said I don't give her the money necessarily, right?

It's like a weird thing.

But she gets $400 for whatever Jenny wants.

Sure.

I would say it probably averages out to that.

Jenny, on the mic, please.

Do you concur with this information that you get round about 400 bucks a month to do whatever Jenny wants with?

Yeah, I mean, I make the budget.

He doesn't even want to look at it and I do all of it.

I'm the spender, but I'm also the nerd.

Boy, you are in business.

I love a budget.

I love a budget.

I get it.

Okay, so here's the deal.

So you're asking for, we're settling a debate.

Should you get more spending money?

And Rachel asked you.

And he can spend a little bit.

He needs to spend.

Well,

he needs to, but he won't.

Okay?

That guy is not, he squeaks when he walks.

All right,

I'm just telling you, yeah.

And listen, there's no problem with that, brother.

I'm just calling balls and strikes.

All right, Jenny, how much more money are you saying you would like to allocate to the Jenny have a fun day because she has four kids fund?

I'm actually happy with the spending.

I just want it to be like not him like having a side.

It's the purchasing.

Oh,

side eye.

Like, amount is fine.

It's It's every time an Amazon package.

Why are you getting guac with that?

Oh, no!

Now, Jake has something to say.

Jake's got something to say.

Go ahead.

Now I'm just being libeled.

This is.

Are you telling me that's fake news?

You've never said anything like that.

Have you done a side-eye when she spends the $400?

Well, yeah, when there's package after package after package.

Is it in the $400?

I'm thinking, I have no idea.

I have no idea how to do it.

You know why you don't know?

Because you're not in the budget.

Right.

So you're not, you have no skin in a game, but you're Mr.

Opinion.

Well,

I know.

It's why I'm the judge.

I'm on fire, people.

I just think

if I were also a spender, we would be paying off our mortgage in eight, nine, ten years from now as opposed to the five.

So no, you can't.

Someone has to write it in.

I am now ready to rule.

Any other questions?

I just want to, I'm trying to play devil's

advocate here.

Who breaks down the boxes?

Every time.

It's not even an attempt.

Are they thrown out in the garage?

No.

Just right in the walkway.

The worst possible spot you can do.

Can I tell you, I think that's the root cause of the rift in your relationship.

Is it's a part-time job for me breaking down Amazon boxes in my house.

And I'm tired of it.

George, that's very persistent.

If you bought it, you break it down.

Jenny.

Hey, I have a question.

Okay.

No, I don't agree with that.

Of course you don't.

I've spoken to someone who's never broken down a box in her life.

She's never had a splinter.

She doesn't even know what it is.

Look at these nails.

Look at these things.

That's big money right there.

You can't hide money.

How did you grow up with money?

Oh, I can tell you.

Yes.

Exactly like Ken's thinking.

Go ahead, tell us.

Yeah, tell us.

Okay.

needed, but nothing more, really.

Was it stressed?

Was there like a level of stress with it?

Okay, so I think the real issue, honestly, I think understanding what is going on.

Like we had a couple, some friends over, and they were, he was literally talking about how he got frustrated that she buys the nicer milk.

And she's like, I just don't get it.

Like, and they're fine financially, all this stuff, but she, do y'all relate?

You get that?

Where it's like, why?

This guy wants to do that.

But the reality was of, seriously, of what he viewed of money.

Like, there was a level of, a deeper level of security, fear.

Is everything going to be okay?

Right.

It's kind of these deeper questions that almost get triggered that you may not even realize.

And then for you, you feel shame and like, you feel bad and guilty with doing the plan, the plan that we've planned out.

And you're making me feel this way.

And so I don't feel like I have permission to enjoy the income of our household because I'm getting judged with every little purchase.

And that's probably hurtful, right?

So, so deep down in it, I think seeing each other.

two or three layers down of what's what's really really really going on under that but i do want you more involved with the major because i do think if you see it's within a controlled element, she's not out of control, right?

You're not, you guys aren't secretly deeply in debt, and she's not spending thousands and thousands of dollars.

So there's a control issue.

There's something else going on.

And so I, for you guys and your marriage, I think that, yeah, to kind of figure out, okay, what's really, what's really happening?

But I've got my vote locked up.

We'll start with you, madam.

I'm siding with you, lady.

What's your name again?

Jenny.

Jenny.

Oh, it's right there.

Sorry, Jenny.

That's a lady.

You're siding with Jenny.

I'm siding siding with Jenny.

I think that it's totally appropriate.

It does not feel out of bounds.

It doesn't sound a crazy percentage of your income.

It's a controlled matter.

You're doing the budget.

You're tracking in the every dollar app.

I mean, you know what's going on.

You have the freedom to spend.

Judge George, I've always wanted to say that.

Judge George.

It feels good.

The court has ruled.

I'm going to go with Jenny.

Caveat.

Jake must look at the budget and must find a hobby.

And more force a line item in budget to spend money.

Jenny will hold him accountable for spending said money.

Is that fair?

And

in response, Jenny must break down boxes for one month.

That's fair.

I'm fair.

That's a good ruling.

I'm tough, but I'm fair.

That's a good ruling.

I have to concur with my fellow judges.

Jake, to you, number one, you've been a good sport.

Number two, you're terrified.

No, I'm serious.

I'm looking at a young man who's been terrified his whole adult life because of what he grew up with money.

So I'm going to side with Jenny, but I'm going to tell you to, over the next 30 days, force yourself to have some conversations with people you trust, you feel very safe with, including Jenny, about your real fears of money.

I mean, real tangible fears at this point in your life, a young man who's doing a great job providing for his wife and those little kids, you're terrified.

And the thing that's going to help you is to confess what that fear is.

Number one, number two, you need to confess to her that you have not trusted trusted her like you need to trust her.

You've stayed out of the budget, so the trust is there to a degree, but the side eye and the bad attitude about the packages and all the things is a manifestation of the fact that you don't like the way that she spends.

And so we've got to get on the same page.

And as a guy who's 51, three kids that are teenagers, one's here in college in Chicago, and it goes like that.

I told Rachel today, the days are long, but the years are short.

And I'm going to tell you something.

If you're not careful, you're going to be fearful your entire kids' lives, and they're going to adopt that same view.

As opposed to you are not promised tomorrow, you better have some fun and make some freaking memories with Jenny and those babies.

Well, that's my ruling.

Thank you guys.

Thank you guys so much.

That was so good.

That takes a lot of bravery right there.

I want to do more of that.

Great job.

What?

Pastor Ken.

That was good.

Pastor Ken, rebuking the fear.

I'm telling you.

I love it.

That's what it is.

You pull it up.

Listen, though, quick shout out to Rachel.

