The Ramsey Show - App - Don't Grow Weary In Doing Right (Hour 1)

Episode Date: February 24, 2023

Ken Coleman & Jade Warshaw answer your questions and discuss: "Can I pause the Baby Steps to save for a car?" from the blog: When To Pause Your Debt Snowball How a simple side hustle can take off and drastically increase your income, from the blog: 34 Ways to Make Extra Money When you should or should not use savings to pay off your mortgage, Important things to know for bookkeeping in your business, from the blog: Best Small-Business Bookkeeping and Accounting Why student loans are not the answer to your educational future, from the blog: How to Pay for College Without Student Loans Have a question for the show? Call 888-825-5225 Weekdays from 2-5pm ET Want a plan for your money? Take our FREE 3 minute assessment: https://bit.ly/3nInETX Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6 Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy

МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Pods Moving and Storage Studio, this is the Ramsey Show, where we help you win in your life, specifically your money, your work, and your relationships. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by Jade Warshaw. We're here for you this hour.

888-825-5225 is the phone number. 888-825-5225. We are fresh off of the airplane from an amazing Building Wealth Live in Austin, Texas last night. Myself, Jade, Dr. John Deloney, and Dave Ramsey at a packed house, Jade. And it was really fun. It was phenomenal. It was phenomenal. And somehow you look even younger now having got off that plane.

You look fresh as a daisy, Ken. Well, I had a 20-minute session in the cryo freezer. And so I don't even know what that is. Just made that up. That's not a thing. Don't listen to anything I'm saying. But we had a great time on the road, and we'll talk more in the show about the remaining dates.

So let's get to it. People are lined up, ready to go. It's a free phone call, 888-825-5225. I also want to point out we have a fantastic studio audience watching out there. They're very excited to be here, and we love having them with us. Let's go to Roanoke, Virginia. Megan is there. Megan, how can we help? Hi guys. Thank you so much for taking my call. Absolutely. Thanks. My husband and I are in

Baby Step 2 and we want to know if it's okay to pause the baby steps to cash flow a vehicle. I drive about 6,000 miles every two weeks. Wow. And yeah, and I had gotten rid of it. So sorry, I get very nervous when I stutter. That's all right. You're doing great. Take your time. Okay. I had gotten rid of, we had $116,000 in debt. We've paid off 40 since we started towards the end of last year. So we've really been booking it. But part of that was we got rid of a car payment in a car.

We had saved up cash to buy a cheap $4,000 car. And it just completely broke down last night. And it'll probably be two to three at a minimum to fix it. And I know Dave says, don't three at a minimum to fix it and I know Dave said don't just buy a new car when it breaks um but I'm wondering if my situation is any different where I can just you know pause the baby steps save up and buy something just a tad bit newer so that way I have something reliable for my work why are you um what's causing you to drive the that many miles I'm just curious that's a lot um I it is so much i'm working 70 to 90 hours a

week right now i'm dying um but um i'm a medical courier so uh hospitals doctor's offices that kind of thing i have to pick it up and then drive it you know whatever the radius is to the lab okay okay um how much do you have saved so far that you could put towards this vehicle um right now we just have the emergency fund um and because everything else we were you know throwing towards the debt so the the car that's broken down you said you paid four thousand for it yes ma'am and it's going to cost two to three thousand to fix yes ma'am have you so much i'm sorry how much is in the emergency fund a thousand just a thousand yeah just a thousand okay yeah because we're only in baby step two right all right have you shopped

it around to a couple of different places or is this just one guy's opinion this is well uh myself and my family were all pretty mechanically inclined um and so from the research i've done it's an inverter where it's a hybrid vehicle because i need a good fuel economy for all the miles i drive you know save money and um from what i can find the cheapest on the web for parts and labor is going to be two to three if i take it to a dealership and have to have someone work on it it's probably going to be much more because you know they have to charge for the labor. You know, if it's me, and you just got the car, it's not like it's proven to be a money hole or a money pit.

