The Ramsey Show - App - Generosity Is the Reason for the Season (Hour 3)

Episode Date: December 4, 2019

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. Merry Christmas to you, America. The phone number, if you want to talk, is 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. When I was a little kid, like most families, our family went through a rough patch. Lots of families do that.
Starting point is 00:01:03 Wasn't any different for us, and nobody did anything wrong. It's just a tough financial period in our family's history when I was a little kid. And I was always a math nerd and always a little business nerd, always trying to figure out a way to make money. I just somehow was wired that way. I've always been able to make money. Um, always been able to make more than my peers, my whole life. I mean, when I'm 12 years old, I'm cutting 27 yards, uh, and keeping a P and L, you know, I mean, that, that's a nerd right there,
Starting point is 00:01:35 you know, no doubt about it. But, uh, I had a goal. I'd get out the service merchandise or the Sears catalog and, you know, cut out a picture of something I was saving for. So it gave me something, a reason to drive towards a goal. And I remember when we went through that rough patch, someday I want to be a millionaire because I thought if you're a millionaire, you wouldn't have rough patches, not financially anyway. And I remember thinking that 10, 12, 8, 10, 12 years old, 13, 14, 15 years old. I graduated from college when I was 22, and a year or two later, I started buying and selling real estate, and I became a millionaire by the time I was 26. Ended up losing it all.
Starting point is 00:02:18 Most of you know that story because I was stupid and went deeply in debt, and I had to start over. I was bankrupt at 28. I'm 59 now, so that was 31 years ago that we went bankrupt and had to start over. But I do remember distinctly the goal shifted. Because not only when I went bankrupt, but then when I started building wealth again, I thought, well, you know, I've been a millionaire once, so I knew I could do it. I knew I could do it. You know, once you're riding a bike, you know what it does.
Starting point is 00:02:49 And so as I was approaching my second million, my second time around, I remember distinctly thinking, this is kind of boring. This is attainable i think i want to give away a million dollars i want to get enough money that i can give away a million dollars and then i did that several times over and i'm not bragging it's just the stuff we teach here works is the point of this story. If you live like no one else later, you can live and give like no one else. And then the goal kind of shifted and I said, you know what, someday I hope, someday I would really like to get financially
Starting point is 00:03:36 into a position that I give away a million dollars in one day. How fun would that be? That's a cool goal. And today, our team, 900 and some odd of us, for their Christmas present, all got $1,000 each, and we put them on 17 buses, and we drove them to the local mall. The mall opened up early for us, because when you bring a million dollars to the mall,
Starting point is 00:04:10 they will open it for you you think and they will they will get good deals in there too for your team they'll do all kinds of stuff for you they were very nice to us they're very nice and we surprised our team this morning in a team meeting and told them that that was going on and that we'd hit hit our company goal of serving 3 million people this year and that our Christmas present this year is going to be a $1,000 spending envelope for each one of them at the local mall. And then we've got a local Baptist Children's Home in the area here that works with at-risk kids, orphans and kids in need of adoption, kids in the foster care system, they work in that. And they've got on-staff social workers.
Starting point is 00:04:51 They've got house parents that do everything. And so we were able to give those guys some money and give them some money to spend on the kids. Each of those house parents has six or eight kids, and we were able to give them some money to do that. And we were able to bless a family that had that came down and uh jazzed our guys up today did their debt-free scream on the stage uh in front of our whole team and and gave them some money and we put all of these people on the bus and we went to uh the local mall and it all
Starting point is 00:05:18 totaled and and we had other giveaways at the mall drawings and other stuff and the whole package was well over a million dollars and so i got to have that experience this morning. I actually went, wow, that just happened. I just gave away a million dollars in one day. Is that not below your freaking mind that God would allow you to do that? It blows my mind. I mean, I'm a kid from Antioch, Tennessee. I don't know how that happens.
