The Ramsey Show - App - How Do I Prove I'm Worthy of a Promotion? (Hour 1)

Episode Date: August 2, 2021

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host, Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, number one best-selling author, host of The Ken Coleman Show, is my co-host today on The Ken Coleman Show.

He talks about getting the job you love, getting the work you love, getting involved in work that matters, changing careers, all the things having to do with the income side of the equation. So we'll talk about that, and we'll talk about your money and your life. The phone number is a free call, and some say the advice is worth exactly what you pay for it. 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Exciting day here at Ramsey.

Exciting week here at Ramsey. We've got a lot of launch things this week, and we're kicking off. Today is launch day for the pre-sale on Ken's brand-new book that will come out in November, starts selling today, From Paycheck to Purpose, The Clear Path to Doing Work You Love. Good-looking cover there, Ken. Yeah, the team is to doing work you love. Good looking cover there, Ken. Yeah, the team is amazing. Just an incredible team here.

They're artists to make me look like that, Dave. There's a reason I'm in radio. Digital adaptation. Yes. But we have a good creative team. We really do, yes. They help me with mine, too. But anyway, aside from that, the interior of the book is what's important. It is the most important.

It's because that's what changes your life, the clear path. You have the seven stages that people go through, and you cover all of them in detail, exactly what to do. And really, you can't start at number five. You've got to start at number one. That's right. And you may already have it done, but you've got to check it off before you can move on. That's right. These are prerequisite stages. They really are. And it helps you climb the mountain. If we look at doing what you were born to do, the dream job and legacy,

think of it as a mountain. And it takes time. Some people get up faster than others. So the seven stages are very simple. Number one, you got to get clear. What is this thing, this role that I was created to fill in the workplace? That's the first thing. Secondly, we got to get clear. What is this thing, this role that I was created to fill in the workplace? That's the first thing. Secondly, we got to get qualified. Well, what does it take to get qualified? This is where a lot of people, Dave, get hung up. And we walk through the qualifying questions in the book that help you create a plan to actually get qualified. Well, while I'm getting qualified, I can get connected. Connections, people, places. That's where I meet people that bring me opportunities. That was your number one bestselling book, The Proximity Principle. It was a deep dive into get connected. Stage four is get started. See, the connections bring

me opportunities to where I can now step in and I'm on the ladder. Now it's about stepping up. That's stage five. Get promoted. You'll spend most of your professional journey in stage five in that you are climbing, you're moving up, and eventually you get promoted into stage six. Get the dream job. This is where you're using what you do best, talent, to do work you love, passion, to accomplish results that matter deeply to you, mission. When that alignment happens, it is the dream job. And this could be a teacher. I mean, this could be a plumber. This could be a professor. I mean, it is about that contribution. And then what do we do in that final stage? Why is there a seventh stage? Give yourself away. Because now, Dave,

we're not working for income. The income is there. Think of our teachers that we found in the largest study of net worth millionaires the world has ever seen. The third largest group of net worth millionaires were teachers. They're at that point where they've adjusted their lifestyle. They've saved in their net worth millionaires, but they're not teaching Dave for income. Now it's about impact. And let's be honest, I don't want to embarrass Dave. I don't think he's embarrassable on this, but this is a man who doesn't need to work. He doesn't need to work. He's worth a whole lot of money. Dave is here for income. I mean, excuse me, impact. There, I said it. I slipped. No, but you're here for impact, Dave.

I want the income too. I'll take both. Well, you've got some really nice toys as well, but you work now because of impact. It's about legacy. And so that's a quick snapshot of the seven stages. We do a deep dive in the book. There's two chapters on each stage, and the purpose is to give you tactical steps to be able to do this.

I tell you what to do and how to do it and the why to do it, and you can get there. The book is From Paycheck to Purpose, The Clear Path to Doing What You Love by Ken Coleman. It launches today on presale. You will actually have it shipped to your home if you buy it today in November. November the 9th is the street date, and that's when the official book tour and everything will begin.

Why would you buy a book in August that you don't get until November? Because we're going to bribe you. That's why. We're going to pay you to do it. That's right. We're going to give you so much goodies in the pre-sale that it makes you want to buy it ahead of time. We are shameless in that, in our generosity to you guys.

