The Ramsey Show - App - Balancing Hard Work and Family with Small Kiddos (Hour 3)

Episode Date: June 17, 2019

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Starting point is 00:00:00 🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host. This is your show. Thank you for joining us.
Starting point is 00:00:44 Open phones at 888-825-5225. Mandy starts this hour in Aiken, South Carolina. Hi, Mandy. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. Thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's up? Hi. We were introduced to you approximately about a year ago. My son was taking a personal finance course with using your materials at our homeschool co-op. And just last, and we've been trying to implement some of the things that you have suggested, but last week my husband was involved in a surplus layoff at work. He is the sole breadwinner. And he will receive a termination pay settlement. And we were just wondering, should we use that to pay down our debt?
Starting point is 00:01:27 Or since he is getting closer to retirement age, if we should invest it for retirement. So what did he used to make? Base salary is $66, but normally with overtime we were around 90 to 100, depending on the year. Yeah. What did he do for a living? He was a cable repairman. Okay, cool. So what's he going to do now?
Starting point is 00:01:54 Who knows? On to the next thing. He was there for a little over 20 years, so it's just we're kind of at the, you know, we don't know. Okay. And so his severance package is going to offer him how much money? Well, it's being debated right now. It's either going to be 26 weeks or 43 weeks. It has not been determined.
Starting point is 00:02:17 And that's, you know, decided by union contracts and things like that, too. Okay. Good. All right. So the sooner he gets re-employed the more this is a sign-on bonus okay it's extra money like if he got a job making the same money tomorrow he just doubled his income for the year if he gets 43 right yeah true um if we can if things work out like that he you know he's older he He's over 50 years old now, so those jobs aren't available.
Starting point is 00:02:48 I'm 58. I'm not feeling like I'm buying. I'm still buying green bananas. Well, physically he's older than that. He's had some health issues and things like that, so there's only certain jobs that he can physically do. Is he done? No, not at all.
Starting point is 00:03:04 So why can he not use his mind this round? Well, that's our options that we're going through. Listen, I do not like your white flag you raised in surrender. I'm going to call you on it. He's old. He's not freaking old. He's 50. He's middle-aged.
Starting point is 00:03:23 He's smart, and he got kicked in the teeth when he got laid off. I agree. Our goal was for him to retire, though, at 59 1⁄2 just because of his health issues and so that he could pursue advancing his hobby for additional income. What's his hobby? We raise Labrador retrievers for service dogs and for hunting companions. Can you not make a living doing that? We haven't.
Starting point is 00:03:49 It's just been a hobby. Well, I know. I didn't ask that. I said, can you? I'm sure you could. Yeah, let's do it. Let's open a business. And let's use our brain and our love of Labradors,
Starting point is 00:04:01 and let's become the biggest provider of Labrador service dogs in the entire freaking state of South Carolina. For that matter, in the southeast, and let's get rich. Yeah, and we do that. I mean, you know. No, you don't. It's a hobby. I said get rich. I want you to run a multi-million dollar operation.
Starting point is 00:04:17 There's a lot of expense at that, too, when you do it the right way, so. Wow. There's just no winning with you, is there? You're bound you're bound and determined to surrender aren't you no i'm not i just i mean i'm trying to prepare and look forward or i am too i am too but it's a glass half listen he got laid off from a job that was physically killing him thank god let's look at it that way. Now he gets to live his dream of raising Labradors and making $120,000 a year. Thank God.
Starting point is 00:04:48 There's a lot of expense, Dave. Okay, so you need to raise $220,000 a year worth of Labradors because you've got $100,000 in expenses. So your net profit is still more than the old job that was killing him. This is a wonderful blessing if you'll look at it that way. This is how you need to be looking at this, kiddo, because you've surrendered, and you're like, how are we going to curl up in the corner and suck our thumb and survive on this 43 weeks of severance when he's 50 years old? You're not.