I'd probably go ahead and get it fixed, and if it seems like it's going to continue to give you problems, then I'd consider getting out. But I mean, I would try to get this done dirt cheap. I mean, there's been times that Sam and I have ordered the part ourself on Amazon and then taken it and it has saved us hundreds instead of having the dealer order it or the mechanic order it.

So whatever you can do to kind of get crafty and try to save money and cut costs, don't spend more than 2000 to get this fix. And if you start seeing that this is a trend and that this, you just kind of got sold a lemon, then get out of it. But yeah, stack up, try to stack up and cash flow this if you can, so that you don't have to start from scratch with your emergency fund. Do you think you could do that?

Yeah, yeah, I could probably do it in about a week or two. It's just whether or not it's worth it or I should just put it towards a new one. What do you think, Ken? Well, I want to know what you're going to do while the car's being fixed or while we're waiting to get the car fixed. What's your solution? Because you're not going to stop working, right? No, I'm not. I'm actually, they went out last night and this morning I'm already in a rental. So I'm cash flowing the rental until it's either fixed or I find a new one, depending on what you guys want me to do. Okay. And then the other question I have is why are you working 70? And I don't begrudge this. I'm just curious. Why are you working 70

to 90 hours a week? Because my husband and I, I'm sure I wouldn't get emotional, but we've been running in debt for the six years of our marriage, and we have a four-year-old, and we want to go through the steps and build a better future for him. So my husband, he's working a ton. He switched to a new job where he's working a ton, and now I'm working a ton just trying to get this debt out of our lives as quickly as possible. I just wanted to know what was going on there, and I just want to encourage you that you all are doing the right thing,

and it seems really, really hard right now. And what really sucks is that here you are busting it, and all of a sudden something bad happens. And it can really discourage you. But this is life, and you will overcome it. Jade, your story, super intense, you know, and you've had to overcome things like this. And so I throw it back to you to just encourage your heart right now, because I think that's more important.

Yeah. Hey, don't grow weary in well-doing. Don't grow weary in doing what is right, because at the right time, all right, in just another year and just a couple of months for you in just two weeks and at just the right time, you will reap a harvest if you don't faint. That's what God's word says.

And you guys are up against it. I mean, you guys are moving, you're shaking, you're doing it, you're sacrificing, you're doing all the right things. And that sacrifice, it's tough at the time. It is not easy. Anybody who's listening to this call right now, what she is

going through, what she is sacrificing to win, it is not easy, but it is so necessary. And the reward will be so worth it for those who do not faint. So not just for you, but anybody listening, keep going, Megan, keep going. Whoever's listening, Janet, Paul, Tim for you, but anybody listening, keep going, Megan, keep going. Whoever's listening, Janet, Paul, Tim, John, whoever is listening, keep going. You will reap a harvest if you do not faint. Isaiah says it well, those who wait on the Lord and the word wait there in that scripture means hope in the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings like eagles and soar. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not faint. And here's the key right now, Megan,

you are in a season where you're not even walking. You feel like you're just shuffling. And I'm just telling you that scripture says, if you're in a season where it's just really hard and you're just dragging one foot and then dragging the next foot. You're just shuffling. You're not even walking. He says you will not faint. And you've got a process that works. More importantly, you and your husband have passion to get to the other side. This is just a temporary impediment. You're going to blow through it and you're going to be in financial peace before you know it, living like no one else. We're here for you through the entire journey. She's Jade Warshaw. I'm Ken Coleman. Don't move. More of the Ramsey Show coming up. Hey, you guys, health insurance costs are only moving one way and that way isn't down. And if higher costs aren't enough, the wait times

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experience a medical event. So listen, y'all, there's no better way to take care of health care costs. CHM programs start as low as $98 a month. So learn more today and join at chministries.org slash budget. That's chministries.org. are so vitally important that you are winning, that you are healthy in those areas. Because if you're not in any one of those areas, I promise you they affect the others. The phone number to jump in, 888-825-5225. Jade is our money expert, and I'm the work expert. At least that's what they tell me. I don't even like the word expert, but there you go. Here to help you get unstuck if you got some of those calls, 888-825-5225.