So here's the deal. You get about $100 worth of stuff included in the book, and you can choose between the Get Hired bonus pack or the Get Promoted bonus pack. If you're already hired and you're in the job, you just want to get promoted, then you're further up the steps. You need a different set of things. And again, there's $100 worth of items in there,

including the e-book, including the audio book as read by the author, including lots of other goodies that will help you on the journey along the way. We've got live event streams coming up. We've got live streaming coming up with Ken. We've got some TED Talks type stuff that he's doing, type things. He's not doing TED Talks, but that short version of get right in your face and show you what to do.

All of that is there. And we're having a lot of fun celebrating the pre-order launch with a $500 cash giveaway every week this month on the website and a grand prize of $3,000 at the end of August. Wow. So all of this happens at RamseySolutions.com. So enter for your chances to win the Ramsey Cash giveaway. Go ahead and get your book on order now, and some of the items will come to you immediately, and the ones that are associated with the actual book launch itself, like the e-book or the audio book,

you'll get all of that in November, and it's $100 worth of stuff that you get when you pre-order. And, of course, that helps Ken with the bestseller list and so forth, the preorders do. And it helps you because you get, you know, a lot of stuff for only $20. From paycheck to purpose, the clear path to doing work you love. Something happens when Monday morning is no longer a dread yeah yeah something happens and it changes your body chemistry it changes your attitude towards your spouse and kids it changes your attitude towards generosity when you can come in and do work that you love on Monday morning, you're more creative.

You're more productive. When you know that the work that you're doing matters. Yes, sir. You're more creative. You're more productive. You smile more. Literally, your body chemistry changes. Dr. John Deloney can tell us all about that.

Oh, there's no question. That's why I call it the juice on the Ken Coleman Show. You're walking around with some pep in your step versus Eeyore. And the reality is, is because we as human beings, we long to make a difference. There's two primary emotions, Dave, around work, and it's in the title of the book. Number one, provision. We've got to provide. But then we also want to make a contribution. We want to make a difference. And when you do that on Monday mornings, watch how you move up the ladder because people want to promote you because they say this is what you were born to do. So it's possible you can get there. Income and impact.

This is the way to do it. We do onboarding every two weeks at Ramsey. And this morning, 15 new team members started. I was excited to come to work this morning and introduce and meet them all at 8 o'clock this morning before staff meetings started at 8.30. I always do that as a tradition, let the CEO come in. And I'm excited that today's the book launch day. Yes.

And tomorrow we've got other things coming. There's all kinds of goodies happening this week. I want to come to work. Yeah. We're making a difference, and it's fun. Which means you guys got us in a good mood when you called today. 888-825-5225. Hey, I'm Christi Wright.

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Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co-host today. The brand new book, From Paycheck to Purpose, The Clear Path to Doing Work You Love by Ken Coleman is now available-sale as of today at RamseySolutions.com. Ryan is with us in Wasilla, Alaska. Hi, Ryan. How are you? I'm good. How are you doing? Thank you for taking my call. Sure. What's up?

So I'm in line for a promotion, and I've been denied the promotion a few times. I want to know how to move forward for the promotion. What kind of information do you have from the previous times you've been denied or time? They tell you why? Yeah. So most of it was, so when I first got into the industry, I came in at the very rock bottom and I was kind of like a jokester, you know to make everybody smile, and I didn't think that this would have been my career job. Then I got my eyes opened up when I had taken a business trip

and had found out that this is kind of what I want to do. And I think my past is coming back to haunt me a little bit, and I wanted to know how to move forward moving forward out of this hole. So did they tell you that they think you don't take your work seriously? Was that specific feedback you got? No, it was more of I need to gain the respect of the others around. Okay, great. How long ago was this when you were last in line? It's been about six months.

Six months. Okay. And are you technically qualified to get this position? Besides the personal brand, kind of what people think about you and gaining some more respect, are you qualified in every other facet to actually do this job? Absolutely. Okay, great. So we talk about this in the book, Dave.

