Sometimes on vacation trips I like to check out casinos. I always account for the money I wager in my budget, and I never spend more than I’ve allotted. How do you feel about gambling at a casino, as long as you limit your spending this way?
Carson
Dear Carson,
Ok, I’m going to be honest about this. When someone tells me they gamble for fun or recreation, my first thought is they’re crazy—crazy enough to think they’ll actually come out ahead. I mean, you might see a news story once in a while about someone winning big money in a casino, but that almost never happens. Think, too, about how much cash those folks flushed down the toilet previously while gambling. In reality, there’s a strong chance they didn’t really “win” anything. They probably just recouped a small portion of their previous, substantial losses.
I know, all this probably makes me sound old and out of touch. But I just don’t get the concept of gambling “for fun.” I don’t find it thrilling or exciting to lose money I’ve worked hard to earn, even if there are flashing lights and a party going on. Don’t get me wrong, my wife and I include “fun money” in our budget every month and do things we enjoy. But, to each his own, I guess.
Still, my advice would be don’t waste your time and money on that stuff. One way or another, the house always wins. It’s your money, and you can what you want with it, Carson. But think about this: Why do most of the folks sitting at slot machines and card tables look like they can’t afford to lose money? The majority look desperate, some even angry, and that’s sad. I don’t know, maybe it’s the lighting or some other strange coincidence.
Yeah, I don’t think so.
— Dave
Dear Dave,
My husband and I are in our midtwenties, and we are expecting our first baby this year. We are also debt-free, except for our mortgage, and we expect to have it paid off in about four years. It has always been our dream for me to stay home with our kids, and maybe even homeschool them, when the time was right. My husband makes more than enough for us to live on, so we have always put the paychecks from my human resources job toward paying off the house. What do you think, Dave? I kind of hate to give up the income, but I want to do what is best for my family.
Ann
Dear Ann,
First, congratulations on expecting a new baby! I know it’s an exciting time in your lives. It sounds like you two have been killing it financially as well. You’ve both worked hard to set yourselves up for a great future.
Honestly, there’s no wrong answer here. Under the circumstances, the big question is what do you want to do? Of course, the final decision should be made by you and your husband together, but you’re doing the smart thing by analyzing the trade-off. By that, I mean comparing the ideas of continuing to bring extra cash to the household or being at home with your baby.
If you love your job and want to continue those duties full-time, it doesn’t make you a bad mom. It just makes you a working mom. But if you’re in a season of life where you don’t need a career income or workplace identity to be fulfilled, or if you just want to be home with your child, that’s a really cool thing, too. And hey, if you like your job, there’s no reason you couldn’t perform some HR functions from home on a contract basis, like 20 to 25 hours a week while the little one’s napping, with minimal strain on motherhood.
Even if you quit today and it takes a couple more years for you guys to pay off your house, so what? It’s still not a bad choice. The bad thing is, lots of ladies end up with mom-guilt no matter what they do. They feel guilty if they’re not staying home with the little one, and they feel guilty if they aren’t generating an income. Society wants you to be everything, and when you choose to be one or the other, it doesn’t know what to do with you—and lots of times becomes really judgey.
You’re blessed to be in a unique financial situation, Ann. So, do what you and your husband feel in your hearts is best for you and your family. Sit down together and talk about it, then make a plan and don’t worry about what the world thinks. God bless you guys!
— Dave
Dear Dave,
My wife and I are empty nesters, and our house is too big for just the two of us now. We talked about selling the house and moving into an apartment in a multi-use development with retail and restaurants that we go to several times a week. Then, in a year or so, buying a smaller house when housing prices go back down. How do you feel about this idea?
Ephraim
Dear Ephraim,
I like the idea of downsizing. My wife and I did the same kind of thing recently. But at this point, I’d say there’s about a 99% chance the housing market is not going down. It has gone down two times in the last 100 years—way back during the 1930s and again in 2008. And the market snapped back fairly fast after 2008.
I don’t think the price of housing is going to go down at all anytime soon. I do believe the housing market’s rate of increase will slow down, but that still kind of defeats your premise of renting until then. I wouldn’t be opposed to you two buying a different property in the same area and just moving in, but I’m not going to tell you to go rent something right now. That would put you in a hole with the rental amount, plus the fact that housing prices are probably going to continue to rise, even if not at the pace they’ve risen recently.
In other words, if you rent, you’re going to lose money two different ways—with the rental amount and home prices continuing to increase. Buying high and selling high isn’t such a big deal. But buying high, and later buying higher after renting? No, I’m not doing that.
— Dave
Dear Dave,
My wife and I are in our late twenties, and we have two kids. Our combined income is about $110,000 a year, but we have $70,000 in loans on two cars, plus about $15,000 in credit card debt. My in-laws have offered to let us move in with them to save money and make things easier while we pay down debt. Do you think this is a good idea?
Adam
Dear Adam,
In my mind there are only two scenarios where you should even consider taking the in-laws up on their offer. One, is where they’re absolutely wonderful folks and you both have great, healthy relationships with them. By this, I mean there’s a mutual sense of love, respect and everyone knows their boundaries. Even if this is the case, I’d still only consider it for an agreedupon and very small amount of time.
The second scenario is if taking them up on their offer is the only way you two can accomplish your financial goals. That’s not the case here.
You and your wife can get rid of most of your debt, and take a big step toward gaining control of your income, if you’ll do one thing—get rid of those stupid cars! That’s an insane amount of money wrapped up in cars for you two. If you had a couple of decent, paid-for used cars your lives would be so much different. You’d be in a situation where you could even start putting a little money aside while you paid off the credit card debt. Then, once the credit card debt is gone, you’d have some cash freed up to find better cars.
If I were in your situation, I wouldn’t move in with the in-laws. I’m sure they’re great people, but I’d keep my dignity and sell the cars, start living on a budget and pay off debt as fast as possible!
— Dave
Dave Ramsey is a seven-time #1 national best-selling author, personal finance expert, and host of The Dave Ramsey Show, heard by more than 16 million listeners each week. He has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Today Show, Fox News, CNN, Fox Business, and many more. Since 1992, Dave has helped people regain control of their money, build wealth and enhance their lives. He also serves as CEO for Ramsey Solutions.