The Ramsey Show - App - I Don't Want to Go on a Date With Dave Ramsey! (Hour 3)

Episode Date: December 14, 2018

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Starting point is 00:00:00 🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's The Dave 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. Thank you for joining us. We're glad you're here. Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality and career. I need a new job.
Starting point is 00:00:59 I need a new job that I care about that cares about me. Coleman will be with us. Ken Coleman, and we'll be answering your questions about career and, well, whatever you're facing right now as far as that goes. At the bottom of the hour, Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, joins us. So if you have questions about that, you need to write the number down and call immediately and get in line for the bottom of the hour. 888-825-5225.
Starting point is 00:01:28 Nathan is in Sarasota, Florida. Hi, Nathan. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hey, Dave. How are you doing? Better than I deserve. What's up? Hey, so my wife and I will be finished with Baby Step 2 in just about two months.
Starting point is 00:01:44 We've paid off about $55,000. My work, my civilian employer gives an incentive to everybody, about $970 a month that we can put towards either health care or 401K that they offer. We don't need health care through them because I have TRICARE through the military, so I opt to have it go sit into a 401k. So pretty much it's about $11,000-ish put in a year. So my question is, once we're done with the Baby Step 2, we really want to hit hard into investing.
Starting point is 00:02:17 So I didn't know if you'd recommend that I max out the 401k since I'm currently not maxing it out, and then start putting money into Roths that we will be opening in a few months? Or should we just leave what my employer puts in in my 401K and both max out Roths? It doesn't matter where you do it. I just don't want the total going into retirement that you put into retirement, not your employer money. Whatever your employer does is just gravy on the biscuit.
Starting point is 00:02:52 But I want you guys putting in 15% of your household income into retirement. What's your household income? We net with everything about 90-ish, 95. So your gross is what, 110? Yeah, right on there, 110, 115 gross. We clear about 90-ish or so. Okay, so you need to be putting about $15,000, $17,000 a year roughly, 15% of that figure, that gross figure, into retirement that you put in,
Starting point is 00:03:22 not the $900 from your employer. And so if you want to do that in 401Ks, if they've got Roth 401Ks available, that's fine. Do they match on your 401K, not counting the money that they're putting in anyway? No, they don't match anything. So I was thinking either we both max out a Roth. Yeah, I'd max out two Roths each at $5,500. So actually next year it's $6,000. And you can go $6,000 each.
Starting point is 00:03:53 That's $12,000 of the $17,000 or so. And you need about $5,000 more going into one of the 401ks to get to your 15%. But no, I would not max out your 401Ks. The rule is take the match, then take Roth, wherever you can get it, then take non-Roth, okay, in that order until you get to 15% of your gross household income in baby step four. Baby step five is kids' college while you're doing the 15% of your income into retirement. And six is pay off your house while you're doing the kids' college and the retirement simultaneously. So very cool.
Starting point is 00:04:36 Sounds like you've got a good situation there, like you're going to be able to really seriously build some wealth. Way to go. Andrew's with us in St. Petersburg. Hey, Andrew, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hey, Dave, thanks. What's up? I'm 27, single, no kids. I make about $75,000 a year, and I've got about $30,000 saved up.
Starting point is 00:04:58 And I was just wondering, I bought a house about 18 months ago, and just wondering where you would put your investments. Right now I'm maxing out my 401K at work at 6%, and that's really the only investment that I've done. So I'm looking to make my money do something for me here. Good for you. Well done. You're really on fire, man. You've got some real progress going.
Starting point is 00:05:17 Well, we teach a thing called the baby steps, which is the order of attack, okay, that lays first a foundation, and then from the foundation, secondly, we build wealth. You've got a really good foundation here. You're on your way. You're debt-free except the house, right? Yes. Okay. So that's baby step two.
Starting point is 00:05:36 Baby step three is to have an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. Other than the $30,000, do you have that? I could probably take about five out and cover that pretty easily. I don't think $5,000 is three to six months of expenses. Okay. It's probably 10 anyway. Okay. So we're going to earmark 10 of the 30, just for purposes of discussion right now, as your emergency fund. Okay?