There's five qualities that make a person promotable. And here's the great news about this, Ryan. Whether you're a zero or a nine, you can move up. This is all about personal development. It's really character. And I think for you, there's two that I would focus on of the five. I would focus on the reliability, and I would focus on coachability. I think if you are going to your current leaders, maybe even some peers that might be a little bit older than you, they may not be a direct report, and I think you're asking questions, sitting down with pencil and paper and saying, hey, what are some areas that I can get better in?

What are some ways that I can get better once I've identified that? And then I would go over the top with being super reliable. This is just simply, you know what, somebody asked me to do something. Not only do I do it, I do it faster than they expected. I do it better than expected. And I might add a third one in here, which is likability. And you're a very fun, loving guy, sounds like, but you've got to make sure that you kind of adjust. Okay, I was a prankster here. I'm going to learn the right time to do that. Maybe I'm doing that at lunch and after hours, but I'm going to tighten things up on the serious belt. But I think if you do that and you show an overall hunger,

say, hey, I want to get better and I want to know how to get better, and then you deliver the results. You can't just ask the questions. You can't just have the one-on-ones. You have to actually change. I think if you do that, you're going to show yourself as a guy who's changed that personal brand, the image, the perception of yourself. That's the best way to do it. Very, very good. Make sure that when you do other people's work for them that you don't take the credit. Okay. And let them to have the credit. You go ahead and just serve. Serve everybody around you. Find who you can serve, how you can help.

My friend John Maxwell always says, how can I add value? How can I add value to your life? How can I add value to our friendship? How can I add value to our marriage? How can I add value to your workplace? And if I can add value, then what you're gonna want but you're gonna want me around and uh that that's just you think about the friends in your life the ones that when you're moving they they disappear or the ones that they show up early with a pickup

you know and um you know that's a measure of a friend right there because i'd rather i'd rather take a bullet than help you move i'm just saying you know it's like a measure of a friend right there. Because I'd rather take a bullet than help you move. I'm just saying. You know? It's like a root canal. But, I mean, stuff like that inside the workplace, find out what somebody's doing and reach over and pick up an end of it and help them carry it. And then make sure they get the credit for all the wonderful work they did. And with a slight smile, not a jokester smile, not a sarcastic smile, but just a grin that just says, I got your back, man. I'm here for you.

And you do that with everybody you work with at your peers. You won't have to point it out how good you are. Other people will do that for you. It'll take a little time because a damaged reputation is what you've got, and you're repairing a damaged reputation. So give it a little time. But I think you're very promotable, and the main reason I think that is you've had your wake-up call and you've got this level of humility.

I like you just talking to you. And I might not have liked the you that started there, though, because you were screwing off you were mailing it in you didn't take anything seriously if you're in a manufacturing setting you're dangerous you know in that setting and so you know whatever it is but but the guy that's asking this question is a cool guy yeah i think he's likable yeah he's realized okay i see what i did i see how i established this reputation but he's not deterred by it. He wants to get past it. Dave, you said something that's huge, certainly for a

young man like this. Patience is absolutely the wonder drug here. You've got to be patient. It takes time to turn a reputation around, and you've got to be patient because some people won't arrive at the conclusion that you want them to as quick as you'd like, but that's okay. Be patient. Do not quit.

It's going to pay off for him. The Bible says a good reputation is more valuable than silver and gold. Yeah. And it is. It's hard to get one and easy to lose one. Yes. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Cameron's with us in Beaufort, South Carolina.

Hi, Cameron. How are you? Hey, I'm great. How are you guys doing today? Better than I deserve. What's up? Hey, my wife and I have a question about what to do after baby step three. We're expecting our first baby in December. Thank you. Thank you.

And we're planning on moving next August. So we've made the decision to kind of put everything on hold and go ahead and stack up as much cash as possible until the baby is born. But then we also are considering just keeping everything on hold until the move and just trying to pile up as much as we possibly can. And then after that, if that's the right thing to do, where do we end up moving that money? My wife would like to move it into um our retirement accounts no because she's a disabled veteran no and she gets okay no it's not retirement money and you're screwing around with stuff there you don't need to you're not gonna make any money on it between now and next

august anyway we're talking about a thousand bucks here or something you're gonna make okay it's not it's not this is this would be after august after we have the money collected where would where then would we do would we don't buy a house aren't you well so she's a disabled veteran and she has told me that she gets um zero percent down yeah um loans through the va yeah so you want to go you want to get a big mortgage and keep a big mortgage i keep a big mortgage? I can't help you with that. I'm the guy that tells you to get out of mortgages.