Starting point is 00:05:13 It wasn't that. You're not. It wasn't that. We just want to make the best use of that money. The best use is opening a business raising Labradors. Okay. That's the best, yeah. You're more scared than he is.
Starting point is 00:05:28 Yes, I am because I handle the money. I know. Yeah. So let me tell you, there's two ways to fix money. You can't cut expenses enough to have no income. That's exactly right. You have to raise your income, too, and I i'm excited for you i think that you're on a new adventure i know it scared you and i'm with you on that i understand but you cannot let your
Starting point is 00:05:51 fear make your decisions fear never makes good decisions this is a time to be bold it's time to smile again and remember what it was like when you were 18 and you thought you could do anything and now life has taught you you can't do anything, but you can do a lot of things that you no longer believe you can do. You guys got a lot of stuff in front of you. I really think you're going to be the best Labrador retriever trainer in the state. I really do. I think you're going to have so much fun,
Starting point is 00:06:18 and I think there's going to be cute little fuzzy puppies running around all over your backyard to the point you have to build a place to hold them all. This is going to be awesome. It's going to be to be fun use this time but don't sit around and grieve this bad job that he lost this is god saying i've got something better for you it was a bad deal it was killing him he got set free he was released as if he was held captive he's a prisoner of war that got out of jail. I hope to be able to look at it like that. You've got some work to do, kiddo.
Starting point is 00:06:53 Because if you keep looking at it the way you're looking at it, let me tell you what's going to happen. You're going to burn through 43 weeks of severance and you're going to be sitting there 51 years old broke. And then you're going to run up a bunch of credit card debt and say it's because he got laid off. And I'm going to challenge you and say it wasn't because he got laid off it's because you never looked at the layoff as a blessing rather than a curse and that's not some some simple pie in the sky thing some of the best businesses that have ever been started were started
Starting point is 00:07:16 because somebody was forced out of the nest mary k you ever heard of her mary k cosmetics became a multi-gazillionaire because she got sick of being a secretary and with a single mom at 52 years old and started the business at 52 years old, same age as your husband. And she has a place that's the size of the Taj Mahal in Palm Beach. And if you buy a place the size of the Taj Mahal in Palm Beach, they charge you for it a lot. This is how this works, kiddo. You can do this.
Starting point is 00:07:47 Hold on. I'm going to send you a copy of the book Entree Leadership for your husband to read. Let him read it because I'm not sure you're going to. You can do this. Don't be so negative. You really can do this. I'm not just blowing hot air here. This is where the best businesses come from.
Starting point is 00:08:01 A little ounce of inspiration mixed with an ounce or two of desperation. And people go crazy, and they go do big stuff. Go do big stuff. This is your time. Still didn't answer your financial question, did I? Yes, I did. It's an income part of the equation, not just an outgo. You can't
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Starting point is 00:10:51 Jacob is in Modesto, California. Hi, Jacob. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. How are you doing, Dave? Better than I deserve. What's up in your world? All right. So I am in $35,000 in debt between cars, credit cards, personal loans,
Starting point is 00:11:07 and just miscellaneous phone bills I didn't pay and stuff like that. So I currently got a new job. It pays $45,000. I'm currently two weeks in the job. It's not necessarily a job I like, but I know I need to pay down this debt. I have a baby on the way, about a month away. I'm due in a month, and it scares me. Good.
Starting point is 00:11:32 That's awesome, man. It means you're going to be a good dad. It should scare you just a little bit. It's a scary thing being a dad. It's a good thing being a dad. Cool. Well, so $45,000, and so the reason the bills weren't paid is you didn't have a job? So I've been out of the job maybe for about one month now.
Starting point is 00:11:51 And that got you, like, behind on your phone bill and that kind of stuff, right? Yes. Okay. Here's what I want you to do. And the baby's due in a month. So she's eight months, right? Yes. Cool.
