The Ramsey Show - App - How To Use Extra Money Coming In

Episode Date: May 30, 2022

Dave Ramsey and Dr. John Delony discuss: How to allocate extra money coming in, Whether or not you can maintain a work/life balance in Baby Step 2, Giving financial advice to an in-law.  Want a plan for your money? Find out where to start: https://bit.ly/3nInETX Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, 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, number one best-selling author of the book Own Your Past, Change Your Future, Dr. John Deloney. Ramsey Personality is my co-host today as we talk to you and help you with building wealth, doing work that you love, and creating actual amazing relationships. The phones are open. The phone number is 888-825-5225. Christian starts off this hour in New Jersey. Hi, Christian.

Welcome to the Ramsey Show. Hi, Mr. Ramsey and Mr. Deloney. How are you guys today? Better than we deserve. What's up? I'm happy to hear. I've been a listener to the Ramsey Show since I was in my early 20s, and I appreciate your advice. So I'm calling because I recently got my master's degree,

and I'm going to be starting a new job. For the first time ever, I'm going to have extra money at the end of the month once my building savings are taken care of. Good for you. What's your master's in? Thank you. It's in biology with a concentration in ecology and evolution. Wonderful.

What are you going to be doing? I'm going to be an environmental scientist. Oh, ding, ding. What's your income going to be? $55K. All right. Good for you. Way to go. I love it. So you have this trouble now. You just got too much money. Well, I'm going to have more money once I start my job than I've ever had before. And I was wondering how I can best utilize this money to financially secure my future.

It's my understanding that I'm supposed to put 15% of my pay into retirement savings. I'm unsure if that is before and after taxes. And also I'm an avid saver. However, I feel like though I'm just saving to watch my bank account grow right and i wanted to ask how can i intentionally take action to ensure that i'm financially prepared for my future you you are truly a scientist incredible i love it i love it very process driven you're going to be so wealthy oh Oh, good for you. All right, so you have no debt, I take it. Technically, no.

Well, what's technically mean? Well, sir, my parents were very, very kind. They bought a car for me when I was in grad school. The loan is under my name, but they're taking care of the payments. Nope. Nope. If it's your car and you're responsible for the debt you have debt we need to clear that up okay mom and dad being in debt on your behalf is not cool

so how much do you owe on your car it's approximately seven thousand good deal well you're going to knock that out first then you're going to build an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses then you're going to save 15 of your of three to six months of expenses, then you're going to save 15% of your income. And if you want to save beyond that, I would say you're probably saving for your first house. Would you agree with that? Okay. Would you agree with that? Sure.

I never thought that I could be able to afford a house, but that's a good call. You have a master's degree. Why couldn't you get a house? Of course you're going to be able to get a house. What did your parents do for a living? Well, my father, he worked for the USPS. Okay. And my mother works at an adult care center for adults with disabilities.

So you have two parents who worked really hard, but they didn't make a ton of money. Is that right? Yes. Okay. I come from a very similar situation. Dad's a police officer. Mom was staying at home. It was tough.

And Dave has given me an incredible gift, and the gift is this idea of ratios, which is I have been so scared of money my whole life waiting for the next shoe to drop that I'm somebody that like you likes to watch the account grow just because it makes me feel safer and it's an illusion and so it's this idea of what does safe feel like and it's this ratio so you're making more money probably than both your parents combined have made and you're going to enjoy some of that you're going to spend some that you're going to save some of that and whichever one of those categories is the one that feels the most awkward to you, then you're going to have to be disciplined in that category. And it sounds strange to say

you're going to have to have discipline in enjoying your life. But that's one thing that you struggle with because you've been fighting or fleeing your whole life, right? Yes. Yeah. So you're here. You did it. And so now what you're going to do is you're going to say, I have to go out with friends once a month or twice a month. And I got to spend money on something like on a new something. I'm going to do is you're going to say, I have to go out with friends once a month or twice a month. And I've got to spend money on something, like on a new something. I'm going to have to build that in. It's like federal law.

If you score a touchdown, you must do a touchdown dance. I mean, it's that. If you're making some money, you have to enjoy part of it. Enjoy giving part of it. And enjoy saving part of it. I took a call on my show the other day. Someone said, I can't give. How do I do that? I said, you practice. Put it on your thing and make part of it. I took a call on my show the other day. Someone said that I can't give. How do I do that?