Starting point is 00:06:07 Okay. Then that moves us on to what we call baby step four, which would be 15% of your income going towards retirement. In matching 401Ks first, then Roths, and then non-Roths, like we were just talking about with the other guy a minute ago. So 15% of your income going to that. That doesn't take up any of your money. Anything above that with no marriage and no kids and no college, which is baby step five, then anything above that goes towards the house, which is baby step six, pay off your house early.
Starting point is 00:06:38 So in your situation, I'm going to take $20,000 and throw it at the house, and I'm going to throw everything above 15% of your income going into your 401K, which you've only got 6% going in now. So we're going to crank that up a little bit, and then everything above that in the budget, I'm going to just start throwing it at the house, and let's get the house paid off. How much do you owe on the home? I only got it about 18 months, and I haven't paid above my even, so I owe still quite a lot, yeah. How much?
Starting point is 00:07:08 I got it for $220,000, and I pay about $2,000 a month. What's your balance on that? What's your mortgage balance? Honestly, I don't look at the statement. A little north of $200,000 then, huh? Yeah. Okay, cool. So we're going to throw $20,000 at it, and then let's just start chunking on it.
Starting point is 00:07:25 And you'll be amazed how quickly you pay it off. You may look up in your – you're probably going to look up in your early 30s and have the house paid for. That's awesome. And how do you go about finding the right Roths and IRAs? I haven't really done any investment whatsoever, so I don't really know how to go about that. Okay, well, you're – we suggest good growth stock mutual funds, and I don't do investing. But if you want to find the people that we recommend, you can just click SmartVestor at DaveRamsey.com. Put in some info.
Starting point is 00:07:59 It'll drop down a list of the SmartVestor pros in your area. One of them will sit down with you with the heart of a teacher, begin to teach you about mutual funds, about Roth IRAs, looking at your 401K. We definitely want to take that 6% match. Beyond that, I'm probably doing a Roth. If that doesn't get me to 15%, I'm going to go back and do some more in that 401K. And, again, you can do $6,000 next year in your Roth.
Starting point is 00:08:24 So, good question you're on your way man you're doing good keep it up keep it up this is the dave ramsey show Are high health care costs getting you down? Are you confused trying to navigate your options? Do you wish you could find an affordable, biblical solution to your health care costs? Based on New Testament principles, Christian Health Care Ministries, or CHM, helps Christian families, churches, and ministries join together as the body of Christ to share their major health care costs. Christian Health Care Ministries is the original health cost-sharing ministry. A Better Business Bureau-accredited organization,
Starting point is 00:09:24 CHM members share to pay each other's medical bills. It's not insurance. It's Christians financially and spiritually supporting each other. It's what Christian Healthcare Ministries has done for over 35 years, and our members have shared over $2.5 billion in medical bills. To learn more, visit chministries.org. That's chministries.org. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a proud sponsor of Dave Ramsey Live Events. chministries.org. coming up at the bottom of the hour ken coleman of the ken coleman show talking about careers a rangy personality expert on that subject if you want to talk the phone number is 888-825-5225 kelly is cleaning off some lines to make sure that if you have that subject on your mind, you'll have a chance to get in. 888-825-5225.
Starting point is 00:10:29 In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions, Adam and Samantha are with us. Hey, guys. Hey, Dave. Hey. How are y'all doing? Good. Doing good. Merry Christmas.
Starting point is 00:10:37 Good to have you. Where are you from? Merry Christmas. We're from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Oh, right around the corner here. Yes, sir. Very good. Welcome.
Starting point is 00:10:44 And here to do a Dead Free Scream. We are. Yes, sir. Very good. Well, welcome. And here to do a Dead Free Scream. We are. Yes, sir. Love it. How much have you guys paid off? We paid off about $40,000. Good for you. How long did this take?
Starting point is 00:10:53 It took us 11 months and plus cash flow and a wedding for $10,000. Woo-hoo! You got married 11 months ago, or in the last 11. Exactly. Yes, sir. All right. Your household income during this time is what? It was about $120,000, and it went up to $160,000.
