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Dave Ramsey Says February 14 2019

By
Dave Ramsey
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Zero percent interest?

Dear Dave,

I know you’re against financing purchases. However, is it okay to finance things like furniture at zero percent interest?

Detrick

Dear Detrick,

We just finished an extensive study of more than 10,000 millionaires. Not a single one of these folks said they became rich by borrowing money to buy things at zero percent interest. Since none of those millionaires gave credit for their wealth to zero percent interest financing, and since we know banks charge interest on loans, how is it you think these people are loaning money at “zero percent interest?”

Is it possible the pricing of the item has the interest rate built into it? I think the chances of that are pretty high. If not that, companies offering this kind of financing have very accurate and highly researched data that tells them the vast majority of people who take out zero-percent loans don’t pay off the loans in the specified period of time. Do you know what happens if you don’t live up to the terms of those contracts? It becomes a regular loan, and they back charge you for the interest.

So, on average you’re paying for it all. I don’t know why you’d want to play with snakes, Detrick. Snakes bite, and some of them can kill you. Avoid debt like the plague. It destroys your most powerful wealth-building tool—your income.

—Dave     

Explaining the envelopes

Dear Dave,

I’ve listened to you for a little while, but I was wondering about the envelope system you recommend. How does it work?

Danielle

Dear Danielle,

Don’t let the word “system” intimidate you. It’s just grandma’s old-fashioned, common sense way of budgeting money.

Back in the day, many people were paid in cash at their jobs. Then, they would take the money home and divide it up into different envelopes. The envelopes held cash for different categories in their budgets—food, clothes, rent, and other bills and such. When a particular envelope was empty they stopped buying that item, because the money budgeted for that category was gone. If you wanted a dress, but the clothing envelope was empty, you didn’t buy a dress that month.

It’s just a simple cash system that, combined with doing a written monthly budget, will help keep you from overspending!

—Dave

* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 15 million listeners each week on 600 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.

Dave Ramsey Says February 15 2018

By
Dave Ramsey
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Your retirement, your money

Dear Dave,

I’ve been following your plan, and I’m ready to start investing. Do employer contributions count toward the 15 percent you recommend putting into retirement?

Brenda

Dear Brenda,

Investing 15 percent of your income in retirement accounts is Baby Step 4 of my plan. That means you’ve already paid off all your debt, except for your home, and you’ve increased your $1,000 beginner’s emergency fund to a fully-funded emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. Way to go!

I want you to control your destiny, so employer contributions do not count toward the 15 percent I recommend setting aside for retirement. The first thing you should put money into is a matching retirement account. If you’ve got access to a 401(k) — and your employer offers a match — you should do that up to the match before anything else.

It’s nice if your company will match up to a certain point, but chances are that will still mean you’ve got some work to do. To make up the remainder, you could look at a Roth IRA. Then if the Roth, plus what you invested previously to get the match doesn’t equal 15 percent, you could see about a 403(b) or go back to your 401(k) to complete the 15 percent.

You’re doing great, Brenda. Keep up the good work!

—Dave

Precisely detailed

Dear Dave,

My mother wants everything, except for her home, left to my brother and I when she dies. She would like her long-time boyfriend to have her house. We don’t have a problem with this, but it has not been written into her will. Her mind is still sound, so does she need to officially update the will?

Dawn

Dear Dawn,

Yes, the will needs to be changed to reflect her wishes where the house is concerned. Since she’s still able to make decisions independently, the will should be legally updated to reflectexactly what she wants to have happen with every piece of her estate.

It’s fine if she wants to give her boyfriend the house. It’s your mom’s will, and her estate, so she can do pretty much whatever she wants. She could also leave what’s called a life estate that says her boyfriend gets use of the home while he’s alive. Technically, in this kind of situation the house would be left to you, but he would legally have use of it during his life. Upon his death, the home could then revert to you or your brother.

—Dave

* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 13 million listeners each week on 585 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.

Dave Says August 1, 2019

By
Dave Ramsey
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Adjust our emergency fund?

Dear Dave,

My husband and I have been married five years, and we’ve decided we want to have children. We’ve both been working full time since our wedding, and we were wondering if we should adjust our emergency fund and retirement investing to accommodate all the upcoming life changes that go along with having a bigger family.

Rachel

Dear Rachel,

When it comes to an emergency fund, I’d stick with what I recommend in the Baby Steps. A good emergency fund of three to six months of expenses should be fine. If you feel safer leaning toward the six-month side, that’s fine. As far as investing is concerned, that’s Baby Step 4. This means 15 percent of your household income going toward retirement. None of that really changes.