Starting point is 00:05:44 I do know how it happens but it's god's blessings it's a lot of hard work and those two things together stirred together um and this whole idea that giving is absolutely one of the most fun things you'll ever do with money outrageous generosity and and we're always trying to get you guys to say outrageous generosity is your goal because it truly is the most fun you'll ever have with money. It's the best thing to do with the blessings that God gives you is to know that you are blessed for one reason, that you might be a blessing. You're a conduit.
Starting point is 00:06:20 You are not a cistern that stores. And you do store. You do invest, you do save, you do hold money to be able to do things like this, because the income off of the investments will allow you to do things like this. And we do a lot of giving, and I've always done a lot of giving through our family foundation, and that's got a lot of zeros on it but i never in one day gave away a million dollars before and it was a it was a surreal experience you guys it really was a trip now i know some of you guys are big time people and you you know you've got a lot more money than that and you're like oh dave you know you're just thumping your own chest i'm really not it was just it was a i'm 60 years old y'all and almost
Starting point is 00:07:05 almost and so it's been a long time coming for one thing but um to get to say these kids that are foster kids and orphans and the parents that are taking care of them and they're at risk kids coming out of some of these homes that are really messed up and they need a place to rest for a while and until some of the toxicity blows out of their home and they can get set up and they need a place to rest for a while until some of the toxicity blows out of their home and they can get set up and get back home, you know, to be able to pour money, substantial money into those situations for those kids and for those people who are serving those kids and into our team who serves you guys all year long and does it with excellence and does it with zest and exuberance.
Starting point is 00:07:48 And it's just a cool thing that God allowed today. And the only reason I share it is not to brag on us or something like that for sure, and not even to brag on God. The reason I share it is just to encourage you to say, you know, maybe you ought to write down a goal like that. Maybe that ought to be like one of your bucket list things. Because you never know. I mean, if you grind and you hustle and you work, and you grind and you hustle and you work,
Starting point is 00:08:18 and you keep your hand held open instead of a tight, clenched fist, I mean, maybe someday you'll give away $10 million in one day. I don't know. I might. I might. Maybe I need a new goal now, now that I did this one. That'd be pretty cool.
Starting point is 00:08:33 It was fun today, I'll tell you that. It was a fun day. It was a really, really fun day. I just want to encourage you to be outrageously generous. That's the reason for the season. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. In a season of giving, what better gift can you give someone in the coming year than a new job? Business leaders, if you're looking to add to your team in 2020, get started now with LinkedIn Jobs.
Starting point is 00:09:08 At Ramsey Solutions, we post on LinkedIn Jobs because we know the right person will have an impact on our company for years to come. And LinkedIn Jobs matches the right person with the right job. It's no wonder a hire is made every eight seconds on LinkedIn, and over 600 million members visit LinkedIn to make connections, learn and grow as professionals, and discover new job opportunities. So find the right person for your team and give the gift of a rewarding new career. Get started today and get $50 off your first job post. Visit linkedin.com slash Ramsey. That's linkedin.com slash Ramsey. Terms and conditions apply. Coming up at the bottom of the hour,sey personality ken coleman will join us number
Starting point is 00:10:09 one best-selling author of the book the proximity principle and host of the ken coleman show broadcast and podcast all over america on radio stations on sirius xm and a very popular podcast he and i'll be talking about careers and helping you think through your career choices what you're doing where you're going questions about job hunting all that kind of stuff uh you can jump in now if you want to talk to ken at the bottom of the hour the phone number is 888-825-5225 that's 888-825--5225. Brandon and Elena are with us in Phoenix. And I see on my screen you guys are debt-free. Congratulations. Thanks, Dave. Thank you. Cool. How much have you paid off? $421,194. All right. I love it. And how long did this take? 59 months.
Starting point is 00:11:06 Wow. And your range of income during that time? Started at about $100 and ended, well, currently at $140. Cool. What do you all do for a living? I'm a computer programmer. And I'm a stay-at-home mom. Cool.