You really helped me begin to see this on the show when you wrote your book, Know Yourself, Know Your Money.

And I give that book away all the time on the show.

You hear me do it to couples because that's the deal.

There's something else happening

in your book would save marriages from financial ruin.

So if you know a couple that struggle with money, get Rachel's book, Know Yourself, Know Your Money, and gift it to them.

It really does what we just did there.

So, and I want to say thanks to them.

That was fun.

All right, let's get to our next question.

Who do we got next?

This is fun.

Let's give them some love when they come up to the mic.

There we go.

Yeah.

Tell us your name and where you're from.

My name is Lynette.

I'm from a little town south of here called Odell.

My question is about the average person who's trying to make ends meet.

My husband and I are starting a financial class at our church next week.

I am also the outreach director at our church.

So I'm in our community.

I'm seeing the needs.

I run our church's food pantry, and people just aren't making it.

So, what is your number one bit of advice that I can go back and tell our people for someone who's struggling to make ends meet and lives paycheck to paycheck?

Give us a little bit more of an economic picture in that area.

How much of this, we know a lot of this is debt, we get that, but how much of this is a limited economy for people to move up?

Is it a low-wage area?

Is what I'm getting at?

Yes, I actually know the stats on that.

I think we're at 15% poverty level and below.

And then I'm not sure if you're familiar with the term ALICE, but it's income-limited asset con no, I'm sorry, asset-limited income-constrained, meaning they have no assets, and also the ability to make income is constrained.

Is that government housing?

We have some, yes.

We,

in addition to that, we're just losing government funding, so we lost our rural transit in our area for low-income people.

It's just kind of sad.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's hard.

That's tough.

Kind of sad for us.

Not us, but our community.

But your community.

That's right.

Yes.

Absolutely.

Well, yeah, I kind of partial the two conversations.

I do think there's a real poverty conversation that they're in very, a very, very, very difficult situation.

And then you have another group that's just living the middle-class lifestyle in general and where their expectations are for lifestyle.

So I would probably tackle tackle those two different things, probably differently, probably what I would say.

But I would speak probably more to the middle-class situation that what our expectations are in life is so much higher than it was in the 80s, right?

Like, you look at square footage of home, you look at material of what our kitchens are made of.

I mean, whatever the thing is,

what we expect in life today is just so much greater and it's not a reality, right?

And so, for people just to get what they want with the income that they have.

And that's what we tackle, I feel like, a lot on the Ramsey show.

There's a lot of that because it's a lot of credit card debt and car loans.

It's all the consumer side.

But for your situation specifically, I mean, that poverty, that's a much harder, bigger conversation.

And Ken, you talk a lot about work finding, I mean, the income is the, that's, that's the answer is getting the income up.

And so how to do that and what that looks like, it's a lot.

There's a lot of facets to that, but finding.

Yeah, not a, I can't give a really succinct strategy because the reality is this is a macroeconomic problem in your area.

It feels micro because it's local, but it's macro.

And,

you know,

George can speak to, you know, how they can cut, cut, cut to the bone.

But at the end of the day, if they're limited income, their quality of life is not going to be very, very good.

So now,

you know, I hate to say this, but if you want to help those people, you help them find a path to a better job.

And that means a pathway out of that community.

Right.

Our largest community is about 30 minutes away, 30 miles away.

So that's hard.

For many of them, they don't have reliable transportation, which you can imagine with no issue.

But I agree with you.

I mean, yes, we need to find something for somewhere for them to work to get them ahead, but that's, it's hard where we live.

Well, and let me encourage you.

The messaging for you needs to be this is going to be a long path.

It's a little bit of Dave Ramsey truth.

You know what he tells people that call us and they got 500 grand in debt and he just goes, look, the next three, four years, this is not going to be a fun life.

And I think that the message there, George, is very similar to say you're going to have to scrap and hustle and save for a very long time, do some things that are very difficult in your life to then be able to essentially afford a car that could get you 30 minutes away or to say, we're going to, I mean, the pioneers did it with nothing, a covered wagon mentality.

Right.

They say, we're going to take everything we own and we're going to make a better life.

Now,

that is a message of empowerment.

And you don't get that in politics because what you get is policy and all the arguing.

But in all reality, in your situation, it is an economically depressed area and there is no simple solution.

It is going to be rugged individualism, pull themselves up by their bootstraps with a lot of encouragement from people like you in the community that can say, we're going to help these people.

And if it winnows down our community, so be it.

Because by the way, that's going to happen anyway.

And I'd rather it happen on the backs of capitalism and rugged American individualism than to just watch the thing die slowly and watch them die on government benefits.

That's not a good way out.

So, you know, they don't have much of a choice.

But I want to bring George in because I think he's got great insight here on

there is a way to teach and to promote living on very little.

Yeah.

Is it your book, George?

No, I'm not going to be.

Just read my book.

I'm happy to gift that to you guys and send you a box to all the folks out there.

I think the true answer is, as Dave would say, we don't sell magic wands.

You're going to have to choose your heart.

Hard is staying where we are.

Hard is moving.

I mean, I've come from a family of immigrants.

My parents immigrated to this country, and that's a really hard thing to do, to leave the culture, to learn a new language, to learn new skills.

But that's what it's going to take to get out of their poverty situation.

So what you can do is on a case-by-case basis, sit down with everybody and have them make an every dollar budget and go, okay, what is the root of the problem?

Because at least then we have clarity.

If it's an income problem, great, we know we need to go make more.

If it's a debt problem, we know, hey, we got to get rid of these payments.

We're going to debt snowball this by making more, selling stuff, side hustles, whatever they can do.

And the budget will give them at least a financial reality check of them just looking in the mirror instead of looking to all the things they can't control out there, which just creates a new cycle of cynicism and hopelessness.

And so that person, the mirror, they are really the secret sauce.

They are the solution.

And so your job, the best you can do, is help them believe that.

I'll try.

Thank you for what you do.

It's a very noble person.

Give them some love.

Wow.

I'm so inspired by Lynette.

That's amazing.

Because I'm going to tell you something.

That is

really difficult work.

It is difficult work to be a light in a community like that where there is no light.

And so you're a great American.

Is that your husband with you?

Okay, what's his name?

Colin.

Colin.

Okay, well, I just wanted to shout you guys out.

You really represent the best of us.

And any way we can support you, just let our team know tonight.

We want to make sure we get as much resources as we can to you.

Let's pump as much sunlight of financial peace as we can.

James, our fearless leader,

is here tonight.

James Charles.

How many of you ever laid eyes on James Childs?

Producer James.

Give James Childs some love.

This is our guy.

You hear us talk about him.

