The Ramsey Show - App - How Do I Balance a Side Hustle and Family Life? (Hour 2)

Episode Date: April 1, 2021

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is The Ramsey Show. This is where America is hanging out to have a conversation, big conversations, important stuff about your life, your money, your career, your relationships, mental and emotional health. Welcome, one and all. I'm Ken Coleman. I'm host of The Ken Coleman Show, part of the Ramsey Network, and I'm joined by Welcome one and all. I'm Ken Coleman.

I'm host of The Ken Coleman Show, part of the Ramsey Network, and I'm joined by my colleague, Dr. John Deloney, who hosts the Dr. John Deloney on the Ramsey Solutions Network. And we are here together for you this hour, 888-825-5225, 888-825-5225. Doc, you ready to hit the phones? Let's do it. All right, we started off this hour with Seth in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Seth, how can we help? Hey, guys. How are y'all doing today? We're having a blast. What's going on? Okay, I've got a question for you guys. I'm 35 years old. Financially fairly stable.

My question is how to balance the side jobs, the side gigs, the extracurricular work, if you will, and family. I've got two kids. I've got a little boy that will be four in July and one that will be one in a month. What's the goal, Seth? What's the goal of this side work? To be debt-free. I'm so sick and tired, my wife and I both, and we're both on the same page.

I'm tired of making monthly payments. I love it. How close are you to the end? How close are you to the end? Emotional decisions. How close are you? Dangerously close. The only debt that we have besides the mortgage is we owe about $5,800 on a car. So you're real close.

I mean, we're right there. What's your payoff date on the car if everything stays the same? If we just make the payments as scheduled, about 13, 14 months, something like that. No, no, no, no. I thought you were working really hard. I'm saying with your goal, how long before you expect to pay this off, working all these side jobs? If everything goes according to plan, three, four, five months, something like that. Okay.

Hold on a second. Hold on a second. Hold on. Keep on playing this out. And then how many more months to have that three to six-month emergency fund funded? Probably another, well, with the extra extra kick with the car payment being gone probably three or four months okay so here's the deal i know a lot of men myself included who did a lot of extra jobs we told ourselves it was because of the money but it really was because we were insecure. We were awkward around our families or our friends, and I was chasing external validation. So when someone asked me to do

something, absolutely, I'm in. You need this thing? I can do that. I can help with that. And it was constant movement, movement, movement, movement. And as you're feeling right now, my family's the one that suffered for it. The other side of that is families often sell themselves short. You guys can do anything for one, two, three, four years when you are grinding out, sprinting gazellatins towards a goal. And that's where you're at,

and it's uncomfortable, and you're watching these precious moments of your kids slip through your fingers. Some of that is paying the piper for, as you said, living a life that you couldn't afford and you've got to get caught up. The other side of that is, brother, you are real, real close. How would you define out of balance? That's the crux of your question. How do I have balance?

I want to know where you feel the stress or the pain of being out of balance describe that briefly the fact that and my wife feels like in a sense that she's a single parent you know because i work a lot um you know i'm out of town so i'm not a whole lot but some um but you know i'm gone from the house before eight every morning and lots lots of times it's 8, 39, 9, 30, 10 o'clock at night before I roll back up. And, you know, I saw my kids for 15 minutes in the morning, and that's the extent of my interaction with my children. Got it. Yeah. All right.

So this is what I think you should do. I think you've got to sit down by yourself and go, can I keep this up and do it? I think my wife can handle this for, I think you said, three or four more months just to pay off the car. That's a short-term sacrifice that I think is going to pay off big time. But I think if you're willing to do it, if your heart can handle it and you think your wife can,

I would determine that, John, first. Then I'd sit down with the wife and go, hey, I'm hearing you, and you know why I'm doing this, but I'm just going to remind you I'm doing this for us. Are you okay if we just bite the stick and we bear down for three, four more months, and at that point I'll knock one of the jobs off? Or you guys sit down and talk about it, and then you can slow down a little bit if you feel like your hearts can't keep this up, and then you can slow down a little bit if you feel like your hearts can't keep this up, and then it just takes a little bit longer to get that

emergency fund going. The other side of that is reassess some other ways that you might be able to juice that emergency fund by selling even more stuff. You guys know your budget, you know your situation, but I think I would stay on the gazelle intensity the way you're working right now until you get the car paid off, take a deep breath, maybe even find a better job. Could you do one job that pays what you're doing and two extra jobs? Start to just really get innovative and creative because I think we can always do that. When there's a will, there's a way is an old phrase, and I think that's really true. Seth, there is something magic about sitting down with a calendar and your wife and saying with a big red pen saying this is when this ends.

