The Ramsey Show - App - Higher Pay Doesn't Always Require A Degree (Hour 1)

Episode Date: May 26, 2023

Ken Coleman & John Delony answer your questions and discuss:  "Should I go to college for business if I already have a business?" How you don't always need a degree to have a high-paying job, from the blog: 25 High-Paying Jobs That Don't Require a 4 Year Degree "We're expecting our 2nd kid and don't know how to get out of debt", How you and your spouse can get on the same page about paying off debt, from the blog: How To Talk To Your Spouse About Money "My roommate is moving out and I don't think I can afford my house", How to find another job in the technology field to increase your income, from the blog: BethelTech.net/KenColeman Have a question for the show? Call 888-825-5225 Weekdays from 2-5pm ET Join a Personality-led FPU class. Click here! Enter The Ramsey Cash Giveaway for a chance at $3,000! https://bit.ly/TRSgvwy Shop our bestsellers during the $10 Sale! https://bit.ly/TRS10Sale Want a plan for your money? Find out where to start: https://bit.ly/3cEP4n6 Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6 Interested in advertising on The Ramsey Show? https://ter.li/s64ye3 Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy

Девочка-пай Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Potts Moving and Storage Studio, this is The Ramsey Show. It's where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life, specifically your money, your relationships, and your work. You cannot enjoy life if those three areas of your life aren't in alignment and there is peace in those areas, and we're here to help you. The number is 888-825-5225.

That's 888-825-5225 to jump in. I'm Ken Coleman. I'm joined by my colleague, Dr. John Deloney, and we're here for you this hour. And so it's time. Some of you are going, I've been listening, I've been watching, and I need some guidance, and we're here to help. Again, the number is 888-825-5225. Fantastic looking live studio audience in the lobby, John. Yeah, it's pretty amazing. You're probably here to see Dave but you got us guys good to see it's okay we're used to disappointing people it won't phase us at all let's get to Trevor to get the calls and the coaching started Trevor joins us in Detroit Michigan Trevor how can we help

hi so I'm in college right now and I'm I'm here to ask you whether or not you think I'm making the right choice to be in college because it's about $125,000, and I'm going for business, and I already have about $40,000 saved. Okay. Are you a freshman, sophomore? Where are you at in the journey? I just finished my first year. Okay. And you got $40,000 saved. Yeah. Are you using that? Essentially, is that going to be whittled down over the next couple years as you pay as much as you can for the $40,000 saved, are you using that? Essentially, is that going to be whittled down over the next couple years

as you pay as much as you can for the $125,000? Right now, I'm just investing it, and I'm trying to decide what the right thing to do with it is. How are you paying for school? So I have loans out right now, just student loans, and my dad is paying the interest off on it. So he's paying the interest off until I'm done, like I graduate. So three years from now, you're going to have $125,000 in debt. Yes. Do not do that. Yeah, for sure. Whether college is the issue or not,

we'll get to that. What happened after this first year that is making you rethink your plan? Well, I already have my own kind of small business. I'm actually working right now, but I'm only 18 years old and I have $40,000 in the bank. And I think I'm on track to have $100,000 by the time I graduate. What's the business? I do mobile car detailing. And what are you going to make this year? Give us a realistic projection. So the thing is, I can only do it during the summer. I can't do it when I'm in college. So around maybe a little over $15,000 this summer. All right. And let me ask you this. Have you done it enough to where you can say with certainty that this is something

that you want to do at least for, let's call it the next three, five, seven years. Does it mean you're locked into that business for the rest of your life? But you know, you want to do it, or it has revealed to you that you want to work for yourself and be an entrepreneur. What's the answer to that question? I know a hundred percent. I want to work for myself and this I've definitely willing to do this for at least a few more years. And then come up with the next idea, correct? Yeah. Yeah, I personally, this is how we answer, what would I do if I were you? And I'm going to take another step and answer it as if I were your dad.

