Warning to other parents- Don’t overindulge your children. There is no need for fancy private colleges.

I hope the kids aren't expecting any in inheritance. They already got it.

How nice, the kids are living their best lives, getting married, buying houses, having babies, while their dad is facing old age broke.

Holy smokes, what a genuine soul. I hope he gets this mess cleaned up.

Another reason my daughter is going to community college her first two years. This is nuts.

Wow this man is beyond generous... if I was one of the kids I would definitely try to help him out a little

Did he say 6500 sq ft house and an empty house? Sell the house my dude. Pay cash for a 1400 to 2000 sq ft house and pay off the debt. Keep the investments.

He only makes $190k COMBINED as a lawyer who’s been practicing for “90 hours a week, for 35 years”?? This guy must be a public defender living like he’s a partner at a large firm. Jim’s making about $30/hr after being a lawyer over half his life.

Great dad with good intentions. I hope his kids listen to this and help him out. I wouldn’t want my family carrying a burden like this for me. Especially if I’m reaping all the benefits, watching them struggle.

no one should blame it on the children. this was his own fault. he chose this path willingly!!!

The VAST majority of employers really don’t care where you went to school. What matters is your skill set/knowledge. Public school to state university for those that want degrees gets you on the same track as the majority of others in career outlook.

poor guy, feel for him, he wanted to give his kids the best education he could. Hope the kids are atleast on their feet and successful now and the dad can eventually have a great retirement

The greatest gift you can give a child is the opportunity to learn and take care of themselves.

love listening to George - he gets the gist of the problem quickly and has just the right mix of encouragement and reasoning for this caller

This is one of the smartest, generous, dumbest guys I've ever heard of. Your kids need to deal with their loans. Plain and simple

5:05 the love this father has for his kids is pure and righteous just imagine how many more good souls we could have in the world if they had a father like him

Feel sorry for this bloke I hope his kids help him out in his later life, yes he may have been stupid paying for that level of education but it came from a good heart and him wanting the best for his kids

When you say "daddy paid for all of it", you reveal some deep resentment, Jim, I'm afraid. Also, the fact that you break it down to 102 years of it, shows a desire for recognition. You need Dr Delony, more than George.

He's a lawyer ? Would never be my lawyer making decisions like he has.

With all due respect, daddy didn’t pay for the education. Loans paid for the education. So sad. So scary! We think we are doing our kids favors by this?!?!

Imagine if he had sent them to public schools and instead just invested the tuition costs on their behalf. He and his children would have substantially greater wealth than whatever marginal difference their earning with their expensive educations

If I have children, they can go to community college and state university. The cost of private college is out of control.

I think this is a little more complicated then simply paying this off. Whether he sells the taxable portfolio or the house, both will trigger significant capital gains and tax liabilities. I would advise he consult with a CPA before executing any strategy. A few hundred dollars for professional guidance will save this guy thousands. Kind of shocking George didn’t contemplate this.

Poor guy somebody needs to give him a hug and a nice vacation!

I feel for Jim! I grew up in the 60’s in a Catholic home, and a Dad who was a commercial pilot. After the 5th child, we started public school because the education bill was gigantic, and babies were still coming 🤣 Fast forward 60 years, all of us turned out above average with a slight bit of sarcasm on Catholic guilt 🤗

Oh boy!! Parents, sit down with your children, research the schools and degrees, and make sure you’re not paying a premium for their education!!! This will cost you more than them since you’re older and want to be retired!!

Goodness gracious, I wish Dave had taken this call. 😂😬

Ridiculous spending on education. My daughter's public school is one of the best in the state and free. This year she enters college in-state for $25k/year for everything.

I couldn’t even get my parents to sign their name on the dotted line for my drivers license. And there’s parents like this. Wild

I am glad a solution was provided! Hard working man and good person

His kids later on calling Dave Ramsey about how they're gonna do with their parents' debts. Dave Ramsey " Ur parents' debts is not ur problem, sell their cars"

Working 90 hours a week practicing law should bring in more than $190k/year

This sounds like a seriously good man. That being said, 35 years practicing law and combined income of only $190k? Even if that’s just him and not the wife, that sounds low.

