A Parent Wants To Help Her Daughter With $30,000. Dave Ramsey Bursts Out Laughing When He Hears She And Her Husband Make $180,000

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A Florida mother called into “The Ramsey Show” recently, hoping for advice on whether she and her husband should gift their daughter $30,000. What she got was a dose of tough love and a laugh she didn’t expect.

Josephine, a retiree from Tallahassee, Florida, said she and her husband are financially stable and currently in Dave Ramsey‘s Baby Step 7, which means they have no debt, a fully funded emergency fund, and are focused on building wealth and giving generously. The couple has differing opinions on giving money to one of their adult children. One believes it’s time for the child to stand on their own. The other thinks they should help because they can afford to.

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But as Ramsey pointed out: “Neither one of you are right. Both of you are wrong. You know why? Because neither one of you said, ‘What’s best for this kid over the next 20 years?’”

Josephine explained that the $30,000 wasn’t requested but was being considered as a gift. Her daughter and son-in-law live modestly and are raising two kids. They both drive beat-up cars and haven’t aggressively paid down student loans.

Ramsey asked what their household income was. When Josephine said it was around $180,000 a year, he burst out laughing.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said. “They make $180,000 and they’re driving a couple of beaters and mommy’s going to bail them out? Come on, Josephine.”

He said her daughter and son-in-law have a discipline problem, not a money problem. “Giving them $30,000 is definitely giving a drunk a drink,” Ramsey said.

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Ramsey made it clear that helping doesn’t always mean handing over cash. He suggested a matching plan instead.

“Let me tell you what I would do,” he said. “If you will save up $5,000 for a car, I’ll put $5,000 with it. If you will pay down $10,000 on your student loan, I’ll put $10,000 towards your student loan.”