Well, that's what we had been kind of going between. There's not enough benefit. The benefit for being a disabled veteran and getting a VA loan is that you don't have to pay all the funding fees and the other stuff, but it's still a stinking mortgage. Sure, sure. It's still a debt. It's still something thatinking mortgage. Sure, sure. It's still a debt. It's still something that's between you and being wealthy. So, no, that doesn't mean that you might use the VA loan as a disabled veteran.

It might be cheaper, maybe. It's kind of borderline. Okay. Than a conventional loan. But you still want the smallest possible mortgage on the shortest possible term. Okay. And we still want to get out of debt. So we're going gonna use all this

money towards the house and then one last question let me stop just a second okay because i want to make sure with the chuckle that you understood yes because that's the baby steps if you want to work your wife's plan you guys go work your wife's plan i'm not gonna be mad at you we'll be friends but if you tell me you're on baby step four this is the plan got it okay and i think that's why he's chuckling i think he knew what you were going to say but the wife's telling him something different i think we have a relationship issue here i think we got to sit down and get on the same page i think he believes in the baby steps i think wife's telling us let's ask him's ask him. He's still here. Yeah, I am talking about him like he's not on the line. Is Ken right?

Yeah, I mean, partially. She believes in a lot of what you guys talk about, but she's kind of behind on the curve of, you know... Okay. Well, then you guys need to decide that. Ken's exactly right. Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

So, yeah. You know, are we going to work her plan or are you going to work the baby steps? It's up to you. Dave's exactly right. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. So yeah, you know, are we going to work her plan or are you going to work the baby steps? It's up to you. Dave's got a track record. I'm going to throw that out there. I don't know about her. Yeah, I've got a few million who've done this. This is the Ramsey Show. If you've got debt, it might feel like you'll have it forever. But here's the truth.

You are not as far away from being debt-free as you think. Most people who do what we teach pay off all of their debt in 24 months or less. So why not you? When you're debt-free, you finally get to enjoy your money instead of stressing about it. But what if you want to get there fast? You need the right plan. With Financial Peace University, you'll learn step-by-step how to pay off debt, save, and invest for the future. Then you'll put everything you learn into practice with a budget using the premium version of our tool, EveryDollar.

And you get it all only in a Ramsey Plus membership. When you commit to this plan, you will become debt-free faster than you think. To start your free trial of Ramsey Plus today, text TRIAL to 33789. Text TRIAL to 33789. Joplin, Missouri. Chris and Sarah are calling. Says on my screen, you guys are debt-free. Congratulations.

It'll help if I push the button. There we go. One more time. See, that's too much information. You people should have... I should have acted like it was Kelly's fault, but I didn't. It'll help if I push the button. There we go. One more time. See, that's too much information. You people should have... I should have acted like it was Kelly's fault, but I didn't. I just said it was mine because it was. So, Chris and Sarah, how are you?

Great, Dave. It's good to talk to you. We're good. You too, finally. It was a long time I've been waiting to talk to you. So, tell me how much debt you paid off. We paid off $50,624 in 24 months. Yeah.

And a range of income during that two years. What was your range? We started off with around $71,000, and we ended with around $110,000. Nice jump in two years. What do you guys do for a living? My wife is a first-grade school teacher, and I'm a group leader with a 3M company here in Nevada, Missouri. Where did you get the extra $40,000 in income in two years? Well, I had a big jump in pay,

and I had a couple of side hustles that I did do. I worked a retail sales job, and when I jumped to work at 3M, I was able to jump off that job and stay there full time. And the pay has been great, and I've been working lots of overtime. Wonderful. Good for you guys. What kind of debt was the $51,000? Credit cards and personal loans, and just to tell you, I've had a real bad trouble most of my life with being honest, and I've just kind of had the mentality that I kind of wanted to

have the idea of keeping up with the Joneses, wanting to, you know, get ahead. And we did do an attended FPU class one time about 13 years ago where we were invited, and we just kind of thought, well, it's a good plan, but we tried to follow it, but then we just kind of went off on our own track and it was more or less my issues and not any of my family. I kind of went off on my own tangent and did things without my wife and kids knowing, but thank the Lord for forgiveness. Because of God's grace, our family is intact, loving the Lord.