I said, you practice. Put it on your thing and make yourself do it. Right? Absolutely. And watch people's body language. But whatever one of those things, some people spend too much and don't save, you've got to practice it. You've got to make that a discipline.

Yeah, you're not going to have to practice savings. That one's going to come to you easy. And so on. So, all right, James is with us. James is in Phoenix. Hi, James. How are you? I'm better than I deserve, Dave. How are you the same sir how can we help awesome just had a question for you

guys i felt a little double-minded in this financial journey kind of like foot on the gas and then feeling like not having enough family time and so then swing into the other end of things and um yeah just really not wanting to go for it in life um some of these financial sacrifices at the sacrifice of family and you know that emotional connection with family so just wondering even just practical tips on how you can make that happen you you know, in my industry. Well, here's the thing. If you did the stuff, if you did the intense thing where you're sacrificing your family for an extended period of time, you'd be sacrificing your family. When you do it for a short period of time in a sprint called gazelle intensity, like a year or two years, and you're busting it for a short period of time, you're not sacrificing your family. You're sacrificing for your family,

because your kids are going to have a completely different life because you got up off the freaking couch and were watching Netflix in the name of family time and went and did something instead. So the gazelle intensity thing usually doesn't last 18 to 24 months because you're out of debt. How much debt have you got, not counting your house? We're almost out of debt how much debt have you got not counting your house um we're almost out of debt we just have a few grand of medical bills that are somewhat pending um and then we build the emergency fund so where is it that you're

why is it you're going to be intense for so long then um i guess i guess maybe not even the baby steps but, but just the idea of building for the future sometimes is a sacrifice. Yes. Basically, I just want to make sure I'm not sacrificing family at the expense of just building a happy future. How many hours would you be working while you're doing this? To build the emergency fund? No, to do what you're talking about where you're losing your family.

I'm confused. You're working a 40-hour week or what? Yeah, I think my wife and I were both quality time people, so we feel the stress if we hit 50 hours a week. We just are feeling it in the household. Let me tell you this. If you are with your

family and you owe a bunch of money and you're not safe, you will be in the physical proximity of your family, but you will not be with them. Your kids will feel that tension, that frustration, and they will think it's their fault. The greatest gift you can give your kids is to set

them up on a safe foundation and if you owe somebody money you're not safe i would set your life up where it runs perfectly after baby step three on 40 or 50 hours a week yeah and if you're doing that you should be that's the way we teach that's moving from intensity to intentionality and you're gonna be just fine if you if you max out at 50 a week that's fine no problem Nobody around here is telling you to work 80 a week after you hit baby step three. Let me tell you a story about two families that are very much alike in a lot of ways. Both families have two working parents and a couple of young kids. Each has debt and has struggled to make ends meet.

But they're starting to make headway with their budgets and smarter decisions with money. They have dreams and plans, and the only real difference is that one family has the right amount of term life insurance, and the other doesn't. Big difference. If one of the parents die, and that does happen, their well-being would be destroyed. Paying for the mortgage, utilities, food, and other bills

would be impossible, let alone saving for education or retirement. That's why every day I talk relentlessly about getting term life insurance. Just go to zanderinsurance.com or call 800-356-4282 and see how inexpensive it really is. Be the family that takes those deliberate steps to be different and responsible. It really does make you the hero of your story, and it Personality, is my co-host today. Thank you for joining us, America, as we talk about your relationships, your mental health, your money, your career. It's all on the line right here. 888-825-5225. Mike is in Canada.

Hey, Mike, welcome to the Ramsey Show. Hey, Dave. Happy to be here. Thanks for having me. Sure, man. What's up? So I recently doubled my income. I used to make $40,000 a year. Now I'm making $80,000

gross. Good for you. And I'm starting to pay off my debt. And I had a question. So I know like I'm currently in step two. I know you need to, that's the ball. You need to pay the smallest, the largest regardless of interest, but have a credit card with like an equal payment plan. So there's absolutely no interest on it, and it's just equalized. There's like a year and a half left in payments, about 18 months. So I was wondering, should I pay that off immediately? It's only about $2,000. But I also have like the second bigger loan is like a family loan for $6,000.