And he keeps us, I mean, God bless this guy to keep us all on the rails, including Dave.

I mean, not easy.

And isn't he handsome?

Look how ruggedly handsome he is.

A lot of personalities, literally.

A lot of personalities.

So, number one, we wanted you to meet James.

James is phenomenal.

James, tell everybody, real quick, how long you've been producer of the Ramsey Show.

14 years.

14 years.

So great.

So I'm going to give it to James because we've got a fun little segment here, James.

Tell us what we're doing.

Well, before that, I just want to say this is so much fun because we in the booth all have these same reactions and it's fun getting to hear it live.

Like when we react to these calls and now we can kind of hear it in the room.

So this is a blast.

And Jake, the crew agreed, we're going to take you wherever you are.

We're going to take you out for drinks after this because you're a good person.

No!

And Jake's paying.

That's right.

Yeah, we're not that.

All right, so here's the deal.

We have a fishbowl here.

So most of the questions tonight are obviously from the audience about their life situations, but we also got a bunch of fun questions that are for you guys here on the stage.

So these questions are meant to be kind of quick, a little bit rapid fire,

a little bit insight into your life and your personality.

So we've probably got about 15 in here.

So I'd say let's hit like half of them and then we'll come back again and do a little bit more.

All right, so speed round, guys.

So quick answers.

You don't need to tell us, Ken.

Go fast.

Difficult, huh?

Hey, listen.

Ken loves his words.

Dropping wisdom, all right,

Mr.

Soundbite over there with your coiffed hair.

Okay, here we go.

I'll read the first one.

You need your readers?

I might.

Are you the free spirit or the nerd in your marriage and give an example?

All right,

that's for all of us.

I'm a free spirit.

I just really love to buy clothes and stuff.

We're responsible about it, you know, but

I'm very spontaneous and I will just forever be a free spirit.

You know, I do the budget, but it's exhausting.

I sometimes need to go buy something after we do the budget.

Just to enjoy it.

Just to regulate my nervous system.

Purchase.

Yeah, free spirit for sure.

I think the best example is Winston.

We have the $30 budget and I'm great with that and I love it.

I'm like like you, I'm a spender, but I do like checking it.

I feel in control, it feels great.

And Winston has, I think, maybe three, four, maybe even five Excel documents on his computer, mapping out different things.

And he changes the code in the Excel sell thing, and it changes all.

Oh,

I can't.

I can't.

All you people are repressed.

I'm just going to tell you, you're repressed.

Oh, my gosh.

Okay.

No shock to anybody.

I am the nerd.

I have multiple.

I have my every dollar budget.

I have like outside spreadsheets that I'm working on.

I get the bank transactions to my text messages and I'll text my wife like, hey, was this you or fraud?

Because I almost think, like, if it was fraud, they would spend less than my wife does.

And then she goes, guys, you've heard this one.

I'm going to return most of it.

You can't even argue with that.

You can't argue with that.

So there you go.

I am the nerd, proudly.

Love that.

Okay.

Next question.

What's the best gift you've ever received or the best you've given?

So you can either go give or receive.

I'll go receive.

I got a giant Blackstone griddle.

I mean,

it's like my own little hibachi table.

You know what I'm talking about?

My wife got that for me for a Father's Day, and it's just, I love cooking for the family.

I love cooking for all of our,

we were at a house where all of our kids' friends were over all the time.

So I got so much joy out of that.

And I'm going to say the Blackstone Griddle because you can cook anything on it.

Burgers, burgers, fried rice, vegetables, you name it.

That's good.

What do you got?

Winston got me a nice ring when our metal daughter was born, and that was a really special ring.

But I'm not a creative person, like, I don't, I'm not good at creating anything.

Not, don't ask me to do anything creative.

But I'm thinking of the lake house, and I think one of the most creative gifts I did was to mom and dad, or no, it was to dad for Father's Day about five years ago for the lake house.

Maybe it's on my mind.

And it's a sign.

I got it off Etsy, a sign, and there's an arrow that I didn't make it.

No,

we ordered, I ordered from Etsy, but it's a sign, and one arrow points, and it says Papa Dave's dock that way.

The one below is the arrow back to the house.

It says Mimi's kitchen.

And then they have a fence for all the dogs, and the other arrow goes the other way to the dog park.

Like, it's like a little arrow thing for the lake house.

Isn't that creative?

That's really cute.

I mean, somebody was creative.

You clearly weren't.

I came up with what was on the side.

I think it was a lovely gift.

George, one last one.

I'll give you a recent one.

So I have a one-month-old son now.

It's our second.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I didn't know about this, but there's a new thing called a push present, where the woman demands a gift, understandably, for carrying a human being for nine months and pushing it out.

Hence the word push present.

And so I thought, you know, we have a lot of stuff.

I'm done with stuff.

Let's do an experience.

And so I got my wife tickets to Backstreet Boys at the Sphere in Vegas in January.

And I'm very proud of myself, Ken, because boy, did that hurt.

Oh,

I was like, does this count as your birthday and Christmas and our anniversary next year?

She's like, no, that was one gift.

One gift.

Such a great hug.

You know who needs to have drinks with you?

Jake.

Yeah.

We already talked.

We're going to compare spreadsheets later.

Oh, man.

I got to tell you.

The Backstreet Boys, huh?

Yeah, it's Backstreet's back.

It is one of the best concerts.

Rachel went.

It changed her life.

Y'all, with the sphere, I had chills.

I was so i almost cried i was so emotional but i think you're only feeling that if you're in the ages of like 32 to 45 is it a certain song that pulls that no but what i learned i won't go on my whole tangent i learned this actually someone on instagram sent me this article and i was like yes that's what i'm talking about when you your music between the ages of 10 and 16 of why you're when your brain is like forming like certain parts of your brain music specifically during that age sits in a part of your brain that is different than any other time in life.

So, when that gets triggered, it's a level of nostalgia that gives you like literal feel, like something chemically happens to your body.

And that was happening to me at the sphere.

It's science, Ken.

Well, this explains a lot.

This is why, to this day, if I hear Hold On by Wilson Phillips, I really enjoy it.

And I feel a little guilty about it.

Like, I got to turn my man card in, but now I get it.

Yeah, for me, it's living La Vita Loca.

So, you can have your man card back.

Right.

Oh, Ricky Martin.

you gotta look and by the way i'm not going she's going with a friend good actually i don't want to be a part of that i got sensory issues i don't know

if they've been screaming in my ear for three hours over men who can't dance anymore yes they can no no they can still sing in it it's very impressive it's very impressive i'm animatronic up there i'm convinced it's ai i'm telling you the amount of ben gay in that green room after the show unbelievable oh their dogs are barking back down

they are and i just got to say this hot take My dogs are barking.

