The Ramsey Show - App - How Can I Pursue My Dream Job and Still Make Ends Meet? (Hour 1)

Episode Date: September 14, 2021

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🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is The Ramsey Show, and it's where America is hanging out. We have a conversation about life. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by my colleague, best-selling author, soon-to-be multi-best-selling author, Christy Wright. Today is the day. She joins us on a very, very busy day and a very important day for all of us at Ramsey Solution. It is launch day of her brand-new book, Take Back Your Time, The Guilt-Free Guide to Life Balance.

And so we're here together to take your calls. If you're feeling squeezed, you feel like you just can't spin another plate, this is the hour to call in. It's a free phone call. 888-825- 5225. 888-825-5225. Of course, we'll take your money questions. We'll take your questions

about making more money. We'll take your questions about moving up, advancing, starting something. It is open season. But I just know that this issue, Christy, more so than ever, because of access to digital, all the technology that's supposed to make our life easier feels like it's just making it crazier. It is, and it's interesting because one of the things I've told people is I've been a certified business coach for over a decade. And the number one question I'm asked through my coaching, through speaking events, you know, whatever, is not a business question. It's this question. And I'm asked it by men and women,

those with kids, without kids, kids of all ages, single, it doesn't matter. We all struggle with feeling like we don't have enough time. I just need more time. I just need more time. I just need to be more productive, more efficient. I need to multitask better. I need a better app. I need a better morning routine. I'm going to wake up earlier, stay up later. We try all that and we're exhausted, Ken,

and we don't feel any more balanced. And so I wanted to tackle this issue that's a major pain point for everyone I know, first of all, but also it's a pain point in my own life with three little kids. I get it. And I think that the solution is something different and more productivity and more efficiency.

I think that we have a root issue going on, and I think we need to tackle it there if we're going to solve the problem from coming up again and again in the same way. That's why I love the tagline, the guilt-free guide to life balance. So many people walk around every day feeling like they're failing and they're not. And so I want to help them there. As I've talked to you about the book, watching you write it, watching you develop the content over time, speaking about it, coaching folks, it feels like to me that it's really about priority.

We have so much hard time deciding between priorities. I think this book gives the backstory, gives the foundation for what really is the problem. It's not time management. Yes. Well, and the way that I say it is, this is not just about the calendar. It's about enjoying the life that the calendar represents. And so to your point, so a lot of people that I work with are women and a lot of people I work with are creatives. This book is not just for women and creatives by any means.

But I think one thing that those two groups of people have in common, or really anyone that has a lot of interest, multi-interested people, is we tend to treat everything as if it's created equally. And so our to-do list, our calendar, we can't make decisions between a yes here and a no there because it all feels equally important. And it's not. You know, is it Patrick Lentuni that said, if everything's important, nothing is. And so I don't tell you in this book what is important, but I do what I believe good coaches do, which I ask you a lot of questions that bring that awareness to you for yourself, for you to decide, hey, here's what matters to me in this season. And then I show you tactical steps to align your time with those things. And it turns out that when you do the right things at

the right time, you actually feel that sense of balance that you've been looking for. But I want to help you discern what really matters right now from all the other junk that's coming at you all the time. Because we all have a lot of stuff coming at us and I want to help you sift through that and discern what's most important so you can spend time on those things. She is Christy Wright. I'm Ken Coleman. We're Ramsey Personalities, and we are your hosts this hour here on The Ramsey Show. The new book that we're talking about is Take Back Your Time, The Guilt-Free Guide to Life Balance. It hits the market today.

In fact, not hits. It's already out there. It's going. And, of course, RamseySolutions.com, everywhere books are sold. Can I tell you something exciting? I don't know if I told you this. This is very exciting. It's at Target.

Oh, yeah. I heard exciting. It's at Target. Oh, yeah, I heard. It's at Target. So let's high five on the air because Tyler, your brand leader, told me this. This is a big deal. So let me just say this. This is very exciting.

Head to Target, your local neighborhood Target, to get Christy Wright's book, Take Back Your Time. This is huge because people may not realize this, but it's very hard to get in Target. Target is also my Target market,

one of my favorite stores and i haven't been able to talk about it at all have you been to your local target yes this morning first thing and i screamed and ran did you buy all the copies no but i did i did sign them so if you're in national i'll sign about that target that's fine but this lady was walking by when i was in the parking lot and i was screaming at target and she walked by she said i've never seen anyone so excited to go in target in my life. Yeah, well, let me tell you why, ma'am. I know. It's awesome.