If I were your dad and if I were you, I would be fine with you pausing the college journey right now because, number one, you don't have the money for it. You got $40,000 of the $125,000. But even then, you don't have the money and you have to work like crazy to pay your way through. I don't think a business degree is going to teach you anything that you won't learn working for yourself and hanging out with small business owners who maybe are in the same industry that you're in or in a similar type journey that you're in where they started young and they've worked their way into it and they're multi-millionaires and they employ 20 people, 40 people, 60 people, whatever. I just got to tell you, if I were you, I would not finish college and I'd get out of that

loan and I'd pay off whatever you've loaned to this point. I'd pay it off and I would go work for myself. You can always go back to school. But in this case, the two-part question, John, that I always ask people that I think really brings it right down to brass tacks, is college, specifically a degree, the only way to do what you want to do or is it the best way? And in this case, Trevor, I think the answer is no. It's it the best way and in this case trevor i think the answer is no it's not the best way it's certainly not the only way well and i just did a quick google search while we were talking and the um michigan reconnect scholarship you turn 25 community college is free where you live okay and so there's something to be said for you. You have a year of credits. Go work

for a full year. And by the way, I don't believe you that you can't do mobile detailing and go to college at the same time. That's not true. But

you can get out and work. Work hard. And when I say work hard, I mean work really, really hard. And you've got a year of college under your belt. You've got a year of college under your belt,

you got a year of working really hard under your belt, then you can make an informed decision. Right now, I feel like your main goal in life isn't starting a business, it isn't getting a career, it isn't getting a degree. Your main goal is getting $100,000 in the bank, like it's some unicorn that you want to capture. Am I on to something? Yeah. Can I just say the only reason I can't do it year-round is because I'm in Michigan, so with snow and stuff, I can't work outside when it's snowing, you know? No, I agree with you on that. And you can't do it full-time to make the kind of money you want to make and go to school. And I think in this case, choosing to work for yourself is the better choice.

So what are you going to do in the off months? I've been door dashing. It's like a delivery app, and I actually make pretty surprisingly good money. Okay. Yeah, I agree with Ken. College isn't for you right now because your head's other places. John, I want him to keep learning. I'd like you to go to a couple of entrepreneurial conferences,

business conferences, start reading some books. Start taking people to coffee who are running small businesses in your area and say, I'm a young gun and I want to learn. And they'd love to teach you. Yeah. But Trevor, is your dad going to be okay with this? Yeah. He actually owns his own business and he completely understands. And he didn't know if I was making the right choice either. But every time that I tell him that I'm worried about the cost, he just, he compares it to my sister. He just says that he's more worried about whether it's going to be worth it for her or not, her going to college. And that's not helpful. That's not helpful. Yeah. So bottom

line is my point is I just wanted to ask while we got John here, uh, if there was going to be tension in letting dad know this, it doesn't sound like there is. So you know what? This is a good move, my friend, put it on pause. I would absolutely follow your gut. Whatever loans you've run up, pay off right now. Pay them off. You borrowed that money. You signed your name to it with $40,000 in the bank. As a taxpayer, I don't feel like I have to pay your bill.

You've got the money. Go pay it. And hang on the line, Trevor. I'm going to give you a copy of my book, The Proximity Principle, which is all about getting around people that are doing what you want to do. So right now, car detailing, that's a thing you do because you like working for yourself. I would suggest you enjoy the output of that. I think making something look orderly, look nice. I think there's something artistic there for

you, something that feels efficient and excellent. I think that's great. But the Proximity Principle is a book you need to read. And I want you to start hanging out with other entrepreneurs in different fields that you're interested in because you're very young right now. And also, hang on, let's also give him a Get Clear Career Assessment, which will give you a detailed report on the uniqueness of you, what you do best, what you love to do, and what motivates you. I'm excited, John, when I hear from young people like this who are, well, they're wired to work for themselves and solve problems. And it's all about figuring out those problems they most want to solve.

