The Ramsey Show - App - How Do I Increase My Income Without Working Myself to Death? (Hour 3)

Episode Date: June 18, 2021

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is The Ramsey Show. It's where America hangs out to have a conversation about life, money, working on purpose, relationships, mental, emotional health, just about being on purpose. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by my colleague, Anthony O'Neill, and we are together to take your phone calls, 888-825-5225.

It's your show, America. The phone call is free. 888-825-5225 is how you jump in. Let's start it off the shower with Randy in Cincinnati, Ohio. Randy, how can we help hey um how you guys doing we're living the dream what's going on with you all right good living the dream myself so my question is is i plan on replacing my truck that i have now of 13 years and is it wise to buy new if paying cash or to play with another used one? I've had

it for 13 years and I'm on a two-year program of saving money to pay cash with the plans is to have approximately about $60,000 to spend to replace it. Wow. That's a great question, man. You have any other debt? Actually, only our mortgage. Thank you, Jesus. There you go. Good for you. So the question is this.

I'm going to have $60,000 cash that I can spend on a vehicle, right? That's a nice truck, by the way. And you're going to get a new truck. Is this $60,000 on top of your three to six months, Randy? Or is this $60,000 that you have total in the bank? So I'm actually

in plans to have $60,000. So we already have six months. Okay. This is all towards your truck. You've been saving this outside of the baby steps. Yeah. Okay.

Great. So in March of 2022, I should have $60,000. Great. Cool. And what's your household income annually? About $110,000. Cool. So what we recommend here is that your vehicles should not add up to be more than 50% of your household income.

Okay. The value of your car. So if you're making $110,000, this means that you should be right around a $55,000 car in your possession. And if you want to stretch it to $60,000 because you're paying cash for it. It's close enough. I'm cool with that. Yeah. I'm not going to sit here and be like, oh, no, no, no, no. But if you come to me and say, yeah, I want to buy a $100,000 car cash and I make $100,000 a year. No.

No. And then the only other... Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. No. So is it wise to buy new or should I stick to buying new? So my wife thinks it's a bad idea to buy a new vehicle. Listen, man, here's the thing.

The value of the car is the main thing. I would suggest used, only so this way someone else eat up the depreciation. But if you find a car that's brand new, you're going to pay cash for it. I mean, that's on you. As long as you know, you're going to lose

some money as soon as you put off the lot. But the key thing here is you're paying cash, you're not to lose some money when you assume you put off the lot. Okay. But the key thing here is you're paying cash. You're not using your emergency fund. And the car's value is not anything more than your salary. So you can choose. If I was in your shoes, especially with my net worth being below a million dollars, I'm going with a used vehicle. Yeah, I think that's great advice. And there's not much difference between the brand new one Yeah, I think that's great advice. And there's

not much difference between the brand new one and maybe the one that's a year old or even two years old. Exactly. Fantastic. I love the point. Still up on the warranty and everything. Absolutely. All right, let's go to Dayton, Ohio now where we join Kristen. Kristen, how can we help? Hi, thank you so much for taking my call. How are you guys? We are having a blast. What's going on with you? Good. I had a question about Parent PLUS Loans. I know like we need to pay off our loans, like student loans. I'm on Baby Step 2. And I was just curious, like, do I need to pay off my mom's loan that she took out for me? Because I know the Bible says like, honor your parents. So that's always kind of like in the back of my mind, but she's also in like addiction. So, um, she doesn't really have her life together.

I've been trying to locate the loans, but I can't seem to find like the mail for it. Um, so yeah. So let me get this straight. Your name is not on the parent plus loan, correct? I don't think so. No. She took it out for me. Okay.

