A couple earning $110,000 combined with $65,000 in student debt got Ramsey's green light to have a baby, thanks largely to $45,000 in imminent PSLF forgiveness. Staying a two-income household is the single variable that determines success. Dropping to $55,000 makes the $2,200 mortgage financially crushing.
Jade Warshaw recommends building a faux budget before the baby arrives, modeling both dual- and single-income scenarios with real daycare quotes. Many financial professionals are salespeople paid on what they push, not whether you end up wealthier. A fiduciary is the opposite.
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A woman called into The Ramsey Show terrified that she and her husband were not financially prepared to have a child. The couple earns about $110,000 combined, owes $65,000 in student loans, and pays $2,200 a month for their home between the mortgage, taxes, and insurance. The couple's $65K total debt balance comes with an interesting twist.
Her husband's $45,000 student loan is only six months away from potential Public Service Loan Forgiveness, leaving her $20,000 balance as the couple's primary remaining debt. After hearing the math, Dave Ramsey offered a reassuring verdict: "You are eligible, based on the numbers you gave us today, to be a responsible person and have a baby." A $110,000 household income against a $2,200 mortgage and $65,000 in student debt (with $45,000 of it about to disappear via PSLF) leaves real room to absorb the additional costs of having a child, provided the parents keep both paychecks. Co-host Jade Warshaw recommended a boring, but tried-and-true solution: "Running a budget and seeing the actual numbers is going to give you real answers to your questions.
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