I love that. He is John Deloney. I'm Ken Coleman. This is The Ramsey Show. Don't move. More of your calls coming up. Welcome back, America. You've joined the conversation here on The Ramsey Show.

We're talking about your life, specifically your money, your relationships, and your work. I'm Ken Coleman. I'm joined by my colleague, Dr. John Deloney. If you're new to the show, welcome aboard. We are going to take your money calls today. But John, as our resident PhD times two, is our relationship mental health expert. And I don't have a degree. I just worked hard and got here,

and I'm the work expert. And so we're going to take on some of those calls today. And John and I do a fun little event. I say event. It's a pre-event at our Building Wealth Tour where we just take questions from the crowd, and you wouldn't believe the amount of synergy between people who are unhappy at work and are dragging that home or unhappy at home and dragging it to work. And so if you're in that position today, if you've got a really, really toxic situation at work, it's a rare opportunity to get some of the tactical and then the emotional advice and the mental health advice, John, because this is an exploding issue. Yeah. Or if your marriage has gotten sideways

or your kids are home for the summer and you don't know which way is up and that's affecting your work life, give us a call, man. Give us a call. Absolutely. To that end, the guys, they shared something with me, John,

and I'm just going to breeze through this and we're going to get right to the phones, 888-825-5225. But we were talking during the break and we just took a call in the last segment from a young man who's finished his freshman year and he's asking us, hey, should I continue the degree? And so this is an interesting list of 25 high-paying jobs that don't require a four-year degree. And both of us have spent time with Mike Rowe recently.

We talk about this stuff all the time, about all the opportunities to work and to do very, very well. And so I'm going to skip through a lot of these, and these are median salaries, all right? So when you hear this, this is not the max, this is a median, okay? But when you look at police officers and detectives, one that popped out to me, number eight on the list with a median salary of $66,000, I bring this up because there is a massive need here in this area because we've been through a very volatile season of, you know, and you have a very personal connection to this with your father, some of the work you've done. And I just was curious, as you look at our society today and we see that police officers and detectives are number eight on this list of high-paying jobs that don't require a four-year degree,

what's the mindset, what's the health, the mental health that someone would need to survive a very tough job like police officer and detective? You have to be driven by a sense of purpose that is far beyond you because here's what i know i know dave takes care of us very well financially and nobody i don't have to put special clothes on every time i leave my house because i might get shot right i also don't have people out protesting in front of my business telling me they hate me and they wish i would go away they also um i remember being a young kid and my mom told me you can't be a policeman when you grow up and i said why and she said because every day your dad goes to work i hug him as though it's his last right so you have

to be in this for more it's embarrassing what we pay police officers it's it's uh as a taxpayer it's insulting um that my tax dollars don't go to more police officers. To your point, a median salary here of $66,000. It's insane to me. It's insane to me. Right. Versus an elevator installer and repair is number two on this list. Yeah. With a median salary of $97,000.

Now, again, what we're pointing out here is high-paying jobs that don't require a college degree. But in this case, there's not a lot of job growth for those type of roles because you've got guys that are aging out in that role. But the police officer and detective, we need that more than ever in our society. That's right. Fascinating stuff. Number one on the list, and I bring this one up because of what I read about it. Number one job on this list, and this is, again, a list of 25 jobs that don't require a four-year degree,

air traffic controller with a median salary of $129,000. And all you need is an associate degree. But I have also read multiple studies about how high stress that is. I've heard it's the number one. That's the last I've read, but that's been years since I've read that. But it is a tough job. And I bring that up specifically because you're here with me today. All right. So whether it's air traffic control or not, let's take a job that by the nature of it. So we're not even talking culture. We're not talking your leader or coworkers that could lead to stress at work and mental health strain. We're talking just you are on it because you've got multiple gigantic flying cans of tin with lots of people on them that could explode with one thing. So the level of focus and pressure is the number one thing.