It's a huge win. It's a huge deal. I've had to keep it top secret until today. But if you go to your local Target, it's on an end cap right there in the book section. And man, that just felt like a huge deal to me. I don't know if I need to run by Target tonight, James, but if I might ask Stacy on the way home, babe, you need me to pick anything up and I'll head on over there and maybe I'll pose beside the end cap. There it is.

You should have bought every copy and then stood in line at the register and everybody that came by goes, hey, I just want to bless you with this. I just want to bless you with this. Just cause a scene, a little bit of a fun scene. That's really exciting. Yeah. So anywhere books are sold, but yeah, we were pretty excited because today's the first day I can announce that it is in targets all over the country. And so you

can go get your copy today. And, uh, and, and if you do, you know, tag me on social media, I'd love to share it at Christie B. Wright. It's just fun to celebrate that. That's a big deal. People may not realize it, but that's a big deal. It's a huge deal. Um, I want to stay in the content for just a second because I think something you said a minute ago, I think makes me ask the question, is one of the root causes of the stuff you're taking on in this book, take back your time. Is it that we just have a hard time displeasing somebody when in all reality, we're not displeasing them, but we think we got to do this. We think we got to do this. We think we got to do this. We think we got to do this. We think we got to do this. And at some point, it's like there's only so much you can do.

And I keep, you've got this, I think, the bumper sticker amazing truth in this entire book, which is chock full of wisdom and knowledge, is doing the right thing at the right time. And I think that we struggle with that as humans, yes? We do. And what's interesting is it's multifaceted. It's not just one thing like, oh, if I solve this one variable, this will fix all my problems because there's actually several factors at play. So for example, let's just talk about the people-pleasing aspect of it. And many people struggle with this. They

struggle with saying no. I think that's a huge problem. We don't want to, you know, we want to be liked and all of that. Well, there's the one element of, okay, let's look at one facet. One facet is we really do want to help. We really do want to help people. So someone needs us, we want to help. There's that one obvious piece. The second piece of it, if you're a person of faith, then you feel called to help. You feel like, hey, I've got to help. I'm commanded to help. So there's this deeper faith aspect of it. The third one that I think that we don't talk about enough or even are willing to acknowledge enough, and I hit on this in the book, is there is an aspect of our own insecurity that drives us to do things and say yes to things that are

not right for us. Not because we're just so loving and helpful, even though that is a piece of it, but because we are trying to earn our place in the world. We are trying to be enough. We think we are our calendar, our to-do list, our productivity. And so I heard someone say years ago, there's a difference between doing something to be loving and doing it to be loved. And if we're willing to get honest with ourself, some of us are trying to earn love because it's a deep insecurity in us. But what I tell people is the black hole of insecurity can't be fixed by just doing more. You've got to

solve this at the root issue. No amount of task on your to-do list is going to fix it. Wow, that's good, folks. The motive. Alright, the new book is Take Back Your Time. The guilt-free guide to life balance available wherever books are sold, but especially on the end cap at your neighborhood Target.

Go get it for Chrissy Wright, but more importantly, get it for you. Don't move, your call's coming up. This is The Ramsey Show. You've got a lot on your plate. A job, your home, your marriage, and your growing family. While you're enjoying the present, you can't help but think about your future and your finances. As you explore your options, consider Christian Healthcare Ministries, or CHM, for your health care. Their generous maternity program and budget-friendly monthly programs have been a blessing to members welcoming children into their families. Visit chministries.org slash budget to see if it's right for you. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a Ramsey-trusted provider. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show.

I'm Ken Coleman, joined by my co-host and colleague, Christy Wright. She is the best-selling author of Business Boutique and now soon to be the best-selling author of Take Back Your Time, The Guilt-Free Guide to Life Balance. It's launch day, so I'm going to talk about it a lot. If you don't like it, I'm sorry that I'm talking about good things. If you don't want to hear me— I'm sorry you don't want to be happy. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. You don't want to grow. You don't want to be successful. I'm sorry. I'm going to talk about good things. I don't apologize on the Ken Coleman Show when I talk about good things. I'm not going to apologize here. But anyway, we're very excited as a company.

