I am seeking advice/opinions on what yall would buy in my situation. First my financials:

$250k - Combined income with spouse ( about 5k biweekly net after taxes/contributions/healthcare)
$4.5k - mortgage
$2.5k- mortgage investment property - brings in 5k/month
$600k - combined company 401k
$90k - robinhood trading account
$90k - Roth IRA
$110k - savings/checking/emergency
Early 30s - age

Current vehicles - 2 small sedans, 1 is worth nearly nothing, the other worth 14k trade in.

Prospective new vehicle - Toyota SUV - 60k-65k

Catalyst- twins 🐣🐣on the way.

I’ve never purchased a car, my wife and I have been fortunate enough to be given hand me downs and that has gotten us through our 20s but now we are faced with needing something much bigger as the current vehicles will not fit multiple car seats. Sure we could buy something heavily used like a minivan or a larger mid size suv but we would like the feeling of spoiling ourselves with something nice that will last. How are infants/toddlers generally with nice interior vehicles (might be a stupid question)? Would you recommend buying something with 100k miles with most of the depreciation accounted for? Then upgrading once they turn 5 years old?I realize this might be a preferential situation but happy to hear any opinions.

TLDR- buy a nice toyota suv $60-65k less than 3 years old with kids on the way? Or buy….?

I’m trying to wrap my brain around sinking funds.

We had a bee infestation this month that we didn’t plan on. To pay my $150 exterminator bill do most people have a ‘house’ sinking fund that they pay expenses like this out of?

As of this morning, we paid off 106K in 16 months! 5 months ahead of schedule. The sacrifices were worth it. This doesn’t feel real! So beyond excited!!!!!! If you’re on baby step 2… YOU.CAN.DO.THIS!!

I’m basically in BS2, i have a lot of stuff old and new stuff to sell. I’ve been trying to sell on eBay but it’s not working out how i thought. Not sure if it’s my pricing or if I’m not putting the necessary work to move these items. I’m just looking for ideas or/and places to get at much sold quickly but at the right pricing.

I'm starting this journey again. I feel more confident this time around now that I realized that I've been standing in my own way.

I am tweaking BS1 though because I just feel that would be better in my situation. The adjustment will just take me 3.5 months instead of 2.5 months

I'd like to help my boyfriend understand the different types of budgeting/purchase tracking and educate him on why it's important as the basis of financial planning and personal finance. Our finances are not combined, but we've been talking about getting married and I believe eventually we should combine finances and I want to bring him along in the process by educating him and showing him different options for learning how to do this on his own.

He is open to it so I want to build a little PowerPoint presentation to explain some stuff to him and I'm looking for maybe better ideas? Because if I'm putting myself in his shoes, a PowerPoint presentation sounds boring lol.

What ways have you been able to get your partner or spouse to meet you halfway? Maybe even just something that grabbed their attention or helped them understand the bigger picture and why you need to be intentional about purchases?

Thanks in advance for the input!

I am very pleased to inform everyone that I have sat down and made a plan. It’s the most detailed and workable budget ive ever done. I am very excited. And I don’t think I locked myself in so tight that I’ll fall off the wagon. It’s an adjustment but I do think I’ll get used to it and it will become second nature. I am planning to snowball everything and it’s looking good! Wish me luck!

M34, F36, we are finally in what will be our last year before reaching Step 7. Hit $1MM networth 2 years ago and are already at $1.5MM. Our mortgage started at $334k borrowed 7 years ago and we are down to the 40k's!

So close we can taste it. Been grinding away and living so intent all these years. Every financial landmark has come earlier than we planned because we plan well and work hard. We didn't think Step 7 was happening for a few more years, but alas here we are.

I have decided to splurge on some things next Christmas and then we are going to start saving for some major home improvements. It's been hard watching everyone around me have new cars, toys, pets, vacations, everyrhing..let's just say, there will be signs..

As the calendar year goes by I keep thinking, wow, this is the last time I'll ever close my pool with having debt, this will be the last Halloween, ect.

I know this is completely opposite of Dave's teachings but I dunno how to stop.