Starting point is 00:12:03 How old are you guys? I'm 22. She's 20. This is your first baby, right? Yes. Cool. How old are you guys? I'm 22. She's 20. This is your first baby, right? Yes. Awesomeness. Okay, fun. Well, congratulations.
Starting point is 00:12:12 Here's what we're going to do. Number one, we're going to get on a written budget. Go to EveryDollar and download the app. It's free, and I want you to build out your budget on the EveryDollar app, okay? Okay. Completely free. You and your wife sit down and do that tonight. Every dollar of your new income has an assignment.
Starting point is 00:12:29 The first assignment is food for the house. You have to eat before you can do anything, right? Yes, sir. The second one is pay the light bill. Are you behind on your light bill and your water bill? So currently I move from Texas to California. Are you behind on your light bill and your water bill? So currently I move from Texas to California. Are you behind on your light bill and your water bill? It's a yes or no answer.
Starting point is 00:12:48 No, sir. No. Okay, good. You're current on that. If you got old bills back in Texas, we'll deal with those later. But I'm talking about I want to keep your lights on and food on your table. Those are your first two things as a dad. The third thing is keep the table there, the shelter.
Starting point is 00:13:01 So are you current on your current rent where you live now? So what I was saying before i live with family so in texas i had my own place and for the baby's sake i wanted her to be close to family and okay so you don't have rent or lights no sir okay good that's good news right now um and so you do have food one way or the other either family's going to help or you can put it on the table right and how much debt, right? And how much debt do you have? How much debt do you have? So in all, it's $35,000. Okay.
Starting point is 00:13:31 Are you current or are you behind on it? You're behind on the phone bill. We know that. The phone bill and one credit card. Okay. So the only thing I want you to do in your budget right now is feed your family and give shelter to your family, which it sounds like that's taken care of right now, and I want you to do in your budget right now is feed your family and give shelter to your family which it sounds like that's taken care of right now and i want you to get current i do not want you to pay any extra i want you to save as much money as you can save until the baby comes how big a pile of
Starting point is 00:13:56 money can you possibly save in the next month and a half or so okay because any little bit of extra money in savings makes you makes the delivery much more peaceful. Okay? Because baby step one, if you've been doing any of the Dave Ramsey stuff at all yet, is save $1,000. You're not going to have a ton more than that with your income in a month and a half. You might have a little bit more. But as much as you can save, and when baby and mama come home from the hospital
Starting point is 00:14:23 and everybody's healthy, then I want you to take everything except $1,000 and start throwing it on your debts and start working your way through your debts. How long do you plan to live with your family? Honestly, I was thinking until I was debt-free and then renting a place up first until I can get a down payment on a house. That sounds like a good plan to me. And how much debt did you say you have total again? Tell me.
Starting point is 00:14:46 $35,000. Okay. Oh, how much of that's your car? One of the cars is $20,000, and I do want to sell that one. Good. I've been listening to a lot of your advice, and I think I'd be upside down $5,000. Yeah, good. Okay.
Starting point is 00:15:02 Then you either have to borrow that $5,000 or save that $5,000 to get out of that car, right? Yes. Because you have to give them the whole $20,000 to get the title when a buyer gives you $15,000. Yes, sir. Yeah, so let's get rid of that car. It doesn't fit in your equation anyway. You're living with your parents, have a brand-new baby, and make $45,000 a year in Modesto, California. You don't need a $20,000 car note.
Starting point is 00:15:22 That does not fit in this equation. So a second job. I was thinking about a second job, but right now in my life, a baby coming. You're not having a baby. Get a second job. Okay. I just want to be able to see her every now and then, you know. Well, you know, I mean, you got a month and a half, right? Very true.
Starting point is 00:15:40 Go deliver pizzas for a month and a half like a crazy man. Let's see how much money you can pile up. What you'll find is that you'll be able to do everything. You'll be able to work hard and be there for your kids. I've worked like a maniac through my life, and all of my kids are functional. None of them are currently seeing a therapist due to their father's hard work. It didn't kill any of them. Okay?