Congratulations, my friend. Thank you. Thank you. Very, very exciting day. But we are here for you, 888-825-5225. The questions that you've come to know and to listen to, you can ask for yourself. Christy and I are going to help you. We enjoy being together. You've got for yourself. Christy and I are going to help you. We enjoy being together.

You've got two coaches, so let's go. 888-825-5225. Let's start it off in Miami, Florida. Nestor is there. Nestor, how can we help? Hi, Ken. How's it going? Thank you guys so much for taking my call.

You bet. So my question for you guys is right now I'm getting married. I'm planning to get married in October. And so far everything's been set. And so I'm wondering because I commute to work about an hour, and so I spend a lot on gas and on tolls. But the only kind of downside is that, you know, in the field that I'm in, I'm in the mental health field.

At my job there's a lot of growth opportunities and so i'm wondering should i try to find something better that has like better growth opportunities closer to home or should i um just stay where i'm at and kind of like reap the benefits of of all that i think it's i think it's either or i think whatever door opens here i This is not, to me, a choice between one or the other. It's, sure, look for something closer to where you're going to be living. And if you can find a better ladder than you currently have, great. Take it. But you're also in a place right now where you have a nice ladder. There's plenty of opportunity for growth where you are.

So I wouldn't be antsy. I got to tell you, now, this is me. I'll let Christy weigh in on this, but a lot of this, to be honest with you, this is just Ken Coleman personal preference. So don't take this as advice. I'm just going to tell you how I'm wired. If I'm in a place where I've got a ladder of opportunity, as you have stated, and it's in the field I want to be in, and it's about the commute, and I get to choose where I want to live, ultimately, I'm going to do everything I can to move a little bit closer.

You're starting out a new chapter of life. I don't know if your bride-to-be is open to this, but I'm just telling you that's what I would be considering first and foremost. However, I'd always be looking. Always be looking. You know, I mean, I tell people in the Ken Coleman show all the time, you know, I get this call a lot, Christy. Hey, Ken, I've been with this company two years.

They've been really, really good to me. I've had a good opportunity here, but I got another opportunity that's better, but I feel bad. I feel bad. Absolutely. You shouldn't feel bad. You don't need to feel bad. I mean, you don't break a contract. Don't do anything that's not full of integrity and character.

But the reality is, why should you feel bad about taking a great opportunity for yourself? So that's my take on it, Nestor. Christy, anything you'd add to that? Yeah, no. What I love about your question, Nestor, is you have a few good options. That's a great call. I get discouraged when we get the calls of like, hey, I hate my job. I hate my boss. I need the paycheck. You kind of feel a little painted in a corner and you're trying to get out quickly. You're not trying to get out quickly. It's great to keep your options open. Look around. You could look to move or look for jobs closer to you, or you could stay where you are and make the commute. You just, you have great options and that's a really good place to be.

Yep. So take the best option. Again, you know, research, research, research, always be looking, always be considering, always be measuring and weighing. And I think you're going to make a great choice. By the way, congratulations on the upcoming nuptials. By the way, there's a word we don't say enough of. No. I love a good word and the word nuptials, it's a fun word. You love a good unused word. I do.

You like to bring some words into the vocabulary. I like to dust off a good word. You do. There it is. Boise, Idaho is where we go next. Michael is there. Michael, how can we help? Hey, Ken and Christy, thanks for taking my call.

Sure. I just had an annual review of my work, and it went really well, but my raise wasn't quite where I want it to be or where it really needs to be. So I'm feeling kind of underpaid for the industry, and so I want to go to my boss and negotiate a raise with him, but I'm not really sure the best way to do it. I had kind of two ways in mind, and I just wanted your opinion on which way you think would sort of go over better. Yeah, hit me with a quick summary. Yeah, give us the two ideas you had, and give us the quick version, and we'll weigh in on it.

Okay, so the first one I thought was really just going to him, explaining why I need to make more, why I think I should be making more, and working on him on how I can get there and what needs to be done. Which the reason I don't really want to do that is because it kind of feels like it puts me in a corner where then either if he says no, then I'm kind of like, well, it sort of sours that working relationship, and then I'm kind of, it's awkward. So, Michael, the reason you feel that way is because your feeling is absolutely right, that we're going to go ahead and kill idea number one. That's awful. It puts you in a corner the way you chose to say that is absolutely right. So that's not a good option. What's the second one?