So when you are in a role like that, because I think there are a lot of people who are listening and watching today, and they have a, by nature of the actual role itself itself is high pressure, which then throws off stress. What advice do you give someone like that as they're coming into that every day and they are in a boiler by nature of just showing up? You have to, it's the same as if you have a car and if you look at like NASCAR, those cars, they hammer the gas, right? Right. They hammer the gas and they baby those cars off the track as though they are

made of precious metals and so you have to when i look at this list air traffic controller elevator if you mess up an elevator repair install people die yeah nuclear technician come on yeah you know uh dental hygienist yeah i need you. Diagnostic, sonographer, all these things. Aerospace, police officer, all these are high-pressure jobs. So the idea that if you don't get a degree, then your job's going to be less than. No, dude, everybody's in it. You have to put as much commitment in taking care of yourself

and your body and your relationships outside of the office as you do about the job inside. Yeah, so good. 888-825-5225 is the number. Let's go to Sterling, who joins us in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sterling, how can we help? Hey there, John and Ken. Thanks for taking my call.

You bet. What's up? Yeah, so my wife and I are in that point of sick and tired. We're $86,000 in debt and expecting our second kid, and we're pretty stressed. Okay. Congratulations on the kid. When's baby due? October 12th.

How old is number one? Two and a half. Oh, man. You don't even know what day it is. No. So very, very busy. All right. So you are familiar with our plan.

You've got the 86,000 in debt. You called us today. What are you most stressed about? So right now, from the way that we've been looking at our budget, we're $550 negative every month. And so just trying to make ends meet in terms of kind of what we're doing. I mean, our house, we're house poor. My take home pay per month is 4,500. Our house is just over 2000 a month. So we bought too much there. You know, debt monthly is probably about 1100. And then everything else is just living and getting to work and food. And what do you do for a living man i am in tech sales okay so my base is 86 obviously there's more but i'm trying to live off the base because commission ranges um there came a moment when my wife and i were house poor with a newborn and we sold our house and moved into an apartment and everyone around us told us we were insane. In fact, worse than an apartment, it was a dorm.

We were in a residence hall. They told us we were insane. And we lived there for a little over a year. And it was the greatest thing we ever did for our marriage, for my parenting, for me getting well psychologically, and for our finances. Do you want to do that? I know you do. I feel like we did something stupid. No, we do.

Oh, okay. We bought solar. And we have to pay the solar off before, because we didn't even put a down payment on our house. Our house, we owe $390 and bought it about a year ago. All right. What's it worth now? $402. Okay.

What are you in for solar, $75? $22.8. Oh, that's not – okay. Yeah, but here's the deal. You sell the house, and all of a sudden you take that mortgage payment, and that goes into the debt snowball. You can pay the solar off. You're presenting it as though we can't sell the house because of the solar. The solar's got to lean on it, right? Yeah, the way it was is they said when you sell the house, you either have to pay the whole solar off to move it. So that's where I'm worried is I don't think we have enough equity in the house to pay it off if we were to sell it.

And we have just our $1,000 emergency fund, and that's it. I would do one of two things. One, I would work two and three jobs like a maniac and save up enough money to pay that sucker off. Two, I would stop sitting in your house and spinning out and call a real estate agent and get some real numbers and some real data. Number three, if you have to go down to a credit union and get a $10,000 loan to get you out of this debacle, I wouldn't be opposed to that either. Yeah. But you have a math problem and you got some really hard decisions to make and you got to make that happen. Hang on the line,

Sterling. I want to get you connected for free to one of our financial coaches that will walk you through all of your options very expertly and they're going to give you some real hope because there is. You're okay. You guys are going to be okay. This is The Ramsey Show. This is The Ramsey Show, where we help you win in your money, in your relationships, and in your work. I'm Ken Coleman. Dr. John Deloney joins me this hour. We're taking your phone calls. 888-825-5225.