You never heard that?

You never heard that?

By the way, inside baseball, Rachel knows very little cultural reference phrases at all.

Like, my dogs are barking?

Who's never, has anyone not?

I'm from Boston.

I learned that in the South.

Okay.

Yeah.

You're raising your hand.

What?

Did you don't?

Oh, no.

Of course you do.

Has everyone never heard of this?

This guy's got some dogs that are barking.

Okay, we got some guy.

All right, wake him up.

Keep the dogs in the house, pal.

All right.

Let's get this show back on the road.

You heard of that one, Rachel?

Get the show back on the road?

Yeah, get this train on the tracks.

Perfect.

Nailed it.

Okay.

All right.

Next up, we're going to go to another question.

Laura is joining us.

Give Laura some applause as she comes to the mic.

Hi, Laura.

Tell us where you're from.

Logan Square here in Chicago.

Great.

Yeah.

I am 29, baby step two.

Just student loans left.

But I'm going, I'm a bridesmaid for my friend's black tie wedding here in Chicago.

And so I've already gone to her bachelorette and then went to the bridal shower, didn't get a gift yet.

And then I am going with my boyfriend to the very nice rehearsal dinner and then obviously the very nice wedding.

What would an appropriate gift be?

My boyfriend and I kind of disagree about obviously we kind of each do something since we're both going together for all these events of how much we should each be giving.

Oh, this is great.

Okay,

I'm a little old school wedding etiquette here.

Have you given a gift at all at any point?

No, other than anything.

I mean, other than the

when we travel together, right?

Like, I think we all split the Airbnb for the.

Sure.

Okay.

Yeah, yeah.

But you haven't given a physical gift yet.

Okay.

I got a quick question for everybody and you, Rachel.

Why does the boyfriend, he's just a boyfriend.

Why does he have to buy a wedding gift?

Am I too cheap over there?

George,

are you friends?

Is he friends with the groom?

Yes.

And that's, so we're going to a wedding actually friends

before.

That's just for my friend.

And he's not giving a gift for that one.

I'll give one for both of us.

Okay, I have an idea.

Oh, I like it.

I don't really have an idea, but kind of an idea.

Because I'm not creative.

Go on, Etsy.

What's a really sentimental,

really not expensive, but really cool thing that you could do?

That's like, oh, yeah, it's not going to be an obvious like KitchenAid mixer.

You know what I mean?

Like that she's going to know the price of it.

Do you think someone wants that for their own?

I feel like it's not like that.

But between your friendship or something, like it's a gift to her.

That's fair.

And it's something there that's not going to cost a lot.

I thought it was like a faux pas to give something that's not on the registry.

Okay, you're all black tying me up.

I can't, no, like, like, no, like, it's like,

ask her to name 30 things on the registry.

She'll lose track after seven.

I guess you can really.

I was just

give money.

I don't, I don't want to give her stuff, ideally.

I was, I thought I should give.

Oh, you're just going to give like adeally, I wanted to give like $150 each person.

Oh, I hear you.

I hear you.

I mean, I can't.

Oh, I like this.

This is is a little more specific.

Okay, okay, okay, I got you.

It usually is a vaux paw, but honestly, you've spent so much already.

I just be like, thanks for being my friend and being here for everything.

Like, I don't really care.

Let me get this straight.

You're a bridesmaid?

Yes.

Okay, calling me stupid.

I thought if you were a bridesmaid, you don't get a gift because, like, you're doing a lot already.

You're spending a lot of money to be a bridesmaid.

You agree with me, you still get a gift.

Okay, I'm hearing from the uh especially the older ladies in the room.

I'm gonna go.

I like your 150.

I think 150

each person.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Total.

Total.

My boyfriend's face feels like prices right now.

Oh, yeah, this is good.

Listen, I love this.

I told the audience to speak up.

I love it.

It's my opinion.

I'm going 150 as you.

I'm not speaking on behalf of the boyfriend, but I'm saying to you, I think 150, that's nice.

That's nice.

If it's cash, I don't believe you would not.

Well, it's just, I just know the amount of money you've already spent.

And I mean, the way you're talking about it, it's a very elevated, everything's been elevated experiences.

So I can't imagine what you're spending on dresses.

I mean, you're spending a lot.

I'm assuming maybe not.

I've spent over a thousand already.

Okay, that's what I'm saying.

Thank you.

Go to Etsy.com.

Yeah, I didn't ask for a gift from my groomsman for my own wedding.

Listen,

you usually give a gift, but I'm saying

normalize, no gifts.

If you're in the wedding,

thank you.

No, it's etiquette.

I don't think that's a stupid thing.

It's etiquette.

It's etiquette.

I went to the bachelor party.

I'm taking a call.

That's what I'm saying.

Get creative with the gift itself.

I'm going to go more, Rachel.

George, I don't think you're being realistic.

And I don't have a fundamental problem with either one of your answers.

I just don't think it's realistic with people expectings.

You yourself just revealed to me another sign of the apocalypse tonight that we have a push gift now.

Yeah.

Push presents.

Push presents.

Push present, whatever.

That didn't exist when my wife had a baby.

She got flowers and whatever.

I don't know.

Too many gifts.

So we live in a society now where everybody expects something.

And so I'm trying to give you practical advice.

I would go with a low-cash gift or else she's going to be mad at you.

But would you go with low-cash?

Because it's so obvious.

Like, that's my thing.

Right?

I thought it was supposed to go.

I thought you were supposed to give money to replace what they're paying on the plate of food.

And so I'm getting two dinners, rehearsal, and then regular.

And they're nice like Sam's.

How do we know she's even paying for this with her own money?

Now we're paying the parents for covering the bill?

No, she and her fiancé are paying for it.

Wow, that's on them.

That's on them.

Listen, some of my friends are fancier than me.

I can't keep up.

I cannot keep up with my fancy friends.

I guess the easy solution

don't invite me to your wedding.

How about that?

Now that I concur.

I think

$300 isn't going to break you.

I think if you decide to do that, it's fine.

But I do think this

idea that we're just going to keep going and going and going and going and going is ridiculous in general, right?

And I know it's a tough position.

And we actually did it.

We did a, I think it's Smart Money, Happy Hour episode about being single friends today, how expensive it is just to be a friend with someone.

And the 30th trip and the 40th trip, and you better come with me.

You know, the more I hear this, like the easiest solve is to get the exact same thing on Etsy that she got from Dave Insurance.

And just say it's for your grandkids one day.

This is the gift of the house.

They have a leak

on that.

They have a leak house on the week.

Yeah, you could.

