The Ramsey Show - App - Dream Jobs vs. Smart Money Choices (Hour 3)

Episode Date: April 1, 2021

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🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is The Ramsey Show. It's where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life, your money, your relationships, your work. I'm Ken Coleman. I'm host of The Ken Coleman Show, which is a part of the Ramsey Solutions Network. And that show focuses on doing work that you love, purpose in your life and your work. And of course, money and relationships is a part of that. 888-825-5225 is the phone number. 888-825-5225. If you'd like to join the conversation, jump in.

Let's go to Jim, who is on the line in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Jim, how can I help? Oh, not too. I'm doing good. How are y'all? I'm having a blast. I have a business that I have started up. I've had it for a couple years now, but it's really growing.

It's actually growing a lot quicker than I expected to. I also work a full-time job, so it's really growing. It's actually growing a lot quicker than I expected to. I also work a full-time job, so it's really side. I'm curious how much I should keep putting into the business. Where should I stop at? Okay, great. Give me a little bit more of a financial snapshot, and let's first talk about what type of business it is. What type of business is the side hustle? It's a lawn care service. So I've had a couple years. Now I'm getting up close to 30 clients. I get called every day.

So I'm staying pretty busy. We've been on the baby steps since a little over a year now. We're in four, five, six. Good. So, you know, we're there. That's great. Okay. I work a full-time job.

My wife works. Wow. How many hours a week are you working in the lawn care business in addition to your day job, shall we call it? 12, 10 to 12 hours a week is where I'm at. I'm getting to the point I'm probably closer to like 16 to 20. Is it just you? Right now, it is just me. I'm getting, I'm almost to the point where i'm gonna have to have

some help yep but i'm not sure if i'm ready to go over that to get the help if i'm still want to stay got it myself well that that's the answer then we got it that's how we answer the question that you asked how much should i invest back into my business how much are you making and i'm not saying how much you're paying yourself how much gross income are you making in the lawn care business? Well, like I said, this is the first month of a few years I've had it that it's really picked up. I've been pushing hard this month. For the month of April, I should clear about $6,000.

Okay, and then what are you making? What's your take home? I should make bring home $6,000. That's your bring home from your day job? Yeah. No, no, from my day job. I'm sorry. My day job, I make $52,000 a year, and my wife makes about $65,000 a year.

Okay. So the goal is to eventually walk away from your day job where you're making $52,000 a year. No. Oh, it's not? No, it's not. Oh. No, sir. No, sir. I enjoy my day job. Oh, great. I'll keep my day job until I'm ready to retire. Okay. So then why did you ask me how much you should invest? Do you mean how much you should save in your lawn care business? No. How much should I invest in it? I mean, I don't ever want

to leave my day job, but I could see myself having a full-time crew doing it while I'm at my day job, too, and me doing it on my off day. Okay, so when I heard invest, I thought this was a financial question. You're saying how much time you should put in. Yeah, how much time and how much money should I invest and keep growing the business, even though I'm not going to do it full-time. Okay, great. Okay, well, the amount of time you should invest comes down to you and your wife having a conversation and all your different duties, so you've got your day job, right?

And so you go, and right now you're putting in, you said, about 12 hours, 12 to 15 hours a week. I think that's probably your max if I understood your emotion around that. Is that correct? Yeah, it's getting there. Good. So let's just keep it there. I would just keep it there. That's what you should invest in leading that business.

Now, right now you're doing all the work, okay? So that's good income you're bringing home. I would start talking to people right now who run some successful lawn care businesses. I would be having lunch with them just to kind of run some ideas by them on the numbers. But I think you should start to try to replace yourself maybe three to four hours a week. Let's just kind of baby step our way into that as well. Okay, and just go, okay, I'm going to turn over this particular. You said you had 40 clients, I think you said, so I'd turn over five. Yeah, I'm at 30 right now, but I pick up my big money making flower beds. That's where I make the majority of my money.