Starting point is 00:11:08 Whoa. Nice. What do you all do for a living? I'm a physical therapist. And I work for a lecture cooperative as a communications coordinator. Oh, very cool. Congratulations. So when did you get married exactly?
Starting point is 00:11:22 April 7th. Okay. All right. And so before that, you had already started getting out 7th. Okay. All right. And so before that, you had already started getting out of debt. We did, yes, sir. You cash flow the wedding, get married, and finish up knocking out the debt. What kind of debt was the $40,000? It was kind of a combination of things.
Starting point is 00:11:37 We had pretty much the typical things. We had two cars. Both of them had names, Bertha and Martha White. And Sam had some leftover student loans that we took care of as well. So we started Financial Peace last August. And it was one of those things where when we first started it, I'm very gung-ho on things. Sam takes a little more time to warm up to those things. And so we ended up doing Financial Peace University down there in Murfreesboro.
Starting point is 00:12:07 And it just really sparked a fire that got us going and was actually the reason why I was even able to save up for an engagement ring to marry this pretty lady here. There you go. Well done. Good job. Well, fun. How old are you two? 29. And you have no debt?
Starting point is 00:12:24 None. Woo-hoo! How does you two? 29. And you have no debt? None. Woo-hoo! How does that feel? Good. I guess. What a great way to start your marriage, too. It is, yeah. And even today, we're already planning for our future because we met one of your SmartVestor pros today.
Starting point is 00:12:38 So, you know, we're already thinking ahead, and we're just so excited about what the future holds. Oh, that's amazing. Yeah, it's bright, very, very bright. Good for you. All right, so what do you tell a young, engaged couple out there listening that the secret to getting out of debt is? I guess you've got to go about it the right way. When we first started doing this, of course, I'm very into things. When I start doing it, I'm going 100%.
Starting point is 00:13:04 And so you definitely don't want to beat the other person over the head with it. So at one point we were on a date, and Sam was like, listen, I love you, but I would rather be on a date with you and not Dave Ramsey. So it was kind of a thing that we kind of had to grow into a little bit. We had to change the way he was showing it to me. And I said, why don't we just listen to one of his live airs or on the podcast? And that's what got it started. Okay.
Starting point is 00:13:32 Yeah, you got sick of hearing him talk about it. Yeah. Mr. Enthusiasm over here. Exactly. And for engaged couples, I would say that if you can eliminate any struggles before you get married, I think that it really makes it easier. I mean, we're still in that honeymoon stage. So there's, you know, of course, we've not had any knock-down, drag-out fights yet,
Starting point is 00:13:51 and I'm sure at some point in the future that might happen, but at least it won't be about money, or at least hopefully it's not about money. It'll be about something else you're gung-ho about. Yes, that's a fair point. Good job, guys. That's wonderful. Great, great point. Good job, guys. That's wonderful. Great, great job. Very, very fun.
Starting point is 00:14:08 Who were your biggest cheerleaders other than each other? Probably our parents and then our church family and then our friends. Okay, very cool. So your church is where you went to Financial Peace University then? We didn't actually. Our church doesn't have it yet, but we're working toward that. But we actually went down the street to another church. You know how it is down here in the Bible Belt.
Starting point is 00:14:30 I mean, if there's a church on every corner, literally in Murfreesboro, there's a church on every corner. So we went down there and took it with some fantastic folks. Good deal. Well, congratulations. We're proud of you. Thank you. Thank you. Well done.
Starting point is 00:14:41 Very well done. Got a copy of Chris Hogan's book for you, Retire Inspired. And in January, we'll mail you a new one called Everyday Millionaires. Because that's your next chapter. You're going to be everyday millionaires. Fantastic. And you'll be outrageously generous along the way. You are on your way.
Starting point is 00:14:57 Congratulations, you two. All right. It's Adam and Samantha from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. $40,000 paid off in 11 months. Make it 120 to 160. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one.
Starting point is 00:15:13 We're debt-free! We're debt-free! Well done, you two. Very, very well done. Well, there is no reason to wait until January 1 to start working on your New Year's goals. If you want to start winning with money right now, the first step is you need a budget. You need to make a plan for every single dollar you earn and then stick to the plan. That's all a budget is.
