The Ramsey Show - App - I Accepted a New Job and Doubled My Income! (Hour 1)

Episode Date: July 21, 2021

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Live from the head 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. Christy Wright, Ramsey personality, number one best-selling author, is my co-host today.

Open phones at 888-825-5225 as we take your calls about your life and your money. That's 888-825-5225. Well, the book is launched. It's been available for pre-sale, pre-order for about a week, and sales are brisk. Doing very well. Take back your time. The Guilt-Free Guide to Life Balance is here. It will be here soon, and we're selling it now. It comes out pre-sale.

The actual launch date is September 14th. September 14th is when it will be mailed to your mailbox. And, of course, if you pre-purchase Take Back Your Time, the guilt-free guide to life balance, you will get the e-book, the audio book, and a lot of other goodies. Go to RamseySolutions.com. Hit the store. And Christy Wright's brand-new book will be there.

It will be a number one. It's already selling faster than any of us imagined. We hoped it would do really good, but it's kind of a – we're all like, wow. Yeah, I think it shows what a pain point this is for people, because especially when you look at last year with COVID, and then now life is getting back to busy, and we're kind of going, what does this even look like? We had a breather there for a minute where we didn't have to be frenetic and stressed out.

And now it's like back to it. It's right back to it. And I think, too, you start to realize, gosh, I've tried to manage my calendar. I've tried different apps and different planners, and the problem keeps creeping up. And that's why I love in this book getting to the root behind our problem with our time, and then we can fix it there, and then watch how it fixes the calendar. So it's really a different perspective on life balance, which I'm excited about. So if you feel like no matter how much you check off your to-do list, it's never enough,

like you're always just pulled and pushed and torn and end of the day ragged out. Well, you need to take back your time. And Christy will show you how with this new book. It's a great read, some great, very clear principles that you can apply to your life. And you will immediately identify with her and her stories all the way through the thing. On top of that, we are doing next Wednesday, the 28th, the Life Balance with Christy Wright. You can join a free session at 7 p.m. on YouTube or Facebook, and you will learn what life balance is, what it isn't,

and what the root cause of why you feel out of balance, how to achieve balance so you can actually enjoy your life. And so how do you get involved with this free life balance event next Wednesday, the 28th at 7 p.m. Central Time on YouTube or Facebook? Well, you go to RamseySolutions.com slash balance and you need to RSVP and we will send you the link. Yep. Get your spot.

Once you RSVP and give us your info, we'll send you a link. It's completely free. No salesman will call. And it's all on this whole subject of taking back your time. RamseySolutions.com slash balance for the event next Wednesday, the 28th, with Christy Wright. Lots of good stuff going on. Open phones at 888-825-5225. You jump in.

We'll talk about your life, your balance, your money, your lack of any of those. Lack of life, lack of balance, and lack of money. We can talk about that and how to get more of each. Yeah, it's a good idea. And, you know, this is a great, timely subject because it's one of the most misunderstood areas where there's a lot of toxic shaming, almost a self-shaming on this whole idea of I got to get balanced. I got to get balanced. Oh, I'm balanced.

Oh, no, I'm not balanced. And so you just can't you can't really do it. And so there's a way to get control of your life. And it's called taking back your time where you are in control again. It's interesting when you control your time and you control your money. Oh, I think we have control of our life. Yeah, that's so true. And it gives you a sense of control that has a ripple effect.

Less anxiety, less stress, less worry, more peace, more confidence, more fulfillment, more enjoyment of your life. Like watch the ripple effect of if you can get control of these two areas of your life it's huge and the parallels like we always say dave between time and money is is is very um very consistent exactly again open phones here at 888-825-5225 ben is in detroit to start off this hour hey ben how are you good yourself. Yourself, sir? Better than I deserve. How can I help? So my wife and I are wrapping up Baby Step 3 in October. I'm 26 and she's 21, and we want to make sure we follow your plan to the letter. I'm worried I have too much house, and my question is, should I sell it and downsize,

or do I just power through Baby Step 6? Well, what makes you think you have too much house? Just the worry we're not following the 25% of your take-home pay rule. Oh, I see. Okay. But you've made it through. You're out of debt, and you're ready to start. I mean, you're finishing up your emergency fund,

then you're going to be ready to start 15% of your income into retirement. Are you going to be able to do that? Correct, yes. Okay. So what percentage of your take-home pay is your house payment? About 30%. Okay. 35, but it's not a 30-year.