Um, and you are currently in debt and you're paying off your debt right now, correct? Correct, yes. So what I would do if I was you is I'm going to pay off all my debt, babysit number two. Then I'm going to stack up my three to six months of expenses. Once I cover that, I'm going to have a conversation with my mom and dad and be like hey mom and dad i'm in a great place financially i want to help um and i would love to help pay back those student loans right now those parent plus loans are not your obligation i would focus on the things that you're obligated with get yourself on a solid foundation you can stand on once you get in a solid foundation if you still have that conviction of helping your mom then yes go help your mom but right now that's

her responsibility because she decided to do that she decides to do that to help you so i think you honor your mom and your parents by getting solid and then come back and ask them if they would like your help. Yeah. Kristen, let me ask you this. She's dealing with addiction and her life's a mess right now. And so that's why you're having a hard time just hunting down any of the paperwork or anything on that loan she took out for you. Did I hear that correctly? Yes, that's correct. Ayo's absolutely right right i'm not adding anything to what he said but when you get to that point i and i think i'm hearing this in your voice you're concerned you don't want to give her money to pay off the loan because you're afraid what she's going to do with

the money um you could say that yeah she's just such a sweetheart like she's the nicest person ever she just needs help no i get it but what i'm saying is is with everything ao said is absolutely right and because you're worried about that you should be here's the deal once you get out once you get to that point hopefully you'll be able to be able to get all the paperwork and get directly to the loan you can pay that but don't give her the money you find a way you can get on the phone with them whatever there's a way to do that and and i would just not give her the money to pay it off. I would find a way for you to pay it off directly. Okay. Makes sense. Because you don't want to contribute to anything. And she's not healthy. And I know she's a sweetheart. And by the way, it rubbed off on you. You got a heart of gold too. But the point is, is that you find a way to pay it

off directly and not give her the money. That way it eliminates any temptation. And you do what you want to do, but you can't control that other stuff. You know what I mean? Yes. Thank you. Yeah, you bet. Good for you. Good for you.

What a sweet, sweet gal she is. I mean, hear it in her heart, man. Yeah. Yeah, she's great. You want to be careful there with family members in that situation like that. Never, ever, ever give them money and then assume or trust that they're going to do the thing. If you want to pay it off, you go do it. You figure out how to do it. And it just takes that, not just the temptation out for the mother in this situation, but also if she were to do that, give the mom the money and the mom not use it for the proper use and do something that's, you know, obviously leading her to her addiction.

Agreed. There's more guilt and shame on the daughter. Yes, sir. And, boy, you don't want to live with that. So, tough situation, Kristen. You're awesome. You're doing great things. We'll be praying that your mom gets healthy.

Great stuff. Anthony O'Neill, Ken Coleman with you. This is The Ramsey Show. Ever wondered how to save more money or pay off debt faster? What about the right way to invest? Listen, I've been there asking the same questions with no idea where to turn for answers. But here's the good news. You don't have to keep searching for answers. Ramsey Plus shows you every step of the way so you know what to do with your money. Get the plan and the tools you need to make consistent small wins with money and even some big ones so you can see exactly We'll be right back. a plan for your future. To start your free trial of Ramsey Plus, text TRIAL to 33789.

That's TRIAL to 33789. 33789. It's the Ramsey Show, and we're here for you, America. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by my colleague Anthony O'Neill. We take your calls about life, work, money, relationships, mental health. Hey, we got A.O. on the desk today, so if you're single and you got some money questions about relationships, he's the expert on that. I always love those calls. I try to get them in here.

This is so fascinatingly fun for me. We need some more single questions. Single questions. These married questions. Yeah, they bore him. Yeah, they really do. And they scare him, too. They really do scare me.

It makes me want to stay single, some of these questions. Oh, it's always fun. 888-825-5225 is the number. 888-825-5225. Let's go to San Jose, California, where Christy is on the line. Christy, how can we help? Hey there. Thank you for taking my call, and I will definitely send my single son to talk to you.

Oh, there you go. Send him my way. I'll take good care of them. Well, my question is, I learned all how not to handle money from my father all these years. I just started listening to the family show about 10 months ago. And in the interim here, I sold my business, and then an investment came in that we had, and that came in, and after IRS and the state has taken its big cut, I still have about a million two left over. And the only debt I have is a mortgage of 360. But part of me really wants to take that money and help my kids get a house here in California

because it's so darn expensive. So that's where I'm at. I don't know whether I want to take that money and pay part of the loan off or kind of hang on to it so it's cash flow to be able to help my kids get into a house. So we have $1.2 million cash left over from your investments, correct? Correct. And then you have $360,000 left on your mortgage that's it yeah

no other debt anywhere no cars no nothing no other debt anywhere that mortgage was actually we took out that mortgage to buy a rental property for my son to live in a lot of

long story on that. And we're getting enough income on that to pay the mortgage. So, I mean, the mortgage is being paid for. So there's nothing out of our pocket, really. What's in your retirement? But it is sitting in. What's in your retirement? How much do you have in your retirement right now?