Starting point is 00:15:41 It's your plan. It's your map to the party, baby. That's all a budget is. It's your plan. It's your map to the party, baby. That's right. Five million people are using EveryDollar. It is the best budgeting tool on the planet. It takes just a few minutes to set up your first budget, and it's free. No excuses. All you got to do is download the app from iTunes or Google Play Store. Sign up for a free account at everydollar.com. Again, Ken Coleman coming up at the bottom of the hour talking career. If you have a career question, Kelly is opening up lines and we'll let you through. The phone number is 888-825-5225.
Starting point is 00:16:22 Myrtle Beach is calling. Janelle's on the line. Hi, Janelle. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi. Thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's up?
Starting point is 00:16:31 Well, we just started Financial Peace University. We got it last month, so we got our budget and everything set up for this month. But I guess my biggest question is we make about $2,800 on average each month, and we pay rent. Our rent is $1,200 a month right now. And with basically our fixed expenses between debt and utilities and things like that, it's around like $900 if we were to pay all our minimums and everything. And my parents have offered for us to move in with them. And, you know, they have a big enough house that it would be okay. But my husband is not thrilled about it, and I understand why.
Starting point is 00:17:13 But for me, I just see it as an opportunity for us to really do, like, baby step one and two real fast, you know, like quicker than we would if we continued to pay rent. And I guess I just wanted to get your opinion about it. You have to move. Yeah. Because the rent is outrageous. Yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:17:31 And so I don't know where you're moving, whether it's in with your parents or someplace cheaper, that's up to you. But if your income is going to stay at $2,800, your rent is almost half of your income. You will not prosper with that. It's killing you. Right. So you've got to move i
Starting point is 00:17:46 just don't care where i'm with him i can't live with them uh that would be very difficult for me to do if you both want to do it that's fine i'm not gonna be mad at you about that but this is a lot easier for you than it is for him. Right. And so what are you guys going to do to get your incomes up? You know, we're trying to figure that out. Yeah, I don't have a college degree. He has an associate's in pastoral care. I do retail, and he does maintenance,
Starting point is 00:18:18 and we have a network marketing business we're working on. Okay. We're trying to figure that out yeah you're big one of your biggest issues is rent the second one is income right yeah and we need to correct both of those and but you've got to get in a um the way where you are right now you need to be in a rent that's six seven hundred bucks and it's pretty hard to find around here it's pretty hard to find around here. It's pretty hard to find anywhere. Yeah. That's not an easy, that's a low, low rent situation.
Starting point is 00:18:55 So I don't care if you move in with your parents, but you're not going to solve the whole thing. You're not going to solve it if you don't get your income up. And so you've got to do both. You've got to do some things to get your income up, and you've got to get the rent down. And then based on that, you can make the decision. So, hey, thanks for the call. Open phones at 888-825-5225.
Starting point is 00:19:18 Thanks for joining us, America. We're glad you're here. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Okay, things are getting pretty weird out there. I thought the Equifax breach was bad enough. It exposed the personal financial info of half of all Americans. Now we have breaches affecting almost every U.S. citizen, and the data stolen is more personal and equally dangerous. One company had over 230 million consumer files hacked, which included not only the home address, but info related to religion, pet lovers, smokers, you name it.
Starting point is 00:20:15 And the businesses were not any luckier this time, with 110 million files hacked. It really is no longer a matter of if, it's when you'll become a victim. That's exactly why the only plan I've ever recommended is through Zander Insurance. They cover all types of identity theft for families and businesses, and they take over all the work if you become a victim. I use it for my family and my entire team. Call 800-356-4282 or visit Zander.com. That's Zander.com. Ramsey Personality, host of the Ken Coleman Show.
Starting point is 00:21:02 Ken Coleman joins me this half hour. You can hear the show daily on Sirius XM and Channel 111, right? Yes, sir. And 121 as well. Leading into the Dave Ramsey Show. There we go. Not a bad spot. Yeah, so, yeah, that's pretty cool. That's fun.