That is 888-825-5225. The SMART Conference is coming back. John and I love that. It's such a fun day. It's our biggest event of the year. All of us, the big crew of Ramsey personalities led by the Chief Kahuna himself. I don't even know if that's a thing. I just made that up.

Big Kahuna, Chief Kahuna. I don't even know what I'm saying. I'll go with it. Dave Ramsey, Rachel Cruz, George Campbell, Jade Warshaw, John Deloney, and myself, we are there to help you in every area of your life. It's a two-day event. We want you to unplug and focus on those pain points where you need some breakthrough, a plan for your money, managing anxiety, work that you love, and so much more.

Right now, for only a couple days, they're offering a special deal. Admission tickets are $30 off. These are general admission, $30 off, which means they're on sale at $49 a person. So $49 for your general admission to get in the door. That means you as a couple can come in for less than $100. You're going to want

to move fast. This deal ends next Tuesday. Join us in Chicago on September 15th and 16th for Smart Conference, ramseysolutions.com slash events, ramseysolutions.com slash events. Let's go to Wilmington, North Carolina. Brian awaits. Brian, how can we help? Yes, good afternoon, John and Ken. Thank you for taking my call. Hope that you're doing well today. You bet. What's up? Yes, sir. I wanted to hear your input on how to go about paying for my family vehicle.

Okay. Tell us about it. Yes, sir. We made a stupid mistake. We do have a loan, a car payment. We have six children, my wife and I, so we pursued a 12-passenger van. Currently, our budget is in the negative, and so we're trying to figure out what to do with the vehicle. How much do you owe on the van?

The loan amount is right at $29,000. What is it worth right now, resale, or let's go with that one first. What's the blue book on it? Yes, sir. For private sale, I believe the range is, my area somewhere 27 to 29, last I checked. Okay. All right. And what are we going to do if we sell this to get rid of this debt? What are we going to drive? Yeah, the plan would be we have some money in the bank. The plan would be to purchase a van that could house our family at our current size, pay with cash, and be debt-free with the emergency fund.

Right. So this is the only debt you have? Besides the house, yes, sir. Right. Okay. So what's the question? This sounds like a no-brainer. Yes, sir. Well, my wife and I, we've had probably four or five sit-down talks about it, budget meetings, as it were. There we go. That was a nice way of saying fight. So how's that going? Who's saying sell?

She wants the safe car, and you want to get out of debt. Is that right? Yes, ultimately, yes. I recommend that we sell the car, and she would like to keep it. Are we at a standoff at this point of this phone call? No, sir. We've talked a lot, and I think both of us are willing to. We've heard the other's options and what we want to do,

but I'm not sure our hearts are fully in it. So really, I'm wondering. I am more than willing to keep the vehicle. How much do you make a year? Yes, sir. It is right at 54 base, 64 with overtime. Yeah, you need to sell it. It's too much.

Okay. Just a principle we have here is anything with wheels on it can't be, if you took the value of everything with wheels, if you have a jet ski and jet skis, right? But if you have a motorcycle and two cars, if you add them all together, that needs to be half of your annual income and this one van exceeds that now i want to go back here as i got the good doctor to my right so i like to stir things up when i can hand the baton to somebody so you said i said well have we are we at a standoff

and your reply was no you know we know, we kind of, kind of, you just mealy-mouthed it a little bit. And then it was like, but our hearts aren't completely in it. So I want to know the real, real. Because the follow-up to that immediate comment was, you said, well, I'm willing to stick with it. And so I still, I'm not sure that you guys are on the same page. What's the real, real?