You could.

You could.

I think that's the play.

Thank you.

You need a sponsorship with Etsy, by the way.

And I never go on.

I'm not crazy.

a lot of people.

Give her some love.

Wasn't that good so far?

But can I say?

Yes.

I am not as bougie as you, even though I'm the truffled mac and cheese up here.

A black tie wedding kind of feels like a dream.

That would be so fun to go to a black tie wedding.

Only a woman says that.

Because

you have to wear the long gown.

I mean, you're the bridesmaid, but like everyone's just, I don't know.

It just seems so like, huh.

Yeah, I think I'd rather get a colonoscopy.

There are a lot of people.

Okay, have fun.

There's a lot of people in this room who get it.

They are shit.

Look at this shit.

Earn your money back, girl.

Earn your money back on that open bar.

That's right.

Milk that open bar for all it's worth.

Amen.

No guy wants to go to a black tie anything.

All right, there it is.

All right.

Hey, fun segment coming up.

You ready, guys?

We're going to call it two truths and a lie.

All right.

So let me set this up because you all, the audience, get to weigh in here.

Okay.

So all of us have done the Ramsey show for a long time before that, the Dave Ramsey show.

So we've been on, and when you do that many hours live,

you hear some things, right?

People call in and say some things.

And so what I'm going to do is we're going to roll through a list here, and I'm going to read three statements, okay?

A, B, and C statements.

And you all are going to guess which one is the lie.

You got it?

And these are actual things that callers have said.

Two out of the three are.

That's right.

Two out of the three.

One is a lie.

One is a lie.

Two are real calls we took on the show.

One is

we got that.

I love it.

Here we go.

A, my husband thinks the government isn't real and has stopped paying our debts.

Hold, hold, hold, hold.

Just some of you people, that's all you do is listen to the show.

You don't get extra credit for that.

Yeah, just calm your jets.

You're going to get to vote in full throat in just a second.

B, I was scammed out of $100,000 being catfished on a dating website.

And C,

should I install a

payphone booth in my house to get free phone service?

Which one is the lie?

All right, let's go.

A.

Who do you think?

Who's A?

A.

Who thinks it's A?

A is A, anybody think it's A?

Okay, not A.

We got one back there.

All right.

Anybody think it's C?

All right, the real answer is B.

George and I were on together when a lady called in and said, my husband thinks the government isn't real and has stopped paying all of the taxes, debts, everything.

It was a, y'all remember that?

It was just, oh, boy, I never, I have a true confession here on the live show.

Hey, keep your man off the internet, ladies.

Yeah.

All right.

Just going to say it right now.

I mean, that's a call where George and I couldn't say what we really wanted to say.

It was just a train wreck.

She told me he was going to go to jail?

I told her she's going to jail.

She's going to go to jail if she doesn't accomplish.

That's sad.

Yeah, it was really sad.

Okay, here we go.

A,

should I pay $5,000 to bail my boyfriend out of jail?

B, should we prioritize a reverse vasectomy?

And C, I'm 14 years old and have $21,000 in debt.

What?

Is it A?

Is A the lie?

How many think it's B?

Should I prioritize a reverse vasectomy?

A few people.

And then finally, how many of you think it's C?

I'm 14 years old and have 21,000 in debt?

Okay, the real answer, the lie is A, should I pay $5,000?

George and I, again, were on when we took the call about prioritizing a reverse vasectomy.

What did we say?

I bit my lip

because I thought it was insane to reverse it in the first place.

Yeah.

Much less paying.

What was the situation?

Huh?

What was the situation?

It was a second marriage?

I deemed it was not worthy of a reversal.

Okay.

Just Google it, Rachel.

Reverse vasectomy on Google.

The call will pop up.

Yeah.

And then this call came in.

A 14-year-old really did tell Dave once that he had $21,000 in debt.

Okay, next.

A, my wife maxed out her credit card on McDonald's.

The Diet Cokes are good.

Yeah.

B, my house is haunted by ghosts.

Should I sell it?

C, my husband took out a credit card on our 12-year-old.

You all think B is the lie?

C?

I can't hear anybody.

All right.

The lie is C.

My husband took out a credit card on our 12-year-old.

George and I, again, took this one.

Y'all have the craziest calls.

We get the good ones.

George and I get the good calls.

The my wife maxed out our credit card at McDonald's.

I did the math on air and could not crack it.

This lady was,

she was spending like $30 something a day at McDonald's.

Yeah, a lot of happy meals.

Oh my gosh.

How do you do that?

A lot of toys.

It's crazy.

All right, next.

A, should I sell my daughter's Taylor Swift tickets to pay off her debt?

Easy, easy,

easy.

You

folks out there, they don't miss a beat.

B, I bought an expensive monkey and then it started attacking my fiancé.

And C, I won $1.5 million from a scratch off.

My mom got me.

Am I obligated to give her some of the winnings?

What is the lie?

A,

B, okay.

Well, actually, B is the truth.

That Dave took that call in the early years.

That is a true story.

Bought an expensive monkey and the monkey beat the snot out of his fiancé.

And he still had to call Dave and and talk to him about it.

The actual lie is I won 1.5 million from a scratch off.

My mom got me.

And Rachel and I took the infamous Taylor Swift ticket call.

Yes.

And you shocked me on that one, I remember.

You thought I was going to be a little fuddy today.

You were going to say, yeah, sell the tickets, get it to the debt, but you said, go to the concert.

And I thought, Ken, I am just

influenced on you.

Because I have a 16-year-old daughter, and I was like, this is where you got to live a little bit.

That's right.

Okay.

Let's see here.

A,

this is the caller speaking.

Dave, you're stupid and arrogant.

And that's just what Rachel said.

Yeah.

I'm not even.

I don't ever say that.

I am respectful.

B, our beef jerky side hustle made our electric bill go up to $400 a month.

C, I financed my wife's breast implants, and then she cheated on me with my boss.

Which one is the lie?

I'm hearing a lot of B.

The actual lie is B, our beef jerky side hustle.

Dave took the call

for the guy who financed his wife's breast implants.

A poor guy.

He was a double loser on that deal.

Spent the money, spent the money, and didn't even get to use them.

Yeah.

Dave was beside himself.

He couldn't get through the call.

I don't know that I would have been sadder for a guy if I'd have taken that call.

Terrible.

Okay.

And then I was on the call with Dave when the guy started the call.

Dave, you're stupid and arrogant.

And I just was like this.

I didn't know what was going to happen.

But man, I think I replied to the guy, I've got a great book for you.

It's called How to Win Friends and Influences.

How about that?

That's pretty fun.

You guys are great.

Yeah, y'all were great.