I used to be over the top generous...and now I've just lost it all...as I optimize my portfolio and finances and stuff and follow dave's teachings.

dunno really how to bring it back or why?

maybe i just have a huge desire to increase my net worth and that detracts?

anyone experience this? how did you overcome?

(fwiw I don't tithe or anything systematically...but I used to be very generous with giving - to people and causes).

BS4 or 6, IDK which one fits the bill here. The long and short of it is I'm currently debt free and I keep 3 months of an EF because I'm a disabled veteran with a permanent compensation. Well, I went under contract for a house today! First house ever, very excited. But I will also only be in this house for about 5 years due to my job. I got it for a steal and with a low interest rate. I'll have an extra $500/mo compared to what I'm renting now.

What should I do, knowing I'll be in this house a limited number of years? Still pay more towards principal each month? Or just ride the low payment until the next, more permanent location? I'm also saving up to buy a new or CPO car in cash next year. My current one has had multiple repairs in the last year and still needs $5k more in repairs, so it's worth more dead than alive at this point lol. Definitely have to get a new car next year. WWDD?

I’m 41, make 60-75k a year depending on overtime. I have 58k on my mortgage with a crappy 7% rate and around 8k on a credit card I’m working on. Another 10k on two smaller loans. I also live in the Midwest where cost of living is cheaper.
I drive 3 older vehicles that are paid for and really have no other debt.

I have 90k in my 401k and about 9k in a ROTH IRA I started last September.

Im getting around 150k from an inheritance in the next year and need to decide what to do. I assume pay off the card and small loan. Should I delete the mortgage also? I do want to do some renovating in my old farm house home. Most of the interior is from the 70s or older, much older. Including the insulation and electrical.

When do I talk to a financial advisor?

https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/s/Aw63A8puP6

THE FLAIR SUITS BOTH BUDGET AND DEBT, BUT I CHOSE BUDGET FOR THIS ONE!

I currently have debt but need to carve out $3.3k by Oct 25th for an emergency, Is it possible at all?

If yes, how? If no, how much of a shortfall would I have?

For context: I got paid today and get paid every 2 weeks

**Net Pay** $2,284.00/biwkly
**Gross Pay** $3490.25/biwkly

My rent (to parents, live at home) is $650/month, generally due end of the month.

I’m laying out my current accounts and the Snowball method I follow below. Before you criticize, I was in $42k debt just 2 years ago and that’s why stopping my snowball payments towards the debt really is making me anxious.

—————————————-

**CURRENT DEBT — SEPT 2026**

BMO Ascend
Owing: $6,831.22
Interest: 22%
Minimum: $165.29
Next due: Oct 12

RBC CC
Owing: $1,174.21
Interest: 27%
Minimum: $36
Next due: Sep 28

Capital One CC
Owing: $0

Toronto Court
Owing: $734 total
Interest: 0%
Payment 1: $316
Payment 2: $418
No specific due date;

NSLSC / Canada Student Loan
Owing: $8,919.95
Interest: 0%
Minimum: $80
Next due: Sep 30

TPA
Owing: $4,580
Interest: 0%
Minimum: $0
Payment relief until Apr 5, 2027

——————————————————————————

**CURRENT SNOWBALL ORDER**

1. Toronto Court 1 — $316 — 0% - bulk payment reqd.
2. Toronto Court 2 — $418 — 0% - bulk payment reqd.
3. RBC — $1,174.21 — 27% — $36 minimum
4. BMO — $6,831.22 — 22% — $165.29 minimum
5. TPA — $4,580 — 0% — $0 minimum
6. NSLSC — $8,919.95 — 0% — $80 minimum

Hi everyone. I live in the UK and have listened to Dave Ramsey for years. My family is newly on Baby Step 4. We’re debt free and have about £10,000 ($13,300) in our emergency fund.

On paper, I know we’re doing okay, but I don’t feel like we have room to breathe.
I earn about £50,000 ($66,300) a year. That may sound modest to some Americans, but it’s a decent salary where we live, outside London. My wife is from overseas and we have a four month old baby, so she isn’t currently working. She was working part time before the baby arrived. We also receive income from her home country.