Yes, sir. Yes. So we have talked a lot about future family growth. We both would like to adopt one day, Lord willing. So I think my wife would like to keep the car that would allow for the growing family. But I'm just looking at right here and now. I wonder if it's the best option. I have been doing a lot of research into side hustles, how I can further my career, um, and my full-time job as well. So I'm trying

to make efforts in that way to keep the vehicle, um, so that, you know, my wife can feel peaceful and comfortable and we can not on the same page, John. Yeah. Y'all are not only are y'all not on the same page, y'all have very different pictures of what your life is going to look like. And y'all need to get on that real quick because six kids plus adopting a seventh and an eighth and you working side hustles every Saturday and Sunday is a recipe for an implosion in your home. Your wife has a, you've probably heard me say this, but we think in pictures, but we speak in words and your wife and you are both saying family and both saying ours and she has a radically different feeling and picture of what family looks like than you do and i can't

imagine having six kids with the idea of bringing a seventh and an eighth into this family and my solution to that to make that happen, is I'm around less. Right. That's a recipe for a meltdown. You have to right-size this thing financially. Yes, sir. Yeah, we wouldn't plan to adopt until we were financially able to, of course, but it is something we've considered down the road.

What do you do for a living? I work in the healthcare system. My current position, I don't have much vertical growth, so I'm looking for what the next step is. What specifically do you do in healthcare? Yes, I work in the hospital educating cardiac patients. What do you want to do? I know you're thinking about it. Yeah, I'm considering getting your uh your get clear assessment um that's my that's my gift i'll give that to you but just tell me because when somebody laughs at that statement when i make that 100 know the 100 know the answer and i don't really care how it sounds just give it a shot for a second we're tying this into this question what do you want to do well yes sir i

would like to start a um a, for lack of a better term, that could reach people all across the country. What kind of wellness? Mental, health, all of it? What? All of it, yes. I haven't quite ironed out the details, but I've been encompassing the whole person, as it were. Okay, so can I be big brother for just a moment?

That'd be great, yes sir. I love your heart behind that. I think there's a whole lot more discovery to do, and the Get Clear assessment will help you fine-tune that. But to start in a ministry, in a national ministry, I come from ministry, I grew up in it, it's been in my whole life, my parents have been in ministry over 47 years. What you just laid out, while admirable and amazing, I want to also tell you is going to be very difficult. And in the early years and maybe the middle years and maybe the entire page, big picture of life, and you need to do a better job casting vision. And I think the money you guys have got in the bank towards a car, which is how much? You haven't told us yet. How much? I'm sorry, the current vehicle or the... No, no. How much money do you have in the bank? If we sold the van now, how much? You said you

had money aside to pay cash for something else. How much? Just over 10K in the bank. Okay, so here's the deal. You're going to have to hustle. I like to go work and go hustle right now because I'd like to see that go to 20 grand. How quickly can you make 10 grand busting your butt? You're gone for a little while, but mama and the kids will be okay. And I'd sell that van and I'd buy her a nice $20,000 van that, again, is serviceable. It's not ugly. It's not disgusting, but it does what it takes. And you guys get this debt out of your life and just live a little bit and begin to parent, begin to plan, begin to be married together without all this stress of debt.

Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, I probably appreciate that. Yeah, and the debt has been a big burden on me. I've been trying to maintain and watch the finances and I see how it affects me in the home and I want to love my wife and my kids better. John, how's he going to be able to do that? The best way to love your wife and kids, quote unquote, better is that you and your wife get away and get on the same page. This isn't a matter of better. This is a matter of she's pulling one direction, you're pulling the other. Y'all got to take that energy and pull the same direction. Y'all can do it, man. Brian, you got this. Hang on the line. We'll get you to get clear assessment

and have this conversation that John just recommended. Schedule it. Take the trip and do it. This is The Ramsey Show. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show America. I'm Ken Coleman. I'm joined by Dr. John Deloney. We're here for you this hour as we take your calls. 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Hey, we got a lot of new people, John, joining us all the time on YouTube and via podcast and, of course, radio and SiriusXM. And so if you're new to the conversation and you hear us talk about baby steps and we've got these very clear, precise opinions on how you should handle your money or your work or your relationships, and just trying to figure out this whole money journey in general, go to Ramamsaysolutions.com and click on the Get Started button. And in just a few minutes, we're going to be able to help you see where you are in this journey and be able to get the tools to kind of get caught up, if you will, so that you can apply the principles and the tactics that we give you. Again, that's ramsaysolutions.com