And you have to commit and be a person of integrity and keep your word and say the day that we cross this threshold, I'm quitting this job. And you get your husband back. And not only do you get your husband back physically, your presence there, but I'm going to be invested because I'm not going to be running scared anymore. I'm going to be able to slow down. And I love what Ken said. That's when you start able to thinking about, man, what's another career look like

where we can make some more money? What do we want to do? Who do we want to be now that we're done sprinting to get away from this lion? But I love ken's advice man sit down with your wife with a calendar and say this is the end of this you just told us three four five months that's a big gap brother and then another three four five months to get your emergency fund if you can tell me from right now six months from today you are debt free and you got a an emergency fund and you can sit down with your wife and circle that big on the calendar and say after this is when we're going on a trip we're going camp we're doing

something man that everybody can get through that together but she's got to be super super clear seth real quick uh are you working seven days a week five days a week six what does it look like it kind of depends so i'm a welder um and i have a quote day job that is basically a Monday through Friday gig, some weekends, but not. And then I also have my own equipment, and I do some freelance stuff. You know, somebody needs something welded, they call me, and I will fix it or, you know, whatever. So roughly, you got at least a Saturday a couple times a month where you're not working or you're working every Saturday? No, I make it a point at this time to have some time to where it's us. It's just our core family and, you know, get off Facebook. So here's what I want you to hear from me, Seth.

Everything John and I said still holds, but you know what you need to do? Maybe you need to do laundry all day on a Saturday. That's exactly right. And actually let her not parent at all. And yes, you're tired. That goes a long way. Yes, you're tired. Do laundry anyway.

You can handle it. It's six more months. You got this. Yep. Give her some relief, not just be home. All right, good stuff. Thanks for the call. Good, good, good stuff.

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The Ramsey Show continues from our Ramsey Solutions studios in Nashville. Thrilled to have you with us. 888-825-5225 is the toll-free number. It is your show, America. 888-825-5225. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by my colleague, Dr. John Deloney. And we're going to go to Phoenix, Arizona next, where Cameron is on the line. Cameron, how can we help?

Hey, Ken, how's it going? I'm stoked that you guys are filling in for the show today. I just kind of wanted to tell you for a long time, you are the man. I appreciate you and all the work that you do. Well, that's very nice. That's very nice. I will send you a check after the show today. That sounds good, yeah.

How can we help? And, John, I also wanted to really quickly, I wanted to tell you, you know, my wife and I bought your book a couple months back. You helped us through a really hard time, so I appreciate the work that you guys do. Thanks, brother. Appreciate you, man. Very kind. So what's up?

No problem. So I've got a question. So right now I've got a full-time job, and I'm trying to live the dream of turning my side gig into my full-time job. And I'm looking to expand a little bit, but the more that I grow, I'm just realizing more and more that I am just one person and I can work as much as I can work, especially having a full-time job and a wife and a child at home. And so I'm looking into kind of expanding. I don't necessarily know the difference

between 1099 and having an employee surface level. I know that 1099 seems a little bit better for me, but I wanted to get your guys' opinion on the difference. What's the work you do and what would the work be for a person that you would hire? So I, I, I do wedding films. So people hire me to film their wedding and then I give them a video to, um, basically as a memory. Um, so the work that I would hire out would be if I'm booked a certain day or if I'm working a certain day, I would, I would basically contract out, um, that, that wedding to somebody else,

and then I would take over any editing portion. But I didn't know if that was the best way to go about it. Yeah, I think it absolutely is. I think as far as small business like yours, where you are the business, even as you begin to hire maybe some other camera folks, you're still the guy. You're the business because you're the relationships, and they're kind of getting you from word of mouth is probably most likely how you get your business. So at this stage of the company, I like the 1099. It's just a contract. You pay them,

and you issue them a 1099. Your bookkeeper does that, and it's a lot cleaner, a lot easier, as opposed to you making them a full-time employee. There's a lot more work there and expense for you as well. You're just not there yet. This is such a labor-driven business. I love you staying 1099 as long as you can would be my advice. And usually the rule of thumb on the 1099 is if they're bringing their own tools and they're bringing their own camera, their own stuff, and they're handing you over that raw product, then you can feel good about that.