Well, then what I would do is I would start trying to peel off some of the lawn care work to somebody else who can cut grass. And then what I would do is start to look to train somebody who loves the landscape architecture, the design, the flower beds, because that's where the big money is. And so you kind of bring somebody along and you train them. I mean, you need to start replacing yourself. That's what you need to be investing in. And again, the more money, the more people you have to do work, the more money you can make. So I think the investment is the time investment stays where it is. The financial investment would be retaining almost all of your earnings over the next three to six months because you don't have to live off of it. And I would be thinking about putting some money in the bank,

so I'm going to start hiring some hourly people to replace me. And the goal is to stay at 12 to 15 hours for you, but where you're really just running the business and recruiting people and bringing them in. That would be my goal. And I think that you can do that, and it's not risky, but you just slowly replace yourself. And once you do that, now you've got this great business and the day job because that's the goal.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you got it. That's the goal. That's it. Take your time. And here's the thing. I hear this a lot from entrepreneurs.

Let me kind of get ahead of this a little bit because I think you're going to feel this at some point. I took a call at one of our Entree Leadership events last year. Not a call. Goodness, I'm on the radio right now. I took a call. I took a question. And the guy said, I can't find good people. I can't find good help, he said to me.

And he was a young guy, about 25, 26, and he was running a ranch. And I said to him, I said, describe the kind of person that you are, the work you love, and why you do the work you do. So he began to describe it. And I said, are you telling me there aren't any other young bucks out there in your zip code, in your county, in your area of the state that love working with animals, love being outdoors all day? And he had this big smile on his face because he began to realize, wait a second, I need to go find somebody like me who actually loves this work.

And so what you need to do, Jim, is start to go, hey, who are some people that like designing flower beds? Who are the young people out there? It doesn't have to be a young person, middle-aged or who else. Let's just get the word out. Let's tell everybody we know about the work that I'm doing and let's see who raises their hand and learn how to interview them and say, hey, this is what's involved. Do you love doing this kind of work? And do we have the basic skill set

that I can kind of mold and train? And then when you do that, you teach them, you let them do it, you evaluate them, teach them some more, give them more, keep evaluating, and you stay as the face of the business. You're signing up the clients and you become really the CEO and you begin to train the process and you begin to replicate yourself. But don't overthink this. Jim and any other entrepreneur out there, the key is to replicate yourself, replace yourself. And when you do that, that's how you scale. You don't have to go hire a bunch of people at once and take on all kinds of responsibility and payroll. A little bit at a time. He has 30 clients, may jump.

Let's peel off five. Peel off another five. Get somebody else doing those things. And slowly and steadily, we grow the business. Slow and steady always wins the race. Remember that. There's a temptation to run really, really fast. All right, don't move.

My colleague, Dr. John Deloney, joins me for the rest of the hour next. This is The Ramsey Show. Your number one wealth building tool is your income. For business owners, this comes as no surprise, as you're used to putting in extra hours and watching your bottom line. That's why Christian Healthcare Ministries, or CHM, is a great option for those who are faith-focused and budget-conscious. CHM is not health insurance. Rather, it's a health cost-sharing program. It's not harder, but it is different. To learn if CHM is a fit for you or your business, visit chministries.org

slash budget. The Ramsey Show continues from our Ramsey Solutions studios in Nashville. Thrilled to have you with us. It is a free call if you want to jump in on the conversation about your life, your money, your relationships, your work. Hey, you want to make some more money, move up the ladder? You've got a toxic work situation? Come on, jump in. 888-825-5225.

You've got a money question? Jump in. Dr. John Deloney, Ken Coleman with you this hour. 888-825-5225. If you've been paying attention to the real estate market this last year, you've noticed the competition out there is high, in part because inventory is at an all-time low. So when inventory is low, it just means there are more buyers buying

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Text that to 33789. All right, let's go to Amy who joins us next in Birmingham, Alabama. Amy, how can we help? Hey, guys. Thank you all so much for taking my call. My question is partly about financial success. I am trying to figure out kind of how to get on the top side of the hill rather than the bottom which is where i feel like i'm at um i'm thinking about selling my car because i owe um roughly 14 000

on it and um that's about what it's worth maybe give or take a hundred dollars and um so i'm fine with selling it to get rid of the payment but i really don't have savings to be able to put out for like a $1,000 car just to get from A to B. And so I kind of feel like I'm in a stuck situation. And on top of that, my husband is the only one who works because I'm in nursing school. And his job that he's at right now, we're honestly just making ends meet. There's nothing left over at the end to put towards the car.