Awesome advise!!!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼

Thats crazy. I went to community College and then transferred to my top state school and no debt. Never understood why people are paying for EXPENSIVE Private schools they can’t afford.

Great advice. Well done George

Wow what a hard working Dad/Husband. Your such a good person I hope your debt free very soon.

Enjoy listening to George’s advice just as much as Uncle Dave’s!

Watching this from a country where we don't pay tuition fees is surreal.

What a good man this caller is

Thank you Jim for sharing.

At what point does the kids take on the responsibility of paying for their education

What a good man. God bless you sir

What an awesome dad. The kids should absolutely chip in, here.

Listening to this guy he’s probably talked himself into it. The whole time he was writing checks or signing loan papers to get the money he was probably talking to somebody. If you can’t listen in life you’re really not gonna learn much. Good luck Jim

He is a “yes” man with the best intentions in his heart. Great job guiding him into debt freedom George.

Good job working through this caller's issue. Nice solution.

Even without the debt he's got too much in house relative to what he has invested. I'd look into downsizing the house before liquidating the investments.

I worry for this caller......I worry about him being almost bankrupt, almost upside down on loans. He can't keep working 90 hours per week. I am worried for him. Maybe one of his children can offer him and his wife a basement suite in their home. God Bless.

A good man! He is giving his kids a chance at life and a fresh start. As a parent should.

When it comes to settling this man's estate many years from now... the kids will pay these student loans, and what will be left is a fight over the rug in the Foyer.

That much debt on his shoulders at this age, and kids walking around in no debt enjoying life! way too much wrong in this situation...

Imagine the inheritance he would have left his kids had he invested that 1.2 million.

Ridiculous. My guess is that he lives in an area where the public schools are good. He could be looking at near retirement but for the crazy commitment to privately educate the kids. I love my kids too, but they went to good public schools and state colleges (on scholarships). Both have great STEM careers with no debt.

I'd sell the house and move into something smaller. I'd rather be small and out of debt than large and in debt.

His kids SHOULD feel some sort of obligation. And help him pay for it.

I wish I had a dad like him. He and his wife sound like great parents.

Dude's kids had better pick a REALLY nice retirement home for papa. He earned it!!

5:42 “… Have to eat a lot of peanut butter sandwiches.“ He says this as I finish my peanut butter sandwich that I ate for lunch

"Kids aren't that expensive", Dave Ramsey lol.

I could never rationalize spending over $1 million on education for my children.

He needs to have a talk with his kids about all this debt and their next steps as a family

If Jim had a dollar of debt for every word he spoke during this call, he would have more than the $620k.

What a good man. Hope your kids kind of help you out.

My dad gave me a set amount for college. I went to a school that was a little above that but was willing to pay the premium on my end. My wife and I got debt free early this year and we're so blessed. I wouldn't recommend the debt, but as a parent, I would do things the same way as my dad. Don't change the dollar amount because the kid wants a premium school. That's fair

Sounds like a super nice guy and a great father, but really mismanaged his money. Making almost 200k, as a lawyer, with 90-hour weeks and in his early 60s has a net worth of about 600k-700k. This is a great example of someone who made an unbelievable amount of money but has spent almost all of it along the way. If he were to stop working today they would be living on probably 30k a year. Most people can't outearn their spending habits.

So, this father was happy to spend the money on his kids' education. He is not griping about it nor is he angry about the debt. He is just trying to have a plan to move forward. Sounds like a good plan is in place now....definitely sell that house. Sell that huge house. Sell sell sell. He will still have his retirement.....

Wow what a great father. I plan on putting my future kids to private school as well because public school is garbage. Respect to this man

Dang, the Kamel handled that dude and his awful loan situation like a boss.

Huge respect to this guy. Paid for his kid's school and did whatever it took to make it happen. Didn't expect a dime back and just wanted his kids to have great lives. Probably didn't need private school since kindergarten lol, but he made sure his kids were taken care of.