And because you have pointed us in directions and given us principles to go by. You know, we are living life well and thriving in our finances and in other areas. And we appreciate you and we thank you for the principles you've given us. But we give all of our praise and glory to our Lord and Maker, Jesus Christ, for His healing that He's given to us. And we thank you so much for the principles that you've laid out to help us and guide us in our path. And we're thankful to our Ramsey financial coach, Tara Russell, from Overland Park. She was one that we got hooked up with, and she has just been such a blessing to us,

a great guide to help us setting up our budget and just tackling our debt snowball and just keeping up with us each and every month with our budget. Monthly meetings, our kids live out of envelopes. We live out of envelopes. In fact, it's kind of a going joke that even the cat lives out of an envelope. So everybody has envelopes and only so much money to spend on the budget. And when the money's gone, that's it for the month. So that works. I love it. So it sounds like there was an amazing amount of transformation that happened all through your lives. And the money piece, once the rest of that

stuff started kicking in, the rest of that stuff started kicking in, the rest of that transformation started kicking in, the money piece might have been easy compared. Yes, yes. And I was able to, Sarah and I were able to teach an FPU class at our church, and that, you know, was just added momentum for us to, you know, to be able to share our story with others and to, you know, be able to help other people have their lives changed. And it's just been such a great blessing. What is the word you would use to describe where you've landed from where you were?

Peace. Peace, yes. describe uh where you've landed from where you were peace peace yes peace yeah huge amount of peace we know where the money's going and uh there's there's no question about that anymore that's a change of lifestyle not just financially but it you know that bleeds through other areas of your life in every single area when one area is really messed up. Yeah, it sounds like trust and cleanliness go with it as well. Yes. Yes. Yeah. We have actually a tree that we planted.

A member of our church, we have a great loving church, and a member of our church gave us an acorn, and we planted it at Christmas. And each of our children picked a Bible verse that meant a lot to them, and Chris and I did too. And we planted that acorn at Christmastime with those Bible verses in the dirt. And that acorn tree is growing into, we hope and pray, a strong oak tree like our family is becoming. And it's very symbolic for us.

Yeah. Truly changing our family tree. Chris, I was going to ask you and Sarah, did the brokenness that you just shared with our audience, did that lead you to the FPU principles and trying to figure that out? Or did the FPU principles and getting the money part, did it help you move into the healing on the brokenness, or was it a 50-50? I'm just curious about that. You know, I would tend to say, and I'll let Chris say it, I would tend to say both ways. There was bleed over in both ways. You know, when you have issues going on, you know they need to be fixed, just not sure how to do it.

And whenever we start fixing in one area, well, that's going to bleed over and start fixing other areas, which did happen not just because it happened, but because the Lord allowed it to happen and helped us. And your principles guided us along that way. Yeah, that's powerful there. That's so powerful. I just want to say this real quick, you two. The belief in the money tactics sounds like it bled over into the belief in getting healthy in other areas, and that's a powerful thing. Yeah, and for me, when it was when I was down and I had reached the bottom, I mean, I tried to do everything on my own, and I had realized that if you put your

faith and complete faith and trust in Christ, and everything else will fall together. The money part came with it, but when you put your faith and trust in Christ. And it's just an amazing transformation. You know, there was desire there to get things right, but when you're not sure how to do it, and you're scared, you're scared because you don't know what to do, and you don't know what to pay first, and you just don't know what to do. But your principles helped us, and our financial coach, Tara Russell, she pointed us us and she always refers back to you every single meeting we have with her she refers back to dave and she helped point us in the right direction uh following your principles you guys are incredible yeah we got a copy of the legacy

journey that's the next chapter in your story you have changed your legacy and that tree as you said very symbolic of this change we still have our mortgage to pay off. You don't get that. But we are debt-free. You don't get that. Actually, we want to come to Tennessee when we pay our mortgage off. That'll work. And we want to do the debt-free screen in person. We'll let you do number two, version two, when you do that.

