The Ramsey Show - App - Don't Let Company Loyalty Get in the Way of Your Family (Hour 1)

Episode Date: July 30, 2020

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Coming to you live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions and broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is The Dave Ramsey Show. It's where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life and your money. Sitting in for Dave this three hours, this hour, Ken Coleman, Chris Hogan, sir ramsey personalities and just all around pals we sit about three or four feet away from each other yep uh in the cube every day and we are here for you this hour to take your calls about your life your money we'll talk about

your job your income because we know this if you're going to get out of debt your income is your greatest tool and so we're going to get out of debt, your income is your greatest tool. And so we're going to take calls about it all. You know what this show is about. You know why we're here. And I've got some good news for you. The phone lines are open. 888-825-5225.

888-825-5225. Chris Hogan, always fun to be with you. And we're going to have some fun this hour. Oh, listen to me. I am very excited because, Ken, I know if you are here, you are going to give people some guidance on career. And if they're dealing with a tough work situation or you want to figure out what's next, what do you need to do? How do you begin to get a game plan in place to set yourself up for your financial future? This is the place to call.

So career, life, money, whatever it is, Coleman, you and I have an opinion. We do. And I've already been doing two hours on the Ken Coleman Show about 15 feet away. So I'm warmed up. What do you say we get after it? Let's get after it, man. Let's take a call. We're going to get, I like this name, right out of the gate, baby. We're in New York City and we got Stella on the line. Stella, how are you? I'm well, thank you. How are you? Oh, focused and not finished. What can Ken and I do for you this hour? All right. Well, I am 60. I still work full-time. I'm working on a pension. I don't have any retirement savings. I did sell a home recently and then I turned around and bought

a condo that I'm fixing up and I bought it outright. I do have some money left over. Actually, I also need to get a car. So I have 20 sort of set aside for that. My annual income is about $40,000. So I have about $70,000 left over that I'd like to start something with respect to retirement. And I know that annuities are not supposed to be all that great, but I'm wondering if this wouldn't be a good thing for me at my age if I waited a few years. I've got this money sitting in CDs right now gaining interest. When do your CDs mature? Next year.

Okay. So right now what you have is you have your money sitting in a hammock, okay, in the CDs. Stella, what that means is it's not going to provide you any growth, okay? And so your pension, do you have an idea of how much you might be getting each month through your pension? I don't because I'm still building it. Okay. I'm not exactly sure. Okay, so that's the first thing I want you to do. I want you to begin to get your head around what are you going to be looking at,

what are you going to be living on, and the SmartVestor Pro will be able to sit down with you and kind begin to get your head around what are you going to be looking at? What are you going to be living on? The SmartVestor Pro will be able to sit down with you and kind of look at your pension plan and guide you there. The next thing, do you have a vehicle right now? I do, but it has about 250,000 miles on it. What kind of car is this?

It's a Toyota. Those things will keep on running. Yeah, I was going to say, that ensures there's at least 250,000 more. Yeah. You can probably go to 400 with that thing, Stella. But I plan to give this to my daughter. Oh, okay. How old is your daughter?

She's 21. Okay. Does she have a car right now? No. Okay. So mindset-wise, you sold this. You've got about 70 grand total. Do you have an emergency fund've got about 70 grand total. Do you have an emergency

fund outside of the 70 grand? Yes. How much? 15,000. 15,000. And so that is that a three month or a six month emergency fund for you? That would be just about a six month. Okay. I'm proud of you. You sold your home, bought something outright. So you do not have a condo or mortgage or any type on your home, correct? That's correct. That's, I'm proud of you, young lady. That is a good thing. Um, I think you can earmark a dollar amount out of that to buy a car. But again, the bulk of that, you want to invest this money. Uh, the money that's in CDs, it's not keeping up with inflation, honey. And so that, that's the thing that makes me nervous. I would not necessarily wait around. I'm going to get connected and get this money growing for me as soon as possible. That way you can be focused on what it is you're doing

as you move forward. Just be smart. Be careful. Don't have too many projects you're trying to start inside of this home. You got this thing out right. Put yourself in a good position. Now you want to keep growing. Yeah, she's going to go to mutual funds. That's what I did. I took part of the sale price, and I got the condo for really cheap, and I just took a whole chunk of it to bring it up. Very good, and I think that's smart. But yeah, you want to look at gross stock mutual funds. That's the thing that's going to allow you to be able to grow money.