Yeah, okay. It's not a deal-breaker. I don't think you have to move down, but you just need to be aware of it. Because here's the other thing. At your age, at the beginnings of your career, you have to be, unless you started at 12. And so you're going to see in the coming 5 to 10 years pretty substantial chances to increase your income as your career moves along aren't you yes very true yeah and so that's going to change that number pretty quickly uh to where it's not going to be 30 anymore it's going to be 25 and then it's going

to be a 30 year 15 year so you're going to be able to lean in on this house it's just it may be in the next uh 36 months you're not going to lean on it really hard. Okay. If I am based on projections of my income in recent years and side hustles, I'm projecting about eight years finishing up Baby Step 6. Would you consider that normal? Yep. Right on. Now, the typical total money makeover, financial peace university graduate that leans in is done with the home in seven to eight years.

So that's about right. That's a pretty. Well, hey, sir, thank you. Yeah, you're doing good, man. You're doing awesome. Well done to be in your early 20s and be in that position. Debt free, working on a house. That's awesome.

And is intentional. Yes. It's really looking at everything, making sure what do we got to do. So what we're saying is, is you're going to be a baby steps millionaire by the time you're 30. Yeah. You know, before she's 30's 30 i'm sorry you said eight years he was 26 i think wasn't he yeah but yeah so by the time you're 35 you know you'll be a baby steps millionaire you'll be there because you're gonna have a nice home that's paid for and you're gonna have during that time been putting 15 away of your of your income and yeah you're gonna be in really good shape. Congratulations.

Very, very, very well done. Well, that's what we do. It's all about you. We talk about you right in front of you. Christy Wright, Ramsey Personality, number one bestselling author, is my co-host today. This is The Ramsey Show. Thank you. People all over the country are discovering a faith-based and budget-friendly way of meeting health care costs through Christian Health Care Ministries. Christian Health Care Ministries, or CHM, is a nonprofit organization that helps members carry one another's burdens with health care expenses, and they have successfully shared each other's medical

bills for nearly 40 years. See if CHM is right for you by visiting chministries.org. CHM is a proud sponsor of Dave Ramsey Live Events. Christy Wright, Ramsey personality, number one best-selling author. New book is on sale. The pre-order, the actual book comes out in September. And we're taking pre-orders now. And the pre-order package is a dreamy, dreamy deal. You get all kinds of goodies.

The book is Take Back Your Time, the guilt-free guide to life balance. Jump on RamseySolutions.com and get your pre-ordered copy and all the goodies to go with it the ebook the audiobook and tickets to things and oh man we're just giving you access to all kinds of goodies you don't want to miss out dina is with us dina's in virginia beach hi dina how are you hi dave i'm doing great today i just want to tell you it's an honor to be speaking with you i'm like a walking billboard for you. Thank you. Thank you. I need walking billboards. I gave your book to everybody at Christmas time, including myself, as a gift, and it's been a game changer and a life changer for me. I'm currently on baby step two, and by the end of September,

I will have paid off all of my debt way to go awesome good for you i'm really really excited about it but in looking for uh to the future my question to you is interesting and it's i've got a a unusual opportunity um I'm looking to purchase my first home. I'm currently in a rental that I've been in for 11 years. It's dirt cheap in the best possible area that I could ever want to be in. I'm just wondering if I should look to purchase this house, which would give me an instant investment because it is a duplex, or should I try to do something on a smaller scale and look for something else, a smaller single family or a condo for myself? The one you're living in is coming up for sale?

