We’ve Lost $1M Over the Last 10 Years

[Music] brought to you by the Ramsey Network app download today to go further with Ramsay my problem is um my husband was out of work for two years he invested in something that just didn't work out and so um he had to go back and get a job and we put all of our life savings everything retirement everything into it so gosh Stacy what happened how much are we talking and what was this investment so um he actually um invented a product and it's still underway an EPA just kept putting it back and putting it back and putting it back so um it's kind of stuck uh with California's EPA and he just thought it would be like oh this will be a Five-Year Plan me I'm more of a realist I'm like this is going to take at least 10 or 11 years well I was right and it's not fun being right and so he had to go to job he's 61 nobody wanted to hire him and he's a smart guy somebody finally did hire him he's making 135,000 a year good and how much money did you guys take how much money went into all of this um we put a million into it wow was this cash or did you take on debt no we took everything out um yeah so you still owe a million dollars in debt no no no we don't thank God we only owe um we only owe $80,000 in debt we have a house um it's um did he borrow on the house at all no okay no we Oh Stacy I'm so how long ago was this um well we've been in it for about 10 or 10 years 11 years yeah so over the course of that amount of time is it added up to a million you were just dumping money into it there's nothing we can get out of this he it would he put a million in and and then they would pay and you know he was trying to pay and um had investors and everything but people dropped out and it's just it's been a show so so what's your income are you working so I I have always been a state home mom I had raised my kids I had a special eache child who they said no one never would graduate but we actually got him to where he has a skill he's a welder now so that's huge good for him yeah um so but all my efforts were put there so at one time I was capable so household income is now 135k you owe 80k in Consumer Debt correct yes okay what's your question in the house we own the house um is it is it outright or do you guys ow do you guys owe anything on a mortgage We Own It We own we owe 375,000 on it you owe that okay yes and so of course we thought about moving we've tried to figure out where to move and God the housing market is terrible um where we're at and so we're trying to figure out that I am working part-time I'm actually in my spare time an artist so I sell pieces for like $3500 a piece for my art but they're few you know it's one every two or three months that's that doesn't cut it sure um and I have applied to over 314 places 12 interviews and repeat interviews only to not be hired uh because nobody wants 55 year olds with no health education so I just need to know do I get a consolidated loan and put it all so because interest rates are killing us and I'm optimistic I consolidated loan isn't going to solve any of your problems you're just moving the debt around and they're going to take an average of the rates so it's not really going to you know work any Miracles here your best bet is to use this 135k of income you have live on as little as you can and throw the rest at this adk until it's knocked out just keep thr it at it and it will you think it'll make a dent because yeah well here's the good news if you use the debt snowball method smallest to largest balance ignore the interest rates I know that's hard right now cuz you see how much you're paying but as you knock out the little debt you free up a payment now take all the margin you were throwing at that throw it at the next smallest debt you free up a payment and you see that as you uh you know go downhill the Deb snowball is going to pick up more snow Stacey how often can you paint because when you said I can sell a painting for 3500 I mean that's if you can sell one a month that's serious a yeah I mean I'm not kidding that that makes well I know and I'm trying to desperately to get there I have literally um you know I tried to build my own website on my own did it you know I've been doing this I'm not good with social media I'm not a well get connected with your local art communities art galleries yeah and do you have paintings sitting do you have paintings sitting waiting to be sold oh yeah okay okay okay so it's not a matter of like okay gotcha got maybe you could sell prints I mean there's a lot of options in the art world where you can make some good money and it you're sounds like you're talented yeah I it's just and the jobs you're applying for I'm not an entrepreneur yeah yeah no you're good think yeah yeah um what kind of jobs have you been applying for I'm just curious has it just been oh my gosh you name it I've applied for so even like Administration type roles um everything everything literally I mean everything and um you know what you could have you looked at um online type jobs like I just wonder even for like as a virtual assistant like usually moms that have raised kids can get crap done like they know how to schedule they know how to run a household um so I even wonder from like a virtual side you could do a virtual thing and paint and try to kind of get that going I haven't done that um I have not done that the virtual assistant I I would look into something like that because a lot of people you had even pieced together a couple of jobs cuz some people just need someone for 10 hours a week you know and you could get you know two or three people that that you're helping um and then on the side how old are your kids they're they're grown now the youngest is still he's a 21 and still living at home but we're do you have 20 something year olds yes do you have a daughter no okay daughter-in-law well have have ask yourself we have no family well I was gonna well I'm thinking from a social media perspective ask one of your sons any of like their girlfriends that they know or people like friends and jump on the phone and learn some of this I'm not kidding like this is and you don't have to grow this like crazy account but getting your your paintings out there cuz Stacy I really think that $35 $0000 that's a I've got 450 followers right now trying I'm trying to work toward get 500 because then I can start um getting payments for like affiliate you know aing see these are the ideas we need to start coming up with not what's the next piece of debt we can jump to because you're going to get out of this but it's GNA the only way out is to get out not to switch it to a different type of loan with slightly lower interest you guys are your best bet to get out with this amazing income and that's just going to mean getting to work and living on less so do a budget with your husband tonight and go what can we live on how little can we live on out of this 135 so that we can get out of debt fast and considering you guys have no retirement Stacey you probably will be you guys probably will be working for the next probably 10 years or so um so we're going to give you Ken Coleman's uh material his assessment yes find the work you're wired to do it comes with his get clear career assessment so take that and it's awesome because it will um as you fill it out maybe spark ideas for you from a from a work standpoint um that could just kind of get your wheels turning on other opportunities to get some income in cuz I think that's going to be um your best bet and um and I'm and I'm so I'm so sorry that this happened I mean I I know you guys are adults and you guys made the decision and you're reaping the you know the consequences of it um but but it's really hard your Journal oh yes I'll throw that in there I'll throw that in there too little bitter yeah all this I would too Stacy I would too but you guys yeah as a couple you know I mean that's a that's a hard it's a hard pill to swallow it's a hard pill to swallow that you guys um but you know how to save you guys had a million dollars at one point so obviously you know we'll make it yeah you will you will well hang on the line we'll get you King Coleman's material in my contentment journal and we'll get that out to you Stacy but it is it's it's it's a little bit of the grind um and it's swallowing that that that pill of bitterness of like man yeah what did we do but hey that was in the past and now you get to choose choose a different future I'm choosing hope and choosing confidence don't say who's going to want to hire a 55 I would want to hire Stacy she sounds very hardworking and talented and so you get back out there and you show them what you're made of Stacy and call us back when you guys are debt free we can't wait to celebrate with you brought to you by the Ramsey Network app download today to go further with Ramsay