And again, certificates, CDs, certificates of depreciation, as we call them, Ken. They don't keep up with inflation. She mentioned something about annuities. I want to talk about this. Annuities are typically something that will provide you some protection of the money. It doesn't provide growth. And so oftentimes, people will look at those. If they've got a big chunk of money and they want it to just sit and just be there and be protected,

then you could look at annuities. Variable annuities are a little bit different. It allows some growth. But out of the gate, growth stock mutual funds are going to be the way to go. And realistically, I mean, with the amount of cash she's going to be able to put in there, she's going to see some real growth. I think one of the things I've been at events with you for many, many, many years, and you get this question backstage when we're doing those hangouts, you know, am I too old to invest? And can my money start to appreciate quickly? Well, obviously, there's a difference between being 30 and being older. But the reality is she can make some real ground in the next decade. Oh, without a doubt.

And, Ken, it's real. I don't care how old you are, but you do need a game make some real ground in the next decade. Oh, without a doubt. And Ken, it's real. I don't care how old you are, but you do need a game plan and you need to get started, right? That's the thing. You don't want to push it off and try to wait because, again, people will try to time the market. That's why I say day trading is a way to headache and heartache. You need to get a big bottle of Pepto and put a straw in it. Well, now, hold on a second.

Explain that because I was getting ready to ask you this. There's a reason why we would tell Stella and anybody else to go with the growth stock mutual funds, Dave's bread and butter advice on this, as opposed to stocks. And I got a phone call from a friend, longtime friend, who said, hey, my mom, she's old and retired, has got some good money set aside, and I feel like the stock market is so hot right now. This is a couple of months ago when the thing was really... Yes. And I said, you can't do that. You've got some good money set aside. And I feel like the stock market is so hot right now. This is a couple of months ago when the thing was really – and I said, you can't do that. You've got to be careful.

Are you going to sit there and watch that? And that's what you're talking about. Talk about the risk there. Even though it looks like you can put some money in the stock market and get a really nice return quickly, why is that so risky? Right. Well, you've got a couple of things. As you look at the stock market, you've got to understand it's a lot like going to the supermarket. There are some things you can buy at the supermarket that are good for you.

There are things you can buy that aren't so good for you. The stock market is the same way. So, gross stock mutual funds is part of the stock market. Single stocks are also part of the stock market, but that's where it's volatile. That's where a hiccup out of D.C. or anywhere else can cause these prices to plummet or skyrocket. And so, people that are trying to time that, what's going on, that's that day trading where you want to jump in and try to jump out. That's risky.

And so, Ken, we tell people you want to invest. That's five years or longer. That's where I'm going to allow it to ride the roller coaster. But I understand at the end of the day, I've got a game plan, I've got focus, and I've got a long-term, high-definition dream. And when you do it that way with a SmartVestor Pro in your corner, buddy, it gives you some confidence. I'm already more confident.

Well, that's a good thing, kid. That's really good. Well, thank you. All right, folks. Stay tuned because we're just getting started. More of your calls about your life, your money, your career. You've been laid off, furloughed, trying to figure out what that dream job is. We're taking all of those calls, and it's right around the corner.

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Zander will guide you through the whole thing, keep it simple, and find you the best rates. That's Zander.com or 800-356-4282. Hello, everyone. You are listening to The Dave Ramsey Show. I'm Chris Hogan, and co-hosting with me this hour is Ken Coleman, and we are taking your calls on life, career, money, whatever's on your mind. But I want to remind you to also hunt us down on social media. Okay?