So which one should I prioritize? Should I keep making the equal payments, or should I just squash that debt out? It's okay. Okay, you just told me you list your payments smallest to largest. You pay minimum payments on everything but the smallest, and you put all the money on the smallest until it's gone, regardless of interest. You just told me that. But, like, psychologically, it feels better to just pay off your

siblings because like that's the six grand is a family going on is there is there is are they in trouble uh no they're just nagging about it i'm like i just want to pay it off are you paying them payments as agreed no no you're not paying them anything. No, it's just like, okay, just pay it on lump. I'm sorry? Do you... I just wanted to pay them lump sum. Do you have six grand to pay them on lump sum? No, like I'm in maybe step two, so all I have in my pocket is like $1,200.

What was the loan for? Well, I actually have two family loans. It's for student debt, so I didn't really go through a bank. I just borrowed from family members. So I've got $30,000 in total owed to both siblings. You have $30,000 or $3,000? I've got $6,000 for one sibling, $24,000 for the other. $30,000 or $3,000? I've got $6,000 for one sibling, $24,000 for the other. $30,000 in total.

And the $6,000 is the squeaky wheel? Yes. Okay. Well, you'll get to them when you get to them. Yeah. $2,000 first. Knock it out. All right.

And then get to the sibling. Because I take it you're paying them no payments now, and when you finish off this credit card like this month next month you're going to start sending them what two thousand dollars a month or a thousand dollars a month what are you going to send them yeah well they live in a different country so i'm because i'm a cheap bastard i'm like okay i'll just save up and pay in a lump to avoid the wiring fees because she's in germany i'm in canada wiring fees are not that high. Yeah, your avoidance here. Yeah, I'm just avoiding it, I guess.

Yeah, and here's what I'd do. I'd sit down. I'd call my sibling and say, I'm sorry I've left you hanging here. Here's what I'm going to do. Here's my plan. I'm going to pay you this much every month for this time, and then we're going to get done with this thing. The avoidance and the I'll just let it pile up. Yeah, if I was was them i'd be hassling you too because it sounds like you're just avoiding it all make a plan with them as though they're a creditor right yeah and so and it's been a while how long

have they have you had this money uh about a year and a half now yeah okay and you didn't have good clear terms and agreement on when you were going to pay it back or how you're going to pay it back so they made up one scenario in their head you made up another scenario in your head And you didn't have good, clear terms and agreement on when you were going to pay it back or how you were going to pay it back. So they made up one scenario in their head. You made up another scenario in your head. And so now we're pissed about this scenario that doesn't even exist. So the best thing to do is get it off the books as fast as you can. In the meantime, call.

Now, how much can you put on debt with $80,000 a year? How much can you put on debt a month? If I, like, don't go out or don't do anything? Yeah, like what we tell you to do. Yes, don't go out. What would do anything yeah like what we tell you to do yes don't go out what would it be i'll try not to no no you don't have to try don't do it didn't you watch star wars one there is no try just do it so how much how much i can put down i will put,500 until I pay off my debt. So, how about that?

$2,500. Okay, so that pays off the credit card this month. Next month, you're going to send $2,500. The next month, you're going to send $2,500. The next month, you're going to pay that sibling off. And if you call them and tell them or send them an email that that's what's going to occur, they're going to stop whining if you follow through on that. And, Mike, I'm going to change your life. Are you ready?

Yes. Okay, listen to me. This is the way you live. This is a microcosm of your life, and it stops today. You have almost fractured family relationships over a problem that could be solved in 90 days. That's ridiculous because you're circling around and you're like, I don't know that solve the problem in 90 days. Most of our health problems can be solved in 90 days. A great number of our mental health challenges can be solved in 90 days. Relationships can be healed tonight. If someone will just go do it, I guess if i don't go out anymore is it worth your sister get done with it man what dinner is worth your sister right or who's to my friends get it paid

off and never ever ever not get something knocked out that's going to take 90 days of hard work good grief okay that's it i'm done now good yeah i'm glad you feel better i'm done now jeez but it's exactly right so star wars one was there is no try it was yoda it was yoda in one i think it was one or two i don't i don't know i'm looking at james james james sorry i'm not a star wars geek oh you guys he tells luke to do this thing and they're in a swamp and he's like lifting the oh man we've said some things on the show that gets the hate mail on the cards and letters but we're about to get yeah we're gonna get now we got a whole two and he said i'm getting a vote for two i'll try to lift it i'm getting a vote for two from the from the lobby he said there is a vote

for two all right well but um yeah i'm because i'm thinking one didn't have that much pithiness in it. I could be wrong, but it's, yeah. I mean, it's so old. Yeah, it's episode five if you're a true nerd. It was so old I was a teenager, okay? That's how old one is, all right? That's freaking old. You went to the theater in your covered wagon. Rocky Horror Picture Show and Star Wars were brand new.