Well, the situation is that the landlord is a very old man, and we have had discussions in the past about him giving me basically a first right to purchase um it would be an amazing opportunity due to the location um it is on my vision board i have such a vision for what i would want to do with this so if you bought it there's a lot of unknowns if you bought it um if you bought it, um, uh, okay. I think I just heard you're going to do a lot of renovation. Did I just hear that? Eventually I would, I would be able to continue living in it, um, while saving for reservations.

Okay. And if you don't have a tenant, can you make the payment at 15 at, um, 25% of your take home pay? Yeah. That's kind of the issue. I am just starting to save. So ultimately my question rolls to what is the best way for me to save for this, whether it's this house or another house.

I know I'm kind of all over the place, and I apologize for that. It's just beyond the, you know, you get your emergency fund in place in baby step three, and then you start saving for a down payment on a house. And then the only question is whether you buy that house or not, and can you afford it. And duplexes are good in that you have a tenant and that you have some income off of them the great news is the tenant is next door the bad news is the tenant is next door i got lucky with the tenant because i was able to choose the tenant i'm a i'm a realtor now you always get to choose the tenant but but they're always next door.

Correct. When you own the house, you get to choose the tenant. I get to choose who lives over there, but they're next door. And that creates potential boundary issues and all kinds of things you really have to work through. You have to think about that. The other downside is when you get ready to sell a duplex, the typical buyer of a duplex is not an owner occupied. The typical buyer is a real estate investor. And real estate investors have a tendency to buy things at wholesale, not at retail.

And so consequently, duplexes at the same price, say a $200,000 duplex versus a $200,000 single family, single family sells at retail to another user. And consequently, they will generally appreciate more than duplexes will because of who your buyer market is. Your buyer market is a wholesale buyer on the duplex and it's a retail buyer on the other. So as long as you understand those things going in and you don't have some kind of false romantic version of what being a landlord is with having people next door, I mean, you

know, you could open up a farm and have a bunch of goats, right? Been there. I knew somebody did that. Seemed like such a good idea at the time. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. But that's a great example, really, because sometimes we get an idea in our head of what something's going to be like and the reality is very different so i i mean you're so on point of like thinking through what are the actual implications of this arrangement that and is that what you want or

would you rather buy something else where you're not dealing with someone so um yeah it's sometimes we need to think through the good the bad and ugly, not just the good that we're excited about. Yeah, if you get sideways with a tenant, they are, you know, something, a life event happens, and they decide they're not going to pay because they're going to take care of the life event, whatever that is. Yeah. And even if you want to have some mercy on them and let them have some time or something, that's OK. But at some point they got to pay or leave. And if you get sideways with them and they are literally one wall away, that can be a thing.

Well, I'm just thinking even to every time she walks out her front door, if they just have new things that they want to complain about, like the water's too hot or the pain is chipping or you know and you're right there to complain to all day every day wait a minute i don't do light bulbs i know but my light bulb's out yeah yeah and you're right there yeah that's exactly what you've got so you have to have real boundary discussions and you have to observe good boundaries you can't just run over there and knock on the door all the time so uh but it's just um it's a it's a different thing emotionally and and relationally to have them right next door. Julie is with us. Julie's in Bend, Oregon. Hi, Julie.

How are you? Good. I'm so excited to talk to you guys. This is my first time calling any radio show. Wow. Thanks for calling us. We're honored. Thank you for joining us.

How can we help? Okay. Well, I've been doing your program for a couple years, and I have been in myself both, actually, I should say. And we recently sold our house. It was a good time to sell in our area. And we are kind of trying to simplify and scale down. So we're moving into one of our rental houses, but now we sold our house and we have this, you know,

chunk of money and we want to tithe on it. And we go to a church regular, we tithe there. My sister, her and her husband are pastors, so we tithe to their church too. But I just, I'm nervous about how do you tithe on a big chunk of money should you put it all in one place? And, you know, seeking God, asking for wisdom and all that, but just kind of wanted your opinion on, you know, what's the best way to tithe, and do you break it up

or just put it all in one big pot? Well, how much did you gain on the house? What did you pay for it versus what you sold it for? Well, we came out with, after we paid off the mortgage part that was left, we have a million or just a little bit over that. Yeah, but what did you pay for the house, and what did you sell the house for? Well, okay, I see what you're saying. So we built back in 06, and I think we had about $800 on our first mortgage.