So the other option is there's lots of hiring in my field and area, and they're paying anywhere from $6 to $8 more an hour. And so my other option was to go and actually apply for those, interview if I need to, and see if I get any offer letters. And then once I have an offer letter, go back to them and say, hey, I have an offer from this other company. Here's what they're paying before I go work for them. Can you match that? Yeah. I don't mind that option at all.

But I would just add my own option A, since we struck your A, and that's this. You just recently had the meeting. How long ago was it? We're talking 48 hours a week? About two weeks ago. Okay. Three weeks ago. I would have preferred for you to sit on it for about two weeks ago. Okay. I would have preferred for you to

sit on it for about two nights max. I would have in that situation, you can still do this, go back in and go, hey, listen, I'm really grateful for the bump because you did get a bump. You just didn't get the bump that you wanted. So I go back in and go, hey, listen,

thank you for the bump. I'm grateful to be here because I think that's true. I want to be here long term. I did some homework because when you gave me the bump, I didn't want to assume anything, so I went and did some homework. And I would present the homework at that time. I would present, and this has got to be, this isn't like a couple comments in the comments section of Glassdoor, this is real market research that shows somewhat of your experience and your position, what the market is bearing.

And you would need to sit down and show them that, go listen, because you gave me the bump, I'm appreciative, but I went and looked at it because I was curious. And this is where I sit

based on what I do and the experience level I bring to the table, would you be willing to take it up to this point? Because I feel like that's something that you should at least consider. You're humble about it. You just go, hey, would you consider? Don't say what I just said.

Sorry, I was formulating. Just say, look, I would ask you to consider this information. I've done the research on what someone gets. I am grateful for what you gave me, but I would like to to consider this information. I've done the research on what someone gets. I am grateful for what you gave me, but I would like to be in this range. See, what you're saying there is I would like. There's no demand. There's no I deserve. I should.

Let's remove any of that language because what you don't want to do is put your leader on the defensive. You want your leader to go, oh, Michael's a very well-informed person and went and looked. And you know what? He gave me something to think about. And it's almost like, what can I do to get to this number? Because here's why you're doing this, Michael. You want to see where the leader's position is on paying you that comp. Do they think that you, in their mind, deserve what the market says you should be getting.

I want to know that. I want to know where I stand. Well, and one of the things I would jump in here, Ken, one of the things I learned from you years ago even, but you may not remember this even before you worked on our team here at Ramsey, you did a devotional for us, but you talked about the importance of asking questions. And Michael, when you ask questions, I learned this straight from Ken Coleman right beside me.

It demonstrates not only interest and engagement, it demonstrates humility. So when you ask a question, you're taking a posture of humility in what can be an awkward conversation. So I might even ask something as you present the research and say, hey, can you help me understand why my position and my comp does not match what the industry standard is or what the comps are out there or the value that i bring based on my production all your employer cares about is market uh what's what's comp in the market and what value you're bringing they don't care what you need so we're going to focus on the facts like ken said of what's standard in the market and what you bring to it but you could ask that as a question like hey help me understand help me understand why i am here and this is what's going on there and then and then that will lead to a great discussion, I think. Yeah, just guard, putting them on the defensive.

That's what you don't want to do. And here's the deal. If you're going to go shop other jobs and they give you an offer, you better be ready to leave. Because doing that as a negotiation tactic, I think, is a bad move. Yeah, that's good. You've got to be willing to go. That's true. So don't go in there with a tactic and then fold.

Ooh, that would be dangerous. All right, folks, don't move. Before you know tactic and then fold. Ooh, that'd be dangerous. All right, folks, don't move. Before you know it, Christy Wright and I will be right back. This is The Ramsey Show. welcome back to the ramsey show i'm ken coleman joined by my colleague christy right thrilled to have you with us triple eight eight two five five two25. Do you feel like you're constantly running, but nothing you do ever moves the needle in your money and your life? Well, that's normal. And normal is frustrating and exhausting.

But you can live the life you want when you're debt-free, where you actually have breathing room and your time and your money. But you've got to have a game plan. And that's why we at Ramsey Solutions want you to join us for Game Plan Live. This is a free live stream on September the 28th. Dave Ramsey, Christy Wright, and George Camel will help you set the foundation that makes all your goals possible. You don't have to settle for a life of normal. Get the plan.