Starting point is 00:16:04 Now, what that means, though, is when you're home, you're home. You don't sit and watch HBO. You read to your kid. And you throw a brick through your television. Well, you don't throw a brick through your dad's television. You're staying with him. But you don't turn on the television, right? You go to the other room.
Starting point is 00:16:18 You spend time with your kid when you're home with your kid. What happens is people go, I need to be home and be nurturing. And then they're sitting on their butt watching hbo they know everything about game of thrones and hadn't read to their own kid that's what goes on out there when people talk about nurturing that's a bunch of crap is what it is so if you'll spend the time at home with the family then it doesn't take nine hours a day at home to be a good dad. You don't have to do that to be nurturing. It works out just fine. So I was home for all the proms.
Starting point is 00:16:50 I was home for all the major tournaments, even when major tournaments are six-year-old soccer tournaments, which there's nothing major about that, I'll just tell you. And, you know, all the birthdays, I made, you know, we scheduled live events around birthdays and all that kind of stuff. But then when I was, when I was at work, I was at work and that enabled the Ramsey family to do a lot of cool stuff. And, um, I started when I was your age, you're going to be a great dad. I'm proud of you. You're going to do really, really good. You got the right kind of heart. You're already thinking you're talking the right way. And you're a really young guy. You got a really bright future ahead of you. Hold on. i'm going to send you a copy of the book total money makeover to help you walk your way right through all this you're going to do just
Starting point is 00:17:33 fine good question sir this is the dave ramsey show thank you for joining us america we're glad you are here dina is with us in charlotte welcome to the show dina how can i help hi dave thanks for taking my call sure what's up uh my son mentioned something about you uh probably a month ago and i downloaded your book and have read it twice in the last probably two weeks wow so i am fired up i um was living fake and i took i'm a nurse. I make good money, and I was spending more than I should. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:18:09 You're trying to look like something you weren't, huh? I sold my $55,000 vehicle and paid cash for a 2014 car. You're awesome. What was the car you sold? What car did I sell? Yeah. A 2018 Audi Q7. Oh, wow.
Starting point is 00:18:30 Sweet car. I'm so glad you sold it. Well done. Good job. So I got me a paid-for car, put $1,000 in the emergency fund, and then $1,000 to save and paid off a $7,000 credit card. So at this point, all I owe is a $10,000 loan towards my 401k, which I wish I had not done. You're game on.
Starting point is 00:18:50 I love you. You're awesome. So should I take what I'm going to make? My living expenses right now is, and that's a whole other chapter, but right now it's only about $700 a month. And I don't know if I should go ahead and chunk money towards that 401k loan or go ahead and start putting money back towards that 401k or the rough get out of debt we're getting out of debt finish the debt off by the way you can't pay extra on a 401k loan you
Starting point is 00:19:16 have to save up the entire amount and pay it in one lump they won't let you pay systematically extra but yeah go ahead and finish getting out of debt and then build your emergency fund. Like you read the book twice. You know the baby steps, right? Then you do the emergency fund. And then you get with your SmartVestor Pro and you get your investing going and you get some good mutual funds going. You're going to be great.
Starting point is 00:19:36 You are on fire, kiddo. I love it. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions, Keith and Lori are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? Better than good. How are you? Better than I deserve. Welcome.
Starting point is 00:20:16 It's good to have you guys. Where do you all live? Auburn, California, between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. Oh, ugly area of the country. I don't know how you survived that. It's absolutely gorgeous over there. Very cool, man. Very blessed.
Starting point is 00:20:29 Good to have you. Welcome all the way over to Tennessee to do a debt-free scream. Yes. Love it. How much have you guys paid off? $219,576. I love it. And how long did this take?