There's nothing extra. And he's trying to pick up extra work or work as many hours as he can, but it just doesn't seem to be helping the extra hours he's working. So I kind of feel like I don't really know what to do. All right, give me a snapshot. Is the car your only debt, or what is your total debt situation? Total debt, I'd say we're probably somewhere, we're less than $20,000 for sure. My car, I have like $1,100, $1,200 on a credit card, and then maybe $600 here and there.

Two places I can think of, so really not much. Okay, so I don't know how long you've been engaged with the Ramsey Show or our organization, but we teach the debt snowball when you're attacking your debt, so that's the smallest debt, and we attack that. And I know you say there's not much left over, and that's probably true for the rest of that debt, not just the car. Is that correct? You guys are just really tight. Yeah, that's probably true for the rest of that debt, not just the car. Is that correct? You guys are just really tight. Yeah, that's true. All right. So let me just give you kind of our philosophy here so you know what you need to do,

and then we can address how you can get after it. What you need to do is you said, first of all, you need to know all your debts. So before you go to sleep tonight, you need to have all of your debt laid out, written down on paper. And so you said you had a couple at like $600. So let's say you had one at $500 and one at $600. And then you mentioned $1,200 on a credit card. So you're going to smallest to largest. And you're going to attack the smallest debt.

And so let's say there's a minimum payment of $50 on the $500. And you do everything you can to attack that. Then you roll that minimum payment. And then you attack the next one. And that's the debt snowball. and that's where momentum comes from. So that's the process for how you're going to attack the debt, not with the car first. Now, let's talk about your realities, how to increase your income, because you guys need some discipline, and we're going to get you connected to Ramsey Plus here in just a moment, okay? I'm going to have Kelly connect you there for a free trial

of Ramsey Plus, where you're going to get our budgeting tools, you're going to have Kelly connect you there for a free trial of Ramsey Plus where you're going to get our budgeting tools. You're going to learn financial peace and go through that. You'll get the EveryDollar budgeting app, and then you'll get the Baby Step Tracker and the Gold to Debt Tracker and all that, all that plus more, more, more, more, more. I'm going to give you that for free, and you're going to follow it. Isn't that true? Yeah. Good.

All right, now, John, let's talk about increasing income. What I'm curious about is, do you have any hours in the week, realistically, to be able to work while doing nursing school? Realistically, I probably could squeeze out four to six hours. And I actually am hired with Shipt, the grocery company, as far as pickup and all. So I could probably squeeze out four to six hours. Okay. I'd like you to get something that's not just Shipt and Relay. I'd like you to kind of lock in on something and go, okay, I know I'm getting this amount

of hours, and I'm getting this amount of pay, and it's very consistent. That's what I think you need. Okay. And then you said your husband's struggling to find extra jobs. I don't want to sound cynical, but I'm having a hard time understanding in Birmingham, Alabama, how he's having a hard time finding just a couple jobs here and there, delivering something, stacking stuff in a warehouse, stacking shelves at night. I'm having a hard time.

Okay. That's about all I can get from him right now. What's the deeper issue here? Is your marriage in trouble? Yes, yes, yes. And so what I need you to hear is this plan to get you guys out of debt works. It's worked for millions and millions of people. But if only one of you is on board,

it won't work. And if one of you is all in, you're going to end up getting frustrated, and frustration is going to lead to anger, and that anger is going to lead to resentment, and resentment is the ash of a relationship. It's over.

And so, you are getting to the end here of every month and you've got nothing left. And you're a full-time nursing student, which is hard, right? Yeah. What about this situation is your husband not experiencing with you? Does he not care? Put on a credit

card, we're having fun, life's great? Yes. He's a free spirit, which is fine. I'm the nerd and that's fine um but he he grew up with a lot of debt and credit cards and payments were fine and normal and so this is what he knows yeah have you sat down across a table and looked him in the eye and said here's how unsafe and untethered and unsecure i feel or have you nibbled around the edges and said hey how about a few more hours which how unsafe and untethered and unsecure I feel?