It gets you where you want to be to register for this game-changing event. Game Plan Live. Text GAMEPLAN to 33789. That's GAMEPLAN, all one word, 33789. Text GAMEPLAN to 33789. All right, to the phones we go. Chattanooga, Tennessee, where Teresa joins us. Teresa, how can we help?

Hi, thank you for taking my call. You bet. What's going on today, Teresa? This is for you, Ken. All right. Well, Christy, you can jump in, too. I'm sure she might. I would appreciate it.

Yeah. What do you do when your calling, your passion, is in a field that doesn't pay what you need to make to pay your monthly bills. All right. Tell me more. What's the calling? What's the feeling? Okay. It's the dogs at the animal shelter and the Humane Society. I volunteer every chance I get. I work full-time, but they make me so happy. I mean, and I want to work there, but I ask them if they have openings, and they say, sure, it pays $10 an hour.

Oh, I just wish I could be there all the time and make a living helping the dogs. Okay, I got it. All right. All right, Christy and I are going to put our heads together here. I'm feeling pretty confident we can come up with something, but I need to know, what is make a living? Give me a number. What do you need to make well right now i'm making about 34 000 a year it's a it's a humble job and but i don't hate it what's the job i'm a courier i'm a courier i drive around all day for a medical lab okay great um how much research have you done into uh the field of pet? Let's just call it pet care.

I know you love dogs, but there's probably some other animals you love, too. Yes or no? Yes. Yeah, just generally, you love animals. So what we've got to figure out, Teresa, is how do we make more money than $10 an hour? Let's just keep the bar really low. But what if, Teresa, what if you stayed in this courier job, which you don't hate, and it's a pretty stable job, and we could add maybe $10,000,

$15,000 over the next 12 months to the $34,000, and you're loving on dogs. How would you feel about that if we just added $10,000 to $15,000 as a side hustle or a part-time job to what you already make. How would you feel about that? I would be very, very happy. Great. Do you believe that you can do that, Teresa? Yes or no? Be honest.

I've thought about it, Ken, and I can't come up with anything and keep my full-time job. What's your hours as the courier? Okay, I clock in at 9.30 a.m., and I get off at 6.30 p.m. All right. The good news is I've got Christy right next to me, who is an idea factory along with me, and between the two of us, it's combustible. Christy, I'm having a hard time believing Teresa. I think there's some side stuff on the weekend, taking care of animals,

checking on animals maybe at night, boarding some dogs overnight. I think there's a way for her to get started where she may not see it. What do you think? Yeah, it's interesting because when you start to brainstorm, Teresa, how you can do what you want to do, what you're excited about in lots of different ways, then you realize there are multiple paths to get to this place where you're doing what you love and making money doing it. Let's just throw out one, one for example one that we haven't talked about um what would it look like to meet your end goal of being with animals like ken's talking about and not necessarily through

the shelter where you started a side business of a doggy daycare of a dog walking dog cared whatever there's multiple ways to look at this. For example, I remember someone calling in the Ramsey show years ago, and they said, I really want to be a teacher, but I can't live on a teacher's salary. And Dave said, well, I'm a teacher. There's a lot of ways to be a teacher. You don't have to be a teacher in a school.

So just zoom out, Teresa. I want you to zoom out, and I just got a challenge for you. I want you to write down every possible iteration, every version of ways to make money doing what you love that do not include the shelter. Some of them will be good ideas. Some won't be good ideas. Some will make money. Some won't. Some you could do part-time, full-time, on the side, your own business, working for someone else.

I just want you to make a list of as many ideas as can think of. And I guarantee you, there's at least 20 ways for you to be with animals and make good money. And that's just at your first draft of this list. So, Teresa, here's the deal. Chrissy's absolutely right. I need you to stop thinking about an opportunity at the current SPCA.

They're very limited. Which you've got to be thinking about. Listen, I know the Chattanooga area. It's a great area, surrounding area. Okay, now listen. I don't know if you've looked up what it costs to board a dog, but it's big dollars. There are pet hotels. There are pet stores that may have a part-time job.