It's a quick hunt. It won't take that long. I'm at ChrisHogan360. You can find Ken at Ken Coleman. We'll take your questions on Instagram, Twitter, all the things that are out there. But we want to take your social questions. You can look us up, obviously, at Ramsey

Show. Speaking of, Mr. Ken just talked about he was done a couple hours over there. He's got the Ken Coleman Show that's available every weekday on SiriusXM, your local radio station, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Coleman, you told me something the other day. How many stations are you on? Well, in syndication now we're in 53, and hopefully headed to 60 pretty quickly.

It's a lot of fun. A big thank you to all the Dave Ramsey affiliates that have given us a chance to bring some purpose to talk radio. So we're having a blast. And let's not forget the Chris Hogan Show, also available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and SiriusXM. So, I mean, you're making things happen. You're my YouTube hero. I'm trying to get those YouTube numbers up.

You're setting the pace, man. But you're doing a lot of fun stuff over there as well. You know, this is fun. I've never asked you this of course we're sitting in for dave ramsey this hour um but when you're doing the chris hogan show what do you love most about that show and and the conversation you're having with your audience what what's uniquely different about it i think it's the lens of being a coach yeah meaning that I always want people to believe that they their futures are in their hands. They can build wealth regardless of where they come from, that it's possible.

And so my show is literally like a football practice in the financial world. And so we're digging in and I will call out crazy and I'll call out stupid, but I'm encouraging people as well. And so I want people to have the right information so they can do the right things for themselves. The only thing I would say is that if you're listening to the Chris Hogan Show, be aware that he could get you to a point where you want to tackle somebody, and that's not okay. You cannot go tackle somebody. Yes, you can. All you do is you just do it the right way, take them down hard, and get up and run, and they won't know it was you.

I can't endorse this behavior. Hey, listen, if you're out there, call in. I promise we won't tackle you. The number to call is 888-825-5225. Again, that's 888-825-5225. All right, we got Ashley. We're going from New York. Now we're going to California.

Ashley, what can Ken and I do for you this hour? Hi, Ken. Hi, Chris. My husband and I just started the Baby Steps. We cut up our credit cards. We're both in 100%. But now we don't agree with where to go. Uh-oh.

So we are due with our fourth baby in November, our surprise baby. We have an SUV right now that we owe $1,700. We went to the dealership. They're willing to give us around $1,400 to $1,500. But we need a van. I don't really know what to do from there. Our only other debt

is $6,800 in credit card and my husband's income is around $85,000 to $105,000 a year. Okay, got you. So the baby is coming when? Ashley, when is the next baby due? Baby is due in November. In November, okay. Now, I've got to ask this quick before you start rocking through the numbers.

You said there's some disagreement. I want to know what position you're taking, Ashley, and what position Hubs is taking. I feel like we need to know this. Yes, and Ashley, you have to guarantee that Ken and I get to decide for you all today. Oh, whoa. I told him you guys would decide. Okay, very good. I like this.

Here's my dilemma. I want to save cash and just come in with whatever cash we have and say, let's roll over and get a bird looking at like a $6,000 van. Since we don't really have too much credit card debt, we don't want to buy like a $1,000 van. But he wants to just pay aggressively down on the car. But I'm worried that if we pay down on the car, like whatever money extra we're paying,

we're not going to really be getting that back. And we could be moving that towards the credit card instead. So I don't know if we should save cash to pay down the negative worth. I don't know if we should just pay down the credit card and just deal with the car somehow. I don't know if we should just pay down the credit card and just deal with the car somehow. I don't really know how I can do that. Might I ask? I don't know if we could pay down the car and not get anything back.

I want to ask you something. No, no, I interrupted you, but I want to know something. Chris is going to walk you through the numbers. He's a numbers guy. I have an idea where he's going. But I'm curious. You said you have an SUV now. So tell me why you really need a minivan.

And I'm not trying to talk you out of it. I just really want to know why you feel you have to buy the minivan. So we have a great game. We have our fourth kid coming, and it's got pilot seats in the front. So I cannot fit three car seats in the back, and I'll have three kids, three and under. So I still have to buckle them in, meaning I have to get to the back of the car, and our double stroller doesn't fit in the car. And I can't get groceries and a double stroller.