This is how old it was. Oh, man. So here's the thing. I think that brings up a good point, though. Our mutual friend James Clear that wrote the book Atomic Habits, he talks about, and Craig Groeschel was talking about this, another friend, in his leadership podcast the other day. And he's speaking at the smart conference in the fall craig is but this idea that um you have to be careful biblically and psychologically what comes out of your mouth i'll try yep no you're not a person

who is trying to quit smoking you're a person who used to smoke. That's right. That's a whole different set of phrasing. Activate your brain, your spirit in a whole different way. That's right. I am getting out of debt. And so during this time, I'm going to list the debts smallest to largest. I'm going to pay minimum payments on everything but the little one i'm going to attack the little one with a vengeance i'm not going to see the inside of a restaurant during this period of time unless i'm working there as my extra job and i'm not going on vacation during this time there is no try that's exactly right you you i use you create a new identity i'm a person who used to struggle with money i don't anymore right i'm a steward of my money period yeah and that that is the frame with which i decide am i going to go out math used to intimidate me it doesn't anymore correct i'm a person i'm a person who does the math because it's causing me to win at my life and oh by the way the math is the fifth grade level needed to build wealth you don't have to have a calculus degree to build wealth that's right you do not have to pass trigonometry or geometry you don't have to

spell pythagorean theorem to become wealthy all you've got to do is one you don't even have to be really good at multiplication right just long division and addition and a little subtraction it's not that hard but it's but what happens is our brains tell us this stuff over and over and over i was the kid who struggled in math class so i'm not good at money or so or your mom told you we're just not good at math in the in the ramsey family the ramsey family's not good at math or the ramsey family's always good at math and you took that on as an identity right this is an identity change that's what clear is talking about right and that's what Craig's talking about you change your identity you go this is who I am I'm a joyful happy really good at math person I'm

a guy that takes hey I used to fight it I gotta go work out I gotta go work out nope nope I'm a guy who takes care of my body and that will will result in you working out. That's right. There's a cause and effect here. That's right. Dr. John Deloney, Ramsey personality, is my co-host today in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions. On the debt-free stage, Naaman and Gabrielle are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? We're doing well, Dave.

How are you doing? Better than we deserve, brother. Welcome. So good to have you. So, how much debt did you two pay off? We paid off $75,358. I love it. How long did this take you?

10 months and 18 days. Oh, there we go. And your range of income during that time? Back then, we were making about $58,000 to then $90,000. That's a nice jump in a year. Way to go. So where do y'all live? Venice, Florida.

Oh, yeah. Cool. What do you do for a living? I'm a machinist. I'm a CNC machinist. I'm a nurse. All right. So why did this income double? What did you do? I graduated? I'm a machinist. I'm a CNC machinist. I'm a nurse. All right. So why did this income double?

What did you do? I graduated. Yeah. Oh, she got a job. I like it. Way to go. That's awesome. That's time, Gabriel.

That's fantastic. That's so cool. Good for y'all. How long have you been married? Just over one year. Yeah. Cool. How old are you?

21. 22. And so what kind of debt was this $75,000? All student loans. Yep. Got rid of Sally Mae. Yep. Cool. How old are you? 21. 22. And so what kind of debt was this $75,000? All student loans. Yep. Got rid of Sally Mae. Yep. Okay.

So I have to know, how in the world is somebody 21 years old, 22 years old, this brilliant that you decide the first order of business as newlyweds is to get really Sally Mae because we really don't want a roommate since we just got married. We wanted to set up our future for our future family and changing our family tree. Yeah, but when I was 21, my future was about look how big this truck is. How did you guys decide? He does want a Tesla. He wants one, but he didn't get one.

He got a little Sally Mae. Exactly. There's a difference. Yeah, what got you in this journey? What in the world? How did you know to do this? How'd you get connected to us? So I kind of just found you guys on YouTube.

It was probably about a year and a half, two years into our relationship, and I was getting ready. I graduated high school, and I knew that this was going to be serious, and I was wanting to spend the rest of my life with her. I wanted to be able to support our family and be able to be the better leader of our household. I wanted to learn about finances, and so I went onto YouTube, and I found your videos, and I just got into it and just watched nonstop videos. And she was hearing me talk about it, saying I'm listening to some crazy guy on YouTube. Was he driving you crazy, Gabrielle?

