Wife has cancer, what should we do

Dear Dave,

My wife and I have been married for 12 years. Last month we found out she has terminal cancer and only six months to live. We've been fortunate enough to become fairly wealthy during our lives together, and she wants to buy me a boat. We always went fishing together, and her last wish is for me to have the boat I've always wanted. Even with this prognosis, I'll be okay financially when she's gone. Still, I can't stand the thought of this. It's just too painful. Do you have any advice? — Andrew

Dear Andrew,

Buddy, I am so very sorry. I hope you realize that you have the sweetest woman on earth for your wife. Even with all she's going through, her thoughts are of you and your happiness. That is one amazing lady.

The first thing I'd tell you both is to make sure your faith is intact. Hug her a lot, and keep talking to, praying with, and loving on each other. Be there for her all you can, and keep in mind that doctors can be wrong. It happens a lot, believe it or not, so don't give up hope.

If she brings up the boat again, just smile and let her know it's all about her right now. Remind her that she did the nicest thing possible many years ago when she agreed to spend the rest of her life with you. If she's really stubborn about this idea - something tells me she is, and in the very best way possible - promise her that whether you win or lose this fight you'll buy that boat someday and name it after her.

In other words, just tell her the truth and be real. If she goes home to be with the Lord, there might come a day down the road when the pain you'll feel has dulled just a little, and you find yourself sitting on that fishing boat that's named after her. That would be okay. I'm sure she would be smiling at you while you reeled in a big one. But you've got more important things to take care of right now - namely her.

God bless you both. 

Police pension plans contribution

Dear Dave: I work for the police department, and I’m required to contribute 9 percent of my paycheck toward my pension. I know you recommend putting 15 percent toward retirement, so I was wondering if I should put an additional 6 percent into this plan or go with something else. — Brian

Dear Brian: Your pension is probably pretty stable if you work for a police department, so if you feel good about your position and the returns you’re seeing, I’d be okay with you putting the extra 6 percent there – maybe even a little bit more.

If you’re feeling iffy about the pension, I’d recommend putting the remaining 6 percent in a Roth IRA invested in good growth stock mutual funds. Make sure these funds have strong track records of at least 10 years.

I’m glad to know you’re serious about saving, Brian. By planning for the future now, you can look forward to retiring with wealth and dignity! — Dave

Debit cards are superior to Credit Cards

Dear Dave: I’ve followed your plan for three years. I’m living totally debt-free except for my home, and I pay for everything with cash. It’s so freeing! I’d like to convince my family to stop using credit cards and follow your advice too. How can I do this? — Allen

Dear Allen: It does feel great, doesn’t it? Congratulations! I’m really proud that you’ve worked hard, been disciplined, and taken control of your money.

When it comes to your family, however, I’m not sure that words will do the trick. There’s an old saying, “Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still.” Some people are just stuck in their ways and have been brainwashed into believing that credit cards and debt are an unavoidable part of life.

Trust me, I know what I’m talking about here. I’ve been fortunate enough to help millions of people change their lives, get out of debt and take control of the finances. But there are millions more who just won’t listen. They just keep going deeper and deeper into debt. As much as I want to help people, I had to accept the fact long ago that being stupid with money isn’t illegal.

You can make some irrefutable arguments against credit cards. You don’t need them to get a hotel room, rent a car or buy airline tickets. A debit card will do all of that without piling up debt. For an emergency fund, you can simply save up cash. It takes some discipline and hard work, but relying on credit when things go wrong is a trap.

If they won’t accept these points, try telling them your story. Don’t leave out the part about old habits being hard to break, but stress how great your life has been – both financially and emotionally – since you made the decision to control your money. Maybe a light will come on, and you can walk them through the process! — Dave

Pay cash for your deals instead of borrowing

We’re completely debt-free with a fully funded emergency fund, and we have $350,000 sitting in the bank from a land sale a couple of months ago. My wife and I would like to buy a chicken farm with two houses and upgrade it to contract standards. This — plus the stock — would cost around $290,000. I would keep my regular job, and my wife would run the farm. An investor friend of mine said I should finance the entire business purchase. What do you think about this scenario?
— Darryl

Dear Darryl,
Either do the deal with cash or don’t do it at all. Your investor friend is full of crap, and there’s a good chance he doesn’t have nearly as much money as you do. He’s probably got more bad opinions than dollars.
Comment on this story

Now, the pro formas on the kind of thing you’re talking about are incredible. They can make a ton of money, but they’re a lot of work — I mean real, hard work. Some are more high-tech than others and that can mean a little less work, but someone’s got to be out there every day with their hands on this thing or you’re going to be in trouble. I don’t know the ideas you have for divvying up the work, but I’m afraid it would just be too much for one and a half people.

I don’t mind you doing the deal, as long as you pay cash for it. But if you’re looking to invest, there’s always real estate — it seems like you’ve done pretty good there — or maybe another small business idea. Whatever you do, you need to stop listening to your friend about borrowing money. You’re liable to turn what was a blessing into a curse if the two of you borrow money on a chicken farm.

— Dave

Dave Ramsey thoughts on Micro Investing apps

Honestly, I’m not a big fan of micro investing apps. As you probably know, the word “micro” means small. So why would you want to mess with something like that? Are you going to have a micro retirement? Do you want to be micro wealthy? I don’t. I want to be really wealthy with a big retirement and a big life full of outrageous giving.

It’s fine if you want to give micro investing apps a try. I’m not going to be mad at you or anything like that. But these things function kind of like deals where the marketers say you get 1 percent back. It’s like credit cards where silly people spend $100,000 in order to get $1,000 in brownie points.

You’ve got to do more than micro because micro means what it says — small. I guess you could argue that at least you’re doing something but if that’s your only plan, you should prepare to be pretty hungry during retirement.

When it comes to investing, why not go big? Go big, or go home!