Starting point is 00:20:42 38 months. Good. And your range of income during that time? 119 to 140. Good. What do you guys do for a living? I'm a national youth speaker. And I basically do everything behind the scenes.
Starting point is 00:20:54 All the bookkeeping, all the contacts between clients and arranging events and so forth. Wow. Very good. Good for you guys. Well done. I love it. So, cool. What do you speak on? Leadership. Okay. To youth. Yes. To youth. very good. Good for you guys. Well done. I love it. So, cool. What do you speak on?
Starting point is 00:21:06 Leadership. Okay, to youth. Yes, to youth. Very good. Good for you. I also sneak in a little Dave Ramsey on them and tell them to be responsible for their finance. Well, good. Well, thank you.
Starting point is 00:21:20 I appreciate that. Very nice. So, what kind of debt was this $220,000? $22, 000 was our solar and uh we paid off our house i'm looking at weird people yes you're looking at weird people you don't have a house paid for you got a california house paid for yes wow what's this house worth about one million so that alone makes you millionaires exactly i love it how's that feel it feels um it feels great it feels the grass do feel a little different yeah yeah nice place i
Starting point is 00:21:55 just flashed a copy of the picture of it up on youtube i saw it go by just a second ago it was a beautiful home wow very very nice well congratulations you guys thank you so tell me your story what started you on us 38 months ago on this journey well my wife wanted me to go into a podcast and look at focus on the family and when i went on there for some reason i stumbled upon you and i remember in sacramento there was a big old billboard of you on Highway 80. And I looked at it and I said, let me see what this guy is all about. And I went on there and I started to listen to one of your podcasts. And I said, man, this guy is just like me. I don't find many people to think like me in terms of finance.
Starting point is 00:22:37 Sometimes we can sound pretty aggressive towards taking care of your debt and your responsibilities. So, you know, sometimes I'm considered being mean. But, you know, when I heard someone say, come out of your cave, kill something and bring it back. Yeah. Made me excited about it. Yeah. Well, cool. Very good.
Starting point is 00:22:55 So you decided to pay off everything, including the house. Yes. And went on a journey 38 months long. Yes. And one of the issues where we were trying to pay everything at once. Yeah. And we never had traction and never felt good about what we were playing. Changing our position and changing our thoughts every six months because we never saw any
Starting point is 00:23:14 traction. Mm-hmm. Attraction is important in anything. Yeah. That's a big deal. Well, well done, y'all. Very well done. I love it.
Starting point is 00:23:23 So what do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is now that you've done it you're weird a bigger house and everything y'all are awesome um i would say the keys are saying no and being okay with it and you can see we have three kids and there's a lot of questions you have three teenagers we have two teenagers and one on the way. So no is a big deal. No is a big deal. And especially they're active. They do sports. And you're just always bombarded with questions.
Starting point is 00:23:53 Can we? Can I? When can we? And it's like, no, you can't. Later. It's going to be later. And I think that was a key to just keeping on the pace. You have ruined their childhood.
Starting point is 00:24:05 Yes. I don't know how they're going to recover. I don't the pace. You have ruined their childhood. Yes. I don't know how they're going to recover. I don't know how they're going to make it. Yes. They heard the word no. Shocking. I love it. I will also add, you know, one of the hardest things.
Starting point is 00:24:18 It wasn't so hard, but getting your kids involved in the, I don't know, the ownership of being financially responsible. So one of the things I shared with my daughter when she was in eighth grade was, you know, your first year of high school, you have to make $1,000 for college. And she asked me, she goes, how am I going to do that? I said, you got to work. And then I said, the second year, sophomore year, you need $2,000. The next year, you need $3,000. The next year, you need $4,000.