Or have you nibbled around the edges and said, hey, how about a few more hours? Which can really quickly go from encouragement to nagging, from nagging to complaining. And now he's off making sure he's got a different world because he can't handle you, right? Has he heard you? Both. I've done both.

We've done counseling. I don't want to linger the phone call. I know there's other people. But we actually did go through the program like two years ago, got completely debt-free. And then it just, there's a lot of dishonesty and lack of trust there. And he's kind of got two lives going on. And so there's a lot happening um yeah but we have a son and so i really want it to be good for him you know future well so here's

the deal um by just wallpapering over this stuff there's going to be tension in your home you've got two lives your husband's got two lives and here's what's going to happen with that little boy your little boy's going to absorb this relational tension he's going to make it his fault and he's going to spend the rest of his life trying to solve it and he's going to solve it in a million different ways and so for you because you deserve this for your husband because he deserves this and for this little boy you've got to throw the flag turn all the lights on the stadium at your home and say, this marriage is on life support and we've got to act now. And I know we went through FPU once. I know we went to counseling before.

We've got to get into some intensive relationship counseling today, this weekend, starting Monday, because this thing's on its last legs and people are about to start making some decisions that they might not be able to recover from. You're worth this, Amy. Your husband's worth it. And so is that little boy. Okay. This is way bigger than the car now. And here's the good news, Amy. You've done it once before, which means you can do it again. That's the good news. You know what to do. This is all about, it has to stop today. This marriage has to be saved. Welcome back, America. You are joining the conversation here on The Ramsey Show.

I'm Ken Coleman, joined by my colleague John Deloney, and we are taking your calls, 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. We want to talk about life and every angle. We are here for you. Let's go back to the phones. Susan is on the line in Atlanta, Georgia. Susan, how can we help? Hi, guys. Thanks for taking my call. I'm wondering if you might have some advice. My mother is 93, almost 94. She's got Alzheimer's. She's in assisted living,

has been for several years. Her body is fine. She is still going strong. My other siblings are all older than me. My three older brothers, they've all retired. And I'm trying my best to get retired within the next couple of years. Problem is, mother's running out of money. And she's probably going to be out of money by the end of the year my brothers think that we should all pitch in and help her to maintain her dignity and her lifestyle at this assisted living home they take very good care of her the problem is for us to do that we've each

got to pitch in to supplement the social security that she has about $1,500 a month. Each? Yes. So the other alternative for what the senior provision caretakers are telling us is she would have to go to a Medicaid bed. And we just can't do that. I mean, we love our mother. We want her to be comfortable. We want her to have dignity for the rest of the days of her life. And being that she's got the memory issue, we don't think that we can have her come live with one of us, which it would be mean, because the in-home health care, from what we're told, is even more expensive than being in an assisted living place like she's at.

Do you have the money? I won't be able to retire. I do have the money. I just won't be able to retire. And with Mother being as healthy as she is, she could live to be 100. She could live to be more than 100. The chances of that happening are very small, but you're getting way ahead of yourself. So you've presented two

issues that are at odds with one another, and then you've got to make a choice. You want to maintain a really expensive, a really nice home for your mom, and you won't be able to retire. And you want to retire. Sounds like you just have a simple, yet very difficult choice to make.

Okay. All right. Does that make sense? That's kind of what we're being told. How long has she been diagnosed with the Alzheimer's? Since she was about 89. And how old is she now? 93. She'll be 93 next month.

And have you and your brothers, have you all looked at every options, other facilities around? Have you had conversations with a social worker who can help you navigate some of these things? Because this idea, number one, I don't like the threat of, well, if you don't do that, if you don't pony up the money, we're going to have to send them to that bit. That's a scummy, that's a move. That's a move. And it's something that none of us want to do. I mean, you know, we all cherish her. I've had a family member in a Medicaid bed and she was taken care of incredibly. It was a wonderful experience.