Now, with another person in the house, your day-to-day expenses are going to increase. That’ll make it even more important to make sure you’re living on a written monthly budget. What you don’t want to do, is quit your job to come home and be a full-time mom, then find yourselves dipping into the emergency fund. Being a stay-at-home mom is fine. It’s a wonderful thing if you can afford it. But if that’s the plan you need to budget accordingly, and practice living on just your husband’s income before you quit your job.

God bless you two, Rachel!

—Dave

Micro investing apps?

Dear Dave,

What is your opinion on micro investing apps like Acorns and Betterment? Are these good vehicles for building wealth in the long term, and are there any major drawbacks to these types of services?  

Alex

Dear Alex,

I’m not saying there’s anything really wrong with Acorns or Betterment, but they do different things. Acorns is more of an invest pennies, round-up kind of program, where Betterment is kind of a robo-investing deal.

Here’s the thing. Micro investing is going to create micro wealth. And the big downside is you’re going to feel like you did something important. The way you end up with money is by investing money. The way you end up with more money is by investing more money. You can argue all you want that using things like these create extra money. Yeah, but not really. The returns are still micro. An app doesn’t make two dollars turn into twenty dollars.

It’s okay to use apps like that. I’m not mad at them, and I don’t think they’re a rip-off. What worries me about these kinds of things, in an investing sense, is they give the illusion that you’ve done something significant with your money.

—Dave

* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 16 million listeners each week on 600 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.

Dave Says May 14 2018

By
Dave Ramsey
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Save up, or get a mortgage?

Dear Dave,

I’m 28, single, and I just became debt-free. In addition, I make $70,000 a year and have the equivalent of six months of expenses set aside for emergencies. Should I save up to pay cash for a house, or is mortgage debt okay? I’d like to keep the price of a new home between $200,000 and $225,000. Since I currently live in a nice apartment, I think I can save about $20,000 a year. What do you think?

Kathryn

Dear Kathryn,

It sounds like you’re in great financial shape. Congratulations on becoming debt-free!

Let’s take a look at both scenarios. If you can save $20,000 a year, that means you’re about 10 years away from a nice, paid-for home, and you’re still debt-free. That’s one option. At the same time, I don’t yell at people for taking out a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage, where the payments are no more than 25 percent of their monthly take home pay. In this situation, you could save like crazy for a couple of years and make a big down payment on a home in the price range you’re talking about. Then, you could pay off that house in just 15 years.

I honestly don’t have a problem with either solution, Kathryn, but think about this. Wouldn’t it be great to have your own home, and still be completely debt-free, at 40? It’s something to think about!

—Dave

Stand up to them!

Dear Dave,

A debt collection agency started calling my office a few weeks ago. I gave them an initial payment, and made an agreement to pay off the debt in monthly installments. This morning, they started calling me at my office again wanting payment. Can I legally demand they not call me at my place of employment?

James

Dear James,

Absolutely! You have a legal and moral obligation to pay your debts, and I’m glad this is something you recognize. But collectorshave rules they must follow. They’re governed by law just like everyone else.

Be certain to keep your end of the agreement. Make your payments on time, or early, whenever possible. Then, if they call you at work again, remind them of your initial payment and the terms of the agreement already in place. Be polite, but firm, and demand that they never call you at your office again.

In addition, send them a certified letter, return receipt requested, so you’ll have proof you sent the letter and they received it. In the letter, let them know that — according to guidelines set forth in the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act — you are demanding they not call you at your office again.

If they call you there after receiving this formal demand to stop, they’ll be in violation of federal law. If that happens, let them know you’ll talk to a lawyer and sue them.

—Dave

* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 13 million listeners each week on 585 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.

Dave Says

By
Dave Ramsey
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0

A very generous offer

Dear Dave,

My in-laws have very generously offered my wife and I $250,000 to help with a down payment on a home. I know the amount exceeds the IRS’s yearly gift allowance, but they want to structure it as a family loan and have already told us they don’t care if we pay it back. If we accept, we technically owe them a lot of money. If we say no, they may be offended. What do you think about this and how it might impact the relationship?    

James

Dear James,

Well, it makes sense your wife would be onboard with the whole thing. It’s her dad making the offer, so of course she would be a lot more comfortable with the idea than you are.

 This is a big deal, and it’s something you two should have a very serious conversation about. Get on the same page in every regard. Also, I’d recommend making sure you get everything in writing. See to it, as well, that it can be forgiven at the maximum allowable annual gift rate.

In addition, in the event of death make sure it’s included in the estate, it’s forgiven, and there will be zero call on the note. In effect, that would make it an advance on your inheritance instead of debt. Under no circumstances should they, or any other heirs, have grounds to call the note. 

That’s a good question, James. And a nice gift!

