‘It’s going to be chaos’: Impulsive man who broke up with pregnant girlfriend is now considering moving to Tennessee to be closer to his baby — here’s what Dave Ramsey told him

When it comes to reckless decision-making, we need to be willing to face the possible consequences of our actions — especially when a child is involved.

Unfortunately, Ryan, a soon-to-be father from Chicago, is struggling to break his habit of making impulsive decisions. He broke up with his pregnant girlfriend after a heated argument and now she’s moving to another state. Ryan isn’t sure if he should follow her to be closer to the child.

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On an episode of The Ramsey Show, co-host John Delony called him out on his behavior: “You think being together and raising this kid is hard, wait till you try to do it in separate houses. It’s going to be chaos. It’s hard, hard, hard!”

However, Dave Ramsey cautioned Ryan against continuing his pattern of rash behavior and made a few suggestions for him to consider.

Reckless decisions

A clinical study conducted in 2018 found that roughly 32.8% of adults had some form of impulse control disorder, ranging from gambling issues to compulsive shopping habits.

Meanwhile, three out of four recent homebuyers expressed regrets about their decision, with 26% of them claiming they rushed the homebuying process and should have waited longer, according to a survey conducted by Clever Real Estate.

Put simply, Ryan isn’t alone in his brash decision-making. “Pretty much everything you’ve done has been an impulse decision,” Ramsey told him. “All of these decisions have been impulsive: the moves, the pregnancy, the shaking up, the breaking up.”

Surprisingly, this habit hasn’t been reflected in his finances. Ryan claimed he has only $500 in credit card debt and is on course to pay it off soon. He works in sales and believes he has some flexibility to follow his ex-girlfriend to Tennessee to be closer to his child.

However, Ramsey offered some advice to make this decision easier.

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Better decision-making model

Ryan can’t change the choices he’s already made, but he can be more careful with the ones that lay ahead.

Ramsey suggested a framework for making his next decision: “The good decision-making paradigm is this — the more important the decision, the more information you need about the decision and the longer time you should take making the decision.”

For instance, Ramsey said, the decision to purchase a car should take longer to mull over than deciding whether to buy a pack of gum. By that measure, Ryan should probably take his time before considering a move to Tennessee. “I want both of you to make slower… decisions,” he said.

He also recommended seeking out a couples therapist to help Ryan and his ex-girlfriend communicate clearly and attempt to resolve their differences before they potentially go their separate ways.

Three out of four couples who hired a relationship therapist (76%) said it had a high or very high impact in helping them, according to the Verywell Mind survey of 1,106 American adults.

The survey also found that these professional sessions were expensive — costing, on average, more than $300 a month — but 94% of couples said it was worth the investment.

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.