Starting point is 00:21:20 Good stuff, I guess. I don't know. It could go downhill at that point. So Ken's answering your questions about living your passion, about finding the career, the job that is going to get you in the zone, that's going to take you where you want to go. And he's answering those questions every day. If you want to talk about that subject, half of the equation we talk about here on this show is, I mean, twice today or three times today already on this show, I've told people you need to get a better job. Matter of fact, I think the last caller I told her, they need to get their income up.
Starting point is 00:21:52 That's right. And get your income up because income's half the equation. Income, outgo. That's only two parts of this equation. That's right. And so we spend an awful lot of time on the outgo, but sometimes it's simple as you need to make more money. And, oh, it's not all about the money. Yeah, it kind of is.
Starting point is 00:22:12 You know, when you're trying to feed your kids and trying to live your dreams and trying to build wealth, there's a math thing going on here. And it's not that you're going to do something you're miserable doing in order to make money, but you need to be thinking about, you know, what's going to make money. That's right. Well, you're looking at the long term. You know what strikes me as amazing? I had the privilege of hosting the video channel for my first three and a half years here, and I don't think there was a debt-free screen that I watched in that lobby right over there
Starting point is 00:22:33 where I didn't hear the person, as you walk them through the questions, say, you'd say, how much were you making when you started? And then how much are you making now? And, I mean, it was extremely rare, but I think it was every call. Their income went up sizably. And it's the same reason that the Ken Coleman show is meeting a need. When there is a goal, so in the Dave Ramsey show audience, it's debt-free. That's Mount Everest.
Starting point is 00:22:58 At that moment in their life, Mount Everest is get debt-free. Then when they get debt-free, now they live like no one else, then we can change the Mount Everest. But that sheer goal drives people to make more money. It's amazing. You don't ever teach people necessarily, hey, go make more money. You walk through the baby steps, but every one of them report that they're making more
Starting point is 00:23:17 money at the end of the journey. Done a three-hour show today. All three hours we've taken done a debt-free stream. All three of them had increases in income. 42 to 57, single lady. That's sizable. During a 30-month period of time. That's right.
Starting point is 00:23:30 One guy from 60 to 64, not a lot, but he did see an increase. And then one from in 11 months went from 120 to 160. Wow. In income. A $40,000 increase. Now, some of that's career evolution. Right. You know, they're just getting married.
Starting point is 00:23:45 They both take a job, that kind of thing. But some of it is they just look up and go, I think I'm worth more. That's exactly right. But it's all, both of those scenarios, they all fall under the umbrella of momentum. Yep. See, the baby steps provide momentum, emotional momentum at first, even though it might be the smallest of debts, right? But what you have done so masterfully over these years is give people a plan for momentum. And when
Starting point is 00:24:09 we begin to experience momentum in our budget, paying off debt, momentum in our career, I'm telling you, it just creates a natural inertia. And that's attractive to a lot of people. And that's why job increases happen. You get more opportunity. You know, there's something about momentum, Dave. It's just a wonderful thing you want to be around and experience in your own life because it yields results. Absolutely. All right, let's check in with Andrea in Flint, Michigan.
Starting point is 00:24:40 Andrea, your question for Ken Coleman. Hi, Dave. Hi, Ken. My question is my husband's contemplating a complete career shift because he's not happy where he is right now. And I'm trying to be the supportive wife with it, but I'm struggling with how to do that. Or I was wondering if you guys knew of or had any resources that I could provide him with to try and help him figure
Starting point is 00:25:06 out what he wants to do. Because he just knows he's not happy where he's at right now. Yeah, well, the easy thing is I would like him to start listening to the show. Let him kick the tires. Yeah. Because we're dealing. Okay, good. So the next thing is I'd love for him to call the show one day.
Starting point is 00:25:20 There's nothing to be scared of. But here's what we do with folks like this. This is what you can do. I think you guys should go on a nice date and low pressure and say, hey, you've been listening to the Ken Coleman show. I talked to him and Dave the other day. And let's just walk through the exercise he does
Starting point is 00:25:33 with folks. And let's just get really clear, maybe for the first time in your life, about who you really are. And so that's talent. What was he born with? Just things he's always done well. It's as simple as subject in school or tasks or functions that he does and has always been complimented on. You know some of those, so help him get really clear and confident on what he does best.
