A 61-year-old Arkansas woman called into the “The Ramsey Show” hoping for clarity on investing in her 401(k) while still paying off debt. But what started as a simple inquiry quickly turned into a reality check, tractor and all.
The caller introduced herself as Teresa, a self-described “country girl” with no nest egg. “I have no retirement money saved up whatsoever,” she told personal finance expert Dave Ramsey, although she had started following his Baby Steps plan and scraped together a $1,000 emergency fund.
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With six years left before collecting Social Security, Teresa wondered whether contributing to her employer’s 4% 401(k) match made sense, despite still being deep in debt.
She told Ramsey that she earns about $67,000 a year but owes roughly $69,000, which includes $11,000 in student loans she’s been chipping away at since 1999, $18,000 on a car, $12,000 in a personal loan, and $26,000 for a tractor.
That last one stopped Ramsey cold. “Why do you have a tractor?” he asked.
“We’re country folks,” Teresa answered. Her husband, who’s 75 and on Social Security, is in poor health and doesn’t work. She admitted the tractor was more for clearing hunting plots on their seven acres — land that, as it turns out, is worth just $500 an acre.
“Your $26,000 tractor for a $4,000 piece of land,” Ramsey replied. “Broke people don’t have $26,000 tractors.”
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Though Teresa defended the purchase as something she bought before discovering Ramsey’s methods, he didn’t let it slide. He told her to sell it, even if she had to borrow a few thousand to cover the difference. Sell the car, too. In his words, “You guys are in emergency mode, girl.”
Ramsey took it even further, joking that Teresa needed to sell “everything in sight,” and that even the local deer ought to be nervous. His message was clear: This wasn’t the time for sentiment, toys, or lifestyle luxuries. It was time to hustle.
Then he laid out the bigger picture. If Teresa attacked her debt aggressively, cut the excess, and freed up cash, there was still time to build a solid retirement. “You’re trading a $26,000 tractor for $150,000 bucks in your retirement,” Ramsey said. “You’re trading an $18,000 car for another $100,000.”
If Teresa cleared the debt, contributed steadily, and took advantage of her company’s match, he said she could still end up with a quarter of a million dollars saved by her late 60s.
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Ramsey did temper expectations, saying she might fall short of that number — perhaps $200,000 instead of $250,000 — but the point was, there was a path. What mattered most was that she stop trying to juggle investing while weighed down by debt.
“You don’t have any room in your budget to invest,” he told her. “You’ve got to scratch up every dollar you can and knock this out as fast as you possibly can.”
To her credit, Teresa didn’t argue. She admitted the tractor was a “spur-of-the-moment” buy. She also owned up to how difficult it would be to change her financial habits after decades of doing things a certain way.
Ramsey encouraged her to stop using “country girl” as an excuse and start using it as a reason to make smart choices. “Blame smart stuff on country girl,” he said. “Because country girls do smart stuff.”
For those not ready to liquidate their heavy farm equipment, there’s always another route: consulting a certified financial advisor. A qualified professional can help build a custom plan — especially if you’re nearing retirement — that may keep you from selling your land, your vehicle, and possibly the local wildlife.
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This article 61-Year-Old ‘Country Girl’ Has No Money But Owns a $26K Tractor for Her Acres of Worthless Land — Dave Ramsey Tells Her to Sell It All. Even the Deer originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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