and click on Get Started. Let's go to Iowa City, Iowa, where Bo is on the line. Bo, how can we help? Hi, thank you guys for taking my call. Sure. All right, so I'll get straight to it. So I have a renter, a roommate, and he's moving out, and I don't know what to do with my house based on my current income. Okay, give us the numbers.

All right, so I make around 40,000, um, 1925 hourly. I'm an IT guy for a company around here. Um, and my mortgage is 1350 ish a month, a little bit more than that. Um, he pays me, um, 500 in rent and then half the utility just ends up in about 700 a month. So he's helping me out a pretty big amount right um and uh well he's gonna be moving out so i'm gonna be taking over the whole thing and i'm i do a budget each month um and that's right now it's just looking great you know but then i do a budget for after he leaves and i see that after all my expenses i only have 400 left over. Why don't you just get another roommate? Yeah, that's what I'm wondering. So I could, like, he's a high school friend, right?

And I'm not really, like. My high school friends are incredible, and I would live with none of them. But Bo's the opposite, John. He's like, I only live with this guy because I like him. Is that what I'm hearing? opposite, John. He's like, I only live with this guy because I like him. Is that what I'm hearing? Right, yeah. So, like, I'm not really sure who else I'd have move in with me who I'm, like, close enough.

Craigslist, dude. You'll get some incredible applicants. Don't do that. Don't do that. Gotcha. And so, like, I know I have a few options. I've been thinking over for a few months now looking at advance. One of my best friends who does not want to move in,

I asked him that actually. Um, but he wants to buy the house from me for about $15,000 more than I paid for it. Um, and I bought this house less than a year ago. Right. Um,

and so like, I think that's an option, but like, and I have like, I've been told that I'm only 21 years old, right. I've been told by my mom that I can move back in with her for a small rent each month, and I have a friend in Iowa City who would let me move in for four months.

Are you asking for permission to sell this house? Not necessarily. I'm asking, yes, kind of. I don't think you want to. Actually, see, I thought he does. I want to know. I'm feeling like you don't want to. John feels like you do.

What do you want to do? In a perfect world, I do not want to sell this house. That's what I feel. The way you set... Hold on a second. The way you set up those two scenarios, I could just hear it on you. You don't want to move back with your parents, and you don't want to sell the house for 15 more than you paid for to your friend because you want to kind of have your own house and so if I don't want to do

something before I decide on these options that I don't want I want to figure out how is it that I can do what I want and and I'm going to tell you this is an income issue you're doing IT work is that IT support help desk type work yes. I'm the sole internal IT for a company. Yeah, but listen, bro, you're 21 and you've got some basic IT skills, if not more than basic. So I think there's two things that I would think of. Number one, how do I grow in my IT career if I want to go into IT? If I want to go into IT and stay in IT, dude, you're talking about hustling, a couple of side hustles or one good side hustle, some freelance IT work, and you're making enough money to do two things. Number one, have more than $400 left.

Number two, actually, you've got enough to pay for some qualifications. For instance, Bethel Tech, they're a partner of the Ken Coleman Show. They've got a nine-month program online. And for about $12,500, you could go through that program, and you're going to be making $75,000 to $100,000 out of the gate. So how could I make more money to, A, have more margin, and, B, pay for some qualifications to move up? That would be the first two questions I'd be digging into

before I ask for permission to sell my house to a friend or move back with mom. And here's some simple math, man. If you get a new job or a raise for $8,400 that would increase you $8,400. So you said you make $40,000 a year?