Now, let's talk about work and money combining here. Great story in my hands. This is a Fox Business article and that's the sound effect is real. It's just the paper. We like to call it the paper crinkling on the Ken Coleman show. It's very popular. I'm not sure if the audio guys liked it very much, but it's too late. So Jade, this is the story, and this is really cool. I'm going to read the headline and give you the guts of it, but for those of you right now that are watching and listening, and you got this check, I like to call it, in your spirit, and it just keeps kind of popping back up. I should do this, or I could do this, or I want to do it. But then you just, for whatever reason, your head voice begins to drown out your heart voice. This story is for you.

Stephanie Beggs was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in North America 2023 for her accomplishments. Who is Stephanie? Well, she was a nurse, is a nurse by training, and she turned a side gig into an online empire. This is a direct quote from her. She told Fox Business, I got started selling my notes when I graduated from nursing school. I was studying for the board's exam, and it was right when the pandemic happened, so I had nobody to study with. This is my favorite part of the story, Jade. I would teach myself to the wall and i would record it and then i posted that onto social media and people loved it they then asked to buy my study sheets so i created a shop that eventually

became viral and so now i sell study sheets i passed the boards a long time ago but now I sell them for students who are approaching the board's exam and taking tests in nursing school. So where that's how it started. So I want you to catch this for a second. Jade here she is and she doesn't have anybody to study with so she thinks you know what I'm gonna I'm gonna read my study notes to a wall essentially and put my cell phone in front of me and record it. And then she has a hunch or that check. And she says, you know what? Maybe I'll post it on social.

What the heck? Maybe it'll help one or two nurses. She didn't say this in the article, but we know that to be true. She didn't have a grand plan. No. And she says that. And so then it picks up steam.

And now where is it? Oh my gosh. She started selling her notes in june of 2020 listen all you folks out there who need a little hope and now she's surpassed two million dollars in profits last year alone that was 2022 wow what a story um she now sells specific uh sheets for two bucks class specific sheets for $2, class-specific sheets for $30 to $40, or a giant bundle for $150. So again, this isn't a big manufactured product.

She didn't have to travel overseas to come up with something fancy, Jade. She just simply took something that helped herself, and she shared it, and boom. What do you think when you hear a story like that? I think that each person has something to offer. Boom. Love that. That's absolutely true. They have something to offer that can help other people. That's my first thought. And then I think about whatever it is that you're struggling through, whether it's paying off debt, trying to pass your nursing exam, trying to, you know, whatever it is, it's never just for you.

There's always something beyond you where others can benefit from that if you choose to look for it and find it. And so that's thing two. Now there's a third thing, Ken. Oh, it's coming to you. The third thing is all the time people are trying to make more money. I'm side hustling. And people are quick to go to things that are pre-existing. I'm going to do DoorDash. I'm going to do Uber Eats. I'm going to do these other things. But I always like to challenge people. There's probably something that you're

already doing. Yes. That's very, it's either your skill set or very closely related to your skill set that you could do and make more money and probably get more joy out of. Yeah. Because you already love doing it. You already know how. Yeah. Because you already love doing it. You already know how to do it. You already enjoy doing it. And so when it comes to side hustling, because this is how this started for her, it was a side hustle.

And then it just grew and grew and grew. I think that's where you need to start. Yeah. With the things you already know, you're going to make more money per hour because you get to set the hours. You get to set what you earn. And here's the big takeaway.

She solved a problem for herself and then she went i wonder if this solution that i created for me would help anybody else it's a fabulous question and don't lose the simplest the the simplicity, excuse me, of what's going on here. The simple solution for herself, she shared it. Now that's the takeaway. She shared her study sheets and she netted $2 million in profit last year. That's all she did. She took a solution that she created, or as Jade was saying, it could be a solution that she provided for someone else. And all she did was say, I'm going to share it. And I just feel like there's somebody listening and watching right now that you need to hear this.