You made your case. She is pulling out all the things now. I just needed to know because that's an option. Why would you all get a mini horse as a dog? We got him when we had one kid. Oh, okay. So he's just been with us ever since. Well, here's the thing.

I think, you know, so your husband wants to attack debt, wants to attack the credit card, hold off on buying a car. You're saying, hey, we need to move forward and get this minivan done now. Right? Okay. He's fine with trading in the van. He's ready for a van, but his worry is he wants to pay down on the car. Yeah, he wants to increase the payments on the car.

I would rather save up cash, and then whenever we walk in, because it seems like everybody doesn't seem to want to give us a loan for like an extra $2,000. I don't know if maybe I should just throw that on a credit card. I don't know what. Uh-oh, hold on. What did you just say? Hold on.

What did you just say, Ashley? We have cut the credit cards, but we're financing through my institution, so I'm wondering if they'll just roll it into the credit card. Okay, you just pumped the brakes right there, because you said something about credit cards. You just stopped that. Now, listen to me. You guys are on the same page and being intentional with what you're doing. You said that the SUV right now, they would give you $1,400 to $1,500 for it now.

Is that correct? Yes. And the payoff on that is $7,900. Is that correct? $17,900. Okay. I heard $79,000. Okay.

All right. So mindset is this. You've gone through all the scenarios in your head of why you need the van yesterday. I would say take a deep breath here. are they is your income stable right now yes my husband's income's very okay all right let me ask you this how often is it that you the mini horse and the other three kids and your husband are all in one vehicle how often is this um not quite often how many times out of a week we like to get out i know but out of a week i would probably say like once a month okay once a month so let can we agree that the

need is not urgent oh no it doesn't need to be right this second but i'm just trying to imagine i'm a stay-at-home mom so i'm checking my kids everywhere all the time i understand i can't get to the back seat without taking a car seat out to get to the back to buckle up my youngest or my third. But here's my question. Let's just run the numbers because I assume you and your husband have talked about this before you called. So your plan is to save cash between now and right before November for the minivan. His plan is to put as much money as possible into the current suv and if i'm doing my math right there's about uh 2900 3200 discrepancy so the amount of money have you run the numbers out

because i think hub's plan actually would pay down the car to where you don't have to get a loan and now you're in a wash and you guys go a little bit longer three four months longer i that that would be my strategy no i don't think you have to have the minivan in november but i like the husband's plan because you can pay that down where is that what you were going to say that's exactly what i was going to say and actually you guys talking about this together as you walk through it we've just validated that hey it's not something that's urgent but it is a priority and so now what do you do what are things you all can do to bring in this extra money, right? What are the things as you look in?

And you've got to say no to some stuff in the budget. You've got to begin to look at this and say, hey, you know what? We're not doing this eating out thing, or we're doing X, Y, and Z. And so beginning to look at this, if you guys are in agreement on the priority of the van, now it's a matter of how do we attack this SUV, right? And how do we begin to be very intentional and we're safeguarding all extra money coming in. So Ken and I are in agreement.

You can do the van. It's just not a priority of something that needs to be done right now. I'll just add one more quick thing. Rover doesn't care if he's on the family trip or not. He really doesn't. Get him a giant bone. Giant bone.

And let him play with the bone. That's only going to cost you about $5-10. Coleman, that is a horrible name for a Great Dane. Rover is for like a small chihuahua. You need to come up with a big name like Brutus. Brutus is a Great Dane name. Goodness gracious. Coleman, you can't name

pets. I'm going to come up with a name. Next segment I'm going to come up with the perfect Great Dane name. I'm disgusted with you right now, Ken Coleman. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Welcome back, America. You're listening to The Dave Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by Chris Hogan this hour as we take your calls. We are Ramsey Personalities. Thanks to Dave's unbelievable belief and generous support.