Starting point is 00:11:21 Okay. So what was the $422,000 in debt? A lot of everything we had a 401k loan a car loan credit cards student loans and three mortgages you paid off your house yes we did talking to weird people yeah i love it way to go so how much of the $422,000 was a house mortgage, mortgages? Well, our house that we're currently in was $135,000 is what it started at. And then we had two rental properties that ranged. One of them was $200,000 and the other one was about $90,000. And when we sold those, we basically made that back okay so you that helped get rid of
Starting point is 00:12:10 some of the debt then some of it but not all of it that's for sure yeah and and then you from there plowed through this and basically you've been on a five-year journey oh yeah yeah so tell me the story what started this well you know back a little over five years ago, we had two rental properties with the mortgages, and one of our tenants decided to move out on us. So we were stuck with an extra house payment that we couldn't afford to make. And so we decided to sell that house. And we were never really on the same page financially anyway. Elaine always took care of the bills, and I always spent the money.
Starting point is 00:12:48 I don't know if anybody else is like that, but that's pretty much how it was here. So that was kind of a point of contention. So we realized when we had that extra house payment, we needed something to change because it wasn't going to work the way it was. And we had both listened to you on the radio, but never really talked about it. So when Brandon finally mentioned, hey, have you heard of this Dave Ramsey guy? I jumped on board right away. And so we went out and bought the book, The Total Money Makeover, and both of us read it within a couple days. And we got gazelle intense and started paying everything off and building up our savings. Wow. Very cool.
Starting point is 00:13:23 So how long did it take you to get out of consumer debt before you started on the mortgages? Well, when we sold the first rental, that kind of took care of most of that, and then we were stuck with the other rental that we were way underwater in, so that's where we really spent most of our focus. Wow, okay, so you had to get upside down and then you sold it as well, or you had to get right side up and then you sold it as well? Right. Yeah, we were upside down in that thing, $70,000 or $80,000. Woo! Okay. All right. Now your current residence is paid off as well, right? Yes. Correct. And what is it worth? About $350,000. Wow! How old are you two? I am 46. And I'm 39. And you have a paid-for house.
Starting point is 00:14:06 Yep, that's right. And five years ago, you were upside down in rentals and deeply in debt and broke. Exactly. Yes, we were. I mean, you completely turned this around. I'm so proud of y'all. Well, thank you. Very well done.
Starting point is 00:14:20 Thank you. So who were your biggest cheerleaders outside the two of you um well my my folks kind of made fun of us at first until they realized uh hey these guys actually know what they're doing and so they actually got on the plan and they're debt free now and so is my sister wow yeah so it's kind of a whole family thing. We all work together. Okay. So you turned the doubters into followers. Yep.
Starting point is 00:14:49 I like it. That's cool. And so what other cheerleaders did you have? Well, my parents, of course. I mean, they've been debt-free for a while, and they've always taught me to stay out of debt. And so they were cheering us on as well. And, you know, our friends from church somewhat, and, you know, we have lots of people in our corner. Very cool. Good, good.
Starting point is 00:15:10 How does it feel to have no payments, not even a house payment? I will tell you that the stress and the, you know, the feeling of weight on your back for a, you know, cause I, I'm the breadwinner in the family and the weight of having that debt, it was crushing. It was, it hurt. I mean, like physically my, my health wasn't good and it was just not a good situation. I'm telling you what the, the joy you feel from not having that weight on your shoulders is, it's so hard to describe. Wow. It really is special. And so, I mean, I'm watching the YouTube channel feed in front of me, and it looks like they're putting up pictures of your family.