It's when they're coming to pick them up, up your equipment, your stuff, they're showing up with you and they, what is it, walks like a duck and talks like a duck. If they're an employee of yours and they're going to work every day and y'all have a big business going, then the right thing to do is to make them an employee. Okay, awesome. And then I do have a follow-up question if you'll allow it. I guess I'm just wondering, my wife is, she grew up in a household where you go to a job and it's secure and that brings some sort of peace to her. job into this side gig that seems to be a forever side gig in her mind. I guess once the income, the goal for us is to match my side gig income to my full-time income and then just kind of take a smooth step. But I'm just wondering, is this step going to be scary no matter what, or should it feel completely natural?

I guess I'm just... It should feel... It's a little hard for us. It's scary. Yeah, I get it. First of all, to be scared of it is to kind of go, oh my gosh, moving from where someone else is paying me to I got to pay myself, that's scary in and of itself. But this is a math problem.

And once we solve the math problem, then the emotions can come along with it. So I don't think it should be scary, but here's what would need to be true in my opinion, because I'm thinking of Stacy in the same situation, and what would I need to do to make Stacy not feel scared and myself not be scared? So it's two things. One, I've got to be generating the income in the side hustle to be able to pay myself what I'm making,

and I would have no debt, right? And then I'd go a step further, just walk the baby steps out. Okay, so baby step two is paying off the debt. Baby step three, of course, is your three to six months emergency fund. I'd go above and beyond that. I'd have your emergency fund for life. But then before I left the day job, this would be what I would do. Before I left the day job, I would have almost an emergency fund in the business account.

And that would be at least six months of what you pay yourself already sitting in the account. That would be a minimum for me. And then you sit down with your wife and you go, hey, look, we have no debt. We've got our personal emergency fund in place. We're walking this thing out, and then in the business, the wedding photography or videography business, I've got six months of my salary already in the bank, and I've got work lined up. And so I think when you get to that point, I'd feel pretty darn good about going for it. And understand this, Cameron.

Dave tells a great story about it. It was his grandma. I'll use her. I think that's who it was, that he was making millions when she would mention to him, hey, when are you going to just get a real job? Because there are people who a real job is a place that you go and you get a paycheck and a W-2. That's just in some people's hearts and minds.

You're not going to change that with everybody. But Ken touched on it great. It's about security for your wife. It's about safety. It's about do you know what you're actually doing, and you're a dreamer and you're a go-getter but you also got to do the hard math problems because they don't lie yeah and once she knows that we are going to be okay then you watch the fear dissipate and she'll get excited so it's just a little extra work and here another thing too john it's about

patience everybody who's got a dream certainly the, they want to get to it as fast as possible, and I get it. But the way to succeed as an entrepreneur is to wait, wait, wait. And I think my advice for all young entrepreneurs and my advice for you is what Mel Gibson's character, William Wallace, says in Braveheart with those, Hold! The British Army is thundering. Hold! Hold! And it gets more intense as they get closer. And that's the thing.

As you get closer and closer to being able to step full time, just keep to the plan. And then that extra hold. Hold. And when we get there, okay, boom. Pick up the sticks. Because six months before you're planning to jump, your boss is going to mouth off. Yes. And you're going to get mad.

Yes. That co-worker is going to get that promotion. You're going to get super mad. Hang in there. Hold. Hold, hold, hold. It's one of my favorite scenes in the movie, and it turns out it's great advice for entrepreneurs as well. All right, let's go to Brad in Spokane, Washington.

Brad, you're on The Ramsey Show. Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my call. So I'm kind of in a situation. I have an opportunity to take a job that is about a $20,000 pay cut from where I'm currently at, but it offers more stability staying around town versus the current position where, you know, I would say that it's still stable, but 15 years from now, I don't know where I will technically be, whether it be the same place or on the road traveling for work,

but it is $20,000 more a year, roughly. I'm trying to make a decision on this, and I'm just asking for some help. Sure. So could you absorb, if you were to take it today, could you absorb financially in your budget, could you absorb the $20,000 pay cut and not be super, super tight?