Best-selling authors. It helps when Dave Ramsey helps put a book out for you, doesn't it, Chris? Yes, it does. It helps. But we are here to help you, and we love it. Both of us have our own shows as a part of the Ramsey Network, the Ken Coleman Show and the Chris Hogan Show. We spend hours and hours coming up with those names.

A lot of creative force put into those show names. But we would love to talk with you. 888-825-5225, 888-825-5225. What are we talking about? Well, obviously Chris is going to specialize in money and retirement, but he knows a whole lot about what I talk about as well, and that is working on purpose, purpose in your life and your work. What were you created to do?

What's that role? What's that sweet spot in your work where you do work that you're good at, that you love, that produces a result that matters deeply to you? So we are taking your questions. Let's talk life. We are ready to go. Chris, let's get after it. Absolutely.

And before I do that, Ken, I don't want to pass over it, but if you're out there in a career or you're in a position and you're thinking, I need to make a change, like this COVID situation has shown you the light and you go, I am ready. Ken, I've heard you skillfully and artfully guide people through the process to be able to help them uncover that and to gain the courage to take those steps. So you can call in and Coleman will help you as well. And we're here. So this is what we're going to do.

We're chasing down progress, people. Okay. None of us are stuck. We just stopped. So it's time to get started. We're going to the phone. Don't steal it, Coleman. We're going back to get started. We're going to the phone. Don't steal it, Coleman. We're going back to the phones.

We've got Carter on the line. Carter, how can Ken and I help you today? Hi, guys. Thanks for taking my call. I'm 24 years old, married. First baby is due in November. I've been working for a small family company for about four years. I'm the only one who works there who's not related,

but I've received some invitations to apply for jobs that would probably double my salary and have better benefits, and I'm trying to decide if it's more important to stay loyal to this family that's invested in me and taught me a lot about work and life, or if I need to look for something better so that my wife can stay home with our baby. Carter, I think this is a no-brainer, but I want to walk you right up to your own answer. If these people weren't a great group of people, a wonderful family that has clearly believed in you, they have clearly invested in you, if you didn't feel that overwhelming appreciation and loyalty, would you even be asking me this question? I'm right on the fence.

It's really hard to say. I go back and forth each day. What's causing you to question doubling your salary and advancing you in your career and helping your family reach a better financial position? What am I missing? I think the biggest thing is I didn't have a great relationship with my dad growing up, and my mom has really filled some holes that I was really needing to just be a better dad and a better husband and a better person so it's hard to to leave that kind of situation that's deeper now see because

the loyalty question is is a good question that's high character I appreciate that about you but this is not about loyalty this is a a deep relationship. You have a real love, not just appreciation, for this family. And specifically, I'm guessing the owner, or at least the guy that has really filled this father figure for you, correct? Correct. Well, is there an opportunity for you to grow there with them? Have they shown you a ladder where you can eventually grow, not in just your responsibility, but your income? Not really.

I've had a couple conversations, and there's not a lot of room for growth there. It's in the ag industry, so with commodity prices being low, there's just not a lot of room for increased income. Let me ask you this. Do you think that they will be happy for you if you tell them hey i've got an opportunity that can increase my salary tremendously yeah i think at first they'd be a little upset but in the long run they'd be happy for me then that's the answer that means these are really good people which you've already indicated they are and will they miss you sure will they be happy for you sure the answer is you take it and this is just part of life you know this is like chris the way i look at this this is this is like you know uh if you're a kid growing up

and you move away sometime you know maybe you're 10 11 12 or in your high school years it's tough it's hard yeah but it's life it is and you're gonna miss these people but it doesn't mean that you're not going to be friends with them for the rest of your life and you won't always be able to show them appreciation i think you take this and you take it with tremendous gratitude, and you share with them how much they've meant to you. But I think if they are the people you say they are, they're actually going to be more happy than they will be upset. Yeah. And, Carter, here's the thing. I think, you know, I hear it in your voice.