This man has more heart than brains. I doubt the kids will be paying back anything. This becomes even more problematic if the kids are married. Dang, I would not knock down the debt if the interest rates are low. Down sizing the house is not a bad idea. However, I don't think he will feel good about that decision. His house is a form of flexing for him. A small house would not do it for him. Here is my arm chair psychologist perspective. This man has self esteem issues. He seeks validation from his generosity and approval from others. Here is the irony. Even though he get a good feeling from his giving and his long hours of work, he resents them at the same time. This man is not comfortable in his own skin. His lack of self esteem is way bigger than the financial issues.

As a child of good lower middle class income parents, I'd never want them to be destitute or impoverished to put me through school. For my kids, I help in everyway I can without going into crippling debt for private school. GOOD LORD.

Make all the kids repay with their wonderful education.

All I can say to the grown kids of this man is, "Don't you dare to place your father into a nursing home unless you want serious consequences in life."

I was mind blown by the choice of getting rid of investments first over the home. Sell the home...200k left over get a new mortgage... Still have over 600k in other investments....still some debt but its a home...no 4k payment... slow down the work... Rent half the house... You can be free if you chose to be.

GOD bless this dad🙏🏾❤

George forgot to account for the taxes that will result from selling the investments. Since they already have another $190k in income, the gains will be at least in the Federal 15% bracket, and over $250k will be taxed an additional 3.8% NIIT. State of Iowa taxes will add another 8.53% on top of the Federal taxes. Assuming that the gains are half of the $440k (or $220k in gains), that means that the taxes that result from selling the investments will be about $57k. That's not a small figure, and needs to be accounted for when figuring how long it will take to pay off the debt. After all, debt to the IRS can be even more punitive than student loan debt.

He sounds like an amazing father, I think he shouldn’t have paid for any of their masters degrees though. I hope his kids are appreciative of him. Honestly if they were really grateful they would want to help lift this burden of their father now that they have the means to do it. Most of them are in their 30s they should try to chip in so he can retire soon without losing all his assets.

His kids need to step up

This sounds like a very secure family. You mean to tell me none of them had scholarships?! I’m wondering if he was supporting their lifestyles with cars and allowances too. It’s nice to be able to cover college but maybe give the kid some skin in the game! 100 k per kid is a lot for undergrad.

$620k for your kids to probably make an extra $100k over their lifetimes. You're better off just giving them a down payment for a house at 30. Every administrator is laughing all the way to the bank with that money.

While I applaud this guy for working so hard and trying to give his children a better education than what our dilapidated public education system offers, you don't do your children a favor by being financially unstable because they are the ones who are going to have to clean up the mess and take care of you if hard times come!

Michael Scott over here lol

I had a full academic scholarship and my parents said "if you lose your scholarship you are on your own and should probably join the military." I never lost my scholarship and have no loans.

This is a good dad. No, this is a great dad.

His children should help him now, they now have jobs, and be grateful for dad's sacrifices and all chip in as a family.

Working 90 hour weeks for 35 years????? God bless this man. My goodness. 🤯🤯

It’s amazing how a person pulling in this kind of money but still make bad decisions. People can live beyond their means no matter how much they make.

Feels like you are just looking for some empathy, respect and appreciation for all the hard work. Your children should make you feel appreciated my friend.

Hard to fathom this kind of irresponsibility and no sign of regret and has learned absolutely nothing. Wow. Is this the tip of an iceberg?

George gave good ethical advice.. but the smartest advice would be let the retirement grow, pay minimum payments on the student loans until he passes. Also, they could downsize in house and put another 500k in profit after paying cash for their smaller one.

He is well-intentioned, but over 100 years of private religious education? That's insanity. I wish him well though.

I'd be nice for the dad and all his kids to sit down and tag team this. I think the bond that that would create is beyond imaginable. They can come to the show and scream together how they are out of debt.

I would suggest Jim should sell the big house and buy a smaller house cash and the rest put towards paying off the student loans or invest the money and use the income from it to help pay the loans off. Big house requires more money to maintain.

Here's how much my parents paid for my education. $0

He could just downsize the home and use that money to pay off the student loan debt. I’d start there.

George is awesome - definitely would be my pick for the heir apparent eventually

Wait. You've practiced law for 35 years and combined income is only $190K ??? How is that possible?

Congratulations Jim...

I would not put my parents in that situation. I'm sorry.