Starting point is 00:25:54 Then the other side of the equation, what he loves to do most. Something that when he thinks about this work or this function, he can get excited about it. Maybe he's tinkered around with it before or he's fantasized about this type of work, but he thought, well, too late in life, came up with all these excuses. We just have to remove all of that, Andrea. All of that.
Starting point is 00:26:13 Remove it and just let him be honest, letting dream, letting blurt out what he loves to do. And then we just look at that equation. How do I take what I do best and do what I love to do most? And it's a process. Sometimes it's a light bulb. Sometimes it is two or three weeks, three or four months of just continually looking at multiple things that I can do.
Starting point is 00:26:34 This idea of the sweet spot where your talent and passion intersect. Here's where people get locked up, Dave. They think it's a silver bullet. It's only one thing they can do and it gets intimidating but what it is it could be four five six different career paths within that sweet spot where ultimately you are using what you do best to do what you love to do most and that is the secret why are you struggling to be supportive it's it's more than likely going to result in a move. And we just moved about two years ago for this job that turned out to be a dud. Okay. So it's the struggle of I'm really bad with the unknown.
Starting point is 00:27:15 Yeah. And it's all unknown right now. I got you. Okay. So it's not that you're not supportive of him, and it's not even that you're not supportive of change. It's that you're not supportive of change that results in a dud, or you're not supportive of change that you don't even know what the flip it is. Right. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:27:33 So we need a detailed bullet point plan for you to get on board with, and you shouldn't be on board with vague innuendo. That's exactly right. Which, again, go back to that. Here's what he's got to get to. He's got to get very, very clear on the type of work that fulfills him. At that point, so there's five stages to the dream, Dave. Discovery is where he's at, which I outlined just a few moments ago.
Starting point is 00:27:56 Then it's research. This is when we say, okay, what do I need to know to be qualified? What do I need to learn? What has to be true that's not true now? That's right. So this is what I need to know or learn. Then who do I need to know to be qualified what i need to learn what has to be true that's not true now that's right so this is what i need to know or learn then who do i need to know what do i need to do and then how much is that going to cost me time and money how long will it take these are basic questions in the research stage at that point andrea when he answers those questions and he can sit down with you
Starting point is 00:28:21 and explain it and you say okay you've thought this out we got a very clear plan it's going to take us 18 months 24 months to get qualified certified to make this move you know we're moving from flint to phoenix and here we go but we stopped thinking about moving anywhere well but you the thing is all of the the problem is not the change the problem is the change with the ambivalence that's exactly right ambivalence will kill you well and we don't know what happened in the last dud, but it probably wasn't well thought out. And we went, we, you know, the Geronimo jump is not as exciting as it seems. You talk about this on the show all the time. You tell callers, I've heard you say it. We wanted, it's like stepping off of a boat onto the dock. We're moving in smooth and slow. When you park a boat, you know, that's how you step into the dream job.
Starting point is 00:29:02 It's not usually this big, exciting bungee jumping, extreme sports know, that's how you step into the dream job. It's not usually this big, exciting, bungee-jumping, extreme sports image. That's how you get hurt. Yeah, yeah. And that's not faith. That's foolish. That's exactly right. So I'm taking a step of faith. No, you're just taking a step in the dark.
Starting point is 00:29:17 You need a light. Which, by the way, is where the fear comes from. Yeah, that's where hers comes from. That's right. She's not not supportive of her husband. She's not supportive of the fact he has no plan. That's it. You and I are friends with Jim Collins.
Starting point is 00:29:28 I once asked Jim Collins, why don't people try to be great in their career? And he said, it's not that people are risk averse. No, they're not afraid. They're ambiguity averse. Exactly. The ambivalence will kill you. Absolutely. Yep.
Starting point is 00:29:39 Very good. Good stuff. Hey, if you are, if you have kind of identified, you kind of know the direction you're going, and you're ready to put together the resume, you're ready to learn how to win the interview, we have the Get Hired Guides, two of them, for free at KenColeman.com. They're downloadable, four-color, PDFs, very well done, tons of information, very meaty. Fix your resume, nail the interview. Fix your resume, nail the interview.