You're afraid to share it. And I don't know why. Imposter syndrome. But it doesn't matter. You just need to share it. Because two people may buy it, or you may make two million dollars next year but you'll never know so that is the moral of the story i love love love love uh stephanie's story so hopefully that encourages some people today but you said it though people are afraid

to share and that imposter syndrome is real yeah that's a real thing that people face i'll tell you it's just good old-fashioned doubt because here's what i want to say about that number one you aren't an imposter you weren't and and that means fraud and you don't have a disease you just have good old-fashioned doubt i like it ken i mean i get the phrase no but what you're saying is exactly right you don't have a syndrome welcome to the human race by the way by the way i'm i know i'm serious here's what i want to say about it the weather's fine yeah it's fine here's what i want to say about this. Step on in. The weather's fine. Yeah, it's fine. Here's what I want to say. Jay, you know, when you are experiencing fear and when you are experiencing doubt, that's a good sign.

Oh, yeah. I want to encourage people that are right now, you feel gripped by fear and doubt. I want to encourage you to say this. It's because you are thinking about moving forward or you're in the act of moving forward. Let me tell you the people who never experience fear and doubt, the people who sit on the bleachers of life and watch everybody else. You can't be afraid of anything when you're elbow deep in popcorn. You can't be doubtful when you're feeding your face with nachos,

watching everybody else live life. And so I just want to encourage people. If, if you have got some fear today and some doubt today, it's a good sign that your heart is engaged in longing for a better future. And so from that standpoint, can I just say, don't feel bad about yourself because you're fearful and doubtful.

You should go, all right. Ken says that that's a good sign. Oh, yeah. That's a sign you're exiting the comfort zone. That's right. And that's a good thing because you can only stay in the comfort zone so long. You're not going to grow after a while. You know, you got to shake it up, spice it up.

I tell you, comfortable is the plank in the bridge right before miserable because because the longer that i'm comfortable the closer i'm becoming to miserable now i want to unpack that for a second come on i'm sorry you're preaching to you're preaching right now i know i may take an offering here later so uh don't be offended if that just pops out no here's what i want to say about that the longer that that I'm comfortable, the closer I am to being miserable simply means this. When I'm not being challenged, when I'm not growing, then I am slowly dying. And when we say that and you hear people say that, what that really means, Jade, is that my soul, my spirit moves into a languishing, where I'm languishing.

And that's just, I know that's a big word. Look it up if you haven't ever heard it or used it before. But it really is this kind of no man's land of I'm not growing and I haven't started going backwards yet. But then what happens is it takes us to this emotional state where a lot of depression lives and then anxiety builds in this place because I'm not growing. I don't see an opportunity to go forward. I've heard it said the enemy of growth and greatness is just fine.

That's it. Comfortability. Just fine. You ask somebody how you're doing, I'm just fine. Yeah. You better be careful. And the takeaway from all that is, is we would rather be miserable than uncomfortable because misery, we know what we're dealing with. And the takeaway from all that is, is we would rather be miserable than uncomfortable because

misery, we know what we're dealing with. When we're uncomfortable, that means we're in a place of stepping out into the future. So, all right, we're just getting started. The phone number is ready to roll. 888-825-5225. She's Jade Warshaw. I'm Ken Coleman. You're listening to The Ramsey Show.

Welcome back, America. You've joined the conversation here on The Ramsey Show. Welcome back, America. You've joined the conversation here on the Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman, Jade Warshaw. My colleague joins me this hour. We're taking your calls on your life, money questions, work questions. You're in a toxic environment, got a boss that's just pathetically bad. You don't know what to do. You're scared to move. What are the financial ramifications? Those work money questions. Fun stuff for Jade and I to get into today. 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Let's go to the Big Apple.

Brian is there. New York City. Brian, how can we help? Hi, guys. How are you doing? Doing good. We're having a blast. What's up?

