Suzanne
Appearances
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-18-2025 5AM EST
Currently his paychecks are going through, but we're looking to plan B's and alternatives on how to support our family, our children.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Okay. So I have a question. Um, I just recently found out that my husband, uh, um, the total of the credit card debt that he's got is I'm guessing and assuming, or not getting assuming, but guessing 60 to 80,000. And I just keep finding out little things here and there of more. And, uh, My goal, our goal was supposed to be to get a house and move out of, you know, where we're at.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
And the choices that he continues to make, for example, on wanting a couch, that would mean going from like a $100 couch, he wants like $2,000 to $4,000 couch, and get into that debt. And now he brought up this morning that the easiest way we can get out of debt is to do a consolidation loan All the debt is put into one payment, and I feel it's like getting into more debt. It's not biblical.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
I'm at my wit's end. I don't know how else I could guide him besides saying it's a bad idea, and I don't know what to do, y'all.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Yes, sir. And I don't know what else to do. I've suggested the budget. No, no, no. I've suggested the app.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
I just brought this up today, and I think this is what led me to the call is I heard – I just want to give you everything you want. It's not true. That is not true. That's a lie. He's lying to you. His conviction is making me feel like I can literally live with an RV, get rid of everything, let's get rid of the debt, sell everything. These are the examples I have given him.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Just let's get rid of everything we don't need. Pay off those cards. Get back up, float, and breathe. And None of that is being heard, and I don't know what to do, y'all.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
We've been together about seven, eight years and married a little over a year.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
I don't know. He, for the last, I mean, however many years, he's had a work injury, so he's put in on that, he said. When he wasn't working, he put that on the credit cards, and it just, I don't know. What I don't see is why is it so difficult to get rid of material stuff so we can pay this debt off? To me, it's a no-brainer, if that makes sense.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
I can go with living in a little square with minimal stuff unless you get rid and work really hard. I can't even go out and work because the excuses is a medical condition. Well, I'm willing to go through that medical condition and work just so we can pay this off.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
How do you ask somebody to, you can't, we can lead a horse to water. You can't force him to drink.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Hello, I'm calling today because my husband and I are severely in debt and we are trying to find, determine whether or not selling our home would be the best course of action.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Okay, so, well, basically we're roughly $215,000 in debt. That's excluding our mortgage.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
So $115,000 is a student loan. Roughly $50,000 is credit card debt. And then another $48,500 is a home equity loan.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Yeah, I know. It's horrible.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Well, for transparency, obviously that's why I'm calling, is that we bought a new house a few years ago, and obviously we started using credit cards uncontrollably, and we did a consolidation loan to pay off credit cards.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
But it didn't cover all of it. The home equity loan is to pay off the original debt we had on credit cards, but it didn't cover all of it.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
You're absolutely right, yes. It was a huge mistake on our part. Okay.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
The home loan is the mortgage. It's $213,000 for the home that we're currently in.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Honestly, very minimal. So they've just been hanging around for 20 years. Sorry. Yes. The amount of money we're making now just recently changed probably in the last five to seven years. Prior to that, the income was very low. And so at the time, I mean, it was, we were just barely making it. And then obviously when the income changed.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
I would say probably in the last five years or so.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Correct. And now we're seeing that we're just, it's, it's out of control. And, you know, obviously we're thinking about retirement, what we're going to do in the next 15, 20 years. And I don't, it's depressing to be honest.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Nothing. They're both 2004. Well, I don't want to say nothing, but they're both 2014 models. I'm going to say maybe three grand, three or four grand. I mean, I'm driving a Ford Focus. He's driving a Dodge Charger.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
All right. Well, you've been spending your money on experiences.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
I need that. We need it. I mean, we absolutely need it.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Should we stop investing? No, you drove right past that. No, I heard you. You said that within three to four years, we could have everything paid off if we start throwing $4,000 at it.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
I can't believe I'm talking to you, Dave. I'm great. How are you?
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Oh, my kids have been saying that since they were tiny, which is what I'm crying about. So I live in Denver, and with my husband and our two daughters, our younger daughter is Mary, who always used to say, better than you, she got it wrong. I'd say, what did Dave say? But anyway, she's 19 right now.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Three years ago, she was in a catastrophic car accident, and she's okay, but she's got ongoing lifelong things. I just got a check, so she's 19 years old. She has $650,000, of which... is literally sitting in a high in a, it was sitting in a 0.01% saving her savings account.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
And until I knew what to do, I at least got it into without commitment or anything, a 4% for six months, um, high yield savings. But my question is she's, The only debt she has is the one year of school. She just decided to take a gap year for next year because medically and the appointments are too much. So I don't know if she's going to go back, but we do have a student loan.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
And if she doesn't, it's going to kick in in six months probably. But the question is, we live in a really great area for rentals. And she is interested in real estate, which is what she's doing her gap year this year. She's actually going to be taking some classes and interior design and all that.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
But an opportunity came up that I wanted to get your thoughts on because the rental market here is really strong and solid. And we might have an opportunity. I don't know what to do with the $650,000.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Okay, so I looked into it a tad bit, so I'll take your advice and not go further on that. The only thing I was thinking is with the management company and all that, I think it could, based on what I've seen,
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
After fees and stuff, again, and talking to a real estate friend of mine who would be doing this with us, it looks like the profit, if we were doing that, and I'm not saying it sounds like we shouldn't, but my mindset in calling in was her profit. I'm sorry.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Correct. We're close in talking about it, but it's zero to do with me. We've already taken back... It's got a lot to do with you in this conversation.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Well, because I wanted to ask if what she could make... No, I mean you went out and found a rental property.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Okay. That's what I mean. So let's just take that all off. I'd love your thoughts on what to do.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
So when she had the car accident, her retina was detached. She makes four months of school. She's had seven surgeries and part of the ongoing and why it took so long to settle is because we weren't sure what was coming. Now we have a good sense of, I mean, she's got probably, uh, She's on our insurance right now because she's 19, but...
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Self-Limitations Keep You From Building Wealth
Like our portion up until now, it's probably $6,000 every year just for these quarterly portion of her Botox shots for her migraines and all of her... She's got neck issues and she's had several surgeries, but she's going to be able to work. But I set aside what I know that we've had and I just was like, I don't want to touch it.