And so, I don't know. Every place is different. But the fact that they're going to pitch that to you sounds like a move. It sounds gross. And so I would be on the phone with every other home in the area, places that are close, places that are not close, because I understand with all my heart this desire to retain dignity. I get that. I understand the desire to want to retire, but if you've made the commitment, I'm not going to do that to my mom, then you've answered your

own retirement question, and you've got to let that dream go and then be about honoring your mom in the way that you want to do it. I don't necessarily think it's got to be Social Security plus $1,500 times however many brothers and sisters you got. I also don't think that it has to be I'm going to pitch in for my mom, whatever the solution ends up being based on what John said, and I can't retire. That's a false narrative. You can retire.

You just may not be able to retire as quickly as you'd like to. Or maybe you're going to sell your house and you're going to buy a smaller house. You're going to get rid of your car payment. You're going to figure out what it's going to look like. But when you box yourself into it, well, it's this or that, then the world gets real bleak real quick. And there's almost always other options. Yeah, I agree. I think you've got to do some more digging, and the brothers need to step up as well.

I'm feeling, John, I can hear it in her voice. It feels like they're putting a lot of this on her, and it's time for an all-hands-on-deck meeting. 888-825-5225 is the number. Let's go to Los Angeles, California, where Andrew joins us. Andrew, how can we help? Hi, Tim and John. Thanks for taking my call.

You've both been a huge encouragement over the past few years. Thank you. What's going on? So I'm really glad to be talking to both of you because this question has both a career and an emotional aspect. So we moved to LA, a very expensive area, so that my wife can have a close proximity to her dream job of being a writer for children's animation. However, we accidentally moved here at the worst time because the pandemic hit right after, and most of the companies haven't been hiring or producing as much content.

Financially, we're still doing really well, just off my income and our savings, but I'm a total tightwad, and it feels like we're burning a pile of money each month for a dream that is yet to take off. So the career question is, how do we balance pursuing a dream job with making smart money decisions? And the emotional part is, how do I hush the part of my brain that keeps complaining that

we're wasting money, even though I think she has a real shot of getting that dream job? Well, I'll just start on the first part and let John weigh in. But I got opinion on both of them, John. Bring them both, man. All right, Andrew, here's the deal. Again, it's a false choice you've presented yourself and then asked us a question based on a false choice. You guys are burning through savings, and you shouldn't be. Right now, you've got an economy in her world that has slowed way down.

And I agree with you. She can get it. And I love that you guys made the move. But guess what? She needs to be working multiple jobs right now, and she's still making connections, and she's still writing at night or really early in the morning. But she needs to be working to support her dream as well. And I'm not saying that she's not working.

I'm saying that this is a both this is a both and here we, we pursue the dream, but we also make smart money decisions. It's not either, or it's not, how do we balance going every day to dream and make good and make good decisions? No,

we make good decisions and that might slow down the pursuit of the dream. COVID has slowed down the pursuit of the dream right now for you. So stop burning through the savings as quick as possible. I don't think that that's a, that that's some, something wrong with you. Cause you're going, I don't want to burn through the savings as quick as possible. I don't think that that's something wrong with you because you're going, I don't want to burn through our savings. That doesn't make you emotionally distraught. It makes you smart.

May I weigh in on that just to give you more perspective? Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, it's your call. Yeah, we're netting about $170 per year, and we're living on about $60,000. So we're still putting like $100,000 in savings almost every year. Okay, then your question is almost... Again, this is less about us burning through savings and more about me looking at other places saying we could be saving upwards of $30,000 in taxes and in rent if we live somewhere else. And it's not a question of burning through savings.

It's a question of me getting over the fact that, yeah, we're spending more than we would somewhere else, but is that worth it to pursue the dream? Okay. So did you get in a car and drive across the country with your wife to pursue a dream? Not exactly, no. We were living in Orange County, California. At that time, we were weighing whether or not we would move out of California.

Then she got a really good job in Los Angeles, so we moved to Los Angeles. Andrew, listen, listen. That's when COVID hit. Andrew, listen to me. This is pretty simple stuff, okay? Here's the deal. You just said that you were burning through savings, and then when I really challenged you on it, you went, oh, actually, I'm just being really tight and unreasonable.

Yeah, you are. You guys are crushing it. You're living on way less than you make. And you also told us that you believe your wife is going to make it. So quit, Andrew. So relax and stay there. You guys are fine financially. This isn't magic.