Here's what I want you to grasp, okay? I wrote a book a couple years ago called The Proximity Principle. Now, here's what it says, Teresa. I want you to grasp. I wrote a book a couple years ago called The Proximity Principle. Here's what it says, Teresa. I want you to grab this. In order to do what you want to do, work with dogs. You've got to be around people that are doing that and in places where it is happening. You've only been to the SPCA. As my colleague Christy accurately pointed out, you're limiting your entire perspective to the SPCA. As opposed to who's making the bucks, boarding dogs,

all over the greater Chattanooga area. Come on, Teresa. You ought to have a list of three to five of those before you go to bed tonight. Yes? Wow. Yes? Yes, but I never thought of that. I know.

It's why you called. But listen. Now listen. Here's the rest of it. I also got to get around people, not just places. So those are the places. But it's not enough to just get a list of places and then start applying. No, no, no, no, no, no.

You want to start to ask yourself, all right, now that I've got a list of five dog hotels, whatever. Oh, let me tell you something. Teresa, don't even forget the people that come out to your house. I've got a gal that comes out and takes care of Ellis the golden doodle once a month. And she comes up to our door, gets Ellis, takes him to the van, spends an hour and a half with him, and comes back in a brand new dog. She's killing it in a van. Not the dog, to be clear. No, she's not killing the dog.

And she's not in a van down by the river either. She's really killing it. So here's the deal. I want's not in a van down by the river either. She's really killing it. So here's the deal. I want you to think about who do I know, Teresa. I want you to ask this question after you get your list of three to five, maybe seven. I want you to think, who do I know in my life that's close personal connections? Family, friends. Now, let's go acquaintances.

My kids play soccer. My kids do this. My kids do that. I go to church with these people. I'm over here in the bunco club, whatever it is. Everybody I know, do they, do those people know anybody that works at any of those organizations? Now we begin to dial in. Oh, you know somebody over there? Yeah, I know somebody over at Paws and Claws. Great. Can I have coffee with them? Yeah, I'll set it up for you. And the next thing you know, you're meeting

people that are working in that space. And so now, Teresa, you're top of mind the first time they have a college kid quit on them, and they need somebody to pick up 20 hours. Your answer right now is, abso-freaking-lutely, I'll be there. Yeah. And now, Teresa, here's the path. I get in. Right.

I get in, and then I think about moving up. But see, you're treating this whole transition as an all or nothing. I'm leaving Courier to go full-time dogs and that's rarely how it happens. So I hope that encourages you. You know exactly what to do now. There's no excuse.

Let's send her both of our books. We'll send you Proximity Principle and Business Boutique and Ken's going to help you exactly what he said in Proximity Principle, being in the places and being around the people. That's very nice. And and then business boutique if you just started start a side gig doing this business boutique will be the plan you'll have both will come in from from both i

gotta add one thing okay she needs your new book take back your time because what what we just prescribed to her is a lot of work she's gonna she's gonna feel a little frazzled she's gonna need some time she send her all the things ter Teresa, you're getting a whole box of us. All the things. You're getting a sweet business boutique in case you want to start that doggy daycare on the side. Christy will tell you how. Take back your time. This will help you stay sane in the midst of this hustle season. And then the proximity principle, the ultimate secret to connections which lead to opportunities.

There you go. Oh, my goodness, folks. This is why you call the show. You never know how much free goodies you're going to get. We love giving away Dave's stuff. We do. We're very generous with this thing. Yeah, we're very.

I have a spiritual gift of giving away all the Ramsey Solutions resources. All right, don't move. More of the Ramsey Show coming up just around the corner. Welcome back, America. You are listening to The Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by my colleague, Christy Wright. Today's a big day for Christy and for the entire company because her latest book, Take Back Your Time, The Guilt-Free Guide to Life Balance, is out everywhere. Books are sold, RamseySolutions.com. Tons of great stuff for bundles. Take back your time, the guilt-free guide to life balance is out everywhere.

Books are sold, ramsaysolutions.com, tons of great stuff for bundles. But as she announced earlier in the hour, it's a big deal. Nobody besides Dave, to my knowledge, has ever been in Target, and she is at the old Target in your local neighborhood in-cap and everything. Yeah, big deal. I think it would be fun. I did not talk to Christy about this ahead of time, but I don't need to. I think if you're a Christy Wright fan like me, you know what you need to do? You got to make a trip to your local Target, even if it's to get some anti-back wipes,

because we always need more of those. And take a picture beside the old in cap and tag Christy at Christy B. Wright on Insta. Yes. That would be fun. It will be fun. That would just lift your heart, wouldn't it?