A little bit, but I thought he was obsessed, and then I started listening too, and I just agreed with everything. So we started listening together and just jumped right on board. He started saving when you started working as soon as you graduated. Yeah, I've always been a saver. I've always been a saver, and so I was able to, thankfully, thank the Lord I was able to save so much and cash flow our wedding and

then have some savings to pile in to when we get married. We both had savings we could throw at it. Way to go, you guys. You're amazing. You are an amazing power couple at 21, 22 years old. Very well done. I'm curious, Naaman.

I actually just recorded a podcast yesterday with my buddy Mike Rowe who does Dirty Jobs, and he's a big proponent, as I am, of people considering going into a trade. So we've got a nurse with a ton of education, and we've got you coming out of high school, and you go straight into a trade, and you're making bank in the trade. You're doing very, very well. What made you decide to go that route? So I had a neighbor down the street that I was doing yard work for on summers, you know, and I told him I wanted to go and get my mechanical engineering degree. And he said, you know, you should probably go and learn how things are made and, you know,

learn how to make things with your hands and you know know the engineering behind um how things are made and so i looked into it and it was just a year-long course at a technical college and um right when i graduated i was placed into a job and you know i was blessed yeah so is your future goal to ultimately go back and get a mechanical engineering degree yes yes i would like to do that. You will be the best mechanical engineer because you actually have experience. It's not theory. Wow.

Your neighbor's a genius. That's a wise neighbor. Yeah. Very cool. Wow, wow. Who were your biggest cheerleaders as you guys were doing this? I'd say each other. And at work, I worked as a CNA before while I was

doing school. And when I started as a nurse, I took all the overtime that I could. And people were asking, why are you working so much? What are you doing? What are you saving up for? And I told them, you know, we were saving up to pay off all our debt. And people were asking how we were doing it. um they just saw that we were different and i saw people would start coming up to me and being like oh i paid off my car i'm signing up for six shifts this week and it was just really motivating to hear and people started listening to or some of the girls at work started listening to the show at work and all for their own reasons but um it was just really motivating to hear like

oh i did this or uh they're just seeing that we're different and uh and we listen to your guys show you know every day and so we had motivation from other people doing their deaf race screams and that was really what you know kept us going but a 21 year old and a 22 year old y'all the youngest people in your work area by a decade y'all were a little bitty light that blew everybody darkness people could suddenly see a whole new path yeah like y'all are changing a bunch of family trees that's fantastic you're all because you stumble onto youtube man who would have thunk it yeah that's amazing yeah i love it you guys are something i always tell people don't don't follow what you hear on youtube. I'm wrong. Way to go.

Way to go, man. With the exception of the Ramsey show. Good for you. This is actually information you can count on. Yeah, good. Very good. So what do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? You did it.

You're actual professionals. I say just dreaming together. We had a vision, and we knew what we wanted to work towards and that we wanted to start having kids sooner rather than later and get a house, so we made a clear path. And just like we were newly married, so it was hard, so sacrificing time we wanted to spend all the time we could together. So we just had to be intentional about

just when we did have days off, just, you know, sitting down, talking to each other and still making sure we had the same vision. And I was learning that, you know, it was all about, you know, the more you can sacrifice in the short term, it compounds and it's just beneficial in the long term. You know, when I was, when we were doing our debt free journey, I was constantly listening to Total Money Makeover while I was working the audio book. I think three or four times. It's probably seven or eight times. Oh yeah. Just better than I do.

And, you know, and some reason I wasn't understanding the point of getting rid of all non-retirement, you know, and I had and I had my beloved Tesla stock that I had purchased and it grew and I really loved that and it came down close to the end and I'm like, I want to get out of this debt, you know, I want to move up the bar, you know, we thought we were going to get done in January, then we said December, then we said November, you know, and so I sold out all that because I know that it's more beneficial for our future. Yeah, when he told me that, I was like, I had to clean out my ears i was like did you really what so how much beloved tesla stock did you have how many dollars worth it was five thousand all right look at you that was a big

that's a big jump and he wants a tesla too so he's told it's only bought in yeah he's a big elon musk guy i'm just saying way to to go, guys. Very fun. Very fun. Well, we're incredibly proud of you. You are an impressive, impressive young couple. You give old geezers like me hope that there's future with people like you guys running around. So, well done. We've got a copy of Baby Steps Millionaires for you.