Here's how you stop. Stop. You're obsessing about this. And you need to stop obsessing. Hear me say, you're doing a great job. A really great job financially. You can't do anymore. Have some joy in your life, brother. It's a choice.

Man, stay the course. Your wife's going to make it unless thrilled that you have joined the conversation. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by my colleague, John Deloney. The phone number to jump in, 888-825-5225. That's 888-825- 5225. That's 888-825-5225. Our scripture today, Psalm 100, verse 3. Know that the Lord is God, it is

He who made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Our quote of the day from Albert Einstein, greatest head of hair in the history of science. He said, in the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity. And I think he's right.

I 100% agree. It's pretty good. You know, for a guy that was brilliant with numbers and all that, that right there, that's all mindset stuff right there. Learn how to just dig into the difficulty and go, what can I get out of this? Because you know why? Science is the

active act of being less wrong. And so when you have a great scientist, most of their time is spent being wrong. Dealing with being wrong, yeah. And then using that as fuel for the next attempt at being less wrong. That's the beauty of it. And so when you hear these quotes from these scientists,

it sometimes feels off kilter. Because Einstein knows every day was a battle with being wrong When you hear these quotes from these scientists, it sometimes feels off kilter because he's Einstein. Einstein knows every day was a battle with being wrong and being wrong and being wrong and then getting back up and going again. Love it. 888-825-5225. Let's go north of the border. Beautiful. Montreal, Canada is where Veronica joins us.

Veronica, how can we help? Hello. Thanks. Hi, guys. I'm so grateful to talk to you. So I have a quick question. Here we go. I'm 31 years old. I'm currently single, no children. I've been working in labor relations for five years. My current salary is $55,000. However, I'm starting a new job in three weeks and I have a significant

salary increase. My new salary would be $92,000. Whoa. Hey. Yes, I know. I know. Congratulations, Veronica. Don't just fly by that one. Wow. Yeah, I know. So here's my question. I want to know what to do with that extra money that I'll be having. I have no debt. I currently own two condos. So one that I'm renting out right now and another one that I'm at baby step number four because I am saving 15% of my annual salary or income in my 401k. So the condo that I'm renting right now, I have 99,000 left on my mortgage and the condo that I'm living in, I have a little bit over $200,000 as a mortgage. So I want to know, I basically want to still live on my same lifestyle, current lifestyle, but I want to spend extra money. So where should I invest that extra money that I will get from my income?

Should I attack my first mortgage? Yes. Yes? Okay. Right? Absolutely. Absolutely. Should I attack my first mortgage? Yes. Yes? Okay. Right? Absolutely. Just absolutely attack it. And you want to pay that off because you're already investing 15% of your income. You have no other debt except these two condos. So this is like taking on the, I mean, you technically have debt. What we say at Rams and Solutions is you can work on the home, right, and you can be debt-free. But you technically have debt.

You've got two condos. One you're living in and the other you're renting. So I would attack the smallest condo. I'd get after that and pay that off. And that additional income you've got, you can get after that. But you're already investing. And I think technically, you know, I think I would throw everything. I'd probably pause the 15% here because she's not debt-free.

I mean, the way we define it is you got one, you're living in the other. So I would pause baby step four here, and I would throw that income plus the amount you're investing there plus plus the additional income at that house, and then sell that thing. And then whatever you make on it, I'd put it into the one. So live in one, you get what I'm saying? So I can't remember which one is the one you're living in. Is this the $99,000 one you're living in or you're renting that one? No, I'm renting the $99,000 mortgage one, yeah,

and I'm living in my $200,000 one that I have, yeah. Okay, so how much is that condo worth the ninety nine thousand it worked currently the last time i checked was about a little bit under three hundred thousand oh gosh i'd sell it sell it sorry yeah you know what to be honest with you i caught myself and anybody knows the shows like ken why don't you tell her this i was just like stop you. You get so much income and all this. You need to sell the condo right now. Put it up today because it's worth $300,000. Is that what you said, $300,000?

