The Ramsey Show
The Ramsey Show

It’s Time to Face Your Financial Reality

September 17, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

A Las Vegas caller named Jennifer called the Ramsey Show with $24,000 in retirement savings at age 53, a household income of $100,000, and a fresh $40,000 dental loan for her husband’s full-mouth extraction. She told the hosts she thought she was doing “pretty good financially” because she had nearly paid off a car and a credit card. Jay Borshaw stopped her: “What you’ve been doing has not worked. Do you agree?” The call set the tone for an episode about the gap between self-assessment and financial reality—and what it actually costs to close it.

The Cost of Avoiding Reality

Jennifer’s story is a case study in incremental denial. She had been “plugging away” at debt for years, but the dental emergency exposed the fragility of her plan. With roughly 15 working years left, she had $24,000 total in retirement accounts. Her husband had a pension at his five-year mark, but nothing else. The couple had consumer debt of about $43,000, including the dental loan. Rachel Cruz pointed out the pattern: “Instead of looking at what it is, you kind of say, ‘Oh, well, it’s not that bad.’” The advice was direct: stop sugarcoating, get on the Baby Steps, and start throwing cash at the debt immediately, including draining the savings account that wasn’t invested anyway.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 Timestamped Outline
  • 2 (00:13) **Opening and First Caller: Jennifer's Wake-Up Call** - Jennifer, 53, calls in after realizing her financial picture is far worse than she thought, triggered by a $40,000 dental emergency for her husband.
  • 3 (03:17) **The Domino Effect of Avoidance** - The hosts explain that Jennifer's dental crisis wasn't the cause of her financial anxiety but the final domino in years of not fully engaging with her finances.
  • 4 (10:36) **Andre's Concern About His Dad's Spending** - Andre, 23, calls worried about his widowed father's financial habits, particularly spending heavily on food delivery and an unused car.
  • 5 (22:42) **Candy's $1.7 Million Windfall** - Candy, 66, sold her farm and cows for $1.7 million and is trying to decide how to handle the money, with an advisor recommending CDs.
  • 6 (33:44) **Tyler's Contract-for-Deed Offer** - Tyler, 25, has been offered a contract-for-deed deal on his aunt and uncle's $450-500K house, but he has $35K in student loans and only $4K saved.
  • 7 (44:20) **Nicole's Income Crisis and Marital Strain** - Nicole's husband lost his $100K+ job, took a car sales job making ~$36K/year, and she's had to go back to work, straining their marriage.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Rachel Cruz

Show Notes

📈 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a Free Personalized Plan.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

❓ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Have a money question? Ask Ramsey is here to help.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


Rachel Cruze and Jade Warshaw answer your questions and discuss:

  • “My husband lost his job, our finances are a mess, and it's starting to affect our marriage.”
  • “My father is spending all his money on food, I'm worried he is going to blow all his savings. How do I talk to him?”
  • “Should I take out a business loan to start a business with my brother at 18 years old?”
  • “Should I keep my home with a high mortgage payment with the hope that it will appreciate in a few years?”
  • “How do we get information about a trust my father-in-law made for our son?”


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