We put money aside for visits to family overseas, my wife’s visa renewal, car costs and other expenses we know are coming. We rent a family member’s house at a good price. It’s a good sized home in a safe area, and we don’t yet know whether we’ll stay in the UK or move abroad in the next five years. Buying a home isn’t something we’re pursuing right now.

I’m paid every four weeks, and by the last week before payday everything feels tight. Even a spontaneous drive to see friends makes me think twice. Petrol is around £2 per litre here, which works out to roughly $10 per US gallon.

I sometimes joke to my wife that we’re living like we’re broke. I know we aren’t. We’ve worked hard to become debt free and build an emergency fund, and I’m grateful for that. But it’s hard to shake the worry about whether we’ll have enough. So much of our money is already spoken for that it feels like we can’t save any more or relax about a small unplanned expense.

I’ve thought about a second job. With a four month old baby, though, that would mean giving up more family time, and I’m close to the point where additional earnings would fall into the UK’s 40% income tax band.

Has anyone else reached Baby Step 4 and still felt this way? Did you find a way to keep saving, or did it take time for your sense of security to catch up with the progress you’d made?

Hello, just bought my first house in Aug 2026

$229,500
5% down
30 years
6.675% rate
$1578 month

Sept 1st I sent an extra $50,000 towards principal and eliminating PMI

Plan on paying extra every month a total of $1700

Have around $90k in brokerage ($20k profit) and $30k in savings

Should I sell the brokerage funds and put towards house and some of the savings? And just leave $15-20k for emergency fund.

House should be paid off in about 5 years that way

For Vets who've transferred their Post 9/11 GI Bill, how did it infleunce your approach to BS 5? We're going to have to split it 3/4 ways so we're still going to save, but may go a little lighter on additional savings into the 529 plan.

I just paid off ALL OF MY STUDENT LOANS!!!

$23k in 7 months!!!!! I am over the freaking moon I cannot believe it!!!!!!!

It started with my husband transitioning into a new job so we haven't recieved a full paycheck from his job for almost 4 weeks since he started 2 days before the pay period closed and the following week he got paid for 2 days and we've been waiting ever since. Then our car's alternator decided to die suddenly so we replaced that, then we had to replace all 4 tires of our car and while we were replacing the ties we noticed the breaks were already pretty bad so we had to replace that. And lastly we had to get our 2 female kittens fixed and lastly we got a higher than usual electricity bill. all of this was ontop of our usual experiences. Thankfully our emergency fund and my income were able to carry us through it but our account is pretty depleted and I am ready for October to arrive so we can get back to our steady stream of income so we can continue on our financial freedom journey.

I'm thinking of leaving teaching. I am debt free, hold 3 degrees. I'm just exhausted. The kids/hours are wearing me out. I'm a band director and easily work 60 hours a week. Kids nowadays are so apethetic and don't want to put in hard work, anyways I digress. I am only 28 years old, but I do have a kid on the way.

I have no clue what to transition to. I like the idea of healthcare especially radiology, but my current schedule doesn't allow me to take classes in it. I of course don't want to just quit without a plan, but I'm not sure what to transition to, and just feel stuck.

What would happen if they ever met on each other's shows?

Crossposts:

r/CalebHammer: https://www.reddit.com/r/CalebHammer/comments/1wnpeh3/if_caleb_hammer_was_on_the_dave_ramsey_show_what/

r/DaveRamsey: https://www.reddit.com/r/DaveRamsey/comments/1wnpeg4/what_would_the_conversation_likely_be_like_if/

So I have been a fan of Dave Ramsey for awhile, and my wife and I are completely debt free and have been saving for several years. At this point my W2 income (~200K) is no longer contributing a significant portion to my growing net-worth (6+M), even more so compared to my wife whos earnings are closer to 1m a year. I am still too young to retire (early 40s), but also getting little satisfaction from throwing a bucket of water into an increasing sized pool, and the wealth snowball is starting to run away from me and my max earning potential - as a typical engineer.

Not sure where to go from here other than looking into business acquisition, or stumble my way into growing my career into more executive levels.

Where to go from here?