My husband and I have about 1.8 in our 401k. And then we have, uh, another mutual fund of about 700,000. And then a couple of other things here and there that are about 400,000. That's fantastic. So you're looking at about like a 2.5 million in investments. Okay.

And then you have $840,000 left after you pay off your mortgage so this is what i'm doing i'm paying off my mortgage i'm going to jump on the phone with a smart investor pro just make sure everything is solid as far as in i will let it see maybe get to about like three million so that way you can live off the interest of that you know when you all are actually all settled 300 300 million could produce you i mean a good amount of income a year that you all can live off of debt free and i kind of like the fact of sowing a seed into your children i really do i mean uh this is why we vouch for the things that we do we want you to get out of debt have a fully funded emergency fund invest and be everyday millionaires so that on babysitter number

seven you can be generous and give and build wealth. And so I'm paying off my mortgage with that $1.2 million. That's going to leave me with about $840,000. I'm going to sit down with my kids. We're going to have a conversation. And you know what? I'm not just going to give them the money, Kent. I'm going to sit down and tell them like, hey, you're going to get this money, but I want to have an understanding that, hey, these are some of the things I want you all to do. I want you to make good, good and wise decisions with your money. I want you to pay off your debt. I want you to do this.

Give them something. Just don't hand them the money. Tell him like, hey, I'm so into you. We are going to show into you. But I have expectations with this gift and I'm not going to bring it back. I'm not going to take it back if you don't do it. But set them up to win long term. Okay.

Well, I can tell you that two out of the three kids are totally debt free. My youngest son already paid off his loans. Yeah. And so basically our thought process is we would go in on the house with him, like as co-borrowers, and then eventually just sign it over to him. No, don't do that. Don't do that. Give them the money and let them be young adults.

Is this the same kid that's living in the rental right now? No, no, that's the third one. Yeah, and you know what? I heard some emotion in your voice. I'm not going to make you tell us all what it is, but it sounded like you said it was a long story, and I feel like there's something going on there

that you may not be 100% sure about how to give them this money, correct? You've got three kids. If Anthony's right, you've got $840 left over. How much were you thinking of giving each of the three kids? Well, I was going to probably help the other two.

Oh, the other two. Yeah, the other two. The one that's living in the rental, I bought that house so that I knew as a mother, he would always have a place to live. That's why we bought that one. Is he paying you rent? Absolutely. Okay, good. That's why we bought that one. Is he paying you rent? Absolutely.

Okay, good. So you're going to pay that off, and so you're going to have no debt because A.O. told you what to do, and that's beautiful. That's a great asset for you guys. But I don't like the idea that it's always a place for him to land. I like that he's paying you rent, but I think at some point he needs to put his big boy pants on. I'm just going to tell you that as a dad. But the other two, how much are you going to give the other two? Well, I was thinking about $350. All right, so let's round it down.

Or we'll round it. Okay, $350 each. That's $700. So you still have $140 left. Yeah, I would think through all that. I like the idea of sitting down with one of our Smart Investor pros. You guys, by the way, congratulations. You guys are in a fantastic position. Absolutely.

I'm with AO. As a parent, I would love nothing more than to be able to do something like this for my kids. I think it's great. When I'm alive. That's my whole thing. I want to see it when I'm alive. I think it's great. Hopefully these kids will get it someday

when I'm not alive. I like seeing smiles on their faces when I can do it. I think it's great. Hopefully these kids will get it someday when I'm not alive. Oh, yeah. I like seeing smiles on their faces when I can do it. I think it's great, Christy. But I would be wise about it, and I would think through it. And I would also think through relationally. You know, you've got the one kid, you've already done a favor for him, but if you give the other two money, you don't give him. I mean, I just think through it as a parent.

This is a complex thing when you've got three kids and you're giving out big cash things. But I think Ayo's advice was great. Put some strings on it that are related to morality and other things like that that are value-driven. But, yeah, nice touch here to do this. And, again, AO. That's a good position, man. They're in a phenomenal position.