It would. It makes it so real. Man, we love Target. I've got to get there. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I've got to get out there.

I don't know if it will be tonight. Yeah. It's Taco Tuesday and we have football practice and many things. Sure. But I'm going to get out there by the end cap

and I'm going to post it go to Target for your copy of the book and then just do what you always do which is spend $200 worth of other things we don't actually need

which is what we all do at Target or oh good call oh you know what I just realized a great marketing pitch for this

I go in for a toothbrush and come out with some clothes instead of buying all the things you don't need there you go buy three copies

of your book okay I like where your head's at Ken I appreciate it and get two to somebody else there you go Christmas gifts Instead of buying all the things you don't need, buy three copies of your book. Okay. I like where your head's at, Ken. I appreciate it. And get two to somebody else. There you go. Christmas gifts.

I don't know. Just carry them around and you see the frazzled mom. Yeah. God, I'm sorry, ma'am. I think you need this. Yeah. Yeah. Just read this. You know what I mean?

Like it's a devotional. Just kind of hand it out. Here, just read this. There you go. I think you need this. Yeah. Fun stuff. All right.

The phone number is 888-825-5225, 888-825-5225. We're taking your calls on everything. Money, we'll take it on the life balance. And time, we'll take it on, hey, my work, Ken. I want to do work that I love but also make a bunch of money. I want to make more money. I want to get that shovel bigger so I can get out of debt faster, get through the baby steps faster. We'll take all of those calls.

And Jason joins us now in Orlando, Florida. Jason, how can we help? Hey, first off, it's great to talk to both of you guys. How are you guys doing? Oh, we're having a blast. What's going on? Did you hear that Christy's in Target, Jason? I don't feel like we've talked about it enough.

Yeah. That's all right. What's going on? My question for you guys, we're on baby step two. We're about six months into our journey. My big concern is with our house, we're looking at possibly replacing the AC unit within a year or so. So that's a cost that's going to be in the forefront. And my wife is from England, so we're actually planning a trip to go next year to England for her brother's wedding for the three of us.

So that's going to be a trip that we're actually going to be going to. And my biggest question is, with breaking down to only $1,000 in this emergency fund, how do we plan these trips? How do we put things on pause to plan for this vacation slash wedding next year? How do we plan our AC unit? Hopefully, it's going to be replaced soon. It just makes us a little bit nervous dropping down to only that $1,000. Yeah.

Well, I understand that. And here's the way that you're going to approach something like an AC unit or even obviously a family wedding, which is a really big deal, is it's exactly like you just said, Jason. You're going to pause paying extra on your debts, and you're just going to stockpile cash. But I do want to encourage you, just because you're pausing the baby steps temporarily

and you're stockpiling cash so that you can cash flow your AC unit and you can cash flow this family member's wedding and that type of thing. We're not going to use this as an excuse to just have a big time and spend thousands of extra dollars on this trip. Just keep in mind you're still broke. You're still in debt. And I don't say that to make you feel bad. I say that to light a fire under you. Okay, how can we get this AC unit, get a really good deal, make it last as long as we can before we replace it and so on. How can we make this trip for our family in the wedding, you know, in another country on a budget? How can we be resourceful and not see this as a vacation where we're just going to splurge and

stay at the nice place? Oh, we're on vacation. People kind of lose their minds on vacation. Like, oh, I can just, money is free on vacation. And then they make dumb decisions. So I just, as long as you keep in check, hey, these are two necessary expenses. We're going to cash flow them so we don't go into debt for them. And we're going to get right back on track with Baby Step 2 whenever we cash flow them.

And by the way, budget for what you need for the AC unit. Get multiple quotes from vendors. Find a good deal that is fair. Figure out your timing of when you absolutely really need it. And then save that amount of money. Same thing for the trip. Price that out. What are flights?

Where are you going to stay? What do you need for that? Once you get that amount of money, Jason, you're right back in Baby Step 2, even if you don't need the AC unit or haven't gone on that trip for the wedding yet. So we're not going to just keep piling cash above and beyond what we need. Get realistic with what you need for both of those. Save that amount of cash so you can cash flow them when they happen. And then you are right back into baby step two.