Yeah, you guys.

You all knew it.

You knew it.

Yes, sir.

I made my own little bonus question here.

You are kind of known for the crew, infamous for having quite a bit of doozies that you don't even realize what you're saying.

So we have kind of like our own booth quote book for Ken.

Oh, boy.

We call them kinuendos.

Kinnuendos.

They happen all the time.

Can I say before he reads these, I truly don't in the moment know that they come across the way that you're about to hear them?

So, the best ones I don't feel comfortable saying in front of an audience.

That is true.

I picked two, and the third one is not Ken.

So, so here's the Ken version: A, head on over to your local hardwood dealer and make mama happy.

All right,

B,

that's a whole different process emotionally than drinking your mama's milk,

And C,

he needs a good sip of grown-up juice.

So

what's the non-Ken statement?

C.

James, tell them.

So the answer is B, but it was a real statement said by Dave.

So they were all real, just not by Ken.

And Rachel was on with me when I made the hardwood dealer comment.

And I, does anybody in here remember that one?

You all remember everything else.

You remember that one?

Oh, it's good to know you guys listen when Dave's not on.

It's great.

Just quick context.

You remember this?

Oh, yeah.

Young couple called, and they had been saving up to renovate their house and been living in just, you know, a dump of a floor.

They'd saved up.

They had plenty of money.

She wanted to do it.

She wanted to finish their hardwoods on the first floor.

And this guy was like, my boy Jake over here.

And, you know, he was just, he called us and he's just hemming and hawing and Ken, should I do it?

Rachel, should I do it?

And I finally said at the end, you know what?

Go down, look.

Tell your wife, hang up, tell her, going out for dinner and then take her down to the hardwood dealer and make mama happy.

Except, Ken, you said it a little more like this.

Take Mama down to the hardwood dealer and make mama happy.

It was more like that.

That is true.

It's a little bit more juicy.

That is true.

And I look over at James and the entire crew, they're dying laughing.

And I know that I've said something, but I don't know what I've said.

And so we go to the commercial break, and these guys are amazing.

They pull it up and they show me the clip, and I just

twice a week.

Every week, twice a week.

It's like ESPN playback, slow motion.

This thing just careens off.

Yeah, it's great.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay.

We are going to now go to another question.

Is that right?

We got Ricky.

Everybody, welcome, Ricky, to the mic.

Hi.

I'm Ricky.

I live up in Skokie, which is one of the suburbs.

And I brought one of your biggest fans with me, my daughter, Ruthie.

Hi, Ruthie.

George, I read your book.

You read my book.

She's going to be a future millionaire.

I love it.

That's fantastic.

So, speaking of books, are there any books that you've read recently that you recommend either lifestyle, relationship, financial, not yours, because we've read all of those,

particularly for people in baby steps four through seven.

Oh,

that's good.

Books that we've read lately

that would help you information?

I have two money ones that are not Ramsey, but I loved them.

And they're bestsellers.

I feel like people have probably read them.

But

The Psychology of Money.

Yes.

It's a great one.

Okay.

So if you've read that one, and then Die with Zero.

Have you read Die with Zero?

It's a great one.

I don't agree with everything in it, but he does a really good job presenting the case of using your money while you're alive, whether that is if you're instead of leaving a big inheritance, give it to your kids

when you're alive and when they need it for like a down payment on a house, all of this.

Cause this whole thing is if you die at 85 and all your grown kids are 60, 65, they're fine.

They don't really need the money at that point because they've built their life.

So if you can use it throughout your life, which again, we say at Ramsey, that you know, you should leave a legacy to your children's children, all the things.

So there's a balance in it, but I think he does a really good job of saying, hey, if if you have done well financially and you do have the ability to spend it on experiences with people you love, if you're able to use it to help your family, if you're able to be generous, like instead of leaving it all to charity when you die, like be giving now more,

I love that mindset.

So die with zero.

It's a great one.

Real quick, I would say the pursuit of happiness is the name of the book.

It's written by Jeffrey Rosen.

And what he does is he goes back into our founding fathers.

Obviously, many of us know the phrase, the pursuit of happiness from the first line of the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson.

But this book goes back and it examines who influenced the founding fathers to the point that they used that phrase.

And it goes back into the Stoics.

The reason I'm recommending this book for people in four, five, and six is because you've been Gazelle Intense, and so now you're in that stage of living like no one else.

And this book does a fabulous job of explaining what that phrase means.

It's become an American phrase, but the real heart of it is that the pursuit of happiness, as the Stoics and then our founding fathers saw that phrase, it was not about gaining stuff.

It was about growing in your virtue.

And I think that's a perfect book for people who are going, now I can use my money in a very different way to live like no one else.

And so the pursuit of happiness was a pursuit of getting more virtuous and thus you are happy.

So I guess that's the one that I would recommend.

It's good.

Beautifully said.

I'm going to go with Five Types of Wealth by Sahil Bloom.

Yeah, great book.

I'm a guy who's very very focused on the financial side, but my, my, if you look at it like a tire, I had a flat tire on the other sides, right?

Like social, relationships, physical health.

And so this book talks about, yes, financial, but also all these other areas of life that if you don't have them under control, your quality of life will suffer.

And he talks about, you know, parenting and the different seasons of life and the amount of time you have with your kids.

And it just helped me to look beyond just the money stuff as the nerd and go like, oh, I probably should work on these other areas now that I got the money stuff under control.

So that's a great one, regardless of where you're at.

Yeah, great question.

Thank you, Ricky, everybody.

Give me some love.

Thank you.

Way to go.

Thank you, Ruthie.

All right, next is Ashley.

Keep the applause going for Ashley.

Where is she?

There we go.

There's a man following you.

Be careful.

Yeah, that guy looks shady.

They told me he could come up.

Okay, great.

Introduce yourself, Ashley and.

I'm Ashley.

Hey, Den Theater.

My name's Jim.

hey Jim Jim that's Jim do you do voiceover work

I have done that in a past life long long time ago okay well you haven't lost it pal

very exciting okay what's your question Ashley

so we're in baby step four five and six and we're just kind of like feeling kind of stagnant like it's kind of boring.

I mean, I'm happy that we're here, but and we're able to invest the 15%

and we are saving saving for college um

but we're just not finding every single time we have any extra money we can't put it toward our mortgage it's like we have a plumbing issue or we need a new car which was a five thousand dollar car just so you know um you know so it's just it's just been really difficult in this kind of phase because like we got out of debt really quick and we saved our emergency fund really quick.

And now we're just like, okay, let's move it.

I really want to pay off the house.

Like I want to walk in the grass.

Like I, yeah.

How many kids do you guys have?

We have two.