The $1.8 million in the 401K, $700,000, and another $400,000. So $1.1. So they're right at that $3 million mark, as you said. Absolutely. And you know what, Ken? Here's the thing. thing when i think of baby set number seven i get excited you know one of the goals that i i have for me and my wife whenever i do get married we have kids is that i i am i'm going to make my kids sign an agreement that they will never tackle in debt they will never have debt um and if so i will give will give them a quarter million dollars minimum, hopefully more by that time, depending on my financial situation, to go towards their house when they get married.

That's their gift. But the agreement is that they will stay away from debt, never borrow money. And I'm looking forward to that because I work hard and I get the baby set number seven to be generous. And the most person that I really want to be generous to is number one, kingdom, my local church, two, my kids, and then three, my community. And so I think what she's doing is phenomenal. But I just think use this time to be a blessing and then also use this time to be educational towards your kids. Yeah.

I love hearing the mother's heart there. You can hear the emotion. They've worked hard. She and her husband, they've done a great job. They've been very responsible. And on top of this, with the advice you gave her, they're going to be able to give cash away and they're paying off another investment.

Exactly. Very easily. They still have something to go and actually enjoy. Oh, yeah. Absolutely right. But that is a beautiful thing. There's nothing more exciting for a parent than making their kids smile. And as an adult, see, this is, I love that you brought this up.

One of the other benefits of this, these baby steps, is to get out there as parents and to get into that baby step six and seven and be able to do things for your adult kids too yes you know because you never stop being a mom you never stop being a dad no matter how old you are how old your kids are and that is just one other incredible benefit it's not just give away to others but to give to your family right i love it really good stuff we gotta get you married man've got to get you married, man. We've got to get you married. So you've got some little ones and you're doing all this. Let's go. Hurry up. Yeah, see, he gets nervous.

He gets real nervous when I wish all that on him. Fun stuff. Hey, don't move. More Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by my colleague, Anthony O'Neill, and we're taking your questions. 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225.

Our blinds.com question of the day is coming to you shortly, but first we want to make sure that you know that blinds.com is giving you 100% satisfaction guarantee. And that means even if you mismeasure or pick the wrong color, which I did this once. I mismeasured the blinds. They helped me out. They did? Yeah.

Oh, man. Yeah, because I'm a disaster in this area. And they'll remake your blinds for free. You get free samples, free shipping, and with the new promos they run every month, you'll save even more. Use the promo code Ramsey to get the best deal. Today's question comes from Noah in Utah. He writes in, I'm 23 years old and recently married.

I work full-time in retail making $36,000 a year. This is the highest I've ever been paid. I like the wage, but I'm planning on getting my bachelor's in biology to eventually become a dentist. I've been interviewing for dental assistant positions to get into my career field, but they're starting out at $30,000 a year. Is it smart to leave the job that gives me $6,000 more per year? My wife's annual salary is $30,000.

In this situation, this is not a money decision only. If you can absorb the $6,000 decrease to get into the field and you feel like being a dental assistant is going to make you a better dentist, then I say do it. However, you got to get the qualification to be a dentist. That's a much more intense thing. I don't know that being a dental assistant makes you a better dentist. I don't know that it opens up positions for you as much as you think. So this one here is a clarify and verify piece of advice. What I mean by that is I talk to some dentists in the area.

You're already looking at applying. I'd say, hey, is this a good move for me professionally? How much more qualified does this make me? How much more attractive of a candidate as a dentist does this make me if I can say I've got this experience as a dental assistant? I'd want to get two minimum, three or four opinions from other dentists on that before I would decide to make this move and then take the $6,000 pay cut. I want to know a lot more. That's how you figure that out.

I clarify, is this really going to be a good move for me professionally? Because on the surface, it's not financially right now, but I'm okay with that. If the professional benefits outweigh the financial deficit. That's how you always look at that, A.O. I love it, man.

888-825-5225 is the number. Let's go to Fort Morgan, Colorado. Alexa is on the line. Alexa, how can we help? Hi, guys. Thank you for taking my call. You bet. What's up? So, first of all, AO, I apologize. It's a marriage question again. He needs to learn this anyway,lexa he can handle it so i am a fairly new listener i have been listening a lot to all of your guys's shows and um i am really i i love doing different you know i love being different and so hearing you guys talk about all of the baby steps and how, oh man, it just makes me dream. I have three kiddos. I am married. And so the issue here

is that I've mentioned, you know, Financial Peace University and the baby steps to my husband and he is not quite on board. I'm a little frustrated because I really want him to get happened. Obviously, I can't force him. So I wanted to know your advice on that. Why is he not on board? I don't know. He's a little stubborn. I mean, you know your husband.