And that level of gratitude, boy, I tell you, that means something. But I want you to be crystal clear with what you're moving into, meaning you know the hearts and the spirits of these people that you've been with for the last four years. I want you to not only interview, but make sure your wife is involved, that you are spending time with this potentially new company, and really digging in and getting a feel for the culture. It's one thing if it's more money, but is it the kind of culture you want to be in? What price does that come with, you know, doubling that income? But I think, as Coleman said, as soon as you said in talking about how you can change your family dynamic,

allow your wife to be able to stay at home and do what you need to do for your family, I think it's all a matter of how you handle it talking to this company you're with. Showing extreme gratitude, letting them know how much you appreciate the opportunity, and being there to help them in any way that you can. And if I were you, I would write a letter to this gentleman that's meant so much to you. What you don't want to do is let loyalty get in the way of your family. And I appreciate you calling in,

and I hope that you're able to kind of see that and talk about your feelings about this with your wife so you guys can get on the same page and be in alignment. Ken, this is, you know, most people look at career stuff and they think it's just dollar amount, but it's not. There are so many intangibles that go into play in a place that you come in and devote. You said a stat not long ago. How many hours do we spend working in a lifetime? 90,000 plus. So you start playing with that number and you make a very good point. And we are assuming that he's done his homework on this, but this is absolutely true. I get this phone call almost on a daily basis on the Ken Coleman Show, and that is, hey, I took a job about six months ago or

a year ago, and now it's not the right fit for me. And almost every time I go, let me guess, you took it because it was a really nice pay bump. And of course, because here's what happens. When you get offered a job that is a pay raise, a couple things happen. First thing is you feel really special. Somebody wants me. Yes. Forget the money right now. That's right. We want you to come work for us. That makes any human feel good. The second thing that happens is you go, wait a second, this is the smart thing to do because it's more money.

And so you think, I have to do it. And you bring up a very good point. You do not have to take every offer that you get. It's got to be the right offer. That's exactly right. Because, again, the intangibles. Is this an environment where you're going to be stressed out constantly? Is this a place where you feel included? Is there growth potential here? Does the company have longevity? Like you got to do

serious, you got to spend serious head work and heart work in this process and not go into it blind. Well, the way to do this, by the way, people say, well, how do I figure this out? It's very simple. Let me give you a couple of ways you can do this. So what Chris is recommending is that you're doing the investigation and the investigation looks like this. First of all, we want to go and we want to go to some of these employment websites and we want to look at, is there a pattern of negative comments from past employees? We're not going to take two or three because two or three negative comments could be, well, we got some people that should have been gone. That's right. Right? But if we see a pattern of negative comments from people who used to work there, that's a massive red flag.

Secondly, use your web of connections and find somebody in your circle who knows somebody that works at company XYZ. And let me tell you what they'll always do. Say, hey, would you connect me to your friend of yours who works over there? I just want five minutes. I want to know what they think about the company. Trust me, they're going to tell you. They're going to tell you the negative or they're going to tell you the positive.

So you can find out. The other thing is, do some research online. What do the vendors say about them? Oh, yes. What do customers say about them? Yes. So I've just given you four areas where you can dig and find red flags on a company's culture. Because I can tell you this, Chris, if a company treats their vendors like crap, there's a

good chance they treat their people like crap. If they treat their customers like crap, they probably treat their people like crap. That's a good point. And so you can find this out. There's no excuse in 2020 for somebody to walk into a job and have no clue what kind of place they're walking into. Okay, wow. All right, you know what?

When we come back, I'm going to have Coleman tell us what are two questions you can ask as you're interviewing to find out about the company's culture. What are some things you can ask? Go in armed and ready to roll. All people, we're here for you. Ken Coleman, Chris Hogan, this is The Dave Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. Hello, everyone. You are listening to The Dave Ramsey Show.