That's the next chapter in your story for sure. You'll be there before you know it. And that Tesla's on the way. You're going to get you one, if that's what you want, anyway. And also a copy of Total Money Makeover. Make sure you get that, and maybe one of your buddies who's just getting started on this stuff, you can give it away to them.

So, good stuff. Good stuff. You guys are amazing. Very, very impressive. Naman and Gabrielle, or is it Gabrielle? Gabrielle. Gabrielle, good. And Sarasota, Florida, $75,000 paid off in 10 months, making 58 to 90, 21 and 22 years old. Shut up. Count it down.

Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt-free! Yeah! Yeah! Woo-hoo! So if you're listening or watching today and you have $80,000 in student loan debt, that was for you. That says that this can be done. One year.

And you should do it. Ten months, baby. Game on. But you sell the beloved dot, dot, dot. Fill in the blank. This is the Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. Thank you for joining us, America. Dr. John Deloney, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today as we answer your questions about relationships, mental health, careers, jobs, money. It's all right here on the Ramsey Show.

Jackson's with us in Athens, Georgia. Hi, Jackson. How are you? Hey, Dave. How are y'all doing? Better than we Ramsey Show. Jackson's with us in Athens, Georgia. Hi, Jackson. How are you? Hey, Dave. How are y'all doing? Better than we deserve, bro. What's up? Hey, I just had a question about a possible career change.

I have a good job right now with PepsiCo running a delivery route, and I have no debt. It's a $70K job, and I'm hesitant to do it, but I've been really looking into a program that South Georgia Tech offers where you can become a dealer, like a heavy equipment dealer technician for Caterpillar or John Deere. And that's the kind of work I really like. And I'm kind of hesitant to drop this job because it pays really well, and I could probably easily buy a house in the near future if I just stick with it and do it. But I guess the work isn't extremely. I got confused.

You said dealer, and then you said technician. Are you going to become a diesel mechanic? That's what I was looking at, yeah. Okay. All right. So what's dealer mean? Like a Caterpillar dealer oh work for like a caterpillar dealer yes sir as a diesel mechanic okay okay yes yep okay what kind of money will

you make when you're all licensed up and you've got a full-time job well i'm sure well there's an internship program so i'm sure i would be very low maybe like 15 to 20 an hour starting out but i've listened to some other guys who have you know stuck with their companies you know 10 years or so and they're making what i make if not better especially the field technicians and that's probably what i would want to do the guys who actually you know go out and deliver stuff on the farm or not deliver stuff but work on stuff out in the field and i don't know i'm not sure about heavy equipment and about tractors but diesel mechanics in general it's not unusual to hear somebody making six figures

right right so uh and i don't know where you're getting your information about your low-paid intern uh because if you go through a certificate program you shouldn't be in an internship for very long or it'll be part of your academic program right well the internship would be during school okay so like it's a two-year program total but you will go to school for like i believe it's three months and then work for the dealer between semesters. And the dealer is sponsoring you, so they're paying for your school. That's fantastic, man. And so look at that not as a—

Can you do that while you'd work? Well, you would—the campus is not near me, so I would work for the dealer you know of choice or i say of choice the one that would sponsor me so i'd have to find one to sponsor me first but you have to quit your pepsi job to do this right yeah yeah the pepsi job is is a it's a lot of work okay so single you're single and you make 70 and you're going to go down to 35 or 40 for two years and get your degree and then go up to 100, but it's what you want to do. Right. If that's the path and that's the question, then, yeah, I would do that. Twice in my career I've taken pay cuts to get to a place that I wanted to go

that ended up working out. And you want to make more at the end of the story. That's exactly right. Yeah, but you're making more at the end of the story. Right, yeah. more at the end of the story that's exactly right yeah but you're you're making more at the end of the story right yeah so i guess i just i don't want to get into the field and then for some reason i didn't look at all the i guess you can always go back and be a delivery driver pepsi always yeah yeah i guess that's true true okay go do what you want to do okay enjoy your life yeah but here's the thing um i'm gonna i think you kind of have looked at one possible way one possible path to accomplish the goal because the goal is 10 years from today you're a successful

diesel mechanic making 100k that's the goal right well now how do we how we got there you found one possible way that's a company sponsored thing the reason it's company sponsored is they have a shortage on mechanics and this is a way for them to get mechanics it's a feeder for their recruiting system that's why this company is doing this right and part of the deal if you sign on to this, is that you'll work for that dealer that sponsors you for X amount of years. Yeah, and I don't want to do that. I don't want to sign something where I'm doing that for too long.