How old are they?

Yeah.

We have a 13-year-old son and we have a seven-year-old daughter.

Okay.

Okay.

How long have you guys been in baby steps four, five, and six?

Year.

About a year and a half.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Because I do think we have this picture of because the steps are so succinct that everything is just going to go up like this and we're just going to keep going and going and going.

It's going to be great.

But the truth is, life happens.

You're in it a year.

On average, I think our millionaire from our millionaire study, nine years, I think is the average that they're paying off houses.

I think it's seven for baby steppers, ten for millionaires in general.

Okay, okay, okay.

So, yeah, that seven's in yours.

So, you have just so give yourself another six-year

runway, meaning within those six years, your income's going to go up, stages of life with kids is going to change.

Like, things of life are going to change.

And I really do believe if you are disciplined and your goal is to pay off the house early and you guys are looking and working the plan, it's going to happen.

I really do believe that.

I think just give yourself a little bit of grace because life does this, right?

Like cars break, refrigerators break, things happen.

You know, you got to buy plane tickets for the family to go somewhere.

You know, if there's a funeral, like whatever it is, things are going to be up and down.

And so I would just say, give yourself some patience.

I think you really are going to get there.

I really do.

And I know it can feel frustrating right now, but you will get there.

You're seeing it in a really short window where I feel like the runway is much longer for you.

With the airplane analogy, it really is like when you're getting up to altitude, it's kind of exciting.

There's like announcements happening.

We're like, whoa, we're taking off.

And then you're 40,000 feet up.

You're like, all right, three hours to go on this flight.

I guess I'll watch it.

And so it does get kind of boring.

What helped us was tracking it, maybe make it visual if you want to do like rings for the mortgage.

And right now, it's like, woo, 300 went to principal.

Towards the end, you're really making progress.

So it does get faster, and your incomes are going to go up.

The kids will be out of the season where they're mega expensive and hopefully off your payroll eventually.

So just know that right now, it might feel hard.

I also would do a budget audit and go, why can't we make progress?

You know, is their emergency fund good?

Okay, why can't we cashflow these things in our budget?

Do we need sinking funds for maintenance and repairs?

So that doesn't feel like it's derailing this other goal.

Yeah, actually, I just wonder, like, maybe we're putting away too much in our sinking funds.

Maybe we have too many sinking funds, you know?

That could be.

So I think that that's something we should probably reevaluate.

but we need them all the time

because stuff comes up right right that's what you're saying just yesterday yeah what happened yesterday we did need it yesterday tree roots blocking our sewage system let's i'm sure this i'm sure the den theater wants all the details yikes well i imagine that jim when you saw that you went oh my this is unfortunate that's a great gym

uh this must end stat yeah like jim likes the microphone more than i do and that's saying something i love That's saying something.

I have a quick question because you said boredom.

I'm just wondering, when was the last time you guys planned and saved up to do something fun?

Yeah, I think that's also the situation.

We're taking a year off from like fun.

Like, like we, because we've had a lot of fun.

We did have a lot of fun after we paid off the debt.

And we just went on a Royal Caribbean cruise just a couple months ago.

Oh, that's good.

Yeah.

So we're trying not to take any vacations.

Okay, got it.

Oh, you can answer it.

Okay.

Yeah.

This year.

Yeah.

Do you have a set goal every month for how much we want to put toward the mortgage?

Can you tell us what that is?

On top of the normal payment, how much do you want to put toward principal?

That's the thing.

I don't think we, yeah, we probably should be more specific.

I would be very specific and go, is it $500?

Cake, we're going to do $500 before the other chaos happens in our life.

Like, make it a priority if it's a priority.

Sure.

And then track it.

And you'll see the balance go down and go, can we do $600 this month?

Hey, we got a bonus coming up.

Can we put that toward it?

And as your income goes up, the amount will go up.

The principal will start to sink down, and you'll feel like you're making progress.

How much is left on the mortgage?

155.

Okay.

When you go below that six-figure mark, you're going to get a new pep in your step, a second wind, if you will, on that marathon.

So just keep at it.

You're doing all the right things.

Yeah, you guys are doing great.

Congratulations for

some love.

Thank you.

All right.

We're going to go to another question.

We got Amanda is coming up to the mic.

Give Amanda some love.

The ladies have shown up tonight, and I have to say.

The guys, no bravery, pure cowardice, no gun.

Come on.

Some of them come.

George.

Hello.

Hi, where are you from?

I just recently moved to Milwaukee, so an hour and a half up north.

Nice.

Yeah.

Nice.

So, my question is: I was incredibly blessed with a 22-year career in the United States Air Force.

I recently retired.

Thank you for your serious.

Thank you.

You're a great American.

Thank you.

And like a lot of veterans, my identity was completely wrapped up in the uniform.

So my question is, how do I find meaningful work on my terms

while I differentiate myself from my military career?

Yeah, I love this question.

I'm going to go back to the whiteboard example that I used a minute ago.

And so we would look at your entire career in the Air Force, and we would look at all the skills that you've acquired.

And I think this is an exercise I'm going to challenge you to do

tomorrow.

Absolutely.

Okay, and so one side side of the paper, I want you to write down talent, and I want you to write down all the skills that you've acquired.

And, you know, like let it flow.

Like, I was really good at this.

I learned this, all that stuff.

And it just creates the proper narrative.

Then the second thing you're going to write down is all of the experience and describe the experience, right?

So I had these talents and skills, but my experience was over here in crisis management or in, you know, whatever, logistics.

Just write it out.

And so so then you can look at both of those sides of the paper and go, oh, this is who I am, regardless of whether I was in the Air Force or not.

So that's the first thing.

Second thing is to realize that a lot of employers

really respect people that come out of the military.

It's the greatest organization in the world.

Amen.

Come on.

And so, yeah.

So

that's the narrative.

Hey, I'm trained, and this is what I acquired, acquired and this is what I did.

And then take that and now go out there and look online and just see what's out there.

You don't have to apply, but just see what's out there in the world because ChatGPT, by the way, is amazing.

I would literally take those things I had you write down and I would put it in ChatGPT and say, hey, describe for me potential paths outside of the military.

with this skill set and this experience below your freaking mind.

Yeah.

All right.

I'm sure.

I'm also going to give you my get clear career assessment.

Excellent.

Thank you.

And so Grayson right here, the handsome guy in the red hair, see him afterwards.

He'll get your email.

I want you to take the assessment and I'm not going to describe it for lack of time,

but it'll really just create a, I think, an ideal job description for you.

And it'll actually give you some AI suggestions.

But that's the exercise because right now it's really hard for our men and women from the military.

That's all they've ever known.