No, it's not your mortgage, darling. I'm asking what you paid for the house. Well, the bills, I don't even know. Okay. What you sold it for minus what you paid for it is your gain. And that's what technically, if you want to get a technical biblical answer, that's what you would tithe on, your net increase. Your net increase has nothing to do with the mortgage.

Mortgage is not a part of the formula. So it's what you sold it for minus that, and technically you would tithe to your local church. Now, if your local church has an annual budget of $300,000 and you're getting ready to give them $100,000, that's going to be a problem because you're going to upset the old apple cart there

and you may want to think about how you place that. But that's your technical answer. Overall, though, God's not mad at you when you're going to upset the old apple cart there, and you may want to think about how you place that. But that's your technical answer. Overall, though, God's not mad at you when you're giving. So let's just keep giving at the forefront and not get too twisted up on the technicalities. Thank you. Christy Wright, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Dr. John Deloney will join me next week for an Entree Leadership Theme Hour, which means that as you're calling me with business questions,

or if you've got questions about business, if you're dealing with things around business like stress, or like problem team members, or problem family situations in your family business, or something like that, gosh, Dr. D would be the one to answer your question and help you with that. I'll always have an opinion.

You can count on that. I got one about everything. But either way, you can let us know your Entrez leadership question, particularly if it falls in those categories. Just go ahead and email Kelly now at DaveOnAir at RamseySolutions.com. DaveOnAir at RamseySolutions.com. Just put Entrez leadership in the subject line or something like that and a little bit about what you want. air at Ramsey solutions.com Dave on air at Ramsey solutions.com. Just put on trade leadership in the subject line or something like that. And a little bit about what you want and Kelly,

I'll get back with you and make you a caller on the entre leadership theme hour with Dr. John Deloney and me on the debt free stage in the lobby of Ramsey solutions. Andrew and Nikki are with us. Hey guys, how are you living the dream? Love it. Love it. Where do you guys live? Grand Rap are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? Hi. Living the dream. Love it. Love it. Where do you guys live? Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Oh, fun. Welcome to Nashville. Good to have you guys. All the way here to do a debt-free scream. How much have you paid off? $165,000. Whoa. Okay. How long this take? Seven years, 11 months. Wow. And your range of income during that time?

A range between $90,000 and $115,000. Okay. So I'm going to guess, with that amount of money, that that might be your mortgage? Yeah, we paid off our mortgage. It is. You paid off the house! Looking at weird people!

Seven years, 11 months. Just like I was telling that caller earlier in the hour. That's about what it takes on average. Look at you guys. What's this house worth? It's worth about $325,000 now. It's all yours. All ours.

I love it. Congratulations, you guys. That is so amazing. Very, very well done. Oh, man. So powerful. So tell us the story. What happened? So we got married nine and a half years ago. And as a wedding gift, my brother and sister-in-law

gave us a financial piece and Tony Money makeover. And I'm not much of a reader. So at the time, I didn't pick them up and read them. And a few months after getting married, we wanted to buy a house. So we went and saw a realtor friend of ours. And it turns out he was probably one of your endorsed local providers before we even knew what one of those were. And so we went to him and we had $40,000 of student loan debt. And he said, hey, we want to buy a house. And he said, focus on getting a student loan debt done first, and then I'll sell you a house in about a year, year and a half after you get that done. And then he gave us a copy of Financial Peace and wrote a nice note in there. And he talked to us as if we were his own kids. And so I walked out really confused. I was like, why is it that a realtor

who makes a living off of selling homes is not selling us a house? And number two, why does everyone keep giving us these books? So we went back and we read the books together and we got the student loans paid off and got a house shortly thereafter and all the debt was done.