Starting point is 00:15:52 So you guys really did take your shoes off and walk into the backyard when you paid off the mortgage. Yes, we did. The whole family wanted to feel their bare feet in the grass you own. Yep. That is so awesome. I love it. That's a great picture. That's the one you framed beside the paid-off mortgage and put it in the grass you own yep that is so awesome i love it that's a great picture that's the one you frame beside the paid off mortgage and put it in the hallway exactly yeah very cool even the
Starting point is 00:16:12 dogs out there that's awesome yeah wow that's very cool guys very cool so when someone says wow you paid off your house that's's impressive. How did you do that? What do you tell them the actual keys to getting out of debt are? Well, for me, the biggest thing that we had to do was be united. I mean, it didn't work for one of us trying to bail out the drowning ship with the other one adding more to it. So once we were united and working together and had our goals in common, I think it made all the difference.
Starting point is 00:16:47 I would say you have to be mad. You have to get really, really, really upset with your situation and want to change it. I can remember Elena told me when we had those two mortgages, she said, you can't buy lunch today. And I said, what are you talking about? I have a six-figure income. I should be able to buy a 99-cent burger. And she goes, we don't have 99 cents. And I was livid. I was like, this is insane. And so I think you have to be upset enough and willing to change your life to make it happen. Yeah. Yeah, there's something that happens when you finally say i've
Starting point is 00:17:25 had it and that that requires a level of righteous anger yeah it's not rage it's just like i'm done yeah that's yeah that thing this is ridiculous i'm tired i'm sick and tired of being sick and tired that thing happens it's a real thing yeah you're right you can't manufacture it and yet you it doesn't require that you be in a crisis to get there you can just you can't manufacture it and yet you it doesn't require that you be in a crisis to get there you can just you can manufacture in the sense that you look at it and you just become disgusted with the situation absolutely very cool very cool you guys congratulations we're very proud of you here i can tell you that we've got a copy of chris hogan's book for you everyday millionaires that is the next chapter in your story for sure.
Starting point is 00:18:07 That's where you're headed. So very well done. Brandon and Elena, Phoenix, Arizona, $422,000 paid off in 59 months, making $100,000 to $140,000, including selling off a couple of rentals and paying off their home mortgage. They're officially weird. They're 100% debt-free. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream.
Starting point is 00:18:32 Three, two, one. We're dead! Blow the microphone out of the phone, baby. Woo! I love it. Woo! I love it. Woo! That is how it's done right there. Now, you know why you do that, right?
Starting point is 00:18:55 You know why you get out of debt? Because when you're 46 years old, if you just invest a house payment alone, what they used to pay in house payment, if they just put that in mutual funds from 46 to 66, it's millions of dollars. Wow. That's why you get out of debt. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. How often can you get the best of both worlds? Not very often, right?
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Starting point is 00:20:42 Equal housing lender. 761 Old Hickory Boulevard, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027. Joining me this half hour, answering your career questions, Ramsey Personality No. 1 bestselling author Ken Coleman is with us, bestselling author of the book The Proximity Principle and host of The Ken Coleman Show, which is an hour every day on SiriusXM on about 40 radio stations and a very popular podcast as well. So you can talk to Ken anytime you want, but you certainly got him right here for the next
Starting point is 00:21:33 30 minutes or so. The phone number, 888-825-5225. So let me ask you something I was thinking about, and you and I didn't talk about this before you got on the air, so I'm going to catch you first. Oh, I love this. Let me just catch you okay so um i was talking with a leader in another organization about 24 48 hours ago and they were asking me um you know do you have a lot of turnover in december and i said no we have these outrageous gifts and christmas. They all wait until January.
Starting point is 00:22:06 Yeah, right. Well, that's the truth. You're a moron if you leave in December. If you leave this organization in December, you're nuts. You got a real thing going. But we do have, we always do have,
Starting point is 00:22:21 and I joke about it being around the Christmas party and that kind of stuff, but we do have turnover in January. Do you feel like, and what the guy was asking me was, he said, do you feel like recruiters are busy during the month of December interviewing and hiring for January starts because people do a lot of, you know, they don't wait until January to make their career, I don't know, to have their new year, you know, to have their reset. They know January's coming, so in the name of that, they go interview. And it's like a lot of hiring is done in December was our anecdotal supposition.
