Increase Your Income, Expand Your Options

**Dave Ramsey** (0:04)
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Normal is broke, common sense is weird. So we're here to help you transform your life from the Ramsey Network and the FAIRWINDS Credit Union studio. This is The Ramsey Show. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host, Dr. John Delony, Ramsey personality, number one bestselling author, host of the Dr. John Delony show, is my co-host today. Open phones here at 888-825-5225. Ryan is in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Hey, Ryan, what's up?

**SPEAKER_2** (0:45)
Hi, Dave.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:45)
How are you doing today?

**Dave Ramsey** (0:47)
Better than I deserve. What's up?

**SPEAKER_2** (0:50)
I'm in.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:51)
Well, I'm calling because I'm a single mom of two and I also take care of my mom. And my question today is about, how do I manage paying off debt while I'm still incurring medical expenses from both her and I also have a daughter who was hospitalized and she's got ongoing medical care that's needed as well.

**Dave Ramsey** (1:11)
Okay. So you have health insurance, I assume.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:18)
I have health insurance, but we have, and yes, and we've come, we've maxed out the deductible.
And we're getting close to maxing out the out-of-pocket expenses as well, too. But even that, the deductible is high because we have a high deductible insurance plan.

**Dave Ramsey** (1:37)
Okay. And so what do you make a year?

**SPEAKER_3** (1:43)
One, well, in total 160 Okay.

**Dave Ramsey** (1:46)
And how high is your deductible?

**SPEAKER_3** (1:50)
It's 5,000.

**Dave Ramsey** (1:50)
And what's your max out-of-pocket?

**SPEAKER_3** (1:54)
Another 4,000.

**Dave Ramsey** (1:55)
Okay. So $9,000 does not break you if you make 160 I'm confused.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:01)
It doesn't break me, but I'm also, I've got other expenses that I'm trying to pay off as well.

**Dave Ramsey** (2:06)
Okay.

**SPEAKER_2** (2:06)
There's not, you don't pay off.

**Dave Ramsey** (2:08)
I mean, if you have medical bills that are ongoing that exceed the 9,000, what would they be?

**SPEAKER_3** (2:18)
That exceed the 9,000, it would be, well, so for my daughter, she's, I don't want to say too much, but she's got medical expenses that are going to be ongoing for the unforeseeable future.

**Dave Ramsey** (2:30)
So she's got a chronic issue of some kind.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:34)
Yes.

**Dave Ramsey** (2:35)
Okay. But above the 9,000, do you come out of pocket for that situation?

**SPEAKER_3** (2:42)
I'm sure, because it's all fairly new.

**Dave Ramsey** (2:46)
Well, it shouldn't be, I mean.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:46)
So there's some things that they cover and some things that they don't.

**Dave Ramsey** (2:50)
Unless you're trying to get a treatment that your insurance company doesn't cover, the 9,000 should be the end of it. Now, okay, so you keep, I'm a little bit confused with the way you're using the words on pay off your bills. You pay your monthly bills, you pay your electricity, you pay your water, you buy food, you buy food.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:10)
Yeah, sorry, I should have said debt.

**Dave Ramsey** (3:11)
Okay, and then how much debt do you have?

**SPEAKER_3** (3:15)
So I've got $20,000 in a car and $3,000 on a credit card and then $190 mortgage.

**Dave Ramsey** (3:23)
Okay, good, good, none of that's out of line.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:27)
And part of that is an AT loan, so about $55,000 of that $190 is the AT loan.

**Dave Ramsey** (3:37)
You mean like a second, like an HO, a home equity loan?

**SPEAKER_5** (3:41)
Home equity, yeah.

**Dave Ramsey** (3:42)
Home equity.

**SPEAKER_5** (3:42)
Okay.

**Dave Ramsey** (3:43)
Okay, all right. And so you've got two house payments, a car payment and some credit cards and you've got some ongoing medical bills with your daughter's chronic issues and you make $160,000.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:54)
Right.

**Dave Ramsey** (3:54)
Okay.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:55)
And then there's my mother as well.

**Dave Ramsey** (3:57)
Okay, and what are you having to pay for her?

**SPEAKER_3** (4:01)
Personal, so nurse, so she's got several comorbidities and so we're trying to pay a nurse to help take care of her.

**Dave Ramsey** (4:09)
And does she have income coming in to this situation?

**SPEAKER_3** (4:13)
She's got social security, but it's not a lot.

**Dave Ramsey** (4:15)
Like $1,200, $1,500 bucks, what?

**SPEAKER_2** (4:19)
Yeah, somewhere around there.

**Dave Ramsey** (4:20)
Okay, and what's the nurse cost?

**SPEAKER_3** (4:23)
About $25, well, depending on how much experience I have, $25 and up an hour.

**Dave Ramsey** (4:30)
Okay, but I mean in a month, what are you spending on a nurse?

**SPEAKER_3** (4:35)
So, we haven't, we just kind of use them part time for now. Okay, and what are you spending on a nurse in a month?