But we never felt comfortable having the house payment, having the mortgage. So right from the beginning, we just said, okay, we're not going to be in debt with a mortgage for long. And we're going to try to pay it off as quickly as possible. And five years ago, we were pregnant with our first child. And we said, if we make the right sacrifices now, by the time this child is five, by the time we're done with the house, they're not even going to remember any of the sacrifices that we made. Let's just, we looked at each other and said, how weird do you want to be? And we decided that we were going to be really weird. So we went gung-ho on the mortgage five years ago

and got the last payment out in March. That is amazing. What was the hardest part of making those sacrifices with little kids? Because little kids, I'm in that season, y'all. It's no joke. It's hard on its own. Tell me a little bit about what that was like, the habits you got into. You know, I think one of the hardest things was maybe not necessarily going on. We still went on a couple of vacations, but not going on maybe as many vacations as what we would have pictured doing with the kettos.

Because it is really fun to see their faces light up when, when they're having a good time or whatnot. Yeah. And now you can take all the vacations. You can do whatever you want. Okay. Who, what, who were your biggest cheerleaders and what kept you motivated? Like, how'd you, how'd you stay with it for the, for the long haul? Yeah, I think our biggest cheerleaders were my brother and sister-in-law who gave us the first books. We were able to discuss with them how our progress and just encouraging us along the way. And then, yeah, just what kept us going is just that perseverance.

And I'm the one where I can get house fever. So I'm looking at all those homes that are out there and saying, oh, we could move into this house. Let's upgrade. Yeah, let's upgrade. No, let's not. Let's finish this one first. Yeah, then she slaps me across the head and brings me back down to earth. There you go. I like it.

Very good, you guys. Very, very well done. So proud of you. Absolutely amazing. So what do you tell people the secret is to getting out of debt? How old are you? 33, 32. And you have a paid-for house. Wow. That's amazing. So what do you tell people the secret is to getting out of debt? How old are you? 33, 32. And you have a paid-for house. Yes.

Wow. That's so weird. That's amazing. What do you tell people the secret to that is? I would say perseverance because especially when you're paying off your house, it's not a one-year run. And just continually reminding each other of what your goal is and why you're doing it. And then we also would tune into the radio show, especially if we were feeling a little bit an itch to do something else, to upgrade to a different house. We're like, no,

let's listen to the other debt-free screams and the other things. And that gives a lot of encouragement too to keep going. That's awesome. And a written plan. Yeah. And being on the same page with your spouse. Yeah. We had a written plan and a plan of how we were going to get this done five years ago

and just kept persevering through it, and we're on the same page together. And so when you have all four wheels of the truck going the same direction, then you can make progress. That's good. It's absolutely powerful. Well done, you guys. And you brought the kiddos with you. What are their ages and names?

We have Corey. Come on up. Turn around. And then we have Kara Ray. Corey just turned five and Kara is going to turn three next week. All right. Very fun. Good times. Kara is going to turn three next week. All right. Very fun. Good times.

Good-looking hat there. That's right. Excellent job. All right. Good, good. Well, we've got a copy of The Legacy Journey for you. Give you yet another book. That's the next chapter in your story.

You've changed your whole family tree. Very well done. And a copy of the Total Money Makeover for you to give away and use that for your pay it forward moment. So Andrew, Nikki, Corey, and Kara from Grand Rapids, Michigan, 165,000 paid off. Seven years, 11 months, making 90 to 115. House and everything. They're not even 35 years old. Count it down.

Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt-free! Wow. That's fun. That is so cool. That is so fun. The house, everything.

And those little girls, like they said, they're never going to remember the sacrifices. They go on whatever vacation they want to now. Rachel was born the year we filed bankruptcy, and they do not have memories. Denise was a toddler. They do not have memories of that. They do not have memories of the stuff that we went through. Because by the time they were old enough to start actually having a memory, we have already been applying these principles for years.

