Chapters
Shownotes Transcript
- Recently, I got to speak to over 1200 Ramsey fans at an event called the Total Money Makeover Weekend. Here's a taste. Cauliflower's arguably one of the worst vegetables out there. Told you, it was just a taste. And when I wasn't on stage captivating the crowd or in the green room eating a bowl full of only pink Starbursts per my contract, I decided to be a man of the people and mingle with the attendees before the big show. And while I was mingling, they shared with me how they've mangled their money by telling me their biggest money mistakes.
And let me tell you, getting Ramsey fans to admit their biggest money mistakes is not the easiest task. It's like trying to get out of Costco without spending over $100. It simply cannot be done. But I ended up getting some good answers that revealed some terrible decisions. So think of today's video as a little money confessional with hardcore Ramsey fans. But before we get to the money mistakes, hit those like, subscribe, and share buttons while I finish this bowl of only pink Starbursts. What's this doing here? Someone's gonna have a field day with this one, not on my watch.
I don't get no respect. No respect at all. Tell us your biggest money mistake. I co-signed on a car, and it cost me about $15,000. So the person, who did you co-sign with? It was a friend.
- Oh no. - And so I co-signed on her car. She didn't pay for it. She also destroyed the car, so I couldn't sell it. I had to spend more money to get it fixed up just enough to sell it. And then when I sold it, I took a $10,000 loss. - That's a sad story. - So all in all, what did this cost you? - It was about 14, $15,000. - Plus the friendship, I assume. - Oh yes. - I had a really beautiful Sequoia at one point.
And? I told him I'm going to drive that car in heaven. I sold it. She still regrets it because of the loan? Oh, yeah. Was your big money mistake taking out a giant loan for the Sequoia? Yeah. How much was the loan? Yeah, the huge payment. $730 a month? No, yeah, but it was like $37,000 total. $37,000, $730 a month, zero down. It was really pretty, though. It was. I stay awake, not sleeping, because I'm thinking about this. A student loan, $13,000. Woo! The
Did you graduate? No. And you still had the debt even though you didn't graduate? Correct. Was that even more heartbreaking for you? It was. It was more heartbreaking for him after he married me. He had to pay for it. Oh, dang. We bought a piece of land to build a house. And so we closed on the land and the construction loan all at the same time. And we...
borrowed money for the down payment. - Ooh, so you were so broke that we were on the down payment. We're gonna borrow that money on top of borrowing the rest of the money. - Yeah, we were robbing Peter to pay Paul. - What was the total amount of this debt? - The down payment and closing cost everything was around 34 grand. - Okay. - But the total project cost was gonna be around 150. - Leasing a car when I was 18. I leased a Toyota RAV4.
XLE. And I actually got out of it through the SCRA program because I was an active duty service member. Wow. That was my way out. How did they get you out of that? Actually, Dave helped me out. So I actually called in. He actually helped me out through that. So basically, that guy's an eligible...
active duty soldier you're able to get out of a lease with no penalties exactly okay so leasing the car your biggest money mistake how about you i would say just like going to college and not knowing how to use a credit card oh boy man i just kept swiping and swiping and swiping like yeah i'll just pay it so you thought credit limit meant that's the goal come on let's spend 2500 the limit is what we want to get to you know put it all on my credit card my good man biggest money mistake uh filing bankruptcy that's a big one twice
Twice. How does that even happen? What happened the first time? George, don't ask. This can go on forever. Oh, well, give me the SparkNotes. Did all the wrong money moves. I just, you know, I just made, I borrowed money I shouldn't have borrowed. I tried to live beyond my means. What happened the second time? Same thing. Same thing. You never changed your habits. No.
And so you fell back into the same traps. Is that a good summary? Yep. Buying a brand new car, $2,000 and I think $21,000 right off the lot, paid full price, all the bells and whistles. And, you know, I thought it was the best day of my life. Soon found out it wasn't. Okay, how much did the car cost in full? About $47,000. Woo! Yes. Okay, what were you making at the time per year? I wasn't making $47,000. Oh! All right, tell us your biggest money mistake, if you will. ♪
She looked at him like, tell him, why don't you? Getting a car that we actually paid triple for. How does that even work? Just financing. Wrong financing. Oh, no? What kind of car was this? 2020 Equinox, Chevy Equinox. Okay, what did you pay for the Equinox? It was actually $21,000. Okay. And we probably paying about, well, it's like two and a half times, probably about $40,000.
Is that because of crazy interest rate? How does that? Yes. What was the interest? Do you remember? 22%. Yes. All the things. Yes, we did all the things. 22% interest on a car loan. Yes. Were you married at the time? Yes. What did you think about this? Listen. Did you know about this? Yes. I was crazy back then.
Hey, if you're enjoying today's video, it's partially because of our friends at Delete Me, one of the sponsors of today's video. And if you didn't know, they scour the internet and find and remove your data from all these nasty data broker websites out there, keeping you safe from online scams and fraud. So for you all, would you like a one-year subscription to Delete Me to help you stay protected online? Yes. Yes.