Starting point is 00:23:01 Have you seen any numbers on that? Do you know that happens? Well, I don't have any fresh data on that, but that is absolutely true. And there's two reasons. One is a psychological reason in that people are more willing to make a switch with a new year coming because it's this idea of the old is going out and here comes a new year and this is my chance to make a difference. And so we've got this unique thing here, Dave, with that factor being in play, that we still have a 3.4% unemployment rate in the United States right now. Right now.
Starting point is 00:23:33 Which is basically negative unemployment. Right, which means we have more jobs available in the United States right now than we have people who are unemployed. It is a job seeker's market. I've been talking about that for a year on the Ken Coleman Show. It hasn't changed. New article I just shared from CNBC.com yesterday on my show, which says Generation Z, which is 20 to 24-year-olds that are in the workforce now, they're behind the millennials, they're
Starting point is 00:23:56 actually getting paid more than their millennial counterparts because employers are so desperate to fill the holes. We have got a really unique environment. So to answer your question, you've got people who say psychologically, I'm more willing to make a change at the end of one year and start a new year and start a new chapter in my life. That's going on. Number two, we have our current job reality where employers are desperate
Starting point is 00:24:21 and they're paying above market value, which is making the market value go up. And then the third factor is there are a lot of companies, I don't know what Ramsey Solutions is, you can speak to this, but a lot of companies do have a traditional fiscal calendar that matches up with the year, you know, January is their start of their fiscal year. So what you have is a lot of employers are going, hey, we want to get people on board and starting first of the year. So you've got a combination um but i don't think that it's you know uh anything more than
Starting point is 00:24:50 just those three factors um but i do think the interesting thing we were what he and i were talking about was a lot of people in a lot of businesses in december a lot of the team coasts no question coast but the hr team the, the hiring team, they're game on. They are. It's like a hot season for them. It's open season. And let's talk about independent recruiters, right, who are then trying to find people for a company. It's hot season.
Starting point is 00:25:16 They're on right now. There's no question because a lot of companies want to start. They're going to cocktail parties, Christmas parties, and going home early. That is correct. You know, sugar high and everything else, and they're just half-butt doing their jobs. That's right. But the recruiters have got to be game on right now. And leaders need to be game on.
Starting point is 00:25:30 Leaders need to be game on, and if you're looking for a job, this is a really sweet time. This is the time. This is the time to go to KenColeman.com and change your resume and make it look like nobody else's resume. This is the time to put your toe in the water. Again, folks, I just shared this article. If Gen Z, by the way, here's the annual pay raise right now. It's about 3% is the annual pay raise that companies in the United States are giving workers on an annual basis. Gen Z is getting 6%. And the reason is they're looking for these
Starting point is 00:26:02 younger workers who aren't making as much money, but can do the job and this is capitalism 101 and so right now if you're a young person if you're middle-aged and you're going i'm too old no you're not you've got skills and you've got experience and probably high character now is the time to say it's a buyer i'm a free agent it's a buyer yes sir and they will pay you more because they need the whole field. Yep, absolutely. We're seeing that everywhere. Brad is with us in Kentucky. Brad, your question for Ken Coleman.
Starting point is 00:26:34 Hey, guys. How are you? Better than we deserve. What's up? Good. So I am currently in an account manager role for a health care staffing company. And logically, the next move for me would be to kind of a manager of account management roles, but that's not necessarily something I'm interested in doing. I've gone to management around the hotel business before,
Starting point is 00:26:56 and it was kind of a miserable lifestyle. So I'm curious, what's a similar sort of lateral movement slash position that would be similar to what I'm in now, or maybe something you're not on call 24-7, just still want to have a home and family life? Sure. Well, you provide me the list, okay? And again, I'm not worried about industry. I want you to describe in as few words as possible the functions that you do during the day. Because if we're looking for a parallel role in a potential different industry,
Starting point is 00:27:30 let's just summarize what you enjoy doing in this account manager role. What does that look like during the day and what do you really enjoy? What gives you the juice? It's a lot of problem solving, a little bit of sales involved, a little bit of recruiting. I actually started recruiting with this company. So I'd say those three kind of just interacting with clients and the general public is one of the strong seats I have. Okay. So I heard problem solving, sales, and recruiting. I don't think there's a position, unless you're running your own company, that involves all three of those every day.