Starting point is 00:30:13 Go to KenColeman.com and download these free Get Hired guides. More of your questions for Ramsey Personality King Coleman momentarily. Our scripture of the day, James 1.12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised for those who love him. Steve Jobs said, I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.
Starting point is 00:31:16 Absolutely. Absolutely. Just the ability to stick with something. Scott is with us in Wilmington, North Carolina. Hey, Scott, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Your question for Ken Coleman. Hey, Mr. Coleman and Mr. Dave, thank you so much for taking my call. My wife and I are long-term fans, so we really appreciate it. Thank you. My question, Ken, is I'm 37 years old. I have a bachelor's degree in psychology,
Starting point is 00:31:44 and pretty much for the past four or five years, I really haven't done anything with that degree. I think during college, I just didn't really put a lot of forethought in it, just kind of picked a degree and got a degree that I'm really not doing anything with. So my question is, I'm married, I have a family, and I'm thinking about a career change. The job that I'm doing right now has nothing to do with my degree. I'm making like $13 an hour, and I want to get my income up. So I put a lot of thought into it, and I'm thinking about pursuing a master's degree in accounting. I talked to the school and the administration.
Starting point is 00:32:27 It's just a big leap right now. We're about to be debt-free, and we're about to be complete out of Baby Step 3, hopefully in a few months. By August is our set goal. We'll have our emergency savings. But by taking this, if I were to take this program, it's a very intense one-year program that even the school counselors are stating that it's probably not a good idea to even work a part-time job while going through this. All right, so Scott, let me jump in here.
Starting point is 00:32:58 Let me jump in because I hear where you're at, and I think this is pretty simple. How long is it going to take you after you get debt-free to get that emergency fund where you want it, three or six months? What's the target date? Well, August we'll have about $17,000. Our goal, and really that's about three to six months of our expenses. Great. My wife is a little more comfortable with $25, 25, so we want to get it up to 25. All right, so let's say it's 25.
Starting point is 00:33:29 So you need to get that done before you would even consider jumping into some serious, intense master's program to do accounting. And I just want to know, point blank, forget the master's in accounting right now. If I can snap my fingers right now and give you a job doing something with accounting, that's obvious. What is it? And how much do you think you're going to be making? What research have you done and seen what a role that you're interested in is going to pay you? What is that?
Starting point is 00:33:57 I'd like to be working at either the big four or just even a private firm, just helping people, a tax auditor or a senior staff accountant. Okay. Here's what I want to challenge you on. Making how much? Go ahead. I'm sorry. Making how much?
Starting point is 00:34:15 I'd like to start off about, you know, I've done the research. Starting off about 45 to 50 would be nice. Okay. And it just seems like it has a lot of room of growth in that field. No question. You've got plenty of growth. Here's my question. Has anybody told you and verified for you that you have to have a master's in accounting
Starting point is 00:34:33 to get an accounting job that pays you $45,000 to $50,000 a year? No. The research that I've done, the majority is just a bachelor's in accounting. Exactly. But I talked to the advisors, and they stated, hey, for me to go back and to get a second bachelor's versus a master's, because this is only a 12-month program, even though it's intense, this would probably... I understand. These days, if you're going to be a CPA, the master's is usually the route
Starting point is 00:35:06 to go in order to be a CPA. If you're going to get your CPA, that's what most folks are doing. So, you're going to do this in one year, very intense. Yes, sir. The part that I'm not sure I'm going along with the advisors
Starting point is 00:35:21 on is this idea that there's no possible way to work while you're doing that because they're used to everybody going into student loan debt. How are you going to pay for it? Well, that's what me and my wife are talking about is putting this off for one year and then going back and getting a part-time job in addition to my full-time job and just saving up because the whole program is going to be about 14,000 that would take us roughly about a year to get to get that so we're not ready this year the plan is 2020 is when we
Starting point is 00:35:56 really want to start it i just want to make sure that with all my responsibilities and and uh i'm not crazy to do a career change at this no in the game. No, no, no. The career change, you know exactly where you want to go. And you know exactly how to get there. I think it's two routes. I was going to say that I'd like to see you either save up the money, which is what you're talking about, put off the master's one-year intensive until you financially not only can pay cash for it, but it's not going to hurt the household income when you basically can't work.