—Dave

Keeping the side hustle alive

Word count: 272

Dear Dave,

I have a full-time job, but I also have a side job providing firewood to help pay off debt. I make $600 to $1,000 a month with this project. My log splitter went down recently when a hydraulic line burst, and the machine caught on fire. I’m not sure how much it will cost to get it going again. Should I invest in a new one that will increase my productivity and help me pay off debt faster?

Chris

Dear Chris,

If I’m in your shoes, I’m going to fix the old one. Even it means duct tape and glue, I’m going to try to find a way to repair it instead of spending a bunch of money or going deeper into debt.

If you can’t do that at a reasonable price out of pocket, I’d be in the market for a decent, used log splitter. And pay cash! I get your line of thinking when it comes to increasing productivity. Splitting wood is real work. But don’t try to justify buying an expensive, new piece of equipment when it’s just not necessary.

If you’re making that much with a side hustle, you can make your money back on a used splitter in a month or two—three at the most. Be smart about it, Chris!  

—Dave

* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 16 million listeners each week on 600 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.

How to Budget for Christmas in July

By
Rachel Cruze
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Can you believe Christmas is right around the corner? It seems like we were just celebrating the Fourth of July, and now it’s time for another Christmas season.

Okay, don’t get mad and protest that I’m bringing up Christmas too early. Even though the actualholiday is still five months away, it’s not too early to budget for it.

One of the most frequent stressors I hear about during the holiday season is overspending. So many people have the best intentions—and they want to give to as many people as possible—but those good intentions often come with a lot of bills in January.

If you’re worried about overspending this Christmas, the fix is to do a Christmas budget. Here’s how you make a very simple zero-based Christmas budget:

Step 1: Decide how much you can spend on Christmas gifts

I’m not talking about throwing Christmas parties or decorating your house. This is just about gifts.

Last year, 33% of Americans planned to spend $1,000 on Christmas gifts. Now, depending on your family and money situation, that might be a lot or not nearly enough. But chances are you don’t have that kind of cash just lying around in your bank account, which is why you’ll want to start putting a little bit aside each month starting now.

For example, let’s take that number and reduce it a little. Let’s say you budget $600 for Christmas gifts. That’s the total amount of money you plan on spending on your family and friends this holiday season. If you start saving for that this month, you’ll need to set aside $120 per month. That’s if you do all your shopping in December.

Step 2: List the people you want to buy for, and how much you plan to spend on each

Your Christmas budget might look like this:

Kid One: $135
Kid Two: $135
Spouse: $50
Mom: $50
Dad: $50
In-Laws: $100
Sister: $30
Friend: $30
Office Secret Santa: $20

Step 3: Subtract all those numbers from the total amount you’ve budgeted for gifts 

If you end up with zero, then you’ve perfected a zero-based Christmas budget!

Every dollar you’ll spend is attached to someone’s name, just like categories in a normal budget. It’s that simple, and all you really need is a sheet of paper. If you prefer a digital budget, check out EveryDollar. It’s the budgeting app I use.

Don’t get too caught up in the specifics of this example. Your situation might be totally different. The main thing is being intentional, proactive, and precise with your spending. And when December comes around, your Christmas shopping experience will be much more merry and bright. You’ll be checking everyone off your budget list, instead of spending first and worrying about the consequences later.

Merry Christmas in July, and happy budgeting!

About Rachel Cruze:

As a #1 New York Times best-selling author, host of The Rachel Cruze Show, and The Rachel Cruze Show podcast, Rachel helps people learn the proper ways to handle money and stay out of debt. She’s authored three best-selling books, including Love Your Life, Not Theirs and Smart Money Smart Kids, which she co-wrote with her father, Dave Ramsey. You can follow Cruze on Twitter and Instagram at @RachelCruze and online at rachelcruze.com, youtube.com/rachelcruze or facebook.com/rachelramseycruze.

Dave Says October 11 2018

By
Dave Ramsey
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Spending money in the budget?

Dear Dave,

We are debt-free except for our home, and we have six months of expenses set aside in our emergency fund. Every time we do our monthly budget, we set aside a small amount of personal spending money for us both. Do you see anything wrong with this?

DeAnna

Dear DeAnna,

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a little fun money calculated into your monthly budget when you’re in good financial shape. The problems start when couples don’t agree on these kinds of things — or worse — when they start hiding stuff and lying to each other about where the money’s going.

People either grow together or they grow apart when they get married. When you start hiding things from your spouse you’re essentially keeping separate lives. That’s a bad sign in any marriage, and in many cases, this kind of thing leads to divorce.

Having an agreed-upon budget isn’t just telling your money what to do. It’s also an important part of a healthy sharing and communication process between husband and wife!

—Dave

 

Close up small business?