So I have a question. I'm not sure what to do. My gut tells me to do one thing. I want to pay off my mortgage. Mm-hmm. I have no other debt. I owe $164,000 on the mortgage, and the home is worth roughly $750,000. Wonderful. Basically, I want to hit the reset button. I don't want to have to worry about the monthly payment anymore uh-huh so but everyone's telling me no keep cash in the uh keep the cash in the bank is this your what is this your how much you have enough cash to pay it off completely and after you did that would you still have three to six months of expenses saved? It would be close. So cash, cash, I have about $120,000 in cash. Okay. My brokerage

account, you know, my personal account is about $55,000. Okay. That's a taxable brokerage? That's a taxable one. And then in annuities and 401k, there's roughly 550,000. What's in the annuities versus the 401k? The annuity is about 200,000. Okay. So we wouldn't have to touch all of that. I wouldn't touch anything in the 401k. I would go for the 120 in cash, and I would look at the 55k that you've got in the taxable brokerage. Why sell the house? He's not selling it. He wants to pay it off.

No, I don't want to sell the house. Oh, I missed it. You want to pay it off. Yeah. Okay. I don't want to have to worry about the monthly payments anymore. My job, I'm not too comfortable with my job security. So my mindset is if I don't have a mortgage payment, it's a lot easier just to pay the taxes. Yeah. Well, you know, it makes sense. What you're saying makes a lot of sense. Let's talk about it through the

lens of the baby steps. So have you been walking our baby steps or it's just, did you just kind of end up here? You found us and it's like, hey, I kind of did that stuff. Can you tell me a little bit about that? I actually, we're in the middle of FPU now. Okay, great. I've had this mindset for a long time. Okay. And everybody kept telling me, oh, it's free money.

In a 2.5% interest rate, it's free money. Why pay it off? Why pay it off? No. Okay. My mindset, it's free money in a two and a half percent interest rate. It's free money. Why pay it off? Why pay it off? No. My mindset is it's a payment. Yeah, you're right. You're right. Your instincts are totally right, Brian. And I'll take it one step further. I would pay off the mortgage as long as you're continuing to invest 15 percent into your retirement. That's baby step four. Baby step five is you're saving for kids college. Do you have kids? I am. Okay, you're doing that. Now you're baby step six, which is you can pay off the house. Now here's the deal. You don't have to go at a speed of intensity. We talk about the final baby steps being more about intentionality. So you don't have to liquidate at all and do that.

If you wanted to, you could. You've got enough money. I mean, you've got the cash here. You've got a taxable brokerage that for all intents and purposes is really just a glorified savings account that you're using it for. So I would touch only those monies to make it happen. I would not dip into a 401k. I would not dip into any type of retirement. If you had some sort of single stocks or crypto or something that you were trying to get out from under, you could sell that and throw it towards your mortgage. I'm not mad at that, but I don't want you to feel like you're on fire and that you're running to put it out. Does that make sense? Are you paying any on it now above and beyond just the payment itself, the mortgage payment?

Are you putting in a little extra now? Oh, I put a lot extra now. How much extra are you putting above and beyond the payment itself? Well, my minimum payment, I'm doing at least two and a half times my minimum payment. Okay, great. So here's why I'm asking this. If you didn't take any of this $120,000 that you got in cash and put it towards the $164,000 balance, how long would it take you to pay the house off with just the extra that you're putting on it right now? What's your payoff date if you didn't change anything?

Four years. All right. My job's not going to last four years. How do you know? It's just the nature of it. I mean, everything is going electronic. Okay. Well, that's fine. But we still want you to keep your emergency fund. So whatever the 120 is minus your three to six months, whatever your comfort level is, you could put that on the house. I wouldn't touch any of those other funds.