Why is he not on board? He doesn't want to pay off his debt. He doesn't want the responsibility. Like, what's the reason? I think he's really used to being kind of inside the box kind of thing. You know, like, he's not very go out of my comfort zone kind of thing. And, I mean, we don't have an emergency fund right now. We just bought a house at the end of last year.

And he wants to go buy a new car. You know, obviously finance, no, no, not cash or anything like that. And so I'm just kind of like, you know, it doesn't make sense to me, but it makes completely sense to him. And he doesn't, he's not very open to new ideas, I guess um i've thought about possibly trying to do some of it on my own and kind of showing him how it works or you know um i don't know paying off some of our debts if i do a budget on my own and and maybe then he'd be more open to it i guess but i don't know i don't know if that's a smart move. I don't think a married couple, it is, I don't, it's not a smart move to have two different budgets in the house. It's not a smart move to be on two different pages as a couple.

And again, I think this is where I step out and let Ken speak in from a married perspective, but there's no way in the world, Anthony and it will be married to a woman and we cannot come to an understanding together. If that ever comes in, we're going to counseling because the only way we can move forward as a couple is if we are together,

it makes no sense for me to be running, running forward. And she's still back there. It's going to cause even more issues in my opinion, within my house, within a marriage. So I think right now we've got to figure out the money ain't the problem. Getting out of debt ain't the problem. I think the biggest problem is getting you two on the same page, period, about the marriage is the first step. Yeah, I mean, let's be honest, Alexa.

He doesn't have a, oh, he doesn't like to get outside the box. No, he doesn't want to get outside the box. No, he doesn't want to be a grown-up. He wants all the toys. He doesn't want to sacrifice. He just wants to kind of keep going along. I'm guessing you guys make pretty good money. What's the household income again?

We're at about $90,000. $90,000. And how much of that do you make? It's pretty close down the middle. think minus 48 yeah i think i think you have got to sit down with him and he's got to see that emotion on you i mean you were you were emotional and i get it because you feel as though uh your hands are tied you're you're you're really reaching emotional desperation at this point. And I understand why. Because you see where this is going. And you don't want this, and you feel like he's not even giving it a shot. So this, again, is a marriage situation.

And I do think a professional counselor who is objective needs to sit with both of you, and he needs to see that emotion. He needs to know why you're emotional and what the future looks like in your mind. And he needs to confront all this because this is a marriage and it is not on you to try to budget your way and budget him into change. He's got to understand, oh, my wife is serious. And so you guys need to have that conversation that you can't live this way. You're not going to live this way. And he needs to understand why and how it affects everybody.

And I just think a professional counselor, a relationship counselor, or a pastor who has the gift of counseling needs to sit you down together. And we got to get this talked out. Because as Ayo said, this isn't really a money issue. You guys make $90,000. You can go make more. You can pay this off. You understand the baby steps. It's not a plan problem.

We're not on the same page, and he doesn't get it yet. Maybe you've told him, but I don't think he gets it. Has he seen or heard this emotion from you? Not recently, no. I just don't think he gets how big of a deal this is to you. And this isn't you making demands and threatening him. I'm saying you've got to go, I can't. I don't want to live this way.

Here's why I don't want to live this way. It's killing me. Can I explain why will you hear me? I mean, a husband's responsibility is to hear his wife, to see her. And I don't think he's seen or heard everything. And if you don't feel comfortable doing it in your home, then you need to say, hey, we need to go to counseling. And here's why I'm asking you to do it.

I've already paid for it. I'm asking you not to go buy a car until we can get on the same page. I'm asking you to stop accumulating more debt until we can get on the same page. He's got to know, A.O. I mean, this isn't fun,

but it's got to happen. And then we find out how committed he is to the marriage, how committed he is to her. I'm so sorry, Alexa, that you're dealing with this, but this is worth fighting for. Fight the right way. Getting a professional to help is going to be the way to go. This is The Ramsey Show. We'll see you next time. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show.