It's worth a little bit under $300,000, but what about this idea of building wealth? You're going to build. Hold on. Hold on. I know. I know. I think I'm brain tired. I should have told you this initially, but here's what you do. You sell this thing. Okay. I think I'm brain tired. I should have told you this initially, but here's what you do.

You sell this thing. Okay. Okay. And so after your commission, let's say you got 180, whatever, 190, whatever it's going to be. Okay. So all of that money, so now you've got that debt gone, and then you put that into the current condo that you're living in, which you said you owe 200 on, so you're going to owe very little.

Very little. And then you still do what I said. condo that you're living in, which you said you owe $200 on, so you're going to owe very little, very little. Yes. And then you still do what I said. Well, you don't have to now because you're in the baby steps at your home. But I would take that additional income, so you don't pause baby step four. I told you the wrong thing. All right? Okay. You sell the condo, the $99,000 condo.

You take the profit from that, dump it all into the $200,000 condo that you're living in. You have very little left. The additional income of the new job, all of that extra, goes into paying off that very tiny, teeny, tiny mortgage. Right, right. And you look up and you're debt-free. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And then you're really investing a lot of money, and you're really crushing it. You're building wealth so fast you don't even know what to do with yourself. And you can save up a bunch of money and now buy a condo cash. So that's what you do. Sorry it took me. Yeah, there you go. It's okay. I haven't seen it that way.

My first idea was just to like keep both condos. And yes, as you said initially, I thought it would have been best to just attack this $99,000 mortgage and then keep renting it and live, you know, and that would be like an extra income. You know, the rent, the monthly rent once it's paid off. It is until, like, I'm going to throw something crazy at you. What happens if, I don't know, I'm going to make this up off the top of my head.

Maybe a global pandemic happens. Yeah. And then your renters just don't pay. Yeah. I get you. You still owe the bank that money. And what happens when you try to build generational wealth on one side of a teeter-totter, the leverage on the other side at some point comes through. And when you have no mortgage, no car note, no student loans, no nothing, and you're absolutely crushing it with this new salary you're making.

Then you look up and three years later you buy this condo back because the market will have corrected itself a bit with cash. And then it doesn't matter if somebody doesn't show up for a few months because you're not up against the other side of a teeter-totter. Veronica, remember this. You're going to have a $300,000 condo that's cash paid for. So you've invested wisely. So you've got that.

That's a big egg. And you still got the $91,000 that you're not even living on. So that's why you do this. You do this much quicker. You're going to turn the wealth building on at high speed that way. And it's your wealth. It's not wealth that you're playing with. It actually is owned by somebody else.

Yeah. Thanks a lot, Greg. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks for your advice, and take care. Thank you, Veronica. Love that. What a great position she's in there.

Man. It's like you don't need that. You know what it is. People go, oh, it's that monthly income. Until you realize it's really not yours. Now she's got a $300,000 condo paid in full, and she's still got great income, still in baby step four, investing the 15%. She's just starting to pile it. And the beauty of it is, again, for me, you wake up that next day and you don't have a house payment. Think about going on a date with your wife at midnight and tipping the waitress your house note for the next month.

Your ability to be generous and to give like crazy. I love everything about that picture about going out on a date with my wife and being able to do that and doing that, but not at midnight. It's too late. No, because you know why? Why midnight? That's very odd. Because nobody's working the midnight shift because they want to. People get stuck in those

cycles and that's the only shift they've got. I'm going to show up and change somebody's month. I try to tell my kids nothing good happens after midnight. You can make someone's life really good. All right. I see where you're going. I, on the other hand, need to be in bed before 10.

I'm with you. Need the extra beauty sleep, John. I'm with you. Hey, this is fun. Thank you, pal. Appreciate you. As always, I want to thank our producer, James Childs, our associate producer, Kelly Daniel. But most importantly, we want to thank you, America.

Thank you for listening. This is The Ramsey Show. Hey, it's Kelly, associate producer for The Ramsey Show. This episode is over, but if you heard about an event, product, or service and didn't have a chance to write it down, don't worry. We list everything you've heard about during this episode in the podcast show notes section. Or head over to DaveRamsey.com and click Dave Recommends. Thanks for listening.