Starting point is 00:28:05 So if you had to pick, just for fun, I'm taking you somewhere, which one of those functions, or would you rank those three? How would you rank them? I'd say more recruiting than probably problem solving. Okay. I think the right kind of selling and the right kind of recruiting is problem solving. That's right. And so my question is, what problems do you most get fired up about solving? Do you like solving people problems, meaning putting people in the right seat on the right bus?
Starting point is 00:28:34 Does that get you fired up? Because that essentially is what recruiting is. And, by the way, solving a massive problem, as Dave and I were talking about earlier. Sure. Things like that and also solving the problem that, you know, makes the most profit for, you know, for the hospital itself and for the agency that I work for as well. Okay, but see, those are two different things. So what you said was you enjoyed, if you had to rank them,
Starting point is 00:28:58 you said recruiting was one and then 1A, not very far behind that, is problem solving. And it sounds to me like the problems you like to solve are more operational problems, not customer service, customer facing problems. Am I right or wrong? That's correct. Okay, then. So let's just simplify this because a lot of people listen in the same boat. You said, how do I figure out a position that may be in a different field? And the answer is simply this. Write down what you'd love to do every day when it comes to problem solving. Hey, I want to be on the back end.
Starting point is 00:29:30 I want to be a part of systems and processes, some people issues that are part of those processes and systems that affect the customer, that also affect the employee. If you dig those kind of problems, just write it out with a pencil and paper. Might have absolutely nothing to do with health care. No. In fact, well, here's the thing. Could be in health care in a better company, better culture. Could be in technology.
Starting point is 00:29:51 Could be in a true sales company. Could be in manufacturing. That's what I like about guys like Brad, Dave. I want them to see that, hey, this role, this process guy. That skill set. I can do that in a lot of places, and he's extremely valuable. Hang on, Brad. We're going to give you a copy of Ken's book, The Proximity Principle, to help you play through on this, brother.
Starting point is 00:30:10 Thank you for calling in. Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, with me this half hour, answering your career questions. Open phones at 888-825-5225. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. Our scripture of the day, James 2.18, But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Rich DeVos said, Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push, a smile, a world of optimism and hope. A, you can do it when things are tough.
Starting point is 00:31:10 The ability to speak life into someone. Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality No. 1 bestselling author, does that every day on the Ken Coleman Show and has a lot of ways to help you. He's with us this hour. We're answering your questions on career, your questions on jobs. Open phones at 888-825-5225. David is in Georgia. David, your question for Ken.
Starting point is 00:31:36 Hi, Ken. I have a question. So I've been working as a contractor for the last 31 years, and I have an opportunity to move into like a corporate position with the same company, but it's going to be for less money. So I'm trying to decide how long I keep my foot on the gas working in my position now. Tell me why you're even asking me this question. I mean, you've been with them for 31 years. We're talking about some real longevity there. And now they're offering you the corporate position, which pays you less. There's got to be something in your mind where you're thinking,
Starting point is 00:32:08 ah, there might be some good reason to do it. Tell me what that is. Well, I think the real reason I think to do it is I think I'd really enjoy the position. The disadvantage for me is I'm kind of a Southern boy and it's going to require a move to another state. Yeah, but that's not, I would never take that as boy, and it's going to require a move to another state. Yeah, but that's not – I would never take that as a factor unless it ruins your marriage. So is that going to be a problem with – I would. I'm not leaving Tennessee. Well, that's you. But as a guy who's going to give advice, I'm going to tell you right now,
Starting point is 00:32:39 I think you'll regret that, assuming this is really the opportunity you think it is. I can hear something in you. So it's not, is it doing the same job you're doing now? I would actually be teaching people how to do my job, basically. And you're really intrigued by that, aren't you? I tried it out for a week to see how life would be working in a building, because obviously as a contractor now, I'm out and about. And so I actually embraced that week, that lifestyle.