I'm Ken Coleman, joined by my colleague Anthony O'Neill. Thrilled to have you with us. 888-825-5225 is the number. Our scripture of the day, Ephesians 6, 10-11. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. Our quote of the day from John A. Shedd, A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are

built for. Let's go to Cincinnati, Ohio, where Karen joins us. Karen, how can we help? Hey, I am very thankful to get to talk to you guys. I talked to Anthony a few weeks ago, and he suggested I talk to Ken, talk to you, Ken, about how to increase my income to be able to pay off my student loans, but I don't want to have to work myself to do it. Okay, all right. I like this conversation. So do we have any ideas of what you want to be doing, myself to do it. Okay. All right. I like this conversation. So do we have any ideas of what you want to be doing, the type of work, maybe the career field? I'm in IT right now, and I've been doing that since 1999, and I do love it. Good. So I'm happy

with what I do, but my ideal job would be something working with animals, but I don't want to have to go back to school. No, I get that. I'm 54 years old, you know. No, you're 54 years young. Let's be very clear about that. That's right. I agree. You bet. So how much do you make right now, Karen?

What's your income? A little under $39,000. Okay. And what do you do in IT? What kind of work? What are you qualified for? If I were to look your resume up, what would I basically come away with? What kind of IT work?

I do a lot of support, do some network cabling, that kind of stuff. Well, I got great news for you. You should be making with the amount of experience you have in IT, and then I think there's some certifications ahead in your future

that don't cost that much. I'll tell you more about that in a moment. But you could be making $75,000 to $100,000 very soon if you got very intentional. And this has nothing to do with working 60 hours, 70 hours, 80 hours a week. This is just a function of you getting qualified to do more technology work than you do. You're essentially a help desk, somebody that kind of does a lot of that right now, correct? Yeah. Yeah.

So let me ask you this. You've been in the tech world a long time. What kind of tech work, if you knew that you would be successful at it and you got the qualification done, what kind of tech work would you want to do? I really like the security side of things. That really interests me a lot. Listen, cybersecurity, Karen, is exploding. It's one of the fastest growing fields, period, not just in technology.

And the income is up there, too, right? The income is fantastic. You can make six figures within a couple years of getting in it. It's not right away. But, Karen, you do realize that that's just a years of getting in it. It's not right away, but Karen, you do realize that that's just a function of getting qualified, and it does not mean you have to go back to college. Are you aware of that? No. Okay, great. So let me tell you about Bethel Tech, because here's what I want you to do. In just a moment, I'm going to put you on hold, and Karen, if you

don't call Bethel Tech and tell them that Ken Coleman told you to call them, I'm going to be very upset at you. Uh-oh. I just wrote their name down. Perfect. Here's the website, BethelTech.net. Okay? Now, I partner with them on the Ken Coleman Show. I endorse them.

You know why I endorse them, Karen? Why? Because they have a nine-month program. What? Nine months, and you can do it online. Awesome. And you ready for this if you're a ken coleman show or ramsey show listener because i'm telling everybody else about it too you cash flow your way through it they give you a bigger discount it's going to be less than fifteen thousand dollars they'll give you a cash option you can cash flow monthly through their nine-month program, and

they have an 80% placement rate, Karen, in technology positions, including cybersecurity, development, all types of Ruby on Rails, all that stuff I don't even understand. You can start at $75,000. Within a couple years, you're making six figures. There's your

answer. Now, here's the deal. There are other people out there. So I want to make sure people understand this isn't just somebody that I'm endors answer. Now here's the deal. There are other people out there. So I want to make sure people understand this isn't just somebody that I'm endorsing. They really are doing this. They're already getting results for Ken Coleman Show listeners. So go to the website, Betheltech.net, call them, say, I talked to Ken Coleman. I want to know how this works. Teach me more. Tell me more. You poke, you prod, you ask all the questions. At the end of the day, if you feel really good about them, then I want you to consider doing that. You can save up for it. You don't have to have it right away, but it's such an affordable option and they're going to

help you with placement. That's why I like them. You want to get qualified, whether it's Bethel Tech or somebody else, you want to get qualified with a legitimate organization that can get you the skills and also help you with placement. Because a lot of these companies are looking for newly qualified tech talent. And here's what's great about this. I want everybody else to understand this besides Karen. Every industry is now a tech industry. You think about the ministry world, the nonprofit world, healthcare, just straight up business. Everybody's got tech positions.