Dear Dave,

I have a small business, and I love what I do. Unfortunately, things haven’t been going well the last several months. On top of that, I’ve committed a lot of money to advertising in the coming year. Recently, I got a great job offer from a company that would pay me twice what I’m making now. What do you think I should do?

Hugh

Dear Hugh,

If it were me, I’d want to keep my options open. Closing your business would mean giving up all your customers. I’m not sure that’s a good idea when the offer has just been made, and you know so little about the actual job.

If you think this new job is something you might like, why not accept the offer and see if you can continue your other work on the weekends? That would help cover some, if not all, of your advertising commitment. Plus, it would keep some money rolling in if the new job doesn’t work out.

If you find you like this new job, then you’ve got a great income and something you like doing on weekends that pays. If you keep your business open — even on a small scale — there’s always a chance it will begin to grow again. Who knows? It might give you the opportunity to jump back into it full-time somewhere down the road!

—Dave

* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 14 million listeners each week on 600 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.

Dave Ramsey Says March 22 2018

By
Dave Ramsey
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Two extremes

Dear Dave,

I’m about to graduate from college, and while I’ve been in school my mom has been handling most of my finances. Recently, I discovered she’s been taking my student loan money and spending it on herself. So far, it looks like she’s taken around $12,000, and I have a total of $25,000 in student loan debt. Since I realized this was happening, I’ve been reading your books and learning how to manage my own money. I don’t know how to deal with this situation with her, though. She admits she did wrong, but says she can’t pay it back. Can you help?

Alan

Dear Alan,

I hate hearing this. There’s no easy way to deal with these kinds of situations.

The first thing you need to do is take over complete and total control of all your finances. Shut down any accounts that have her name on them, and anything else financially-related that she can access. I know this sounds harsh, but she has proven she’s just not trustworthy. It’s a hard thing to hear about a parent, but at this point you’ve got to take steps to protect yourself. What she has been doing is theft, and financial child abuse.

One extreme is to press criminal charges. The other extreme is to just forget it, and pay it. In between is a promise from her to repay everything she has taken, but she’s already out of control. That’s a promise that wouldn’t be kept. The problem with prosecuting someone criminally for this type of action — other than the emotional toll, because she’s your mom — is the money’s already gone. It’s doesn’t make them magically have the money to repay you. On top of all this, you’d have a really hard time legally getting the student loans removed from your name due to theft.

Honestly, under the circumstances I think you’re probably going to end up eating this. But sit down, and try to have a calm, clear discussion about what has happened, and why it happened. Let her know first, without a doubt, that you will criminally prosecute her if she ever uses your name to put money into her own pocket again. Second, tell her you’re prepared to forgive her and forget about it — and she pays you back at some point, if she can — if she agrees to get some financial and emotional counseling.

Try to get her some help, and get her under control, Alan. If you don’t, I’m afraid things are only going downhill from here.

—Dave

 

* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 13 million listeners each week on 585 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.

Dave Ramsey Says April 17 2018

By
Dave Ramsey
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0

Laptop dilemma

Dear Dave,

My husband and I are just starting Baby Step 1 of your plan. Prior to this, we told my two nephews we would buy them laptop computers for college. They don’t get a lot of encouragement or support from their immediate family, so we try to help them when we can. Should we go ahead and honor this commitment, postpone getting our starter emergency fund in place, and possibly take on a little more debt, or bow out of the agreement?

Lisa

Dear Lisa,

Well, it’s difficult to be generous when you’re broke. You don’t even have $1,000 to your names, and you’re going to buy two laptops? I don’t know how much debt you have, or what your household income is, but I do know neither of you have managed your money very well in the past.

If you make $50,000 a year, and you have $70,000 in debt, you should sincerely and apologetically bow out. Explain that you made a big mistake, and just be honest about why you can’t provide the laptops. If you make $200,000 a year, but you’ve just been incredibly silly and lazy with your money, you should buy the laptops and then get serious about growing up and getting control of your finances.

Don’t make promises, financial or otherwise, you can’t keep. I know this is a tough, embarrassing situation, but it’s what I would do if I were in your shoes.

—Dave

Tiny home depreciation?

Dear Dave,

Do you think the value of a “tiny home” would depreciate like a trailer?

Romeo

Dear Romeo,

That’s a tough one. I’m not certain they would depreciate like a trailer, but I don’t think they would go up in value much, either.

Anytime there’s a very limited demand for something, the price or value doesn’t generally increase. And there are very few people looking to buy tiny homes. The tiny home movement is kind of a niche thing. It’s a very narrow market, and something that doesn’t have a lot of demand isn’t going to appreciate.

I would avoid the tiny house movement if I were you, Romeo. Don’t invest in things that don’t have proven track records and don’t go up in value. I love real estate, but not tiny real estate!

—Dave

*Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 13 million listeners each week on 585 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.

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