We could. What would need to be true? What would need to be true? To be true to be what would need to be true to to be able to take it to take it and not be super tight we'd have to push back our date on house being our debt free with our house um okay but but but you have no debt except your home is that what you're telling me yeah that and if i took this job i would have to push that date back. Right now we're on track to be paid off within the next year sometime. Okay. That's good. So we're just trying to assess this. Okay. So the next question I have is if you take this job and

it's a $20,000 pay cut, does it offer you a ladder? Hold on because a lot of people ask this question. We got to do a commercial break. We're going to come back to you, Brad, because there's a lot more here, and John and I will dive into that. Don't move. You're listening to The Ramsey Show. Thank you. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by my colleague this hour, Dr. John Deloney. And before we went to break, we had just piped Brad in from Spokane, Washington. And so his question, you know, how do I know?

How do I know when to switch? And, you know, you've got a situation where he's got a side hustle. And so we're going to bring him back in. So, Brad, are you there? Yep. All right. So ask your question for us, and we're going to dive in here. So we kind of gave some context. We kind of set you up. So hit us ask your question for us and we're going to dive in here so we kind of gave some context we kind of set you up so so hit us with your question how do i decide if i'm making

the right decision to move um to a different company um based on the factors with you know less pay but more stability versus more pain and less stability. That's right. All right. And so where we are is you said to me that you could, but I'm repeating this because I think I was unclear in how I asked you. I said, could you take the $20,000 hit and not be super, super tight? Meaning, if you're really, really tight, I don't like the idea of taking this particular job. I'd rather you look for something else. And you said we can do it and not be super, super tight. Is that true? Yeah. Okay. So now my next question is, does this job,

even though it's a $20,000 pay cut, does it provide a ladder for you? Is it something that maybe in six months or a year you're actually making that money back and you see long term that I could keep climbing? It does. It would take possibly six years and then I would have to go back to school as well. That's too long. I think you're a guy who's in really, really good financial shape, and you know what you're doing. And I think that to take a $20,000 hit to then see six years before you can recoup that, I think you need to be more patient and look for a better opportunity to switch.

Why do you want out of your current job, man? You know, it was an opportunity that came up that i was just kind of recommended to throw my my resume in you know i really didn't look for a job i'm really happy with where i'm at um so is it does it feel good that somebody called you out and recognized you yeah sure yeah it definitely does. Yeah, it definitely did. Well, here's the deal, Brad. I'm not hearing anything and again, tell us if we're missing something. But you really enjoy your job. You're not

unhappy, so to take a $20,000 hit, I see no logical reason why you would do that. Am I missing something? No. You know, my wife and I have been talking about it and she pretty much has said the same thing but i'm a an avid dave ramsey listener and i figured i would uh give you guys a call you know i'm 99 sure i'm i'm not going to take it but that one person to me is just i don't

know if i'm making the right decision you are making the right decision here's the thing man when you're dating somebody and that two years three years four years goes by and you walk into that restaurant and that person across the room just gives you the eyebrow it feels good it does that doesn't mean you throw away everything you've got that doesn't mean you go running towards that it's going to be 20,000 it's going to be less than right it feels good to be wanted it feels good hey put your than, right? It feels good to be wanted. It feels good. Hey, put your hat in the ring. It feels good. But man, it sounds like what you've got is golden. And you're a year away from paying your house off.

You're right there. Go with your gut on this, man. And more importantly, go with what your wife sees and feels in you, right? She knows. I would actually, don't tell her that you called us. Tell her that she was right the whole time. Because I think that she's absolutely right. You need to listen to her. There's no reason. I'm all for stepping backwards if it's the only way or the best way to move upwards. And in this case, that is not present

at all. So be patient. You're good to go. 888-825-5225 is the number to jump in. Let's go to Justin in San Antonio, Texas. Justin, how can we help? Hi, gentlemen. Well, basically, I'm in graduate school and got married last July. And I was wondering how we could follow the baby steps while we're going through, while I'm still in school. What are you studying, man? I'm working on my PhD in math.