I would just take the cash. I don't want to touch the other funds. What I basically want to do is empty out my cash in my brokerage account. Bring that down to literally zero and then reset from there because now i can make the payments of you know two and a half times what my mortgage payment is i can replenish that pretty quickly yeah well when you say reset here's here's the the the big uh piece of this we do not want you to sacrifice your three to six months of emergencies to make this happen if you do this you need to keep that emergency fund because if you don't, you're

putting a giant target on your back. Okay. The way we teach it, there's a reason and an order for the way that we do these baby steps and it's to keep you protected. And it's to make sure that you're managing all sides of this thing. You know what I mean? You got, you got a 360 view on what's going on. And if you get rid of that emergency fund, something's going to happen. It always happens that way. The moment you bleed that thing dry is when the roof... Yeah, Murphy lives next door. Exactly. So let's do it right. Again, like I said, nothing's on fire. So we don't have to go to extremes. But yeah, you got $120 in cash. Maybe you keep $30 of it aside and you use the rest of it to put on your mortgage.

Either way, you're going to pay it off faster than four years. Two years is most likely, wouldn't you say? That's where I was leading you. If you put a good chunk of the 120 cash, but we have a fully funded emergency fund, how much quicker is that going to allow you to pay it off? My guess is you're less than two years, two years max. Am I right? Yeah, probably about there. All right. Well, that's fine. You know, because I started late, too, as far as, like, with the kids' savings plans. Like, I'm behind on that.

So, you know, I am trying to play catch up there. But, brother, here's the deal. Let me ease your mind. If your job gets eliminated, okay, if it gets eliminated, you're see that coming that's not gonna be a six weeks notice so you've got this house even if you don't have it paid off by that time that house is giving you tremendous leverage right we're not saying you have to sell we don't want you to sell it no but the point is is you're gonna be okay you've got time you're vigilant you're on top of this is what i'm saying and can i just add if we know that

there's a job loss yeah that's in your future can we can we not plan that you've already got something else in your back pocket ready or can you transition before the inevitable takes place absolutely well that's the thing we have to be like a whole career change that's fine very job like it's such a small little niche to what I do. Yeah, okay. This is what I deal with. Brian, this is what I deal with every day, and I'm here to tell you that you have skill

and you have experience that is transferable. Period. End of statement. You have skill and you have experience that is transferable to other industries, other career paths. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes. Do you believe me uh i don't do i i think it's i think it's harder um it's whoa whoa whoa it it might be a little hard as it relates to you having to learn a few other new things or get some certification or put yourself out there.

But you are acting like you are pigeonholed, and you're acting like a guy who is trying to batten down the hatches for the world's greatest storm. And I'm here to tell you, it's not that big of a storm. And, Brian, I get it. So here, I'm going to help you, okay? I'm going to give you two resources so that you can tackle this pivot because that's all this is, is a professional pivot. I'm going to give you two resources so that you can tackle this pivot because that's all this is, is a professional pivot. I'm going to give you my Get Clear Career Assessment. It's a 15, 18-minute assessment that's going to help you be so much more self-aware of what you're

good at doing, what you love to do, and what motivates you. Then I'm going to give you the book that's the companion to it. Think of the assessment as a compass, and then the book from paycheck to purpose is the guide up the new mountain. Hang on the line. We're going to give you those. I want you to take the assessment. Then I want you to read the book, and you're going to begin to see things in a completely different light. And you're so disciplined, you're going to be fine, but you just got to get over this doubt about this job change. You're doing a great job. Thank you so much for the call. You're going to be fine, but you just got to get over this doubt about this job change. You're doing a great job. Thank you so much for the call. You're going to get there.