Starting point is 00:33:07 Actually, I kind of liked the change, and I liked teaching the newcomers on how to do things. So all of that I enjoyed. It's just a matter of financially. When do I take my foot off the gas and say, okay, at 52, can I just transition this into the next phase of life? Well, can you do that? Can you actually afford to take a pay cut?
Starting point is 00:33:30 And then part two of that question is, is this a temporary pay cut that would eventually turn into a ladder where you'd make the same or more, or is it capped? It's not capped, but I don't think it would ever be more. Can you do it financially can you make the move at 52 and do this i i i think we can what's who's we who's the we in this situation my wife and i what is what's your have you talked to your wife about this oh of course yeah and she's very supportive she's very supportive she's like if we stay we stay but if we go we go she thinks that you know what i do now currently is it's very supportive. She's very supportive. She's like, if we stay, we stay, but if we go, we go.
Starting point is 00:34:05 She thinks that, you know, what I do now currently is it's a very physical job, so I'm trying to forecast, you know, down the road future-wise what is going to be kind of a better move for longevity, and I really feel like taking the corporate position at less pay. How much less pay? $60,000 a year. Whoa! Yikes. No, I'm going to tell you right now, no. And here's why. I believe that you can find something very similar to what this position is that doesn't give you that kind of pay cut. I think you're looking at something and you're
Starting point is 00:34:39 letting your fear of the future dictate this decision as this is the only opportunity to change gears. And it's not the only opportunity. I'm going to tell you, hold tight, begin to look up. Now here's the great news. You are in the most important stage of living the dream and you're really clear on what you want to do and why you want to do it. That's great news, David. Now, here's the deal. Start looking everywhere. Look around. Stay in the South. I don't care where you look.
Starting point is 00:35:09 The point is, what are the positions available to you that would allow you to do the kind of work you've just sampled? And I love, by the way, Dave, that he took a week and tried it out. Very few people will actually stick their toe in the water long enough to get some information and clarify and verify. David, what are you making now? I mean, an average year would be like $220. So the $60 is not. So from $220 to $160. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:35:36 All right. Yeah. And what field is this? It's kind of like an engineering field. What? Engineering. Engineering, yeah. Okay. And what state are they talking about moving you to? Missouri. It's kind of like in the engineering field. What? Engineering? Engineering, yeah.
Starting point is 00:35:48 Okay, and what state are they talking about moving you to? Missouri. Okay, all right. And so the other, and I'm so grateful that both of you are here for this question because the other thing that's part of the equation is for, like, you know, retirement purposes. My wife and I have done what we feel is a really good job. We've got about $920,000 saved up in our retirement accounts right now. Yeah, so you're millionaires. Yeah. Good. Yeah. So it's like,
Starting point is 00:36:12 that's where the temptation is to kind of take my foot off the gas. Hold on, though. David, let me ask you this. If I heard you correctly, you want to move into a position where you're essentially training others to do what you do now, yes? Correct. I don't understand why that doesn't pay more. Well, first of all, you're in the engineering field. I just think Missouri is like one of the worst options, this particular option in Missouri. St. Louis, I mean.
Starting point is 00:36:37 Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean the state. I'm saying this particular option, which is in Missouri, is not the only option. In fact, I don't even think it's anywhere near the best option for you to start going. How can I take my experience and my skill set and transfer it into a role where I'm instructing, guiding, teaching other engineers? How valuable is that in the world of engineering throughout the entire country? I guess my point is I do a lot more research and find a lot more opportunities. I turn myself over, honestly, to a recruiter in the engineering field and go, hey, I'm interested in this kind of gig. Help me figure out what's out there.