And it is a small setback from the progress on your baby steps and becoming debt free. But these are necessary. And that's the big distinction that we try to help people understand. Saving for having a baby when you're pregnant or saving for you lost a job. So there's things that, yeah, you save for a car. We don't want you to go into debt, so you need to stockpile some cash for those things, but just the amount that you really need. Jason, I'm curious about the health of the HVAC AC unit. How bad is it? Has someone looked at it and said, this thing's going to go at some point soon?

I'd like to know more about this. I have a method to my madness. What's the status? I'm curious. That's right. So we moved into the house just over four years ago, and there was something on the inspection that was a, hey, this is kind of on its way out. Make sure to keep an eye on it. And then we just had it break down about three or four months ago.

And it was a look to where we got lucky. It was just a small clog in the drain. But the insides are broken to the point where nobody's actually going to work on it because they're worried about it going kaput on them. So nobody's going to touch it. And when it eventually goes, it's going to go. So they expected the devices from like 2000 or 2002. Yeah.

And in 40 years, that's a lot of years for a unit. Gotcha. Yeah. Sounds like you've done your homework. Yeah. So, okay, that's really good. But here's where I was going with this. I would go ahead and stack the money up and go ahead and do it,

but I'm the guy who tries to get the money stacked up but still lets the sucker run until it dies. That's what we're doing right now. Don't replace it now. Ours is going out. We just keep putting more coolant in it until it's literally dead. Until we're getting that thing as far as we can go. That's right.

So Jason, I just wanted to make sure you've done your homework. I think that you've got a couple of opinions on that. So my point is while you're saving, everything Christy said is spot on. I just want you to go. Sometimes these people scare us. And these home inspectors, oh my goodness. Listen, I know some home inspectors, they do really thorough work. But their job is to be thorough and find everything wrong.

And I'm the guy who goes, okay, so you're telling me this is going to die pretty soon? Yes, sir, Mr. Coleman, that's what I'm telling you. Okay, do you have any idea when it's going to die? Of course not. Could be six months, could be a year and a half. Great! So you're saying there's a chance it could last forever. I'm not replacing it until it's dead. So I'm going to work hard to have the money saved're saying there's a chance it could last forever i'm not replacing it until

it's dead so i'm gonna work hard to have the money saved up that's right uh but i'm gonna let that baby go and go and go and go and go we've we've honestly been doing that at our house for about a year and a half like really yeah you and matt are out there with the old coolant and you're just like we just keep putting cool why not i think how much does a jug of coolant go for these days yeah i have no idea but i'll tell you i think next year's the year we really have to replace it but it's the same concept this is not like a uh used car where you're like okay i want to have some resale value that type of strategy which you could justify this ac unit like you're gonna run it into the ground until it is dead and you can't even pray it back to life and then you get a new one like you get every mile out of it as you get especially when

you're in debt especially when you're like i've got to scrape by to save up this to cash flow it you don't let to your point don't let someone come and go oh you need a new one you're like oh i got to get a new one and then you get the cadillac of ac units and you don't have the money you gotta be careful because listen i i can't tell i'll give you a story, a really recent story. So we had our air ducts cleaned. All right? This is a thing you don't think about much. No.

Let's get the air ducts cleaned. I've never thought of that in my life. Oh, really? It's really good. It's good for you. Okay, great. Yeah. But they'll come in.

And so I'm at work. The guy comes, does all the stuff, looks at it, gives Stacy a quote. And he's like, he's got three or four things that i've never heard of him sure and it sounds like if we don't do it right you're probably gonna die we're gonna die in our sleep yeah and it's just so extreme and so over the top i'm like uh okay thanks uh tell you what let me think about it so i call my father-in-law who happens to be a home contractor a builder yeah he's like yeah you don't need that, that, that, or that. But the way it sounded, it was as if we were breathing in toxic air on steroids.

So just be careful. Don't let people scare you. Get multiple opinions, multiple quotes, and then save up for it. So there you go. All right. Hey, I want to thank our producer, James Childs, our associate producer and call screener, Kelly Daniel, my colleague, Christy Wright.

Congrats on launch day. Take back your time. The Guilt-Free Guide to Life Balance. Go get it everywhere books are sold or at your neighborhood Target. But mostly we want to thank you, America. We do this show for you. This is The Ramsey advice in their life? Let them know about the Ramsey Call of the Day podcast.

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