All right, don't move. She's Jade Warshaw. I'm Ken Coleman, and you're listening to The Ramsey Show. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman. I'm joined by my colleague, Jade Warshaw. The phone number for you to jump in is 888-825-5225. All right. It is that time of year where I have to go buy extra bottles of antacids because it's tax time. I hate,

and when I say I hate, I want you to understand I'm not going to regret saying this later today. I hate with a deep abiding passion taxes. I hate hate taxes but I also believe we got to pay them and so a lot of you have questions about taxes it's it just it can be crazy there's all kinds of new provisions every time the congress does something and so you need a tax pro so we've got a question from one of our viewers and listeners. I'm a new business owner. What are the most important things I need to do to make bookkeeping for my business easier? Oh, that's a headache. Stacey and I ran a small business. Jade, you and Sam, you get it. I get it. Bookkeeping is, ugh, especially for small business. So first, we want to say congratulations on starting a business. And bookkeeping is a lot. If you're not already,

make sure that you're keeping your personal and business expenses separate. Okay, that's really important. Then you need to create a regular bookkeeping routine, so you're always on top of tracking your expenses, receipts, and invoices. And then finally, make sure you're trying to automate any processes with accounting software or by working with a tax professional. And I will tell you, Jade, I don't know. I don't know what your opinion is. I always think it's worth it to pay a really professional bookkeeper or CPA. Yes, just pony up the cash.

Just loosen up the old purse strings. That's so true. They review your books to reduce risk, eliminate errors, and maximize total tax deductions, which is really beautiful. When I find out I have a tax deduction, I just go hug an animal. That's how happy it makes me. It makes me happy. Hey, we've got Ramsey Trusted Tax Pros.

One of our endorsed local providers can help you. Our team has already vetted them, so you know these people are good at what they do, and they care about taking care of you. Head to ramseysolutions.com slash tax pro that's ramsey solutions.com slash tax pro so there you go and might i add to that ken you might as a former business owner my husband still owns the business sometimes you don't want to pay the money for these things. You think, oh, I'll just do it myself. And you end up spending more of your time and losing money in productivity. If you would, as opposed to, if you would just pay someone who does this every day, who can do it lickety split and get it done for you. Trust me, you will, you will lose money

trying to do this yourself because you won't be as productive as you normally are actually making money for the business. So just throwing that out there. You get your time and you get rid of stress. Yep. I mean, that's why you do it. Worth it. Yep. There you go. Hey, we have a lot of new people joining the program all the time, whether you're watching or listening, and we want to say welcome. And if a lot of this language and some of the stuff that we're saying to our callers is new to you,

we've got you covered, go to RamseySolutions.com and click on the Get Started button. What this is going to do is a quick little survey for us to be able to know where you are on your journey within our plan, and then we can get you caught up really quick. It's a wonderful new feature at RamseySolutions.com. Get started. Check it out. All right. To the phones we go. Burlington, Vermont. I feel like I need a scarf on for this call. This is very exciting. Gabe is there. Gabe, how can we help? Hey there. I'm 21 years old. I'm a full-time student. I'm working full-time as well and have no debt. I'm technically on, I'm through step one, maybe step number one. I have no debt or anything like that yet, but I know that, you know, debt is coming once I'm through school. I'm doing online school and I'm expecting about $20,000 in student loans once I'm done with

my degree. Why? And the first two years... Why? Hold on, Gabe. We need to know why you're expecting debt to come to you in the future. What does that mean? Because you don't just wander in. Right. Yeah. I have to take out loans to pay for my tuition and my question is why because you told me that you're working full-time and you're doing online school yep i'm so i'm living um you know by myself living in an apartment so i have expenses i have to take care of so much of the income is taking care of that um i've also just been putting a lot of that money in the savings, expecting, you know, knowing it's coming, I'm not going to be able to pay. Can I be real with you? Can I be real with you? I'm going to be your big sister who sometimes puts you in a headlock. All right. That's who I'm going to be right now. You got to take these

student loans off the table. You got to take these student loans off the table. You got to take them off the table and you can. And I especially love your situation because out of all the folks who call us with different types of educational situations, I feel like yours is actually pretty flexible. You're working full time. Check. That's excellent. You're already knowing, hey, I got to start putting money aside and you've started doing that. Check. Now you're already knowing hey i got to start putting money aside and you've started doing that check now you're also going to school online dude you have you can be flexible with this all right you don't have to just move so quickly that you throw yourself into debt if it if it means you got to slow down a little bit that's okay if it means you need to pick up extra hours that's all right if it means you need to get a roommate so that you can lower your expenses so that you can throw more money to tuition do you see what i'm saying we gotta look through this on a roommate right now great um