Starting point is 00:37:11 They're motivated to find you options, David, and you're not committing. You know, the other thing you could do is open a school doing that yourself in Georgia. Very interesting idea. And just. Yeah, do it on the side and build it up. Yep. Keep making 220 for a couple more years he's not miserable he's 52 i mean you're going to hold but i mean the point
Starting point is 00:37:30 is he could become a vendor to the second company that's trying to hire him and they could pay him a per head yeah and he might end up making a whole lot more yeah uh running a school yeah doing the teaching yeah then he would uh just becoming a corporate that's right you know what you're illustrating is there are options here, and he's kind of taking this one thing, and he's like, what do I do? What do I do? And it's like, this is not the one. There's no reason to take a $60,000 pay cut. I'm with you.
Starting point is 00:37:55 I think you look for other options and sit tight where you are. You don't want to move to that. He said he doesn't want to. That was one of his fears anyway. He doesn't want to move, and there's too many things in the negative column on it. I don't want to move to that. Yeah. He said he doesn't want to move. That was one of his fears anyway. Yeah, he doesn't want to move. And there's too many things in the negative column on it. Yeah, I don't like it. Yeah, I'm with you.
Starting point is 00:38:10 I'm with you. Good stuff. So, Ken, when people are – one of the things I noticed the other day, we were doing some stuff in a staff meeting, and one of the letters that someone had written you in email, they'd written you on the success, that they had gone into your resume guide and they changed their resume that made them stand out on a job they'd applied to like four different times yeah and then when they changed the resume they ended up and they and they used the process that you use in the proximity principle contacted someone inside the company that they knew put their name on the top of the resume use that resume template that you use yeah and it got them the job yeah
Starting point is 00:38:41 and the guy was so impressed he said where'd you learn how to do this that's right well it's very simple what we've done on our resume would by the way folks at kencoma.com it now has the Got them the job. Yeah. And the guy was so impressed. He said, where'd you learn how to do this resume? That's right. Well, it's very simple. What we've done on our resume, by the way, folks, at KenColeman.com, it now has the actual template where you can plug in your information. It's free. And it's going to spit out your finished resume. All you got to do is type your info in and hit the print button, and you're ready to go. Now, here's why it works.
Starting point is 00:39:01 We flip our resume. Most resumes all look about the same. In fact, there's probably 2 billion resume templates online. What we do is we flip it to what's most important, and we lead off with who you know. And this requires that you find some connection to somebody in that building. Now, two things happen when you use our resume guide and the template. By leading with who you know, first of all, it's very different. We know from many HR studies, Dave, that the average hiring manager spends six to 60 seconds looking at a resume. So it is nothing more than a brochure. They're not going deep. They just want to know,
Starting point is 00:39:37 is this person interesting enough to call? That's why a resume works. George gave me your name and George works in down here. And I know George, I walk by him every day and talk to him. I'm going to give this person a call. Let's give him a look. He'll get you out of the stack. Yeah. And by the way, on that guide, Dave, we're walking through step by step by step what to do. The resume guide, the interview guide, the interview follow-up guide, the get hired guides, they're free downloadables at KenColeman.com.
Starting point is 00:40:00 And you can join Ken on SiriusXM and read his number one bestselling book, The Proximity Principle. All the stuff you need. Thanks for dropping by, Ken. Thanks for having me, Dave. That puts this hour of the Dave Ramsey Show in the books. Merry Christmas to you, America. Thanks to James Childs, our producer. Kelly Daniel, our associate producer and phone screener.
Starting point is 00:40:18 We'll be back with you before you know it. In the meantime, remember, there's ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus. This is James Childs, producer of The Dave Ramsey Show. Did you know you can now listen to The Dave Ramsey Show on Pandora and Spotify? For all the ways to watch and listen, check out our show page at DaveRamsey.com slash show.

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