Good. If you made $48,500, you, a little bit more, cover what your roommate's been paying you. Correct. If you made $48,500, you, a little bit more, cover what your roommate's been paying you. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know an IT guy on planet Earth that makes less than $50,000.

Yeah. They don't work here. Right. This is my first career job. Yes, and the people who hired you are taking full advantage of that fact. Yeah. Yes, and they may be, maybe not iowa city i'm not but my point is john's making the right point

here is that dude the freelance economy right now is massive just go type in google freelance economy or freelance job market and watch the articles one after another going it's hotter than it's ever been there are a lot of small businesses in iowa city john they can't afford you full-time beau but they could afford 700 bucks a month 15 hours and so john's right i mean i here's the point you don't want to sell the house and you don't want to move back in with mom and dad and you don't have to you've created a narrative that those are your only two options or your best two options, and I'm not sure I agree with that. If you can learn this lesson I'm about to tell you at 21, you win. And I didn't learn it until I was 40.

Whenever I see a set of directions in my life and I narrow them down to either or, I'm almost always wrong. So when you feel like there's only this option or that option, you're probably not seeing the full field. There's always a third and a fourth and a fifth option. They may be ludicrous, but there's always another shot. By the way, I don't want to brag, but my fourth and fifth options are better than your first two and as a matter of fact i want you to just give the folks at bethel tech a call okay bethel tech.net slash

ken coleman call them talk to them kick the tires check out three or four other trade schools that are in tech and and by the way and then start looking for freelance work go look at all the help wanted ads freelance part-time tech work and and i think you're gonna love life bro you're gonna have a empty house with no roommates more money making snow angels in the carpet dude it's gonna be awesome yes absolutely bo do you believe you can do this i do i do all right so here's the deal permission is not ours to give john but i'm not giving permission to sell this house or go live with mom what say you yeah i mean you're right i i got from your voice you you wanted to sell this thing and you had people

pressuring you not to i was i was way off man i i think you've got 50 options do what extremely conflicted well yeah here's what's happening your brain is telling you to sell the house to just relieve the stress but your heart is not telling you to sell the house to just relieve the stress, but your heart is not telling you to sell the house. My mind keeps telling me no. Yeah. And, hey, here's the other thing. You had a picture in your head that you two guys are going to be roommates and bros forever.

Like, dude, let's get a house. That'll be awesome. I'll buy it, and we'll bro down. And then he moved out, and now it's like, sad bro. And it's all good. Just then he moved out and now it's like sad bro. And it's all good. Just the picture changed. Yeah, it's fine. It's cool, man.

Yeah, you got this, man. Listen, you're 21 with an unbelievable future ahead of you. And that's the mindset you got to have. This is a hiccup. I get it. Totally normal to feel stressed out about this change. But we've got to get on the other side of that and go, what are the best options? I think you'll be full of regret if you sell.

I think you're full of regret if you live with mom and you don't need to do any of this. Get busy, man. Take all of that pressure and all that stress and just put it into getting busy and making some more money. I think you're going to be surprised at how much of a lid you put on yourself. Fascinating stuff, John. Yeah, man. Man, I can't tell you how many times I back myself into a corner

and I create chaos where there doesn't need to be. It's almost never either or. I love that. Almost never. So true. Love it. By the way, we're here for you. That's why counsel matters.

And if you can't talk to any friends or family, call us to chuckle heads. We'll give you a shot. And by the way, it's free advice, so you don't have to take it. He's Dr. John Deloney. I'm Ken Coleman. It's been a great hour. I want to thank the team for keeping us on the air and you, America, for listening. Don't move.

More Ramsey Show coming up. Hey, it's Ken. If you love the show and want a deeper dive on your money journey, we have a weekly newsletter that gives you trending and helpful articles and tips on following the Ramsey way. Go to RamseySolutions.com today to sign up for our newsletter. Again, that's RamseySolutions.com to sign up for our weekly newsletter.