Right. And we were turning it around ourselves. memory, we have already been applying these principles for years. Right. Right. And we were turning it around ourselves. And so, you know, I think there's a drama queen that lives inside of all of us. We go, oh, with little children, you're going to damage their little child. No, you're not. It's like you always say, live like no one else so later you can live and give like no one else.

And we've even talked about this in the theme of the time management, doing the right things at the right time. Do the right things at the right time. Live like no one else. And we've even talked about this in the theme of the time management, doing the right things at the right time. Do the right things at the right time. Live like no one else. Later, you can live and give like no one else. That's how it works. Christy Wright, Ramsey Personality, my co-host today. This is The Ramsey Show. Thank you. We'll be right back. Christy Wright, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Our question of the day comes from Blinds.com. Find out for yourself why Blinds.com is the number one online retailer of custom window coverings. You'll get free samples, free shipping.

And with the new promos they run every month, you'll save even more. Always use the promo code RAMSY to get the best possible deal. Today's question comes from Jacqueline in Washington. I'm a 15-year-old high school student running a nonprofit organization. We teach online classes to younger students and host events like guest speakers and writing competitions. Our organization was founded during quarantine last year, so our online classes really took off and we've raised over $7,500. With things opening up around the country, we've been struggling to find students to sign up for our online classes. Do you have

any recommendations on how to reach a wider audience or market? That's interesting because, you know, what we did last year with COVID, Dave, is we just all adapted and pivoted and adapted and pivoted and brainstormed and got creative and thought outside the box and all that. And it sounds like that's what she has to do again, because if her main audience base was there because of COVID and quarantine, having to do online classes, it's time to adapt again and figure out why would someone come to an online class now? And if not, what does it look like to maybe do something in person if that's what the audience is wanting? So it's one of those things where we're constantly adapting and iterating and meeting the needs of our market, even as the environment or the market's needs change. Yeah.

And if you're using guest speakers, it always does the subject they're covering. And are you putting the right lure on the end of the fishing line in order to attract what you're wanting to attract there? And that's going to affect it as well. So, you know, and here's the thing. You are not far out of your own focus group, meaning that you think a lot like your customers think probably. And so you probably think about what would you go to and why would you do it. And you're not going to be far off on that. Now, when I started this show, that was the case because I was in my early 30s.

And a lot of the people we were talking to were in their early 30s. So I knew what my customer was thinking because I was the same person as my customer. Nowadays, I'm not. And so nowadays, I'm talking to people in their 20s and 30s, and I'm 60, so it's a different thing. But she has the advantage of being in the same headspace, and you can kind of go, well, why would I do that? Right.

And you can always ask. I think sometimes as business owners, we feel like we have to be psychic and just know what our audience wants, and it's, like, embarrassing somehow to ask them what they want. You can just ask. Like, if you're not signing up for these online classes, why aren't you signing up anymore? What are we missing?

What do you need? What do you want more of or less of? Just ask them. Sometimes it can be a simple email or survey that does that. Cheru is in Boston. Hi, Cheru. How are you? Hey, Dave and Christy.

So pumped to talk to you guys. You too. I appreciate you taking the call. Absolutely. How can I help? Yeah, Dave, like over the last two years, I can think of one single day where I've like not watched you on YouTube or heard you on the podcast. Wow. Yeah, but I guess I'm 28 years old. Uh, I moved to the U S from India when I was 21 to go to grad school. Um, I landed

in the country with a hundred dollars and, um, you know, um, during those grad school days had a bunch of days where I was like hungry and homeless. Uh, but I was just like really grateful and excited to be in America. But yeah, when I finished up grad school, I had a $56,000 student loan and an $18,000 car loan. Fast forward today, I'm debt free. I have a six month emergency fund and I have $41,000 in my Roth and my 401k. Impressive. Well done. Thank you. Thank you.

And at my current job, I'm making around $72,000. And just yesterday, I got offered a job in New York where I'm going to make about $140,000. Wow. Love it. Good for you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I think my question is just in terms of like, how do I really like roll over my retirement accounts?