Look at that tradeoff because that may not be the best path to get to 10 years from now. I'm a decent mechanic making $100K. You might be finding it at a local community college for much cheaper, and then you got to go get your own work which clearly you're going to be able to find the work right it's possible that you've got community colleges in georgia that are free right or near free and you go over there and you get your certificate uh nights and weekends right and you keep the job and then you're not beholden to anyone and you walk out and you're making 100k after two

years not going through all this stuff and you're not handcuffed to somebody because they gave you two dollars worth of tuition right so you need to really look into that part of it but the end goal is worth looking at now what i want you to do is i want you to have four different ways you can get there right now you have one and i'm not positive it's the best because I don't know what the other three are yet, and neither do you. And when you can take all the variables, all the unknowns out of this by continuing to research, then you're ready to pull the trigger on which of the four options, I'm making this up, that you're going to choose. But if you put four really strong, reasonable options in front of you,

two of them are going to suck, and two of them are going to be decent. It's going to be hard to choose between two of them. And then you're going to find the right way to do this. There's a lot of ways to get at things. There's a lot of ways to open a sub sandwich restaurant. A lot of different ways to do it. One is to buy a franchise. It's not the only way you can do it.

So there's a lot of ways to get in that business. You've just got to figure out how you're going to get there, and you don't have enough options yet, and you don't have enough information yet. But conceptually, where you want to go, we're both on board. And the ultimate question is, is it okay to take a pretty significant pay cut to get where I want to go, and I've got a training I've got? Absolutely. Temporarily.

Absolutely, yeah. If where I want to go is more money. That's right. And doing what I love. There you go. But this idea that I have to accept less money to be happy is absolute hogwash. Incorrect. And that's not his question, by the way.

All right. Melissa is with us in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hi, Melissa. How are you? I'm good. Thanks for taking my call, guys. Sure. What's up?

Quick question. I'm good thanks for taking my call guys sure what's up um quick question I married in my husband is amazing but his family is a little bit iffy when it comes to money and so I was trying to talk with my brother-in-law just a little bit because they're in a rock and a hard spot um he has borrowed money from another family member and that other family member keeps on changing the agreement, changing things up, jerking him and his wife around. And so I finally said, you know what, the best plan might be to go take out an actual loan because the loan people won't jerk you around as much as this family member is. Does that sound advice to give them? Yes.

Okay. Melissa, high five yourself. You've done good. Yeah. Yay. Because not only are they getting jerked around and not only is it a moving target, and we can't hit a moving target in this case, butgiving dinner tastes different when you eat with your master and the borrower is slave to the lender and so when you sit down if your mom and daddy

are the sweetest people in the world but they loan you some money until you pay them back that turkey tastes different at thanksgiving and it messes up your thanksgiving and your kids thanksgiving and your husband's thing right it? It messes up everything. Yeah. And so, and the thing is this, what I would do is add a little icing to this advice and go ahead and whisper in both of their ears, like never do that again. Okay. Like the one that made the loan

and the one that took the loan. Don't ever do that again. Never do this with people that you supposedly love. If you want to help a relative and you have the money, give them the money give them the money no strings attached or don't but don't loan them money ever and melissa the one other piece of advice i'd tell you to pass along to your brother-in-law sister-in-law is get this final payoff from your family member in writing because you don't want to go to the bank

and take out a loan for seventeen hundred dollars or ten thousand dollars whatever this is and then a month later uh actually you owe me eleven or you owe me twelve thousand let's get it in writing let's go to the bank get that number and get it how much do i owe you if i wrote you a check today that's right send me an email with that yep that's all it needs to be doesn't have to be a contract just send me an email tell me exactly how much it is so I've got a copy and I can remember what you said because I don't want to forget what you said. And I don't want you to forget what you said. Especially not what you said. That's that part of it.

There's that. Oh, that puts the sour of The Ramsey Show. Did you know over 18 million people listen to The Ramsey Show every week? A lot of those people listen on one of our 600-plus radio stations across the country. To find a station near you, go to RamseySolutions.com slash show.