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Tim is in Los Angeles up next.

What's going on, Tim?

Hey, I was curious.

Me and my wife are getting ready to pay, we'll pay off our $148,000 worth of debt.

Woo!

And, um, yeah, I know, right?

Uh, and I was trying to kind of see what's next because we do have like, you know, a three

month, like, quote, emergency fund, but, um, you know, we're trying to wonder, too, like, with these Trump accounts, uh, should we just install, like, quote, emergency fund. But, you know, we're trying to wonder, too, like with these Trump accounts, should we just install, like, if they happen great, but, you know, we're trying to figure out, like, should we start investing, like, in a high-yield savings or something like that for our kid now who's doing April? So you're in Baby Step 2. You've already done Baby Step 3, and you want to skip to Baby Step 5.

I suppose, yes.

Okay. I would do them in order, which is take your emergency fund and let's focus on the emergency at hand, which is the debt.

Could you clear your debts with the amount you have in savings?

Yes. We could do it honestly within probably the next 30 to 60 days, even without the emergency

fund. And that's kind of like where I'm at. And, you know, I bet. Then pay off your debt today

and spend the next 30 days restocking the emergency fund. Okay. In Vegas, we call that I call.

So that's one idea. Number two, once you are through Baby Step 3, you're now a Baby Step 4, which is to put your own mask on and invest 15% in your own retirement.

The other problem is we don't actually own a house at this time, especially here in California. It's a little more

difficult these days. And so that's kind of like the underlying question is like, do we just

pay off the debt and then say, you know, do that because it'll intensity towards like a house or, you know,

put our child's future ahead of our own? Well, I don't think any of those are the options.

I think you should invest 15 percent, and if it's going to take you a long time to save the down payment, that's okay. If you're going to stay in California long term, it might take you eight years to save a down payment instead of two. Right. And so that's the math of it. But I would not put any money towards, and here's the thing with the Trump accounts, the government is, did you have a child in 2025 through 2028? Is that the plan? Yes. Okay. So I'm going to open one, and here's why. I would love the $3,000 from the government. After all the money I've given them, it's time they give a little back. You don't have to put any money into it. And I personally wouldn't. I did a whole

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