Starting point is 00:24:44 And she looked at me as you're going into ninth grade. She goes, that need $2,000. The next year, you need $3,000. The next year, you need $4,000. And she looked at me as you're going into ninth grade. She goes, that's $10,000. And I say, well, you know what, Cambria, I have to come up with $100,000. So if I can come up with $100,000, you can come up with $10,000. And what it did for her was what we've learned is it taught them how to work. And last year, she gave me the money on the last week of school. And this year, she gave me the money for her college already a month before school was out and she's almost there for the her junior year and the guy on the right hand side of me he already
Starting point is 00:25:15 has 900,000 and he hasn't started high school until 900,000 900 dollars okay i was about to say he kind of whipped you. I was thinking he's a millionaire already. This is great. Yeah, $900. Okay. So the kids, we're all in. Very cool. It's exciting.
Starting point is 00:25:32 Well, it is. What happens when you change your family tree, it's not just a math thing. It's a vision thing. A family has a different vision. And you start to see not just having a house paid for. It's not just that simple. It's a new way of looking at life. It's saying no now so we can say no later and you know saying uh we're going to live like no one else so later we can live and give like no one else you guys
Starting point is 00:25:55 are incredible what a great family this is awesome absolutely fun very very well done very good so no is one of the secrets and what's the other secret to getting out of debt? What did you all actually do to pay off $220,000? I worked together as a team, I think, before we met. Before we started this program, I think Lori was taking on more of the responsibility, the feeling of paying all the bills, even though I was out working. And what I found out, that that wasn't fair to her to be responsible for all our finance so I would go out and spend something but not write the check
Starting point is 00:26:31 for it and so I was kind of detached from the feeling the emotion that we went through so just just being together as a team and taking on both of us, taking just working on everything together is super important. And then also realizing that motivation is kind of like temporary gets you started. You have to find something to inspire you. It inspires to create change. And I come from nothing. I grew up with nothing. And one thing we did not have growing up was stability.
Starting point is 00:27:03 And I remember what that felt like. I remember not eating. I remember not living in a car, living in hotels. Being in foster care, it was really hard. So I just didn't want my kids to ever feel that way. And so I used those hard times in my life, instead of running from it, I used it to inspire me to create change in my family tree. And so Lori and I, you know, we teamed up and made a commitment to our kids.
Starting point is 00:27:32 It stops here. It stops at this generation. Yeah, exactly. This generation today. That's what I said. I said, this is the last Ramsey. The last one in this branch. We're done.
Starting point is 00:27:42 We're done. American Express calls our house. It's a freaking wrong number. We're done. That's right. We're done. I mean, that's branch. We're done. We're done. American Express calls our house. It's a freaking wrong number. We're done. That's right. We're done. I mean, that's it. We're done.
Starting point is 00:27:49 And that's what happens. When you look at that, you go, that's what I meant about changing the family tree. There's a lot of stuff going on there. Well done, y'all. I'm proud of y'all. Very cool. Very, very cool. So who were your biggest cheerleaders while you were doing this?
Starting point is 00:28:01 Go ahead. I would say my own parents paid off their house when i was a teenager i don't i wasn't actively involved with that but that was just they're from that generation where you pay you know you pay cash for things and so having that um they them doing that and them you know that made it fairly normal to you yeah well and not necessarily normal but it was like capable it was possible yeah it was like okay and It was possible. Yeah. It was like, okay. And they were, they are all about living below your means. So I was raised by them in that, you know, with that mindset. So for me, I was like, great, let's do this. Let's, you know, I was on board and I think they
Starting point is 00:28:36 were great cheerleaders and we were just cheerleaders of ourselves, I think, because it is really our battle and our, our race. And so just keeping going and kind of going, okay, you know, this is what we did this month, and let's see if we can improve on this or that. And having cash in your wallet is really big, too. I think when we actually gave each other, here's our amount, and when it's gone, we're done. So that really helped. All right. It's Keith, Lori, Cambria, Jalen, and Brendan.
Starting point is 00:29:04 $20,000 paid off in 38 months, making $119,000 to $140,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt-free! Woo! I love it. Yeah!