Absolutely. We'll be honored to have you guys. And a copy of Total Money Makeover as well, which you guys can give away and pay it forward. And the kiddos are going to join you in the debt-free scream? Yes, they're coming. We're all in separate rooms. Okay, what are their names? So we have Annabelle is our oldest, and Emma is our second oldest.

By the way, those two girls are in college, and I just want to let you know they live, Dave Principles, they're living on a budget and they live out of envelopes also. There you go. Our son James is 14 and our daughter Ella is 8. Alright, $51,000 paid off in 24 months, making $71,000 to $110,000. Count it down.

Let's hear a debt-free scream. 3 2 1 We're free! Love it! This is the Ramsey personality is my co-host today, launching his brand-new book on pre-sale today,

From Paycheck to Purpose, The Clear Path to Doing Work You Love. It goes on sale today. The actual launch date is November the 9th. All kinds of goodies when you pre-order the book, all for $20, about $100 worth of stuff. Be sure and check it out, RamseySolutions.com. Patrick's in Dallas. Hi, Patrick. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

Hi, Dave. Thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's up? Hi. I just want to say I'm a big fan of you. Me and my wife have been following the Baby Steps for the past couple months, and it's made a real big impact in our lives, and it's going really great.

So thank you for that. My question today is more for Ken. I've been listening to a lot of Ken Coleman's show and working towards finding my dream job, and I actually have a question for him. So I currently work for a great company and have a great leader, but it isn't exactly my dream job. I've already put in my resignation to my current job, and I'm starting work next week at another company that is much more aligned with my career goals. My question today, is it appropriate for me to ask my current boss for a reference letter before I leave my current position to be used possibly in a future job search? Sure. I don't know why it wouldn't be based on what you told me. It was a great company and you have a lot of admiration for your leader.

And assuming that you didn't burn the bridge and there wasn't kind of a nasty, ugly, tension-filled process in leaving, sure, I would absolutely feel like that's appropriate. No, actually, I gave him a three-weeks notice, and he was real supportive and said, of course, I'm going to miss you, but wish you the best of luck. And he kind of agrees that he thinks it's a good move for me. Yeah, it's a no-brainer. Say, look, you meant a lot to me.

I learned a lot from you. I've already landed the new job. I don't need it for that. But just because I admire you, I'd like to have a letter from you in the file. Yeah, you should do that. I think he'll feel honored, and I think that's a good move. Absolutely appropriate. All right, thanks a lot.

I kind of figured that's what you would say, but I appreciate it. Sure. Worst thing you can do is say no. Yeah. And you still got your job, so it's no big deal. But great on Patrick. That's the way you want to leave. You want your leader to say that about you.

If you do it right, and you have a healthy leader. There's two pieces to that equation, and both of those seem like great people there. Jake is on the line in Portland, Oregon. Hey, Jake, welcome to the Ramsey Show. Hey, Dave and Ken, thank you for taking my call. I am doing better than I deserve. Good. How can we help?

All right. So first of all, just thank you very much for, for your program. My wife and I paid off about $130,000 in student loan debt a while back and we were living debt free. Wow. Cool.

Yeah. So my question is related to education. So currently I'm working at a job I've been for about a year and a half. I'm eight years out of college. And I'm looking at getting an MBA. It's always been on my radar. They have a wonderful education assistance program that I basically was in line for. I got all the way through the process of getting classes registered.

I took the test. I got all the fees paid, and I got all the way to the top, and I got basically put on hold for the assistance. And so I need to make a decision whether I need to pursue the MBA anyways or hold off until potentially next year and try again. Why do you want the MBA? Is it just something you've always wanted to do or you need it? That's the key word, CAPS, N-E-E-D. Do you need it to get where you want to go? Well, looking at my leadership in my company, I don't think I need it. Not everyone has an advanced degree.

I'm an engineer. I have an engineering degree. I feel like the business side of things would complement that. I'd have the technical. I'd have the business acumen. That's what the original goal was. I do have a business minor that kind of set me up for this. That's why it's been in my radar.

But that's the tough part. I'm a little confused why they turn on and off the tuition assistance. Yeah, it was one of those things where it was going through the approval process. It goes through all the layers of management. And I was told by my direct manager that it was looking good and we were going forward and i couldn't so they don't approve everybody for this why do they not approve them they didn't give me a good enough the answer i kind of gleaned from the conversation was that i wasn't there long enough i've been there a year and a half, but I was on the right path, is what they were saying.