Well, that's a John Deloney question, if I've ever heard one. Right there, buddy boy. You've been through that. If you know any of my statistics, professor, you know this is not a question for me, man. PhD in math, way to go, brother. So, is your wife working? Yes, we both work full-time, in addition to me being a full-time student. So what is the challenge you are experiencing with just following the baby steps normally?

Well, we're on baby step number two, and I have $58,000 in federal student loans, and we want to get that paid off. Excellent. So you're going to follow your baby steps just like you normally would. You're both working full-time. Grad school in many ways, for somebody who's working full-time, getting a PhD in math as you go,

think of it, this may demean it a bit, but this is a hobby at this point. This is something you're doing on the side. It's a side gig. And so the critical, important thing here is you're not going into any more debt for this degree. Are you guys cashflow in this PhD? Yes. Yeah. We've been doing that now since we got married. Excellent. So if that's taken care of with cash,

then all you're going to do is follow the baby steps as though you're following the baby steps. Right. So you're going to continue to pay off your debt, smallest to largest. Take your $58,000 in student loans. Hopefully you haven't consolidated them, and they're going to be in these bite-sized chunks, and you're going to line them up, and you're just going to knock them out one after the other. What other debt do you guys have besides that $58,000?

That's it. We both have, we pay cash for our cars and all that. Excellent, dude. So you're way ahead of the game. Don't overthink this, Ph.D. in mathematics. Yeah. Simple as can be. Yeah, I'm just curious.

What were you leaning towards? Have you been tempted to stop the baby steps and put more? I mean, you called because you're like, should I keep doing it or how do I do this? And you're doing it the same way you do it. What's behind that question well because um in in our budget we have um cost of classes you know built in so that i'm paying for it throughout the year you know um putting it in the savings but you know that's taking away from what i really wanted to put towards that 58 000 just you know with the gazelle intensity, you know. Well, could you pause?

Could you pause the PhD? How far along are you? Well, I'm actually transitioning from master's to PhD now. Okay. Are you a professor? I've got another four years. Do you have to have this doctorate right now? Are you a professor?

I'm not a professor. I'm a high school teacher. Okay, so what's your end game with this doctorate in math? I want to teach at a university. Okay, so this is an existential conversation for you guys, but if you're able to pause for 24 months, teach at a local community college there. There's several in San Antonio.

You can do that with a master's degree, and they're always short math teachers at local community colleges. Just get some teaching experience in addition to your high school experience. Get that debt paid off ASAP, and then circle back. Yeah, I knew there was something behind that. And I'm going to tell you something, Justin. I do not go forward on PhD right now. You know why?

The PhD is still going to be there. And you're feeling in your gut, which is all coming from your head and heart being on the same page and your head and heart's going, we really should probably kind of put everything we've got, all of our guns pointed at the $58,000. John's absolutely right. And I'm going to tell you even more forcefully, that PhD is going to be there. Your dream is going to be there. And you're actually going to get there faster when you actually can pay off that debt. It's just such a game changer.

I'd go hard at the 58 and hold on the PhD. And for what it's worth, I've got gaps in my education too for various reasons. Yeah, nobody cares. It's not going to end you. Okay. If you were a professor

and got hired with a master's degree and in order to keep your position, you had two more years left to finish that doctorate, then I'd tell you to hit the gas on that doctorate and finish it. That's just not your case. Really, go back. It's a hobby. It's an idea. It's a dream.

It's something we're going to do later. Man, just let all of the air out of your home, all that tension out of your home by getting your debt paid off now, and then circle back and go. And I like the idea. There's a lot of folks who teach high school that think teaching college is going to be different, it's going to be easier, it's going to be better, I can do research.

I love the idea of you adjuncting at a local community college or one or two or three in the San Antonio area. I love that. Getting a taste for college teaching. It's often not nearly as easy as people think it is. Amen and amen. That's great advice right there. By the way, that's going not nearly as easy as people think it is. Amen and amen. That's great advice right there. And by the way, that's going to move you along professionally as well.

There's no shame in teaching on the community college level. No way. Great advice. It's awesome. Incredible advice. And he's going to get the juice from that. And he's paying off debt faster. Or he's going to save himself four years and a hundred grand realizing.