Starting point is 00:29:21 This is how it's done right there, man. Absolutely fabulous. Boom! This is The Dave Ramsey Show. Our Scripture of the day, James 119. My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. My friend Andy Stanley says, Leaders who don't listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say.
Starting point is 00:30:24 Woo! There you go. leaders who don't listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say. There you go. Well, more than 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Most people can't even cover an unexpected $1,000 emergency fund. We've got a program that will teach you how to help people win with money. It's called Financial Coach Master Training. Our coaches come from all kinds of different backgrounds. And we're just looking for people who have a willingness to learn and a heart to serve.
Starting point is 00:30:55 Our financial coaching team is giving away one free enrollment during the next webinar. Which is this Thursday, June 20th at noon central time. All you have to do is register. All you have to do to win is to register for the webinar. It's super easy. Just register for the June 20th webinar. Text the word COACHING to 33789. That's text COACHING to 33789. That's text COACHING to 33789.
Starting point is 00:31:28 The webinar is completely free. Haley's in Dallas, Texas. Hi, Haley. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. Thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's up?
Starting point is 00:31:38 So I am on Baby Steps 4, 5, and 6, and I'm actually a student still living at home with my parents, and so I don't own a home to pay off. So I'm wondering, do you think I should just go ahead and start investing 15% into retirement, or should I start leaving to purchase a home? You're in college? Yes, sir. What are you studying?
Starting point is 00:32:03 I'm studying, well, my degree is in French. I'm going to study to be an ESL teacher. Oh, okay. Great. Good for you. All right. And are you a freshman or a sophomore? I'll be going into my junior year.
Starting point is 00:32:17 Into your junior year. Okay. You're way ahead. Good for you. Okay. What I would do, and how are you paying for school? It's a combination of scholarships and also working, and my parents are also being really generous.
Starting point is 00:32:31 So your parents are helping scholarships and you're working? Yes. Good, very cool. Where are you going to school? University of Texas at Arlington. Oh, good for you. Very good. Okay.
Starting point is 00:32:42 Good. Sounds like a great plan. Well, what I would do is save money in a big pile until you graduate. I wouldn't worry about investing into retirement, and I wouldn't worry about the baby steps. I would just have a big old pile of money until you graduate. That will do two things. One is it will ensure that you graduate debt-free. If something happened to one of the scholarships and you had a pile of money, you still graduate debt-free.
Starting point is 00:33:14 Something happened with your parents' finances and you had a big pile of money, you still graduate debt-free. So your best investment right now, Haley, is named Haley. Let's make sure you graduate and you graduate debt-free. That's your number one investment, and that's where we're going to start. Okay? Now, once you graduate, let's say something really, really crazy happened, and you had a huge pile of money, $50,000 or something crazy, right? And you graduate completely debt-free with $50,000 in the bank. Well, you could probably find something to do with that money, like buy a home at that point or start investing at that point. You'll also use some of the money to transition out into, you know, your first apartment and wherever you're going to live.
Starting point is 00:33:51 And, you know, maybe you end up changing cities. I don't know where your new job is, all that kind of stuff. So you'll need some money for that transition period after you graduate. And so I'd stay in tune with that idea. But let's just pile up a big pile of money, and that gives you options for transition, options to invest, or options to buy a home when you graduate. You do not have to start investing at your age to become wealthy. It doesn't hurt anything, but your best investment is you.
Starting point is 00:34:22 A debt-free you with a degree is a better return mathematically on investments than mutual funds will give you assuming you actually use this job use this degree and get a job and you work because of it that kind of a thing johnny is with us in los angeles hi johnny welcome to the dave ramsey show hey d How are you doing today? Better than I deserve. What's up? Hey, so I guess my question is funny. I'm considering taking on a new job opportunity that pays more. Good. But I'll be taking on some debt in doing so. Why?