So Karen, with your existing experience and your talent, this is a no-brainer for you. So to answer your question, you need to get qualified. And you need to figure out who to best qualify you to do cybersecurity. And it's not a four-year degree. It's not. You may have to pay your dues a little bit. You may have to get in an entry level, but I got good news for you. You're going to make more in entry level than you are now doing help desk.

Yeah. So that's how you make more money and not work yourself to death because you're 54 years young. Right. There you go. Karen, I'm putting you on hold. I want to have time to go out and enjoy my kayak. Come on. There we go. Karen, you can go buy a nice kayak, make it 75 or more putting you on hold. I want to have time to go out and enjoy my kayak. Come on. There we go.

Karen, you can go buy a nice kayak, make it 75 or more. Come on now. Call Bethel Tech. Go to BethelTech.net. Talk to them. Anybody else that's thinking about this. By the way, AO, for kids and parents, I want to bring this up for a second. There's some really talented kids that just naturally gifted in technology.

And they may not want to go to school. The entry into the real world is possible. And it doesn't require a four-year degree to get into technology. So you've got some kids that could go right into what I would call trade school. Yeah, absolutely. You know, technology is a trade, just like electrician or plumber or anything else. And so that's why I'm really, you know, that's why I partner with organizations like Bethel Tech, because it's like you need to know that as a parent, hey, if my kid is kind of wanting to get into technology but don't want to go to college, that's not a bad thing. Right.

They can get in and make some really, really good money, and the sky is the limit, especially when you think of the field of cybersecurity, where that's really what it's all going to come boiling down to. Yes. I love it, man. Really interesting stuff. I like that. I never heard of that school. Thanks for educating us on that. Yeah. I mean, hey, when hey when you and by the way they're just an example yeah there's other fields other technology schools as well do your homework can they help me get qualified

to do the work that i want to do because at the end of the day um that's what it's all about all right ao we got a question here what's's the question? From Amber on YouTube. Ayo, by the way, The Table with Anthony O'Neill, crazy popular on YouTube. And the guy's also blowing it up on Instagram. Two great places to get video content for you youngsters, you parents out there. He knows how to talk in ways that people go, hey, I get that. That makes sense. That doesn't sound like some money expert.

So check him out on YouTube, The Table with Anthony O'Neill. So here's a question. Amber says, we're on Baby Step 2, and we make $88,000 a year. I still owe $117,000 on my home, and I've got a $103,000 student loan. I want to continue my education, but it's going to cost me $30,000. Cash flow. To finish my degree as an advanced registered nurse. Can you tell me the steps to take to do this?

Yeah, man. Here's the very first thing. Cash flow it. Don't worry about paying off your student loans. Don't worry about your mortgage payment. I would literally go to MyScolly, MyScolly.com. They're going to ask you to fill out a nice long application. And the application is simply to see what all you qualify for as a single parent.

Or maybe there's a lot of different things that you qualify for. And every Monday, they're going to send you out an update of scholarships that you actually qualify for. So get the scholarships, get the grants and cash flow the rest of your schooling. Now, if I was you, I would call in and talk to Ken Coleman and see if you actually need to go back to school to get into your particular field. But if you and Ken agree that you need to go back to school to get this particular field and to get into this particular field, myscholar.com will help you get the grants and scholarships that you need. You're making good money to where you should be able to as well help pay cash for it. Then once you get out of college, then we're going to attack the student loan debt and get on to the actual baby steps, which is pay off all your debt using a debt snowball.

Then get a three to six months of income. Yep. And by the way, while we're on this topic, debt free degree, number one bestselling book from Anthony O'Neill. It's just chock full of a practical plan and all kinds of tips to be able to pay for that education you need and not go into debt. You can cash flow it. So I love it. The cash flow king on education. He is Anthony O'Neill.

Great being with you, friend. Thank you. Hey, I want to thank our producer, Ben Hill, our associate producer, call screener Kelly Daniel. But most of all, you, America. Thank you for listening. 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. Check out the Ramsey Call of the Day podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.