Starting point is 00:36:23 That's one option. The other option is to get in the accounting field, get in that space, get some real experience, take some online classes, some things like that, and get in the space, and then you eventually move into that master's level. But to get where you want to go doing accounting or bookkeeping, I think you can get there without the master's. Now, Dave's right. If it's the CPA and you want to go that high, then, of course, you've got to have it. But I think you've got a couple of clear paths here.
Starting point is 00:36:49 But you've just got to be patient. You know, in that sense, too, if you could get in working the copy room in an accounting firm, they might pay for it. I've seen that happen a lot. If you're just doing some basic bookkeeping and you show some common… You're making $13 an hour. That's what I'm saying. I know. I think he can move his way up in the field of accounting and then
Starting point is 00:37:09 when he's ready, same kind of path. It's just one is I'm going to save, save, save, save, save and I'm not in that field. The other is I get in the field, I make relationships and I learn. Experience and relationships. Scott, you are going to do this and you're going to do well at it.
Starting point is 00:37:25 You really have done a good job of thinking this through. Your critical thinking skills are strong. You and your wife are planning it. You're thinking about step-by-step-by-step exactly what to do. All you wanted to hear from us was we're just kind of helping you with the idea a little bit. But overall, the answer is yes, you need to do this. No need to pursue a degree or a job in psychology. We know you don't love it.
Starting point is 00:37:47 Yeah, absolutely. Andrew is in Houston, Texas. Andrew, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hey, guys. How are you all? Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to you. How can we help?
Starting point is 00:37:57 Hey, so I got a question for you. How do you know when's the right time to stand up and say you have interest in taking a position? Recently, my supervisor just retired, but I don't want to jump in too early while the seat's still hot. Why? Well, I just don't want to make it seem like I am trying to take over. You don't want to make it seem like you're ambitious and you want to move up? Well, I definitely am, and I definitely do. I'm not sure how to do that without looking bad, I guess you could say.
Starting point is 00:38:33 Why would you look bad? Where I work is very political. Okay. And I don't want it to seem like I am trying to step on people's toes. Whose toes would you be stepping on? The guy left. Yeah, I know. And there's a lot of issues going on.
Starting point is 00:38:52 But this is one thing that I feel like I could do. I'm just not sure how to do it. Yeah, I would talk to the least political guy in the room and ask him how you can do this in your environment. But other than navigating the politics, yes, you ought to do this. Okay. Yeah, my advice is this. It's all about posture. There's nothing wrong with saying, I am interested in this job. I would like to do this job.
Starting point is 00:39:22 Here's why. I love this place. I love what we do. I've got the talent to do this. I feel like I've been trained and I'm ready to do this job. Here's why. I love this place. I love what we do. I've got the talent to do this. I feel like I've been trained and I'm ready to go. And I just want a chance to throw my hat in the ring and give it my best shot. That's it. I mean, coaches like that.
Starting point is 00:39:36 Now, that doesn't mean the coach is going to put you in. But, you know, the best way to not be political, you ready for this? This is going to be great advice. Don't be political. Don't go talk to 80 people around the office about yeah don't don't try to spread some kind of gossip web just go to the guy to the guy that's doing the hiring and go i won't put my hat in the ring where's the ring baby that's it yeah check out ken's how to win the interview pdf download at ken coleman.com and the rest of you get all these Get Hired guides if you're interested in this stuff, KenColeman.com. Ken, thanks for stopping by.
Starting point is 00:40:09 Thanks for having me. You can hear Ken daily on XSeriesXM and his podcast as well. It's The Ken Coleman Show, widely listened to. That puts us out of Dave Ramsey's show in the books. We'll be back with you before you know it. In the meantime, remember, there's ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus. Hey guys, this is James Childs, producer of the Dave Ramsey Show. I'm excited to announce that we're now carried on 600 radio stations across the country.
Starting point is 00:40:41 To find one near you, head to DaveRamsey.com slash show.

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