Starting point is 00:34:57 So the – I never heard of a job where you have to go in debt to get a job. Yeah. So the company I'm currently working with has paid for the degree, but the new job opportunities outside of the company. So if I leave the company, I ultimately have to pay back the debt, which is roughly $30,000. $30,000.
Starting point is 00:35:16 Okay. And how long do you have to work there for the $30,000 to be forgiven? Two years is the commitment. Okay. So it's an extra $15, 15 000 a year what do you make now i make a uh just a little over 70 so 70 000 a year okay and um what would you be making at the new gig uh roughly 114 salary so 114 0004,000. Okay. All right. Would they consider advancing you $30,000 of that?
Starting point is 00:35:49 No, they'd consider $20,000, not the full $30,000. So, what's that, $10,000 left? And you don't have any money? Sorry? And you don't have any money? I have money, yes. I have about 10,000 saved at the moment, and then 260-something hours of personal time that'll be advanced to me once I submit my termination. What's that worth? Roughly around 8,000, 9,000. Okay. So your company will advance you 2020,000, and you have $8,000, $9,000 coming from your old company, and you need $30,000.
Starting point is 00:36:30 So why is it, again, you're borrowing money? Because if I leave the current company that I'm with, I will have to pay back the money because they paid for the degree, essentially. No, no, no. Wait a minute. I'm sorry. Maybe I misunderstood. I thought your new company was going to give you $20,000 towards that, aren't they? Yes. Okay. And your old company is going to give you $9,000 and pay for vacation, right? Correct.
Starting point is 00:36:55 Is that $29,000? Yes. And you have a $30,000 problem, right? Right. So why are you borrowing money? Well, I guess I'm not borrowing money. Okay, good. Good.
Starting point is 00:37:10 I'm glad you're not. You're taking in advance on your pay, okay? I'm not calling that borrowed money. I thought you were going to the bank and borrowing 30 grand to make this happen. But, yeah, you take this job. For sure you take it. Because you make up the difference in nine months in salary. You're taking a $30,000 hit personally to do this,
Starting point is 00:37:34 and you make it up on $114,000 over $70,000 in nine months, right? Right. Take it. Do it. But cash flow the problem. Don't go to a bank to solve your problem. That's what I was going up against here. Yeah, absolutely.
Starting point is 00:37:50 Definitely. And, you know, make sure that you get a signing bonus of 20 or an advance of 20 or whatever it is out of the company. Either one's fine with me. I don't care. But, yeah, you know, you're no more in debt to the new company on an advance than you are into the old company on your education being paid for that you have to repay if you leave early. It's the same deal. So it's the same kind of situation.
Starting point is 00:38:13 It's not actually debt, but it can end up in debt depending on the situation. But yeah, in your case, you're not going to. So very cool. Good for you, man. I love it. Definitely do that. But do not go to the bank and borrow the money. Make sure you figure out a way to cash flow this.
Starting point is 00:38:28 And between your $10,000 in savings, your $9,000 in back pay for vacation time, and the $20,000 or so advance your company's willing to give you or bonus or signing bonus or willing to give you or whatever the new company, it definitely makes sense. The numbers make sense on this deal for sure. You definitely go forward. And I mean, it's a 40% increase in pay. Of course we're doing this deal. Unless the people you're going
Starting point is 00:38:52 to work for are just horrible or something, which I doubt. Hey, good question, man. Thank you for joining us. We appreciate you being here. That puts this particular hour of the Dave Ramsey Show in the books. Our thanks to James Childs, our producer, Kelly Daniel, our associate producer, and phone screener. I am Dave Ramsey, your host.
Starting point is 00:39:09 We will be back with you before you know it. In the meantime, remember, there's ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus. Hey guys, it's Blake Thompson, Senior Executive Producer for The Dave Ramsey Show. This hour's over, but you can find more great content on our YouTube channel. Catch the most watched Dave Rants, debt-free screams, and the very popular Everyday Millionaire segment. Go to the Dave Rantz Show YouTube channel and click subscribe.

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