He might realize. I don't want to teach at college either. That's right. I love that good stuff. All right, stuff all right folks don't move we're gonna talk about the value of teachers you're gonna hear from one next this is the ranch welcome back america you are listening to the ramsey show i think i just said america unintentionally i think i just pulled a texas america out for you there john delaney you you you merica'd us i did you did i didn't, folks, but I just said it a little quick, and I just went, whoa, what was that? We accept your apology. Go ahead.

All right, very good. America, welcome back to the Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by Texas born and bred Dr. John Deloney, and we are thrilled to have you with us. It is a toll-free number to jump in, 888-825-5225. Going into the break, I said we're going to talk about the value of teachers. And, John, I know you and I both agree. I mean, you want to talk about the unsung heroes of any society, certainly you can say that teachers are those.

And certainly throughout this past year, we've seen teachers have to make adjustments and pivot like they never have before. And we at Ramsey Solutions, we know that you are incredible men and women. And April is National Financial Literacy Month, and we are celebrating you with our Teacher Appreciation Giveaway. It's sponsored by Mint Mobile, the affordable premium wireless provider. It's because of teachers like you that our foundations in personal finance curriculum has impacted the lives, get this John, of over 5 million students across the country. And it's been taught in more than 45% of America's high schools.

And we couldn't have done this without you, you amazing teachers. So starting today, you teachers can enter to win some incredible prizes like a $5,000 grand prize or additional prizes like $1,000 in cash. So don't miss out, teachers. Go to DaveRamsey.com slash teacher. That's DaveRamsey.com slash teacher for your chance to win. And what's fun about this is, John, is we love those teachers. We talk about those teachers. But how about we actually talk to a teacher who is modeling what we were just bragging about? And so Scott, excuse me, is on the line in Frankfort, Kentucky. Scott, you're on the Ramsey Show.

Hi, guys. How are you? I'm super excited to be here today. Well, we're honored and excited to be here today. Well, we're honored and humbled to talk to you, and I want our audience to hear a little bit more about you. So you're at Franklin County High School in Frankfort, Kentucky, which is a public school, 900 plus kids enrolled there, and how long have you been a teacher, Scott? I have been at the high school level for over 20 years. Wow, And how long have you been teaching our foundation's curriculum?

I started teaching the foundation in 2003. My journey with that actually started in 2002. The curriculum was offered through our church, and my wife decided that we should go. And to be honest with you, I didn't really know a lot about it. We were doing the normal thing like everybody else, that quote-unquote normal with credit cards and car payments. And then we went to the class, and it took about two weeks, and I was all in. Obviously, it changed the way we did it. We started working through the baby steps, and then I said, my high school students have got to have this.

And I started teaching in the high schools then in 2003, and I've taught it every year, I guess now for 18 years. 18 years. That is unbelievable, isn't it, John? Yeah. Tell us, you know, as a high school teacher, I was a high school teacher at a public high school in Houston for a few years. We know that we often open students' eyes to different things that they may have never seen or heard or experienced before. When you start talking about, hey, you shouldn't have a car payment, you shouldn't use credit cards, I mean, you basically,

you're talking a different language to these students, right? What do they experience when you're talking them through this? Well, it's really, it is very much what you said. I tell them all the time, I say some of this stuff, and you all look like I've got something going on outside of my head when I say this. But you tell them you don't have to have a credit card, and you tell them you don't have to have a car payment. And it's just not what they hear. It's not what culture tells them. It's not how most of them live, honestly.

So it's, you know, you're fighting that a little bit. But once they get into it and they begin to see, you know, hey, this, you know, we do the budget and we talk about, well, what would your life be like without that car payment, without that credit card payment? And they begin to realize, you know, what they can do with that money and what it means to them. It's really eye-opening. And for me, personally, one of the neat things that I got to do, because when I first started teaching it, my wife and I were working through the baby steps. We were just starting that process. And I got to share, you know, our struggles and our victories in a real life way with them as they did that with me.

And it's just, as I did that, you know, they said, well, you can do this stuff. And, you know, and teachers, you know, I'm just not a complaint. Teachers don't make a great salary. They all know that. And to show them that you could do that on, you know, what teachers make, and there's no reason for them not to be able to do that because a lot of them are going to make more money than I do, which is awesome for them. It's just really awesome. And it's hard to describe, I think.