That's nothing to do with the fine print said nothing about how long you'd be at the company. It's that you need to be there a minimum of one year, which I had at the time. How many people work at this company? A lot. I would say it's a large company. It's actually part of a conglomerate of companies. So 100,000 or more? Yeah.

Okay. I'll say that. That's a lot. In the conglomerate of companies, yeah. That's a lot. Okay, good. All right. I just didn't know because we have a tuition assistance program,

and we won't approve it for if you want to be a nurse because we don't need nurses, and we don't want to pay for you to do that. But if you're learning something that has applicable inside this building, it's 100% approved all the time. It's very easy. But we're a smaller company. We're only 1,000 folks. Yeah, there's about 5,000 in my site. And I'm guessing it's somewhat competitive.

Is that true as well? Yeah, it's not like one person would win over another person, but yeah. Listen, I'd sit tight. Going back to what we said, you don't need it. It would be nice. Certainly an NBA is a good thing, but we want to cash flow it, and we would love to get the assistance. And I think with the work you've done, I'd sit tight.

I'd take them at heart, what they said, and I'd go do everything I could to show them that I've put in the time, I've put in the effort, I am now a candidate, and I'd keep signing up with a good attitude. I'd wait right now. I would not move into it yourself. Yeah, no reason to pay for it. Justin's in Raleigh. Hey, Justin, welcome to the Ramsey Show. How you doing, Mr. Ramsey? Good. Better than I deserve. How can we help? All right, sir. So I just kind of stumbled across your teachings.

I haven't really dived into it yet, but I am in $90,000 worth of, you know, overall cumulative debt. And I'm just kind of like at a loss of like should I file bankruptcy? What should I do? Especially when I have like garnishments coming against me or starting to come against me. Scary times, sir. Yes, sir. So what do you make?

What's your household income? Are you married? No, sir, single. Okay, what do you make? I make about $40,000 a year. Okay. What are the garnishments on? The garnishment is on this old credit card debt.

It's like $5,000 total on that one. Did they tell you they were going to garnish you, or they actually turned it into your employer? They actually, so I had a garnishment hearing today. Okay. So it's gone through. They're really doing it. Okay. And what other kind of debts are in the $90,000?

All right, so I do have $70,000 student loans. I have about $10,000 collectively with, you know, just credit card debt. $8,000 just medical bills and other, like, unsecured debt. And you're working 40 hours. Well, I'm working right now. I'm working about 50, 60, so I'm taking all the overtime I can get. That leaves you at $40,000 income? No, I just started this new job.

I was a teacher beforehand. Okay, so with you working all this OT, what are you going to be making? I expect to make about between $50,000, $55,000 when it's all said and done. Well, here's the bad news is you're not bankrupt. Here's the good news is you're not bankrupt. Student loans are not bankruptable. Right. So you wouldn't file bankruptcy on $20,000, man.

Gotcha. You go to work and work on a plan and work your way through this. You've got to beat this garnishment off with a settlement offer of some kind. Have you got any money at all? I mean, not on hand. I could probably liquidate. I do have like $500 in a stock portfolio through Robinhood that I can liquidate and do. Let's start gathering some money together and try to offer the people that are garnishing you about 20 cents on the dollar if you can, which on 5,000 bucks, that'd be $1,000, right?

And see if you can get a settlement going with them to settle this. Don't offer it as a payment. It's a settlement in full. Here's what we're going to do. I've been where you are. I've been scared like you are. I know how it feels, and I'm not going to leave you hanging with a short radio answer.

I'm going to put you into Ramsey Plus to go through Financial Fees University. I'm going to pay for it, and Kelly's going to hook you up with one of our financial coaches and help you walk your way through this so you don't file bankruptcy. No charge. We're not going to charge you a dime. You're not bankrupt. You're just scared and don't know your way out.

And we'll show you how. This is The Ramsey Show. Hey, it's Kelly, associate producer and phone screener for The Ramsey Show. If you would like to do your debt-free scream live on the show, make sure you visit theramseyshow.com and register. We would love for you to come to Nashville and tell Dave your story.