Question: Leah gave a son up for adoption, and he will turn 18 this month. She gives him a gift every year, and this year she wants it to be a Roth IRA or something. What's the best way to create a teachable moment for him?

Dave Ramsey's advice: If he doesn't have an earned income, he can't do a Roth IRA. You can ask him for a book report on The Total Money Makeover, and if he does then you'll fund a mutual fund for him. You could put some money in your name in a mutual fund and be in control of it. If you put it in his name, he could clean it out the next day, and there would be no teachable moment. A savings bond won't earn anything. Find out what he needs and what his motivator is and use that to get him headed in the right direction.

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Question: Cheryl has 5 kids. Her 18-year-old is used to being handed $30 for the weekend, but now he's just getting $10, if he's lucky. He's not on board with Dave's plan like his parents are. How can she explain it to him without feeling shameful of their financial failures? Dave says they have no reason to feel like failures, for these reasons.

Dave Ramsey's advice: Everyone has fallen down at some point. There are times that all of us, as parents, don't do things that set perfect examples for our kids because we're imperfect. But don't be ashamed as parents because you've fed him, he's got clothing and shelter ... that's pretty much all you're obligated to do. The idea that you are supposed to give these kids a new Beamer is ridiculous.

Say to him that you haven't done a good job at teaching him how to handle money, but I don't give up my right to be a parent. I'll show you how to budget and save money, but he's 18 and doesn't need to be sitting on his butt. He needs to be making money. Show him the business end of a lawn mower or something like that.

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Question: Robin is incorporating fertility planning with Dave's financial planning. Insurance pays for most of the fertility planning and they pay their 20% with cash. They have $2,000 left in their fertility budget. She is 39 and feels "under the gun" personally and financially. Dave gives her a disclaimer and offers his best advice.

Dave Ramsey's advice: You guys have to decide the medical part; certainly there's no higher calling on this earth than being a parent. It breaks my heart to hear you talk about this. To me, it almost seems petty to talk about debt on something this important, but since you asked I'll do the best I can, even though I've never been there.

What if we tried to break even on the debt while trying to do something this important? I'd rather have a $5,000 car in debt and have a $7,500 in-vitro debt than a $15,000 car. That way, you're no further in debt and accomplishing your goal. We're kind of trading around the type of debt, but we're not adding to it. We're doing that to accomplish a goal that's much more important than owning a car.

Would I roll the dice on in-vitro as opposed to owning a car? I can pretty much guarantee I would. I might downsize in car to justify picking up some in-vitro debt. You guys make $97,000 a year, so you'll be able to knock this out pretty quick when you get to it.

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