don't work on it do it in the last in the first two years of my school i was just really i'm a i'm a cook and so cool with summers off um from school i just pick up a ton of hours at work knocking out any tuition just in full. My first two years in school are paid off. So why can't you keep doing that? I've taken some advice from somebody who said, you know, I was doing that and not having really a lot of money in my savings. I think I had about $3,000. And so people were saying, you know, what you want to do is really try and put, you don't have any savings right now. So try and build your savings and don't worry about.

They're wrong, but they're wrong, but they're not totally wrong. They're wrong, but they're not totally wrong. You probably need a thousand. The tricky thing is, you know, to me, I don't want to have to. I don't like the idea. Yeah, that's why I was doing. You need a thousand dollars of emergency fund. That's baby step one.

You don't have any debt yet. and let's keep it that way. So you save your $1,000. Everything above and beyond that right now, we're saving it up to pay cash for college. Because here's the thing. You can save up all the money. You can save up $10,000, $20,000, but it's not going to be your... I'm at $15,000 right now.

Okay, so I want to work with some real numbers. How much more tuition do you need to finish? What's the total number? I've got about a year left. So what's the total? I've got 10,000 in loans right now, and then I've, you know, I've got another year, so. You got 10,000? Oh, I thought you said you didn't have any loans yet. Well, I don't have to pay them. Okay, okay, I see. I have to pay until I'm through with school. Okay, well, let's go back. I know you've got a year left. How much tuition money do you need to finish?

$12,000. $12,000. And he's got that in the bank. He's got $15,000. Right? Yeah. So you've got the cash to finish. So you don't need any more money for tuition?

Yeah. Okay. And that, to me, is, you know, I would have paid this last year off and not taken out A loans. I just would have done, you know, what I've been doing, which is working hard in my summers and then just paying that off. Okay, but here's the deal. But, Gabe, you've got some good people in your life who've given you really bad advice.

And what they're saying is don't spend the $15,000, which you only need $12,000. They're saying don't spend the $12,000 cash for your last year. Just go get a loan and worry about it later. They're wrong. They're wrong. They mean well. But this conversation is done. We've already told you what we would do, what we believe you should do.

And so you've now got the $12,000 for tuition. Now you have an extra $3,000 that we would say is a part of your savings in case of any kind of emergency, but you're still going to bust tail. You're going to work really hard. You know why? Because I want you to pay the $10,000 in student loans off immediately before you even finish. That way you're absolutely free. Do you see the different perspective here? Yep. No, I get that 100%. Like I said, I think that was kind of angle I was taking.

Good. You were right. You're right. You're right. And what we're telling you is right. And I know somebody's in your ear. I don't know if it's mom, dad, big brother, cousin. Like Ken said.

No, I've been on my own since I was 16, so I haven't really had a lot of figures in my life who've been able to help me out with these things. Well, you've got a big sister. We're here to help you. That's what you were talking about. Gabe. Somebody was just looking out for me.

Gabe, I'm your big sister here to help you, bud, and we put you on the right track. And, Gabe, I would do what Jade says, because if she sees you in Vermont and she puts you in a headlock, whoa, watch out. I'm telling you, she means business. I love you, Gabe. Hey, young man, you're doing great.

Keep on getting after it. Jade Warsaw, great hour. Thank you so much. I want to thank the team behind the glass for keeping us on the air, but mostly you, America. This is your show. This is The Ramsey Show. Hey, what's up, guys?

It's Jade. Look, if you like what you heard in this episode and want to know more about getting started on the Ramsey baby steps, go to ramsesolutions.com and click the get started button. We'll help you figure out the best next step for you based on your specific situation. That's ramsesolutions.com and click get started.