So it feels so scary.

Am I nailing it?

Transition has been difficult for sure.

Of course.

But a lot of it is you're just terrified because of the unknown.

You've only known one world.

Okay.

And so here's what we know.

If you've ever driven in a car, Amanda, and it started to rain really, really hard, so hard that you couldn't see, what did you do?

Pulled over and waited for it to pull over, slowed down, we stop.

right

and and we move back onto the road when everything clears up the lack of the unknown is one of the most paralyzing fears that we as humans face.

So, the exercise I've given you is going to help you see,

okay, what is out there.

Now, once you see what is out there and you match it all up with the exercise I gave you plus the assessment, now it's all about I'm going to tell everybody I know what I'm actually looking for.

And I think you're going to find there are a lot of great Americans who want to help a great American.

Absolutely.

And I really believe it's that simple.

Seeing leads leads to believing, and believing will lead to you getting the thing that you want to get, and you're going to do great out there.

I absolutely believe that.

Thank you.

Yeah, thank you.

Okay.

Oh, this is very exciting.

Do you know what my, this is very exciting?

There we go.

You know, we've never done like a really cool group debt-free screen.

And we got a lot of debt-free people in there.

How many debt-free people are there?

How many debt-free people we have?

Oh, yeah.

They're not excited about it, but they are debt-free.

They are.

They're here.

They are here.

And so, what we realized is that we just had so many of you.

And so we said, well, let's do a group debt-free screen.

So

we're going to try to qualify you and see if we can do something fun here.

Okay.

So who has become debt-free in the last 12 months?

Stand up if that's you.

Stand up tall.

Don't sit down.

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

All right.

Okay.

That's a good amount.

That's great.

So George, you got your writing utensil?

Yeah, I'm going to use

your phone.

Now here's what we're going to do.

Stay standing.

Stay standing.

And if I miss you, because I can't completely see around me, I'm going to start to my right because I see some folks right here.

We're going to add up how much debt has been paid off

how much debt has been paid off in the last 12 months in this room, right?

And George has got his handy-dandy calculator.

So yell it out loud and proud.

Right here, this couple.

How much?

Round up.

$280,000.

$280,000.

All right.

Okay, next.

$3,500.

Hold your applause.

Hold your applause.

$3,500.

Okay, next?

$40,000.

$40,000?

$75,000.

You guys are going to have to help me.

If there's anybody else, go around the room like the wave.

What's next?

George, you got these ones?

Here in the front.

Right here.

48,000.

48,000?

48.

Ma'am, right back here and pointing at you.

5,000.

Okay, up in the top.

46.

46,000.

This couple right back here.

146,000.

Oh, 126?

And then?

48,000.

48,000, George, you keeping up?

Okay, you, sir, in the hat.

4,000.

4,000.

This couple right here?

175.

By the way, sit down once you give me your number.

One's how it's going to have.

Right here.

15,000 back here?

42.

42,000, all right?

265,000.

265,000.

Can I take it?

This is for fun.

The total for just the year has been in this room.

Oh, I like this.

Drum roll.

Like a Joe, Joe drum roll.

In this room in the last 12 months, $1,172,000.

That's wrong.

I love it.

How about that?

Oh, my gosh.

Okay, so for the debt-free screen, I think everyone in the room who is debt-free stands up.

Is that what we're going to do?

We're going to do a, so everybody who's debt-free, stand up.

And that can be consumer debt too.

It doesn't have to be a bad thing.

It does not have to be your house.

Four baby step seven.

Oh, my gosh.

Look at all these debt-free people.

This is great.

Oh, my gosh.

Here's what we're going to do.

Rachel.

I think you should be the one that counts them down.

Do I count it down?

Do a three, two, and one.

Everybody count with Rachel.

She's going to take over.

And when she counts you down, we want to hear the loudest.

No, I think they can.

I think I catch y'all up, just like we do on the calls.

All right, go for it.

Count it down.

Yeah, we're going to count it down.

Let's do a debt-free screen.

There's your screen.

And then you all say three, two, one.

Okay.

All right.

Live from the den in Chicago, making anywhere from zero to

$20,000.

We have an entire group of people that have paid off

almost $1.2 million in this room.

So you guys, count it down for your big debt-free scream.

3,

2, 1, 3, 1, 3,

2.

You guys, so fantastic.

We applaud you.

Incredible.

We don't want to just applaud you because you know what we do, George.

What do we do on the show when we have a debt-free scream?

Someone have a little parting gift.

So on the stage, if someone does a debt-free scream live from Ramsey headquarters, then it goes to a break after the Brave Heart plays.

Then we sneak out, we go to the lobby.

That's right.

And we yell, celebrate everyone that watches the show in the lobby.

We hug, we take pictures, we give some stuff away.

That's right.

And one of the things we give away is one year of every dollar premium.

So we thought it'd be fun for anyone who did their debt-free scream to get a year of every dollar premium.

How does that sound?

Now, we know there's a lot of people who are in baby step two.

They're in the thick of it.

They're trying to make it through, and they're going, That feels, I shouldn't, I feel like I need it.

So, Ken, what do you can we do some outrageous generosity today?

We're gonna do something crazy and borrow a page from maybe one of the greatest television givers of all time.

It's our Oprah moment because if you stand up and turn your chairs upside down, everybody gets every dollar tonight.

Yeah.

You get it every dollar and you get an every dollar and you get an every dollar.

This is sold up.

There it is.

This is holding up.

There it is.

How about that?

And can I add,

this is not your grandma's every dollar.

If you guys didn't know, we just released an all-new version of Every Dollar, and it's way more than just a budgeting app.

And Rachel and I, with Jay, did this premiere explaining it all.

So give them the spark notes of what's now included.

Yes, so every dollar, again, not just a budgeting app anymore, ladies and gentlemen.

It's over your entire financial picture.

So it's coaching.

It's group calls.

It's your budget still.

It's the roadmap to what you need to do with your money overall.

So it is a much bigger version.

It's the all-new Every Dollar.

We're so excited for you guys to experience.

And you guys, we are so excited about tonight.

You guys have been.

Yes.

Thank you guys so much for coming.

Chicago, we want to say on behalf of everybody back in Nashville, Tennessee, from Ramsey Sluces, for our entire crew, the cameraman, everybody that works so hard to bring financial peace to people,

our entire team, we're so proud to be associated with you.

You are the ones that did the work.

You guys are making a difference.

You've got financial peace and you have changed your family tree.

So we still believe in you.

We're never going to stop believing in you.

So proud to serve you tonight.

And just on behalf of Rachel and George, entire team, thank you all for being here.

Good night.

Thank you, guys.

Thank you, guys.