And also what would be the wise thing to do since my income is taking almost a jump to, you know, twice of what it currently is. Wow. Well, you never take your, you always take your old 401k with you, but you never take it to the new job. You always just take it as an IRA rollover. Get with a smart investor pro at RamseySolutions.com, and they'll help you select some mutual funds and roll the old 401k into it. Of course, you'll start a new one at the new place.

That's a no-brainer as far as that part goes. And the second part of your question was what again? What to do with all the money. What to do with the jumping income. Well, you're also going to have a jump in cost of living. Cost of living. Thank you very much. I was thinking the same thing.

You definitely are. Your income is going up, but your cost of living is, I'm guessing, I mean, Boston's not cheap, but New York is just crazy. So just take into account that your budget's going to change as well. Your expenses are going to change as well. You're, yeah, just the cost of all the normal things you do will go up. So you will need that. And part of that is reflected in that income as well. You say New York, you're working in Manhattan, right?

Yes. Yes. But I'll probably live in New Jersey. Yeah, I got it but i mean you're you're you're you know you're moving into one of the more expensive markets in the world as far as cost of living goes and rent and everything and so um uh but that's not that's not going to eat up all the difference you still this is still a wonderful decision and really you're going the right direction um as far as extra money goes we're going to walk the baby steps man i mean you're out of debt you build your emergency fund

and uh you start saving towards buying a home someday and it may take you a little while and of course you're putting 15 of your income to away towards retirement and uh you know but uh you've come so far i mean you you hit the docks $100, and you go from there to here. This is absolutely amazing. Amazing. So proud of you. Very, very well done. Jonathan is in Anchorage. Hey, Jonathan, how are you?

I'm doing well. How are you? Better than I deserve. How can I help? So me and my wife just graduated back in May, and then we got married at the end of May. We both graduated with our undergraduates. Congrats. She's wanting to go to, thank you, physical therapy school. But she's going to be taking a gap year so she can work and save up a little bit of money.

So my question is, should we be paying off our student loans, which is about $35,000 right now? Or should we be saving as much as we can in this next year and try and cash flow as much as her master's degree as we can. I don't think she'll do this master's degree right now. Okay. Because you said, I want to try to cash flow it. Let me tell you what that means. It means you're not going to do it. Yeah, no.

We'd probably be able to do the first year, but then you'd have to take the second and third. You need to pay cash for this, or you don't need to do it. If you put your debt repayment on hold and you spend all this time piling up cash and you guys work like maniacs and you can pay cash then for her move, you don't have to have all the cash up front, but you have to see a way that you can cash flow this, and you change your statement to, we are going to cash flow this, not we're going to try. When you change that statement, then she's ready to go to school.

And if that means a two-gap year, that's cool. But if it means one, and you guys work like maniacs and put in the 1,000 hours, then that's cool. But, you know, let me tell you that it's a good it's a good field to be in, but it's not worth going into debt to do. It's so interesting how we make decisions differently. If you take one of those options off the table, if you take debt off the table, you get creative and you find a way to make it work to pay for this school in cash debt free find any other other other internships scholarships work programs anything to help fund it but if debt is on the table and this is true for undergrad graduate school anytime if debt is on the table

you will take it because it's easy, because it's available, because working your tail off is hard, because researching scholarships is difficult. If it's an option on the table, you will take it. It has to be off the table. It has to be completely taken off the table as an option. And then you can actually think of how you're going to do this debt-free without loans. Maybe she goes to work for a firm that does PTs. Right.

And maybe they pay for it. Exactly. Yeah. Maybe there's a lot of ways to pull this off maybe they pay for it exactly yeah there's maybe there's there's a lot of ways you get creative if you're forced to pull this off but i'm gonna try translates i'm not going to yeah so that you you need to reset your minds on this jonathan because you're gonna bank she's gonna make a mess and i know you think i'm some kind of mean old dream killer or something but what i'm trying to do is kill your dadgum nightmare and have you call

me back in four years ago i'm in a mess! Don't do that. Don't go get yourself in a mess. Just avoid it right now. That puts this hour of the 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.