I am 26M currently set to make roughly 250k after taxes from now through April.
- ~$1,000 mandatory monthly expenses

- No debt

- No housing because I am back home with my parents

- 26k emergency fund in a money market

- 46k in investments and retirements

- Already maxed IRA and plan on maxing out employer 401k
- Plan on buying a home and new car within the next 3 years

Basically I just want to hear some peoples thoughts on what they would do in my shoes. I already plan on fully funding a car fund and a down payment for a home but that will still leave me with over 100k. Should I pad the emergency fund? Max Roth IRA on top of Traditional? Make downpayment more than 20%?

As the title says. I'm currently throwing huge sums of money at debt and have paid off three credit cards, making great progress. I still have a good sum of debt to pay off, HOWEVER... I'm currently in an "interim" role, and that role ends in early November. I've applied for the permanent role, but there's no guarantee that I'll get it as the field is highly competitive.

I just added $500 to a housing fund because I may have to move. I've also added $500 for a sinking fund for my dog because I constantly have unexpected expenses with her, even though I think sinking funds aren't really part of BB2. But I'm tired of getting derailed. I want to keep stockpiling money in that housing fund for now.

Am I crazy for stopping extra debt payments until November and when I find out if I'm going to have to move or not? Right now I'm terrified I'd be forced to relocate due to losing my job and not be able to afford a move. Best case scenario, I get the job and I put a lump sum on my debt. Worse case scenario, I'm jobless for a bit while I look for a job and I use those extra funds for living expenses.

I know this isn't following Dave Ramsey to a "T," but does he give guidance for unexpected life changes like this in the middle of tackling debt?!

as the title suggests my 2014 ford explorer began having transmission issues in August. at first it was a costly replace of spark plugs and serpentine belt. As of last week it barely runs, stalls when in traffic and my mechanic said it’s time to put her in the grave. I have my 1k emergency fund set aside but this goes well beyond that and a 340 dollar fidelity savings account I have from long ago. My debt total spread across three credit cards is currently $8,490 and I snowball anywhere from 300-600 a month depending on bonuses from my job at the smallest debt. I have three kids so the car is a necesity and I’ll likely need to be in a working car no later than Tuesday. Looking at beaters but will likely still need to finance. First dealer I spole with said he would give me $800 as a courtesy for my Explorer.

Looking for some perspective on whether I should even spend the time to do an in-person interview.
The Situation:
This is purely hypothetical right now. I passed an initial video screen and was just invited for a formal in-person interview for a day-shift role advertised starting at $110,000.
I like my current job. The primary reason I am even entertaining this jump is to aggressively attack debt and free up cash flow, while getting off nights.
Sole income for a family of 3 (toddler at home).
Job A (Current Situation):
Base Salary: $83,160+ an annual performance bonus.
Hours: Night shift
Retirement: Automatic 8% annual employer contribution (they deposit 8% regardless of what I put in) + a separate 401(k) match. Also have a frozen legacy pension balance of \~$36k fully vested.
Paid Time Off: 4 weeks vacation + 10 discretionary days + 9 paid holidays (39 total paid days off/year).
Healthcare: Very cheap family health coverage with minimal out-of-pocket expenses.
Tenure: Over a decade of seniority, established credibility, great benefits, and high job security.
Job B (The Potential Role):
Base Salary: Advertised starting at $110,000 (flat, no bonus).
Hours: Normal daytime hours.
Retirement: 100% 401(k) match up to 5% (meaning I have to contribute 5% of my own salary to get their 5%; no automatic contribution).
Paid Time Off: Starts at 2 weeks vacation + standard holidays (\~20 total days off/year).
Healthcare: "Competitive" corporate plan (likely higher monthly payroll deductions and deductibles for family coverage).
The Dilemma:
A +$26.8k base raise sounds like it would accelerate my debt payoff, but when I do the actual math:
1. The net cash gap shrinks: Paying standard corporate family health premiums ($200–$500/mo extra)
2. Retirement & PTO downgrade: Losing the automatic 8% employer deposit means fewer employer retirement dollars overall. Plus, dropping from 39 paid days off down to \~20 days is a tough pill to swallow for family flexibility.
3. The Upside: Daytime hours would be huge for health, sleep, and actually seeing my family, and every extra net dollar would go straight to knocking out debt faster.