I'm Chris Hogan, and co-hosting with me this hour is Ken Coleman. And before we went to the break, we had a caller that was juggling between changing a job that would double their income. And we were talking about it's important to not only get a feel for the company, but learn more about the culture. And so I tasked Ken Coleman with the important job of giving us two questions during an interview process that you could ask to give you a feel for the company culture you're interviewing with so ken i want to hear them yeah here we go now here's the deal don't set these up just ask them because they're not going to see these coming most people don't ask these questions okay first one is what kind of a person wins here in this organization just stop talking that's all you ask and it's just like just shove that right over there just gonna leave that right there most

people don't get asked that question. What kind of person wins in this organization? And what you're looking for is, are they really versed in being able to say, a person who's this, this, this, and this? Are they really stumbling? Are the things they're saying general one-on-one things? Or are they showing some really specific things? The second question is, and you've got them already, all right?

And then you do this. Well, how would you describe the culture here? Just push that one right across. Just open-ended question. Just let it, because don't tell them why. Don't give them any hints on what you're looking for. See, because anybody can do that. But if you just say, boom, tell me.

How would you describe the culture here? And here's what you're looking for. You're looking for something that, number one, makes you go, oh, I'm in. It should feel uplifting to you. You should feel a connection and going, boy, I like that. If it's just blah, blah, blah, and they're stumbling and they're trying to figure it out, that ought to concern you. Because a healthy organization takes this stuff seriously is my point and they're going to be ready for that whether or not they're ready for it or not do you understand what i'm saying if i ask you to talk to me about why you love what you do

you're you're not going to struggle neither am i why because it's who we are that's right and so culture or the definition of culture chris is shared behaviors of a group of people yeah that's right so if i walk into a company inside of 10 minutes, I can tell you. By just watching people interact. I can sit in a meeting. I can watch people interact in the hallways. You can feel it. You can feel it.

So that's how you get to the bottom of that in an interview. All right. Tell those two questions one more time. First one is, what kind of person wins in this organization? Okay. Second question is, you look to the person who's interviewing you and you ask them, how would you describe the company culture? Very crucial step is once you ask that question, hush. Let them think and process and answer.

Don't bail them out. That's good. All right, we're back to the phones. The number to call is 888-825-5225. Again, that's 888-825-5225. Kelly is standing by. The phone lines are semi-open. 825-5225. Again, that's 888-825-5225. Kelly is standing by. The phone lines are semi-open.

Call her with your question. We're ready. All right, we're going to Isaac. Isaac is in Provo, Utah. Isaac, how are you today? Good. How are you guys doing? Oh, man, we're focused and not finished.

What's on your mind? All right, so I'm currently in graduate school and planning to graduate next year. And I'm familiar in baby steps like 3B slash 4. And we have about $38,000 in mutual funds that we currently have saved up for like a down payment on a house. And we plan to buy a house in like the next year or two. And my question is just if I should cash those out now. And the reason I'm saying that is because at the beginning of the year, the mutual fund value is about like 36,000 and then dropped to like 31,000 when COVID hit.

Now it's back to about 38,000. And Dave always kind of uses the analysis. Like if you had 38,000 sitting on Dave always kind of uses the analysis like if you had $38,000 sitting on your kitchen table, would you go buy mutual funds with it to save for a house? And at this point, I think my answer would be no because we're buying a house in like a year or two. If I had $38,000, I'd probably just put it in a savings account. So I'm wondering if I should, because of that, should I sell the mutual funds now or should I just leave them in there and pull them out when we're ready to buy a house?

Well, I think, you know, number one, you started off with how much in there? Thirty one. Well, at the beginning of there was like thirty six. Then it dropped to thirty one during COVID and now it's up to like thirty eight thousand. OK, gotcha. So you're at the point now we tell people you invest for five years or more. You save for things that are obviously less than that. So you've shifted from investing now to now saving because this window of time that you're about to move on the house is perfectly clear here in the next year.

Are you all working full time? Well, I'm currently in graduate school and I get like a stipend. So it's kind of a work, like a salary. Okay. Is she working full time? She stays at home like a salary. Okay. Is she working full-time? She stays at home with our daughter. Okay. She doesn't work.

So you plan to graduate, and what's your estimated income you'll be at once you graduate? I'm thinking around $80,000, hopefully. Okay. At least. All right. Because the reason I say that is it's going to be based on timing. So to answer your question, yes, I would definitely connect with a smart investor pro shift that money to a more of a savings, not investing, right?