That's two yeses. Because of their generosity, they were like, give it to some nice people that you meet. And you are the nicest people I've met today. For the rest of you, you can get 20% off any of Delete Me's plans by going to joindeleteme.com slash George. I'll also drop the link in the description below. But for you guys, it's free. Awesome. Thank you. Merry Christmas. Happy Christmas.
- Happy Christmas. - It's Christmas. - Merry Christmas. - All right, well, it's good to hear I'm not the only one who's made some mistakes with money. And some of those were pretty bad. But look, these people are here at the Total Money Makeover weekend to transform their money habits. So to end on a high note, I asked them to share the best money moves they've made and they delivered. What's been your biggest money win so far?
I think so. We really only started getting into the Ramsey plan back in September of 2023. And since then, we pulled about every lever that we could. So we're $90,000 out of debt since September of last year. Oh, my goodness. So we got really gazelle intense. So in less than a year, you've paid off over 90 grand. Yeah.
That's amazing. You're in Baby Step 3? We're in Baby Step 3 right now. Saving up the emergency fund. Then it's going to become sinking fund for a new Sequoia. New to you, Sequoia. Yes. Well, speaking of Baby Step 3B and saving up that emergency fund, a great place to store it is in a high-yield savings account. Do you have one of those?
We do. What's the interest rate? It's at 4.25 right now. I can do better. Our friends at Laurel Road, one of the sponsors of today's video, they're an online bank. They have a great high yield savings account. And right now their rate is 5.15% APY, no monthly maintenance fees, no heebie-jeebie stuff. And it's FDIC insured so you can rest easy while your money works hard for you. How does that sound?
Sounds pretty good. You're thinking about switching over now, aren't you? Yeah, absolutely. Well, if you want to switch over, go to laurelroad.com slash george and get started today. That's laurelroad.com slash george. Link is also in the description. I already got one customer right here. I feel good about this. Yeah, absolutely. Always be closing. All right, what's been your biggest money win so far in your adult life? Biggest money win. I don't know. I save about 40% of my income, and I've been consistently budgeting since 2018. I bought my house at 22%.
And I've just been keep doing what I'm doing, you know? You're crushing it, dude. Way to go. We started following Ramsey. So I listen to the Ramsey podcast like every single day. So I've just we've started implementing the principles. We have our emergency fund. We're paying off our debt. We're so close. It's really just a car we got to turn around and sell. And then we cash flowed our wedding. So that's a big win. We're both in the military. I deployed over to the Middle East in a combat zone. So yeah.
It's a tax-free area. And I decided, hey, instead of having all that extra money and go have fun and play when I come home from it, why don't we throw that toward debt? We're almost out of Baby Step 2, and we only have one more debt to go. Woo! So you're down to the final debt? We're in it. What is it? It's a car loan. It's a car loan. You know a lot about car loans. Mm-hmm.
Whose car is it? It's my car. It's your car this time. We paid off mine, and I have an official Dave car sticker on the back now. Yeah, it says official Dave car on the back. Wait, it says official Dave car? Official Dave car. Who makes those bumper stickers? Etsy. Thanks, Etsy. Thanks, Etsy. I'll take 10. My sister was telling me about Dave Ramsey, and I said, you know, if she's telling me about him, they've been telling me in church. I got to look this guy up. So I looked him up, and...
From then on, I've been following the baby steps. That was just last year. Wow. January. Okay, so how much debt do you have now? None. None.
Probably our 401k, right? Setting up for retirement, you know, IRAs, just setting up for the future. You know, just understanding it a little bit better so we can make it work for us later on. My biggest money win, one, was paying off a $47,000 vehicle in three years because I had no business getting it in the first place. Does it drive differently now? I sold it. Oh, it's gone. It's gone. It's trauma. So you bought it, you paid it off, and you went, I don't need this PTSD in my life. I don't need it anymore. I sold it. Good!
God. Good rivers. Okay, what's been your biggest money win so far? Coming here. Finding Ramsey. Real tough. We are trying to get out of that hole. That's our goal. So just being willing to climb out and submit yourself to another plan, you're like, that's our biggest win so far. Just realizing it doesn't have to stay this way. That's right. That's inspiring. Finding hope. Yes. Finding hope. That's what we're all about here, Ramsey. Okay, so the point of all this, it's not about the mistakes you've made with money. It's about what you're going to do about
You can get ahead financially, regardless of your background with money, the mistakes you've made, we can all get better and build wealth. And these people are living proof. It's all about knowing the traps to avoid, learning how to manage your money the right way, and deciding that you're in the driver's seat when it comes to your financial future. Oh, and let me know in the comments what your biggest money mistake is, and please go full Brene Brown, okay? This is a safe place. Be vulnerable.
And if you think these financial faux pas are bad, check out this video to find out how much Nick Cage spent on an octopus. Thanks for watching, see you next time.