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[MUSIC PLAYING] Brought to you by the Every Dollar App, start budgeting for free today. So my husband is a physician. So he's got a really good income. But he also has almost $500,000 of student loan debt. We've been married three years, so I kind of married into his debt. And as such, we're not sure if now is even an acceptable time to be considering buying a couple of new to us used cars. Right now, he works out of state and will for the foreseeable future. So he's gone 50% of the time. And I'm here with all the kids. Last week, two of our vehicles were broken down at the same time so I had no transportation. So we're looking to spend maybe a total of $40,000 on a van and a sedan. And just don't know if we're still supposed to be driving clunkers because of that massive student loan debt. Are we attacking the massive student loan debt? Probably not as fiercely as you would like, which has-- and not as seriously as I would like, either, because this is a second marriage for both of us. We've both had to kind of adjust our financial views a little bit, a little give and take. And so I'm more gung-ho than he is. But at the same time, we are still paying them off. We've paid off 100,000 of them in the past two years. Yeah. What's he make? He makes $400,000 gross. So we're bringing home a little over $18,000 a month. You should be bringing home more than that. Your taxes aren't-- It's about $19,000 after taxes and insurance. That's almost 50%. That's almost-- you don't have a 50% tax, so some kind of problems going on here. Is he investing through his retirement plan? Yes, but that's actually already been maxed out for the year. So yeah, I know-- Well, that's why you're taking home less as well. That's part of the equation there. So if we pause investing, you could get back $20,000 in your business. I mean, the question's not really cars because based on the way you guys are currently living, you're trying to wander out of debt while continuing to do investing. And while you have to do this, you make $400,000, you only paid off $100,000 in two years. I mean, it's just awful. So there's no intensity at all inside. You also have a lot of expenses that others may not have. With him working out of state, he has to maintain an apartment out of state. I have three step kids that live in a different state that he has to go out there to visit on a monthly basis. And so hotel rooms and travel for that. And then-- Yeah, but truthfully, Katie, you told us you guys are not intense. You guys are not working our system, OK? I'm not mad at you, but so I don't know why whether you buy a car or matters. I mean, if you want to go buy a car or buy a car, if you're going to keep working it this way, but you're going to struggle as long as you continue to do this. And so you guys are going to have to decide if you're going to lean into this debt thing and get rid of the debt. If you're going to lean into it, then stop the 401k and buy one $10,000 car and get rid of these two pieces of crap that keep breaking down. But as long as you all keep acting like people that make $400,000, you're going to keep spending, what you're spending. And you're going to justify it and rationalize it. And you're going to stay in debt. You're not going to get out. So it doesn't matter. This $10,000 car doesn't matter. But what it does do, the question, what the question does do in your house, not with us, it doesn't affect us. But between the two of you, it causes you to say, OK, are we going to do this or not? Are we going to keep limping through this? Because at this current rate, you're going to be in debt for 10 years. And that's just not a good plan. If you're going to do that, then, yeah, sure, buy a car. I mean, all the cars you want to buy, I don't care. Because what you're doing is you're half-but-doing everything. And that's just not going to-- everything we teach anyway. So yeah, you guys need to have a discussion about this. We need to sit down and make the money we have behave better. And we need to behave better. And we need to get in very, very intense. Because you are a broke doctor's wife. You're married to a doctor who is broke, broke, poor people, making 400 grand. That's what you are. So you guys got to decide if that's how you want to live or not. I don't want to live like that. Yeah, part of this is getting a line going, all right, how much can and should we be throwing at this debt? We want to be done in three years. OK, that's 170 grand a year. And we've got to be throwing at this. What does that take per month? Once you make it mathematical-- And what must be true? Yeah, we've got to cut a lifetime. What has to be true of our lifestyle? What has to be true of the travel apartment? What has to be true about this and true about that? And what's the way we can, for a short period of time, what can we sacrifice? And that's what you do. And regardless of if you make 40 grand or you make 400 grand. Maybe you can repair the cars for five grand instead of spending 40. And that buys you a few years. Who knows? But I think what this highlights is not a car issue. What it highlights is the issue that you guys are-- the plan you're working is not working, not well. And you're not on the same page. And you guys probably need to talk about what the flip we're going to do going forward. I mean, then that will answer your car question. And do you even have 40 grand in cash to pay for this? Yeah, probably not. Open phones at Triple 8, 825, 5225. Jump in. We'll talk about your life and your money. So George, one of the things that happens, and it happened with me, I didn't have a choice because I went broke. But you can choose to take away all your options. You can choose to take away all your rationalizations. You can choose to do this. And you have to kind of run a mental scenario. I always say tell people, like, OK, you have no money. What if you had to have $10,000 by Christmas to save the life of your child with a medical procedure? And you couldn't borrow it. What would you do? You'd find it. You'd find it. And all of a sudden, all this, oh, I have to do this. I have to do that. And bullcrap, we're getting $10,000. If you make it a priority, it happens. It's like it's life or death. Whatever you focus on. And so you'll see that all of a sudden, all this stuff we think we need when you are trying to save the life. You know, when you put it in that kind of a mental gymnastic routine, then, you know, then you're forced into looking at your life realistically. Yeah, because that isn't life or death. But you kind of have to make it that way in order to get out. But if you say, you know, if you act like that's how important this is. Until it becomes important, you're not going to do it. That's the thing. As long as there's something else-- That's any goal in life. You're not going to do it. Create your free $3 budget today, the simplest way to budget for your life.