Because you're done riding the roller coaster. Now you can see a window. I'm also going to urge you your timeframe of buying a home may be a little bit longer than a year. Okay. Just, just mentally, as you all are looking at this, uh, you want to buy, if you're going to be still three years or more, you're going to buy if you're going to be still three years or more. You're going to rent if you're going to be less than that.

And so career-wise, start to look at where you are, what you're doing, and the time frame and the outlook. The next thing I would tell you is as you get ready to buy a home, reach out to a real estate ELP. You do not want to make an emotional decision with a home. It's a business decision, and you want to make sure you get the right kind of guidance. So thank you, Isaac, for calling in. One thing I want to point out to Isaac and his wife and a lot of young couples that are listening in today is that there is a natural inclination. It's almost like a societal pressure, if I could call it that, to buy a home quickly. And this is a situation where here's a young man, his wife, a stay-at-home mom, you know, the child, they're young, early on in their life, Chris, and I just think, you know, it's okay for you to say, well,

do we need to buy in the next two years? Is it okay to rent for two or three years? And I would tell you that it absolutely is okay. I think there's this mindset of, well, we can afford it, we can do it, and if we don't, we're not being responsible with our money. And I want you to speak to that, because you hear that more than I do but i gotta tell you stacy and i uh you know call it 17 18 years into marriage when we first moved back here uh we rented for two years yeah no i don't think i think the worst thing you could do is make a decision based on family or societal pressure you've got to look at it and say say, is this the right time for us? I can't tell you, Ken, how many times as a banker back in my previous days, I'd see people

coming in saying, well, our parents said it's time for us to buy our house, or we've got friends doing it, so we need to. We're not falling for that. So listen to me. If you ever get to the end of the month and you have no idea where all your money went, if you want to get ready to buy a home, I'm going to tell you right now, you've got to get situated and take control of your money, right? You need to know where it is.

So if you want to take control of your money, you've got to be able to tell it where to go. That means giving a, getting on a budget and given every dollar a job every single month. The best way to do this is with our new Ramsey plus membership. It gives you all of our money products, including premium versions of our budgeting app, EveryDollar. This is where you'll make a budget, track your spending, and clearly see where all your money is going. And you also get a chance to get connected to a financial coach. Now, this is unprecedented for you to not only have the tools to track and to be able to control

your money, but to have access to a financial coach to ask about your specific money question, unheard of. So you can do all of this with the free trial of Ramsey Plus today. Never again wonder where your money is going. And to start your free trial, all you have to do is text the word BEGIN to 33789. Again, text the word BEGIN, B-E-G-I-N, to 33789, and you can get started, Ken. Yeah, and I've got to tell you, all of those amazing tools in Ramsey Plus, they really, really work. They've worked for Stacey and I.

I know they've worked for you. They've worked for millions of people. And as an organization, we've never been more excited about a resource where all of it comes together. We're talking about real change. You know, you think about the young couple i always love talking to couples but but certainly young couples and when you think about money and really getting your game plan together and as you talk about being focused on the discipline and strategies like ramsey solutions gives you you are going to be so far

ahead of the game uh but you've But that focus and that discipline is huge. It really is. And there's a word there in the middle of those two, patience. You know, in order to be focused, Chris, you've got to be patient. In order to be disciplined, you've got to be patient. And the good things come to those who wait. That's an old phrase that's been around forever, and it's been around forever because everybody keeps saying it because it's true.

And so I can tell you, good things come to those who wait get in ramsey plus you won't be sorry hey i want to thank our producer james childs our associate producer kelly daniel and you america chris hogan always fun to be with you man thanks for hanging out buddy that was a blast let's do it again sometime we will this is the dave ramsey show this is james childs producer of the dave ramsey show on your smart speaker you can add our skill by saying alexa open the Ramsey Network skill. From there, you can listen to all our shows. Ask Dave money questions like, how do I invest my money?

Or what is the debt snowball? Find out more at DaveRamsey.com slash smart speaker.