September 11, 2018 • Page 4 Dave Says Dave RAMSEY shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com EE Bond Dilemma Dear Dave, I have about $36,000 in debt, not including my house. Of that amount, $30,000 is a truck that’s worth about what I owe on it, and the other $6,000 is student loan debt. I make $50,000 a year. I also have 24 EE bonds that were gifted to me that haven’t fully matured. Right now, they’re worth a combined $12,500. Should I cash those in, and use the money to pay off some of my debt, or let them fully mature before cashing them in? Also, are there any tax ramifications from cashing them in? Patrick Dear Patrick, They might be taxed, but it won’t be much to worry about. EE bonds make less than one percent, so you haven’t really earned much. Never buy those things, man. They’re a horrible investment, with an even worse rate of return. I’m glad you’re working out a plan and moving toward getting out of debt. A $30,000 truck doesn’t work with a $50,000 income. So, cash in the bonds immediately, sell the truck, and use some of the money from the EE bonds to pay off the school loans. Then, find yourself a cheap, little truck that will get you around for a few years. You can do this, Patrick. I want you to have a nice truck one day, but I don’t want that truck to be a burden. This one’s got you by the throat, and you’re feeling it, aren’t you? Drive like no one else for a little while now, so that later you can really drive like no one else! — Dave By Daris Howard ID Theft Protection In The Baby Steps? Dear Dave, Where in the Baby Steps does identity theft protection fall? Should we cover the kids, too, or only the adults in our household? Laura Dear Laura, Everyone needs identity theft protection. Unless you’re one of these folks who have gone completely off the grid, someone out there probably has a few of your numbers. Between sloppiness on the part of consumers, and the massive data breaches that have occurred in the last few years, almost everyone has experienced, or will experience, some sort of identity theft. Unfortunately, this is today’s world. I don’t really consider identity theft protection part of the Baby Steps. It’s like life insurance or car insurance, in that it’s something almost everyone needs. Things like that should just be part of your budget every month. — Dave * Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business, and CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven bestselling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 12 million listeners each week on 575 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com. ng & nni Di ent inm rta nte E WE S LD S LD S S LD S S LD S My mother is 92 and has been without my father for about twelve years. Most of her friends have passed away, and even though she lives with my sister for part of the year, or is with other family, she still feels lonely without my father, her friends, and her parents and siblings who are gone. With the Labor Day holiday coming up, she said she would love to do something different from the normal routine of her life. That was when I got the idea of having us all take her and drive the hour and a half to where she was born and raised. One of my daughters suggested that we have lunch at a buffet restaurant, too. It all sounded like a great day. The only problem was, I had so much to do, I wondered if I could make it all work. On Labor Day, I was up at 5:30 in the morning helping the scouts put flags up in front of every home in our rural community. When I got home, I did my homework for my doctoral classes, and before I finished, my mother was more than ready to go. We were soon on our way, and as we drove along, my mother told us stories. “Over in that house was a friend of mine. Her name was Linda. Actually, it wasn’t exactly that house. That is a new one. But that’s where it was.” I handed my wife my phone and whispered for her to turn on the recorder. For an hour and a half, we drove there and recorded stories, interjected with her exclamation of how much something had changed since she had last been there. We went to the cemetery and, even though it was big, we quickly found where her family members were buried. While my daughters and I cleaned around the tombstones, my mother continued to tell stories of each person, and my wife kept the recorder going. Once the grass was cleared from the graves, we drove by the university where my mother had gone to school. With how much it had changed, we were surprised how many buildings she knew, and she told stories about each one and the events that happened there. We stopped at the buffet, and everyone overate: at least I know I did. My mother said she enjoyed the meal more than any she has in a while and wouldn’t need to eat for a week. Our next stop was the home where she was born. I had never been there before, and the house was not there. In its place was a new home, but she told lots of stories of living there until she was seven. Then the depression came, and her father lost his job. The home was mostly paid off, and only had $400 left owed on it, but without n an icome, her parents lost it. Our last stop was the farm her family moved to after they lost the first home. The house they built still stands. She told stories about growing up there as we drove slowly by. She didn’t want to hurry, and indeed, even though I had a lot to do, I was willing to take even more time. But Mom was getting tired and needed some rest, so we finally headed home. On the way home, Mom said very little. Some of the family was asleep, but she wasn’t, and looking in the mirror, I could see she was deep in reminiscent thought. She had worked hard all of her life, helped many people, and had ten children and raised nine of them. Life had sometimes been hard, but there was lots of love and good times, too. When we got home, she held onto my arm as I carried her oxygen. Exhausted, she slumped into her favorite chair. It’s then she shared her deepest thoughts of the day. “Daris,” she said, “it has been a wonderful day. I know I will soon go to be with my parents and your father. But I can’t keep wondering what they will think of the life this old girl has lived.” I assured her they would be pleased, and as I left her to rest, I considered that it had been a wonderful day and time well spent. LD S LD LD S LD LD S LD IT IN THE DS CLASSIFIE Bring more shoppers to your door with locally focused advertising from the experts. Your Ad Here! MV Shopper In Print and Online! 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