I think it's hard to understate the impact it's had on my students and their families. That's so amazing. If you're joining us here on the Ramsey Show, we were talking with Scott, and he is a teacher at Franklin County High School in Frankfort, Kentucky. He's been teaching our Foundations in Personal Finance class for 18 years, been sharing that curriculum in the classroom. And, you know, Scott, I know that teachers get in it for influence. You get in it because you love instruction and the results you want to see is influence. And you just mentioned that it's just really hard to overstate the impact. Give us a story that sticks out in your mind in your time with these students of a real success story that you just say, wow, that felt good to see that result. Well, and I'll give you two very briefly. I think it's important for you to understand,

this can have an immediate impact. I had a student, even with COVID and virtual and all the things that we've had to do this year, I had a student come even with COVID and virtual and all the things that we've had to do this year, I had a student come in. He'd been in the class two months and came in and had this big smile on his face and walked up to him and said, hey, I bought a car today and I paid cash for it. And so, you know, I probably wouldn't have done that if I hadn't had the class. And I'm like, how awesome is that? You know, because I had high school students have car payments when they come into the class now. And he was just so excited because he had done this and learned what it meant to do that. And then I have a student I had in class, gosh, probably 15 years ago, and I'll still

see her out in the community. And she'll point to him, she always points to me and says, still no credit card, still no debt, doing well. And so that's that long-term impact that you get for them. And, you know, again, now I'm old, I'm old now is what that means, but, you know, I've had students long, you know, been at it long enough where students have their own kids and they're beginning to teach their kids this stuff and convey that to them. So you've really, you know, I've gotten in, you know, the curriculum's gotten impact in multiple generations at that point. I love that. What does it feel like, man, when you, again, you aren't going to see that direct deposit every month and get value from that, right? We all know. You're not going to hop in a Lexus after the workday and drive home, right?

We know these things, but man, it friday night the your house is quiet and you start thinking about the multiple generational legacies that you've impacted because you keep doing it every year you keep doing it and these students keep looking at your cross side and you keep doing it tell tell the audience what that feels like man to be a part of generational change in that way it's really hard to describe when you when you have students come back two years later and say hey you know i remember this i remember that or i did this or i did that uh it's hard to describe that feeling and as my wife and i worked through the baby steps and we did that i had that on you know on the

family end too and what it's done for us and And we're so appreciative of that and the way it changed our outlook on things. And then when you get to convey that to your students, it's nice to be in the classroom and have that. But man, when they come back and tell you, hey, you know, look at what I've done or look at where I am and look, I don't have the student loans and, you know, I don't have the car payment and I've been able to do this. And, you know, last, I guess it was last year, I had a student who just, you know, took the class for the first time and really fought me on some things, to be honest with you, because his mom and dad had different things and whatnot and, you know, the credit cards and whatnot. And then he had a, he went out and had, he went out and did a bunch of work over the summer and walked in and bought him a new MacBook and a new iPhone that he had saved for and paid cash for both of them. And, you know, and that's just not something he would have done. And his parents, you know, even contacted me and said, you know,

we would have bought it for him, but he wanted to do it on his own. That's good. I love it. Well, Scott, I've got to tell you, on behalf of Dr. John Deloney and our entire Ramsey education team, the entire company. You know, we can't do what we get to do without people like you partnering with us. And you decided 18 years ago to make an investment in this curriculum and invest in the lives of your kids. And you've just shared a few stories of some things they've been able to buy. But I think your true legacy will be the lifestyle they lead.

And the kids that aren't stressed in their lives. And the marriages that stay together. I just think generational impact. So Scott, we applaud you. We appreciate you. And teachers, don't forget, go to DaveRamsey.com slash teacher. You deserve it. Sign up

to win some real cash. Alright, hey, we've got to get out of here. I want to thank our producer James Childs, our associate producer, Kelly Daniel, my colleague, Dr. John Deloney, and you, America. This is The Ramsey Show. Have a friend or family member that needs a daily dose of Ramsey advice in their life? Let them know about the Ramsey Call of the Day podcast. It's a quick hit of advice about life and money in under 10 minutes.

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